Model overview

The Kia Forte, known as the K3 in South Korea, the Forte K3, or Shuma in China is a compact vehicle manufactured by Kia Motors as mid-2008. It followed the Kia Cerato/Spectra and is available in two-door coupe, four-door sedan, five-door hatchback models. It is not available in Europe, where the similar Kia Ceed is offered.

The Forte comes available in two different engine options: a 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 147 horsepower and a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder with 201 horsepower. The 2.0-liter is paired to a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) while the turbocharged engine comes either a manual or automatic transmission The non-turbocharged powertrain accelerates from zero to 60 mph in 8.2. 

Kia Forte known problems

Some of the common problems or complaints owners have about the Kia Forte are:

• Defective TRW crash sensors may produce seat belt and airbag failure. This is reported for the 2013 model year.
• First-generation of Forte vehicles have a Theta II, a gasoline direct injection (GDI) powertrain that is well known for having oil flow problems that eventually produce catastrophic failures.
• The new soy-material coating used for wires causes rodents problems. This affects the first generation of Forte from 2014 to 2016.

Kia Forte PDF owner manual

Posted by, John Mana

A passionate guy about car models, makes, and manuals.