Home › Kia › Seltos › 2022

2022 Kia Seltos

Gas Compact SUV

2027202620252024202320222021
Specs & fuel economyRecallsComplaintsCrash ratings
B
Safety Signal
85 / 100
BSafety Signal · 85 / 100
1Recalls · 1 critical
72Complaints · owner reports
4★Crash rating · NHTSA overall
31 mpgFuel economy · best combined

The 2022 Kia Seltos is sold in the U.S. as a gas compact SUV with 3 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the Seltos FWD, is EPA-rated at 31 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 1 recall campaign for this model year, 1 rated critical, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of B. Owners have filed 72 complaints, most often about engine. NHTSA crash-tested it at 4 stars overall.

Specs & fuel economy (EPA)

ConfigurationPowertrainDriveEngine / motorCityHwyCombAnnual fuel*
Seltos FWDGasFWD2.0L 4-cyl293531$2,000
Seltos AWDGasAWD2.0L 4-cyl273129$2,150
Seltos AWDGasAWD1.6L 4-cyl turbo253027$2,300

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year and EPA reference fuel/electricity prices. Source: fueleconomy.gov vehicle records.

Out of factory warranty soon?

The 2022 Kia Seltos is in the years where transmission, electronics and drivetrain repairs land on the owner. Compare extended-coverage quotes in about two minutes.

Compare coverage →

Affiliate disclosure: some links on this page are affiliate links. If you request a quote or buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Data on this page is never influenced by that.

Recalls (1)

Engine And Engine Cooling

critical
137,256 vehicles

Problem: 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.

Risk: Engine damage can cause a vehicle stall or fire, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.

Fix: 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. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC336.

NHTSA campaign 25V099000 · reported Feb 17, 2025 · Kia America, Inc.

NHTSA investigations

Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine:Hard Parts Internal/Mechanical — Kia 25V099 Piston Oil Ring Recall Effectiveness (closed)

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. This AQ was opened in response to consumer complaints alleging of an ineffective remedy, inconsistent inspection results to determine whether an engine replacement was needed, and the unavailability of recall remedies. On August 11, 2025, an Information Request (IR) was issued to Kia requesting: 1) why the inspection test was revised from requiring a ‘cold’ engine to a ‘warm’ en

Opened Aug 6, 2025 · closed Dec 18, 2025 · action AQ25001

Owner complaints

72 complaints filed

6 involved a crash, 3 a fire, 2 injuries, 0 deaths reported by owners.

Filed by year — 2021: 3 · 2022: 7 · 2023: 6 · 2024: 7 · 2025: 33 · 2026: 16

Most-cited components

  • Engine — 37
  • Unknown Or Other — 17
  • Power Train — 10
  • Electrical System — 9
  • Engine And Engine Cooling — 9
“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, alt…”Jan 26, 2023 · Forward Collision Avoidance · NHTSA owner report
“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 coul…”Jan 16, 2023 · Air Bags · NHTSA owner report
“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 wen…”Oct 12, 2022 · Wheels · NHTSA owner report

Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.

Crash ratings

ConfigurationOverallFrontalSideRolloverRollover risk
SUV AWD★★★★☆★★★★☆★★★★★★★★★☆15%
SUV FWD★★★★☆★★★★☆★★★★★★★★★☆17%

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program. Standard driver-assist: forward collision warning, lane departure warning.

Other Seltos model years

A

2027 Seltos

0 recalls · 0 complaints

A

2026 Seltos

0 recalls · 4 complaints

A

2025 Seltos

0 recalls · 12 complaints

C

2024 Seltos

2 recalls · 43 complaints

C

2023 Seltos

2 recalls · 46 complaints

C

2021 Seltos

2 recalls · 365 complaints

Sources & method

Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.

EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records (ids 43858, 43864, 43863). Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.

JSON for this page · API