10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 1 / 24
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 1 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 80,031 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.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
My car would stall as I am driving or turning a corner. My jerks as I am driving
- Athens, GA, USA
Car was like new had with only around 40K miles on it. We were giving a car a jump and Soul caught fire and literally burned to the ground! fire department had to come out and put it out! it was remarkable! and we have the fire on video, the fire department showing up, etc. It caught fire under the front hood and no one knows why! we had just paid off the final payment were waiting for title to come in the mail. Needless to say after paying it off only had required coverage as my mother 80yrs never drove it and of course it did not cover fire! she paid $33K for the car January 2014, paid it off June 2018 "new condition", only 40K miles on it, burns to the ground and it's over! no explanation, no compensation, nothing! car was parked at our home and I was jumping my car when it just caught fire (first time was ever used to jump a car) always felt no way simple jump would have caused it! fire was July 24, 2018 at 10:48 am unbelievable! we have not been able to get any cooperation on this or understanding of "what happened"! we are so glad to see your reports! thank you! (xxxxx) parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
- Lake Wales, FL, USA
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Soul. While operating the vehicle, the engine stalled and the check engine indicator illuminated. Occasionally, the engine would immediately restart and the vehicle would operate normally. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the engine crankshaft was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The local dealer (deland Kia, 2322 woodland blvd, deland, fl) and the manufacturer were notified of the failures, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 48,000. The VIN was unknown.
- Sanford, FL, USA
The engine in my 2013 Kia Soul blew at only 56000 miles. My wife was driving the car on the interstate when she heard a knocking noise and she pulled over. A man came up to her window and told her there was flames coming from the bottom of the car. It turns out that a rod went through the engine block and leaked all the oil out of the car. When I took the vehicle to Kia, the service tech asked about the oil changes and had mentioned that the oem oil filter that Kia puts has some type of pressure release and when you get the oil changed somewhere else they don't have that type of filter. I asked if it was required to have the oil changed at a Kia dealer and he said no. We have had all the oil changes up to date on the vehicle. It is really hard to understand how an engine with 56K miles can stop.
- Edgewood, NM, USA
The contact owned a 2013 Kia Soul. The contact's wife informed him of an abnormal odor on the outside of the vehicle. Approximately 45 minutes later, the vehicle caught on fire. The fire department was called and extinguished the fire. A fire report was filed and the fire marshall diagnosed that the wiring in front of the engine compartment caused the fire. There were no injuries sustained. The vehicle was destroyed by the fire. The dealer was not notified. The manufacturer was notified, but did not assist. The failure mileage was 45,000.
- Waxhaw, NC, USA
Takata recall my 2013 Kia Soul had been a great car for almost 5 years now. Out of no where when I was driving my car it just started to make this really loud knocking and ticking sound. The check engine light came on and it shuts off while I'm driving. I got it to turn on I took it to Kia they did the diagnosis its an engine failure my rod is faulty the guy said but my warranty apparently just ended but how does my 5 year old car have engine failure out of the blue it only has 56.263 miles on it I only use it locally I maintenance my car how does this happen.
- Willowick, OH, USA
My Soul began to make a terrible noise at 52,000 miles. Took it to the dealer because we had purchased the additional warranty to extend it to 100,000 and was told the engine bearings had failed. The mechanic at the dealership said he didn't see much sludge in the engine and couldn't see a reason why Kia would deny the claim. Although the oil had been changed appropriately we couldn't produce all the documentation on the spot. The local dealership took video and sent in to Kia, we were told that Kia would not honor their warranty and we were on our own.
- Belleville, IL, USA
My boyfriend was driving, we been hearing a ticking sound and engine light came on. We always have are oil change but in a month it's time for more oil.
- Indianapolis, IN, USA
I purchased a Kia Soul 2013 + brand new in 2013, on 5/13/2017 the check oil light came on while I was driving, I pulled over and checked the oil and it was low even though I had recently had the oil changed, I put 2 qts of oil in the car, but every time I drove the car began making a noise whenever I accelerated. While driving the car on 5/14/17 the check engine light came on and the noise persisted. Though the car was still drivable, I had it towed to the Kia dealership on 5/15/17 where I purchased the car to the service department. Later that day I was told that the motor had gone out in my car when I asked why I was told that the mechanic had left. The following day on 5/16/17 I called the dealership back and was told that there sludge in my motor caused from oil being burned in the motor and the sludge was not able to filter though the motor. I was told that it would cost approximately $4220 to replace it with a used motor. The next day on 5/17/17 I was online looking for cheaper motors when I ran across articles regarding the 2016 recall of 600,000+ other Kia vehicles all with defective engines. After reading what happened to the other engines I realized that the same thing was happening to my engine. I called Kia customer assistance center and a case was made regarding my car. On 5/31/17 I was told that my case had been escalated to the escalation agent. Today, on 6/5/2017 brenda the escalation agent called to notify me that Kia would not cover my car because it has over 100K miles on it and because there is sludge located in the engine. I told yes, that is why I wanted Kia to look into it because it a vehicle with barely 114K miles on it that is 4 years old and with maintenance that was kept up the engine shouldn't have been burning oil to produce sludge in it. I was told I would need to request more work to be done on the car to see if the motor was defective.
- Florence, MS, USA
Sua sudden unexpected acceleration. Happening three times so far randomly. Once when first started and once while driving and once when stopping all happen on the road.
- Butler, PA, USA
My 2013 Soul plus gets exhaust into cabin especially when cold. The rear muffler or converter directs the exhaust straight down, no tail pipe. This seems to be a design flaw.
- Wake Forest, NC, USA
As I started the vehicle in the morning I heard what seem to be belt noises. As I drove to work, the noises increased to the point where the car was shaking and decelerated. When I arrived at my workplace 5 miles later, the oil light came on. The car would not drive past 2-5 mph. I called the Kia service and car was towed to dealer. Dealer stated engine is no longer usable, but so far refused to fix because I don't have proof of oil changes by a dealer.
- Ooltewah, TN, USA
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Soul. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start without warning. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and was not diagnosed. The battery was charged; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 10,000. Updated 5/4/15 updated 11/10/2015
- Seattle, WA, USA
Sudden deceleration quickly followed by loss of all electrical power including steering, brakes, complete engine shut-off and dash instrumentation. Dealer found "no problem" and did not repair or replace ignition switch or anything else.
- Austin, TX, USA
- Galloway, OH, USA