2024 Kia Seltos: What to check before buying

The instrument cluster goes completely dark, leaving no speedometer, fuel gauge, or warning lights. Several reports tie this to very cold weather. The display comes back once the car warms up, so dealers often cannot reproduce it. Other reports describe the car shutting off in traffic or at a light, all lights and driver-assist systems failing while driving, a silent horn that sometimes fails only in freezing weather, and a junction box fault that locked the car in Park. Some failures start very early, one at about 300 miles.

Seizure and heavy oil consumption are the main patterns. One motor seized at 33,000 miles despite regular oil changes. The dealer blamed melted spark plugs, and the warranty claim was denied. Another report describes little or no oil at recent oil changes and a low-oil noise. In that case the dealer called the piston rings within spec and ran an oil consumption test instead of making a repair. A loud valve noise on a brand-new car also appears.

Sudden oil loss is the documented failure here. Smoke poured from the engine and oil dumped out at about 10,000 miles, 9 months into ownership, leaving the car stranded on a highway shoulder. This is the one fire-related filing in the group. The owner reports slow answers from the manufacturer and being sent back to dealers. The second complaint gives no details beyond an attached document.

Loss of power, severe shaking under acceleration, and jerky shifts are reported, along with grinding noises and check engine lights. These problems are worst at highway speeds between 40 and 70 mph. Another report describes the car shutting off completely at freeway speed and then restarting, which creates a clear loss-of-control risk. A separate case involves power loss at low speed followed by engine seizure, and the dealer found the engine needed replacement. One filing describes no failure, only a recall repair delayed because the part was unavailable.

The windshield chips and cracks easily. Reports describe many chips from gravel, bugs, and small rocks, plus a crack near the rearview mirror that appeared after normal driving and spread quickly. A crack high on the glass can block the driver's view. The rearview camera also collects raindrops, which blocks the picture when backing up in wet weather. No crashes or injuries are reported in this group.

Lane-keeping assist can yank the steering wheel hard and then suddenly go limp. In one report this happened around confusing lane markings in low light, and the driver crashed with one injury. Another filing describes the car shutting off at a red light and later at about 55 mph on a busy interstate, leaving it stranded in traffic. Both reports involve a sudden loss of control at road speed.

A wheel rim cracking all the way around while driving is the most serious report here. The tire separated, the car hit a guardrail, and the axle, suspension, and body were damaged after a brief spell of abnormal handling. The other filing concerns black plastic trim on the steering wheel and dashboard that the driver says impairs the view for both front occupants. That complaint was raised at about 118 miles.