My Kia soul +2012 has only 16,000 miles on it and a couple weeks ago the steering wheel began having play in it and a clinking sound begin. Subtly at first but quickly became very loud and disturbing. It seems to be progressing exponentially because now the entire steering column shakes whenever I go over bumps and vibrates when I make a turn. There’s no excuse for the coupler in this steering column to have deteriorated after only 16,000 miles. Unless it’s simply deteriorates overtime because my Kia soul is now 12 years old, but it’s hard for me to believe that this is the case. I think that Kia should repair this just because of the low mileage even though it’s past the 10 years guarantee it’s Far far below the 100,000 mile guarantee.

I checked with dealers on the repair cost and they range from $750-$1000 so when I looked on YouTube to do some research all of the videos said that it was only a 40 minute to a one hour job and the coupler that has deteriorated only cost a few dollars. The repair really only involves removing some plastic dashboard pieces and getting to the steering assist component, unscrewing the bolts, replacing the coupler and putting everything back together again. I don’t have the tools or the experience to do it myself even though the YouTube videos say it’s easy so I’m looking for someone who knows how to do the repair in my area and won’t charge me an arm and a leg to do it. I’m afraid that at some point which may not be too far away it will become dangerous to drive my Kia.

I AM A SENIOR CITIZEN (FEMALE). I PURCHASED THIS CAR IN NOVEMBER, 2015. I JUST FINISHED PAYING IT OFF IN DECEMBER, 2019. I TOOK IT TO ANCIRA WINTON, A KIA DEALER, IN JUNE, 2020 TO HAVE A LOT OF 60,000 MILE WORK DONE. I ALSO HAVE HAD IT ALIGNED, REAR BRAKES, TIRES ROTATED AND BALANCED, OIL CHANGE, BATTERY CHARGED, AND NEW WINDSHIELD WIPERS INSTALLED. I PURCHASED NEW TIRES IN 2018. I HAVE NOTICED THE "CLUNKING" NOISE AND FEEL IN THE STEERING GOING ON FOR SOME TIME NOW. NOW THE STEERING COLUMN IS LOOSE. I AM PETRIFIED OF SOMETHING HAPPENING THAT COULD BE CATASTROPHIC!! I'VE READ COMPLAINTS THAT KIA HAS REPAIRED OTHER MODELS WITH RECALLS BUT NOT RECALLING THE 2012. ARE YOU WAITING FOR A SERIOUS AND MAYBE LIFE THREATENING ACCIDENT TO OCCUR? IF SO, THERE WILL BE A LAWSUIT. I PURCHASED A KIA FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE AND I THOUGHT I WAS GETTING A GOOD, RELIABLE, SAFE AUTOMOBILE. IF I HAD KNOWN THEN WHAT I KNOW NOW I WOULD HAVE NOT PURCHASED A KIA.

Steering suddenly became loose, with a couple of inches of play and a "clunk" on either side. I took it to the Ford dealer where I bought it; they said the steering column had to be replaced and quoted $2200. I paid $120 for their diagnostic and took it to a Kia dealer in hopes they would know of a cheaper fix or cover it under a recall. They still had to replace the steering column, but charged $1843 and no recall coverage. Between the first diagnostic fee and having to rent a car for a week, I was out $2300.

A search online revealed dozens of similar complaints. Kia covered this with a recall for later models, but refuse to do it for 2012's, claiming they're too old or out of warranty. I bought it just a few years ago and am still paying for it, and this is not an age or mileage issue, it's a dangerous design flaw. I was told the steering could have gone out at any moment with no warning. I bought a Kia because I thought it was a safe, well-made car from a company that stood behind its products. It was my favorite car I'd ever owned and I'd planned to buy nothing but Kias from now on, but I'm rethinking that.

Someone needs to file a class action lawsuit to force Kia to fix this problem and reimburse those of us who were already stuck with huge repair bills to fix their mistake.

Update from Feb 4, 2020: UPDATE! Several months after posting this, I got a letter from Kia, saying they had decided to extend warranty coverage for this problem to older models. Because I had already paid to fix it, they asked for copies of the receipts, then reimbursed me in full, including the cost of a rental car I had to get while it was being fixed.

Please spread the word that Kia stepped up and took care of this. I am now quite pleased and once again am a Kia fan.

Kia Soul with only 29K miles and it's UNSAFE to drive. Major play in the steering wheel and clicks on both sides of the play. Called the dealership and was told it's not under warranty. Although he knew what the problem was just by my describing it over the phone but when I asked how much the repair would be, I was told "I'll have to look it up and call you back". Waiting for the call now. (No, I'm not holding my breath). My driving habits have matured since I was 16, so at 70+ I don't drive like a bat outta h@ll. Right now I have a very expensive boat anchor in my driveway. It's NOT SAFE to drive.

I call Kia and they said there was no recall on this problem. Bring it to the dealership to look at it. It cost $140.00 to look at it. I do not have the money to do this. I brought it to a repair shop and they charge nothing to check it and said it was the rubber bushing...Going to charge $150.00 labor. I call parts at Kia and the part was $2.00. After they wanted to charge $400.00 for labor. That was in June when this happen. I call Kia today 12/13/2018 and they said the same thing. I have a fear of driving this car because of the clicking noise in the steering wheel that could cause my life.

Steering problem started in August. Play in steering wheel at first then got progressively worse. Now the whole steering column vibrates after hitting the smallest bump, especially a speed bump. Took to dealership to fix today. It will be $320.00, out of my pocket. I'm the original owner of my and car only has 43,000 miles on it. When I went in to schedule my service and tell what was wrong all I had to say was " I have a problem with my steering" and he automatically said "Is it clunking", I said "Yes". Well he said my year (2012) model is not covered under warranty, of course, my luck. Seems like Kia knows about this problem since I didn't have to say much about my problem and he knew exactly what it was and how much it would cost!! I think this should be a recall, or at least covered under warranty.

My steering wheel started making this clunking noise it had 51000 mile on it. Took it to my Kia dealer. They told me it was a flexible coupling and they wanted to charge to replace it because my warranty ran out. I said, "that's a safety issue". They said, "its not". I just got my car and went home. I found out that a lot of Kia models had that problem and they were given a recall letter. It make no sense, it's the exact same part has the recall, plus if it doesn't get fixed, I could lose my steering. How they can recall model after my year and not 2012.