2019 Kia Forte: What to check before buying

Transmission failure often comes without warning, usually within the first few thousand miles. Engine speed flares toward redline while the car slows or barely moves, sometimes at highway speed with traffic close behind. Early signs include RPM surges at a steady speed, jerky light acceleration, and stumbling from a stop. The check engine light often stays off until the end. Many failures land between about 2,000 and 8,800 miles. Dealers frequently find nothing at first, then replace the whole transmission. Some owners wait weeks for repairs, and one reports the replacement failing after 8,000 miles.

Sudden seizure or shutdown while driving is the main failure, leaving cars without power in traffic. Some owners hear ticking or knocking first, and some see an oil light just before failure. Others get no warning at all. Reports describe heavy oil burning, metal flakes in the oil, a rod punching through the oil pan, and a sheared camshaft sprocket pin. Several failures fall between about 64,000 and 77,000 miles, and many owners say their cars were well maintained. Two reports involve fire, one tied to the oil pan coming loose on the highway.

Lighting circuits fail again and again. Brake lights, daytime running lights, and headlights go out soon after new bulbs go in, and several reports describe melted bulbs or wiring harnesses, plus smoke from a headlamp. Cars also shut off while driving or won't start, with glitching screens, windows lowering on their own, and false automatic braking. Two reports involve fire, including an overheated alternator and a melted blower motor connector. Thieves breaking a window and starting the car with a cable also show up here. Repeat dealer visits often end without a fix.

Headlights are dim or aimed too low, making night driving hard. In one crash report, dim headlights led the driver to swerve into a ditch at about 16,000 miles. Brake lights and headlights go out again right after bulbs are replaced, and a third brake light melts at about 65,000 miles. Dealers often want a diagnostic fee before looking. Two reports here are crash-related, and a few entries actually describe airbag non-deployment or transmission slipping rather than lighting faults.

Grinding or growling from the steering column when turning is the main complaint, usually within the first year or so of ownership. Dealers often replace the clock spring first. When the noise returns, they replace the entire steering column, and one car went back to the shop repeatedly over several months without a fix. Other reports describe the steering going firm along with a dead instrument panel, traced to a faulty wiring harness at about 1,100 miles, and driver assist jerking the wheel toward the road edge on the highway.

The system shuts itself off at random and shows a camera-obstructed or collision warning at any speed, on any road type. Often it clears only after a restart. Worse, it can slam the brakes with nothing ahead, sometimes stopping the car abruptly and creating a rear-end risk. Dealers frequently can't reproduce the fault, and some call it a software problem with no fix. Repeat visits rarely cure it. One report pairs a sudden stop with a transmission that then needed replacement while the part was on backorder.

Airbags fail to deploy in serious crashes. Examples include a 40 mph frontal impact that bent the steel frame and a 65 mph highway rear impact that totaled the car. All three reports are crash-related, and two involve injuries such as fractured ribs, facial wounds, and a broken neck vertebra. One also describes the driver's seat reclining in the impact, letting the driver slip out of the belt into the back seat. None of the reports say a dealer confirmed a fault.

The car pulls hard to one side under braking. In one crash report it nearly flipped and hit a guard rail after earlier dealer visits for brake complaints. Another report describes the car shutting off at about 50 mph and restarting itself. The dealer diagnosed a hydraulic electronic control unit failure and quoted an out-of-pocket repair. A third describes the forward collision system braking hard with plenty of distance to the car ahead, then warning the owner to check the system.