2020 Kia Forte Driver assistance Problems

2020 Kia Forte, 2.0L 14F engine, 109,000 miles: On July 3.2026 "check engine" light came on. Drove to local auto parts store to have code downloaded, P0017 cam position sensor. Car was performing fine, except for engine light. Drove car to Kia dealership. While driving, warning light for "front collision system came on and car began performing erratically. Left car at dealership for diagnostics. Yesterday received call from dealer, stating that engine needed total replacement due to "lack of oil". Quoted repair cost estimated at approximately $8,000. Car has been regularly serviced, including oil and filter changes per handbook. I have all records for the services. The were no indications of low oil pressure or engine overheating, no warning lights, all gauge readings displayed normal ranges. This same car had a failed transmission replaced approximately 2 years ago, which was covered by an extended warranty related to a recall. There have been 2 engine failure recalls as a result of 2 class action lawsuits for Kia cars with this same engine failure up through the 2019 model years, providing new engines and/or extended warrantees, however, this does not applicable to 2020 and newer models, even though it's the same exact same engine model with the exact issue causing the failure. Engine failure in traffic condions can obviously lead to immediate safety issues. I currently have a call into the Kia customer service/complaint department, but no resolution offerred to date.

NHTSA ID

11749072

Incident

Jul 3, 2026

The crankshaft position sensor keeps going bad and it make the forward collision trigger and it loses power and the dash stops working and causes the car to shut off

NHTSA ID

11699296

Incident

Mar 3, 2024

The lane assist malfunction and periodically jerks. Very unsafe I no longer use this feature . To keep control of the vehicle. I never got it inspected. As the lane assist was in use and it would jerk it would alert me of a lane departure . I mention this to include every known problem I have experienced with the vehicle. The problem That brought me here. Is my engine light came on today. Leading up to this. I have had oil leaks since I've owned the car. Im adding oil in between oil changes due to it being low. In the beginning it was a hint of smell of gas in the oil. I was informed to do more frequent oil changes. Over time the smell of gas grew stronger . No Indication to a problem then. Now the smell of gas is prominent in the oil. When the dip stick is checked its always needing more oil and smells of gas and has blackness like burning in the oil. Now there's a check engine light on. And everything I looked up says to discontinue driving the car. I am having a mechanic look at it with a code reader.

NHTSA ID

11687003

Incident

Sep 12, 2025

The contact owns a 2020 Kia Forte. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the Forward Collision Avoidance camera activated, causing the brakes to stop the vehicle unintendedly. The Forward Collision Avoidance system activated without a vehicle or person nearby. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and waited before restarting the vehicle. The vehicle was started with the check engine warning light illuminated with abnormal gurgling sounds coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to a certified mechanic who diagnosed that the cam shaft position sensor and the ABS system had failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was contacted and informed of the failure. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle with engine failure. The Forward Collision Avoidance camera failure was not diagnosed or replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 103,069.

NHTSA ID

11670245

Incident

Jun 27, 2025

Mileage

103,069 mi

After 2 hours of cruise control om, Collision avoidance warning lights came on for 2nd time. Brought is to dealership the first time it happened and they could nt find anything wrong,

NHTSA ID

11560539

Incident

Dec 15, 2023

There are significant idle issues (rpm’s shoot up & drop down irregularly while in park) and the car shut off while in park following irregular rpm movement, but was not exhibiting this behavior while previously parked elsewhere. I sent it in to be checked but nothing could be reproduced. A few weeks later the car began doing what felt like engine braking (in a manual vehicle) while I was letting the car roll forward in a traffic jam (foot off of pedals for short moment). A friend witnessed a the rpm’s rising and falling dramatically while sitting in the parked car. Later the car began shutting off at low speeds while my foot was on the gas pedal. All of the lights on the dash appeared to be on and the car wouldn’t crank again until the 2nd attempt and only stayed on when pushing the gas pedal. I sent it back again but it could not be reproduced so nothing was done. A few days ago I noticed it was idling weird again(Up and down dramatically). Today when pulling into my neighborhood my car began to accelerate on its own. - I pushed the gas lightly to make the turn from a stop and took my foot off of both pedals in a slow transition to the brake. While my foot was up in transition the car accelerated moderately quickly before I immediately pressed the brake my foot was already over. The rpm’s went up drastically (you could hear them). I let go of the brake and the car began to rev high again followed by my braking once more. I turned the car onto my street and pressed the gas as lightly as possible and the car jolted forward before I braked hard out of fear of the children in front of me darting in front of my car as they often do on my residential street. I let the car roll to my driveway (a very short distance) before needing to push the gas again to get into the short driveway. The car jolted again almost hitting the closed garage door. I genuinely feel as though had this happened anywhere outside of my neighborhood my life would have been in danger if not lost.

NHTSA ID

11555184

Incident

Nov 14, 2023

Car took off. Zoomed. Out of control, my safety was put at risk since car speeded off. No one else safety was at risk since no one was around. The car is currently at a collision shop. Car has been inspected by insurance and being fixed. No warning signs and air bags did not come out.

NHTSA ID

11526961

Incident

Jun 7, 2023

The forward collision warning system stopped working and the warning lights lit up saying the camera was obstructed, even though it was a clear day, and the car was clean (it had literally just been cleaned). This has happened previously at random times.

NHTSA ID

11526192

Incident

May 22, 2023

While I am driving it is hard shifting and idling high, sometimes it doesn't want to pick up speed when starting from a stop. The wheels locked up going down a off ramp. There are no warning lights or anything on the dash. I will have it checked Monday but this started out of the blue. I have had regular maintenance on the vehicle and have all my receipts for proof. This is a serious issue especially with the wheels not functioning right and speed control is fluctuating.

NHTSA ID

11506820

Incident

Feb 10, 2023

WATER LEAKING INTO TRUNK CAUSING MALFUNCTION TO SECURITY ALARM SYSTEM AUTO TRUNK RELEASE AND TRUNK LID OPEN SYMBOL TRUNK MALFUNCTION WARNIG SYMBOLS AND ALARM STAYED ON COULD NOT HERE ANY SAFTEY ALARMS WATER IN TRUNK DAMAGED SENSOR COULD NOT LOCK OR UNLOCK TRUNK REMOTLY COULD NOT HERE ALARM ON BLIND SPOT WARNING COULD NOT READ ANY READINGS LIKE SPEED, TIRE PRESSURER COULD NOT HERE SEAT BELT LOCK CHIME

NHTSA ID

11416048

Incident

May 10, 2021

Mileage

7,000 mi

I PURCHASED THE 2020 KIA FORTE LAST APRIL 2020. THE TRUNK LATCH WOULD NOT OPEN TRUNK, REPORTED, SERVICED IT STILL PRESENTED TIGHT LEVERAGE FUNCTION DURING STABLE PARK POSITION. THE COMPUTER SCRAMBLED THE 1ST OR 2ND WEEK OF OWNING IT DURING MY EARLY MORNING HIGHWAY TRAVEL THE COMPUTER SCRAMBLED MORE THAN ONCE. I CONTACTED KIA- THIER RESPONSE WAS NOT HELPFUL TO THE NEW CAR MALFUNCTION. IT HAPPENED MORE THAN ONCE. THE LANE DEPARTURE DID NOT WORK AT DIFERENT PERIODS IN TIME; WITHIN THE YEAR I REPORTED TO KIA. THE WINDSHIELD CRACKED DURING FIRST FROST. KIA CLAIMED ROCK CHIP. I HAD JUST SERVICED CABIN FILTER AREA, KIA RELENTLESSLY ASSUMED ROCK CHIP, I BELIEVE DEFECTED GLASS. THE FIRST FROST IT CRACKED 2ND FROST WITHIN 2WEEK TIME OR LESS SPLIT CRACK ACROSS WINDSHIELD. THE GAS AND MILAGE WERE NOT STABLLY OPERATING WAS OUT OF SYNC DURING HIGHWAY TRAVELS. I NOW FOR THE LAST WEEK NOTICED A NOISE IN MY CAR ENGINE WHEN IN PARK TURNING IT OFF. I AM UNHAPPY WITH MY PURCHASE AND THE KIA DEALERSHIP I PURCHASED IT FROM. I HAVE PICTURES OF REPORTED DASH COMPUTER MALFUNCTIONS, AND AN UNWILLING DEALERSHIP TO ASSIST WITH MY VEHICLE. I AM CONCERNED WITH MY SAFETY, MY PASSENGERS SAFETY, AND SAFETY IN MY FUTURE DRIVE. I PUT DATE OF APRIL 20, 2020 BECAUSE IT WAS ROUGHLY WHEN MALFUNCTIONS BEGAN TO OCCURE. THE TRUNK LATCH IMMEDIATELY 4/10/2020 OR AT PURCHASE DATE UPON ARRIVING HOME.

NHTSA ID

11400072

Incident

Apr 10, 2020

Mileage

89 mi

MY 18 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER WAS THE DRIVER. THE CAR WAS PARKED ON A RESIDENTIAL STREET, FACING THE DIRECTION SHE WANTED TO GO. THE STREET WENT DOWNHILL IN FRONT OF HER. SHE STARTED THE CAR. WHEN SHE BEGAN TO DRIVE, THE STEERING FELT VERY STIFF, SHE COULD BARELY STEER. SHE STARTED DRIVING ANYWAY. THEN THE BRAKES DID NOT WORK. IN FACT, SHE SAID THAT PRESSING THE BRAKE SEEMED TO MAKE THE CAR GO FASTER (OR THIS COULD HAVE JUST BEEN THE EFFECT OF THE HILL). SO SHE ACCELERATED DOWN A SUBSTANTIAL HILL WITH NO BRAKING POWER. AT THE BOTTOM OF THE STREET (APPROX. 1/4 MILE) IS A T-INTERSECTION. SHE CROSSED THE STREET, THE CAR WENT UP ONTO THE CURB OPPOSITE, PROCEEDED THROUGH SOME BUSHES, KNOCKED DOWN A FENCE AS IT WENT BETWEEN A TREE AND A BRICK WALL, RAN INTO A BIRD BATH, AND THEN CAME TO A STOP IN SOMEONE'S YARD. FORTUNATELY THE CAR STOPPED BEFORE IT GOT TO THE HOUSE ITSELF. DAMAGE INCLUDED: BOTH BUMPERS, BOTH DRIVER-SIDE TIRES/WHEELS/HUBCAPS, AND EXTENSIVE DAMAGE UNDERNEATH INCLUDING TRANSMISSION.DRIVER AND PASSENGER WERE (AMAZINGLY) NOT INJURED.

NHTSA ID

11353364

Incident

Aug 14, 2020

Mileage

5,000 mi