There are 3 owner-reported brakes complaints for the 2017 Kia Fortein NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Forte. The contact stated that the ABS warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who diagnosed that the hydraulic electronic control unit (HECU) needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not included in a recall. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000.
I’ve been having problems with my 2017 forte5 Lx for the last few months. The brake calipers tend to lock up from time to time causing my pads to smoke like crazy. I’ve had my brakes serviced 6 times within the last year. Nothing seemed to help and I’ve barely used the vehicle out of concern for safety. Recently, I spoke with a tech at my local dealership. He informed me that my forte has rubber bushings on one of the caliper pins that swells and gets stuck. His solution was to replace the defective pin with another pin that doesn’t include the bushing. Since I followed his advice, my brakes haven’t locked up at all. The original intent for the bushing was to reduce caliper noise but it does not help, instead hindering performance. The reason for my complaint is that this can cause the brakes to overheat and start a fire, while decreasing the ability to brake.
REAR BREAK LIGHTS DON'T WORK WHEN LIGHTS ARE OFF, BUT THE THIRD BRAKE LIGHT DOES. WHEN LIGHTS ARE ON THE REAR BREAK LIGHTS ARE ON, BUT DON'T GET BRIGHTER WHEN THE BRAKE IS USED. ONLY THE THIRD BRAKE LIGHT WORKS LIGHTS ON OR OFF.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026