Kia Soul Complaints (2016)

825 consumer complaints on file.

#11463367May 4, 2022
ENGINE
My car suddenly caught fire. I am assuming it was the engine because the fire started under the hood of the car. I never received any information regarding a recall or a safety issue but when the Vin was checked by my insurance inspector the recall came up.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11462986May 2, 2022
ENGINE
I keep my car very well maintained I get oil changes n filters every 3 to 5000- miles and supposedly this recall was done I have this problem now out of no where.. ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:EMISSION CONTROL:CATALYTIC CONVERTOR Recall Created: Feb 26, 2019 Owners Notified: Apr 17, 2019 Component: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:EMISSION CONTROL:CATALYTIC CONVERTOR Recall Summary: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2012-2016 Kia Soul vehicles equipped with 1.6L Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) engines. High exhaust gas temperatures may damage the catalytic converter, possibly resulting in abnormal engine combustion and damage to one or more of the engine's pistons and possible piston connecting rod failure. Consequence: Piston damage may result in an engine stall, increasing the risk of a crash. A broken connecting rod may puncture the engine block allowing engine oil to escape. The leaking oil may contact the exhaust, increasing the risk of a fire. Corrective Action: Kia will notify owners, and dealers will upgrade the Catalytic Overheating Protection Engine Control Unit logic to prevent overheating of the catalytic converter. In addition, the catalytic converter will also be replaced if it has been damaged. Depending on the extent of any damage, the engine may also be replaced, free of charge. The recall began April 17, 2019. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC176. Other Notes: Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11462609April 28, 2022
STEERING, ENGINE
Catalytic converter stopped up. Unknown for the other. Took it to Kia place to get the recalls fixed and they denied fixing either problems and charged me 245$ to put my car back together.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11462491April 27, 2022
ENGINE, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to her residence. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number 19V120000 (Engine, Engine, and Engine Cooling) for which the VIN was included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11462513April 27, 2022
ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Vehicle looses power. Sounds muffled and noisy. Engine knocking. Does not shift as it should. Engine gets hot, dash board got hot yesterday. Where is the oil going? No check engine lights. Started approx a month after I had the kia dealer do the computer update. Seems to occur with hills, Excelleration, when it has to work. I had a tune up, fluids changed, mechanic gave up. Kia said I had to take it to a kia dealer.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11461760April 22, 2022
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:EMISSION CONTROL:CATALYTIC CONVERTOR
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated that she was constantly adding oil in the vehicle. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated and remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and an unknown software update was performed and the DTC code was erased. The contact believed that the failure was related to the catalytic converter. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 110,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11460455April 11, 2022
ENGINE
Without any warning, while driving at night on interstate, MIL started blinking and engine lost power and was experiencing vibration. This is exactly as described would happen in KIA PRODUCT IMPROVEMENT CAMPAIGN letter I received regarding engine malfunction. KIA knew about this and abnormal engine oil consumption. We did regular maintenance and oil changes, even adding oil between oil changes.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11459026March 30, 2022
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:OIL/LUBRICATION
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle began to decelerate. The contact depressed the accelerator and the vehicle did not respond. The contact was able to safely pull off of the roadway. The contact turned the vehicle off and on and continued driving until the vehicle stalled. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the oil level was very low. The independent mechanic refilled the engine oil reservoir. The contact noticed that the oil level was dropping continually by checking the oil dip stick. The contact had the vehicle towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the catalytic converter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11458690March 28, 2022
ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
as i was heading home from work , about 12 miles into road, vehicle started loosing power, and at it would turn engine off at stop lights, and it would turn back on, and started shaking and running under 40 miles an hour, the next day , warranty was able to tow it to the manufacture dealership service, the service adviser called and said it was the engine, its been three weeks and the issues has not been resolved due to warranty not wanting to pay for repairs.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11458180March 24, 2022
ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of oil while driving. The contact also stated that the vehicle would stall upon depression of the accelerator pedal with an abnormal, banging sound coming from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a dealer where it was diagnosed with a defective catalytic converter. The contact was then informed that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling). The manufacturer had been notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11457854March 22, 2022
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The check engine and battery warning lights were illuminated and flashing. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that an engine replacement was needed. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling). The manufacturer was contacted and informed him he had failed to complete a software update. The contact stated he was not notified. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11457729March 21, 2022
ENGINE
While trying to pass or accelerate at 55+ MPH, car would start to loose acceleration/engine power. Loud hissing noise from engine area. After taking car to dealership was informed that the Catalytic converter was damaged and now out of warranty by 8000 miles. Other 2016 Kia Soul models were recalled because of the same issue. But my model was not. This seems like an issue that should be covered/recalled. The car seems to be "burning" oil at a high rate. Full synthetic oil changes are showing a burning of oil at only 1000 miles, and oil is low at the 3000 mile oil change.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11457226March 18, 2022
ENGINE
Car continues to consume oil at alarming rates leaving the engine very low on oil and certainly causing damage to the engine itself. This has been an issue since I purchased the vehicle and I have had to be very vigilant on checking oil to prevent extensive damage/fire. however, there have been a number of times that the oil has been very low without any indication from the car that there were issues. just me being able to hear it. kia and car dealer matt blatt kia are extremely difficult . this is extremely unfair
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11457228March 18, 2022
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated while the vehicle was stationary at a traffic light, the vehicle stalled. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the clutch pedal was vibrating. The contact was able to turn on the vehicle and drive a short distance before the failure recurred. The contact drove with the intermittent failure to the local dealer. The local dealer diagnosed the vehicle with needing the catalytic converter to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling). The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 118,836.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11457108March 17, 2022
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:EMISSION CONTROL:CATALYTIC CONVERTOR
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated that it took approximately 20-25 minutes to refuel the vehicle because the nozzle would frequently stop pumping gas. Additionally, the contact stated while driving approximately 45-50 MPH, the vehicle started to hesitate. The check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local Pep Boys who diagnosed that the catalytic converter had failed and informed the contact that her VIN was included in a recall that was associated to the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the catalytic converter was replaced under NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that after the vehicle was repaired, she was able to pump gasoline into the vehicle with no issues. The contact stated that eight months after the repair, the check engine warning light illuminated while driving. The vehicle was taken to the Pep Boys who informed the contact that the failure was associated with the catalytic converter. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer who diagnosed that the catalytic converter needed to be repaired and an appointment was scheduled. The contact stated that upon returning to the dealer for the vehicle repair, the dealer informed the contact that the catalytic converter would not be repaired; however, the Catalytic Overheating Protection Engine Control Unit logic software would be updated. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer who informed the contact that the catalytic converter needed to be repaired and she would be responsible for the cost of the repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not reach a representative at the dealer. A case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 156,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11457003March 16, 2022
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of oil. The vehicle was consuming one quart of oil per 3,000 miles. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was notified of several trouble codes. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and an oil change service was performed; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact was concerned that the dealer was adding too much oil to the vehicle. Additionally, the contact was concerned about being stranded. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 89,000. The dealer stated they would replace the engine but the contact had to replace the catalytic converter.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11456637March 14, 2022
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, he slowed down for another vehicle, as the contact resumed the speed the engine started knocking and the oil pressure light was illuminated. The contact pulled over safely to the side of the road and turned the vehicle off. When the contact attempted to restart the vehicle, the vehicle failed to restart. The contact had the vehicle towed to the local dealer however, the vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 61,400.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11456714March 14, 2022
ENGINE
The engine continues to mysteriously loose oil. After taking it to the dealership multiple times, I'm told to just change the oil, come back in 3000 miles and they would "check the oil". The piston timing is now off and per an independent mechanic, the engine is needing to be replaced. An unnamed employee at the dealer repair stated that they had multiple reports of instances similar to mine and multiple other cars needed engines replaced as well. The engine looses oil as stated and I feel as though this is due to negligence in the manufacturing.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11455949March 9, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The rotating contactor switch for the heat/air conditioning fan on the dashboard appears to get very hot on the internal side. This resulted in discoloration of the plugs on the back side of the control panel, and melting of the contactor housing within the control box. No modifications have been made to this system to my knowledge, and no fuses were burned out prior to the dial failing, due to the melting plastic creating an air gap between the contactor terminals. Half of the plastic on the housing appears to be a heat resistant glass reinforced polyamide, and the (melted) half appears to be made of standard ABS plastic. This implies engineering expected this component to get hot, but still cut costs irresponsibly by using cheaper ABS in hope that the other half of this component would not get hot enough to melt (or potentially catch fire, had the plastic not melted away in a fashion that simply disconnected the contactors). I believe this case is not unique, as failures of this component appear common online. However I believe the true cause of failure (and potential risk of fire from the heat) has not yet been identified due to this contactor being located within a sealed control board assembly.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11455051March 3, 2022
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:EMISSION CONTROL:CATALYTIC CONVERTOR
Catalytic converters are plugged. Vehicle slowed down. Unable to keep speed up on highway.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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