Chevrolet Trax vs Kia Seltos: which is more reliable?
The Chevrolet Trax and the Kia Seltos are level on the federal record — 74/100 against 76/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Chevrolet Trax
- 10 model years scored
- 932 owner complaints on record
- about 25 complaints per year on the road
- 20 recall campaigns, 12 safety-critical
- best year 2022 (94/100) · worst 2024 (44/100)
Kia Seltos
- 5 model years scored
- 534 owner complaints on record
- about 28 complaints per year on the road
- 7 recall campaigns, 1 safety-critical
- best year 2025 (88/100) · worst 2021 (45/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Trax against Seltos
The comparison that decides the purchase. A nameplate is not one car — a redesign can move the record sixty points inside two years, and the two nameplates rarely move together.
What owners actually complain about
Chevrolet Trax
- Engine — 261 complaints
- Electrical System — 239 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 151 complaints
Kia Seltos
- Engine — 278 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 89 complaints
- Electrical System — 88 complaints
Both nameplates have Engine as their largest complaint group, so the choice between them is about how often, not about what.
Years to avoid on each
Chevrolet Trax — avoid: 2024, 2025.
Kia Seltos — avoid: 2021.
A year scores below 45 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. Every car’s years to avoid.
What each costs today
A recent used Chevrolet Trax prices at about $30,500 and a Kia Seltos at about $30,500 — they price within $1 of each other, which at this level is the same money, and they return 30.0 against 29.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Chevrolet Trax or the Kia Seltos more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Kia Seltos scores 76/100 against the Chevrolet Trax's 74/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Chevrolet Trax and Kia Seltos years should I avoid?
Chevrolet Trax: 2024, 2025. Kia Seltos: 2021. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Chevrolet Trax and the Kia Seltos?
The largest complaint group on the Chevrolet Trax is Engine (261 complaints); on the Kia Seltos it is Engine (278).
Is the Chevrolet Trax or the Kia Seltos cheaper to own?
A recent used Chevrolet Trax prices at about $30,500 and a Kia Seltos at about $30,500, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.