2021 Kia Seltos Reliability Report

The car shuts off while driving, often with the check engine, battery, and oil lights coming on together, and owners describe losing throttle and brake response. One filing reports a highway shutdown that ended in a crash with an injury. Another describes smoke filling the cabin with an electrical smell. Separate complaints cover batteries that go dead from an untraced drain, stop/start restarts that reset the whole electrical system, limp mode with driver-assist warnings lit, a frozen or unresponsive infotainment screen, and a dead horn. Some stalls occurred on cars with fewer than 900 miles.

Several filings describe the car surging forward while the brake is pressed or during a gear change. Two of these crashes caused injuries. One car reportedly caught fire on its own and burned completely. Other reports cover grinding, shaking, and slowing that returned months after an engine replacement, along with shutoffs that dealers could not reproduce and oil burning that continued after repair. Less common issues include a horn that stopped working, an A/C sensor fault, and traction control or braking that kicks in by itself on long highway drives.

Airbags do not deploy in hard collisions. All 5 complaints involve crashes, and two people were injured. Reports include a T-bone crash at about 50 mph that totaled the car, deer strikes at 60 mph that caused heavy front-end damage, and a side impact from a large water tank where the side airbag stayed stowed. Two owners also say the forward collision warning gave no alert before hitting a deer. One report notes the warning light came on only after the impact.

The car accelerates on its own with the brake pressed, or while shifting from reverse to drive. Two of these events ended in crashes with injuries, one into a tree and one into a parked car. Another owner reports the problem happening again while the car was being moved at a repair shop. Other filings describe surging and then a total loss of acceleration that led to a new transmission at 3000 miles, and a sudden stall with no brake response. In that case the driver had to use the parking brake while the charging, oil pressure, and check engine lights were on.

None of these reports describe a fault in the steering itself. Instead they describe the engine stalling at highway speed or at stops, sometimes with a clunk. Other complaints mention every warning light coming on before the car shuts off, the speedometer dropping to zero at highway speed, and the car getting stuck in park. One owner says the dealer replaced the battery but the stalling continued. Another reports the car was stolen quickly even with a steering wheel lock fitted, and blames weak theft protection.

Sputtering and shutoffs leave cars stranded, and some will not restart. In one case the eventual repair was a new fuel injector, and the mechanic reported cylinder scoring. Other owners smell gasoline in and around the car and need a new fuel pump and seals. Some have a check engine light that keeps returning after oxygen sensor and spark plug replacements. One filing describes the transmission hesitating and shuddering at low speeds, especially in turns, and overheating in stop-and-go traffic.

Buckles and warnings misbehave. The front passenger buckle is hard to latch and may come undone by itself. Some owners say the seat belt warning flashes and beeps while the belt is fastened, and unbuckling does not always clear it. In the back seat, the belt can catch in the backrest latch when the seat is folded down and raised again, which damages the belt. One owner in this group also reports the forward collision system braking hard on the highway with no cars nearby.