CarComplaints.com Notes: Look past the horrible hamster advertising campaign and you'll find a vehicle that is comfortable to drive, roomy and reliable. Just don't expect to set any MPG records on the highway (a side effect of driving a car shaped like a lunchbox).
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
62,591 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.
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Soul. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer however, the vehicle had not been repaired. Shortly after the electronic stability control, ABS, and TPMS warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle began to emit an abnormal smoke odor from inside near the engine compartment. The contact called the dealer who confirmed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V137000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) and that the HECU had failed and needed to be repaired. The contact was advised by the dealer to turn off and not drive the vehicle. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 120,000.
My engine light has been going off and one no problem driving the problem is when I put gas in car the car want start until I give it gas a little. I don't have problem to crank car. And after I crank my car after I pump the gas to start it. There is no problem only when I get gas. It goes off maybe after a long while but then come back on when gas get to low and then problem starts all over again. I have ask Kia dealer about recalls all the time they say all recalls on vehicle are done. I have read several times about fuel problem or pipe that cause fires on vechicle. I read as recent as Jan 18 there was recall in another country on this.the light went off Jan 15 but came back on jan18
Theres something really wrong with my engine and other mechanical issue. I've been to Kia dealership and they wont fix it because theres no recalls that have been announced. The sensor lights keep turning on and once I check it it says nothing is wrong, but the light is still on and it will turn off whenever it feels like it, also the smell of the engine smells like its burning and the car get really hot as if the heater was on.
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving 30 mph at night time, her neighbor informed her that the brake lights were not illuminating. The vehicle was taken to van griffith Kia (4301 E us hwy 377, granbury, tx 76049; (817) 573-0400) and the contact was informed that the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 13V114000 (service brakes, hydraulic, exterior lighting). The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the stop light switch was replaced. The contact stated that on 9/16/2020 while driving 40 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not drivable. The vehicle was towed to and independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer has been informed of failure. The failure mileage was approximately 190,000.
On Friday, September 27, 2019, I was driving from katy, tx to new orleans, la traveling with my 2-year-old son on I-10. Approximately 51 miles outside of lafayette, 2011 Kia Soul loses engine power while driving highway speed in the passing lane. RPM and mph goes to 0 and all lights appear on dashboard. Unable to accelerate in car. Thankfully no accident. Coasts onto should and turns car off. Restarts car and it starts fine. Car continues with this issue progressively getting worse and happening more often with at one point state troopers were called out. After seeing a total of 3 dealerships, one of which I went to for a second time, and one Firestone (mike at Firestone actually saw smoke coming from under the hood) it's determined to be both catalytic converters on Friday, October 5, 2019...no word on what else is at issue as it's a lets see if the problem is fixed game with Kia...it's now Wednesday, October 9 and after replacing one catalytic converter on Monday, October 7...I am told that the second is bad two days later. Please help!
- Katy, TX, USA
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Head-gaskets and/or thermostats failing under normal driving conditions and low miles. I am on 2nd head-gasket and 4th thermostat and only at 109000 mi. Twice this has happened while driving on freeway and twice while around town. Fluid levels were good and other maintenance done regularly. I have talked with multiple Kia dealership service departments and they start by saying that is not normal then after looking over the car saying its a normal thing for Souls. These failures have caused the engine to overheat each time once the thermostat sticks closed. No engine warning lights and temp gauge only showed the overheat 2 out of four times. They seem to be failing fairly regularly around 20000 mi.
The clutch has gone out twice. The first time was at 54029 and date of 1/17/17. Less than six months later I took it back to the dealership and told them that it was slipping on takeoff. They said that everything was fine. This time it 72735 and date of 12/28/18. The bill for the first time was $1445.79. It is rediculous that it goes out so soon. I have read on line that Kia uses a valve on the slave cylinder that causes slipping.
When driving the vehicle, the engine started making a noise, I put it in neutral as I was pulling off the hiway and the motor quit running. Had to have it towed back to my house.I found out the next day that the motor had locked up. The motor had oil in it and the water was not low. The mechanic said the oil pump was probley bad. I called Kia and they said they had no recalls on the vehicle.so now the car is sitting in my driveway with a blown motor and I am still making payments on the car for another 18 months.
When turning car on it the engine makes a knocking sound. Car is losing acceleration on roads especially expressway. Also, the engine pings or knocks when turning the car off. I have even heard the engine knock while in motion. The front windshield molding garnish LH located on the driver side flew off while driving on the expressway and hit another car! losing this molding garnish causes air to leak into the windshield.
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Soul. While the contact was exiting the vehicle in the driveway, there was an explosion and the vehicle caught on fire without warning. There were no injuries. The contact used a fire extinguisher to put out the fire. The vehicle was not towed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer and manufacturer were not made aware of the failure. The exact origin of the fire was unknown. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 12,000.
The car won't start after putting gas in several times. After 3 tries and around 10-14 minutes it will start. There are several forums online regarding this haooenedijf to Kia Souls.
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Soul. While the vehicle was stationary, the rpms increased rapidly without any pressure being applied to the accelerator pedal. Also, when the brake pedal was depressed, the vehicle slowed down. When the vehicle was geared into the park position, the rpms increased to over 2,000 rpms. The contact turned the vehicle off and restarted it to reset the engine. The vehicle was taken to mentor Kia in mentor, Ohio, but the dealer could not duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and referred the contact to NHTSA. The failure mileage was approximately 2,500.
Traffic came to an abrupt stop and iv rear ended OV1 which pushed OV1 into OV2 which was pushed into OV3. Vehicle in question (Kia Soul) was the iv. The iv suffered extreme front-end damage and was totaled. The air bags did not deploy. The officer at the scene and the towing company driver were adamant that the force exterted by the iv and the damage incurred should have deployed the air bags. Driver of the iv suffered injuries from being slammed into the steering wheel (chest) and dash board (knees).
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Soul. The contact stated that the lifter in the engine caused a loud noise while driving 55 mph. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer but the dealer was unable to find a defect within the vehicle. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle drove poorly. The failure mileage was 8,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Jacksonville, FL, USA