Kia
Kia Seltos years to avoid
Years to avoid: 2021. Best years: 2023.
The 2021 Kia Seltos draws the most owner complaints for its age: 371, or 62 for each year on the road, against a median of 15 a year across the 4 model years old enough to judge. The most reported problem on the 2021 is stalling (136 reports).
- 371complaints
- 2recall campaigns
- 1model years with a page
Newest report Sep 28, 2026 · checked Oct 2, 2026
Pick your model year
Owner complaints on file for each year.
Years to avoid
2021
Most reported: stalling (136 reports, median 40,000 miles) and engine failure (97 reports, median 40,000 miles).
Best years
2023
Too few complaints for a page of its own.
Complaints for each year on the road
Each model year's NHTSA complaints divided by the calendar years it has been on sale, counting this one (a 2018 model has had 9). Older cars have had longer to collect complaints, so raw totals flatter the new ones. Blue bars are the years to avoid. Too new to judge: 2025.
Within one model, sales change less from year to year than they do between models, so a jump here is mostly a jump in problems. The call: the years to avoid are the (up to three) highest at 1.5 times the model's median rate or more, and the best are the (up to three) lowest at two thirds of it or less, from 2016 on.
Guide How much should a years-to-avoid list decide? What these lists get wrong
At a glance
- Where the complaints sit
- The 2021 has the most complaints of any Kia Seltos year here: 371 of 371 (100%).
- Problem across the years
- Stalling is the top problem in every model year with a page, 136 reports in all. Pooled across the years, half of the 63 owners who gave a mileage for stalling were under about 40,000 miles.
- Crash, fire and injury reports
- 5% of Kia Seltos complaints report a crash, a fire or an injury, against 6% for the typical vehicle on this site.
- Recalls on the top problem
- Every model year where owners report stalling also has a recall on the same system. A recall on the same system doesn't always cover the failure owners describe, so compare its summary with the complaints.
- When owners filed
- Filings jumped in 2025, with 120 complaints, 3.1 times the next busiest year. So far in 2026, 96 more have come in.
Photo: Elise240SX, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Model years with too few complaints for a page of their own: 2022 (73), 2023 (46), 2024 (45), 2025 (13).
Year by year
2021 Kia Seltos avoid
371 owner complaints, 62 for each year on the road (4.2 times the model median). Most reported: stalling (136 reports, median 40,000 miles), engine failure (97 reports, median 40,000 miles) and misfire (75 reports, median 63,000 miles). 13 reports involved a crash and 8 people were hurt. 2 recalls, including 25V-099 on the engine and 21V-259 on the engine.
Questions
What Kia Seltos years should you avoid?
The 2021 Kia Seltos draws the most owner complaints for its age: 371, or 62 for each year on the road, against a median of 15 a year across the 4 model years old enough to judge. The most reported problem on the 2021 is stalling (136 reports).
What are the best years for the Kia Seltos?
The 2023 draws the fewest complaints for its age: 46, or 12 for each year on the road.
What is the most common problem on the Kia Seltos?
Stalling, with 136 reports across the 1 model years that have a page here. It's the single most reported problem on the 2021.
How many recalls does the Kia Seltos have?
2 recall campaigns cover the Kia Seltos model years 2021 on this site.
How many Kia Seltos complaints involve a crash, fire or injury?
5% of them, against 6% for the typical vehicle on this site.
Is there a recall for stalling on the Kia Seltos?
Yes, on every model year where owners report it.