Selling a junk Kia Forte
Any Forte sells for scrap or parts, running or not. Below: what owners report most often for each model year, the recalls on file, and which of those change the offer. Enter your ZIP for a buyer near you.
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What owners report about the Kia Forte
NHTSA has 3,488 owner complaints on file for the Kia Forte, model years 2009 to 2022, the 127th-most of the 423 models in our data. The most-reported components are engine (1,112, 32%), other (348, 10%), electrical system (310, 9%). 353 complaints involved a crash, 197 a fire, and 349 say the vehicle had to be towed. The median mileage when the problem was reported is 70,000 miles. The 2014 model year has the most complaints (651). Data as of 2026-10-12.
When the top complaint is engine, the question for a seller is whether a buyer will resell the car, pull the parts or scrap it. Read our guide to selling a car with a blown engine: it explains which offers assume the part works and how to describe the car so the price holds at pickup.
Kia Forte by model year
| Year | Complaints | Most reported | Crash | Fire | Recalls | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 1 | Engine | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2010 | 317 | Engine | 35 | 4 | 3 | 77,000 |
| 2011 | 214 | Engine | 44 | 23 | 3 | 87,721 |
| 2012 | 407 | Engine | 34 | 34 | 4 | 83,000 |
| 2013 | 272 | Engine | 26 | 23 | 5 | 79,979 |
| 2014 | 651 | Engine | 60 | 53 | 3 | 80,000 |
| 2015 | 327 | Engine | 21 | 21 | 1 | 75,005 |
| 2016 | 205 | Engine | 20 | 13 | 1 | 38,000 |
| 2017 | 436 | Engine | 38 | 15 | 3 | 38,481 |
| 2018 | 190 | Engine | 20 | 4 | 3 | 33,968 |
| 2019 | 217 | Transmission and drivetrain | 22 | 4 | 2 | 11,500 |
| 2020 | 107 | Other | 12 | 2 | 0 | 31,000 |
| 2021 | 99 | Engine | 16 | 0 | 2 | — |
| 2022 | 45 | Other | 5 | 1 | 1 | — |
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not confirmed defects. Median miles is the odometer reading owners gave when they reported a problem, shown only where 20 or more reports include it.
Kia Forte recalls
NHTSA lists 15 recall campaigns across these model years, most often for air bags (3), lights (2), brakes (2). Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer. Before you sell, check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls; a buyer who plans to resell the car will.
- 2010 model year, brakes (campaign 23V652000, Sep 2023): Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2010-2019 Borrego, 2014-2016 Cadenza, 2010-2013 Forte, Forte Koup, Sportage, 2015-2018 K900, 2011-2015 Optima, 2011-2013 Optima Hybrid, Soul, 2012-2017 Rio, 2011-2014 Sorento,…
- 2021 model year, steering (campaign 22V304000, May 2022): Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Rio and Forte vehicles. A bolt in the steering column may not be secured properly, which can cause the steering column to detach from the steering rack and result i…
- 2017 model year, air bags (campaign 22V031000, Jan 2022): Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Sedona, Soul, Soul EV, 2017-2018 Forte, and 2017 Forte Koup vehicles. The Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) cover may contact a memory chip on the printed circuit board an…
- 2016 model year, latches and locks (campaign 21V622000, Aug 2021): 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…
- 2017 model year, engine and cooling (campaign 21V260000, Apr 2021): Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Forte vehicles equipped with a 2.0L Nu MPI engine. Foreign particles may stick inside the oil pump, which may cause an oil pump failure and engine damage.
What a Kia Forte is worth as a junk car
Buyers price a junk Forte on four things: its weight at today's scrap steel price (the floor), the parts still on it that can be resold, whether it starts and drives, and how far they have to tow it. None of those come from a complaint database, so use this page to describe the car accurately and our junk car value guide to work out a ceiling for the metal. Then get more than one offer.
Guides for selling this car
How to sell a car with a blown engine 
How much is my junk car worth? 
How junkyards price cars 
Catalytic converters and junk cars 
How to prepare your car for the junkyard 
Junk car scams and how to avoid them Other Kia models
- Kia Sorento 13,706
- Kia Optima 10,428
- Kia Soul 7,471
- Kia Sportage 6,286
- Kia Sedona 3,423
- Kia Sephia 3,052
- Kia Rio 1,802
- Kia Spectra 1,211
Questions people ask
- What is a junk Kia Forte worth?
- What a yard can recover: the car's weight at the current scrap steel price, plus parts it can resell (the catalytic converter, engine, transmission and wheels if they're good), minus towing and processing. The same Forte gets different offers from different buyers, so compare at least two. Our value guide shows the public benchmark.
- Will a junkyard buy a Kia Forte that doesn't run?
- Yes. Junkyards and junk car buyers take cars that don't start, and most arrange the tow. Tell them honestly whether it starts, whether the engine and transmission are still in it, and whether the catalytic converter is on; those are what change the price.
- Should I fix an open recall before selling a Kia Forte?
- Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer for as long as the car exists. If the car is going for scrap, the repair won't change the scrap price. If a buyer might resell it or pull parts, a completed recall can help. Check your VIN at NHTSA's recall lookup first.
- Where do these Kia Forte numbers come from?
- From the complaint and recall data NHTSA publishes for every make and model, counted by model year on 2026-10-12. A complaint is an owner's report, not a confirmed defect, and the count rises with how many of the model were sold.