2023 Kia Forte

While driving on the freeway at approximately 65 mph, my vehicle suddenly lost normal braking function. The brake pedal felt loose, and I had to press it nearly to the floor for the vehicle to slow down. Even then, stopping took significantly longer than normal. Pumping the brake pedal approximately five times temporarily restored normal braking, but the pedal became loose again afterward. Fortunately, there were no vehicles directly in front of me, allowing me to gradually slow down and exit the freeway. With my hazard lights on, I continued at approximately 5 mph, but the vehicle still did not stop easily when I pressed the brake pedal all the way down. This put my safety and the safety of other motorists at serious risk because I could not reliably stop the vehicle. There were no dashboard warning lights or messages and no unusual noises before or during the incident. i have never had a problem with my brakes before this either. The problem occurred suddenly. My uncle, who is a diesel mechanic, inspected the vehicle and found that the brake lines and fluids appeared to be in good condition. He suspects the brake master cylinder may be the cause, although this has not been confirmed through a formal diagnostic inspection. I have contacted the dealership and am awaiting a response to determine whether they recommend a dealership inspection or an inspection by an independent mechanic. I also contacted Carvana since that is where I got my car from a year ago and included support chat messages. The problem has not yet been formally diagnosed or reproduced by a dealership or independent service center. I am reporting this incident because the sudden loss of reliable braking created a potentially life-threatening situation. The vehicle should be available for inspection upon request, with appropriate towing arrangements.

NHTSA ID

11772859

Incident

Oct 21, 2026

Front left tire blew out, plastic liner became shredded due to it. Beneath that plastic liner sits the main electrical wiring harness which rubs against the wheel creating sparks leading to total engine fire and failure

NHTSA ID

11770848

Incident

Jul 28, 2026

The contact owns a 2023 Kia Forte. The contact stated that while driving 25 MPH, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact stated that the steering wheel was loose and was difficult to turn. Due to the failure, the vehicle unexpectedly swayed from left to right. The contact stated that the vehicle felt as if it was floating on water. The vehicle was taken to several dealers but was not diagnosed. The dealer stated that the failure might be associated with a tire failure. The tires were rotated, and an alignment was performed; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was scheduled for a diagnostic test. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure by telephone and by email, and a case was opened. The contact requested a goodwill assistance to repair the vehicle. The failure mileage was approximately 600.

NHTSA ID

11769303

Incident

Aug 1, 2023

Mileage

600 mi

While car was rolling in reverse, breaks got stiff and driver had to use excessive force to get car to stop. Battery warning came on when pushing hard on the breaks. Then got the car in park, reved the gas to make sure the car was on which it was. Drove it to a parking spot and the car was giving me signal shift to P. No accident occurred. Turned the car off. Car was driven home and all was fine. Vehicle was towed to Kia dealer and they kept it 5 days and could not find any codes in the system and said all was fine and released it back to us today. Told us to let them know if it happens again.

NHTSA ID

11767544

Incident

Sep 23, 2026

Four times, my 2023 Kia forte has went into limp mode. Three times accelerating onto the freeway, the blindspot/anticollision (BCA) system reset. This put the vehicle in limp mode and it deaccelerated to 3 mph. I had to pull over and restart the car. The other time, I was turning right at an intersection. After the light turned green, the system reset again. I had the AGM battery replaced after the second time, but the BCA system continued to reset and the car went into limp mode. This is dangerous during driving, especially if there is no where to pull over. The car won't go more than three mph.

NHTSA ID

11765968

Incident

Sep 21, 2026

Unknown. During a basic collision Avoidance maneuver performed by myself on the highway at speed of aprox 60MPH the steering suddenly became non-responsive, resulting in my inability to maintain directional control and cause a collision. The vehicle continued traveling before coming to its final resting position. During this sequence, the driver-side front suspension assembly sustained a catastrophic separation before the impact The steering knuckle was no longer attached to the vehicle, the strut was broken, and the driver-side wheel/tire ultimately ended up underneath the vehicle when the vehicle finally come to a stop . During the event The driver-side axle shaft completely detached and somehow come out of the transaxle housing and was found a significant distance back along the roadway, a great distance back before the initial impact . indicating that it separated before the vehicle reached its final resting position. It is in my strongest opinion the maneuver itself could have potentially been cause of the catastrophic event. And is potentially why I could not maintain complete complete control of vehicle the whole time.

NHTSA ID

11762477

Incident

Sep 5, 2026

Electrical system failed while operating vehicle on major highway. All lights flashed, system shut off, power steering locked up.

NHTSA ID

11759219

Incident

Aug 24, 2026

The right front lower control arm has completely broken/fractured during operation. Kia has previously issued safety recalls SC283 (NHTSA 23V649) and SC306 (NHTSA 24V244) for this exact vehicle model year due to improperly manufactured right front lower control arms that can crack and fail. My vehicle was manufactured in March 2023 (03/23), which is just prior to the official April 12, 2023 recall window. Because the component suffered the precise, catastrophic structural failure described in the federal recall campaigns, it is clear that defective parts were used in production earlier than Kia's current recall parameters account for. This is a severe safety hazard that causes an immediate loss of steering control and places occupants at extreme risk of a crash. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate this out-of-window component failure and pressure Kia to expand the recall parameters to protect other owners. The vehicle was in a minor pothole incident six months ago but suffered no suspension failure at that time. This is a fresh, catastrophic fracture just discovered on the right front lower control arm. The fracture is clean, unoxidized, and brand new, proving it is a recent spontaneous material failure matching recalls SC283/SC306, not old accident damage.

NHTSA ID

11755764

Incident

Aug 8, 2026

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: MISFIRE CONCERN DUE TO OVERRUNNING ALTERNATOR DECOUPLER - This bulletin provides information to address unresolved misfire events on some 2020–2024MY Forte (BDm) produced from January 1, 2019 through September 30, 2024, and 2020–2022MY Soul (SK3) vehicles produced from November 1, 2018 through May 31, 2022 equipped with a Gamma 1.6L T‑GDI engine. In certain cases, misfire symptoms may persist after completing normal diagnostic procedures and replacing ignition‑related components (spark plugs, ignition coils, and fuel injectors). If misfire concerns remain after these repairs are performed, excessive torsional oscillation of the Overrunning Alternator Decoupler (OAD) pulley may be the contributing factor. This bulletin provides the procedure to replace the OAD pulley with the updated Overrunning Alternator Pulley (OAP) kit and associated damper components.

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM SOFTWARE UPDATE USING UPDATE.KIA.COM - This bulletin provides information and service procedures for updating the infotainment systems on applicable Kia vehicles using the Kia Navigation Updater available at update.kia.com. The software update may improve system performance, enhance existing features, and apply the latest operating software for supported vehicles (2021-2026MY All Models).

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: INFOTAINMENT SOFTWARE UPDATE PROCEDURE - This bulletin provides information on the process for downloading infotainment software updates and preparing USB for installation on applicable Kia vehicles. The software downloads and USB preparation process is similar across all supported platforms; however, in‑vehicle installation procedures vary by head unit type.

PITSTOP: TECHNICAL OPERATIONS: EXTERNAL DAMAGE TO ULTRASONIC SENSOR: This Pitstop provides information related to Parking Distance Warning (PDW) alerts and repairs involving ultrasonic sensors. The PDW system alerts the driver while parking, by calculating distance based on the difference in signal transmission and reception times between the vehicle (ultrasonic sensor) and an object. The membrane film of the ultrasonic sensor is used for object detention and can be damaged by stone chips or foreign substances while driving. Damage to the cover of the ultrasonic sensor can also lead to damage to the internal circuit. As a result of this external damage, the PDW system may not receive the proper signal from the ultrasonic sensor. In some cases, the system may cause a false alarm, no alert, or phantom warnings by a “Warning Lamp’ to be displayed on the cluster. The ultrasonic sensor membrane film should be always inspected for external damage and if any part replacement should be treated as a general repair, not as a warranty claim repair for this concern. (Please note that this Pitstop only applies to models/trims that are equipped with the ultrasonic sensors.)

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: TIRE MOBILITY REPLACEMENT - This bulletin provides information to replace the Tire Mobility Kit (TMK) sealant can or TMK bag assembly on certain 2023-2024MY Forte (BDm) models produced from March 01, 2023 thorough November 30, 2023. Lower ambient temperatures can create a vacuum effect inside the TMK sealant can, causing the sealant can cap to open, resulting in the tire sealant leaking.

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: TRANSMISSION FLUID APPLICATION GUIDE - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This bulletin provides information relating to the correct transmission fluid type and fill quantity requirement for each Kia model. A flush is required ONLY when a transmission is replaced, and the transmission oil cooler is transferred to the new transmission.