Kia Seltos Complaints (2022)

76 consumer complaints on file.

#11658589May 2, 2025
POWER TRAIN, ENGINE
2022 KIA SELTOS S AWD [XXX]- ENGINE FAILED, PISTON SCORING, PISTON OIL RING FAILED, OIL BURNING, KNOCKING IN ENGINE. THIS KIA'S VIN NUMBER IS PART OF THE KIA RECALL THAT WAS PUBLISHED 2/17/25 AND ANNOUNCED TO CONSUMERS VIA MAIL ON 4/4/25. My [XXX] daughter & I purchased a used 2022 Kia Seltos on [XXX] Mileage at time of purchase was little bit under 60,000 miles. On [XXX], while on vacation in Florida, my daughter noticed sluggish acceleration, smoke coming from exhaust and some from hood, a knocking sound from engine and then engine then seized in the middle of the road. If they wouldn't have stopped, this engine would've started on FIRE! This event caused SIGNIFICANT DANGER to my young daughter and her 3 passengers! My daughter and her friends had to push the vehicle back to a safe location off the road so they didn't get hit by a car. We are from Wisconsin and these kids were stranded in Florida on vacation without a vehicle. We had to have the vehicle towed to a Kia dealership in Panama City, FL on 3/28/25. Inspected and RECALL testing done by Kia in Panama City, FL. It is now 5/2/25 and we are STILL WAITING FOR KIA TO APPROVE A NEW ENGINE FROM THIS RECALL. NO ONE WILL GIVE US ANY UPDATES. These 2022 Kia Seltos engines are a complete danger! Engine needs to be REPLACED ASAP INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11658491May 2, 2025
ENGINE
I took my Kia to Moritz Kia Alliance, Keller TX on 4/24/25 for the current recall and letting them know that my vehicle has experienced issues outlined in the recall notice (almost all of the oil was burned and we had to add a quart to get it to the dealership, car has lost power while driving, car has stalled). They tested in 4/25/25 and called to let me know that it failed the test and would require a new engine. I called on 4/29 to inquire about a loaner vehicle and the dealership notified me that KIA halted the test due to software issues and I was required to pick up my vehicle. I messaged KIA customer service who advised that the new software would be available 5/1. I did not pick up my car due to the issues I had experienced and did not feel safe driving it. Today 5/2 the dealership said that the second test failed but KIA has halted testing for a second time stating software issues. The dealership has had no concern for the safety of my vehicle and KIA appears to be halting testing and requiring individuals to drive these vehicles exhibiting potential recall related issues with no concern for the general public.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11658396May 2, 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 dealer advised the contact that the manufacturer had placed the recall on hold. The contact stated that the engine was not replaced, and that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and advised the contact that the recall had been stopped. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11658369May 2, 2025
ENGINE
The dealership is not honoring the recall or warranty. Car needed 3 quarts of oil and there is pressure from the oil fill cap when open while the engine is running. The dealership is Kia of Huntington - 1720 East Jerich Turnpike, Huntington, NY 11743; 631-546-0202
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11658232May 1, 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 dealer informed the contact that 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 not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11658180May 1, 2025
ENGINE
RECIEVED A RECALL NOTICE IN THE MAIL EARLY APRIL 2025, SCHEDULED AN APPOINTMENT FOR THE RECALL OF MY SELTOS AT THE WESTSIDE KIA DEALERSHIP IN KATY TX ON APRIL 14TH 2025 THE VEHICLE WAS DROPPED OFF. APRIL 16TH THEY UPDATED ME STATING THAT THE ENGINGE AND PISTON RINGS AT FAILED THE INSPECTION AND A FULL ENGINE REPLACEMENT WOULD BE NEEDED SO THEY ORDERED IT BUT SAID THERE WAS NO ETA ON WHEN IT WOULD BE COMPLETED. KIA CUSTOMER CARE SAID THE SAME THING, BOTH KIA CUSTOMER CARE AND THE DEALRSHIP SAID THAT THE CAR COULD NOT BE PICKED UP BECAUSE THE RECALL COULD CAUSE COMPLETE ENGINGE FAILURE, FIRE, OR COULD CAUSE YOU TO CRASH. TODAY 5/1/25 I AM BEING TOLD THE RECALL IS ON HOLD EVEN THOUGH MY VEHICLE HAS FAILED THE INSPECTION THAT THEY WOULD NOT BE REPLACING THE ENGINE RIGHT NOW AND I AM BEING TOLD TO PICK IT BACK UP DESPITE IT NOT BEING FIXED. I INFORMED THEM AGAIN OF WHAT THE RECALL STATES AND THE SAFETY RISK AND KIA CUSTOMER CARE SAID I AM NOT OBLIGATED TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE BUT DUE TO THE RECALL BEING ON HOLD I NEED TO PICK IT UP AND I NO LONGER QUALIFY FOR RENTAL REIMBURSEMENT. PRIOR TO ME TAKING MY VEHICLE IN I WAS GOING THROUGH OIL MORE FREQUENTLY AND MY MPG DROPPED SIGNIFICANTLY.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11655519April 18, 2025
ENGINE
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The engine keeps stalling and there’s a recall on the engines and I had to wait a month for dealership to say the recall isn’t the problem! How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? I drive on the highway and busy street and my car will just stop or make smoke for oil reserve. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes the number Ted that they hear the noises on my car. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? No Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? 2 months ago I started hearing a grinding noise, oil light came on irregular from oil consumption and metal shards in oil.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11651473March 29, 2025
POWER TRAIN, ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
ENGINE SEIZED WHILE DRIVING ON VACATION IN FLORIDA. PUT THE DRIVER AND 3 PASSENGERS AT MAJOR RISK FOR AN ACCIDENT AND/OR FIRE! HAD TO PUSH VEHICLE BACK TO A SAFE SPOT. HAD NOTICED SLUGGISH ACCELERATION ON AND OFF AND SOME SMOKE COMING FROM EXHAUST, ENGINE KNOCKING WAS VERY PRESENT, OIL LOOKED DIRTY AND GRITTY. NOTICED THERE WAS A RECALL FOR THIS KIA- ENGINE NEEDS TO BE REPLACED DUE TO THIS RECALL ASAP. WE HAD TO PAY FOR PLANE TICKETS TO GET ALL 4 PEOPLE BACK HOME TO WISCONSIN, HAD TO PAY FOR TRANSPORTATION BACK AND FORTH, LOST OUT ON DAYS OF VACATION, HAD TO HAVE THIS VEHICLE TOWED TO KIA IN PANAMA CITY, FL AND WILL NOW HAVE TO HAVE IT SHIPPED BACK TO WISCONSIN, WE WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR A RENTAL VEHICLE WHILE THIS IS INSPECTED AND FIXED. KIA SHOULD REIMBURSE OR PAY FOR ALL OF THESE THINGS! MY DAUGHTER AND HER FRIENDS WERE STRANDED IN ANOTHER STATE DUE TO THIS BAD ENGINE AT ONLY 60,800 MILES!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11651451March 29, 2025
ENGINE
My Kia Seltos has a recall on the engine because the piston rings leak oil. My car is now losing massive amounts of oil and has damaged my engine. I brought car to dealership and they wanted me to go through my warranty and refused to honor the recall and kicked me out.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
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
#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
#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
#11635520January 12, 2025
ENGINE
I bought this car for my daughter during her second year at IU Bloomington, IN. She called in a panic, saying the car hesitated and stopped. She also shared if she turns car off, the car will restart. I advised her to take it to the nearby KIA dealership for inspection. The mechanic, after a test drive, reported no issues and found no error codes using an OBD-II scanner. When my daughter returned home, I took the car for a test drive and noticed a clicking noise. I checked the oil and added three quarts of Valvoline full synthetic oil 0W-20. I'm disappointed with how she was treated at the dealership. I've learned that adding an oil additive every 1,000 miles is recommended for this common problem. Now that the car has 60,000 miles, the cost of oil is significant, and I won't be repurchasing a KIA. I also feel guilty about trading in this car and possibly passing on issues to another owner. I'm reporting this now due to the added costs and worry that others might not share their experiences.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11627808November 27, 2024
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:HORN
My car horn won’t work consistently. Works sometimes and other times not at all. Please help and let me know if there’s a recall for the horns because there should be always been like this. Sincerely, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11619960October 15, 2024
POWER TRAIN
I was stopped in traffic for about 40 minutes and the over heating transmission came on. warnned to pull over and wait to cool off.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11618937October 9, 2024
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL
The contact owns a 2022 Kia Seltos. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed with the Navigation system activated, the instrumental panel started behaving erratically and failed to display pertinent vehicle safety information, prompting the contact to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway to turn the vehicle off. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The contact stated that several warning lights were illuminated and flashing. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was able to duplicate the failure but was unable to provide a cause for the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 30,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11608750August 15, 2024
ENGINE
A few months ago noise was coming from the engine. I could not find the noise so I just happened to check the oil level and it was down 3 quarts of oil. I put the 3 quarts of oil in and the noise stopped. Now it down almost another quart. I went to Taca Kia and talk to a lady that works in service told me it was normal for the SUV to burn a quart of oil every 1,000 miles. I never heard of a new car burning oil that much. I Heard that Kia put the wrong oil ring in some makes a models.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11608514August 14, 2024
AIR BAGS, LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
This is a problem that has occurred in several Kia models. While driving all of a sudden all the warning lights from every safety related item come on and at the same time the power steering goes off as well as the air conditioner. Sometimes if you stop the car and restart the engine everything returns to normal other times it does not and occasionally the shifter locks itself in park. I have taken it to the Kia dealer twice and they "repaired" it one time and the problem continued. The second time no problem codes were shown in the OBD and they said there was nothing they could do. We have limited our driving this car because it is a ticking time bomb. A quick look at the Seltos forum shows that many owners have reported this problem. Please go to this link below. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11572363February 16, 2024
ENGINE
Engine is burning excessive oil have to add a quart every 3000 miles
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11571607February 13, 2024
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, FIRERELATED
A flapping sound started in the engine, then no acceleration when I used the gas pedal. Pulled to the side of the road and black smoke and sparks began coming from the engine. I exited the car and it burst into flames. The was no warning icons that appeared to alert me to any problems. Car was total ingulfed.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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