Kia Forte, Kia Forte Koup, model years 2012 to 2014. Filed by Kia Motors America and reported to NHTSA on 1 December 2017. 134,366 vehicles potentially affected.
What the notice says Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2012-2014 Forte and Forte Koup vehicles. The brake pedal stopper pad can deteriorate allowing the brake light switch plunger to remain extended when the brake pedal is released. This will allow the brake lights to remain illuminated continuously. It can also allow the …
Is your vehicle included? Check with your VIN at NHTSA, or ask a dealer. This page is an independent copy of the notice, kept so you can see what changed after it was published. It is not the authority, and the authority’s own text is the one to act on.
Kia's own number for this recall: SC158. That is the number on the owner letter and on the dealer paperwork. 17V773 is the number NHTSA gave the same campaign, and the number this page is filed under. They are one recall, written two ways.
What owners ask about this recall
- Which vehicles does recall 17V773 cover?
- Kia Forte, Kia Forte Koup, model years 2012-2014.
- What is wrong with them?
- Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2012-2014 Forte and Forte Koup vehicles. The brake pedal stopper pad can deteriorate allowing the brake light switch plunger to remain extended when the brake pedal is released. This will allow the brake lights to remain illuminated continuously.
- What can happen if it is not put right?
- If the brake light switch plunger does not retract as it should when the brake pedal is not being pressed, the brake lights may stay illuminated preventing accurate communication to following vehicles that the vehicle is slowing or stopping.
- Is there a fix yet?
- Yes, and it is free. Kia will notify owners, and dealers will replace the brake pedal stopper pad, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin January 30, 2018. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC158.
- What should I do now?
- Check your own vehicle by its VIN with NHTSA, which is the record to act on. Kia calls this recall SC158, which is the number on the owner letter and the dealer paperwork.
Answered from the register this site holds. NHTSA is the record to act on.
What the authority says can happen if this is not fixed: “If the brake light switch plunger does not retract as it should when the brake pedal is not being pressed, the brake lights may stay illuminated preventing accurate communication to following vehicles that the vehicle is slowing or stopping…”
affected
in the notice
caught
| Campaign | 17V773 |
|---|---|
| Filed by | Kia Motors America |
| System at fault | Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Pedals And Linkages |
| Reported to NHTSA | 1 December 2017 |
| Model years | 2012-2014 |
| Vehicles named | KIA FORTE, KIA FORTE KOUP |
What the notice says today
The consequence
If the brake light switch plunger does not retract as it should when the brake pedal is not being pressed, the brake lights may stay illuminated preventing accurate communication to following vehicles that the vehicle is slowing or stopping. Additionally, if the brake switch plunger is not retracted, then the transmission can be shifted out of PARK without depressing the brake pedal. Either condition increases the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Kia will notify owners, and dealers will replace the brake pedal stopper pad, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin January 30, 2018. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC158.
What it said before
This campaign is in the register but not yet in the dated wording archive, so we cannot yet say whether its text has moved. It enters the archive on the next pass.
This is one of 583 notices in the record whose component field names service brakes, hydraulic. Across that group the median wait before owners were written to was 37 days.
Last checked . No change has been recorded in the wording.
The models named here, across their whole recall history
How to cite this record
Quoting the wording on this page means quoting a version, so the date belongs in the citation:
CarsMultiverse, recall 17V773, wording as read on 16 September 2026. https://carsmultiverse.com/recall/17v773/
The cross-border matches used on this site are deposited as a citable dataset: doi:10.5281/zenodo.22087136. The recall wording itself is published by the national authority named above and is theirs, not ours.
The recall record and its wording are published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and are US Government public domain. The dated archive, the comparison and any before-and-after above are CarsMultiverse. How fresh every engine behind this page is, is public on the status page. To check a specific vehicle, use NHTSA’s own VIN lookup.
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The fingerprint of this notice
We take a SHA-256 of each of the three blocks of text the authority publishes and keep the first eight characters. As we last read campaign 17V773 on 23 August 2026, they were:
- Defect summary
a29578ed - Consequence
6c8e17b6 - Remedy
739168cd
We first read this notice on 21 August 2026. It has not moved since. If it ever does, these characters will not match, and the change will be dated here.
The wording we hold for 17V773 · how the whole register is watched
This notice names one vehicle among several registers that have written about it. Every notice this site holds for the Kia Forte Koup, in all seven, is kept on that vehicle's own page, with the newest in each.
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