2023 Kia Seltos problems & reliability
44 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2023 Kia Seltos, alongside 2 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 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 vehicles.
1 complaint report injuries (3 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2023 Kia Seltos vehicles were involved in 3 fatal crashes with 0 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown OR Other | 17 | 39% |
| Electrical System → | 15 | 34% |
| Engine → | 15 | 34% |
| Forward Collision Avoidance | 4 | 9% |
| Power Train | 4 | 9% |
| Visibility | 4 | 9% |
| Service Brakes | 3 | 7% |
| Structure | 3 | 7% |
| Visibility/wiper | 3 | 7% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 2 | 5% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“To the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), I am writing to formally submit a safety complaint regarding my 2023 Kia Seltos, which exhibits a recurring, dangerous defect involving the engine stalling without warning. This defect results in a total loss of power while the vehicle is in operation or…”
Unknown OR Other · filed Jun 26, 2026
“The gages fall all the way down, I’m not able to accelerate, engine light, traction light, tire pressure light, crash detection light, and other lights come on and prevents me from being able to drive. This happened on the interstate and almost caused an accident.”
Electrical System · filed Mar 28, 2026
“Driving 65mph on [XXX] and all the lights came on flashing and alerting me causing the emergency braking to occur while driving causing me to swerve on the road and lucky I didn’t crash but i had my [XXX] old in the car and it scared the hell out of me, on top of all that my horn gave out and hasn’t worked since that…”
Lane Departure · filed Mar 14, 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
51 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2023 Kia Seltos. The 10 most recent:
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
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
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: IBU LOGIC IMPROVEMENT - This bulletin provides information to upgrade the Integrated Body Control Unit (IBU) software on some 2021-2025MY Seltos (SP2) vehicles produced from November 20, 2019…
TSB_ELE382 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 19, 2025
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: TRANSMISSION FLUID APPLICATION GUIDE - 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…
TSB_TRA046_R5 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 17, 2025
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: PISTON NOISE SENSING SYSTEM (PNSS) INSPECTION - This bulletin provides instructions to perform an engine vibration inspection using the Kia Diagnostic System (KDS) tablet on certain 2020 -…
TSB_SST082 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 4, 2025
VOLUNTARY SERVICE CAMPAIGN: OWNER RENOTIFICATION (SC297) - This document is the owner renotification advising that Kia conducting a Voluntary Service Campaign to inspect and, if necessary, replace the AWD Control Unit…
SC297_OWNR_201 · Service Campaign · issued Apr 2, 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 2023 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 2023 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.