2020 Kia Forte — Known Issues & Recalls

While driving your 2020 Kia Forte on the expressway at normal speed with no warning signs, the brakes suddenly felt weak and failed. You heard a popping sound from under the vehicle, followed by smoke that quickly intensified into a full fire within 1-2 minutes. The vehicle caught fire without any prior warning lights or symptoms, creating an immediate safety hazard at highway speeds. The cause is unknown, but the vehicle is available for inspection to determine what caused the brake failure and fire.

Your 2020 Kia Forte has experienced theft attempts and significant damage ($7,000 in May 2025), even after Kia's anti-theft upgrade was installed. The upgrade did not prevent theft attempts on your vehicle or others in your area on the same night. You've reported the incidents to Pennsylvania State Police and are disputing Kia's handling of your claim in court.

Your trunk opens by itself without any action on your part. Additionally, your trunk may pop open when you open the driver's door. This could be a problem with the trunk latch mechanism or the sensor that controls when the trunk should open.

Your dashboard screen is bubbling and separating from the dashboard. This is happening on a 2020 vehicle with only 28,000 miles, which suggests premature failure even though it's beyond the 36-month warranty period. Fixing this will likely require replacing the entire dashboard display unit or instrument cluster.

Your car's touchscreen display is peeling apart and eventually stops working, which prevents you from using any of the screen's features. The dealer won't fix it under warranty because your vehicle is outside the 3-year/36,000-mile coverage period. The delamination worsens gradually over time, making the problem worse day by day.

While driving uphill in the Nevada desert, your engine RPMs bounced erratically between 2,000-4,000 (and later up to 8,000), causing the car to jerk back and forth and lose forward motion—similar to being in neutral. After initially being told the transmission was fine, the dealer eventually discovered the transmission fluid had degraded to black, requiring a complete transmission replacement that took 5 days, leaving you stranded during your vacation.

Your transmission failed twice in a row, even after being replaced. The first replacement lasted only two days before the new transmission started revving up and down on its own while driving, then slipping gears when you accelerated. Your check engine light came back on both times, and your car is now getting a third transmission installed.

While driving on the highway at 70 mph, your engine RPMs started fluctuating wildly between 2,000 and 5,000, and then your transmission slipped into neutral, leaving you stranded. The dealership determined your transmission needs to be replaced. This could involve a complete transmission replacement or rebuild, depending on the diagnostic findings.

A deer struck your windshield while driving at 70 MPH, causing your torso to impact the glass and knocking you unconscious. Your driver and passenger airbags did not deploy during the collision, even though the impact was severe enough to cause you significant injuries including bruising and embedded glass shards. The vehicle has been taken to a collision center pending insurance investigation, and you should have the airbag system inspected by a certified technician to determine why it failed to activate.

You were rear-ended in a multi-vehicle collision when the car behind you failed to stop and hit you from behind, pushing you into the truck ahead. Your airbags did not deploy during this crash despite the impact. This suggests a potential failure in the airbag system's crash detection or deployment mechanism that should be inspected immediately.

Your 2020 Kia Forte lost 3 quarts of oil between scheduled oil changes without any warning lights illuminating, and the engine has failed completely and requires replacement. No check engine light or oil pressure warning appeared to alert you to the problem, and a recent inspection found no visible leaks or oil spots underneath the vehicle. The dealership confirmed this issue on 5/7/25, and the lack of warning could have put you at serious risk if engine failure had occurred during heavy highway traffic.

Your check engine light came on and your engine is burning oil. A mechanic says the engine needs to be rebuilt. Since your car is financed through Kia, you may want to contact them to see if this repair is covered under your warranty or financing agreement.

Your crankshaft position sensor keeps failing, which causes your forward collision warning system to activate unexpectedly, your engine to lose power, your dashboard to stop working, and your car to shut off while driving. This sensor failure is preventing your engine from running properly and affecting multiple systems. Replacing the crankshaft position sensor should resolve these issues.

Your car has an oil leak that's causing the oil level to drop between oil changes, and you've noticed a strong gasoline smell in the oil along with dark discoloration, which suggests fuel is mixing into your engine oil. Your lane departure warning system also jerks the vehicle unpredictably, which you find unsafe. Your check engine light recently came on, and these issues together indicate a potentially serious engine problem that needs immediate professional diagnosis with a diagnostic scanner.

Your driver's side seatbelt buckle won't stay latched properly — the hook inside the latch has worn down. At first it would fall out after inserting the buckle, but recently it came completely unbuckled while you were driving, which is a safety concern. The dealer confirmed the latch mechanism is defective at 50,000 miles and just over 5 years old. Fixing this will likely require replacing the seatbelt latch assembly.

Your Kumho Solus TA 31 tires experienced rapid tread wear requiring premature replacement. The dealership confirmed this as a safety issue but was difficult to work with in resolving it. The tire replacement may require purchasing a new set of tires that meet your vehicle's size and load requirements.

Your check engine light is on due to a failing catalytic converter, which has been confirmed by a mechanic. You're experiencing reduced acceleration power on hills and vibrations through the gas pedal, which could be unsafe during highway driving. The catalytic converter and oxygen sensors will need to be replaced, likely costing $3,000–$3,600.

Your Forward Collision Avoidance system unexpectedly applied the brakes at 30 MPH even though no vehicle or person was nearby. After you restarted the car, the check engine light came on and you heard abnormal gurgling sounds from the engine. A mechanic found that the camshaft position sensor and ABS system had failed, and the dealer diagnosed an engine failure, though the Forward Collision Avoidance camera was never diagnosed or replaced. Repairs may involve replacing the camshaft position sensor, ABS module, and Forward Collision Avoidance camera, along with engine diagnostics.

Your 2020 Kia Forte stalled while you were driving, and the check engine light came on. The dealer diagnosed the problem as a faulty catalytic converter that needs replacement. The issue occurred at around 117,892 miles. Fixing this will require replacing the catalytic converter, which is part of your vehicle's emissions system.

Your car is showing a catalytic converter fault code with the check engine light staying on, which shouldn't happen in a 4-year-old vehicle. You've also had to replace multiple light bulbs (headlights, brake lights, and daytime running lights) multiple times in just two weeks, suggesting a possible underlying electrical or wiring problem rather than normal bulb failure. Additionally, your heating system is blowing warm air on the driver's side but cold air on the passenger side, which may indicate a heater core issue. Fixing these issues will likely involve diagnostic testing of the electrical system, catalytic converter replacement or repair, and possibly heater core service.