Kia Soul Complaints (2013)

668 consumer complaints on file.

#11493547November 14, 2022
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING, ENGINE
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Soul. The contact stated the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was included in NHTSA Campaign: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling) for which the catalytic converter was replaced. After the repair the vehicle began to drive sluggishly with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact returned the vehicle to the dealer who replaced the catalytic converter, spark plugs, and exhaust pipe. The failure persisted. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to exceed 10 MPH while driving. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but had not yet approved the engine replacement. The approximate failure mileage was 30,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11492254November 4, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Driving down the freeway, and a fireball exploded out the bottom of the car, according to the driver behind us. The fire department were called out, deemed the car unsafe, and disconnected the fuel line. Car towed away.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11490547October 24, 2022
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Soul. The contact stated that upon his wife parking the vehicle, a strong fuel odor was coming from both inside and outside the vehicle without warning. Upon inspection, his wife discovered fuel spewing underneath the vehicle. The contact was called to the scene and the vehicle was towed to the dealer. The vehicle was diagnosed with a defective high-pressure fuel line that needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 105,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11487800October 4, 2022
ENGINE
The engine on my vehicle stopped working while I was driving on the freeway. I later got my vehicle towed to Future Kia of Clovis to handle the engine recall. When I have the vehicle serviced, they inform me that they could fix the recall, however they would not fix the damage that the recall caused to my engine. They also said that if would have gotten the recall fixed before my engine was damaged, I would have been able to purchase an extended warranty. However my engine would not have been damaged if the recall was repaired prior. They informed me that I would need an entire new engine that would cost around $5000. A former employee that I know personally told me that they are responsible for repairing recall damages as well as the recall and I should not be asked to pay an outrageous amount of money to have a reliable vehicle. Now I no longer have transportation due to Future Kia of Clovis failing to repair the recall and the damage.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11487522October 2, 2022
STEERING
My steering wheel is rattling when going around 50-60 mph. When driving on a gravel road the car bounces all over the place when going more than 5 mph. Steering functionality is seriously compromised. 60,000 miles, single owner, no wrecks or potholes hit.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11485779September 22, 2022
STEERING
My steering wheel just started shaking as I turning a corner. Now, if I go over 60 mph my car wants to jump all over the road. I’ve been told it’s the (MDPS) steering coupler by a few mechanics. Download the recall letter from Kia advising of this and the dealership says my VIN is not covered.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11484541September 15, 2022
AIR BAGS, UNKNOWN OR OTHER, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
I was driving doing about 30 mph and hit a boulder and came to complete stop and my air bags did not deploy. And there is another feature vogue or on star that is spouse to call for help did not go off either.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11484253September 13, 2022
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while her husband was driving 40 MPH, there was an abnormal sound before the vehicle stalled. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The driver was able to park safely in a driveway. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the engine to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 122,432.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11483804September 10, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
2013 Kia Soul randomly turns off. It has 101K miles. No dash or warning lights come on before this happens. Then after it turns off an oil can icon, battery icon and a steering wheel icon with exclamation come on the dash and the air is still on, so its on battery power. I have to put it in park, turn off the ignition and AC and restart the car. The second issue that is happening. It is also randomly struggling to start up. I have bought a new battery thinking it was the issue. Still it randomly has startup cranking issues. The random engine power off has happened while slowing down to go over a speed bump, while idling at a stop lights and while i tried to engage the reverse to backup. It is also randomly struggling to start after these engine power off events. Never consistent. Sometimes it starts right up after the power off and others it takes several cranks before it starts. I have to put it in park, turn off the ignition and restart it. I drive 5 miles to work and luckily don't need to go over 35MPH to get there, but I shudder to think what could have happened if i was going faster and the engine cuts off. I have had it diagnosed at a non Kia reputable mechanic repair shop, where they tested the battery and is shows to be good(Should since it is new). Since it sounded like an electrical issues they tested and cleaned the power and ground cables. They attached the scan tool and checked all the modules on the vehicle and no diagnostics trouble codes were stored in any of the modules. But the problem continues. I have scheduled another diagnostic with a Kia dealership Sept 29, 2022 to see if they can figure this out. This is very dangerous as it happens randomly and disables the car. Like i mentioned I shudder to think what could of happened the times I was on the highway driving at 60-65MPH and the only way to get it turn back on is to put it in park and restart it and hope it starts right away before an accident occurs. Not driving til fixed
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11483180September 6, 2022
ENGINE
My 2013 Kia Soul is having the exact issues as the existing Kia/Hyundai catalytic converter/piston recall, but my VIN is not included in the recall. The car stalled while stopped at a traffic light. We brought it to a local pep boys for service. They alerted us to the existing Kia recall.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11482610September 2, 2022
ENGINE
The vehicle lost power and the engine started smoking followed by a loud knock. I had the vehicle towed to a shop and they determined that it was a rod knock. Vehicle has 138000 miles
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11479542August 16, 2022
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Soul. The contact stated that the vehicle had previously been serviced under an unknown Campaign for the ECU; however, the failure occurred after the repair was performed. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was 158,513.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11475593July 24, 2022
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Car wasn’t always turning over right away. When it would, sluggish acceleration meaning gas pedal to floor and slow acceleration. Could have caused major accident when crossing traffic or joining traffic. Car turned off when at busy intersection twice when idling. Could have caused to be rear ended. Auto shop cleaned terminal 6. Stated if happens again, go to Kia to have board replaced
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11473690July 13, 2022
ENGINE, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Speed Control may have misfunctioned. I do not really know. When driving, the car randomly drops down to 5 mph and continues on its own at 5mph. The only way to stop is to turn off the engine. The car is not safe to drive This defect puts me at risk and all the cars following me at risk. This defect has not been independently verified but it is easy to reproduce. Check Engine was on due to problems with a multitude of engine sensors.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11472448July 5, 2022
STEERING
Steering coupler bad Looked online and the noise my car is making When I go back-and-forth with the steering wheel when the car is turned on but I’m not driving ! Makes a clicking noise it also make that noise when I’m driving
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11470013June 20, 2022
ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
I got a recall letter in the mail too late! (October 2021) I received recall letter and called my local dealership 5 minutes after reading it & was told to put the letter in my glove box until my car completely broke down December 8th 2021. It was towed and was told it needed spark plugs & an oil chance which I knew wasn't the case. It sat at that dealership for two months with every service advisor giving me the run around and come to find out I'm not the first person. Had it towed to a different location where it sat for another two months where I had to fight to get a "goodwill" engine which we still paid almost $4,000 when it should of been for free! I got my car back March 31st 2022 and now my car had failed again! Am being told it's something different now & the STEALERSHIP wants another $1,500 from me! My child has had to miss dr appointments due to this and I've jad enough! Kia customer service is incompetent and Kia dealership service departments are as well! Due to the fact my engine should of been replaced for free like everyone else but someone decided to send me the recall letter LATE!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11469917June 18, 2022
ENGINE
I have a Kia Soul ECO. Frequently the car will stop. For no apparent reason. It may have to do with the ECO feature where the engine turns off when you come to a complete stop. This is very dangerous as it happens randomly and disables the car. I have to turn the engine off and back on to continue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11469855June 17, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I am the second owner of a 2013 Kia Soul that was purchased from Century 3 Kia, in Dec of 2015 with approximately 33,000 miles on it. It now has approximately 99,900 miles on it. During the summer of last year, I began to have problems with the car overheating, stalling, and hearing knocking in the engine. My car was burning oil pretty bad (kept having to change the oil) and it smelled like something was burning in my engine so I took it to the dealership where I purchased it. I was afraid it would catch on fire. They ran a diagnostic on it and said that it was the catalytic converter and quoted me a price of around $3,000 to fix it. I asked if there were any recalls for this issue and they said no. About a week later I took it to my mechanic, after doing a diagnostic check he confirmed that the catalytic converter was defective, and he said that my engine sounded pretty bad as well. He told me that he believed there was a recall on my car and advised me to contact Kia and ask about it. I called Kia and they told me there were no open recalls on my vehicle so I decided to get the least expensive issue taken care of first and had the catalytic converter replaced in July 2021. I became ill shortly after that so the car sat unused for several months. I became ill again with Covid in late November and was hospitalized for two weeks, the car sat unused for several more months. In March of 2022, I tried to drive it around the block but had to turn around because the car was very unstable. I towed it back to my mechanic, who told me it was the engine. My Kia Soul has a 1.6L DOHC GDI GAMMA engine, I noticed that it was the same as the ones that were part of the 2019 recall. I had the same issues with my car as those reported by others. I took very good care of my car and kept up with servicing it. My car should have been included in the recall, it had a faulty catalytic converter which caused my engine to fail. Now I'm forced to pay expenses for a car that I can't drive.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11467503June 4, 2022
ENGINE
My 2013 Kia Soul Exclaim has turned-off three (3) times in the past 30 days. The first time was on 5/17/22, the car was idling in traffic at a stoplight when it turned-off completely. I had my mom in the front passenger seat, and we were quick to turn on the emergency lights. Thankfully, after 60-90 seconds, it restarted, and we were able to continue with the flow of traffic without issue until I tried accelerating, and it sounded like it was stuck between two gears at 40mph. When we were about to idle in traffic, the car felt like it was going to stall/turn off again. We parked in an apartment complex, and checked for leaks but didn’t see any. I scheduled an appointment with Firestone Complete Autocare for the next day, and after a few hours I was able to start the car and head home without issues. On 5/18/22, we took the car to Firestone where they checked the battery & other components but readings came back normal. The manager couldnt explain what happened and didn’t feel comfortable changing the battery since readings were normal. I didn’t have any further issues until 6/1/22 when the car was idling, and turned-off again. It still took 60-90 seconds to restart, but no further issues until this morning, 6/4/22. Today, the car was idling while at the Starbucks drive-thru line when it turned off. This time it took 90-120 seconds to start again, and when I tried to accelerate it began to sputter and felt like it was going to turn off again. I decided to go home, but it would not accelerate up the hill I live on, and ultimately died on the street outside my neighborhood. The car was towed to Firestone, and it was suggested to check Kia for a recall. NHTSA shows that 2012-2016 Kia Souls have been recalled for faulty catalytic converters. I called Kia Service, and the mechanic said that the VIN on my vehicle is not recalled, but from what I described, it could be an issue with the catalytic converter. Firestone was notified, and will check the engine.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11466766May 31, 2022
STEERING
Steering coupler has failed within the steering system making the steering not as it normally has functioned.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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