KIA Forte (2008-2023) firing order — diagram & guide

KIA Forte is one of the brand’s most interesting models and it’s popular worldwide under the synonyms KIA K3 or the Cerato in some countries. However, on the US market, it’s greatly appreciated as one of the best compact four-door models with a fair price.

So, we wanted to give you our team’s expert advice on DIY maintenance through the KIA Forte (2008-2023) firing order guide. We’ll go over all the KIA Forte engines and their firing sequences used throughout the years, as well as the cylinder arrangement for each engine option.

First-generation KIA Forte (2008-2011) firing order

The first-gen KIA Forte was mostly equipped with four-cylinder options and among these, we have several different engine displacements. One thing that makes it all easier a bit is that all these engines share a common firing pattern and configuration, so let’s see what it’s all about.

KIA Forte 1.6L firing order

As for the base engine option, the KIA Forte 1.6L firing order is 1-3-4-2, and that means it’s a standard firing pattern for a four-cylinder KIA engine. That being said, you’ll also need to know that the cylinders are ordered from the first one on the left side to the fourth one on the right in a straight sequence.

KIA Forte 2.0L firing order

Moving on, we have the 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine next, and this one has the same build and firing pattern as the previous one. So, the KIA Forte 2.0L firing order is 1-3-4-2 and the cylinders are aligned in the same way going from the first one on the left to the fourth one on the right side.

All the cylinders are ordered in a straight sequence, so it goes 1, 2, 3, and 4 from the left to the right side of the engine.

KIA Forte 2.4L firing order

As for the next four-cylinder engine, the KIA Forte 2.4L firing order is 1-3-4-2 as well. This is yet another engine from the same engine family and it uses the same engine block as the previous ones. With that in mind, the cylinders are ordered in the same way, so it goes 1, 2, 3, and 4 from left to right.

Second-generation KIA Forte (2012-2017) firing order

The second-gen KIA Forte model also featured four-cylinder engines at most, and some of the options were pretty much the same. This goes for the 1.6-liter and a 2.0-liter engine, while the only new engine option for this generation was the 1.8-liter petrol powertrain.

KIA Forte 1.8L firing order

The KIA Forte 1.8L firing order is 1-3-4-2, so by now, you should have realized the common pattern for all these four-cylinder engines. We are getting repetitive here, but it’s a good thing that the cylinders of this engine are laid out from left to right in a straight four pattern since that eliminates the chance of mixing up the firing order.

Third-generation KIA Forte (2018-2023) firing order

As you are probably used to so far, the third-gen KIA Forte offers several four-cylinder engines, but those are not the same as for the previous generation. Moreover, some engines were kept including the 1.6L and the 2.0L engine, but we have the addition of new four-cylinder options, so we’ll mainly discuss those.

KIA Forte 1.4L firing order

The KIA Forte 1.4L firing order is 1-3-4-2, just as it is for the rest of the four-cylinder engines and the cylinders go from 1 to 4 from left to right. So, the engine is pretty easy to maintain and to manage the cylinder layout due to its common cylinder layout.

KIA Forte 1.5L firing order

The firing order for the KIA Forte 1.5L engine is 1-3-4-2 as well, so you can see that all the four-cylinder engines in this model feature the exact same firing pattern. The first cylinder is the left-most one in this case and it’s followed by cylinders 2, 3, and 4 toward the right side.

KIA Forte 1.6L diesel firing order

As for the 1.6-liter four-cylinder petrol engine, the KIA Forte 1.6L diesel firing order is 1-3-4-2 as well. The thing is – the diesel engine doesn’t have spark plugs like the petrol counterpart. Even so, the cylinder arrangement of the engine is also the same, so the first cylinder is on the left side, while the fourth cylinder is on the right side.

Our take

Now that we have gone through all the KIA Forte engines, you should have an easier time making all the repairs and upkeep changes for your engine. It’s at least easier this time since all the engines are four-cylinder powertrains with the same firing order, which makes Forte engines simple for maintenance.

All you have to know is the right firing pattern and the cylinder arrangement and we hope this guide has helped you with that properly.