Nissan Sentra vs Kia Forte: which is more reliable?
The Nissan Sentra and the Kia Forte are level on the federal record — 74/100 against 76/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Nissan Sentra
- 15 model years scored
- 3,094 owner complaints on record
- about 27 complaints per year on the road
- 46 recall campaigns, 33 safety-critical
- best year 2012 (93/100) · worst 2013 (42/100)
Kia Forte
- 14 model years scored
- 2,183 owner complaints on record
- about 18 complaints per year on the road
- 31 recall campaigns, 17 safety-critical
- best year 2016 (93/100) · worst 2014 (43/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Sentra against Forte
The comparison that decides the purchase. A nameplate is not one car — a redesign can move the record sixty points inside two years, and the two nameplates rarely move together.
| Year | Sentra | Forte | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 79 BUY | — | — |
| 2024 | 84 BUY | 88 BUY | -4 |
| 2023 | 91 BUY | 75 BUY | +16 |
| 2022 | 85 BUY | 91 BUY | -6 |
| 2021 | 77 BUY | 82 BUY | -5 |
| 2020 | 69 CAUTION | 90 BUY | -21 |
| 2019 | 75 BUY | 76 BUY | -1 |
| 2018 | 83 BUY | 79 BUY | +4 |
| 2017 | 76 BUY | 52 CAUTION | +24 |
| 2016 | 65 CAUTION | 93 BUY | -28 |
| 2015 | 71 BUY | 72 BUY | -1 |
| 2014 | 63 CAUTION | 43 AVOID | +20 |
| 2013 | 42 AVOID | 74 BUY | -32 |
| 2012 | 93 BUY | 67 CAUTION | +26 |
| 2011 | 87 BUY | 86 BUY | +1 |
What owners actually complain about
Nissan Sentra
- Power Train — 1,068 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 476 complaints
- Engine — 424 complaints
Kia Forte
- Engine — 984 complaints
- Electrical System — 280 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 242 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Sentra's complaints concentrate in Power Train, the Forte's in Engine. That difference matters more to a buyer than the score gap, because it says which repair bill you are taking on.
Years to avoid on each
Nissan Sentra — avoid: 2013.
Kia Forte — avoid: 2014.
A year scores below 45 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. Every car’s years to avoid.
What each costs today
A recent used Nissan Sentra prices at about $24,100 and a Kia Forte at about $22,100 — the Kia Forte is roughly $2,000 less, and they return 34.0 against 30.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Nissan Sentra or the Kia Forte more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Kia Forte scores 76/100 against the Nissan Sentra's 74/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Nissan Sentra and Kia Forte years should I avoid?
Nissan Sentra: 2013. Kia Forte: 2014. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Nissan Sentra and the Kia Forte?
The largest complaint group on the Nissan Sentra is Power Train (1,068 complaints); on the Kia Forte it is Engine (984).
Is the Nissan Sentra or the Kia Forte cheaper to own?
A recent used Nissan Sentra prices at about $24,100 and a Kia Forte at about $22,100, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.