2019-2024 Kia Forte Front vs Rear Brakes: What Wears First and What to Replace

By Core Brake Parts Tech Team — Circleville, OH warehouse

On a 2019-2024 Kia Forte the front brakes almost always wear out first. Kia put larger ventilated rotors up front and smaller solid rotors in the rear on every trim, because the front axle does most of the stopping. Plan on replacing front pads and rotors more often than the rear set. Still check the rear pads every time the wheels come off, because the rear calipers and parking brake have problems of their own.

How the Forte Brake System Is Laid Out

Kia's own specification sheets for this generation list disc brakes at all four corners on every trim. There are no rear drums. The front uses ventilated rotors, which are two friction faces joined by internal cooling vanes. The rear uses solid rotors, which are a single plate. Every trim also has a single 10.0-inch brake booster.

The table shows why part numbers aren't the same across the whole 2019-2024 range. The 2.0-liter cars (FE, LX, LXS, S, EX, and most GT-Line) use the 11.0-inch front rotor. The turbocharged 1.6-liter GT uses a 12.0-inch front rotor. Depending on package and transmission, some GT and GT-Line cars also have a larger 11.2-inch rear rotor. Before you order, check your trim, and if you're not sure, measure the rotor you're taking off.

Why the Front Brakes Wear First

When a car slows down, its weight shifts forward. The nose dips, which loads the front tires and takes load off the rear tires. A tire with more load on it can take more braking force before it skids, so engineers give the front brakes a larger share of the work. On the Forte you can see this in the hardware. The front rotors are bigger and have internal vanes to get rid of heat, while the rears are smaller solid discs.

More work means more heat and more pad material worn away on every stop. For a typical Forte owner doing mixed commuting, that means:

• Front pads are the most common brake service item. Stop-and-go city driving wears them fastest.
• Front rotors usually need replacing along with the pads, or every second pad change. How often depends on how much thickness is left and whether they vibrate.
• Rear pads usually last through at least one front brake job and often more. Plan on replacing them less often than the fronts, not never.

Heavy loads, hills, and a lot of short trips make both ends wear faster. The GT's bigger front brakes are sized for the extra power and speed of the turbo engine, not to make the pads last longer.

When the Rear Brakes Wear Out First Instead

If the rear pads on a Forte are thinner than the fronts, something is usually wrong. Rear disc brakes don't normally wear faster than the fronts on this car. Common causes:

• Seized caliper slide pins or pad hardware. Rear calipers pick up road salt and water and move less than the fronts, so their slide pins can corrode and stick. The pad then drags lightly against the rotor all the time. You'll typically see one rear pad much thinner than the others, or a tapered pad.
• A parking brake that doesn't fully release. On cars with the hand lever and mechanical cable, a stretched or corroded cable can keep the rear pads lightly applied. On cars with the electronic parking brake, a fault in the caliper motor can do the same thing and usually turns on a warning light.
• Driving with the parking brake partly on. It sounds obvious, but it's a common cause of glazed rear pads and blue, overheated rear rotors.

Uneven wear between the left and right sides at the same end points to a caliper problem, not to normal wear. Fix the caliper or hardware at the same time as the pads, or the new pads will wear the same way.

Symptoms and How to Tell Which End Needs Work

Kia's owner's manual says the disc brakes have wear indicators. When the pads are worn, you'll hear a high-pitched warning sound from the front or rear brakes. The manual also warns that driving on worn pads can damage the braking system and lead to expensive repairs. So treat a steady squeal that goes away when you press the pedal as a sign the pads are due.

• Squeal from the front of the car: the front pads have reached their wear indicators. This is the usual case.
• Grinding: the pad material is gone and metal is rubbing on the rotor. Stop driving on it. The rotor on that corner now needs replacing.
• Steering wheel shake when braking: usually uneven front rotor thickness.
• Pedal pulsation with no steering shake: can come from the rear rotors.
• Hot wheel or burning smell at one rear corner after a drive: a dragging rear caliper or a parking brake that isn't releasing.

The reliable check is to look. Most Forte wheels have spokes wide enough to see the outer pad through them. Pull a wheel and compare the inner and outer pads too. Power Stop treats pads at 3 mm of friction material or less as in the replace-now range.

What to Replace, and What Goes With It

Replace brakes one axle at a time, both sides together, never just one wheel. For the front, which is the job most Forte owners are doing, a matched kit is the simplest way to go. Our 2019-2024 Kia Forte front brake kit from Power Stop includes both front rotors, ceramic pads and installation hardware. Before ordering, confirm your front rotor size matches your trim from the table above.

Power Stop's guidance, which matches what most technicians recommend, is to replace pads and rotors together. New pads on worn or grooved rotors bed in unevenly and can cause pulling, noise and vibration. Replacing both together also saves you paying for a second brake job soon after the first. For individual parts, browse our brake pads, ceramic brake pads and brake rotors.

Items worth doing on the same job:

• New abutment clips and hardware. Old clips lose their tension, which causes rattles and uneven wear. See our brake hardware kits.
• Clean and lubricate the slide pins with silicone brake grease. This is especially important on the rear calipers.
• Brake fluid. Check its condition and level. Use only the fluid type printed on the master cylinder reservoir cap and listed in your owner's manual.
• Calipers if a piston is seized or a boot is torn. If you're replacing one, replace both on that axle. See our brake calipers.

How Hard Is the Job?

The front brakes on a Forte are a good first brake job for someone with basic tools, a jack and jack stands. You remove the caliper, remove the caliper bracket, swap the rotor, and reassemble with new hardware. Tighten every bolt to the value in the factory service manual. A torque wrench is required, not optional.

The rear is where trim matters. Cars with the hand lever and mechanical cable use a conventional rear caliper. Look at the piston face before you start: if it has notches, it must be wound back with a caliper piston tool rather than pushed straight in. Check parking brake cable adjustment afterward. Cars with the electronic parking brake need the rear calipers put in service mode with a scan tool or the procedure in the factory manual before the pistons are pushed back. Forcing the piston back on an electronic parking brake caliper can damage the motor. If you're not set up for that, have a shop do the rear brakes.

After either job, bed in the new pads according to the pad maker's instructions, and pump the pedal until it's firm before you move the car.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the 2019-2024 Kia Forte have rear drum brakes?

No. Kia's specifications for 2019, 2022 and 2024 list ventilated front discs and solid rear discs on every trim, including the base FE and LX.

How often do Forte front brakes need replacing compared to the rear?

The front brakes do most of the stopping, so they usually need pads more often than the rear, commonly two front brake jobs or more for each rear job. The actual mileage depends heavily on how and where you drive, so go by pad thickness, not an odometer number.

Do all 2019-2024 Fortes use the same front rotor?

No. The 2.0-liter trims use an 11.0-inch front rotor. The GT uses a 12.0-inch front rotor, and some GT and GT-Line cars have an 11.2-inch rear rotor instead of the 10.3-inch one. Measure the old rotor or check your trim before you order.

Can I replace just the front pads and keep the rotors?

Only if the rotors are above minimum thickness, flat, and not grooved or heat-spotted. In most cases replacing pads and rotors together gives quieter, smoother stops and avoids pulling.

Why are my rear pads worn more than the fronts?

That usually means a problem, most often a seized rear slide pin, a sticking caliper piston, or a parking brake that isn't fully releasing. Fix the cause when you replace the pads.

Do I need a scan tool for the rear brakes on a Forte GT?

If your car has the electronic parking brake, yes, or you need to follow the service-mode procedure in the factory manual, so the rear caliper motor retracts before you push the piston back.

Sources

1. Kia Media - 2019 Kia Forte Specifications - ventilated front and solid rear discs on all trims, 11.0 in. front and 10.3 in. rear rotors, 10.0 in. booster, mechanical cable hand-lever parking brake
2. Kia Media - 2022 Kia Forte Specifications - trim rotor sizes including the GT 12.0 in. front, optional electronic parking brake on GT-Line and GT
3. Kia Media - 2024 Kia Forte Specifications - trim-level rotor sizes including the 11.2 in. rear option, electronic parking brake on the GT, engine outputs
4. Kia Owner's Manual - Disc brakes wear indicator - audible high-pitched wear warning from front or rear brakes, do not drive on worn pads
5. Power Stop - Should I Replace Brake Pads and Rotors at the Same Time? - replacing pads and rotors together, wear symptoms, 3 mm replace-now pad thickness