[Donno]

2021 SX

Wonder if anyone has experienced any of these:
1) A couple of times while backing the back up camera display flashes on and off repeatedly.
2) Bucking/surging mostly at low speeds when cold.
3) What sound and feel like well-muffled backfires on cold morning start.
4) Poor fuel economy 19-20 city, 23-25 hwy. (I'm an old guy and drive like one! Very easy acceleration, stops, etc. and follow speed limits.)

Of course dealer says "no codes, nothing wrong" and acts like I just make this stuff up. They've got to be the worse Kia dealer in the network!

 

[deckem]

I can only write from my experience on my 2021 SX,


1) A couple of times while backing the back up camera display flashes on and off repeatedly.
-- Has not happened to me. Do you have the latest infotainment version installed (not the one that came out this week)? Updating might fix it.
2) Bucking/surging mostly at low speeds when cold.
-- I think is a peculiarity of the Kia DCT. I have this with my Seltos at low speeds and stop and go traffic sometimes, but also had similar behaviour on my 2017 Forte5 SX. Both have the same engine and transmission (albeit setup differently). I've seen other people make similar comments about the DCT on the Seltos and other models using the same engine and transmission.
3) What sound and feel like well-muffled backfires on cold morning start.
-- News to me. But the coldest I have started my car so has been about 3c. Winter is coming, so I guess I'll find out.
4) Poor fuel economy 19-20 city, 23-25 hwy. (I'm an old guy and drive like one! Very easy acceleration, stops, etc. and follow speed limits.)
-- Seems a little low, but if the car is new I would let it break in a bit. I average 8-9L/100km (25-30mpg) with mostly highway driving, which is in line with the EPA mileage. Comparatively, the smaller Forte5 with FWD consistently averaged 30mpg over 4 years. Seltos is bigger and heavier, mileage will be lower regardless.

 

[Donno]

Thanks for that. I pretty much accepted it as "break-in" mileage, but now over 4,000 miles and same numbers.

 

[dougt]

Yes - the backup camera flashed on and off once or twice backing out of garage - looked like the message said something about unable to connect (?) like it's a wireless connection (?) Hasn't happened recently. I don't like the transmission either but the non-turbos seems to have more engine/transmission issues. Per the screen I can get 27-29 MPG 'around town' pretty easily. No 'backfires' (had mine since last November) but no cold weather yet either here in CO.... I'm sorry there are so many issues people report with Seltos - I suppose it's probably like that with other manufacturers also...

 

[Xcalibur255]

I've experienced 1 and 2, but not 3 or 4. My fuel economy has been inline with what I was expecting.

I have had the flashing backup camera issue once. I also found if you put the transmission in neutral while it is doing this the entire infotainment screen will flash on and off too after it exits the camera view. Even recorded a video of it with my phone to show the dealership if it kept happening, but it only has done it that one time so far. The next time I drove the car it booted up and functioned normally. Whatever CAMBUS that talks to the rear camera probably failed to boot properly and the software didn't know how to exit from a bad programming state.

For #2 I chalk it up to dual clutch shenanigans. Every time you start the car the transmission performs a self check and sets a few parameters for clutch timing and engagement. It has to do this every time because it makes some adjustments for temperature and such. I have found that sometimes you just get an "off" self check and the transmission will be more clunky than usual. Typcially the next time the vehicle is driven it has gone back to normal. Like it or not my belief is that this is all normal operation of these systems for better or worse.

 

[Sparks]

2021 SX

Wonder if anyone has experienced any of these:
1) A couple of times while backing the back up camera display flashes on and off repeatedly.
2) Bucking/surging mostly at low speeds when cold.
3) What sound and feel like well-muffled backfires on cold morning start.
4) Poor fuel economy 19-20 city, 23-25 hwy. (I'm an old guy and drive like one! Very easy acceleration, stops, etc. and follow speed limits.)

Of course dealer says "no codes, nothing wrong" and acts like I just make this stuff up. They've got to be the worse Kia dealer in the network!

back up camera thing just happened today...I only use wawa gas, mobile is terrible, could be where you buy it? And I got 39.4 for my best trip so far. Went from a truck base van, so steering feels good to me. Oh, I turn of the "stop and start the motor at red light thing, mileage is better if she runs constantly.

 

[Sparks]

update: wiggled the connections on the top of hatch back...camera is now fine! Possibly water issue as I had washed it yesterday, and thats when it was flashing , and now its dry??

 

[dougt]

Interesting.....

 

[djpage]

2021 SX

Wonder if anyone has experienced any of these:
1) A couple of times while backing the back up camera display flashes on and off repeatedly.
2) Bucking/surging mostly at low speeds when cold.
3) What sound and feel like well-muffled backfires on cold morning start.
4) Poor fuel economy 19-20 city, 23-25 hwy. (I'm an old guy and drive like one! Very easy acceleration, stops, etc. and follow speed limits.)

Of course dealer says "no codes, nothing wrong" and acts like I just make this stuff up. They've got to be the worse Kia dealer in the network!

Item 2... I notice this same thing when first starting and backing out of driveway. Was told by the dealer that it is a function of the dual clutch transmission.
Item 3... I get better mileage, sometimes over 30 on highway, but notice a large decrease in fuel mileage after about 65mph.

 

[Fed-up]

2021 SX

Wonder if anyone has experienced any of these:
1) A couple of times, while backing the backup camera display flashes on and off repeatedly.
2) Bucking/surging primarily at low speeds when cold.
3) What sound and feel like well-muffled backfires on a cold morning start?
4) Poor fuel economy 19-20 city, 23-25 hwy. (I'm an old guy and drive like one! Effortless acceleration, stops, etc., and follow speed limits.)

Of course, the dealer says, "no codes, nothing wrong," and acts like I make this stuff up. They've got to be the worse Kia dealer in the network!

You are not making it up; been going through all this since I got mine, and it is ridiculous especial when KIA doesn't care

 

[SHCS]

2. Does it primarily happen when you're turning but not when backing up in a straight line? Make sure you don't have your diff lock on. My buddy had a Toyota where his diff lock stuck, I noticed it as he was turning out of my driveway, the wheels were attempting to spin at the same speed when turning causing them to exhibit the behavior you're describing. Sent him to the dealer for correction. His wasn't 'turned on', they were stuck on.

 

[Fed-up]

2. Does it primarily happen when you're turning but not when backing up in a straight line? Make sure you don't have your diff lock on. My buddy had a Toyota where his diff lock stuck, I noticed it as he was turning out of my driveway, the wheels were attempting to spin at the same speed when turning causing them to exhibit the behavior you're describing. Sent him to the dealer for correction. His wasn't 'turned on', they were stuck on.

It happens when turning, driving

 

[SHCS]

Look for this 'GREEN' icon on your gauge cluster. I just went out to my car and was surprised to find that the Diff Lock will remain engaged even after shutting the engine off and restarting. If it's on, turn off your Diff Lock. You'll find the button on the right-hand side of your shifter, let me know if you need a picture, but it essentially looks like the lit icon.

 

[SHCS]

Even if it appears off, you can check if it's stuck like my buddy's Toyota. You'll need two of you but super easy to verify, find an empty parking lot, one you can do a complete turning circle in, the 'watcher' stands in the middle as the driver slowly drives a tight circle around them. If the Diff Lock is stuck, the inside tires will slip. You'll know what I mean when you see it. A properly functioning, non Diff-Locked, vehicle's tires will roll smoothly on the inside axis. A Diff-Locked vehicle's inside tires will break loose every quarter turn or so, causing a feeling of bucking and surging.

 

[_ae82_]

Even if it appears off, you can check if it's stuck like my buddy's Toyota. You'll need two of you but super easy to verify, find an empty parking lot, one you can do a complete turning circle in, the 'watcher' stands in the middle as the driver slowly drives a tight circle around them. If the Diff Lock is stuck, the inside tires will slip. You'll know what I mean when you see it. A properly functioning, non Diff-Locked, vehicle's tires will roll smoothly on the inside axis. A Diff-Locked vehicle's inside tires will break loose every quarter turn or so, causing a feeling of bucking and surging.

Apologies for my ignorance, but I believe what you're explaining is for an axle lock. As shown in the icon (and from what I understand) these vehicles have a center locking mechanism that locks torque front/back and not side to side. For the side to side torque distribution, brakes are used when wheelspin is detected.

 

[SHCS]

Re-reading, on the indicator, you look to be correct, it's not a traditional diff lock.
Still doesn't hurt to check it. The OP's description sure sounds like a locked diff to me.