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Kia Seltos no deployment problems

10 of the 576 owner complaints about the Kia Seltos describe airbags did not deploy in a crash, most of them for the 2021 model year.

owner complaints
10
worst model year
2021
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall for this area of the car. See below

By model year

What owners say

Filed Jun 29, 2026 · CA · crash · 1 injury

I am unsure what part of my car malfunctioned. I had my foot on the brake when my car began to surge forward and accelerate itself, crashing me into a tree because the steering completely stopped working as well. It is available for inspection upon request. My safety and the safety of others was put at risk because I was in the middle of the street. The problem has been confirmed by an independent service center. A couple days after the incident, the same exact malfunction happened to an employee at the independent service center. The vehicle was lightly inspected by the manufacturer but there isn't a concise conclusion as to what caused the issue. There was not any warning lamps or messages before the incident. My airbags did not deploy during the incident even though there was significant damaged to the body of the car. A couple days prior to the incident, I was at a complete stop at a traffic light. As I had my foot on the brake, the car began to surge and jerk forward itself.

Filed Feb 9, 2026 · Airbags · OR · crash

The Kia was traveling approximately 45 - 50 mph and struck another vehicle that had pulled out from a stop sign. I had my hand on the horn and the airbags did not deploy on impact.

Filed Oct 28, 2025 · Airbags · 100,000 miles · NY · crash · 1 injury

The contact owns a 2022 Kia Seltos. The contact stated that while driving on the highway at 55 MPH, they crashed into a buck. The hood came ajar and shattered the front windshield. The front end was smashed, and the radiator was leaking. The airbags did not deploy. A police report was filed. There was no reported fire. The contact sustained injuries to her neck with spasms and reversed neck and back pain; medical attention was provided. The collision alert was illuminated. The collision message was displayed. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The towing company referred her to the federal safety agency hotline. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

Filed Sep 24, 2025 · Airbags, Driver assistance · FL · crash

Traveling WB on SR100 approximately 60mph after picking up dinner in [XXX] , Before reaching the turn for 302, a deer jumped from the southbound side of the road to the northbound side of the road. When it jumped, the right side of the deer impacted the front of my vehicle which in turn ripped the vehicles hood up from locked down position and slammed it into the windshield. I saw the deers midsection from under the raised hood as the impact happened. I immediately put on my hazards and began to decelerate and pull off the road. I dont understand how my airbags didnt deploy with the damage that was incurred from the deer. In that instant, the side and front collision warning indicators never alerted and the airbags never deployed. The vehicle is being towed to Classic Colision in Daytona Beach FL from Roger's Towing in Bunnell FL Had this been a vehicle impacting another vehicle, my mother and I would not be here as the recalled repaired airbags did not deploy upon impact. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Jul 1, 2025 · Airbags, Driver assistance · GA · crash

Our vehicle was in an accident with extensive damage to the entire front end. The accident warning senors did not go off and the air bags did not deploy. The insurance adjuster said the entire engine was pushed back towards the driver area so it's surprising the air bags did not deploy. In our Kia Access app, only the "passenger turn signal" has a critical error detected. The car has been deemed totaled.

Filed Mar 24, 2025 · Acceleration · 61,000 miles · NY · crash · 1 injury

The contact owns a 2021 Kia Seltos. The contact stated that while switching gears from reverse to drive, the vehicle had inadvertently accelerated and crashed into an unoccupied parked vehicle before coming to a stop. Both vehicles had damage to the front bumper. No warning light illuminated. The contact sustained minor injuries to both her knees; however, she did not seek medical attention. The air bags did not deploy, and the vehicle was not deemed a total loss. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a local independent service shop, and the contact was asked to take the vehicle to the local dealer. The vehicle was repaired for the front bumper by the local independent mechanic. The local dealer was contacted and referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline for assistance. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 61,000.

Filed Mar 17, 2024 · Airbags, Electrical · TX · crash · 1 injury

The car initially had electrical and engine issues since may of 2022. The engine would fail mid drive and the car would turn of in the middle of driving and would lock up until engine would restart on its own. It stayed at the dealership for repairs until march of 2023. After many modifications and alterations and several new engines and transmission changes they returned the car to me on march of 2023 assuring me it was fixed and there would be no issues. Several weeks later while driving on the highway, the engine turned off mid drive, I lost control of the car entirely. Brakes wouldn’t brake. Car crashed into highway median. And upon impact none of the airbags deployed. The car continuously put myself and passengers at risk at the beginning of its failing. The car of April 2023 severely injured me. I was the only passenger at the times thankfully. Since the airbag never deployed my face, chest, ribs, arm, and neck were severely injured. It’s been almost a year and im still physically affected by the crash.

Filed May 10, 2023 · Airbags, Driver assistance · WV · crash

A deer was hit at 60mph with frontal impact. The collision warning did not alarm, however after the collision, the light was illuminated. The airbags did not deploy. The front end damage was estimated at nearly $11,000 but no airbags deployed with this high rate of speed and impact.

Filed Jan 16, 2023 · Airbags · TX · crash · 1 injury

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 could not complete his Firsts Semester of College and had to take an “Incomplete”. Before the accident there were no malfunction warnings, and we received nothing from his Kia App stating nothing wrong with his vehicle. As a matter of fact, the cops, ambulance and Tow Driver were all shocked that his airbag did not deploy. Our insurance company had the car towed to its collision center so they could review the extent of the damages. The insurance and collision center deemed the vehicle a total loss because the vehicle was over the 75% threshold to be repaired. The vehicle was totaled because it had a frontal bent frame, no front bumper, headlights, sensors, radiator etc. We did report the accident and findings from our insurance company to Kia America and the Dealership where we purchased the vehicle; but they seemed not to care.

Filed May 19, 2021 · Airbags · TX · crash

Driving on highway, water truck lost its load. 2 thousand gallon water tank slammed into side of Kia Side airbag did not deploy

Related recalls

Air bagsReported December 22, 2023 · 2,967 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Soul and 2024 Seltos vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, the side curtain air bags may deploy unexpectedly.
Risk
An air bag that deploys unexpectedly can increase the risk of injury or crash.
Remedy
Dealers will inspect and replace both side curtain air bag modules as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 31, 2024. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1‑800‑333‑4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC289.

Recall number 23V830000 · Recall details

Questions about the Kia Seltos no deployment

Which Kia Seltos years have airbags did not deploy in a crash problems?

The model years with the most reports are 2021 (7 complaints), 2022 (2 complaints) and 2024 (1 complaints).

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