KIA Forte seat belt problems

SEAT BELTS

The contact owned a 2013 Kia Forte. The contact stated that her daughter was occupying the front passenger's side seat while the wife of the contact's daughter was driving 65 MPH. The contact stated that another vehicle that was driving approximately 100 MPH crashed into the rear driver's side of the vehicle, causing the vehicle to roll over approximately 4-5 times. The vehicle landed on its driver's side against a tree. The air bags failed to deploy and the seat belt failed to restrain the contact's daughter. The emergency units arrived at the scene, cut the vehicle, assisted both passengers out of the vehicle and transported the passengers to the hospital. The driver sustained bruises and whiplash and received assistance from a chiropractor. The contact's daughter sustained a break to the c6, fracture of the c7, t2 t3, t4 and t7, , sustained a broken left clavicle, large laceration on the right thigh, bulging of the C6, broken front teeth and a strain of the natural neck curve. Additionally, the contact's daughter was partially scalped and nearly died due to blood cloths in the lungs and legs caused by body trauma. The contact's daughter underwent surgeries on the scalp and neck and was currently undergoing physical therapy and pain management. The vehicle was towed and totaled. A police report was filed but the contact did not have the information available. The dealer and the manufacturer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA complaint #11672004 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SEAT BELTS

Date of Incident: [XXX] Location: [XXX] To Whom It May Concern, I am submitting this letter to report a potential airbag malfunction involving my 2024 Kia Forte GT. On [XXX], I was the driver and sole occupant of my vehicle when I was T-boned on the driver’s side while traveling [XXX] on [XXX] at the intersection of [XXX] . The collision was severe enough to spin my vehicle and resulted in significant damage to the driver-side door and frame. Despite the force and nature of the crash, none of the airbags in my vehicle deployed—including side airbags that should have been triggered by the impact. I was later diagnosed with a concussion and sustained other physical and emotional injuries from the crash. As of the date of this complaint, the vehicle has not been repaired, and I have photos documenting the damage. Given the potential risk to other drivers who may experience similar failures, I am requesting that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration review this vehicle for airbag deployment defects. I am willing to provide photos, medical records, and further details as needed. Also, the seatbelts sometime freeze when pulling them out to get secured in the car, you have to release and then pull again to gain full access to the seat belt. There is a police report done on this matter but I do not have access to it yet because it has yet to be approved by the LRPD sergeant. We checked on July 5th, 2025. Sincerely, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint #11671432 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SEAT BELTS

After T-boning a Toyota Prius, my air bag did not go off and my driver seat belt did not lock. As a result, I suffered a collapsed right lung, my left hand punched the windshield fracturing my wrist and had to have surgery from that. Also suffered my 7th right rib fractured. There was no warning lamps and no shop or dealer mentioned any of the malfunctions.

NHTSA complaint #11641554 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SEAT BELTS

The contact owns a 2021 Kia Forte. The contact stated that while his mother was driving at 20 MPH and attempting to complete a left turn. another driver failed to stop at a red light, as a result, the contact's mother was struck by the other vehicle on the passenger's side; however, the air bags did not deploy. In addition, the seat belt failed to retract. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a repair shop for body repair but was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic to determine why the air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed and injuries were reported. The contact's mother did not initially seek medical treatment but was later treated by a chiropractor for back pain resulting from non-descript injuries sustained during the accident. The contact also stated that his mother had later been involved in 2 additional vehicle accidents during which the air bags again failed to deploy; no further police reports or injuries were reported. Following the third and most recent incident, the vehicle again was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic for diagnosis though the contact's mother was informed by the body repair shop that the collision was insufficient to trigger air bag deployment. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA complaint #11622287 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SEAT BELTS

I got into a car accident and my air bags never deployed and the seat beat didn’t lock so I cause me to get jerked and my head hit the side door and I messed up my left shoulder and arm in the process of holding myself from hitting the steering wheel and my breaks didn’t stop when I got hit and pressed down my car got stuck on drive accelerating on its own after I had my foot on break to stop the car

NHTSA complaint #11583731 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SEAT BELTS

The contact owns a 2013 Kia Forte Ex. The contact stated when at a complete stop, the driver in front accelerated with the vehicle in reverse and crashed into the front of the contact's vehicle. The entire front vehicle was damaged. The air bags did not deploy. There were no warning lights. The contact was stuck in the vehicle, the seat belt was not functional. The police were notified; however, there was no police report. The contact was not injured or had any medical treatments. The vehicle was driven to the home, then towed to the local auto body shop. There was no diagnosis of the failure with air bags or seat belts faulty. The contact believes the failure could be related to NHTSA Campaign Number 18V363000 (Air Bags). The vehicle has been repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 34,000

NHTSA complaint #11463187 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SEAT BELTS

There was a car accident car was totaled my wife was stuck in the seat the seat belt broke would not unlatch they had to cut her out. There not supposed to break. What if the car cought fire?

NHTSA complaint #11439306 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SEAT BELTS

In May 2021 my daughter was in a bad car accident while driving my 2014 Kia Forte. The airbags did not go off and the seatbelts never tightened. Fortunately her and her passenger were not seriously injured and only received bruises on their knees and sore necks. There was so much damage to the front end of the car it was totaled by our insurance company. No warning lights were seen that day or even prior to the accident showing that the airbags weren't working properly. My car was not part of 6/18/18 Kia Forte recall#SC165 for airbags and seatbelts. The recall was for Kia Forte 2010-2013. While my Kia was a 2014, I did take possess of it in 2013. Starting in January 2014 I brought the car back to the dealership many times because of all the electric issues I was having with it. Since the dealership could not replicate the codes while the car was there Kia refused to look into or fix the problems. Electrical issues included doors not unlocking, doors not being able to be opened from inside or outside, windows not opening, headlights coming on while the car was parked, emergency flashers turning on without pushing the button, while driving traction/anti-slide light came on without a reason.

NHTSA complaint #11423216 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.