Approximately 30 miles into a trip, with mostly highway driving, the transmission failed completely. Stepping on the gas pedal caused the engine to roar but did not move the car. Unfortunately, this happened while I was driving eastbound on the San Francisco Bay Bridge, causing a very dangerous situation. There was a slight downhill at that point, so I was able to coast, but eventually the car stopped. Once it stopped, I turned off the engine and restarted it and put the car in Drive, but this did not enable me to move the car. I tried this a few times. This put me in great danger of being hit by other cars. Fortunately, the passenger was able to call 911 and a CalTrans tow truck arrived soon and pushed my vehicle, first to the shoulder and then into a bridge parking facility between the eastbound and westbound lanes. Another fortunate thing was that the traffic was moving well below the speed limit.

- San Carlos, CA, USA

The car stalled when coming to a stop and would not start for over 5 mins while on a major road. When the car finally started engine light started to flash and at a fast speed. Got the car home and noticed the oil leaking heavily. I have only had the car for 2 weeks so I took the car into the AutoCare shop for diagnoses and the code came back as code p1327. I was told the car must go to the Kia dealership immediately and be towed.

- Monticello, MN, USA

I recently purchased this 2020 Kia Soul at the end of April 2023. About 2 weeks ago while I was stopped for a red light in a busy intersection and the "restart" feature was engaged as I had the brake pedal pressed but then as the light turns green and I move my foot from brake to gas (that step is supposed to restart the engine) it did not start immediatley as it should have, Which left me in the lane of traffic vulnerable to possible accidents until it restarted. It finally started after what seemed to be forever and embarassment caused by the restart failure. This event could have had a different outcome if the car wouldn't have restarted. I am taking the car to the dealer tomorrow to have it inspected. I wasn't that there was even a problem until this happened there were no warning lights. I also recieved a "voucher" in the mail to take with me to the dealer stating that my car is a high risk potential pre existing conditions with mechanical or electrical issues. I have only had this car less than 2 months and am already having issues with it. I think I'm regretting this purchase. There is also a sluggish gear shift in the transmission it does'nt seem to be working properly also an engine knock that wasn't there previously. It's not even due for the first oil change since purchase. Kia shoulkd get it together and stop duping unsuspecting naive first time car buyers like myself.

- Ravenna, OH, USA

My experience: My transmission failed while driving at full speed on the highway. My car initially started balking, with RPMs jumping between 2000 and 3000 RMPs. Then, it revved high and RPMs suddenly jumped into the red while the car was not propelling forward at any real speed. It was an extremely dangerous, scary situation in the rain, with an 18-wheeler right behind me. I am grateful to have made it to the dealer without having a crash. There were never any warning lamps and this happened out of the blue, without prior warning. Dealer report: "Metal debris on speed sensor; transmission internal failure. Techline authorized transmission replacement." Transmission has been replaced.

- Westwood, NJ, USA

Transmission failed when driving 70 on a highway.

- Tulsa, OK, USA

Transmission completely cut out. Had to tow to dealership and get an entire new transmission. 30k miles.

- Greensboro, NC, USA

Driving vehicle on roadway and started braking to stop at a stop sign when the engine revved higher, had a shudder, and then then car abruptly stopped in traffic. Check engine light illuminated. Put in Park, checked under the hood; no engine issue that I could see. Motor ran smooth with no shudder. When transmission shifted to D, vehicle did not move; would not move in any gear. Towed to KIA of Dothan (AL). Several transmission codes given. Service Dept. advised transmission had a total failure.

- Wetumpka, AL, USA

While driving along the interstate, going 70 MPH, I noticed the RPM gauge started to fluctuate. Shortly after, I started having issues maintaining the speed. I pressed the gas pedal, but the vehicle wouldn-€™t speed up - instead started loosing speed. I started to hear grinding noises as I pressed the gas pedal. Eventually, I kept loosing speed and there was nothing I could do to make the vehicle move. I had to pull off and coast into a parking lot to be towed.

- Mobile, AL, USA

For many months car has been randomly stalling. It has never been able to be duplicated at dealership, therefore it hasn't been addressed. In recent weeks the stalling is more often and is now accompanied by a check engine light.

- Slidell, LA, USA

My 2020 Kia Soul Turbo transmission had a complete lost of power failure on September 26, 2022 at highway speed without an warning. I was lucky enough to get to the shoulder of the road and limb into a gas station at 5 mph. And contact Kia service to have my car towed to the nearest Kia dealership because my car as only 19,067 on it. It was there later I was told the will need to be replaced and Kia would not pay for the replacement because it appeared that maybe the transmission plug was tampered with. The car did not display any warning signs or lights prior to this breakdown

- Pearland, TX, USA

The contact owns a 2020 Kia Soul. The contact stated that twelve hours after the vehicle was purchased while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The traction control warning light and the check engine warning light are illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the throttle body needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed and lubricant was placed on the wiring however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was offered an appointment scheduled for a diagnostic test and offered a trade for the vehicle, but no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 21,700.

- Racine, WI, USA

Transmission going into neutral while driving.no help at this time from the dealership

- Nashua, NH, USA

The contact owns a 2020 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated during acceleration and would not exceed 40 MPH. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. The dealer informed the contact that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that they would escalate it for review. The failure mileage was approximately 21,500.

- New Berlin, WI, USA

Driving car on I-10 west. Near Pensacola, FL tachometer started fluctuating wildly. Car seemed to be losing power regardless of whether using accelerator or cruise control. Passed exit with a Kia dealer too late to exit, so drove to next exit 4 miles down. Light at end of exit was on hill. Stopped, but when light turned green, car would not move. NO WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON AT ANY TIME. Took Kia Roadside Assistance about 2.5 hrs for tow. Towed to Team Gunther, Daphne, AL Kia dealer. Service rep thought was transmission prob as another customer had reported similar situation. Had to wait til Monday, 2/28/22 to get official word that transmission needed to be replaced. Covered by warranty but since wld take about 2 wks to get part and do work, had to find way to get back home to Jacksonville, FL. Kia Travel Interruption assistance covers max of 3 days and $100 a day, so have been reimbursed for some, but not all expenses since total expense over $300. Car ready for pick up on 3/12/22 and picked up 3/15 after getting back to the area from Jax FL. Could have been major safety probs if I had been unable to exit I-10 or if car had lost power on road with no shoulder....

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

I was driving down the interstate at 70 mph. Noticed the car felt like it was accelerating and then decelerating like I was fighting against a strong wind. Looked at the tachometer and saw it fluctuating between 2000rpm and 3000 rpm. Suddenly it redlined to 7000 rpm and I had very little power to the wheels. It would drop back to 3000 but if I tried to accelerate it would redline. I was in heavy interstate traffic. I barely made it to an exit and into a parking lot. By the time I got off the highway it would go no faster than 5mph. I tried restarting the car to find I couldn't go forward or in reverse and the engine would go to 7000rpm. I have about 24k miles on the odometer. Bought brand new from the dealership. Easily could've been rear-ended or crashed in the heavy traffic with no power to the wheels.

- Verona, WI, USA

Purchased car on 7/16/19 with 13 miles. On 1/26/20 the car had 6,764 miles when the car started to appear as though it was in neutral while driving down the highway at 70 miles per hour. Even when giving it gas the RPM would increase and engine sounded revved up but transmission was not working. Then it would sporadically kick in enough that I put my 4 ways on, got off the interstate (81) and limped that car home because the car would not go more that 20 MPH once it came to a full stop, it couldn't even make it up the very small grade to get onto my driveway. Called KIA roadside and it was towed to the dealer, Fred Beans Mechanicsburg PA. Told it needed a new transmission, got car back a month later 2/25/20. On 4/19/21, car has 14,953 miles and the same exact thing happens, I'm on Interstate 83 and the car starts lunging, going in and out of neutral. Once at a full stop car would limp along till reaching a total MPH of 20. Car was towed to Fred Beans KIA, Mechanicsburg PA and yes the transmission again. Dealer said transmission was replaced, this time it took 2 weeks, got the car back on 5/1/21. I asked why does this keep happening and the dealership refused to provide any information, shrugged their shoulders. The attendant at the service counter just kept saying I just work here and don't know anything about the cars! Very scary situation, I or anyone driving with this problem could cause a terrible accident and even a fatal accident. The first time this happened could have been manufacture defect but the second time creates a question as to the potential harm this vehicle can cause to all drivers. No explanation and no trust in this car's dependability. I am not able to financially unload this car at this time. Worst car I have ever purchased and I have purchased many brand new cars but first and last time for KIA.

- Camp Hill, PA, USA

We purchased a 2020 Kia Soul in January 2020, with 11 miles on it. Everything was fine for the first few months, until one day my wife was driving at about 40 miles an hour and was slowing down to take a right turn, the steering wheel locked up and she almost wrecked, thankfully she jerked the wheel hard enough to break it loose, but in doing so the speedo cluster glad shattered. It was fixed but the dealership tried to blame us saying someone had to of punched it. But when looking at the glass cluster it's obvious that not even a baby's hand could fit down into the cluster to hit the glass. Then at 20K miles almost exactly, the transmission went out, again the dealership took care of it, took about 2 weeks for a new transmission. It started revving up and would jerk like it was being down shifted while going down the highway at 70 mph. Since then we've put about 9K miles on the new transmission and is doing the same thing again. The dealership told me there was 2 recalls on the vehicle for the transmission when it first happened, one was for an electronic update, the other was for the actual transmission, but I haven't seen any recalls posted, this is the worst new car I've ever owned

- Carthage, MO, USA

On March 2nd. We were driving our 2020 Kia Soul S. we were driving on I95north. The RPM's kept pulsing, we took the car off of cruise and it seemed better for a few minutes. After the few minutes the pulsing returned, giving it the gas the RPM's went up but our speed was slowing. We got in the inside lane planning on getting off the next exit. The engine started racing with no change in our speed. We got off at the next exit state road 527 in South Carolina. We had to practically floor it to get off the road. We pull to the side and called roadside assistance. The car at this point had 8006 miles on it. We could not move the car at all at this point. It took a few hours, but the car was towed to the closet dealer, in florence SC. The next day the dealer checked the car and said the transmission had failed. At approximately 4:30 pm, the dealer called to let us know that Kia had approved substitute transportation. The following morning the dealer picked us up and drove us to get a vehicle. We unloaded most of our belongings from our car to the rental and continued our delayed journey to Massachusetts. I have called the dealer twice, and left messages. After the second call, I did get a call back. I was told that the replacement transmission was on backorder and should be delivered May 11th. After reading many similar problems on this site, this is not an isolated case and is a dangerous situation. I am now seeing that the 2020 Soul has an engine recall. Obviously these vehicles have problems.

- Ellenton, FL, USA

The transmission failed twice the first time they replaced the transmission and now they have to replace it again they are saying. The vehicle was on the highway and all of the sudden the rpms went through the roof and the vehicle just started to die.

- Cleves, OH, USA

When the automatic start stop start is on when I stop and the engine shuts off as it should, when I release the brake it makes a whining noise for a few seconds. Also happens when going up my driveway. Have read that this is happening in a lot of people's 2020 Kia Soul's and nobody seems to know or have a fix.

- Jarrell, TX, USA