Home › Kia › Forte › 21V622000

Kia Forte and Rio trunk may not open from inside

NHTSA campaign 21V622000 · Reported Aug 9, 2021 · Kia Motors America

medium How serious is it? About this label

A person inside the trunk compartment could become trapped, which increases their risk of injury. The notice does not tell owners to stop driving.

Key facts

NHTSA campaign number	21V622000
Reported to NHTSA	Aug 9, 2021
Manufacturer	Kia Motors America
Part affected	Latches/locks/linkages:trunk Lid:latch
Vehicles covered	3 model/year combinations, model years 2018–2019
Do-not-drive advisory	No
Park-outside advisory	No
Repair	Free at any franchised dealer

What's wrong, in plain English

On these Kia Forte and Rio cars, the trunk latch can become damaged. When that happens, the trunk cannot be opened from inside the trunk compartment. Federal safety rules require a way to get out of a closed trunk from the inside, and because the latch may fail, these cars do not meet that requirement. A dealer will replace the whole trunk latch assembly with a new one.

What you should do

1. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to confirm your vehicle is included.
2. Contact a Kia dealer to have the trunk latch assembly replaced, or call Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542.
3. The repair is free.

Where do I find my VIN, and what do I tell the dealer?

Your VIN is the 17-character code on the lower left of the windshield, on your registration and usually on your insurance card. Enter it at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether this recall is still open on your car. When you call the dealer, say you have an open safety recall and give them NHTSA campaign number 21V622000. More in how recalls work.

Affected vehicles (3)

2018 Kia Forte
2018 Kia RIO
2019 Kia RIO

Who to contact

Kia — official Kia recall lookup

Customer service: 1-800-333-4542

Any franchised dealer for the brand can do the repair. Phone numbers are taken from manufacturer sites and recent NHTSA notices; if one has changed, the number in your own recall letter is the one to use.

The bigger picture

Kia Door and Trunk Latch Recalls: What Can Fail · all 3 Kia recalls in this area

Other Kia Forte recalls

Apr 1, 2024Kia Forte Front Control Arm Weld Failurecritical
Sep 22, 2023Kia Forte Front Control Arm Weld May Failcritical
Dec 8, 2022Kia Forte Front Steering Knuckle May Crackhigh
May 5, 2022Kia Forte and Rio Steering Column Bolt Loosehigh
Jan 25, 2022Kia Air Bags May Fail to Deploy in Crashhigh
Apr 13, 2021Kia Forte Oil Pump Failure May Damage Enginehigh

All 10 Forte recalls

Official notice

Component: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:TRUNK LID:LATCH
Summary: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Forte 4-door, Forte Koup 2-door, and 2018-2019 Rio 4-door vehicles. The trunk latch may become damaged, preventing the opening of the trunk from the inside. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 401, "Internal Trunk Release."
Safety risk: A person inside the trunk compartment may become trapped, increasing their risk of injury.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the trunk latch assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on February 10, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC216.

Verify your specific vehicle by VIN at nhtsa.gov. Recall repairs are free of charge by law.