2021 Kia Seltos problems & reliability
368 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2021 Kia Seltos, alongside 2 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Sep 21, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several components.
7 complaints report injuries (8 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2021 Kia Seltos vehicles were involved in 26 fatal crashes with 15 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Engine → | 224 | 61% |
| Power Train → | 68 | 18% |
| Electrical System → | 47 | 13% |
| Unknown / Other | 46 | 13% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling → | 43 | 12% |
| Fuel/propulsion System → | 26 | 7% |
| Vehicle Speed Control → | 10 | 3% |
| Air Bags | 6 | 2% |
| Forward Collision Avoidance | 6 | 2% |
| Service Brakes | 6 | 2% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
All 22 reported components →Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Among the 82 complaints that included a usable odometer reading, the median reported incident mileage was 45,000 miles (middle 50% between 9,850 and 71,530 miles).
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“My check engine light went on and the vehicle was driving sluggish, was louder at higher rpms and had a rough idle. The light went on around Aug 1st, 2026 and that's when I noticed the strange driving. Brought it to my mechanic that week and they got the following codes: p0017, p0014 and p0013. My mechanic thought…”
Power Train · filed Sep 17, 2026
“My 2021 Kia Seltos is experiencing engine sputtering/hesitation at approximately 3,000 RPM and the low oil pressure warning light illuminates while the vehicle is stopped or idling. The vehicle has been taken to an authorized Kia dealership for diagnosis. The dealership opened a Kia Techline case and advised us that…”
Engine · filed Sep 10, 2026
“Severe Safety Hazard, Corporate Negligence, and Delayed Repair: * After picking the vehicle up following the secondary service, a heavy, toxic smell of raw gasoline began pouring directly through the cabin’s HVAC vents while driving. * I immediately called the dealership. A representative consulted a technician and…”
Fuel/propulsion System · filed Sep 10, 2026
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Kia 25V099 Piston Oil Ring Recall Effectiveness
Audit Query AQ25001 · opened Aug 6, 2025 · closed Dec 18, 2025
Technical service bulletins
134 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2021 Kia Seltos. The 10 most recent:
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…
CS2312_TSB_R2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 8, 2026
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…
TSB_ELE422 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 28, 2026
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…
SC199_OWNR_SP2_3 · Emissions · issued Feb 19, 2026
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…
TSB_CS2312 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 18, 2025
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…
CS2312_OWNR · Other · issued Dec 17, 2025
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…
PS797 · Other · issued Dec 9, 2025
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: IBU LOGIC IMPROVEMENT: 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…
TSB_ELE382_R1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 22, 2025
WARRANTY EXTENSION CAMPAIGN: TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: HORN ASSEMBLY INSPECTION/REPLACEMEN (WTY038) - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are…
WTY038_TSB_R1 · Warranty Program/Extension · issued Oct 21, 2025
This bulletin provides instructions to perform an engine vibration inspection using the Kia Diagnostic System (KDS) tablet on certain Kia engine/model vehicles. The piston oil ring(s) in certain Kia engines may, over…
SST082_R1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 4, 2025
This bulletin provides information related to the Technical Service Bulletin previously published under SC336 titled “Engine Inspection/Replacement and ECM Logic Improvement”.
SC336YZ_TSB · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 4, 2025
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2021 Kia Seltos has 2 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2021 Kia Seltos?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Among complaints with usable mileage, the median reported incident mileage was 45,000 miles. This does not predict when a particular vehicle will develop a problem.