2024 Kia Seltos Engine Problems

Exhaust starting putting out white smoke and loss of power on accelerator while speeding up. Normally when merging onto highway or taking off after stop. Assumed head gasket with coolant in oil. Took to get oil change, milky/sludgy oil to back up that thought. No coolant in reservoir. Took to dealership, they claim lack of maintenance despite all maintenance records. They will not report records to kia corporate leading to denied warranty. Will not provide testing results. Claimed piston rings were destroyed. Would not give explanation for loss of coolant. Will not speed up going onto highway and continues to put out white smoke. No lights on vehicle.

NHTSA ID

11764688

Incident

Jul 13, 2026

The vehicle has experienced two separate episodes of severe engine/propulsion malfunction approximately two months apart. During the first incident, the vehicle began shaking and idling roughly and had very little acceleration. Pressing the accelerator caused the engine to rev, but the vehicle would barely move. A diagnostic scan performed afterward showed DTC P0171 (System Too Lean), but the code was subsequently cleared. The vehicle later returned to normal operation and a Kia dealer was unable to reproduce the condition. During the most recent incident, the vehicle again began idling very roughly and then stalled while being driven. The engine was restarted but stalled again. After another restart, shifting the vehicle into Drive caused the engine to stall again. A tractor-trailer was traveling behind the vehicle during the incident, creating a serious risk of a rear-end collision. The truck driver was able to recognize that the vehicle was having a problem and avoided a collision. There were no warning lights or messages on the instrument panel during the most recent incident. The vehicle is currently at a Kia dealership for inspection. The dealer has not identified the cause and is retaining and road-testing the vehicle in an attempt to reproduce the intermittent failure. The vehicle is available for inspection. Two incidents in less than two months.

NHTSA ID

11763361

Incident

Sep 9, 2026

I need to open a formal safety and warranty complaint regarding my 2024 Kia Seltos. I originally reported an acceleration problem to the dealership when the vehicle was purchased and they said they couldn’t duplicate the issue but they did not resolve it.The vehicle shuts off while I was driving, and afterward would not accelerate beyond approximately 15 mph. I believe the vehicle is unsafe to drive, and I want this documented as an unresolved recurring defect. I did make complaints to Rick case Kia of sunrise and at the time took it back up there three times in the month I purchased it. I’ve been dealing with this randomly since I got the car it shuts off while in motion.

NHTSA ID

11761787

Incident

Sep 3, 2026

Since November 2025, this vehicle has experienced repeated loss of power, severe shaking during acceleration, jerking between gear shifts, abnormal humming/grinding noises, and multiple check engine light events. The condition is most noticeable between approximately 40-70 mph and has repeatedly occurred while driving on highways. On multiple occasions, the vehicle struggled to accelerate properly and would not respond normally to throttle input. During one occurrence, the vehicle had difficulty accelerating beyond approximately 55 mph while on the expressway. The shaking became severe enough that I feared mechanical failure could occur while driving. I was forced to pull off to the shoulder of the highway because I no longer felt it was safe. The inability to maintain speed and accelerate normally created a safety risk for both myself and surrounding traffic. The vehicle has been returned to the dealership six times for the same recurring issue. Repairs have included replacement of the ECU, catalytic converter, ignition components, fuel injectors, and other engine related components. Despite these repairs, the problem continues to return. The condition has been repoduced and documented by the dealership, and a manufacturer field technician was involved in the most recent diagnosis process. Most recently, after the vehicle was inspected and believed to be repaired, the check engine light illuminated again while the service manager was moving my vehicle to be washed inside of their garage, as I waited (today, June 11th 2026). The recurring loss of power, repeated check engine light events, and inability to permanently correct the defect raise significant safety concerns while operating the vehicle. I have all documentation in my notes, as well as the dealership repair documents.

NHTSA ID

11743542

Incident

Nov 10, 2025

See attached document for complaint.

NHTSA ID

11696416

Incident

Oct 10, 2025

I bought this Kia with 25 miles on it and I had all oil changes done and then at 33,000 miles the engine seized and Kia refused to honor my 100,000 mile warranty. The dealership told me that the spark plugs melted causing the issue and that it definitely wasn’t an oil issue. Kia still refused to honor the warranty. I only owned the car from June 2023 to September 2024 I want them to pay the remaining balance since I had to give it back to the bank for them to only be able to sell it for 8000.00 dollars. I will never deal with Kia ever again but they need to do the right thing by paying the remaining balance for something they refused to take accountability for. I contacted the lemon law attorney office for the state of Michigan and they wanted to help me but couldn’t because Kia refused to give me any vehicle repair invoice or anything documentation on the vehicle while it was in their care. I tried hard to find a lawyer to help me with my case but I couldn’t find one that does these particular cases.

NHTSA ID

11693492

Incident

Sep 6, 2024

My car, over the last few oil changes has had very little to practically no oil. It also has been having the noise when it is low oil. This is already a recall, and when taken to a local dealer, they claimed the piston rings, which is the issue for the oil consumption, were not a problem and within spec. They have performed a test to check oil levels after 1000 miles and am still waiting on the results for the first test. This problem, as written by the recall, can cause an engine fire, or even grenade the motor causing catastrophic damage, potentially to my life.

NHTSA ID

11665420

Incident

Jun 6, 2025

Daughter driving back to college from home in her new 2024 Kia Seltos. We leased this vehicle for her for reliability and dependability throughout her years at college. 9 months into lease, 10,000 miles her car started smoking from engine. She immediately pulled over to notice the car had completely dumped out oil everywhere. We have pics and video to prove this. She had to wait on side of highway for 3.5 hours waiting to be towed. 6 days have passed and we have gotten zero answers and no help from corporate Kia only to be told for us to call dealerships to work it out. Now I’m working with the Kia dealership that it was towed to AND the previous Kia dealership that performed last oil change. I’m getting conflicting comments on both ends from dealership and no help from corporate Kia. 1 week and no answers, my daughter has no car not to mention the mental stress this has put on her. This incident caused her to miss her D1 lacrosse practice due to a 6 hr unplanned and unexpected mechanical/ defective oil plug that came out from the oil pan. Dealership of towing has informed us that the engine of this new car needs to be replaced. Kia dealership that performed last oil change wants to see new oil put in it and run full diagnostic and if all checks out, call it good. We feel this car had a defective part and we should at the very least have a new engine put in it or we should be put into a new lease! My daughter’s safety was at jeopardy on the highway that morning and the concern for others that are driving a 2024 Kia seltos. It has come to our attention that this had been an ongoing issue of Kia’s cars that “fits” the description exactly as to what had happened to us. We need a car ASAP are looking for advise on how to move forward from here.

NHTSA ID

11586993

Incident

Apr 29, 2024

The contact owns a 2024 Kia Seltos. The contact stated that while stopped at a red light, the vehicle shut off with several messages displayed. The contact was able to restart the vehicle despite the failure. The dealer was notified of the failure but initially offered no assistance. The contact recently stated that a "Low Oil" warning light was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it remained in dealer possession. The vehicle was not serviced or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 300.

NHTSA ID

11576563

Incident

Feb 10, 2024

Mileage

300 mi

Engine valve making a loud noise ( assuming it might be an engine oil leak) I just acquired the vehicle last month Sept 2023. Brand new. I informed the dealership, and they want me to drive it back to the service department, to be checked. I told the sales agent that i am afraid to drive it because it might damage the engine. He said its up to me, to figure it out, . Very disrespectful Thank you

NHTSA ID

11551926

Incident

Oct 25, 2023