The Lemon Index$6,000 middle bill · most between $4,100 and $9,000
Lower than the $8,000 middle bill owners of all 168 models reported.
Owners who gave their mileage: a middle of 85,000 miles (7 reports).
Kia Forte owners reported paying a median of $6,000 for a engine replacement, with the middle half of bills between $4,100 and $9,000. That's from 20 owner reports (20 complaints to NHTSA). Costs vary by shop and region.
What owners paid
- Under $5000%
- $500–$1,0000%
- $1,000–$2,5000%
- $2,500–$5,00035%
- $5,000 and up65%
Share of the 20 owner reports in each price band.
By model year
- 2010 Kia Forte2too few for a middle
- 2011 Kia Forte1too few for a middle
- 2012 Kia Forte2too few for a middle
- 2013 Kia Forte5$4,400 middle bill
- 2014 Kia Forte1too few for a middle
- 2015 Kia Forte2too few for a middle
- 2016 Kia Forte1too few for a middle
- 2017 Kia Forte2too few for a middle
- 2019 Kia Forte1too few for a middle
- 2020 Kia Forte1too few for a middle
- 2021 Kia Forte1too few for a middle
- 2022 Kia Forte1too few for a middle
Reports per model year, with the middle bill where there are 3 or more. YouTube amounts count for the generation the video covers.
How often owners report the failure
- 2014 Kia Forte47 complaints name it11% of that year's complaints
- 2012 Kia Forte45 complaints name it15% of that year's complaints
- 2015 Kia Forte42 complaints name it16% of that year's complaints
- 2013 Kia Forte38 complaints name it18% of that year's complaints
- 2017 Kia Forte29 complaints name it10% of that year's complaints
- 2010 Kia Forte20 complaints name it9% of that year's complaints
Owner complaints to NHTSA whose own words name a engine failure. Raw counts: popular years get more complaints. A complaint is a report, not proof of a defect.
Keep going
- Kia Forte reliability by year
- Engine replacement cost on every car
- Car symptoms and what they can mean
The details
How we count
Every number here is a repair bill an owner reported, never a shop's price list. Two sources: the bills owners wrote in their own complaints to the U.S. government (NHTSA), and the dollar amounts owners said out loud in YouTube repair and ownership videos. A figure counts for a repair when that repair is the part named nearest to it. Left out: purchase prices, payments, rentals, towing, warranties and deductibles, amounts under $50 or over $15,000, parts-only prices ("the part was $80 on Amazon"), bills for two different repairs named together, and money someone else paid. One number per complaint (or video) and repair: the biggest, so it's the bill, not the diagnosis fee.
The range is the middle half of the bills (the 25th to the 75th percentile), so one wild number can't swing it. Owners who complain to the government often had expensive repairs, so a typical bill can be lower. Costs vary by shop and region, by dealer vs independent shop, by parts and by miles. This is what owners reported, not a quote for your car.
Check the bills yourself
NHTSA complaint numbers (search them at nhtsa.gov): 11769976, 11723741, 11674009, 11652165, 11647666, 11523091, 11522476, 11519161, 11494681, 11463612, 11449992, 11432242 and more.
Quick answers
How much does engine replacement cost on a Kia Forte?
Kia Forte owners reported a median of $6,000, and the middle half paid $4,100 to $9,000, from 20 owner reports. Costs vary by shop and region.
Is a Kia Forte engine replacement more expensive than on other cars?
The Kia Forte middle bill of $6,000 is lower than the $8,000 owners of all 168 models we have reports for paid.
Where do these Kia Forte repair costs come from?
From 20 complaints to NHTSA: what owners themselves said they paid. They aren't verified bills or a shop's quote.
Which Kia Forte years report this failure most?
In complaints to NHTSA, owners of the 2014 (47), 2012 (45), 2015 (42) Kia Forte named it most. Raw counts, not a failure rate.
Sources: NHTSA owner complaints and YouTube videos (amounts said out loud), sorted by The Lemon Index. Owner reports, not a price quote. Costs vary by shop and region.