Kia bulletin PI2105
What it saysPRODUCT IMPROVEMENT CAMPAIGN: OWNER RENOTIFICATION (PI2105 FLIGHT 501) - This document is the owner renotification advising that Kia is conducting a Product Improvement Campaign to perform a software update on 2016 MY… NHTSA’s full summary ↓
Kia filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated Mar 25, 2026, received Aug 13, 2021, about the engine — 8 documents under this number: PI2105_OWNR_501, PI2105_OWNR_401, PI2105_OWNR_301, PI2105_OWNR_201 (2 filings) and 3 more. It names 1 model year (2016). A service bulletin is not a safety recall: it is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a condition, and whether the work is paid for depends on the warranty in force. Quoting the number at a service desk can save a diagnosis.
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What the bulletin says
Source: NHTSA's summary of the manufacturer's communicationPicked out of NHTSA’s summary below, word for word. The document itself is the record, and the dealer checks the VIN.
What it applies to, as the document itself states it — the build window in the manufacturer’s own words, read by machine from the PDF NHTSA serves. The build date is on the certification label in the driver’s door jamb; the dealer settles a borderline vehicle by its VIN.
PRODUCT IMPROVEMENT CAMPAIGN: OWNER RENOTIFICATION (PI2105 FLIGHT 501) - This document is the owner renotification advising that Kia is conducting a Product Improvement Campaign to perform a software update on 2016 MY Forte and Forte Koup vehicles equipped with 2.0-liter GDI engines to protect the engine from excessive connecting rod bearing damage. The update will be done free of charge and will only involve the addition of newly developed computer software for the Engine Control Unit (“ECU”).
Documents filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PI2105_OWNR_501 | Other | Mar 25, 2026 | 11030343 | PDF, 193 KB |
| PI2105_OWNR_401 | Other | Jul 23, 2025 | 11021052 | PDF, 130 KB |
| PI2105_OWNR_301 | Other | Nov 27, 2024 | 11010832 | PDF, 149 KB |
| PI2105_OWNR_201 | Service bulletin | Mar 26, 2024 | 10251449 | PDF, 144 KB |
| PI2105_OWNR_201 | Service bulletin | Feb 21, 2024 | 10250784 | PDF, 144 KB |
| PI2105_OWNR | Service bulletin | Aug 11, 2021 | 10200345 | PDF, 186 KB |
| PI2105_QA | Service bulletin | Aug 5, 2021 | 10200324 | PDF, 110 KB |
| PI2105_TSB | Service bulletin | Aug 3, 2021 | 10200346 | PDF, 624 KB |
The summary is NHTSA’s abstract of the document, as filed under 49 CFR 579.5. One communication is usually filed as several documents — the bulletin, a dealer notice, an owner letter — and the number on any of them finds this page. A PDF link is shown only once NHTSA’s own server has been seen to serve that document; the rest are checked over the following nights. Quote the number at a service desk; it is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Model years it names
Source: as the manufacturer filed themA vehicle page’s bulletin list shows the newest few communications filed against that model year; the count there is every one.
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What owners reported
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseOwners of the 1 model year this bulletin names have filed 138 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 91 of them name Engine, Electrical System — the same broad component group this bulletin is filed under. NHTSA groups complaints coarsely, so that means the same area of the vehicle, not necessarily the same fault.
On the 2016 Kia Forte, the 27 owners who gave an odometer reading for Engine reported it at a median of 60,264 miles. That figure is one model year’s, not the whole range this bulletin covers — medians from different model years are not averaged.
I went hunting and went to go back to my car at the end of the evening. My car was parked on a grass lane by a woods with the key out of the egnition. When I got to the car it was dark so I did not notice anything at first, but when I went to unlock my door and my keyless entry would not work.
2016 Kia Forte · Electrical System · filed with NHTSA Jul 25, 2018 · ODI 11113694
In December after getting letter in the mail saying I needed an upgrade to my car's knock sensor I took it to a Kia dealership. I received word from the dealership that my car had suffered a lower crank shaft failure and would need to be replaced.
2016 Kia Forte · Engine · filed with NHTSA Mar 9, 2025 · ODI 11647234
In depth: 2016 Kia Forte engine problems →
A complaint is one owner’s account, not a defect finding, and a bulletin is not a recall. Nothing here says this bulletin was issued because of these complaints, or that the repair it describes fixed them. Complaint files on this site begin in 2015.
More bulletins about the engine
Source: same model, same component group6 other manufacturer communications filed against the Kia Forte under the same component group (engine), newest first.
| Number | Kind | Dated | NHTSA’s summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| TSB_ENG263 | Service bulletin | Aug 5, 2026 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: MISFIRE CONCERN DUE TO OVERRUNNING ALTERNATOR DECOUPLER - This bulletin provides information to address unresolv… |
| PI2106 | Service bulletin | Apr 1, 2026 | PRODUCT IMPROVEMENT CAMPAIGN: OWNER RENOTIFICATION (PI2106 FLIGHT 501) - This document is the owner renotification advising that Kia is cond… |
| TSB_ENG222_R8 | Service bulletin | Apr 3, 2025 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION NU/GAMMA/THETA/KAPPA ENGINES - This bulletin has been revised to include additional in… |
| TSB_ENG222_R7 | Service bulletin | Feb 28, 2025 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION NU/GAMMA/THETA/KAPPA ENGINES - This bulletin has been revised to include additional in… |
| PI2106Y/Z | Service bulletin | Nov 8, 2024 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: PRODUCT IMPROVEMENT CAMPAIGN: SUBSEQUENT REPAIR ACTION: ENGINE REPLACEMENT INSTRUCTIONS FOR DTC P1326… |
| TSB_ENG243 | Service bulletin | Jun 9, 2023 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: LOOSE CRANKSHAFT PULLEY PARTIAL REPAIR - This bulletin provides information regarding a loose crankshaft pulley… |
Quote the number at the service desk. It is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Every manufacturer communication NHTSA holds for Kia, by the number printed on the letter.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR 579.5Is Kia PI2105 a recall?
No. A service bulletin is a manufacturer communication filed with NHTSA under 49 CFR 579.5; a safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number (two digits, a letter, six digits) and a federal duty to repair for free. Check the vehicle’s recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, or on its page here.
Is the PI2105 repair free?
Not automatically. A service bulletin describes how to diagnose or repair a condition; who pays depends on the warranty in force, any extension, and the dealer. Quoting the number can save a diagnosis either way. Every Kia warranty extension on file lists the ones Kia has filed.
Which vehicles does PI2105 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 1 model year: 2016 Kia Forte. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone. The document itself sets the build window: built 13 Apr 2015 – 18 Jul 2016 — the build date is on the certification label in the driver’s door jamb.