10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 1 / 1
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 2 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 7,826 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.
My car randomly started stalling and turned off while I was in the middle of a busy intersection with both my children in the car. I had to turn on my hazards and turn off my car and turn it back on and press on the gas pedal. The car did that four times in less than 30 minutes. I am not the original owner of the vehicle, but the previous owner did have the cars camshaft repaired when I took it to the mechanic on 4/21 that was when I found out about the previous owner having the same issue as I am. I called Kia of America regarding the recall on 2020 Kia souls. They ignored my request and told me there was nothing they can do as my warranty was expired. I then proceeded to call carmax where I bought the car and was never informed that there was mechanical issues and that the car was safe. I did the research and saw there is a recall on 2020 Kia soul for improperly heat treated piston oil rings and that a damaged engine may stall, increasing the risk of a crash and that oil may leak into hot exhaust causing a fire.
- Naples, FL, USA
Unknown. Consuming oil at a high rate. Car also randomly loses acceleration power acting as if it-??s in neutral.
- Harrison, OH, USA
The contact owns a 2020 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving 80 MPH and attempting to pass another vehicle, the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to accelerate while the RPMs were significantly high. The contact stated that she intendedly decelerated to 60 MPH; however, the failure recurred while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact pulled to the side of the road and parked the vehicle for 15 minutes. The contact resumed driving; however, the vehicle failed to exceed 30 MPH. The contact pulled to the side of the road and parked the vehicle for 20 minutes; however, the failure persisted. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 44,306.
- Bothell, WA, USA
The vehicle started with what felt like the car was going gently slower and faster as if it was almost out of fuel but had a full tank. This happened a couple times and I had the dealership check it out but they were unable to recreated the problem. This progress to a more obvious gear shifting harder or not when it should. There are times where when I try to accelerate, it shutters and doesn't want to go. I just recently had an issue after stopping for gas, where it lost power all together and started to almost redline. I pulled off to the side of the road and made several attempts to get going again and it would rev up but was not giving any power to the wheels. I shut off the vehicle and let it sit for a for moments and turned it back on and tried again and was able to get moving again. It didn't act up again until a few days later when I was heading to work. It would have this gentle feeling of having power and loosing power on the highway. When I got off the highway and started to go after I stopped it shuttered hard and I took my foot off the gas and it stopped and I was able to go. This is all the same characteristics of the vehicles with this transmission that do have a recall. This recall needs to be extended!!
- Lancaster, SC, USA
Unresolved Recall. The vehicle was under recall in 2019 and should not have been sold by JTs Kia in Columbia, SC. The piston oil rings were affected in the 2019 recall and also caused an issue for the 2020 Kia Souls. The car was sold under recall. Once the revised recall came out in 2021 JTs Kia did not properly resolved the issue and later the car engine overheated and caught fire. JTs Kia Never took responsibility and told the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs that the Kia Corporation will not honor any repairs. The car was no longer able to turn on and JTs KIA is still selling these dangerous cars that has had piston oil ring issues since 2010
- Columbia, SC, USA
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
- Humble, TX, USA