Feds Investigate Kia Over This Year's "Ineffective" Seltos And Soul Recall originally appeared on Autoblog.
Kia's Recall Earlier This Year May Have Been Ineffective
Do you own a Kia Seltos or Kia Soul? You may have a potential fire hazard on your hands, even if your vehicle had a recall fix carried out earlier this year. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Office of Defects Investigation, Kia recall 25V099 may have been ineffective. As reported by Reuters back in February, 137,256 Soul and Seltos vehicles from the 2021-2023 model years were recalled due to piston oil rings that may have been manufactured incorrectly. But at the time, Kia's fix was perhaps overly basic. Following multiple complaints submitted to the NHTSA, the agency has now opened an investigation into what owners are calling an ineffective recall remedy.
Kia's Original Fix Was Always Doomed
The recall issued in February had a remedy available on April 4, but it was clearly never going to solve the actual problem. Kia chose to inspect vehicles to determine whether an engine replacement was necessary, but the only real change was to install piston-ring noise sensing software, not new and improved piston rings. Thus, the leaks and potential engine damage were allowed to continue, which the NHTSA notes may cause an increased fire risk. The NHTSA ODI's Recall Management Division reviewed 47 complaints from April 29, 2025, through June 27, 2025 (more may have been received since), and found that customers alleged not only an ineffective recall remedy or unavailability of one, but also "inconsistent results in inspections to determine whether an engine replacement was needed."
What's Next For Kia Seltos And Soul Owners
The NHTSA will conduct an Audit Query to evaluate whether owners' allegations are warranted, "and to understand Kia's response to vehicle owners' complaints of difficulties experienced due to changes to the procedures used to remedy vehicles." After that, Kia will doubtless issue a new recall, but it remains to be seen how long owners must wait before a real remedy becomes available. In the meantime, these piston rings may leak and scrape their cylinder walls, and besides the risk of fire, the loss of oil pressure could lead to catastrophic engine failure - not something you want when driving down the freeway. The glimmer of good news is that the fire risk is relatively low and that the issue does not appear to be bad enough to warrant a Do Not Drive warning.
Related: Kia K5 Gets A Tiny Increase For 2026
Feds Investigate Kia Over This Year's "Ineffective" Seltos And Soul Recall first appeared on Autoblog on Aug 11, 2025
This story was originally reported by Autoblog on Aug 11, 2025, where it first appeared.
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