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2016 Kia Forte Recalls & Complaints

1

open safety recall on record

Serious

200 owner complaints filed · Severity Index 0.66 · updated 2026-08-07

The recalls

Serious21V622000

Latches/Locks/Linkages:Trunk Lid:Latch

person inside the trunk compartment may become trapped, increasing their risk of injury.

Remedy & full details

Dealers will replace the trunk latch assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on February 10, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC216.

Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Forte 4-door, Forte Koup 2-door, and 2018-2019 Rio 4-door vehicles. The trunk latch may become damaged, preventing the opening of the trunk from the inside. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 401, "Internal Trunk Release."

Complaint volume

200 this model-year 7 median, same year

Volume alone is not a fault rate — popular vehicles attract more reports. Read it next to the severity mix below.

What owners reported happened

20Crashes
13Fires
13Injuries
0Deaths

Across 200 complaints. Severity Index 0.66.

Severity Index weights each complaint's reported outcome (death ×10, injury ×4, fire ×3, crash ×2) and divides by total complaints. It measures how severe reports are, not how often faults occur.

What owners report most

Engine64 · 32%Electrical System20 · 10%Power Train16 · 8%Unknown Or Other15 · 8%Vehicle Speed Control14 · 7%Air Bags13 · 7%Service Brakes10 · 5%Exterior Lighting9 · 5%
  1. Engine — 64 reports
  2. Electrical System — 20 reports
  3. Power Train — 16 reports
  4. Unknown Or Other — 15 reports
  5. Vehicle Speed Control — 14 reports
  6. Air Bags — 13 reports
  7. Service Brakes — 10 reports
  8. Exterior Lighting — 9 reports
  9. Wheels — 6 reports
  10. Fuel/Propulsion System — 6 reports

What to do

  1. Find your 17-character VIN on the driver's door jamb or the base of the windscreen.
  2. Check it against NHTSA's official lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls — the authoritative record for your exact car.
  3. Book the repair with any franchised dealer. Safety recall work is free, with no time limit and regardless of who owns the car now.

Other model years

2010 (3) · 2011 (3) · 2012 (4) · 2013 (5) · 2014 (3) · 2015 (1) · 2016 · 2017 (3) · 2018 (3) · 2019 (2) · 2020 · 2021 (2) · 2022 (1) · 2023 (3) · 2024

Numbers in brackets are open recall campaigns for that year.

Questions

Does an open recall mean the car is unsafe to drive?

Not usually. NHTSA issues a "do not drive" or "park outside" advisory when a defect is dangerous enough to keep you out of the car — those are flagged Critical above. Everything else should be repaired promptly but is not an immediate stop-driving order.

Do I pay for recall repairs?

No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to fix a safety recall free of charge, including parts and labour, whether or not you are the original owner.

Why are there complaints but no recalls?

Complaints are unverified reports filed by owners. They can prompt an investigation, but many never become recalls — either the fault isn't safety-related or it isn't widespread.

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