2012 KIA FORTE — Complaint #1869421
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS:SWITCH filed January 30, 2023
NHTSA complaint #1869421 (ODI reference 11504491) concerns a 2012 KIA FORTE and was filed on January 30, 2023. The owner reports the failure occurred on January 30, 2018. The report was geocoded to Florida based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as exterior lighting:brake lights:switch, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. No crash, fire, or fatality was associated with this report, which places it in the early-warning stream rather than the priority-review stream. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same KIA FORTE cohort independently describe similar exterior lighting:brake lights:switch failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2012 KIA FORTE shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
The contact called on behalf of his wife who owns a 2012 Kia Forte. The contact stated that the passengerâs side air bag warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired under Kia Campaign Number: SC165; however, the failure persisted. Additionally, the contact stated that the rear brake lights failed to operate as designed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who informed the contact that the brake light bulbs needed to be replaced. The contact stated that he replaced the rear brake lights bulbs twice himself. Additionally, the contact stated that he had replaced the brake light switch. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was it was diagnosed that engine oil was leaking and the valve cover gasket needed to be replaced. The part was replaced, however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 1869421 |
| ODI Number | 11504491 |
| Date Filed | January 30, 2023 |
| Failure Date | January 30, 2018 |
| VIN | KNAFU6A24C5 |
Similar EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS:SWITCH Complaints for 2012 KIA FORTE
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.