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2019 Forte FE - Forward Collision Warning and Avoidance - Strange Problems

29K views 31 replies 19 participants last post by  scrambler013 
#1 ·
Alright, 14K miles on my 2019 FE (Manual Trans). My Forte has forward warning and collision avoidance braking system and lane warning / keep assistance - I think they all come standard with this.

A - This has happened 4 times:
Driving highway speeds (65+ mph), normal flowing traffic, divided 4 lane freeway - the dash lights up with warnings and the display says the system is disabled because the front camera is obscured / blocked. Obviously, the camera is not blocked. This happened 2x dry conditions, 1x snow and 1x rain. The system re-sets withing 5-10 miles or with a cycle of the ignition switch (I didn't cycle the switch while driving...ha).

B - This has happened 2 times:
City driving, traffic, but flowing. When an oncoming car approaches (no median) the collision system activates, warns me, then locks up the brakes. Almost got rear-ended both times. NO warning lights on the dash - the system thinks it is acting normally. This is a 4 lane city road, no center median, both me and the on-coming car on in our respective "fast lanes" passing by each other - make sense?

B is quite a safety issue - I have not brought it into the dealer yet. These occurances have happened with the OEM tires, and the snow tires - no difference.

Have you notice anything strange with yours?

Here is a pic, because pictures.
Land vehicle Vehicle Car Snow Mid-size car
 
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#2 ·
I've only got about 6k miles on my 2020, none of those issues yet. But the system is overly aggressive imo. It's tripped twice on me, the first time a car at least a block ahead of me slowing for a turn and it locked right the hell up. In wouldn't have even slowed down for that 1. I was way more worried about the car behind me. I've got it at the lowest setting, I don't recall if u can disable it entirely.
 
#25 ·
This happened to me TWICE already with my '21 Forte GT...
I was on the left lane on a 2 lane, coming up there was a home community complex so a third lane was available for residents to turn (left turn). The car in front of me was no longer IN FRONT OF ME yet my car beeped and slowed me down...I'm like dduuudeee....I was like 2 cars away from the that car anyway...
It usually doesnt behave that way, but for some reason , at times, I guess the system gets "confused"..
This is why I don't like too much tech in a car...more possibilities for things to go wrong.
 
#4 ·
I would take it to the dealer ASAP to have the system checked, and possibly have the camera re-calibrated.

The owner's manual mentions that the camera re-calibration is critical in the context of the windshield being replaced or otherwise being disturbed. There are also some warnings about anything in proximity to the camera that could reflect. Not saying those conditions exist with your car, but it suggests that the camera is very finicky.

I did have two similar issues:

1) During a recent snow storm I was unable to use the automatic cruise control and I think forward collision was disabled due to the front sensor being obscured. When I got home, the front radar panel in the lower grill was covered with snow and ice, so that's reasonable.

2) Right after that same snow storm, I found the lane keeping assist acting weird, where the camera was clearly misreading the lane markers and would pull me to the right. After the snow melted and the windshield was fully clean, LKA function returned to normal. So I suspect there was some ice obscuring or refracting the camera.


Also remember that you can adjust the emergency braking sensitivity. I had to turn mine down as it was too aggressive for my driving style, and heavy traffic I deal with.

I also experience that the automatic cruise control will brake if it "sees" a car exiting the highway and slowing, even when that car has fully moved over onto the offramp.
 
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#13 ·
My car does it as well and they recalibrated the camera and even kept it overnight and of course it didn't act up for them but mine only happens at night time and it can go off in 10 to 20 minutes or my stay on an hour but they told me just to document every time it happens where and what time and so far it's only happened twice in the same spot but also take a a picture of where I'm at when it happens with the light showing it cuz they said they will replace the camera if they can get it to act up for them but hopefully enough proof will get them to change it without them having to see you right in front of their eyes
 
#6 ·
I should add that I wasn't trying to use the CC, but the display popped up to tell me that CC and I think automatic braking was disabled and those functions were unavailable due to the radar being blocked... something along those lines.

When I got home, the radar had a couple inches of snow and ice covering it, so no surprise ;)
 
#7 ·
You are not alone with this issue. I picked up a 2020 Forte FE about 3 months ago, it happens about 1 to 2 times a week. The only time it happens to me is on my drive to work at around 0530 when it is still dark out. A few times it happened while on the interstate and a couple of times at a dead stop. One stop was at a light, behind another car and the other time was when I was at the chain link gate of the place I work. I took it to the dealer, they tested the system and said it was working normally. They opened a ticket with TechLine, whatever that means, and I have not heard anything since. This last week I had it pop on 3 times, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. I talked to the dealer again, gave them even more information and they are going to see if they can find anything out this week. If I hear anything back, I will share what I find here.
I did notice that the LKA was still working normally on mine when the error popped up on the dash. I saw the indicator was green with the steering wheel lit up too, so I tested it and drifted over to the center line, the wheel bumped back to the center of the lane as it should.
I love the car, it is a manual, it gets amazing gas mileage, looks really good, comfortable, but this issue is really damn annoying. I told the service advisor at my dealer to tell TechLine to either fix it or remove it. The only time that I would like the system to be functional, early in the morning while it is still dark, it seems to fail the most. Not exactly a "safety" system I would put much stock into.
 
#22 ·
You are not alone with this issue. I picked up a 2020 Forte FE about 3 months ago, it happens about 1 to 2 times a week. The only time it happens to me is on my drive to work at around 0530 when it is still dark out. A few times it happened while on the interstate and a couple of times at a dead stop. One stop was at a light, behind another car and the other time was when I was at the chain link gate of the place I work. I took it to the dealer, they tested the system and said it was working normally. They opened a ticket with TechLine, whatever that means, and I have not heard anything since. This last week I had it pop on 3 times, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. I talked to the dealer again, gave them even more information and they are going to see if they can find anything out this week. If I hear anything back, I will share what I find here.
I did notice that the LKA was still working normally on mine when the error popped up on the dash. I saw the indicator was green with the steering wheel lit up too, so I tested it and drifted over to the center line, the wheel bumped back to the center of the lane as it should.
I love the car, it is a manual, it gets amazing gas mileage, looks really good, comfortable, but this issue is really damn annoying. I told the service advisor at my dealer to tell TechLine to either fix it or remove it. The only time that I would like the system to be functional, early in the morning while it is still dark, it seems to fail the most. Not exactly a "safety" system I would put much stock into.
 
#11 ·
I have a 2019 Forte FE. Had it about 1 year, don't drive it too much, has about 4K miles. I haven't had the braking issue, but I did turn the Lane Keeping Assist off. It seems to be constantly "nudging" the car, often based on things like those long shiny-black strips of tar they often apply to cracks in the road. Not horrible, never seemed like it might cause a crash, but more annoying than helpful, IMO.
 
#14 ·
I’m having the same problems. I’ve taken it into the dealership after 3 separate times of getting the warning lights. No rain, all at night and after dealership hours. They told me they had no clue what the issue could be & to bring it immediately when it does it again. It just happened again about an hour ago. Of course it’s Sunday at 6:30pm. They’re closed. I’m going to bring it in again tomorrow and mention the re-calibration of the camera. I did have my windshield replaced in August but this started in October/November. I bought the car in March. It’s got 10,000 miles on it.
2020 GTLine
 
#17 ·
I’ve been having the same issue with my 2020 LXS. It’ll happen anytime between 6pm and 2am where it’ll randomly say that the LKA is disabled cause it’s obstructed, but haven’t figured out why. I did have a time that a traffic cone, the big cylindrical ones roll in front of me on the interstate and it ended up clipping my front bumper and I have a nice clear duct tape job to hold it together on the side (opposite from the sensor side), but I’m thinking the hit caused the sensor to get messed up maybe. Not sure tho, since it doesn’t happen during the daylight hours.
 
#18 ·
My 2020 forte fe tells me the camera is obscured 2 or 3 times a month. Even though there's nothing covering it. I'll spray the windshield and then later on it goes away. I don't understand how it says its obscured and the car still sees the lane markings. I like the active lane keep assist when I'm on the highway but sometimes in town it'll jerk the car towards a median or a curb and it scares the crap out of me.
 
#20 ·
I just made a 3000 mile road trip over the weekend and it said "camera obscured" at least 15-20 times on and off during the drive. Every time I would clean the windshield but there wasn't any bugs or dirt or anything on it. Sometimes it would clear out on its own or after a restart but it kept happening.
 
#21 · (Edited)
Yeah, I'm guessing that the lens can fog up inside between the lens and windshield... that's why it's off and on. Those replaced the windshield via third party, you will very likely need to get the dealer to fix the calibration.

I've had mine triggered when there was heavy snow fall. But big outside / inside temperatures differences could cause condensation to build up. It's not a perfect system.
 
#23 ·
I have a 2020 Kia forte I bought it off the lot December 2019 you know months down the road the crash which is the front crash lights keep coming on and off took it in several times and they told me it was the front camera so they replaced the front camera a few months ago and now the lights are still coming on and off like I’m gonna crash there is nothing wrong with the roads there’s no cars around me the sky is clear it’s beautiful out no rain no fog because that’s what they told me now it’s normal after once they told me before it was the camera and then I asked for corporate office number they couldn’t even give it to me they said they didn’t know it so
 
#26 ·
Calibration or debris on the windshield could be problematic. Make sure your windshield is clean. If the issue is persistent then bring it in for dealer only calibration / reset / test.

Also, you might want to adjust the sensitivity in the user settings

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#27 ·
Bumping this as I stopped at the dealership and found out that there is a bulletin that was updated and sent to the dealers. It was originally for the Telluride but has been expanded to include the Sportage and the 19 to 21 Forte. Apparently there is an issue with the camera and/or the software that needs fixed. However, the car has to have 1 of 2 codes stored in the computer before they will move forward with the repairs. The 2 codes are C160449 which indicates a hardware issue or C160649 that indicates a software issue. Of course, my Forte doesn't have either code stored, how convenient for Kia.
With all that said, I am hoping to see if I can figure it out on my own. However I need to find good software that will allow me to access that camera and see what the hell is going on with it. If I come up with any other updates, I will be sure to post up to hopefully help some of you get this resolved.
 
#28 ·
Bumping this as I stopped at the dealership and found out that there is a bulletin that was updated and sent to the dealers. It was originally for the Telluride but has been expanded to include the Sportage and the 19 to 21 Forte. Apparently there is an issue with the camera and/or the software that needs fixed. However, the car has to have 1 of 2 codes stored in the computer before they will move forward with the repairs. The 2 codes are C160449 which indicates a hardware issue or C160649 that indicates a software issue. Of course, my Forte doesn't have either code stored, how convenient for Kia.
With all that said, I am hoping to see if I can figure it out on my own. However I need to find good software that will allow me to access that camera and see what the hell is going on with it. If I come up with any other updates, I will be sure to post up to hopefully help some of you get this resolved.
Thanks for the information! Kia corporate FINALLY got back to the dealership and told them to check the alignment of my camera and they said because I had my windshield replaced a year ago to have a factory one installed (even though the problem didn’t start for 5 months after the windshield replacement) I got the new windshield replacement and the camera was aligned and it’s been a week. No warning lights so far. 🤷🏻‍♀️
 
#29 ·
I have the exact same car as you, color and all lol I’m having the same issues. It started with the error of the camera being obscured a few times a month. Then it gave me the error to check forward collision avoidance assist system. This would go off after about 5 minutes of driving. Now the error is on constantly for over a week. I have the original windshield so no possibility of that being the issue.
 
#30 ·
I ended up getting so frustrated with the issue and Kia not doing anything to fix it I ended up selling the car to CarVana for more than I bought it for! Drove a Mazda 3 for a year, and finally got my GT. I don't know if they will ever do anything to properly fix this issue. I spoke to them on the phone about trying to record the events on camera and through any software they could let me use, but they told me "We can't do that, there is no way to collect that data." Which as I had worked in IT for a while and know that is a load of horse pucky. I have been driving the GT for a couple of months now, including during the same time that my FE would throw the error and have had no issues to date. However, I really really love this car so if it happens on this one, I will find a way to fix it.
 
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