2021 Kia Seltos problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Engine (163) · Power Train (57) · Engine And Engine Cooling (45)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Kia Seltos model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
91 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (2)
Engine And Engine Cooling:engine:hard Parts Internal/Mechanical 2025-02-17 · campaign 25V099000 · 137,256 vehicles
Defect: Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2021-2023 Seltos and Soul vehicles. The piston oil rings may have been manufactured incorrectly, which can result in engine damage.
Risk: Engine damage can cause a vehicle stall or fire, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the engine as necessary, free of charge. Dealers will also install piston-ring noise sensing system (PNSS) software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 4, 2025. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC336.
Engine 2021-04-13 · campaign 21V259000 · 147,249 vehicles
Defect: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Soul, and 2021 Seltos vehicles equipped with 2.0L Nu MPI engines. The piston oil rings may not have been properly heat-treated, which may result in engine damage.
Risk: A damaged engine may stall, increasing the risk of a crash. In addition, oil may leak onto hot exhaust components, increasing the risk of a fire.
Fix: Kia will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the engine, free of charge. In addition, Kia will deploy Piston Ring Noise Sensing System (PNSS) software. The recall began June 11, 2021. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC209.
Service bulletins (134)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Structure:body 2026-06-08 · CS2312_TSB_R2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: customer satisfaction: theft deterrent ignition cylinder protector and decal installation (cs2312) - this bulletin has been revised to include additional information. new/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. this bulletin prov
Electrical System 2026-05-28 · TSB_ELE422 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: infotainment system software update using update.kia.com - this bulletin provides information and service procedures for updating the infotainment systems on applicable kia vehicles using the kia navigation updater available at update.kia.com. the software update may impr
Power Train 2026-02-19 · SC199_OWNR_SP2_3 · Emissions
voluntary emissions service campaign: owner renotification (sc199 fl301) - this document is the owner renotification advising that kia is conducting voluntary service campaign to update the software programming on the transmission control module (tcm) and, if necessary, replace the intelligent vari
Structure:body 2025-12-18 · TSB_CS2312 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: customer satisfaction: theft deterrent ignition cylinder protector and decal installation (cs2312) - this bulletin provides information to install a theft deterrent ignition cylinder protector on certain 2010-2022my kia vehicles outlined on page 19, which may not have bee
Structure:body 2025-12-17 · CS2312_OWNR · Other
customer satisfaction campaign: owner notification (cs2312) - this document is the owner notification advising that kia is conducting customer satisfaction campaign. a software upgrade that addresses the social media theft method has been made available to owners of eligible kia model vehicles free
Back Over Prevention: Warnings 2025-12-09 · PS797 · Other
pitstop: technical operations: external damage to ultrasonic sensor: this pitstop provides information related to parking distance warning (pdw) alerts and repairs involving ultrasonic sensors. the pdw system alerts the driver while parking, by calculating distance based on the difference in signal
Showing the 6 most recent of 134 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-29 · Engine“the vehicle experienced a sudden loss of motive power and triggered diagnostic trouble code p1327, which indicates severe internal engine damage and bearing failure monitored by the piston-ring noise sensing system. this vehicle is subject to active safety recalls sc209 (nhtsa campaign 21v259000) and sc336 (nhtsa campaign 25v099) for manufacturing …”
2026-10-29 · Engine“i am reporting a violation of safety recall sc336 for my car (vin: [xxx]), which is currently at west hills kia in [xxx]. my engine will not start because the camshaft and timing parts broke. this happened because the engine ran too low on oil and lost oil pressure, which is exactly what this recall is about. because the car cannot start or run, th…”
2026-10-28 · Engine And Engine Cooling · 70,000 mi“the contact owns a 2021 kia seltos. the contact received notifications of nhtsa campaign number 21v259000 (engine) and 25v099000 (engine and engine cooling). the contact requested that the manufacturer and selling dealer buy back the vehicle due to recurring issues. while driving, the check engine warning light illuminated and started flashing. the…”
2026-10-19 · Visibility/Wiper“turned rear defroster on before getting on the highway as temps were in the upper 30s. about 5 minutes down the highway there was a loud pop sound and the rear windshield began splintering. by the time we got to a safe place to stop the entire shield was shattered and there were several holes. purchased trash bags and tape to cover the windshield a…”
2026-10-08 · Engine And Engine Cooling · 107,000 mi“the contact owns a 2021 kia seltos. the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine, oil pressure, and charging system warning lights were illuminated, and the vehicle stalled. the contact stated that after waiting several minutes, the vehicle returned to normal operation. the vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it …”
2026-10-07 · Engine“as i was driving my 2021 kia seltos lx awd, at approximately 45 mph, my car had stalled causing an injury to my facial area, specifically my nose. …”
2026-10-06 · Vehicle Speed Control“recall evasion & timeline fraud report filing formal complaint against kia america & kia of cerritos (ca) for evasion of mandate under safety recall sc336 (nhtsa 25v099). 1. critical timeline: • [xxx]: kia cerritos confirmed no diagnostic/recall tests were performed. • [xxx]: dealer documented engine is completely seized from the "bottom part" (whe…”
2026-10-05 · Engine“burns a lot of oil bad piston rings, and cylinders # 25v099000/kia#sc336 incorrectly manufactured parts…”
2026-09-29 · Engine And Engine Cooling · 158,000 mi“the contact owns a 2021 kia seltos. the contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing excessive oil consumption. while driving 55 mph, the vehicle lost motive power in the middle of the highway and came to a stop. the check engine warning light was illuminated, and an abnormal burning odor was coming from the vehicle. the vehicle was pushed to t…”
2026-09-28 · Engine“nhtsa safety complaint vehicle: 2021 kia seltos vin: [xxx] date: december 16, 2025 complainant: [xxx] i am filing this formal safety complaint regarding serious and recurring engine problems with our 2021 kia seltos, vin [xxx]. we have attempted repeatedly to resolve these concerns through lithia kia in nampa, idaho, as well as through kia corporat…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.