2012 Kia Forte Recalls and Problems

NHTSA lists 4 safety recalls and 306 owner complaints for the 2012 Kia Forte.

Recalled components: brakes, engine, and air bags. Most-described problem: engine failure or replacement (70 complaints, 23%). Most-reported area: engine (174 complaints, 57%; median mileage when it happened: 95,000).

Data: NHTSA recall, complaint and investigation filesUpdated Oct 2, 2026

Year to avoidBest year

Includes the Forte Koup.

4 safety recalls for the 2012 Kia Forte

Do-not-drive and park-outside recalls first, then newest first. Summaries are NHTSA's own wording. Open a recall for the fix and the full notice.

Questions about any of these recalls: call NHTSA's Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 (TTY 888-275-9171) or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

NHTSA investigations

NHTSA has opened 2 investigations that name the 2012 Kia Forte, not counting audit queries; both are closed. An investigation means NHTSA is reviewing reports of a problem. It is not a finding that the vehicle has a defect.

A preliminary evaluation is NHTSA's first step, to gather information and decide whether to look further. An engineering analysis is a deeper review, usually opened after a preliminary evaluation. NHTSA lists investigations by make, model and model year only, so one can apply to only some versions of a model, such as one engine; its summary says which.

What owners report

Owners have filed 306 complaints with NHTSA about the 2012 Forte. Below, they are sorted by the problems owners describe and by the areas NHTSA files them under. NHTSA does not verify complaints.

Problems owners describe

• Engine failure or replacement70 · 23%
  Median 100,000 miles at failure, from 41 reports with mileage
• Stalling or shutting off42 · 14%
  Median 100,000 miles at failure, from 29 reports with mileage
• Engine knocking, ticking or rattling35 · 11%
  Median 82,000 miles at failure, from 25 reports with mileage
• Check engine light34 · 11%
  Median 100,000 miles at failure, from 24 reports with mileage
• Smoke or a burning smell30 · 10%
  Median 104,000 miles at failure, from 20 reports with mileage
• Headlight or exterior light problems22 · 7%
  Median 63,000 miles at failure, from 17 reports with mileage
• Won't start16 · 5%
• Loss of power or limp mode13 · 4%

Counted from the complaint text: a complaint counts once for each problem it describes (how we match them). Some complaints describe none of these. Compare other models in the problem owners report most for every model year.

Areas named in complaints

• Engine174 · 57%
  Median 95,000 miles at failure, from 116 reports with mileage
• Brakes51 · 17%
  Median 75,800 miles at failure, from 28 reports with mileage
• Air bags38 · 12%
  Median 79,000 miles at failure, from 17 reports with mileage
• Electrical system33 · 11%
  Median 71,500 miles at failure, from 16 reports with mileage
• Exterior lighting23 · 8%
  Median 63,000 miles at failure, from 17 reports with mileage
• Speed control15 · 5%
• Powertrain12 · 4%
• Unknown or other20 · 7%

A complaint can name more than one area, so shares add up to more than 100%. Mileage is shown where at least 15 owners reported it.

Kia Forte recalls and complaints by model year

The highlighted bars are the 2012 model year. Newer model years have had less time on the road, so their counts are lower. Counting complaints filed in each model year's first three years, the 2019 Forte drew the most (72) and the 2012 drew 23.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA's 5-Star Safety Ratings for each version it tested. Rollover risk is NHTSA's estimate of the chance of rolling over in a single-vehicle crash.

2012 Forte MPG

Questions