Vehicle report
2012 KIA FORTE
This model year
What the record shows
The 2012 Kia Forte is a midsize car, and the 4th model year of a nameplate NHTSA records from 2009 to 2024.
The EPA rated four configurations: engines from 2-litre four-cylinder to 2.4-litre four-cylinder, front-wheel drive only, two transmissions and running on regular gasoline.
Combined fuel economy ranges from 26 to 29 mpg depending on which one you have.
NHTSA's best overall crash rating for this model year is 4 out of five stars.
The federal record holds 291 owner complaints, 4 safety recalls and 68 service bulletins for it.
Counts are reports, not rates. A complaint is something an owner chose to file; it is unverified and unadjusted for how many of these cars were sold, so the useful comparison is against other model years of the same car. Recalls and investigations carry more weight because a manufacturer or regulator acted on them.
Reading this report
Complaint counts are reports filed with NHTSA, not failure rates. A common model collects more of them than a rare one that breaks more often.