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Launched in the U.S. as a 2020 model, the 2022 Kia Seltos is a compact SUV that looks like it’s a lot of fun to drive. With Kia saying this model is “made to do more,” expectations are quite high among consumers. However, complaints about the model are starting to rack up, with customers talking about defective engines, transmission units that overheat, and poorly-built structures.
Click on other model year to view more problems: 2021
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NHTSA Complaints for the 2022 Kia Seltos
| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Unknown Or Other | |
| Engine | |
| Electrical System | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Adaptive Cruise Control | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Warnings | |
| Air Bags | |
| Wheels | |
| Lane Departure: Assist | |
| Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera |
Most Common Problems with the 2022 Kia Seltos
Problems experienced by owners of the 2022 Kia Seltos are varied. But the main problems currently relate to stalling engines and overheating transmission units. These same issues are also reported by owners of the debut 2021 model year Kia Seltos.
Additionally, there are several different issues relating to the structure of the SUV that are upsetting owners.
Lemberg Law regularly analyzes the complaints that consumers lodge with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which provides a reliable gauge of ongoing issues. There are 10 complaints on file from December 15, 2021, and October 12, 2022. They incorporate issues about 8 components, back over prevention, the electrical system, the engine, forward collision avoidance, lane departure, powertrain, structure, and wheels.
There are several complaints that are posted in the Unknown or Other category. These range from a spare tire being too small for the vehicle to a sunroof exploding for no apparent reason.
For example, an owner from Ohio states, “I had a flat tire and replaced it with the spare tire that came with the car. Because the vehicle is AWD, the tires need to be the same size, however, the spare tire was smaller. As a result, the car started smoking and driving very rough within 10 miles of the spare being put on. It turns out that the differential went out because the spare tire was rotating faster than the others.”
There are 29 manufacturer communications on file with the NHTSA, but none refer to the major powertrain and engine issues. However, there is a “voluntary service campaign” document that was issued by Kia in August 2022 that addresses the spare tire issue. It acknowledges the possibility of oil seal leaks, oil-burning smells, and smoke, but doesn’t mention tire size.
Problems with the Transmission
There were lots of complaints about the transmission on the 2021 Kia Seltos literally breaking. But overheating of the transmission unit seems to be the primary transmission-related problem with the 2022 model.
An owner from Pennsylvania states in an NHTSA complaint that the transmission of the car started overheating in traffic about 6 weeks after it was bought. He wants it fixed or to be refunded, but Kia doesn’t seem to be accepting responsibility for the problem.
“Once the transmission overheated, the engine lost power. I was driving in busy traffic and had to pull the car over to allow the engine to cool down. The police came over and made me start driving my car again, indicating that I could not pull over in such busy traffic. This is a major risk to my safety and can potentially cause a car accident.”
The Kia dealership evaluated the problem and reported back to the owner that it was “a known defect” and that “there is nothing they could do to fix the car.”
Problematic Engine Issues
No one expects the 2022 Kia Seltos engine to be comparable to a sports car, but it should still be reliable and dependable. Poor acceleration is irritating, but stalling engines simply aren’t safe. Some complaints mention both issues, suggesting that they are connected.
Stalling Issues
The complaint from an owner in New York states that the engine of his 2022 Seltos malfunctions and he wants help from the NHTSA to get a new engine. “My safety has been at risk when I am driving on the highway (at) 50 miles per hour.” The engine shuts off when turning the steering wheel to make a turn and while waiting at a red light. “However, it will start back up after I switch the gauge into Park and restart the car.” At the time of the complaint, Kia headquarters was evaluating the problem.
A young woman from Illinois has had similar experiences. The complaint states that twice the Seltos engine shut off completely at traffic lights and she lost power to the steering and brakes. A “battery discharge warning” flashed on her screen and she had to wait 20 minutes to restart the vehicle. This is a “dangerous situation at a busy intersection.” The first time it happened, the dealer could not find any problems. The second time, the complaint states, the dealer didn’t bother to call her back.
An owner from New York describes an experience where the Seltos “lost motive power and stalled without warning.’ When he restarted the vehicle, it entered a “limp mode as the vehicle would fail to accelerate above 40 mph with the accelerator pedal depressed to the floorboard.” Because the owner was unable to reach the manufacturer, the car had still not been repaired nearly 4 months after the incident.
Acceleration Problems
Several comments on Edmunds mention acceleration problems without complaining about stalling. One that awards 4 out of 5 stars to the Seltos says, simply: “The acceleration is lackluster, but that’s to be expected when you don’t get the turbocharged engine.”
Another one says, “The acceleration on this car is sluggish and unless you have a lead foot, you’ll have to get used to slowly accelerating.” This same user, who awarded 3 stars to the Seltos, also experienced error codes including the check engine light, code P226100. The dealership was unable to schedule an appointment for over a month but said that “if the check engine light isn’t blinking it is safe to keep driving”
Overall, this reviewer declares that the 2022 Kia Seltos offers an “underwhelming performance.”
Dissatisfaction with the Vehicle Structure
Many people are attracted to the 2022 Seltos because of the lower price and unique styling. But they don’t expect to get a brand-new SUV with structural problems.
An Edmunds review points out, “There’s quite a bit of wind and road noise while driving… The front seats can be a bit uncomfortable on long rides, especially for your lower back.” But that’s nothing compared to the complaints about shattering glass and exploding sunroofs.
Glass Shatters
A complaint to the NHTSA from an owner in Puerto Rico describes how the glass in his Seltos has shattered twice. The first time it happened was 20 minutes after taking delivery. “I heard a noise and looked and my glass had shattered.” The dealer replaced the glass but the same thing happened a little more than a month later. His concern is that the glass won’t stand up to impact if the car is in an accident.
Sunroof Explodes
Another NHTSA complaint describes how the sunroof of a 2022 Seltos belonging to an Oregon resident exploded suddenly. Although the shade was open, the sunroof itself was in a closed position. “I heard a terrible explosion suddenly and was startled. I was driving alone in the car. At first, I thought it was something nearby. Then I looked up and saw that the entire sunroof was shattered. (There was) glass all over the passenger seat and flying into the rear seat. Part of the sunroof glass was still intact, bowing outward.”
The Auto Body Shop recommended by the Kia dealership “said they had never seen anything like this before.” Their opinion was that “an explosion from within” caused the glass to bow outward.
After discovering that this has happened to other Kia models, the complainant filed a police report and asked Kia to investigate. “I am horrified by this experience and angry that this type of incident has apparently gone on for years with not only Kia cars but other cars with sunroofs exploding as well.” She said she will keep pursuing this with the Kia dealership and a Kia rep as well. “Why should my personal insurance company pay for this when Kia should take some responsibility? I am just glad that I was not injured physically.”
Your Lemon Law Legal Rights
If you think you might have bought a lemon, you are welcome to phone the Lemberg Law Helpline or fill out a contact form. You may be able to get your lemon out of your life. Every year, auto manufacturers buy back, replace or pay cash settlements to thousands of ‘lemon’ owners.
Lemberg Law will evaluate your problems free of charge because the law makes Kia pay legal fees for lemon law cases.
Complaint Data
| Category | Electrical System, Engine |
| Date | Mar 07, 2023 |
| State | GA |
| Description | Vehicle stalled and shut completely off then back on. Vehicle shut down during an attempted left turn almost causing deadly collision with oncoming traffic. Vehicle completely a hard break, shut off then back on in the middle of a left turn. |
| Category | Forward Collision Avoidance: Adaptive Cruise Control, Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking, Forward Collision Avoidance: Warnings |
| Date | Jan 26, 2023 |
| State | PA |
| Description | Summary: failure of vision system causes unpredictable computer behavior, and such failure may not be known by vehicle operator. 3 separate incidents on same car . Occurance 1, 10/22: brakes locked (with smoke) and stalled in heavy traffic; fortunately traveling only 5mph so no accident. Restart allowed car to run, although rough. Note: front collision avoidance turned off but computer reset system anyway on camera failure. Kia towed to nearest dealer, admitting that it is not safe to drive. Once computer went blind, the front vision system reset defaults-including braking control. The camera system was replaced, seamingly fixing situation. *occurance 2, 12/29/22 hoa cruise control set at 65, traffic moving 50- car started to accelerate, not seeing car in advance. Braking put up a dashboard message "hoa disabled, radar blocked", then "conditions not met, radar blocked". I also discovered that front collision avoidance was not functional. Note there is no consistant warning to operator, only periodically, a "fca disabled, radar blocked" message appeared, but would disappear within 5-10 minutes (but system was still offline). Visit 1, 1/10 > no problem found, reset default settings visit 2, 1/17 > took back to dealer again- problem replicated, camera ordered visit 3, 1/24 > vehicle dropped off for camera replacement *occurance 3, 1/24, system failed on test drive after repair. Dealer did not provide details. Dealer arranged rental "this car is not safe to drive" |
| Category | Air Bags |
| Date | Jan 16, 2023 |
| State | TX |
| Description | We purchased a new factory 2022 kia seltos for our child, because of its 6 standard airbags and its other safety features. Our child was in a vehicle accident on black friday were he hit his head and suffered a severe head concussion. It was a frontal crash and none of the airbags deployed. Because of this our son could not complete his firsts semester of college and had to take an “incompleteâ€. Before the accident there were no malfunction warnings, and we received nothing from his kia app stating nothing wrong with his vehicle. As a matter of fact, the cops, ambulance and tow driver were all shocked that his airbag did not deploy. Our insurance company had the car towed to its collision center so they could review the extent of the damages. The insurance and collision center deemed the vehicle a total loss because the vehicle was over the 75% threshold to be repaired. The vehicle was totaled because it had a frontal bent frame, no front bumper, headlights, sensors, radiator etc. We did report the accident and findings from our insurance company to kia america and the dealership where we purchased the vehicle; but they seemed not to care. |
| Category | Unknown Or Other, Wheels |
| Date | Oct 12, 2022 |
| State | OH |
| Description | I had a flat tire and replaced it with the spare tire that came with the car. Because the vehicle is awd, the tires need to be the same size, however, the spare tire was smaller. As a result, the car started smoking and driving very rough within 10 miles of the spare being put on. It turns out that the differential went out because the spare tire was rotating faster than the others. |
| Category | Engine |
| Date | Sep 19, 2022 |
| State | NY |
| Description | My engine is malfunctioning. My safety has been at risk when I am driving on the highway 50 miles per hour and it just shut off, when turning the steering wheel to make a turn, the car will shut off and it has shut off while waiting at a red light. However, it will start back up after I switch the gauge into park and restart the car. I have taken my vehicle in to the kia dealership, and they have taken pictures of the engine, to have it evaluated by the kia headquarters. I am currently waiting for approval to change the engine to a new one. |
| Category | Electrical System, Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking, Lane Departure: Assist |
| Date | Aug 07, 2022 |
| State | TX |
| Description | Car is giving codes c162604/ c164202 stating there is an issue with the electric stability control as well as lane keeping assistance. Emergency break lines came on (abs) as well. There was no incidents before this happened. This was a previous issue with the 2021 kia seltos that may have not been addressed properly while making the 2022. I am unsure if I am able to drive the vehicle safely to the dealership due to the stability control issue. |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Jul 26, 2022 |
| State | IL |
| Description | I purchased the vehicle for my daughter. Two times now she has had the power (to the steering, brakes...) and the engine fully shut off when she stopped at a traffic light. A message popped up on her screen that said "battery discharge warning." she was not able to get the car to restart for 20 min. A dangerous situation at a busy intersection. The first time she took the car into the dealer and they could not find any problems. The second time the dealer didn't ever call her back, so I though I would share the problem with the nhtsa. The problem first occurred on june 11th and then again in july. |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Jun 21, 2022 |
| State | NY |
| Description | The contact owns a 2022 kia seltos. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled without warning. Upon restart of the vehicle, the vehicle would enter into limp mode as the vehicle would fail to accelerate above 40 mph with the accelerator pedal depressed to the floorboard. The vehicle was taken to a dealer but was not yet diagnosed. The contact made multiple attempts to reach the manufacturer; however, each attempt was unsuccessful. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 2,000. |
| Category | Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera |
| Date | May 18, 2022 |
| State | FL |
| Description | The backup camera has failed twice in two months. When vehicle was put in reverse the camera would flash off and on and stated no signal for the backup camera. The problem clears when next trip is made. Dealer said they are not aware of this problem and cannot diagnose unless it is happening. This is a fairly common problem as a number of others have reported this on the facebook seltos owner's page. This creates a hazard when in reverse. |
| Category | Structure:body |
| Date | Apr 21, 2022 |
| State | PR |
| Description | I would like to express that in december 11 they gave me the vehicle at the car dealer and I had not been driving for even 20 minutes, when I heard a noise and looked and my glass had shattered. I turned to the dealer and they replaced him on march 11. Today april 21st I am driving on the highway with no car near me and I come back I hear a noise and I look and again my glass is broken. It is incredible that it is already twice in less than 5 months that in different scenarios that the glass shatters. I am very worried and I fear that in an accident my glass will not be strong enough. |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Dec 24, 2021 |
| State | OR |
| Description | Sunroof exploded while driving for no apparent reason. Shade was open but the actual sunroof was in closed position. Car has less than 3,000 miles. Its brand new. I heard a terrible explosion suddenly and was startled. I was driving alone in the car. At first I thoght it was something near by. Then I looked up and saw that the entire sunroof was shattered, glass all over the passenger seat and flying into the rear seat. Part of the sunroof glass was still in tack, bowing outward. I was able to drive to the auto body shop that kia dealership recommended. They said they had never seen anything like this before and that it did not appear to be an obstacle that hit the sunroof from the outside, rather an explosion from within causing the glass to bow outward (what was left of the glass). My insurance company was notified and we are in process of ordering a new glass sunroof. I did some research on the web while at body shop and found out this kind of thing happened before to different models of kia. The body shop applied some protective plastic to the top of car so I could drive it. They also noticed the glass had left scratches on top of the car and in the hatch back of car. I then drove to the kia dealership where I had just purchased the car and talked with them. They told me to contact the service manager the next day and ask him to call a kia rep to have that person inspect the car. The auto body shop took 22 pictures of the car. I also filed a police report on-line. I am horrified by this experience and angry that this type of incident has apparently gone on for years with not only kia cars but other cars with sunroofs exploding as well. I will keep pursing this with the kia dealership and a kia rep as well since why should my personal insurance company pay for this when kia should take some responsibility. I am just glad that I was not injured physically. |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Dec 23, 2021 |
| State | PR |
| Description | Wireless carplay suddenly disconnects leaving drivers unable to use the navigation system and audio including music, call, navigation instructions, maps, and other features. This is a potential hazard for drivers who depend of navigation systems in an unfamiliar environment. Also, propose a potential risk because the driver may be distracted trying to fix the connectivity issue while driving exposing them and other drivers near to a car crash. Software version affected sp2_22my. Usa. D2v. 001. 001. 210215 |
| Category | Engine, Power Train |
| Date | Dec 15, 2021 |
| State | PA |
| Description | I bought a brand new 2022 kia seltos a month and a half ago at monroeville kia dealership. On december 11, the car started manifesting a transmission temperature overheating problem in the middle of traffic. Once the transmission overheated, the engine lost power. I was driving in busy traffic and had to pull the car over to allow the engine to cool down. The police came over and made me start driving my car again, indicating that I could not pull over in such busy traffic. This is a major risk to my safety and can potentially cause a car accident. I reported this case to kia manufacturer and I opened a case. The case number is 14537410. The manufacturer told me to have the dealership evaluate the car. The dealership evaluated the car and said “this is a known defect and, per kia's engineers, there is nothing they could do to fix the car.†I need reliable vehicle, especially because my job requires me to travel. I am concerned that this issue will continue to manifest and will likely cause a serious accident. I am filing this case because I need arbitration and I need this issue to be fixed or I need a refund. |
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About the Author:
Brian Jones spent more than 20 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
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