There are 3 stored owner reports matching the brakes leading-label group for the 2017 Kia Forte in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 3 of 3 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)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.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Apr 28, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.