2014 Kia Forte electrical system problems
56 owner complaints filed with NHTSA name the electrical system on the 2014 Kia Forte — 13% of all complaints for this model year.
What owners report
“I have currently been avoiding driving my car because it goes in limp mode when I’m stopped at red lights I smell oil burning sometimes ive seen small amounts of smoke coming from the engine as well as just receiving an oil change less than a month ago and it already being bad , I checked the mail…”
filed Feb 27, 2026
“Steering column is broken and keeps falling. Hard to replace entire steering column. While driving the entire steering wheel will fall into lap, makes the car nearly un-drivable. I have fixed before but the entire part is now failing and is extremely dangerous.”
filed Sep 26, 2025
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Related recalls
- In the affected vehicles, the cooling fan resistor may overheat and meltCampaign 15V015000 · Jan 16, 2015
Electrical System problems in other Forte years
| Year | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 Forte | 6 | 25% |
| 2023 Forte | 9 | 16% |
| 2022 Forte | 1 | 4% |
| 2021 Forte | 8 | 12% |
| 2020 Forte | 11 | 15% |
| 2019 Forte | 22 | 15% |
| 2018 Forte | 16 | 12% |
| 2017 Forte | 46 | 15% |
| 2016 Forte | 21 | 16% |
| 2015 Forte | 29 | 11% |
| 2013 Forte | 25 | 13% |
| 2012 Forte | 32 | 11% |
Other reported problem areas on the 2014 Kia Forte
Counts are unique NHTSA complaints naming this component group. Complaints are unverified owner reports; mileage is computed only from complaints that included a usable odometer reading.