2021 KIA Seltos problems
Owners have filed 496 complaints about the 2021 KIA Seltos with NHTSA. Engine accounts for 43.3% of them — far more than any other system, ahead of power train at 12.9%.
Complaints496
Crashes23
Fires10
Injuries12
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Engine 43.3% · 215
Power train 12.9% · 64
Electrical system 9.3% · 46
Unknown or other 8.9% · 44
Engine and engine cooling 8.5% · 42
Fuel/propulsion system 4.6% · 23
Vehicle speed control 2.0% · 10
Forward collision avoidance 1.8% · 9
Severity
Of those complaints, 23 describe a crash, 10 describe a fire and 12 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Filings are rising — 312 in the last three years against 157 in the three before. For a vehicle this age that usually points to a wear-related failure owners are hitting now.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 29,310 miles.
In owners' own words
My car just stopped working while driving on the road. It wouldnât crank up/ the engine wasnât operating and the car wouldnât accelerate. Itâs been over a year since my car hasnât been working. I took it to the dealer and they said the engine wasnât consuming the oil or something of that sort. No lights came on before itâs like it just went out. It has been inoperable ever since. This was June 2024. Engine
The engine stalls and or dies when breaks are applied. Yes, it was confirmed by dealer. Engine light came on. Has been in shop. Car only has 97,000 miles. They are refusing to honor extended warranty even though other Kia Seltos engines have the exact same problem that are under recall. These are engine sensor problems ... they have nothing to do with "oil changes" that they claim were made late (One) Engine
My locked Kia Seltos was stolen from my driveway while I was home. No alarm went off despite a broken window. This is a major problem with Kia/hyundai vehicles in Milwaukee where thieves are plugging in USB devices that start the car. Kia knows about the issue (look up news reports in Milwaukee) but is doing nothing to solve it. No recall! Now I have no car and Kia wonât compensate me at all. Engine
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…