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: fire, smoke or burning smell
7 of the 77 complaints about the 2022 Kia Seltos describe fire, smoke or burning smell.
- owner complaints
- 7
- of this car's complaints
- 9%
- recalls
- 0
Fire, smoke or burning smell by model year
- 20242
- 20233
- 20227
- 202110
What owners say
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 looked again the KIA 11295 Rosevelt blvd store and they informed that I could not do the service because the vehicle was no longer in the warranty of up to 60000 miles, but when I took the car to the store it was with 44000 miles and in addition to scheduling months later something that puts my life at risk, they simply told me that in the recall was fixed, but the problem that appears today from what I researched are characteristics of the errors caused by this problem and that at the time of the recall they did not
I have called 2 dealers to schedule an appointment to get this major safety recall completed. Neither one is responsive. I called another and they told me that Kia put out a remedy, but that remedy was unsuccessful, so there is NO fix at the current time and KIA will notify me at a later time when another remedy is put out, then I'll have to call and schedule an appointment. This is my ONLY vehicle that I am paying a car note on. I HAVE to drive it while thinking about and risking it bursting into flames or causing me to crash. This is terrifying. I don't know what to do.
2022 KIA SELTOS S AWD [XXX]- ENGINE FAILED, PISTON SCORING, PISTON OIL RING FAILED, OIL BURNING, KNOCKING IN ENGINE. THIS KIA'S VIN NUMBER IS PART OF THE KIA RECALL THAT WAS PUBLISHED 2/17/25 AND ANNOUNCED TO CONSUMERS VIA MAIL ON 4/4/25. My [XXX] daughter & I purchased a used 2022 Kia Seltos on [XXX] Mileage at time of purchase was little bit under 60,000 miles. On [XXX], while on vacation in Florida, my daughter noticed sluggish acceleration, smoke coming from exhaust and some from hood, a knocking sound from engine and then engine then seized in the middle of the road. If they wouldn't have stopped, this engine would've started on FIRE! This event caused SIGNIFICANT DANGER to my young daughter and her 3 passengers! My daughter and her friends had to push the vehicle back to a safe location off the road so they didn't get hit by a car. We are from Wisconsin and these kids were stranded in Florida on vacation without a vehicle. We had to have the vehicle towed to a Kia dealership in Panama City, FL on 3/28/25. Inspected and RECALL testing done by Kia in Panama City, FL. It is now 5/2/25 and we are STILL WAITING FOR KIA TO APPROVE A NEW ENGINE FROM THIS RECALL. NO ONE WILL GIVE US ANY UPDATES. These 2022 Kia Seltos engines are a complete danger! Engine needs to be REPLACED ASAP INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Engine seized while driving on vacation in florida. Put the driver and 3 passengers at major risk for an accident and/or fire! Had to push vehicle back to a safe spot. Had noticed sluggish acceleration on and off and some smoke coming from exhaust, engine knocking was very present, oil looked dirty and gritty. Noticed there was a recall for this kia- engine needs to be replaced due to this recall asap. We had to pay for plane tickets to get all 4 people back home to wisconsin, had to pay for transportation back and forth, lost out on days of vacation, had to have this vehicle towed to kia in panama city, fl and will now have to have it shipped back to wisconsin, we will have to pay for a rental vehicle while this is inspected and fixed. Kia should reimburse or pay for all of these things! My daughter and her friends were stranded in another state due to this bad engine at only 60,800 miles!
The contact owns a 2022 Kia Seltos. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle or while accelerating, there was an abnormal amount of white smoke coming from the exhaust, with droplets of oil. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed and the contact was informed that the piston rings had failed due to oil build-up and the accumulation of moisture inside of the cylinders and that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact referenced the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 25V099000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING); as the possible cause for the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 64,000.
A flapping sound started in the engine, then no acceleration when I used the gas pedal. Pulled to the side of the road and black smoke and sparks began coming from the engine. I exited the car and it burst into flames. The was no warning icons that appeared to alert me to any problems. Car was total ingulfed.
Service bulletins that may apply
- Technical service bulletin: horn assembly inspection/replacemen (WTY038)
- Owner notification (WTY038)
- Request for reimbursement form (WTY038)
- Horn assembly inspection/replacement (WTY038)
- Dealer principal memo (WTY038)
- Dealer parts and service manager memo (WTY038)
- Question and answer (WTY038)
- Infotainment system software update using update.kia.com
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2022 Kia Seltos fire or smoke
Is fire, smoke or burning smell a common problem on the 2022 Kia Seltos?
7 of 77 owner complaints about the 2022 Kia Seltos (9%) mention fire, smoke or burning smell. The model year with the most reports is 2021.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2022 Kia Seltos?
There are 0 recalls and 37 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2022 Kia Seltos
Engine failure 15Stalling 15Oil consumption 9Check engine light 8Knocking 6Loss of power 5
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2022 Kia Seltos?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history