10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
30,479 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2016 Kia Soul:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #33

May 212022

Soul

  • miles
Unknown have a strong gas smell from under hood passenger side and fuel leak was detected by mechanic during oil change service

- Dallas , TX, USA

problem #32

Mar 212022

Soul

  • miles
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.

- Altoona, IA, USA

problem #31

Jan 202022

Soul

  • miles
Catalytic Converter overheated causing a fire beneath the car.

- Bossier City, LA, USA

problem #30

Aug 262021

Soul

  • miles
Three issues: 1) Upon stepping on the gas from a stop, the car often takes 4 or more seconds to actually move. This more than once has gotten me almost hit in the back by the other cars. 2) The car often makes "tractor noises" that are extremely loud and annoying. 3) The mechanic at the shop I took it to said that there's a crazy amount of oil going though the exhaust system. This could result in hat accumulation in the engine and jam it up (at best) or actually lead to a spontaneous fire. I am afraid of getting stranded so I haven't been driving very much. The KIA dealership said that there's nothing they can do. are you kidding me?

- Little Rock, AR, USA

problem #29

Jun 142021

Soul

  • miles
My car just stopped without warning.. Kia dealership states it need a catalyst converter and 02 sensor.. no engine light came on.. it just stopped.. after they put an software for 50000 incase the engine fail.. well my catalyst converter fail.. without any warning

- Covington, GA, USA

problem #28

Mar 152021

Soul

  • 55,000 miles
Seems the check engine light comes on and off and when taken to the dealership. They cant find nothing wrong with it. The check engine light can stay on for days and the engine runs ruff. When this is told at the dealership they say they cant find anything. This light is on when the car is running weather its sitting still or driving.

- Minooka, IL, USA

problem #27

Mar 062021

Soul

  • 98,000 miles
While driving on the NJ turnpike at night time, I went to change from the right lane into the middle lane and the car stalled not able to pick up speed. As the car stalled there was a fast moving truck which was coming and that was able to switch lanes forcing me to move into the last lane which made the cars behind me have to come to a sudden stop. I then had to put on my hazards and slowly move back over to the shoulder. Once completely stopped I shut off the engine. After waiting for some time I started the car again, but nothing changed. I remained in the right lane with hazards on and drove the car not being able to go above 40 mph. Eventually the car got back to driving normal right before arriving home which was about a 40 to 50 minute ride. The car was taken to the dealership and I learned that the catalytic converter needs to be replaced. This is after taking this car to be looked at twice and being told that there was nothing found. Now I find that there is a recall on the car (NHTSA id: 19V120000), but it says that my vehicle is not amongst the vehicles recalled.

- South Plainfield, NJ, USA

problem #26

Mar 032021

Soul

  • 94,000 miles
While sitting in traffic my car began to shake and then stalled and turned off. It was able to restart and then later while driving down the interstate it began to stop accelerating when I pressed the gas. Fortunately I was able to make it to the shoulder from the left lane as car slowed to a stop and the break pedal locked up. The car would not turn on any more. After mechanic inspection, they reported that a piston had melted in the engine and because the oil had dried up, even though the car had its last oil change two months ago.

- Arlington, TX, USA

problem #25

Feb 272021

Soul

  • 140,000 miles
I was driving on the freeway at night at about 75 miles an hour on cruise control. I was passing a semi when all the sudden my car down shifted and started losing power. I quickly had to figure out how to deal with this and get off the freeway. I consider myself an experienced driver, but if my kid was driving the car when that happened...

- Waverly, WA, USA

problem #24

Dec 242020

Soul

  • 85,300 miles
After taking my car into the dealership for a recall and an upgrade to computer software, I was traveling on the highway at 65 mph and lost power to the engine while in the middle lanes of traffic. I took the vehicle back to the dealership, and upon the completion of an inspection, they said the vehicle is safe to drive and power was restored. I was not offered a loaner car, and had to walk or use public transportation for several days. I am now experiencing the same issue again. I cannot travel out of town without the possibility of the same thing happening as a safety mechanism triggers. I have to find my own means of transportation and only travel locally. If this happens again while on the highway with more traffic I could be involved in a very serious accident. They have also not offered any form of compensation for my time loss with my vehicle. This is very difficult to deal with from day. When the safety mechanism triggers, the vehicle will barely do 35-45 mph. It takes more than 15 seconds to attain that speed which is not safe in heavy traffic or moderate traffic. The car will start as normal; however, with trying to takeoff the vehicle will not accelerate as normal. Prior to this 'upgrade' the vehicle never had issues with acceleration.

- Burlington, NC, USA

problem #23

Feb 132021

Soul

  • 85,000 miles
I was on the freeway in the fast lane and my car started acting like it wanted to stall. The engine light came on briefly and went away. I hit the gas to try to get over to the right lane so that I could exit the freeway and nothing was happening with the RPM it would not go over 2 and I thought I was going to stall on the freeway. I was so upset and finally made it to an off ramp. When I stopped at the off ramp the car was shaking and making a terrible noise like it was going to just explode. I contemplated staying off the freeway and taking the streets but I was not in a good area so I got back on the freeway and stayed in the right hand lane to exit and head straight to the dealership. I immediately called them and told them what happened to me. They said it was a cylinder that was misfiring and that they replaced it. Well I was driving yesterday and the engine light came on again and my car wanted to stall again and it had only been a week since they supposedly fixed it. I took the car in and again they blamed it on the oil and are now saying that my engine may be burning the oil faster than it should and if that is the case they will need to replace the motor. The car has me on edge as I drive my kids and grandkids everywhere. I do not feel safe in this car at all anyomre. I feel like the engine can give out at anytime without warning.

- Torrance, CA, USA

problem #22

Feb 012021

Soul

  • 19,817 miles
As I was pulling out to go to work, I noticed the RPM indicator went up to 51000 RPM.I had not had this issue before.the car only had 18000 miles on it when I bought it. It has 19500 miles now.I was on the major highway in austin Texas and couldn't go after than 50 mph.I almost got hit driving.in the past, I had my Kia sportage repaired without issue. I am going to the Kia service center in the am. I will everyone know the outcome

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #21

Jan 252021

Soul

  • 60,000 miles
First, a couple of weeks ago my check engine light comes on and my engine temperature gauge stops working properly. It starts taking about 15 minutes for my engine temperature gauge to show the engine is warmed up. After about two days the engine light goes off by itself. So I finally get an appointment at the Kia dealership today. They say they need to put an updated program into my Kia Soul's computer..that seemed to fix the issue according to the dealership. I drive away go to a store when I come out of the store and get back into my car and pull out of the parking spot my cars check engine light comes on again. I take it to auto zone to get the code read. This time the code is P0420. I call the dealership 800-995-4203 and the service associate marty tells me to bring my Kia Soul back to the dealership. When I get there he says they are now going to charge me $109.95 an hour to diagnose what is wrong with my car. At this time I am in the waiting room feeling like I'm being taken advantage of by these people but I have no other option and I don't have anyway of knowing what, if anything, is actually wrong with my car. Not to mention all this happens between 59000 and 60000 miles on my car and the warranty expired at 60000 miles.

- Danville, VA, USA

problem #20

Nov 162020

Soul

  • 75,000 miles
When I called the dealership about the code that popped up when I used my reader to read the check engine light that popped up two days before thanksgiving. It said it was the catalytic converter. The Kia lady took my VIN and said there was no recalls but everyone with my car was calling in about it. And the part itself is 1200 dollars. How many others have to go through the exact same thing which also says it can result in loss of control. As a mother with a toddler who chose this car based on its affordability and safety features. This is unacceptable. There needs to be an issue recalled immediately. The car is a 2016 Kia. Theres should be no reason that I would have to pay 3000 dollars to replace a part that everyone's having to replace or your car will literally break down for good. The po50A code.

- Bryan, TX, USA

problem #19

Nov 202020

Soul

  • 80,000 miles
Car stop working and catalytic converter blew

- Milwaukee, WI, USA

problem #18

Mar 012020

Soul

  • 78,000 miles
My car experienced a complete loss of power. Making it impossible to travel over 50 mph. No check engine light or code thrown. Brought to Kia dealership and after 3 weeks discovered the catalytic converter was clogged and melted. Replaced 90 days ago. Second is now destroyed and melted. Wants to install the third. Says motor is fine, not running rich or lean. Nothing they can do for me and they just have to keep up with this $3,000 repair every 3 months as it fails. Vehicle is completely unsafe to drive. Converter being clogged causes it to shut down on the highway. Kia says nothing they can do, just need to keep replacing the converter every few months. A converter rated to last 10+ years. Highly unusual. Spoke to other mechanics and they believed there was a recall on my converter for this reason but my bin shows no recall. Please help.

- Lake Ariel, PA, USA

problem #17

Oct 122020

Soul

  • 126,700 miles
I was on my into work and my vehicle started to slow done on the highway. I was told something popped out under neath my vehicle and the vehicle started to smoke. Some sort of a rod that must of came off. I had this towed to our company mechanic and they said that I might have to replace the whole engine.

- Mt. Sterling, KY, USA

problem #16

Jul 022020

Soul

  • miles
Catilac converter. Kia refused to fix says not a recall. But 2017 Kia manufacturing says it's a recall and now my check engine light appears and that needs to be fixed

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #15

Aug 012020

Soul

  • 41,050 miles
8/1/20 driving on hwy 231 at 65mph when my car felt like it was stalling, pulled over and turned engine off.it would crank but only go approximately 20 mph or rev to about 2000 RPM, then just putter out. At tuffys where it was said "nothing was coding". said needed knew fuel pump for $1600. That was replaced but was not the issue.he said there is an active recall associated w/ car and to get it to the local Kia dealership.I immediately started researching an found recall 19V120000, I called Kia 800# and was told there was no recall associated w/ car and that their search is VIN specific and was no active recalls on this car. I continued to research, called back and yes indeed there was a recall. Car arrived there Friday 8/7/20 at 9:30 am. Spoke w/ chuck and was not given any details though I called him daily.following Friday(8/14/20) I spoke w/ jared who said they wern't sure but it was looking like possibly a recall issue but that they weren't sure and to call back and they could get me set up w/ a rental car because the engine likely needed replacing. An hour and a half later a women left me a voicemail asking me to get receipts of all oil changes done on vehicle. I still had no explanation on what was wrong with my car.gave 2 receipts but was not really sure the pertinence if this was a manufacture recall. Kia says the only recall was for a system update. When asked him if this had been done he said no. But I had previously been told by robert at 1800 Kia that this had been done.I told jared this and he said "we probably just told tech support that" when I demanded to know if system update had been done he put me on hold, then replied '"oh well that was just done". he said but none of this has anything to do w/ ur car. When asked wtf the actal problem was he said engine was knocking due to my lack of maintenance and needed a new engine but in no way due to a recall

- Panama City, FL, USA

problem #14

Jan 202020

Soul

  • 70,000 miles
I have a 2016. Kia. Soul with constant problems I now have a catalog converter problems and want to know if its on recall because. I have had this vehicle less than 3 years and constant service checks. My service engine light is on and when. I took it to service they ran a check and. I was told it was a catalog converter and its expensive hi know people with. Kiss from 2015 and up and never had any trouble 91st all 18th their carbs. Is the. Kia I am driving a flooded out auto from a different city. I am on a fixed income and can't continue to afford to pay for service especially on a sort of new auto.

- Detroit, MI, USA

Read the next 13 complaints »