Kia Soul Complaints (2015)

908 consumer complaints on file.

#11442639December 4, 2021
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I purchased my 2015 Kia Soul in March 2019 and it was stolen from my workplace on November 16, 2021 because it was equipped with a defect that made it incredibly easy to steal. My vehicle was deemed a total loss by my insurance company with over $10,000 in damages (See attached pictures) of which I had to pay a $500 insurance deductible, and I lost 5 days of wages and I am still in process of shopping for a new replacement vehicle. The rental is due to be returned today December 4, 2021. I will have no other choice but to pay out of my pocket additional costs to keep my rental a little longer until I find a replacement vehicle. This whole situation has been a complete nightmare and has negatively impacted my life both financially and emotionally.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11442288December 1, 2021
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
4 times within 16 months, my passenger side headlamps low and high beam burned out with a melted headlamp connector plug. My 2015 Kia Soul was purchased in June 2016 and now has less than 38,000 miles. I have seen that there was previously (2016) a safety Recall SC149 Halogen Headlamp Low Beam Connector for 2015 Kia Soul but Danbury Connecticut Kia dealership denies this. I am concerned about a fire as well as cost of repairing this dangerous defect. [XXX]. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11441580November 24, 2021
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
CONSTITUENT WRITES INQUIRING ABOUT THE STATUS OF A SAFETY RECALL RELATED TO THEIR 2015 KIA SOUL.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11441286November 22, 2021
ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I recieved a notification of an engine recall for my Kia Soul. Took it to the nearest dealership an was told the issue was resolved. This was roughly March 1 2021. My check engine light appeared and was diagnosed as a catalytic converter/engine issue . Had vehicle towed to the dealership and after a week or who was told the issue was related to the recall and good to go Roughly 4-6 weeks later check engine light reappered with the same malfunction code. Vehicle has been towed to the dealer to diagnose and fix. The kia dealerships in my area are quoting serviced appointments months out, with no courtesy cars offered. Some dealerships have refused service altogether,.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11440708November 16, 2021
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
On April 9, 2021, I was driving on the expressway and felt an odd change in the vehicle's handling while I was accelerating. Very shortly after, I exited the expressway and came to a stop at the red light at the end of the exit ramp. At that point, the engine simply stopped functioning. The starter did not turn the engine over at all, though the battery was fully charged and the electrical systems were working. I managed to get the vehicle safely onto the shoulder of the exit ramp, and was able to call for assistance. I had the car towed to Pep Boys who told me the oil pan was empty and the engine had overheated, damaging the connecting rod and pistons. A complete engine replacement was necessary. Knowing that this sounded very much like the issue resulting from a previous recall (ID 297880/sc176), which had supposedly been corrected on 6/4/2019, I had the car towed to Sons KIA in McDonough, GA. Sons gave me a repair estimate to replace the catalytic convertor, along with several other replacement suggestions (bulbs, wipers, tires, battery, etc. NONE of which were actually in need of replacement). No mention was made at all about the engine or the fact that the car was inoperable. I eventually discovered that Sons had lost the key to the car, and had only learned of the converter through the DTC codes, and never even looked under the hood or attempted to start the car. Though they claimed to have performed recall update 370541/sc200, they were not even able to access the cabin or engine compartment without a key. I had the car towed to KIA Atlanta South in Morrow, GA, where it has sat since 5/26/2021 awaiting evaluation and repair. I was told that it may take 6+ months before their staff has a chance to look at the car, and it will take even longer to find a replacement engine to make repairs. The Dealership Manager suggested I sell the car to CarMax as scrap, which would be a loss of $7,000+ in value if I can wait indefinitely for repairs they are responsible for.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11439545November 5, 2021
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, ENGINE
Unknown Consumer stated car broke down on October 29th, car was driven less than a mile, when consumer heard a noise coming from the car. In trying to pull over, car screeched and came to a stop. There was a loud metal knocking. Consumer noticed that the sound was louder when I stepped on the accelerator or started the car. No lights illuminated on the dashboard. Consumer decided that it was not safe to drive and towed it instead. Vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnosis. KIA Customer Care was contacted to assist with the issue. Consumer was notified that there were 3 recalls on the car. SC-200, SC-155, and PI-2002. At that point, dealer towed consumer's car to a dealership to complete the recalls since it was believed that the car malfunction was due to one of these issues, but no diagnostics were run by the dealership to confirm. On November 2nd, consumer's case was closed without notice. Consumer reached out to KIA customer care and was told that there was nothing they could do to complete the recalls and was not covered under any warranty.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11439189November 3, 2021
ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
During the month of March 2021, I received a recall letter from Kia Motors America involving a potential engine fire. The vehicle was taken to the local Kia dealership for service. The problem was the loss of oil. The dealership replaced the pan and I incurred the cost of an oil switch replacement. The next incident, June 2021, was the replacement of catalytic converters. Following this, my check engine illuminated and the car was taken to Kia. They replaced the knock sensor (July 2021). In August 2021, another knock sensor replacement. The vehicle continues to lose power and fail to properly accelerate. October 2021, vehicle taken to dealership and I am informed of the catalytic converter requires replacement. Since they are under warranty, the vehicle was taken to the independent dealership that informed me that this situation with the catalytic converters will be ongoing because the engine is bad. The pistons and valves require replacement. Kia refuses to replace the engine unless the connecting rod barring fails. My concern is the use of the word safety; especially knowing that this vehicle and probably many more will encounter major engine malfunctions.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11438934November 1, 2021
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:EMISSION CONTROL:CATALYTIC CONVERTOR
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds there was heat emerging from underneath the dashboard. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the catalytic convertor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling). The failure mileage was approximately 18,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11438615October 29, 2021
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
The subject vehicle was take to dealer to address recall SC176. In this recall there is a flow chart instructing the dealer on how to repair the subject vehicle. This flow chart was clearly not followed. The dealer only performed the ECU Logic improvement and did not replace the catalytic converter. The subject vehicle had trouble code P0420 before it arrived. The code was cleared while in the dealers care but returned 6 miles after the vehicle was picked up. Service manager Nick was contacted, He said there were no stored codes however I provided documentation show the code was there and the check engine light was on when dropped off at the dealership. I believe this is a violation of NHTSA. Because the subject vehicle still has a defective Catalytic converter that is manufacture defect.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11437893October 23, 2021
ENGINE
Engine rod bearing failure. Engine failure. Vehicle was consuming more oil than expected and engine just shut off. Vehicle would not shift into gear. Battery was not charged. When fine finally came on after charging there was a knocking sound. Engine would not accelerate and knocking sound became loud. Vehicle would not even stop.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11436990October 16, 2021
ENGINE
Catalytic converter failed. Car can over heat and catch on fire. Took to dealership and has been confirmed catalytic converter failed. Vehicle only has 83,000 miles. No warning engine start rattling really bad and vehicle was struggling to go up bridges and speed up.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11436879October 15, 2021
ENGINE
I towed my car to a Kia Dealership and was told the Engine needs to be replaced
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11436696October 13, 2021
ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
The engine is leaking oil and got so hot that it melted the inside of the Catalytic converter. This is a recall on 2015 Kia Soul 1.7 liter and not on my 2015 Kia Soul 2.0 liter. I had the car towed to the Kia dealership, Larry Stovesand-Carbondale IL, 5/7/21 to perform 3 recalls: PI2002B (knock sensor), SC200PS (engine inspect/bearing clearance test) and SC155B (pinion gear). The dealership service dept. told me that they had to do the knock sensor and pinion gear recall before they could do the engine inspect bearing clearance test. They kept my car for 3 months, until 8/4/21 and told me about the melted catalytic converter, but still had not performed the engine inspect. I marked the tire with a rock on top to make sure that they did the test. After a week, I went to the dealership. They told me the car passed the engine test. I asked if the test was performed in the garage and I was told yes. I told the service personnel that my car had not been moved because I had marked it with a rock and that the rock was still in the same place on the tire. He said he was going to get the tech and immediately walked out, came back with a tech person that said that he had performed the test but that he had not put it into the system yet. I got the keys to my car and called my local mechanic and had him tow my car to his garage to replace the catalytic converter. The car had the same problems with knocking, hesitation, top speed of 60 mph, and using oil. My local mechanic said the pistons are leaking. I finally got the recalled documentation in the mail from the dealership and it showed they only performed PI 2002B & SC200PS recalls. They did not perform the SC155B recall even though they had the car for 3 months. The car stalled on the highway with my daughter driving. That was terrifying! Now the car is back at Kia for the engine test that I don’t think they did the first time. Now they said it passed the engine test again and only needs a knock sensor. That will not fix it!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11436493October 12, 2021
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Soul. The contact stated that a month after an oil change an abnormal noise was heard coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who added oil to the engine and stated that no oil leaks were present. The failure would occur several times after oil changes. The contact stated while driving at 30 MPH the check engine warning light illuminated while the engine was misfiring. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, no diagnostic was completed due to the diagnostic fees. The dealer also informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in a recall. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the failure as solenoid 1 and 3 misfirings. The independent mechanic recommended an engine replacement. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact researched the failure online and found NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (ENGINE, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING) and NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V750000 (ENGINE) the VIN was not included in the recalls. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The contact also stated that the manufacturer informed her that her Kia was not manufactured at the same plant as the vehicles included in the recalls. The approximate failure mileage was 98,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11436178October 9, 2021
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN
Driving the car up the 101 Cuesta Grade and lost acceleration. The speedometer went to zero and as the car died I pulled to the right side of the freeway / grade. Smoke started to enter my vehicle. A car stopped in front of me and one behind and the people ran from their cars to tell me to get out of my car as my front engine underneath was on fire. I got out of the car and opened the back hatch to remove my belongings as the engine burst into flames. This car has been maintained by KIA and by a personal mechanic and we were up to date on all recalls. We were NOT included in the most recent engine fire recall. The car is completely destroyed.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11435903October 7, 2021
ENGINE
Catalytic converter failed and needed to be replaced.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11435654October 6, 2021
ENGINE
I purchased a new 2015 Kia Soul in the summer of 2015. Since then I have had to replace the engine TWICE and the catalytic converter at my expense. Now the engine has failed again! I asked the mechanic at the dealership why this keeps happening with a brand new vehicle. He shrugged his shoulders and responded that Kia had problems with that particular engine. Never in all this time did the dealership EVER mention this and now that the third engine needs to be replaced, they are refusing to cover it under the warranty or recall because it is at 152,000 miles and the warranty extension was up to 150,000 miles. Never mind that they should have replaced the first two engines because it was under the 150k... or that the third engine itself doesn't have 150k miles on it. They also never made me aware of the recall on the catalytic converter when it failed and I paid to replace it. The first time the engine seized was approx August of 2019, the second time was March 2020, and the third was June 2021. I've contacted Kia Customer Service - they tell me to contact the dealership. I've had it inspected by an independent third party mechanic and he is convinced that this should be covered by the recall/extended warranty
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11435745October 6, 2021
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle began to hesitate. The contact stated that the battery and the oil warning lights were illuminated. The contact was able to park on the side of the road. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to the local dealer and was informed that since she did not have an extended warranty, they would not service NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V750000 (Engine) that was associated with the VIN. The vehicle was diagnosed and repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 104,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11435396October 4, 2021
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact was able to coast the roadside as the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who determined the failure as complete engine failure. The mechanic advised of an open recall. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where the recall was confirmed however, the contact was advised that the repairs would not be covered under the recall. The vehicle was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V750000 (ENGINE). The manufacturer was contacted, and a case was opened. The manufacturer confirmed that the recall repair was not covered. The contact stated that the recall repair was denied by the manufacturer as the vehicle was not brought to a dealer for repair in a timely manner. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000. Vehicle has been diagnosed by Pep Boys.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11435302October 3, 2021
ENGINE
SOMETHING IS CAUSING THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER TO CLOG AND OVERHEAT, REDUCING GREATLY, THE POWER OF THE VEHICLE, PARTICULARLY WHEN TRAVELING UPHILL. I FEAR IT WILL BECOME HOT ENOUGH TO START A FIRE AND/OR DAMAGE THE PISTONS/ENGINE.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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