The Kia Seltos has steadily become a common sight on our roads, and for good reason. It is a good value-for-money product but something with some personality rather than just being a point-A to point-B mobility option. We have plenty of Seltos reviews here, and we also attended the launch of the recently updated version.
Related: Kia Seltos colours and price guide
The Seltos followed Kia's 'Opposites United' design philosophy, which blends modernity and nature into an SUV package inside and out. Frugality was also a priority with the powertrains on offer, be it your standard economy engine using petrol or diesel or something a bit perky like the engine found in the GT Line model. It makes sense why the Seltos is a popular choice within the SUV-buying market. Just because the Seltos is popular, though, is it expensive to repair? Let's find out.
Is the Kia Seltos expensive to repair?
We looked at the previous generation Seltos, specifically the 2020 1.5CRDi EX, with information from the 2020 Kinsey Report. At the time, the Seltos came with a 5-year/90,000 km service plan and 5 5-year/Unlimited km warranty with roadside assistance. If you kept to the prescribed service schedule and took care of the vehicle, the Seltos can be fairly reliable. Let's see how much service items cost at the time the vehicle was assessed in 2020:
Service Parts
| Service Item | Price |
| Air filter | R375.87 |
| Oil filter | R131.10 |
| Pollen filter | R379.91 |
| Glow plug | R176.42 |
| Wiper blade (R/H) | R643.64 |
| Front brake pads | R2360.80 |
| Rear brake pads/shoes | R1399.52 |
| Parts Basket Total | R5467.26 |
Wear and tear items
| Items | Price |
| Cam belt/ timing chain | R1305.41 |
| Front brake disc | R4318.94 |
| Rear brake disc/shoes | R2764.23 |
| Front shock absorber /strut | R2970.99 |
| Rear shock absorber /strut | R2475.19 |
| Fan belt | R603.89 |
| Parts basket total | R14 438.65 |
Body panels and parts
| Part | Price |
| Bonnet | R11 233.86 |
| Front bumper skin | R5568.72 |
| Grille | R5182.69 |
| L/H Front Fender | R4779.81 |
| Wheel | R15 283.04 |
| L/H Headlight assembly | R28 228.23 |
| Front windscreen | R10 931.21 |
| Aircon condenser | R7 788.54 |
| Radiator | R7 925.35 |
| R/H Front door | R14 121.37 |
| R/H Rear door | R14 327.51 |
| R/H Front window glass | R1200.93 |
| Rear bumper skin | R3858.00 |
| L/H rear fender | R5121.24 |
| Boot lid | R13199.98 |
| L/H Taillight assembly | R6081.46 |
| Rear windscreen | R2774.86 |
| Parts basket total | R157 606.80 |
*Please note that the pricing mentioned here are estimates due to the age of the data and pricing stated here excludes the labour costs involved for repair and fitment.
Verdict
When compared to its competition at the time, the Kia Seltos is midway on the scale of repair costs. It's not cheap, nor is it expensive to repair if you're going to be sourcing parts from Kia themselves. This is excluding labour costs. If this is up your alley, you can search AutoTrader for the latest used and new Seltos offerings and sell your car, too.
