{"id":"2023_kia_forte","make":"Kia","make_slug":"kia","model":"Forte","model_slug":"forte","year":2023,"url":"/kia/forte/2023/","pts":["gas"],"configs":[{"id":45351,"model":"Forte FE","pt":"gas","drive":"Front-Wheel Drive","trany":"Automatic (variable gear ratios)","cyl":4,"displ":2.0,"eng":"","turbo":false,"super":false,"start_stop":false,"city":30,"hwy":41,"comb":34,"cityA":0,"hwyA":0,"combA":0,"kwh100":null,"range":null,"range_city":null,"range_hwy":null,"erange":null,"phev_comb":null,"charge240":null,"charge240b":null,"charger":"","charger_b":"","motor":"","fuel":"Regular","vclass":"Midsize Cars","co2":261,"fe_score":7,"ghg_score":7,"fuel_cost":1850,"save_spend":2000,"guzzler":false,"mfr_code":"KMX","modified":"Wed May 10 00:00:00 EDT 2023"},{"id":45352,"model":"Forte","pt":"gas","drive":"Front-Wheel Drive","trany":"Automatic (variable gear ratios)","cyl":4,"displ":2.0,"eng":"","turbo":false,"super":false,"start_stop":false,"city":28,"hwy":39,"comb":32,"cityA":0,"hwyA":0,"combA":0,"kwh100":null,"range":null,"range_city":null,"range_hwy":null,"erange":null,"phev_comb":null,"charge240":null,"charge240b":null,"charger":"","charger_b":"","motor":"","fuel":"Regular","vclass":"Midsize Cars","co2":277,"fe_score":6,"ghg_score":6,"fuel_cost":1950,"save_spend":1500,"guzzler":false,"mfr_code":"KMX","modified":"Tue Apr 11 00:00:00 EDT 2023"},{"id":45350,"model":"Forte","pt":"gas","drive":"Front-Wheel Drive","trany":"Automatic (AM-S7)","cyl":4,"displ":1.6,"eng":"SIDI","turbo":true,"super":false,"start_stop":false,"city":27,"hwy":35,"comb":30,"cityA":0,"hwyA":0,"combA":0,"kwh100":null,"range":null,"range_city":null,"range_hwy":null,"erange":null,"phev_comb":null,"charge240":null,"charge240b":null,"charger":"","charger_b":"","motor":"","fuel":"Regular","vclass":"Midsize Cars","co2":296,"fe_score":6,"ghg_score":6,"fuel_cost":2100,"save_spend":750,"guzzler":false,"mfr_code":"KMX","modified":"Tue Apr 11 00:00:00 EDT 2023"},{"id":45349,"model":"Forte","pt":"gas","drive":"Front-Wheel Drive","trany":"Manual 6-spd","cyl":4,"displ":1.6,"eng":"SIDI","turbo":true,"super":false,"start_stop":false,"city":22,"hwy":31,"comb":26,"cityA":0,"hwyA":0,"combA":0,"kwh100":null,"range":null,"range_city":null,"range_hwy":null,"erange":null,"phev_comb":null,"charge240":null,"charge240b":null,"charger":"","charger_b":"","motor":"","fuel":"Regular","vclass":"Midsize Cars","co2":348,"fe_score":5,"ghg_score":5,"fuel_cost":2400,"save_spend":-750,"guzzler":false,"mfr_code":"KMX","modified":"Tue Apr 11 00:00:00 EDT 2023"}],"vclass":"Midsize Cars","segment":"Midsize car","recalls":[{"campaign":"24V244000","component":"SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:LOWER ARM","mfr":"Kia America, Inc.","reported":"2024-04-01","owner_notified":"2024-04-17","units":215,"summary":"Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Forte vehicles.  The right front lower control arm may have been improperly welded, which can cause it to fail.","consequence":"Front lower control arm failure can cause a sudden loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.","remedy":"Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed.  Dealers will replace the right front lower control arm, free of charge.  Owner notification letters were mailed April 17, 2024.  Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542.  Kia's number for this recall is SC306.  This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 23V-649.","notes":"Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.","park_outside":false,"do_not_drive":true,"mfr_campaign":"SC306","initiated_by":"MFR","variants":[],"severity":"critical"},{"campaign":"23V649000","component":"SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:LOWER ARM","mfr":"Kia America, Inc.","reported":"2023-09-22","owner_notified":"2023-09-27","units":3866,"summary":"Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Forte vehicles.  The right front lower control arm may have been improperly welded, which can cause it to fail.","consequence":"Front lower control arm failure can cause a sudden loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.","remedy":"Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed.  Dealers will replace the right front lower control arm, free of charge.  Owner notification letters were mailed September 27, 2023.  Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542.  Kia's number for this recall is SC283.","notes":"Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.","park_outside":false,"do_not_drive":true,"mfr_campaign":"SC283","initiated_by":"MFR","variants":[],"severity":"critical"},{"campaign":"22V906000","component":"STEERING:LINKAGES:KNUCKLE:SPINDLE:ARM","mfr":"Kia America, Inc.","reported":"2022-12-08","owner_notified":"2023-01-12","units":939,"summary":"Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Forte vehicles.  Due to a manufacturing error, the front left steering knuckle may crack, which can result in a loss of steering control.","consequence":"A loss of steering control increases the risk of a crash.","remedy":"Dealers will inspect and replace the front left steering knuckle, as necessary, free of charge.  Owner notification letters were mailed January 12, 2023.  Owner may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542.  Kia's number for this recall is SC259.","notes":"Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.","park_outside":false,"do_not_drive":false,"mfr_campaign":"SC259","initiated_by":"MFR","variants":[],"severity":"high"}],"recall_count":3,"critical_count":2,"park_outside":false,"do_not_drive":true,"score":62,"grade":"D","complaints":{"count":61,"crash":11,"fire":4,"injured":5,"deaths":1,"comps":[["Steering",14],["Forward Collision Avoidance",13],["Electrical System",10],["Engine",9],["Power Train",8],["Unspecified",8]],"by_year":{"2022":1,"2023":18,"2024":14,"2025":15,"2026":13},"excerpts":[["2023-10-04","Steering","New 2023 Kia Forte LXS (barely 1020 miles) steering wheel feels stiffer and steering the car becomes challenging when driving at or above 45 mph with lane-assist feature set to 'Warning only'. Vehicle starts to steer away (wander) automatically. This issue is subtle when driving at lower speed such as 20 -30 mph. Passe\u2026"],["2023-10-02","Structure","While driving my 2023 Kia Forte GT My Driver Side door came unlatched. The door was locked and fully closed when this happened while turning from the 2nd Street bridge to E Main Street in Louisville, KY which is a busy road at times. I was going about 10-15mph at about 11:15ish, temp was around 70 degrees F when this h\u2026"],["2023-09-26","Air Bags","What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The Airbsgs failed to deploy when I was hit on my driver side by a car going going between 45-50 miles an hour. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? My safety was out at risk because my airbags did not\u2026"]]},"investigations":[],"ncap":[{"desc":"4 DR FWD","overall":4,"frontal":4,"side":5,"rollover":4,"rollover_risk":0.107,"seats":5,"fcw":"Standard & Optional","ldw":"Standard","aeb":"Standard & Optional","esc":"","backup_cam":"","variant":null}],"popularity":999,"headline":{"range":null,"mpg":34,"ncap":4,"complaints":61},"presskit_trims":[],"generated_at":"2026-09-11 05:01 UTC","sources":["EPA fueleconomy.gov","NHTSA recalls","NHTSA complaints","NHTSA NCAP","NHTSA investigations"]}