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.
to whom it may concern my name is [XXX] I'm writing in regards to my girlfriends and I 2016 kia soul. we bought the vehicle in 2022 and the check engine light came on with a code for catalytic converter and there was a recall concerning the catalytic converter but I was told the recall got done in 2019 but obviously it wasn't done right or it failed again now kia won't do anything for me. you can contact me at [XXX] or email [XXX] thanks INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Vehicle entered limp mode on a dangerous rode in central Florida and would not accelerate over 20 mph. We had the vehicle towed 70 miles at the expense of $350 outside of coverage by our auto insurance. The dealership advised this was a failure of the catalytic converter which was just changed in Dec 2021 under a Kia recall campaign. They-??re now saying it is not under warranty as they only cover 12 months 12,000 miles.
Reoccurring check engine light for the omissions system. Damage to the catalytic converter, diagnostic codes. Poor gas mileage and abnormal engine combustion. Oil is burning extremely fast in engine, having to get oil changes more frequently. Incident where vehicle was driving, came to a complete stop and would not accelerate in the middle of heavy traffic. Had to replace all 4 fuel injections and spark plugs due to how ineffective the GDI engine runs.
- Orlando, FL, USA
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Intermittent problem with acceleration. Very occasionally, 200+ miles between episodes, while accelerating, the car slows down. When this happens the gas pedal fades similar to brake fade when brakes are about to fail. It lasts 2-3 seconds and then returns to normal. There are no error codes. Has occurred while driving on the freeway and when accelerating from a stop. There have been 5-10 incidences of this in the past 12 months, because the problem is so intermittent, mechanics are unable to reproduce it. We have replaced the throttle position sensor The local Kia dealer and independent mechanics are unable to shed any light on why this may occur. An internet search found other owners of Kia cars with similar complaints
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The driver was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who observed that the engine was knocking, and diagnosed a failure with the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine, and Engine Cooling) but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but did not assist. The failure mileage was 161,000.
The contact-??s son owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle shifted into LIMP Mode. The contact stated that the knock sensor warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who confirmed and cleared the LIMP Mode status for the vehicle to be driven to the dealer. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle, and the contact was informed that the catalytic converter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that knock sensor warning light became illuminated again and the vehicle was taken back to the dealer. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced due to piston damage. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling) as a possible solution; however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 71,667.
Catastrophic engine failure. 2016 Kia soul 2.0, (120000 miles) traveling 35 mph when the check engine light started blinking and the engine started making a rattling sound. Engine lost power and had trouble accelerating. If I was in an intersection or pulling out in front of on coming traffic it could have caused a sever accident. Kia needs to be held responsible for this common engine failure. It has been reported and complained about numerous times on multiple websites and Kia says it is not their problem. Please investigate Kia motors. Thank you.
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contacted stated that the check engine warning light illuminated; and the contact's parents took the vehicle to the dealer where it was repaired; however, the check engine light remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the residence and the contact took the vehicle to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a catalytic converter failure. The contact found info of NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.
Within the first year of purchase, vehicle was emitting large amounts of smoke from tailpipe while going uphill while accelerating. The smoke would completely envelope the car behind. Mr. Friendly Kia (now Ken Ganley Kia) of New Port Richey, Florida, would not repair because "they could not reproduce the event in their shop". I made several requests to fix the problem. Vehicle eventually started to have lessened power upon accelerating from a stop light. Took it to other repair shops, since Kia wouldn't fix it, but vehicle did not produce any repair codes. Vehicle was always serviced with oil changes, etc. In 2022, with acceleration issue getting much worse, vehicle ran completely out of oil, but didn't produce any oil light or codes. Oil started appearing very dark, blackish. Late 2023, and several trips to repair shop later, still with no codes, vehicle started to exhibit periodic flashing oil light while driving, but upon oil check oil showed full. Vehicle does not seem to shift passed 2nd gear, and makes banging sounds below the middle passenger's side underneath the car if foot pedal is pushed more than halfway down. Vehicle would not accelerate over 40 mph, which reduced to 25-30 mph in Feb 2024. Very dangerous! Gas mileage dropped to around 5-10 mph. Took it to the shop again, and no codes. Replaced parts piecemeal such as spark plugs, coils, battery, etc. All along, still producing the periodic smoke out of the tailpipe. Called Ken Ganley Kia again in Feb 2024. They said they have never heard of this problem happening to a Kia Soul and it would cost $180 to diagnose. They also tried to upsell several hundred dollars of "flushes". The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. The problem has been independently confirmed, just unknown what the problem is? It is very dangerous to drive 25 mph, but even more dangerous that the vehicle isn't producing even basic warning lights, let alone isn't producing codes on repair shop code readers.
I had recently acquired my 2016 Kia soul from a used dealership, and as I had gotten it, inspected by a mechanic, the back rear brake was locked. The Penrod was missing on one of them, and my driver side door lock was broken and I thought that was simple issues that could be repaired. You know that-??s a used car whatever as I started driving it not even a month later I start feeling heavy acceleration when barely hitting the gas and trying to shift because it is a manual and loss of power on first and second gear, like it was going to stall out without even rubbing the RPMs to get it to move. I did some research found out that there was multiple recalls on the catalytic converter and it-??s causing a fire the ECUs and also the antitheft system so I am a single mom. I work constantly and my only vehicle with 4kids, so a full month mark my Oil light all of a sudden started coming on but flickering I pulled over there-??s no smell of burning oil no leaks no high temp I checked my oil stick. It was fine a thick drip on it. I Thought everything was fine, but the light still kept coming on and flickering when I would accelerate it would go off when I would decelerator push clutch in it would stay. I called kia dealer had it taken, did the recall orders on it but they told me they wouldnt do an oil check or do a code diagnostics for it unless I paid over $200 for just that diagnostics after they did all the recall orders I picked up the car over a day later. started having misfires the car was driving worse then when I took it to the dealership, i would drive up hill I-??d lose power. Shifting gears from 1-4 it sounds like the whole engine was shaking like it was gonna fall out of the car I called the dealership and told them what was goin on. They were really rude to me and told me an hour later it was throwing codes of misfires an again have to pay for it, they stated the oil an misfires werent their fault doin the recalls. ECU an ANTITHEFT, I am worried for my kids safety!!!!!
UNKNOWN. I was driving uphill on the freeway and the vehicle was decelerating rather than accelerating. The vehicle was sluggish and there was a noticeable loss of power and a ticking sound coming from the engine. There was no warning lamps or messages. I took it to the workshop for diagnostics and was informed that the catalytic converter was clogged and affecting the exhaust. I have been told that it would cost approximately $3800 to repair.
Engine loss power when driving, specially when going up on bridges way. If I-??m driving 30mph then get to 20 mph even less. Since that, it-??s been bad
The PCP valve is coming apart causing the vehicle to lose oil. There is wet oil on the spark plugs. Oil is getting into the cylinders. The catalytic converter is clogged. The engine is having issues which I will find out more about soon. The car is still in the shop. I had to leave it 2.5 hours away and find a ride home because the car would not accelerate over 40 mph on my way back from a trip. I almost got slammed into on a hill on the highway TWICE because the car would not speed up. It has been in the shop for this same issue three times. All three times it gave out on me on the highway. There was NO engine light or light on the dash any of the times it failed me, and there have never been any codes. This issue falls under the recall even though my VIN does not. At the current shop visit I have been told my catalytic converter and possibly engine must be replaced. I am already up to $650 in diagnostic fees for this shop visit and have spent over $800 the last two visits to the shop for this issue. This car is only EIGHT years old with just over 100,000 miles. I have included receipts from the last two visits. The car is still in the shop for the current visit. I will not be paying to replace the catalytic converter or engine. Kia needs to step in and do what is RIGHT.
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The contact received an unknown recall notice for piston rings and engine rod bearing failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the vehicle failed to start 3 months later. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the catalytic converter needed to be replaced. The dealer charged a repair fee. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist because the vehicle was not covered under warranty. The failure mileage was unknown.
My daughter was taking my son (her little brother) to school on 2/6/2024 and as she starts uphill she starts noticing she was loosing her speed. They have to pull over on the side of a busy interstate to call me i get to them the car is running rough and sounded like it was missing or like the exhaust was muffled or clogged no check engine light was on but in have a diagnostic machine you plug in to the car and tells you what is exactly going without a check engine light having to be on an it said it was catalyst system.
There was a recall on my engine in 2019 two years prior to me owning the vehicle. 2/20/24 my check engine light came on and my vehicle would not accelerate over 40 mph. It left me stuck in my work parking lot. I had it towed to a mechanic and they said it was the knock sensor that I had updated 6/27/23. They told me I needed a motor replacement. The car was owned by three dealerships prior to me purchasing the vehicle but no repairs were done according to the consumer report. Nothing was notified to me that there was a recall or recall extension and needed to be addressed prior to 150k miles.
Attempt to start engine, it started making metal noises. I have done all its maintenances and the last one was two months ago. No warning lights have been displayed.
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle began to shake, after which the vehicle lost motive power and was unable to accelerate above 30 MPH. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling) but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 120,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Garner, NC, USA