10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
5 / 51
Injuries / Deaths:
5 / 1
Average Mileage:
74,840 miles

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« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #235

Aug 012018

Soul

  • 100,000 miles
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact stated that the vehicle had been burning excessive oil without warning. The contact took the vehicle to deland Kia (2322 S woodland blvd, deland, fl 32720) where she was informed that the oil was severely low and needed to be replenished. The contact informed the dealer that there were no warning lights that illuminated on the vehicle; she was informed by the dealer that the oil light would only come on if the oil was completely emptied. The contact was also informed that there were no oil or gas leakage in her vehicle and that there were no issues with her vehicle. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and they informed her that there were no recalls on the vehicle. Upon investigation, the contact linked her failure to NHTSA campaign number: 19V120000 (engine, engine and engine cooling). The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

- Deltona, FL, USA

problem #234

May 252020

Soul

  • 140,000 miles
My wife and I are the formerly proud owners of a 2014 Kia Soul 2.0 our first Kia was a 1996 sportage, we bought it new at one of the first four Kia dealers in the us, bob lanphere in beaverton or. We have been Kia evangelists for many years. However, over some time, our 2014 Soul seemed to be slowly losing power, and also losing some oil between changes. We used it in town, rarely at highway speeds. I guess it is an example of slowly turning up the heat on the pot of water for the frog; but we just didn't pay much attention. We happened to take it to our mechanic to have the brakes done, he called up, said the brakes were ready but that the car had little power and asked 'how did we drive it like that?' he further volunteered that the exhaust emitted a metallic odor he associated with a dying catalytic converter, and that a clogged converter can significantly hamper the power. We were surprised to hear the news but the gentleman has proved his acuity and integrity a number of times over the years with other vehicles. We subsequently had the entire converter replaced with an aftermarket product for a "mere" 900 dollars. After the fact, we thought there was still some hesitation when acceleration was required, but it clearly ran much better. Then we found out about the 1.6 recall, and a class action suit for the 2.0! now we worry that if there is a programming issue it could damage another converter and even worse if the converter is not the instigator then the car might stop dead and/or catch on fire at any time regardless of a new converter. It runs very hot, and has less power than it should. Nobody can explain why the bad ECU programming would not effect the 2.0 engine's catalytic converter, we have asked the dealership and the Kia customer assistance center to explain the distinction both verbally and in writing with no real answer.

- Beverly Hills, TX, USA

problem #233

Aug 172020

Soul

  • 140,000 miles
Catalytic converters has gone bad over 350K Kia have been recalled for the same reason. My group of engines is not included in the recall, thousands of people have the same problem. Why is NHTSA not doing anything? I have no oil leaks, constantly having to put oil into the vehicle. I lost power on a 75 mph freeway Kia is being no help, a wider recall needs to be done on this vehicle this is a bigger problem for consumers than they are covering.

- Cleburne, TX, USA

problem #232

Mar 012020

Soul

  • 134,500 miles
Driving down the highway and engine died.

- Katy, TX, USA

problem #231

Aug 142020

Soul

  • 109,216 miles
Motor started making a rattle noise underneath car, the the oil light and battery came on and then I pulled over turned off and restarted made a knocking noise and vibrated and so called tow truck had it towed mechanic said it through a rod

- Gerald, MO, USA

problem #230

May 162018

Soul

  • 127,000 miles
The vehicle hesitated, smoke entered the cabin, and then the engine blew while traveling at speed on a 4 lane highway. Once pulled over there was oil leaking out of the engine and running down the highway.

- Industry, PA, USA

problem #229

Aug 072020

Soul

  • 130,000 miles
My daughter was driving her 2014 Kia Soul 2.0 gdi home from work this afternoon when she said without warning the engine hesitated then started knocking, she made it home but at great risk to her safety. I checked the oil and it did not show on the stick.I had to add 3.5 qts. Engine continues to knock very loudly and has no power. Oil was changed only two months ago.there are no visible leaks and there is every indication that the engine has burned the oil. After doing some research I see that there has been numerous recalls for Kia engines because of engine failure and oil buring. I don't understand why this particular engine has not been recalled" how many complaints does it take" now she has a undrivable car that is also not paid for. Warranty has also expired.

- Boiling Springs, SC, USA

problem #228

Jul 132020

Soul

  • 124,000 miles
My car burns oil bad. I have to put oil in it every 1500. Miles.it has cut off on many occasions, very dangerous.the check engine light comes on often when it gets low on oil, never the oil light. The car has 124,000. Miles on it, it scares me every day. I travel alot about 225. Miles a week. Is there any help ?? thanks [xxx]. redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Greenfield, MA, USA

problem #227

Jun 012020

Soul

  • 118,000 miles
I have been having issues with the engine of my car. At first it had stalled out a few times, thought maybe it was my battery, so I got a new battery and still was not running right. It would have a hard time accelerating and all the lights on the dashboard came on, had someone look at that knows cars and has worked on them before and that the noise it was making, the clicking noise, was the starter. Well I got a new starter for it and still nothing. It would have a hard time acclerating, would make this clicking, ticking noise when you barely touch the gas pedal. Check engine light would stay on and the oil light would blink. Recently just had the oil change at a shop and they think it is the motor. Well had another person check it out and now they definitely think it is my exhaust camshaft. So now my car has been sitting in the driveway til I can get it fixed.

- Hutchinson, KS, USA

problem #226

Jul 282020

Soul

  • 82,000 miles
Car loses power while in the middle of driving. I have almost been in multiple accidents. Also the vehicle is burning oil and the engine makes noises. I have the 2.0L engine and my vehicle is doing the exact same thing that the 1.6L engine is doing and that is being recalled for these issues. This vehicle is not safe to drive and this is a problem with all 2014 Kia Souls regardless of the 1.6 or 2.0 engine.

- New Kensington, PA, USA

problem #225

Jul 262020

Soul

  • 82,420 miles
The engine is burning oil and the oil light will not come on. The car can have no oil and the light will not register it at all. Also the car has a problem accelerating. This is so dangerous. There are recalls on the exact thing on the other models of this car. The recalls should extend to all the 2014 Kia Soul vehicles due to them all doing the same thing and being unsafe. Car also wants to stall on occasion. I was driving and this happened. Plus the engine makes noise when idle.

- New Kensington, PA, USA

problem #224

Jun 202020

Soul

  • 170,000 miles
As with the 1.6 on the 2014 Soul, a rod blew through this 2.0 engine and killed it. The same exact issue with the 1.6, which was recalled. Just driving on the highway and it started to slow quickly and very erratic, while knocking loudly. Definitely a safety issue. Luckily it stopped running while on an off ramp to get out of highway traffic.

- Portland, MI, USA

problem #223

Feb 102020

Soul

  • miles
Noticed after getting an oil change not even a month later the car was low on oil. Complained to Kia dealership that they didn't fill my oil up when I got an oil change. Brought it back in for a top off and it did the same thing again. Monitored the oil consumption for 2-3 months coming to the conclusion that it was burning 2quarts every 2 weeks. I have documentation where I have gotten the oil topped off every other week.

- Moody, AL, USA

problem #222

May 092020

Soul

  • 110,000 miles
I had been using oil, had loss of power, mpg tanked, engine vibration, engine idling rough, just over all it not running right. It didn't matter if I was idling, driving on the highway or city streets, the problems where there. I had the gdi service done, but the problems got worse. I then had the plugs replaced, still didn't fix the problem. I went to get it diagnosed and they told me the catalytic converter was severely stopped up and that I should not be driving the vehicle until it is fixed.

- Fort Gibson, OK, USA

problem #221

Nov 222019

Soul

  • miles
My 2014 Kia Soul kept getting check engine light on code P050A when cold outside since November 2019. It started to do so since I got the ECM flashed in May 2019 for recall SC176. Dealership does not have a solution to fix the issue.

- Centerville, OH, USA

problem #220

Dec 262019

Soul

  • miles
My 2014 Kia Soul, VIN# [xxx], broke down on 12/26/2019, only had 33,766 miles on it. The dealership said the downstream catalytic converter was clogged, for an internal melt down due to high exhaust temperature. Dealership said the downstream catalytic converter is not covered under warranty. This vehicle had the recall SC176 for ECU catalytic overheating protection (cop) logic update done on 05/08/2019 at 32,461 miles, invoice # K1cs806584, the recall says 'the catalytic converter may become damaged due to overheating caused by an excessive increase of exhaust gas temperatures'. the dealership should have detected the catalytic converter was failing and replaced it when they did the recall inspection but they didn't. now only 1300 miles after, the catalytic converter failed. Catalytic converter should last 100K+ miles. Less than a week and 130 miles after the rear converter repair, I had front catalytic converter failed at 33892 miles. (invoice # K1cs829713, 1/23/2020, it is repaired under emission warranty. I filed a claim at the Kia recall department for a reimbursement of $1485.58 for the repair I paid, case#13505076, but the claim was denied on 2/8 said they can only reimburse if the repair is done before the recall. When they did the recall inspection, they should have discovered the damage and have it repaired under recall, but they failed to do so and now I have to pay for it only 1300 miles after. The recall is a fraud, all they did is flash the ECU. Redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Centerville, OH, USA

problem #219

Feb 172020

Soul

  • miles
Engine oil consumption has been.69qts per 1K miles. I bought this car new. In the beginning I thought that the service department wasn`T changing the oil. I went to a metallurgist I had done some work for and asked him to observe my drawing of an oil sample to send off for analysis. There was nothing out of the ordinary in the oil. I started servicing the car myself. Over time I kept topping up the level in the engine. The car was getting close to the end of warranty and news had reported engine fires in my make and model of auto. Kia called in autos for an oil consumption analysis: An oil change - goop up the drain plug, dip stick - oil filler - cap - drive 1000 miles - bring the car back - check the oil - top it up - do it again. Three of these cycles were called for. I brought my car back for the first check by this time I had zero confidence in this process. I made them allow me to observe the dip stick check for crankcase oil level. Low and behold it had made oil. This indicated the oil level had been exceeded and there had been no base line been established so the first 1000 mile check was a waste of time. I made them suction off the excess oil to establish an appropriate point of reference. In the end they sent me home with a statement that Kia considered.7 quarts per 1K miles acceptable. One free oil change @ 1K miles then 10K intervals mile to the next oil change. 10K miles @ acceptable engine oil consumption of.7 quarts per 10K miles = an empty crankcase before oil change is due. No wonder they found debris in the crankshaft. It doesn`T take a nuclear physicist to extrapolate this. Kia feels its the owners fault debris is found. Who would buy a new auto with knowledge of these statistics. At a minimum the auto was misrepresented.

- Grand Bay, AL, USA

problem #218

May 202020

Soul 4-cyl

  • 74,150 miles
Vehicle stopped running without any warning, Kia diagnosed it as engine failure requiring new engine and would not consider any portion of the repair cost as its obligation even though it would be warrantied to a first owner well beyond the approximately 74,000 miles it has. Ultimately, gave a few hundred dollars towards a trade. I have attached the disputed case information.

- River Edge, NJ, USA

problem #217

Jun 222020

Soul 4-cyl

  • 95,186 miles
Driving the car at 50mph on a roawday on 5-25-2020 and the car made a horrible engine noise, slowed and would not start. It was towed to Kia of streetsboro who found the engine failed at 95183 miles. We changed oil constantly at 3-4000 miles and are original owners. Never had a check engine light illuminate. Only issue ever was a warranty claim on a starter that failed. Kia found metal in the oil pan and verified our concerns, installing a remanufactured engine. Approximately 100 miles later, the car stalled at 35 mph and died, the check engine light flashed and we had it towed to waikem Kia. They diagnosed a $1500 catalytic converter failure indicating a high amount of carbon build up causing failure. Contacted Kia who refuses to accept any cuplability for the cat failure. That's two times where a crash could have happened due to failure of the vehicle on the roadway.

- Massillon, OH, USA

problem #216

Jun 282020

Soul 4-cyl

  • 144,400 miles
Car had a decrease in power while doing the speed limit on the interstate. We ran a code check and it came back as P1326. Determined we were able to attempt a drive home as code description online indicated car was in 'limp home mode'. could not accelerate over 60, had difficulties going up hill. Check engine light came on at time decrease in power occurred. Warnings of any issues prior to this. Damaged catalytic convertor was replaced in Feb or March of this year, under recall, though told no damage to engine - how is that possible? will not drive the vehicle based on possibility of injury, damage, inability to go with flow of traffic safely.

- Freetown, IN, USA

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