10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 4
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
21,255 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.

2016 Kia Soul fuel system problems

fuel system problem

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2016 Kia Soul Owner Comments (Page 3 of 4)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #36

Jul 182022

Soul

  • miles

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

I just bought the car. Test drive went fine. I was driving the car when the engine rpms stopped working. I could not get the car to increase speed. I was going up a small hill at 35mph when the car just stopped dead in the road. Luckily I was not in traffic. I repeatedly tried to start the car. Finally it started but the driving was the same. I limped home with my flashers on and have not driven it since. I have an app on 8/5 with a kia dealer. They told me I had to drive the car there. I couldn't have it towed. Hopefully I will make it. This problem doesn't happen all the time. I have driven it when it starts up and no check engine light comes on and the rpms are normal and it drives fine. I feel if the engine heats up that's when the problem occurs. It car only stopped that one time. That was enough for me.

- Castleton On Hudson, NY, USA

problem #35

Apr 242022

Soul

  • miles
Cylinder 3 went out in the engine and car seized. Prior to this the car burned through oil very quickly and the entire car would shake. Kia of El Cajon said it was not an engine issue, my car was totaled and I sold it for scraps. Very disappointed with the service during this time.

- La Mesa, CA, USA

problem #34

May 192022

Soul

  • miles
I was heading home on the highway when I noticed the car was having trouble accelerating. ?I was taking the exit to my house when I heard the knocking in the engine start. ?I was half a mile from my house so I continued slowly as the acceleration issues continued. As I was getting closer to my house the oil light came on. ?I parked the car in the driveway and turned it off immediately. A cursory inspection indicates that the engine has suffered catastrophic damage. There is high end a -??tapping-?? sound coming from the top side, even while briefly idling the engine, indicating damage in the area of lifter/s and/or camshaft lobe/s. Inspection of the engine oil presents metallic particles. Finally, we observed that an uncharacteristic and excessive pressure is coming from the crankcase when the oil filler cap is removed while the engine is idling. This is consistent with the GDI engine failure mode - lack of lubrication between piston rings and cylinder walls due to fuel thinned oil caused by high-pressure fuel pump Fortunately, since I exited the highway and the failure occurred close to home, the dangerous stall condition that is a typical failure mode of the GDI engine did not occur in this particular instance.? Nevertheless, severe damage to the motor?has?been observed.? The fact that the engine began -??knocking-?? prior to the low oil indicator lamp illuminating would indicate that the engine was damaged due to the thin oil/fuel mixture rather than the engine being completely deficient in lubricating engine oil. Internet research has brought to our attention the issues and the precedent-setting class action lawsuits, that Kia Inc. has been forced to contend with due to the inherent design problems of the Theta II, GDI 1.6L, and 2.0L engines - direct injection (DI) system and high-pressure fuel pump issues causing the engine failure through piston ring -??blowby-?? and subsequent thinning of the engine oil. I contacted KIA and I still have the Soul in my possession.

- Tulsa, OK, USA

problem #33

May 212022

Soul

  • miles

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

Unknown have a strong gas smell from under hood passenger side and fuel leak was detected by mechanic during oil change service

- Dallas , TX, USA

problem #32

Mar 212022

Soul

  • miles
Vehicle looses power. Sounds muffled and noisy. Engine knocking. Does not shift as it should. Engine gets hot, dash board got hot yesterday. Where is the oil going? No check engine lights. Started approx a month after I had the kia dealer do the computer update. Seems to occur with hills, Excelleration, when it has to work. I had a tune up, fluids changed, mechanic gave up. Kia said I had to take it to a kia dealer.

- Altoona, IA, USA

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problem #31

Jan 202022

Soul

  • miles
Catalytic Converter overheated causing a fire beneath the car.

- Bossier City, LA, USA

problem #30

Aug 262021

Soul

  • miles

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

Three issues: 1) Upon stepping on the gas from a stop, the car often takes 4 or more seconds to actually move. This more than once has gotten me almost hit in the back by the other cars. 2) The car often makes "tractor noises" that are extremely loud and annoying. 3) The mechanic at the shop I took it to said that there's a crazy amount of oil going though the exhaust system. This could result in hat accumulation in the engine and jam it up (at best) or actually lead to a spontaneous fire. I am afraid of getting stranded so I haven't been driving very much. The KIA dealership said that there's nothing they can do. are you kidding me?

- Little Rock, AR, USA

problem #29

Jun 142021

Soul

  • miles
My car just stopped without warning.. Kia dealership states it need a catalyst converter and 02 sensor.. no engine light came on.. it just stopped.. after they put an software for 50000 incase the engine fail.. well my catalyst converter fail.. without any warning

- Covington, GA, USA

problem #28

Mar 152021

Soul

  • 55,000 miles
Seems the check engine light comes on and off and when taken to the dealership. They cant find nothing wrong with it. The check engine light can stay on for days and the engine runs ruff. When this is told at the dealership they say they cant find anything. This light is on when the car is running weather its sitting still or driving.

- Minooka, IL, USA

problem #27

Mar 062021

Soul

  • 98,000 miles
While driving on the NJ turnpike at night time, I went to change from the right lane into the middle lane and the car stalled not able to pick up speed. As the car stalled there was a fast moving truck which was coming and that was able to switch lanes forcing me to move into the last lane which made the cars behind me have to come to a sudden stop. I then had to put on my hazards and slowly move back over to the shoulder. Once completely stopped I shut off the engine. After waiting for some time I started the car again, but nothing changed. I remained in the right lane with hazards on and drove the car not being able to go above 40 mph. Eventually the car got back to driving normal right before arriving home which was about a 40 to 50 minute ride. The car was taken to the dealership and I learned that the catalytic converter needs to be replaced. This is after taking this car to be looked at twice and being told that there was nothing found. Now I find that there is a recall on the car (NHTSA id: 19V120000), but it says that my vehicle is not amongst the vehicles recalled.

- South Plainfield, NJ, USA

problem #26

Mar 032021

Soul

  • 94,000 miles

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

While sitting in traffic my car began to shake and then stalled and turned off. It was able to restart and then later while driving down the interstate it began to stop accelerating when I pressed the gas. Fortunately I was able to make it to the shoulder from the left lane as car slowed to a stop and the break pedal locked up. The car would not turn on any more. After mechanic inspection, they reported that a piston had melted in the engine and because the oil had dried up, even though the car had its last oil change two months ago.

- Arlington, TX, USA

problem #25

Feb 272021

Soul

  • 140,000 miles
I was driving on the freeway at night at about 75 miles an hour on cruise control. I was passing a semi when all the sudden my car down shifted and started losing power. I quickly had to figure out how to deal with this and get off the freeway. I consider myself an experienced driver, but if my kid was driving the car when that happened...

- Waverly, WA, USA

problem #24

Dec 242020

Soul

  • 85,300 miles
After taking my car into the dealership for a recall and an upgrade to computer software, I was traveling on the highway at 65 mph and lost power to the engine while in the middle lanes of traffic. I took the vehicle back to the dealership, and upon the completion of an inspection, they said the vehicle is safe to drive and power was restored. I was not offered a loaner car, and had to walk or use public transportation for several days. I am now experiencing the same issue again. I cannot travel out of town without the possibility of the same thing happening as a safety mechanism triggers. I have to find my own means of transportation and only travel locally. If this happens again while on the highway with more traffic I could be involved in a very serious accident. They have also not offered any form of compensation for my time loss with my vehicle. This is very difficult to deal with from day. When the safety mechanism triggers, the vehicle will barely do 35-45 mph. It takes more than 15 seconds to attain that speed which is not safe in heavy traffic or moderate traffic. The car will start as normal; however, with trying to takeoff the vehicle will not accelerate as normal. Prior to this 'upgrade' the vehicle never had issues with acceleration.

- Burlington, NC, USA

problem #23

Feb 132021

Soul

  • 85,000 miles
I was on the freeway in the fast lane and my car started acting like it wanted to stall. The engine light came on briefly and went away. I hit the gas to try to get over to the right lane so that I could exit the freeway and nothing was happening with the RPM it would not go over 2 and I thought I was going to stall on the freeway. I was so upset and finally made it to an off ramp. When I stopped at the off ramp the car was shaking and making a terrible noise like it was going to just explode. I contemplated staying off the freeway and taking the streets but I was not in a good area so I got back on the freeway and stayed in the right hand lane to exit and head straight to the dealership. I immediately called them and told them what happened to me. They said it was a cylinder that was misfiring and that they replaced it. Well I was driving yesterday and the engine light came on again and my car wanted to stall again and it had only been a week since they supposedly fixed it. I took the car in and again they blamed it on the oil and are now saying that my engine may be burning the oil faster than it should and if that is the case they will need to replace the motor. The car has me on edge as I drive my kids and grandkids everywhere. I do not feel safe in this car at all anyomre. I feel like the engine can give out at anytime without warning.

- Torrance, CA, USA

problem #22

Feb 012021

Soul

  • 19,817 miles
As I was pulling out to go to work, I noticed the RPM indicator went up to 51000 RPM.I had not had this issue before.the car only had 18000 miles on it when I bought it. It has 19500 miles now.I was on the major highway in austin Texas and couldn't go after than 50 mph.I almost got hit driving.in the past, I had my Kia sportage repaired without issue. I am going to the Kia service center in the am. I will everyone know the outcome

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #21

Jan 252021

Soul

  • 60,000 miles
First, a couple of weeks ago my check engine light comes on and my engine temperature gauge stops working properly. It starts taking about 15 minutes for my engine temperature gauge to show the engine is warmed up. After about two days the engine light goes off by itself. So I finally get an appointment at the Kia dealership today. They say they need to put an updated program into my Kia Soul's computer..that seemed to fix the issue according to the dealership. I drive away go to a store when I come out of the store and get back into my car and pull out of the parking spot my cars check engine light comes on again. I take it to auto zone to get the code read. This time the code is P0420. I call the dealership 800-995-4203 and the service associate marty tells me to bring my Kia Soul back to the dealership. When I get there he says they are now going to charge me $109.95 an hour to diagnose what is wrong with my car. At this time I am in the waiting room feeling like I'm being taken advantage of by these people but I have no other option and I don't have anyway of knowing what, if anything, is actually wrong with my car. Not to mention all this happens between 59000 and 60000 miles on my car and the warranty expired at 60000 miles.

- Danville, VA, USA

problem #20

Nov 162020

Soul

  • 75,000 miles
When I called the dealership about the code that popped up when I used my reader to read the check engine light that popped up two days before thanksgiving. It said it was the catalytic converter. The Kia lady took my VIN and said there was no recalls but everyone with my car was calling in about it. And the part itself is 1200 dollars. How many others have to go through the exact same thing which also says it can result in loss of control. As a mother with a toddler who chose this car based on its affordability and safety features. This is unacceptable. There needs to be an issue recalled immediately. The car is a 2016 Kia. Theres should be no reason that I would have to pay 3000 dollars to replace a part that everyone's having to replace or your car will literally break down for good. The po50A code.

- Bryan, TX, USA

problem #19

Nov 202020

Soul

  • 80,000 miles
Car stop working and catalytic converter blew

- Milwaukee, WI, USA

problem #18

Mar 012020

Soul

  • 78,000 miles
My car experienced a complete loss of power. Making it impossible to travel over 50 mph. No check engine light or code thrown. Brought to Kia dealership and after 3 weeks discovered the catalytic converter was clogged and melted. Replaced 90 days ago. Second is now destroyed and melted. Wants to install the third. Says motor is fine, not running rich or lean. Nothing they can do for me and they just have to keep up with this $3,000 repair every 3 months as it fails. Vehicle is completely unsafe to drive. Converter being clogged causes it to shut down on the highway. Kia says nothing they can do, just need to keep replacing the converter every few months. A converter rated to last 10+ years. Highly unusual. Spoke to other mechanics and they believed there was a recall on my converter for this reason but my bin shows no recall. Please help.

- Lake Ariel, PA, USA

problem #17

Oct 122020

Soul

  • 126,700 miles
I was on my into work and my vehicle started to slow done on the highway. I was told something popped out under neath my vehicle and the vehicle started to smoke. Some sort of a rod that must of came off. I had this towed to our company mechanic and they said that I might have to replace the whole engine.

- Mt. Sterling, KY, USA

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