2014 Kia Soul Plus at about 105,000 MI. We were having issues with the car bogging down, no acceleration and when you did get it to accelerate, the transmission would shift all crazy ways at about 40 or 50 miles an hour - and that's when you would really notice it. Or it just wouldn't shift. I took it to car Town Kia in Nicholasville, Kentucky. I told them what the problem was, and the man that was the service writer (I don't remember his name) told me that it was one of two things, the fuel pump in the tank or the one that was on the motor. I replaced both at about $900 expense and that wasn't the problem and then when I went back to tell them that the man told me wrong, he denied ever telling me anything. Every time I've gone back to them for lifetime oil changes, I keep telling them I had to replace a catalytic converter two times because the first time it was burned up, so I put a new one on at my expense and it lasted for about a week and a half.

I was going out of town and didn't make it very far same symptoms as when it first started, so I took the car back to the place I had the converter put on, and they told me it was full of oil and it had burned that one up. So then I just said look, I can't keep paying for converters and I discussed it with the gentleman and we came up with a fix but since that time the car has now got a horrendous idle. It shakes the whole vehicle and I don't expect it to last much longer.

Within the original owners warranty we had excessive oil consumption with all oil in the crankcase being consumed between oil changes. Have maintained this vehicle carefully. The original dealer where the vehicle was purchased has done 3 separate oil consumption tests. They have varied results with a quart being consumed in the first test in 600 miles. The second test had a quart consumed in 1,000 miles and the 3rd test, results were not disclosed. The service advisor at the dealership said oil change receipts were not legible and questioned the adequate maintenance of the vehicle. We provided a clearly legible copy of the oil change receipts and they were OK at that time. I might add that these oil consumption tests cost us $160 each.

The PCV valves were plugged each time and needed to be replaced as well. They did 2 of these changes at their cost. They now want to pull the valve cover off the engine as they admit that the engine is failing. The purpose of this inspection is to see if there is sludge built up in the valve cover and to see if there is any amber colored residue present which the service advisor said would be a sign of inadequate maintenance. In checking with an independent ASE Certified Master Tech, I was told that the piston ring failure would cause oil vapor to be forced up and out of the cylinder and into the valve cover causing sludge buildup and the PCV valves to plug up as well.

They went on to say that most oil is an amber color anyway and that amber colored residue would not be uncommon to see. I will add that the dealer wants $400 to do this exam and they would not proceed any further unless this was done. Since this vehicle is a daily driver we have had to use it for work on a daily basis. We have been investigating this problem for over 5 months. The vehicle is now over the warranty limit and the Kia Consumer Affairs Office is constantly telling me that the vehicle is now out of warranty. I am reminding them that it was under warranty when the claim was filed and they keep telling me that it is now out of warranty.

I will add that after the last oil consumption test that a fuel line came off and pumped about 12 to 13 gallons of gasoline on the top of the engine. The service advisor suggested that I removed the gas line as they didn't touch it. This company just leaves me speechless as their customer service is so bad. Where do we go from here? In the past 5 months I have talked to 40 or 50 people that are having the same problem and believe there are thousands of people probably experiencing the same issues.