2021 Kia Seltos Complaint Log

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.

VEHICLE WAS HAVING DIFFICULTY SHIFTING BETWEEN GEARS, UNTIL ONE TIME IT DID NOT SWITCH FROM AUTOMATIC OFF AT STOPLIGHT BACK INTO GEAR. HAD TO TURN CAR OFF/ON TO GET IT INTO GEAR. LATER ON THE HIGHWAY AT ~60MPH, AS IT WAS TRYING TO DOWNSHIFT TO GO UP A HILL, IT FAILED TO ENGAGE A GEAR. ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND HAD TO COAST INTO SHOULDER TO AWAIT IT BEING TOWED. DEALERSHIP SAID IT NEEDS A NEW TRANSMISSION, WAS BAD FROM FACTORY - CAR HAS ~2K MILES ON IT. TECHNICIAN SAID IT'S NOT THE FIRST HE'S SEEN LIKE THIS.

CAR HAS 3000 MILES,CAR HAD BEEN SURGING WHEN ACCELERATING, IT REVVED UP WHEN IN DRIVE, WOULDN'T GO AS I WAS EXITING OFF OF INTERSTATE. WAS TOWED TO DEALER, THEY COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG, SENT ME HOME. I MADE IT 47 MILES WHEN IT STOPPED ACCELERATING AND STOPPED GOING. WAS TOWED BACK TO DEALER, WHERE IT HAS BEEN FOR OVER 2 WEEKS. THEY ARE PUTTING IN A NEW TRANSMISSION.

VEHICLE WILL NOT PROPERLY SHIFT GEARS AND WILL STALL RANDOMLY AT TRAFFIC STOPS.

CAR WAS PARKED WITH AUTO OFF FEATURE DISABLED. VEHICLE STALLED 2-3 TIMES WHILE PARKED.

WINDOW STICKER INDICATES DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS ON LX MODEL. MANUAL SAYS TO HAVE LIGHT SWITCH IN AUTO POSITION. WHEN MEETING THE REQUIREMENTS OUTLINED IN THE FEATURES AND OWNERS MANUAL THE DRL'S NEVER ILLUMINATE. TOWBIN KIA RESPONDED THAT THE VEHICLE IS OPERATING AS DESIGNED AND I SHOULD MOVE THE SWITCH ONE POSITION UP TO THE PARKING LIGHT POSITION IF I WANT TO USE DRL. THIS IS CONTRARY TO WHAT THE MANUAL STATES.

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.

The contact owns a 2021 Kia Seltos. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, an object fell from a vehicle ahead. The contact stated that while attempting to switch lanes, the Blind Spot Detection system returned the vehicle back into the lane and the vehicle struck the object causing damage to the front mid-section of the skid plate. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure or determine the cause of the failure. The contact stated that the failure persisted. Additionally, the contact stated that the transmission and fuel injectors had failed three times since owning the vehicle. Both parts were repaired twice under warranty; however, the contact was recently informed that the vehicle was out of warranty. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000.

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.

THIS VEHICLE HAS A HUGE FLAW. THE DESIGN ANGLE OF THE WIND SHIELD PICKS UP A GLARE FROM THE DASH WHICH COVERS THE ENTIRE VIEWING ANGLE FROM CENTER WIND SHIELD TO THE RIGHT. ONLY REALLY VISIBLE WHEN THE SUN IS OUT. KIA CONSUMER AFFAIRS HAS ADMITTED VIA EMAIL AND CASE STATEMENT THAT IT IS A DESIGN ISSUE AND NOTHING CAN BE DONE. PHOTO SHOWS DASH GLARE. ANYTHING THAT IS PLACED ON THE DASH IS REFLECTED ON THE WINDOW SHIELD.

TRANSMISSION DEFECT , TRANSMISSION OVER HEATS IN STOP AND GO TRAFFIC , ALSO CAUSES SKIPPING OF THE GEARS. KIA KNOW THIS IS A PROBLEM AND INDICATED THAT CAR WILL SHUT DOWN ON ITS OWN BECAUSE OF THIS.

I BELIEVE KIA IS MANUFACTURING / OR SOURCING VERY BAD QUALITY WINDSHIELD FOR THEIR VEHICLES. I WAS DRIVING MY KIA SELTOS AT 55 MPH ON A CITY ROAD WHEN A SMALL CHIP HIT MY SCREEN WHICH DIDN'T EVEN CREATE ANY STRIKING SOUND AND THE NEXT SECOND I KNOW MY WINDSCREEN DEVELOPED THIS HUGE CRACK. MY CAR WAS APPROXIMATELY 40 DAYS OLD. RIGHT AFTER THAT I TOLD MY DEALERSHIP AND THEIR RESPONSE WAS VERY COLD. THEY EVEN DIDN'T TAKE ANY PICTURES TO CONSULT KIA CONSUMER AFFAIRS. THEY SAID IT WAS AN OUTSIDE INFLUENCE AND THEY WON'T CONSIDER TO COVER IT UNDER ANY WARRANTY. THEN I WENT ON VARIOUS CAR FORUMS TO FIND OUT THAT KIA TELLURIDE BUYERS HAVE FREQUENTLY COMPLAINED ABOUT THE ISSUE AND THE COMPANY REPLACED IT FOR THEM CALLING IT A "GOOD WILL GESTURE". I ALSO REACHED OUT TO VARIOUS OTHER KIA CAR BUYERS AND I WAS SURPISED TO FIND OUT THAT IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST COMMON COMPLAINTS. SURPISINGLY MAJORITY OF THESE WINDSCREENS CRACK WHEN SOMETHING HITS THE CORNERS (WHERE IT SITS ON THE FRAME). PROBABLY A PRESSURE POINT. BUT THIS NEEDS TO BE TAKEN CARE OF. I DON'T WANT TO SPEND A 1500$ AGAIN ON A WINSHIELD REPLACE AFTER EVERY 40 DAYS

MAJOR SAFETY PROBLEM WITH THE NEW 2021 KIA SELTOS WITH THE DUAL CLUTCH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. IT CAN MISS 1ST, 3RD, 5TH AND 7TH GEARS. IT MISSED 1ST GEAR WHILE MY WIFE WAS TURNING LEFT FROM A STOPPED CONDITION... IT WAS NEARLY AN ACCIDENT, AND COULD HAVE BEEN A FATAL ACCIDENT SINCE THERE WAS A PASSENGER. IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THIS TRANSMISSION IS ALREADY A RECALL IN SOUTH KOREA. A WEBSITE HAS A VIDEO SHOWING THE PROBLEM MY WIFE ALSO ENCOUNTERED. PLEASE SEE THIS WEBSITE: HTTPS://WHEELBHP.COM/KIA-SELTOS-DCT-PROBLEMS-3119881/ IT DOES INDICATE AN ECU RE-FLASH SHOULD FIX THE ISSUE. (THE WEBSITE INDICATES A REFLASH SHOULD REPAIR PROPER TRANSMISSION SHIFTING.) MISSED SHIFTS HAS HAPPENED TO MY WIFE MORE THAN ONCE... THE SUV "FEELS JERKY" MANY TIME WHEN DRIVING. REPORTED TO DEALER NO ACTION TAKEN BY KIA DEALER YET. *TR

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE ASSIST (FCA), RADAR SENSOR DO NOT WORK, NEVER GET ALARMS OR WARNING WHEN AN COLLISION IS EMINENT. CONTACTED KIAUSA AND DEALER, PROBLEM NOT SOLVED.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE ASSIST W/ PEDESTRIAN DETECT (FCA), SYSTEM DO NOT WORK, NEVER GET ALARMS, IN A NEAR COLLISION SITUATIONS OR A PERSON CROSSING IN FRONT OF VEHICLE. CONTACTED KIA USA CASE # 13716568), RETURN CAR TO DEALER AS INSTRUCTED, PROBLEM NEVER FIX. KIA NOT PROVIDING ANY INFORMATION OR TROUBLESHOOT, TEST OR REPLACE RADAR SENSOR TO FIX THE PROBLEM. IN THE CAR OWNER MANUAL, IT LOOK LIKE THE SYSTEM HAS MORE LIMITATIONS THAN REAL INSTANCES THAT WILL WORK. SYSTEM NOT RELIABLE AT ALL.

transmission overheats in stop and go traffic as well as daily driving

My 2021 Kia Seltos (manufactured April 2020, ~94,000 miles) has the 2.0L Nu MPI engine affected by a known piston oil ring defect. Symptoms include piston noise, excessive oil consumption, rough idle, reduced power, and codes: P1327 (PNSS-detected knock), P0304 (cyl 4 misfire), P0017 (crank/cam correlation error). These indicate progressive cylinder wall scoring from improperly heat-treated rings, risking seizure or fire. Service history shows: • SC209 (Safety Recall 21V-259) inspection in Jul 2021. • SC209A (PNSS software update) in Feb 2022—explains why P1327 now triggers. • Other campaigns: anti-theft (CS2309/CS2312), AWD ECU (SC242/SC297), ECM logic (SA463). The defect progressed despite early recall work; dealers deny full engine replacement, citing prior completion or shifting coverage. SC209 has no mileage limit—progressive damage qualifies for re-inspection (vibration test, bore scope, compression) and free long block replacement if confirmed. You’ve faced loaner return demands before 2-week period, goodwill denials, and inconsistent coverage. The issue aligns with NHTSA concerns (e.g., AQ25001 on similar recall effectiveness).