Kia Forte 2013 Air Bag Recall: Risk of Injury in Crashes
Kia recalls 2013 Forte vehicles with potential air bag failure during crashes. Owners must contact Kia for free repair to prevent injury risk.
Use caution until it’s fixed
If the frontal air bags and seat belt pretensioners are disabled, there is an increased risk of injury to the vehicle occupants in the event of a vehicle crash that necessitates deployment of these safety systems.
What happened, in plain English
Kia is recalling 2013 Forte vehicles where air bags might not deploy during crashes. This could cause serious injury if the vehicle crashes and the safety systems fail. Read more at govinfonow.com/recall/1250966-kia-forte-2013-air-bag-recall-risk-of-injury-in.
Source Summary by GovInfoNow · govinfonow.com/recall/1250966-kia-forte-2013-air-bag-recall-risk-of-injury-in · Updated October 7, 2026 · Official notice: NHTSA #18V363000
Cite this page
“Kia Forte 2013 Air Bag Recall: Risk of Injury in Crashes.” GovInfoNow, updated October 7, 2026. https://govinfonow.com/recall/1250966-kia-forte-2013-air-bag-recall-risk-of-injury-in. Based on NHTSA recall #18V363000 (https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=18V363000).
Why it’s dangerous
If the air bag control unit (ACU) shorts during a crash, the air bags and seat belt pretensioners won't deploy. This means occupants could be injured more severely in a collision.
Who’s affected
Owners of 2013 Kia Forte vehicles are affected. Drivers and passengers in these vehicles face the highest risk during crashes.
How to tell if you have this one
Check for 2013 Kia Forte vehicles. The recall covers specific model years and trim levels as listed in the official notice.
- Brand
Kia- Category
Vehicle
What to do — step by step
Contact Kia Customer Service
Call 1-800-333-4542 to confirm your vehicle is affected and schedule a repair.
Get Repair Kit Installed
Dealers will install an extension wire harness kit to prevent ACU short circuits during crashes.
What NHTSA says to do
Kia will notify owners. For model year 2011 Sedona vehicles, Kia will instruct dealers to verify the ACU part number and, if necessary, install an extension wire harness kit between the ACU Connector and the Vehicle Harness Connector. For all other affected vehicles, Kia will instruct dealers to install the extension wire harness kit. The recall began September 28, 2018. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC165.
How this recall unfolded
Recall timeline
2 dated steps over 9 months.
- NHTSA received the defect report
- Recall began
Dates from the agency record only; steps without a date are left out.
Questions people ask
Do I need to do anything right now?
Kia will notify you and send a repair kit. No immediate action is needed beyond contacting them.
Keep exploring
Where this comes from
The facts (hazard, remedy, dates, manufacturer) are pulled from the official NHTSA recall record. The plain-language summary and step-by-step checklist are written by GovInfoNow to make the official notice easier to act on — they don’t replace it.
- Official source: NHTSA Recall #18V363000 (January 6, 2018)
- Plain-language summary written by qwen3:4b on October 7, 2026, from the official record above. Not reviewed by a person — if it conflicts with the NHTSA notice, the notice is correct. Report an error on this page.
- GovInfoNow is an independent service and is not a government agency. We republish official NHTSA recall data; we don’t issue, amend or administer recalls.