Exact make, model and year evidence from official US sources. Recall campaigns, ODI investigations, complaint allegations and EPA estimates remain separate.
A campaign may cover only certain production dates, plants or equipment. A zero result here is not safety clearance. Use NHTSA’s official VIN tool for the individual vehicle.
Exact model-level NHTSA results for 2023 KIA Forte. Campaign records are official safety actions; applicability to a particular car still requires its VIN.
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.
Urgent NHTSA flag: do not drive. Confirm current instructions using the official campaign and VIN lookup.
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.
Urgent NHTSA flag: do not drive. Confirm current instructions using the official campaign and VIN lookup.
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.
02 · Owner allegations
61 NHTSA complaints
Counts are not adjusted for sales, vehicle age, mileage, publicity or reporting behavior. They are allegations, not defect findings or a reliability score.
Crash mentions
11
Fire mentions
4
Injuries reported
5
Most-reported component labels
STEERING14
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM10
ENGINE9
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE9
POWER TRAIN8
SUSPENSION8
Complaints across nearby Kia Forte model years
Totals for the same nameplate, scaled against its highest year here. They are not adjusted for how many were sold, how old they are, how far they are driven, or how much publicity a fault received — an older or better-selling year will usually carry more reports. This shows where the reporting sits, not which year is better.
An investigation means ODI reviewed a possible safety issue for this exact model-year identity. Opening one is not a defect finding; closing one does not by itself clear a vehicle.
VERIFIED EMPTY IMPORT SNAPSHOT
No exact NHTSA ODI investigation row was matched.
The checked bulk snapshot returned zero investigation action numbers for 2023 KIA Forte. That is source coverage, not proof that no issue exists or will be investigated later.
04 · EPA configurations
Fuel economy & specifications
FuelEconomy.gov records are summarized as ranges where this model name has multiple engines, drivetrains or trims.
EPA configurations
4
Combined economy
26–34 mpg/MPGe
City / highway
22–30 / 31–41 mpg/MPGe
Engine displacement
1.6–2 L
Cylinders
4
Fuel type
Regular
Drive
Front-Wheel Drive
Vehicle class
Midsize Cars
Annual fuel-cost estimate
$1900–2500
05 · Evidence strength
Exact identity. Explicit limits.
No opaque score. Evidence strength is expressed through source availability, exact match method, jurisdiction and honest empty states.
exact match
Recall campaigns
3 exact US model-year records in this bounded view.
exact match
Complaints
61 exact US model-year allegations; narratives and VIN fragments are omitted.
verified empty
ODI investigations
0 exact US model-year action numbers in the approved import snapshot.
canonical only
Model aliases
Only the exact NHTSA vPIC model name is published; unverified aliases are not merged.
not published
Manufacturer ownership
No rights-reviewed official ownership record is joined to this exact model-year.
PUBLIC EVIDENCE PASSPORT
Identity, freshness and provenance.
The canonical URL is this file’s permanent public identifier. Source IDs and timestamps show exactly what was matched and when; they do not turn the evidence into a verdict.
Only NHTSA vPIC, NHTSA ODI complaints and investigations, NHTSA recalls and FuelEconomy.gov contribute to this vehicle claim. CPSC equipment notices are searched separately and never joined to vehicle fitment. UK MOT, Canadian, New Zealand and European records are not merged into this US claim.
06 · Research paths
Diagnose first. Confirm fitment.
These are transparent searches, not diagnoses or endorsed parts. Recall remedies come before purchases; exact part fitment requires VIN, trim, powertrain, production date and OE number.
14 complaint labels
STEERING
Check recalls and diagnostic information before replacing anything.
Awin US and R2 affiliate inventory are not published until a US programme, merchant and exact-fitment projection are approved. No offer currently has both merchant approval and exact vehicle fitment, so commercial links never count as evidence.