Kia Seltos Complaints

532 consumer complaints on file.

#11651108March 27, 2025
ENGINE
Bought my 2023 Kia seltos new, Been driving it and maintaining the maintaince myself. Vehical has 58,000 Miles still under the warranty. Did my normal oil change only to have it start blowing smoke out of the exhaust. Took it into the dealer for service only to be told that the Rings are failing. that i need a new engine. Now there is a recall out for the 2020-2023 Kia Souls and Seltos with the 2.0 engines for miss manufactured rings. Mine has the 1.6L turbo in it. Seems very odd to me that they are claiming exactly what they have the recall for on the 2.0 engines. They are denying warranty.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11650942March 26, 2025
ENGINE
Decrease of power when pushing on gas peddle, a smell of burnt oil coming through vent. And since risk is very high on this engine component of possibly setting fire to car, and or ceasing thay may cause a crash. I would not like my wife to drive this vehicle knowing it could be a neglegent hazard that could cause injury or bodily harm to owner or other drivers near the vehicle. Very unsafe dont want to play russian roulette with my life or the life of others. There is already a remedy set forth by the company so why now is there none?
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11650214March 24, 2025
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
The contact owns a 2021 Kia Seltos. The contact stated that while switching gears from reverse to drive, the vehicle had inadvertently accelerated and crashed into an unoccupied parked vehicle before coming to a stop. Both vehicles had damage to the front bumper. No warning light illuminated. The contact sustained minor injuries to both her knees; however, she did not seek medical attention. The air bags did not deploy, and the vehicle was not deemed a total loss. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a local independent service shop, and the contact was asked to take the vehicle to the local dealer. The vehicle was repaired for the front bumper by the local independent mechanic. The local dealer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 61,000.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11649985March 23, 2025
ENGINE
My 2022 Kia Seltos engine seized and Kia refused to fix the problem. This engine has a safety recall related to the engine and the manufacturer refuses to change the seized engine. We had to pay almost $6000 from our pocket to replace the engine as we need the car to go to work.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11649477March 20, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My Seltos was sitting in my driveway and a crack appeared this morning. It wasn't there two days ago when I last drove it.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11648791March 17, 2025
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
The contact owns a 2021 Kia Seltos. The contact stated while driving at approximately 5 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The check engine and Battery warning lights were illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V099000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 55,547. Parts distribution disconnect.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11648695March 17, 2025
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
The contact owns a 2022 Kia Seltos. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle or while accelerating, there was an abnormal amount of white smoke coming from the exhaust, with droplets of oil. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed and the contact was informed that the piston rings had failed due to oil build-up and the accumulation of moisture inside of the cylinders and that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V099000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING); as the possible cause for the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 64,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11648364March 14, 2025
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
The contact owns a 2021 Kia Seltos. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V099000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11648127March 13, 2025
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
The contact owns a 2021 Kia Seltos. The contact became aware that the VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V099000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated while driving and decelerating to 10 MPH on several occasions, the vehicle stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart and was driven to the residence, where it was parked. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000. Parts distribution disconnect.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11647896March 12, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
There is a coffee symbol alert that randomly comes on regardless of driving on long trips saying to take a break. These messages are super abrupt and disruptive to my attention while driving, there is no option to remove the alert or sound. Could cause an accident
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11647808March 12, 2025
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
The contact owns a 2021 Kia Seltos. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V099000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled without warning. The failure intermittently occurred while idling at a stop light. While attempting to accelerate, the vehicle hesitated or lagged before accelerating. While driving out of a gas station, the check engine warning light illuminated, the vehicle stalled, and lost motive power. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who diagnosed that the oil piston rings had failed, and oil was leaking into the engine, causing the engine to fail. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer informed the contact there were no parts for the recall repair available. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and opened a case. The failure mileage was 70,000. Parts distribution disconnect.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11647664March 11, 2025
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
The contact owns a 2022 Kia Seltos. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V099000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11647450March 10, 2025
ENGINE
On Monday Jan 13 when I was merging onto the interstate the car lost power and started smoking; I almost lost control of the car. I steered the car to the side of the interstate and I had it towed to Brakes Plus (where it had just had an oil change on Jan 6) at my expense for an immediate diagnostic, where they found that there is evidence of oil passing into the combustion chamber through the piston rings that caused engine failure. I asked the dealership repeatedly through email for an inspection report and an explanation as to why the engine failed.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11646518March 5, 2025
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
The contact owns a 2021 Kia Seltos. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle was able to restart. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V099000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); the VIN was included, and parts were available, but the vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 86,000. Parts distribution disconnect.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11646358March 4, 2025
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I was driving down the highway going 65mph when my car would not accelerate any more in the middle of the highway where the speed limit is 65. At one point I could not get it to go above 30mph. I pulled off to the side and when I tried driving off again my car would not accelerate. Towed to Kia, they did a software update thinking it was fixed. Picked my car up and drove 10 miles before it broke down on me again. Towed to a second Kia dealership, new transmission was put in. Picked it up 4 days ago, and it is stalling, and jolting when accelerating and the check engine light is on. It is at the 3rd Kia dealership, where I was just told I may need ANOTHER transmission replacement. I asked about the engine recall after getting an email from Kelly Blue Book about it. Kia said they did not know how to fix the recall yet and there was nothing they could do about it right now. I have been without my car for almost 2 months, and this is the 3rd Kia dealership trying to fix the issue at hand and not getting anywhere.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11646115March 3, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I purchased my vehicle in mid June 2024 used from the dealership. I purchased extended warranty although my vehicle still had original warranty. On [XXX], my parents 50th anniversary party. I packed my car and left my house. Vehicle drove fine, but my husband called me worried stated that after I left our driveway that there was an oil puddle on the drive that concerned him. He took my vehicle down the road to a service place. They don’t want to touch my vehicle saying it was low on oil and needed towed. We were in Missouri and had to have it towed back to the dealership in Illinois. $400 or more tow bill. Anyway, no one could tell us why the oil leaked and said I must have hit a rock just right that cracked my oil filter. They replaced and said it was just that. This did not satisfy me nor when I spoke to multiple people who knew cars. Said that something was fishy. I had not even gotten to a first oil change. 2nd incident happened four months later. I was driving to work early morning, dark and raining. I pulled up behind a car leaving plenty of space between vehicles. I had my foot on the break when all of a sudden I noticed my car rolling forward despite my foot being down. I pressed harder and I almost rolled into the car in front of me. Finally my brakes caught and I was freaked out. I was fully stopped. I took my car immediately to the dealership the next day, missing half a day at work and had the car inspected. They told me everything looked great on my car and the brakes were fine. They could not replicate the issue. I know what happened. But I was told it was probably a mirage like experience where I felt the car rolling. I have never had another incident, but I just feel like that is too incidents too many for such a new car. I am not satisfied with the explanations to these experiences. An oil filter does not just crack and drain oil out randomly six weeks after buying my car. Please help INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 55
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11646065March 3, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
The cruise control only works properly on level roads. When going downhill the car can go as much as 8 mph faster than the cruise control is set at. Going uphill the speed varies back and forth with the tachometer fluctuating up and down. I use cruise control to control my speed as well as reduce gas consumption. This cruise control system does neither. I believe this is unsafe. I did take the vehicle back to the dealer and showed him exactly what it is doing. He took a test ride in another Seltos and it did the same thing. The manufacturer said this is the way it is supposed to work. I have owned many vehicles in my 76 years and no other vehicle with cruise control worked like this. I believe this makes the vehicle unsafe when using cruise control.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11646003March 3, 2025
SUSPENSION
The car constantly thumps or bangs. Since 15,000 miles. I have had Kia dealer investigate but nothing. The suspension is horrible.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11646002March 3, 2025
ENGINE
Kia has been serviced like clock work since drove off showroom floor. Nothing but trouble since hit 10k miles. It uses oil. I am having to put at least 1/2 quart between oil changes. The engine knocks and pings like it's no oil or thin oil. No oil leaks visible. I should not be having to add oil let alone the sounds the engine makes.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11645745March 1, 2025
ENGINE
I own a kia seltos 2021 with 2.0 engine wich is 4 cylinders, but my vehicle from las 70k miles is been burning oil to the point that I have to keep checking oil level every 1000miles otherwise my engine is turns super hot and burn oil when I try filling up also make a loud sound on the exhaust and smell like burning oil.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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