2015 Kia Soul 2.0 L engine. Engine failure at 82,000 miles. Driving home from work the engine started ticking, within 1 mile it started knocking. I went to pull over in a safe spot off of the road. Before I could pull off the road the engine stalled. No check oil or check engine light came on. There was no indication of a problem until it stalled. I put the vehicle in neutral and coasted off of the road. It would not restart as the engine was seized and I was told no oil was in the car. The vehicle was towed to a Kia dealership in Maumee, Ohio at Taylor Kia. The vehicle has been well maintained with oil changes performed at manufacturer specified intervals.

My seventeen year old daughter was driving home from school in 2015 Kia Soul, Wednesday, 29 January 2020. Midway going up a steep hill on a major busy highway, the car engine stopped which left her in the right hand lane of a four lane highway. Highway 64, Fayetteville, TN, Lincoln county. This highway is a major route for large tractor trailers. Daughter turned on emergency flasher and exited the car for safety. Several people came by and helped push the car to the side of the road. This part of the highway has a small shoulder with guardrails due to the step drop off. Had a friend go with me to get the car as he has a car hauler. We checked the oil level and it was full. Hauled car to my farm. Internet research describes other Kia vehicles with the exact engine failure symptoms that resulted in several recalls. This vehicle's VIN did not indicate a recall.

Had car towed to a nearby auto shop and was told there was severe damage to the engine. I filed a complaint with the NHTSB. There are numerous complaints on this site describing engine failures with almost the exact same failure mode. Car started shaking prior to the car engine failure.

Contacted Kia Customer Service and asked if they would work with me for either a fix to the Kia or offer me a deal for a new Kia. Talked with a nice lady, Nikki?, who was concerned with my daughter and the bad experience. I was very optimistic and was directed to have car towed to the Kia dealership in Huntsville, Al. Car was towed to the Kia dealership on Friday, 7 Feb. Monday, 10 Feb, I called the Kia customer service representative twice and left a message both times. I never received a return phone call or email.

On 17 Feb, I called Kia customer service and spoke with Jordon. He told me that he would contact the Kia dealership and call me back. He apparently contacted the dealership, but he never called me back. On 21 Feb, I received a phone message stating to call the Kia customer service representative as a decision had been made for my car. I returned the call and talked with Brittany who told me that my claim was denied. I asked what was the basis for the decision and was told that she did not know.

I have always maintained my equipment and I always pay extra to get premium products. I worked for 35 years as a Quality, Reliability, Maintainability, and Safety engineer with the Army and I retired as the Director for Mission Assurance for a major Army missile system. I have two tractors, a John Deere track hoe, two trucks, and five cars. I use synthetic oil in all my vehicles primarily because it does not break down over time and temperature as quickly as organic oil. I also prefer K&N filters as they have better control with the filter mesh size. I have a 2011 Nissan Versa with over 190k miles that I drive 80 miles a day during the week and it is still running great. I state this because Kia sometimes wants to blame the owner for not properly maintaining the vehicle and should have had the vehicle serviced by an authorized dealer. My daughter and I serviced her Kia together so she will understand how to properly maintain a vehicle.

Needless to say, I am not pleased with the Kia quality nor the response that I received from the Kia customer service. There are numerous complaints on the NHTSB web site with individuals having the same situation that I have. The following complaint, dated 27 Feb, was copied from the NHTSB web site and pasted below:

“CAR HAS BEEN FINE AND NORMAL, BUT THE OTHER DAY I WAS DRIVING, AND WHILE ACCELERATING AFTER BEING STOPPED AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT, I NOTICED THE CAR SUDDENLY SEEMED TO LACK POWER. IT GOT UP TO ABOUT 45 MPH, BUT THEN STARTED KNOCKING - LIGHTLY AT FIRST, THEN REALLY LOUDLY. THE OIL LIGHT FLICKERED ON AND OFF DURING THIS TIME. I IMMEDIATELY PULLED OFF THE ROAD AND HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE KIA DEALERSHIP WHERE I PURCHASED IT (PALM SPRINGS KIA). THEY TOLD ME THE ENGINE NEEDS TO BE REPLACED! MILEAGE IS 70,612 ORIGINALLY, THIS CAR WAS UNDER WARRANTY UP TO 100,000 MILES, BUT SINCE I'M THE 2ND OWNER, I WAS TOLD WARRANTY EXPIRED AT 60,000. WHY IS THAT? NOW I SEE THIS SEEMS TO BE A FREQUENT PROBLEM WITH THE 2015 KIA SOUL AND A RECALL SEEMS TO BE IN ORDER!”

Web site as follows: https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2015/KIA/SOUL/SUV/FWD

If anyone has experienced engine problems with their Kia vehicle, I recommend that you file a complaint with the NHTSB and carcomplaints.com. Based on prior recalls and the number of recent complaints, I fully expect that a recall will be approved in the near future.

I was driving down road turning on sharp 15 mph turn when it seemed like the engine turned off I pulled over and checked everything out a quart of oil I had in the turned car key off then in on position it started but didn’t seem to have much power. The oil light started to flicker If I pushed on acceleration to much it wouldn’t really go. So I eased the pedal and made it 3 miles maybe and engine failed it had this awful noise coming from engine then I immediately pulled out on pull off and shut it off! I then had to call taxi I thought I’d i oil oil in it I could make it to Kia dealership 15 miles away! Paid taxi $60 I put one quart in waited nine on dipstick! Put a quarter of 2nd oil tried starting it & it had worst sound you could imagine! I called triple aaa they moved it to Kia

Driving 55 with AC and cruise on car loses all engine power, no warning lights no noise, engine just quit working. Had towed to dealer, service manager was a major jerk and could have given a sh*t less, tried to tell me a new engine with labor would be over $10,000 and that my engine was seized up, I call BULLSHIT!!!! I think it is a scam to try to get me to buy a new car, said warranty was not good due to poor service records, and Kia would not honor the warranty so I am up a creek with no paddle. The dealership tried to sell me a car but could not due to still owing more than $9,000 on the car loan. This totally sucks and kia needs to be made aware of these practices.

Just got my soul back from the recall fix on 6/12/2019 the work completed by Rick Case Kia on Sunrise, FL. And yesterday 6/14/2019 I left home to drop my daughter to work and then get to my work. The car started fine, we reached a driving speed of approx 40mph when my car just shut off in the middle of the street, I immediately turned the Hazard lights on, I couldn't start it again. We had a car behind us and the gentlemen was able to avoid running into us just in time, so no accidents or injuries thank god. Towed to the Rick Case Kia at Sunrise, FL today morning and they said it was the battery. The battery had bad cell, cost $150 to replace the battery. They couldn't find any other issues. The dealership mentioned they ran a full diagnostics but couldn't find anything that would cause the car to shut off while driving, They blamed it on the bad cell in the battery. I am not a mechanic or know a whole lot about cars, but I thought the batteries only come into play when the car starts and have no impact while driving. I could be wrong but I am not convinced that 2 days ago I get the car back from recall fix and everything is checked out fine and then suddenly battery has a bad cell a day later that almost causes an accident and injuries and could be fatal.