Most common 2022 Kia Seltos problems
Share of the 75 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Kia Seltos complaints by model year
Best Seltos years: 2023, 2025. Years to avoid: 2024. Compare all years →
2022 Kia Seltos recalls (1)
Engine and engine cooling › Engine › Hard parts internal/mechanical
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2021-2023 Seltos and Soul vehicles. The piston oil rings may have been manufactured incorrectly, which can result in engine damage.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the engine as necessary, free of charge. Dealers will also install piston-ring noise sensing system (PNSS) software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 4, 2025.
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into a possible defect involving the 2022 Kia Seltos:
Kia 25V099 Piston Oil Ring Recall Effectiveness
On August 6, 2025, the Office of Defect Investigation (ODI) opened Audit Query (AQ) 25001 to assess the implementation of Kia America, Inc.'s (Kia) remedy program for Safety Recall 25V099, involving incorrectly manufactured piston oil rings which may damage the engine causing a loss of motive power or fire.
What 2022 Kia Seltos owners say
Engine & cooling all 49 →
The engine started to fail when I'm driving and on the highway it suddenly loses strength, the oil goes down and I don't know where it's going, the engine starts to make noises and burning smell, the ignition light turns on and minutes later goes out, a triangle signal also sometimes appears for 6 seconds and disappears, when this triangle appears the car starts to fail and give strong jolts, this has already happened on the highway and I almost lost control of the car due to the jock. I looked for a Kia store on 08/04/25 to recall and reported the problem, they said at the time that there was no vacancy to do the recall service 25v099 mileage 44232, so they managed to meet me only on the date 03/19/26 and said that the car was with the recall problem corrected, but 2 months later the engine power problems, oil lowering, noise and burning smell were intensifying, so today 05/15/25 I …
The contact owns a 2022 Kia Seltos. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V099000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The vehicle was able to restart. The contact stated that the failure had recurred while driving at various speeds, but mostly while driving at slow speeds. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing excessive oil consumption, which required the contact to add a quart of oil to the vehicle every 2 to 3 days to reduce the frequency of the failure. …
Transmission & drivetrain
My vehicle was sent to the Kia dealership for service after a front-end collision there was minor body damage however the car wouldn't move so long story short a modular had to be replaced on the transmission there was multiple issues trying to program it I was told there was an issue with my computer they had to reach out to Kia manufacturer for help. I received my car back and while it was there for service I had them do an oil change I hadn't drove 300 to 400 miles and all of my oil was gone from my car when I called Kia they had me bring it back in couldn't find anything wrong with it and said they want to do a oil consumption after I had already documented oil that I had to put into the car three times in the week up until my appointment because every time I check the car it was empty of oil. …
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. …
Electrical system
The contact owns a 2022 Kia Seltos. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed with the Navigation system activated, the instrumental panel started behaving erratically and failed to display pertinent vehicle safety information, prompting the contact to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway to turn the vehicle off. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The contact stated that several warning lights were illuminated and flashing. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was able to duplicate the failure but was unable to provide a cause for the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 30,000.
My 2022 Kia Seltos out of nowhere started smoking, losing power, total control and braking. There were no lights on the dashboard warning of any kind complete stall than a little bit of power hesitation stall no brakes. I managed to coast it into a parking space at a hotel with it smoking so bad I couldn't see. It then burst into flames and golfing the entire Engine bay and melting the front of the car about 90 seconds after I got out of the car all of the symptoms here are completely aligned with the recall on this vehicle and the soul. In fact, my son soul had all the same issues except the fire and Kia refused to replace the Engine claiming that his lack of a recent oil change caused the problem that we all see reported here this vehicle was not in the recall VIN group but failed catastrophically just as described in the recall
2022 Kia Seltos engines & fuel economy
| Engine | Transmission | Drive | MPG city / hwy / combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.0L 4-cyl | CVT | FWD | 29 / 35 / 31 |
| 2.0L 4-cyl | CVT | AWD | 27 / 31 / 29 |
| 1.6L 4-cyl turbo | 7-speed dual-clutch | AWD | 25 / 30 / 27 |
EPA ratings. Class: Small SUV.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2022 Kia Seltos a good car?
There isn't enough complaint history for the Seltos to compare model years reliably. So far owners have filed 75 complaints with NHTSA.
What is the most common problem with the 2022 Kia Seltos?
The engine & cooling — 49 complaints, 65% of all complaints for this model year. Next are the transmission & drivetrain (10) and electrical system (8).
How many recalls does the 2022 Kia Seltos have?
There is 1 recall for the 2022 Kia Seltos, the most recent from February 17, 2025 (hard parts internal/mechanical). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.
What are the best and worst years of the Kia Seltos?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2023 and 2025. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 2024. See the full Kia Seltos years comparison.
At what mileage do 2022 Kia Seltos problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 50,000 miles; 44% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.