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:
54,784 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 received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The contact stated that while driving at approximately 40 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the residence and parked. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 128,169.
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Soul. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated while driving 45-50 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to respond as needed and stalled. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and continued driving. The contact stated that the failure recurred several times while driving. Additionally, the contact stated that on one occasion, the vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the residence. The vehicle was then towed to an independent mechanic, where the contact was informed that the ECM was not reading and the cause of the failure could not be determined. The mechanic replaced the camshaft and crankshaft sensors and the spark plugs; however, the failure persisted. An unknown dealer was notified of the failure and an appointment was scheduled. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
recalled number 23V652 Manufacturer recall SC284AM HECU car can set on fire while driving its been months that a recall was said and we consumers where told to park our cars, yet we need them to utilize daily our families are at risk because Kia wont release the remedy. Last year I received the recall.
- Brooklyn, NY, USA
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The contact owns a 2011 Kia Soul. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed the vehicle but could not determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while reversing and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle temporarily jerked. The contact stated that the failure recurred several times while driving and depressing the brake pedal. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who test-drove the vehicle and informed the contact that no failure was found. The independent mechanic reset the check engine warning light. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
I have had this recall(SC284) since September 25, 2023 of this year. Also I have called multiple places to have it repaired and I-??ve gotten the run around. They have been so rude! Also now the check engine light has come on the dash so now I-??m getting even more worried about the recall situation.
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!
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.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- White City , OR, USA