10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
620 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2021 Kia Seltos:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

Get free help with your lemon!
close ad
problem #20

Jun 252023

Seltos

  • miles
3 Teenagers were able to break a window, enter the car, Start the car without use of a key, and drive the vehicle. Rear Windows breaking do not trigger anti-theft alarm. Car is able to be started with out use of the key. Car is able to be driven with out use of a key. Was able to catch the incident of film and it took only 5 minutes for it to be stolen.

- Grand Rapids, MI, USA

problem #19

Jun 052023

Seltos

  • miles
MY VEHICLE HAS SHOUT OFF ON ME 4 TIMES EITHER WHILE STOPPED AT THE LIGHT/ STOP SIGN. APPROACHING A LIGHT AND OR STOP SIGN WHILE SLOWING TO STOP. IT APPEARS TO BE THAT PART OF THE SYSTEM THAT SHUTS DOWN OR OFF THE VEHICLE IN ORDER TO CONSERVE GAS IS MALFUNCTIONING THIS CLEARLY BECOMES A SAFETY RISK DEPENDING ON WHERE THE CAR IS POSITIONED AT THE TIME OF THE SHUT DOWN, SLOWING TO MAKE TURN OR STOP AT AN INTERSECTION. AT THIS TIME I WILL BE REPORTING THIS ISSUE TO THE DESALERSHIP, THE ISSUE HAS NOT BEEN INSPECTED BY ANYONE AT THE TIME OF THIS REPORT HERE. THERE WERE NO WARNING LAMPS ACTIVATED PRIOR TO THE VEHICLE SHUTTING OFF. At the time I did not think to copy the dates, times, mph or mileage of the vehicle but the information on the screen instructed me to put the vehicle in park to restart. this a very scary situation in traffic.

- Hollywood, FL, USA

problem #18

May 182023

Seltos

  • miles
5/18/23 My car shut off with the stop/go feature and would not turn back on. Was able to start once I removed the key and tried again after a few minutes. This again happened to me once I got to a gas station resulting in the same issue today 5/19/23

- Steubenville, OH, USA

problem #17

May 082023

Seltos

  • miles
When driving the vehicle the motor will randomly shut off. This is a safety hazard and has been happening more and more. I thought it was supposed to do this but only when stopped. It now is doing it while driving and I have almost been rear ended 3 times now. The car is not drivable.

- Lancaster, PA, USA

problem #16

May 082023

Seltos

  • miles
My car was stolen 4 times due to KIA not installing an immobilizer into my car. My Window was broken all 4 times to get to the car and never did my car alarm sound during this time.

- Minneapolis, MN, USA

problem #15

Feb 182023

Seltos

  • miles
Two issues with my vehicle: 1. When driving and stopped at a red light, the stop/start technology will engage, turning off my engine. Upon the light turning green again, my foot comes off the brake to hit the acceleration but the entire dashboard/electrical system restarts like the car has just been turned on. It has done this mid-driving (foot on the acceleration) as well; killing the entire electrical system. No warning lights or messages appear. 2. When driving longer distances (20+ miles), sometimes the vehicle engine will not turn off. I drove a distance of about 20 miles; got to the destination, parked the car and hit the start/stop button to turn off the engine. The entire interior electrical/dash was off but when I hopped out of the vehicle, the engine was still running. I have to re-enter the vehicle and turn it back on and off just to get the engine to turn off. No warning lights or signals appear. The dealership won't fix my issues; says they can't recreate the problems but I do have video evidence that the problems exist. It has happened periodically since I purchased my vehicle, a 2021 Seltos SX, in March of 2020.

- Slc, UT, USA

problem #14

Jan 042023

Seltos

  • miles
1. October 2022 started noticing when stopped for 15+ sec. electrical dash/and screen completely restart when transmission would come back on from being in off position. Happened also while releasing seat belt. 2. Horn would malfunction and go to voice command when pressed or not work at all. Very intermittent. 3. Gears not shifting smoothly, car is jolty, not accelerating well, and getting a slight grinding feeling, running rough, missing shifts or not shifting until it revs high. warning indicators have illuminated. My dealer suggested doing an "software update" which did not correct the problem and they are unresponsive otherwise. I have had vehicle in 3 times and each time they just weren't prepared or had no plan to remedy. The problem has been confirmed by the dealer and I have also take a video of the issue. It is available for inspection. Safety is a concern considering the electrical issue plus the seat belt and horn. Unsure if the electrical system is reliable during a crash and if my safety belt and airbags are effected.

- Cedar Park, TX, USA

problem #13

Nov 262022

Seltos

  • miles
ON 11/26/22 I was driving down the road my Kia Seltos showed error messages on the dashboard saying ERROR and then Power Train off, the car then shut off at 55 mph and smoke filled my cabin, I got the car pulled over and called the fire department, there was no flames just smoke and smelled like electrical. It was then after 2 weeks taken to a dealership where they inspected the car and stated the fire was in the engine and the engine needs to be replaced. After doing research on this car and the issue there were at least 4 other complaints filed with KIA AMERICA about this issue

- Honesdale , PA, USA

problem #12

Oct 102022

Seltos 4-cyl

  • miles
2021 Kia Seltos ~50,000 miles. My horn doesn't work. I live in Tampa, so definitely need a horn. Also my infotainment center is trash. It works perfect about 30% of the time. The other 70%. Oh well where do I start? It will completely freeze, the screen turns black, when I get a call in, oh boy that's a showdown. It'll freeze, then I have to grab my phone, and answer it. Can't even use the BT (Bluetooth) in the car, I've used both Android Auto, and Carplay. It doesn't matter it's still terrible. It's unresponsive to touch about 90% of the time. Absolute trash. I've only had this car for a few months (I'm the second owner), and I can see why that last owners got rid of it. I've had nothing but issues out of this car. If I wasnt screwed by the dealership and payed 20k more than it was worth, I would have done traded the stupid thing in. I'm honestly thinking about trading it in to a Tesla, and just transfer all the negative equity over. Yea it'll cost an arm and a leg, but atleast I'd have something I'd like.

- Ruskin, FL, USA

problem #11

Sep 072022

Seltos

  • miles
Today 9/7/2022 I was driving down a hill going about 55mph, when all of a sudden the car started jerking all of the warning lights on the dashboard came on (ABS, ACC, AEB, BSW, FCW, LDW, and the LKA). So essentially all the cool features. The vehicle then popped up a warning decrease speed immediately. Ever since then the car is like in a limp mode thing where it will not allow me to drive over 35mph. It continually jerks, and shakes. It stutters. Absolutely ridiculous. I haven't even had this car long enough to make the first payment. It feels like the back wheels lock up while driving, I'm not sure if they are but it feels like it. If I weren't in debt 40k on a car that's worth about half that (yes the dealership screwed me over). The guy I purchased from (mind you this is at a kia dealership) he is no help he refuses to answer me. I even called the main store to get ahold of him, and he refuses to talk. The service department refuses to help. I will NEVER buy another kia. This is my first and definitely last. At this point I honestly don't even know where to take it to get it fixed because they're the only kia dealership within about 100mi.

- Mount Vernon, KY, USA

problem #10

May 032022

Seltos

  • miles
Let's start off with the minor stuff 1st my passenger seatbelt does not work secondly my hands free my hands free connection on my radio disconnect automatically on its own and won't let me reconnect it I bought a connected about a new phone thinking that was a problem it's not it's the car lastly lastly I Was driven down the road lost all power to my car it was all the oil in it I refilled the oil while stopping her again this time with no brakes could have caused a serious accident I took it to Kia for repairs the engine has failed

- Amelia, OH, USA

problem #9

Mar 012022

Seltos

  • miles
I was coming to a stop sign and I started hearing a knocking sound. My car flashed the check engine sign and then shut off with the battery and engine oil light flashing. It smelled like something was burning. I started drifting back so I had to pull the parking brake, put on my hazards and turn off my car. I tried to start it 2x without it turning over. On the third try, the car started and the lights on the dash resolved except the engine malfunction. I was unable to accelerate above 45 MPH on a busy highway and it eventually stalled out again for a second time in the middle of a highway. I was almost rear-ended twice. Same lights came on- engine oil, battery and check engine light. I turned it off and turned it back on- it reluctantly started and was shuttering the whole time. I was able to get it into a parking lot before calling KIA road side assistance. I had it towed to the nearest dealership who was supposed to look at it the next day, Di d not hear anything back until the 3rd day when I called. I was informed that they would not be able to look at it until the following week. I was able to get it towed to the dealership closest to home, where I purchased the vehicle. They looked at it and informed my that there was no oil in the engine and the the engine would need to be repaired. I never had an oil light come on until the vehicle stalled out. They are saying that because there was no oil in it, I was not keeping up with the maintenance and that it voids the warranty. So now I have to come up with $10,200 to replace the engine block. My car only had 25,516 miles on it and had 3 oil changes prior to it shutting down. The last oil change, I was informed that my car was using more oil than it should but that this was not cause for concern. I am beyond frustrated. I have been a loyal kia customer for years and am disheartened for being accused of not caring for my vehicle, despite having provided receipts from oil changes and no am without a car.

- Thurmont, MD, USA

problem #8

Feb 282022

Seltos

  • miles
For the second time in the past month the car would not start. Appears to be due to a dead battery however the dealership has been unable to locate a problem. Looking online and it appears to be a issue that Kia is aware of but not owning up to. This is my wife's car and should she get stranded her personal safety could be at risk. The dealership did admit that there could be something like an electrical component that stays on and is causing the drain but they said it could take a long time to find it or they might never find it. The car has only 8700 miles on it. We recently saw a recall on other kias that are catching fire. Could this be a similar component that is draining our car battery?

- Little River, SC, USA

problem #7

Jan 312022

Seltos

  • miles
My 2021 Kia Seltos shut off while I was driving it. This happened once in July 2021, I was at a stop sign and I attributed it to not driving it in a while and the extreme summer heat. But on January 31st, I had turned my car on, I let it -€œwarm up-€ and then I started to drive. To my surprise, as I was driving my car shut off. It first felt like the gas pedal was hardly working then the car began to slow down and I had no control over the acceleration or breaks. Then, the check engine light, battery light, and oil light all appeared on my dashboard and the car came to a complete stop. And all functions on the car were not functioning. Fortunately, no other cars were around and I wasn-€™t injured. I was able to restart my car and drive back to a driveway with the engine sounding louder than normal and the only the check engine light on. From there, Kia towed my car to the dealership, ran a diagnostic check on the engine, checked the sparks plugs, drove it 25 miles. Since the problem didn-€™t occur while they had it, I have been informed -€œnothing is wrong with my car-€. I called Kia customer service and was informed that despite the similar claims on this website, no recall or issue had been formally filed for kia to take care of. I questioned what the next steps would be and as of now I am left to continue to drive a car that shut off on me.

- Rochester, NY, USA

problem #6

Jan 212022

Seltos

  • miles
I pulled up to a busy intersection which had a stoplight that had just turned red. As I was waiting there, all of a sudden my car just died. The engine stopped and no electrical was working either. There were no warning lights or messages at all. I tried to start it, but to no avail. The cars shifter was also locked in the drive position. I turned the hazard lights on as I was trying to figure out what was going on. My safety and the safety of my children, who were in the car at the time, was put at risk as drivers behind me were growing impatient as light turned green and I couldn-€™t move.There were no warning lights that went on prior to the car failing, or after i got the car started again. On about my fifth try of trying to start it, the car slowly started up again and I was able to pull into a nearby parking lot.

- Tonawanda, NY, USA

problem #5

Oct 012020

Seltos

  • 2,000 miles
The contact owns a 2021 Kia Seltos. The contact stated that while stopped, the fuel-saving system would turn off the engine however, whenever the brake pedal was released, the engine failed to immediately restart. The contact then had to turn off and restart the vehicle. The failure had occurred on multiple occasions. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not contacted or notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 2,000.

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

problem #4

Dec 282021

Seltos

  • miles
The entire electrical system (display, gauges, exterior lights, etc.) resets while driving. This may be a one off or may happen several times in a few minutes. The engine never stops running, which is good as this happened in the interstate. In the dark, this could be dangerous as the headlights and taillights go out for a moment. I am not aware if this is easily replicated or if this poses issues to other systems.

- Forest Lake, MN, USA

problem #3

Oct 282021

Seltos

  • miles
The car sometimes will be locked in park and unable to move. Sometimes the dashboard lights up with all error lights and auto shuts the car off in the middle of driving. Sometimes on the highway, the speed notifier goest to 0mph when I am going atleast 65-70mph.

- Silver Spring, MD, USA

problem #2

Nov 122020

Seltos

  • 9,500 miles
HVAC blower would not blow. Dealer found melted relays. One week after replacing the entire engine wiring harness I started to get a burnt electrical smell through the vents. I looked in the engine fuse box and there were melted relays again.

- Mesquite, NV, USA

problem #1

Sep 152020

Seltos

  • 900 miles
My Kia Seltos with only 900 miles has done the following twice: When at a stop and I step on the gas the car turns off. The first time it happened I was at a stop light and when I stepped on the gas the car turned off and took a couple of minutes before I was able to turn the car back on. The second time it happened I put the car in reverse and stepped on the gas and it turned off. I was told by the dealer that it appears to be a problem with the engine control unit. Now my car has been in the shop for 15 days so far with no knowledge of when the car will be returned because the part is on "back order". I'd like to add that while at the car rental place I met another person with the same car and exact same issues.

- Norwalk, CA, USA