10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 24
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
80,031 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2013 Kia Soul engine problems

engine problem

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2013 Kia Soul Owner Comments (Page 4 of 11)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #155

Oct 282021

Soul

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Had the car for two months the engine light came on and it locked up to where I couldn-€™t go past ten mpg. I had it towed to Kia of Dayton and they won-€™t fix it.

- Hillsboro, OH, USA

problem #154

Oct 042021

Soul

  • 119,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Soul. The contact stated that the engine was making a tapping sound. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was jerking while idling. The contact who is a certified mechanic diagnosed that the vehicle had a valve tap failure. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 119,000.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

problem #153

Sep 082021

Soul

  • 130,000 miles
The contact's wife owns a 2013 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while his wife was driving approximately 60-70 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently decelerated and stalled. The check engine warning light illuminated. The contact's wife veered to the side of the road but was unable to restart the vehicle after several attempts. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence and then towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the failure was due to the lack of engine oil and the overheating of the catalytic converter. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to take vehicle to the dealer for diagnosis to confirm that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling). The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the engine had failed and needed to be placed. The manufacturer informed the contact that he would be responsible for the cost of the repair as the recall was already closed. A case was opened. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000.

- Fenton, MI, USA

problem #152

Aug 242021

Soul

  • 46,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2013 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving 55-60 MPH, she heard abnormal knocking sounds coming from the engine. The check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated she continued to drive the vehicle and took the vehicle to the dealer. The dealer diagnosed that the engine had failed and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 46,000.

- Anchorage, AK, USA

problem #151

Sep 222021

Soul

  • miles
I took my 2013 Kia Soul into the dealership in Rockwall because it had a recall. The dealership states that the problem with my particular car is in fact due to the recall. The engine has seized. The dealership is refusing to do any of the necessary repairs and said that they are no longer responsible for the car as we didn't bring it in a more timely manner. The service department is horrible about returning phone calls and has had the Soul since 9/22/2021, they scheduled the repairs, I paid to have it towed to the dealership as they requested. Now they are refusing to pay or do any of the repairs.

- Rowlett, TX, USA

problem #150

Oct 092021

Soul 4-cyl

  • 157,914 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the piston dislocated out of the engine. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to park on the side of the road. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to a family member-€™s residence. The contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 157,914.

- Eagle Point, OR, USA

problem #149

Sep 072021

Soul

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Engine locked up on the highway at high speed. We had to get the car off the road very quickly. Our mechanic diagnosis was lower bearing failure resulting in a seized engine. No symptoms were noticed before seizing up.

- South Webster , OH, USA

problem #148

Jun 302021

Soul

  • 87,450 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving at 75 MPH, the vehicle began to stall. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated she was able to pull to the side of the road, and the vehicle lost power when it was shifted into PARK. The contact stated she was able to restart the vehicle after two attempts however, she heard abnormal knocking sounds coming from the engine. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who informed the contact that the vehicle could not be diagnosed nor repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling) as it was out of warranty. The vehicle was towed to the residence of the contact's boyfriend. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the recall repair for NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling) could not be completed on the vehicle because the vehicle did not have an extended warranty. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was 87,450.

- Torrance, CA, USA

problem #147

Jul 132021

Soul

  • 95,000 miles
The contact owned a 2013 Kia Soul. The contact stated while her leaseholder was driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that there were flames coming from the engine compartment. The fire department was called to the scene and extinguished the fire. The vehicle was destroyed. A fire report was filed. The vehicle was towed away from the scene. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 95,000.

- Fort Worth, TX, USA

problem #146

Jul 022021

Soul

  • miles
My 2013 Kia Soul has been stalling while idle or at red lights. In addition, sometimes it is difficult to start and I have to attempt several times. Lately, once I do start the vehicle and begin to drive, it-€™s as if the vehicle doesn-€™t know which gear to maintain. As a result, the car will attempt to -€œcut off-€ driving and l literally will have to pull over immediately in attempt to not be hit or run off the road, as the car is practically in neutral by its own choice. Also, the -€œemergency brake-€ light is on, even though the emergency brake is not being used.

- Port Charlotte , FL, USA

problem #145

May 242021

Soul

  • 134,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2013 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving at 55 mph, a loud knocking noise was coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with the engine needing to be replaced due to metal shavings being found in the oil pan. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact then took the vehicle to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with the engine needing to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was relating the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling). The manufacturer had been informed of the failure and informed the contact that they would call him back. The failure mileage was approximately 134,000.

- Fleetwood, NC, USA

problem #144

Mar 012021

Soul

  • miles
The first issue is that the oil light does not come on properly. It would only flicker on occasionally when the oil level began to get low. This is scary to think about not being warned that your car is out of oil and continuing to drive, when the engine could seize. The real issue is that the car is consuming oil. I am going through a quart a week just to keep up. I drive 500-600 miles a week. Kia will tell you that adding oil in-between oil changes is normal. There is nothing normal about having to give it this much. The car is not smoking and the car is not leaking. I had it checked by my mechanic, and they replaced the PCV valve. They said this was a long shot, and the next step would be to replace the engine. The valve replacement did little to help the consumption of oil. I know there are other cars in Kia's offering that have leaked oil into the pistons, I am thinking this could be one of them.

- Conway, AR, USA

problem #143

Apr 012021

Soul

  • 119,784 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Soul. The contact stated that there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the vehicle with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine had misfired and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but declined the repair due to software update not being updated prior to the failure. The vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign number: 19v120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling). The failure mileage was 119,784.

- Fuquay Varina, NC, USA

problem #142

May 192021

Soul

  • 190,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was a knocking sound heard. The vehicle was shaking while accelerating and there was a lag before the vehicle accelerate and then stalled. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed that the crankshaft sensor was faulty. The crankshaft sensor was replaced. The failure recurred after the vehicle was repaired. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer and diagnosed with engine failure. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that they would not cover the cost for the engine replacement and they had already initiated a product improvement campaign by installing the knock sensor detection to the vehicle. The failure mileage was 190,000.

- O'fallon, MO, USA

problem #141

Aug 082020

Soul

  • miles
My car, KIA SOUL 2013, had problems such as 1.car burned oil a gallon every 500-1000 miles 2.car not accelerating properly 3.check engine light PO420 and there was a recall about catalytic converter so I went to KIA DEALER (DTLA). I expected them to replace the catalytic converter but they just upgraded ECU. A couple months later, my car died in the middle of mountain road. According to a mechanic, one of engine-€™s pistons not working and suggested me to replace an engine. I did because I need a car for working. My car now still show code PO420. I am afraid that my car will die again from malfunction catalytic converter

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #140

Jan 302021

Soul

  • miles
Catalytic Converter is failing causing engine and exhaust noise as well as performance issues. Diagnostic code appears when computer diagnostics ran. There is recall for this issue for my year, make, and model, but when I search by vin it states there are no recalls for this vehicle.

- Tampa, FL, USA

problem #139

May 182021

Soul

  • miles
While driving my car stalled on me. I pulled over to the side of the road and tried to restart the car it finally restarted i drove it to the nearest gas station. It did not over heat but it was smoking. The check engine light came on. I key it sit for awhile then restarted it and was able to drive it home. It was sluggish and would smoke but it was not over heating. I did the car about 2 miles down the road the car started smoking and then caught on fire

- Stockton, CA, USA

problem #138

Apr 212020

Soul

  • 182,000 miles
Metal shavings found in engine and rod went thru the block. Keeps overheating even when seen by 3 different mechanics. Value 3 won't work no matter what we do to fix

- Clarendon, TX, USA

problem #137

Apr 012020

Soul

  • 165,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Soul. The contact stated that the vehicle was leaking oil however, there was no evidence of a leak on the ground. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact had to top off the oil. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the contact was informed that the otc sensor, fuel injector and piston damage may be causing the failure. The contact called southwest Kia ' austin (13175 us-183 N, austin, tx 78750, (512) 583-1900) however, the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 165,000.

- Murchison, TX, USA

problem #136

Feb 242021

Soul

  • 100,954 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Soul. The contact stated that he became aware that the vehicle was consuming a large amount of engine oil. The contact stated that a quart of oil was added every 1,000 miles. The contact stated while driving 45 mph, the engine experienced a misfire. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to Kia of alliance (2010 w. state St, alliance, oh 44601) to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The contact replaced the spark plugs and ignition wires however, the failure persisted. The contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 19V120000 (engine, engine and engine cooling). The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,954.

- Wooster, OH, USA

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