2016 Kia Forte acceleration hesitation?

stevanwh

2016 Forte 1.8L D-CVVT 6 speed auto with 800 miles.
I have noticed a slow acceleration hesitation in the 10 to 20 mph range. Rolling at 10 mph then try to accelerate slowly to 15-20 mph there is a hesitation or flat spot. I have been told by the dealership “everything we feel when driving the car is a normal condition”. I am starting to sense that it is a “normal” for that model and there is nothing to fix. A case has been opened with Kia it will be interesting to see where that goes.
Has anybody experienced the same issue? Is it the new normal?
Thanks for any input.

xdc7

I have a 2016 Forte LX automatic and I have noticed something similar but at higher speeds. For example, when I'm driving at 45 to 50 MPH, it feels like the car suddenly gears down to the first gear and then starts shifting upwards. The result is that the car doesn't respond for a couple of seconds even when I'm hitting the gas. It's kind of terrifying for me.

the problem is that this is an intermittent problem and I don't know a surefire way to reproducing it everytime. That's why the dealership is giving me a hard time about "Oh we're not able to reproduce this problem".

BTW, any update on your opened case with KIA?

stevanwh

I am still waiting to hear back.

stevanwh

The case with KIA was useless. I am the "only one" having the issue. They did not like me referring to people on the forums as having similar issues. I cannot believe they don't have records of other complaints.

carseeker20

That really sucks. How did you open the the case with KIA? Please send me the link so that I can also report the same problem.

I took my car to the dealership and they just laughed it off saying that all KIAs have hesitation. Isn't that a problem?

stevanwh

Because they could not find a problem or it is normal the issue was never reported to KIA. After pushing them they finally opened a case. I am not sure how they did it. I few days later I received a call. And was told I was the ONLY one having the issue. In my opinion KIA is aware of an issue, but it is not something they want out in public.

lanibuni85

I'm so glad I found this! I've been having the exact same issue on my 2016 kia forte and no one believes me. I purchased it in June and it has 400 miles on it. The acceleration os awful! I test drove a Kia soul and it was doing the same thing so figured ok maybe I just don't know how to drive. I'm glad I'm not going crazy. I haven't taken it to dealer yet because my husband thinks it's all in my head. Can you update me on what you are doing with your car/case?

lanibuni85

Also, I am wondering does it just take awhile for new cars to settle or be "broken in" could this be the problem. They say it takes a while to reach full mpg potential so can the same be said about acceleration? 

feelingduped

I am experiencing these same issues with my 2016 Soul +. I have brought it to the dealership and have received the "sorry we are unable to find any problems, or are unable to duplicate the problem". I started a case with Kia consumer affairs and after 3 calls and going through to the escalation department, I was advised to take it to another Kia dealership for a second opinion.  I live 80 miles round trip from the "2nd opinion" dealership, but feel like I have to continue to pursue this as my car is less than a year old with 12000 miles. I am experiencing all the above mentioned issues, and it also feels like the fuel filter is clogged, or like it's "missing" pretty much every time I accelerate. I have experienced the "no response for a few seconds" as described by xdc7, and am also fearful that one day I will pull out and get t-boned. 

xdc7

I think more people should open cases with KIA regarding this.

I couldn't live with it and ended up selling my Forte within a couple of months of buying it(at a loss). But I guess it was worth having the peace of mind in exchange for the monetary loss. 

I really feel for everyone who is experiencing this problem and really hope that KIA does something about it. 

redrubies02

I just got a 2016 Forte and noticed when I tried to accelerate it went no where. I almost got hit! we thought maybe tires were spinning on snow. it happened again driving on the highway on a nice day. we thought maybe the gas was bad and put in dry gas.  but it happened again! our car had water in its lenses and were told the Kia rep only approved one lenses replaced because the other they said 'wasn' that bad YET'. YET? it has 14000 miles on it so I thought it was odd. this hesitation is scary since we are in traffic on a highway!  it lasts at least 10 seconds which can have u hit by a truck in 2 seconds.

rushtk2112

Watching my buddies 2017 Kia Forte, 9k miles on it (manual), while he is doing power lines in the Virgin Islands and he told me of the complaint and that the dealer said it was normal. I drove it today and like hell that's normal! Scared the crap out of the wife on the HW. I noticed if I shifted to another gear it went away for a while. I just put 93 octane with a bottle of octane boost to see if it would help. It was at half a tank for the last 3 months and I only drove it 80 miles so it has sat during our Ohio winter. Hopefully this fixes it. This thread needs to stay alive Kia will not like it when someone gets hurt... like a new driver!

Ecogirl8080

2017 kia forte. I bought this with 4 miles on it. This past week my car has been hesitanting between 30-45 mph and it has a slow start off once in awhile. When I am at a light it acts like it's going to die.It's going to the shop on sat. My luck they want find anything work. I did use the UVO and it said nothing wrong. 

Sam1

My 2016 Soul + had the same issue. My dealership also denied any problem. The hesitation has now caused an accident when I pulled into traffic and it wouldn't go. But it must be my imagination. 

Notsoboring

On a road trip in April through the mountains and all of a sudden the car would not accelerate. Pushing on the gas and it would just not go. Got back into town and could not drive the car more than 10 MPH. It stalled at a light. Took it into the dealership and found our the catalytic converter was disintegrating within itself. It is a known problem and part of a recall, but not for my car. It is VIN specific. The dealer quoted $3300 to repair. I open a case with Kia. They said it wasn't part of a recall but if it ever was that I would get a refund back after submitting a claim. No offer for a loaner during the three weeks it took trying to get it included in the recall. People this was a major safety issue. Had the vehicle repaired. This last weekend. The engine light came on and vehicle was knocking. Pulled into a oil change place for them to check my oil. The Soul had burned through 2 quartz of oil in 2500 miles!! it wasn't even close to needing an oil change. Had it been driven any longer it could have caught fire. I called Kia Consumer Affairs yet again. After an apology, they said they needed a specific code from the dealer for it to be covered under a known engine extended warranty. The car did not throw the code because it was filled with oil to get to the dealership! They want the car to be driven some more to see if it throws the code. I am beyond aggravated that Kia is not taking the safety issue seriously. My daughter drives this car and it is unsafe. What is Kia waiting for? For someone to die in a preventable accident? These are major safety issues. The soul is no longer considered reliable transportation. Not to mention, they wanted to charge me $600 to clean out the seals and filters. SMDH. One more thing, I have been on hold each time I call Kia for an hour or more. Anyone else experiencing these problems? We need to hold Kia accountable for their faulty product.