10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 54
Injuries / Deaths:
9 / 0
Average Mileage:
59,533 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.

2015 Kia Soul engine problems

engine problem

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2015 Kia Soul Owner Comments (Page 20 of 29)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #189

Jun 062020

Soul

  • 116,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2015 Kia Soul. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired under NHTSA campaign numbers: 19V120000 (engine, engine and engine cooling) and 17V608000 (steering) at benson Kia of spartanburg (1100 N pine St, spartanburg, SC 29303). Upon return of the vehicle, the contact heard an abnormal rattling sound coming from the engine. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer to have additional work performed. The contact was informed that the resister located underneath the catalytic converter was the cause of the rattling noise. The dealer then informed her that the resister was not covered under the recall and offered her no further assistance. The manufacturer had not been notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 116,000.

- Spartanburg, SC, USA

problem #188

Jul 282020

Soul

  • 116,193 miles
I brought my vehicle up to benson Kia to get recalls repaired on my 2015 Kia Soul. There were issues with the catalytic converter due to a recall and I was informed by the servicing station at benson Kia that the issue was resolved. There is a rattling noise that is coming from the vehicle. Before I drove my vehicle off the lot the ratting noise was still present. I asked them to look at the vehicle before I drove off the lot. The mechanic brent looked at the vehicle and told me that it is the resonator making the noise and it is from a build up of gas fumes from the exhaust. I was then informed that the resistor falls out of warranty. Prior to getting the recalls repaired I never heard the noise. The dealership is not wanting to fix the issue that was caused by them changing the catalytic converter and told me that they no longer help me as their me chi sonics have done all that they could and they refused service on my vehicle. They then proceeded to inform me to go to a different Kia dealership to have them look at the vehicle. The dealership is approximately 30 minutes away from me and I am unable to get the vehicle to the shop

- Spartanburg, SC, USA

problem #187

Jul 082020

Soul

  • 49,554 miles
We purchased the 2015 Kia Soul with the 2.0 L engine for our daughter. The car was used when we bought it and had 33,748 miles. My daughter had driven it to a shopping area and parked. When she got back in and started it to drive home the engine was making a knocking sound and did not want to accelerate at the normal rate. She was able to make it home and we had it towed to the local Kia dealer. The finding was that the connector rod bearing had heated up and was causing the knocking due to lack of lubrication. We had two oil changes completed on this vehicle and a third oil change was scheduled to happen a couple days after the engine issue occurred. The car was only at 49,554 miles when the engine issue happened. Our oil changes were with the synthetic blend oil at a Kia dealer. The Kia dealer is now saying that the engine will likely need replaced and of course it is now out of the original warranty and we are waiting for the extended warranty adjuster to look at it and make a determination. In reading other posts, an initial recall for the 1.6 L engine was issued, however the same type of engine failure seems to also be occurring in the 2.0 L engines as described in the many posts that are listed. Those posts describe the same issue that we encountered (sudden knocking noise/engine needing replaced, connector rod/bearing issue). It also appears that Kia and/or the third party insurance providers are not willing to rectify or stand behind the repairs of these even as similar issues exist within the recall of the 1.6 L engine models. Luckily there was no fire or injury as has been seen in some of the other breakdowns. How long before the 2.0 L engine is added to the recall list or does it require bodily injury before this is escalated and the manufacturer takes ownership of this?

- Yorktown, IN, USA

problem #186

Jul 202020

Soul

  • 72,000 miles

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

We had the oil changed before a trip out of town. Confirmed oil was full, drove out of town, once back home the car started making a noise under the hood. No warning light at all. Had car towed to dealership, they now tell me that it spun a bearing and the whole engine needs replacing. We bought this car as a certified per-owned and it should be covered under warranty. Now they want to see all of my receipts for oil changes for the past 2 years. I have some but not all and I am getting the feeling that they don't want to fix my car. Kia, you know this is a known problem, you can see how many folks are having the same issue, do the right think and fix all of these cars!!!

- Minneola, FL, USA

problem #185

Jul 182020

Soul 4-cyl

  • 90,000 miles
I was driving with my children down the freeway and my engine started making a load noise and I realized my my engine was locking up. Thank god I had enough time to pull over or I could of been in a huge wreck with my children in the car! the engine is shot.there is a recall for the 2015 Kia Soul 1.6 for the engine but not for my 2.0. please help. I need it fixed

- Stockton, CA, USA

problem #184

Jul 162020

Soul 4-cyl

  • 82,000 miles
My catalytic converter just went out on me..I show that the Kia Soul has a recall but only for the 1.6L on the converter, I believe the same issue is happening to the 2.0L and I just bought the car a year ago..I called Kia and they adv my car just got out of warranty at 80000 miles...I'm at 820000 and the problem was happening before the warranty ended....it wasnt until the part went out is when they found the issue.

- Gary, IN, USA

problem #183

Jul 142020

Soul 4-cyl

  • 57,544 miles

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

I was at a red light, the engine stalled, or cut out very low almost cutting off, but caught up and proceeded. This is the second time in less than a year that this has happened.. the first time I was driving on 75 when it sputtered twice but then proceeded...

- Sarasota, FL, USA

problem #182

Jul 112020

Soul

  • 140,000 miles
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the contact's office. The dealer and the manufacturer were not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 140,000.

- Kingsland, GA, USA

problem #181

Jul 082020

Soul 4-cyl

  • 120,000 miles
I live in the bay area and I was driving back from oakland to vallejo, ca when the issue occurred. I accelerated to get over when I noticed my car's engine sounded like there was a knock sound going from under the hood. I pulled over to a safe location and inspected under the hood. I checked my oil stick which to my surprise was completely dry. My oil light was not activated, to alert the that my oil was low in my vehicle. I went into the target I pulled into and purchased two quarts of oil and let my car absorb it for a few minutes. This time the knocking noise is louder. I drive a few minutes on the streets testing my car before testing the freeway. Two minutes into driving on the freeway, my check engine light, oil and battery lights all turned on at the same time as my car began to slow itself down. I was able to safely make it to the shoulder. I waited 2 1/2 hours to get towed back home. My care was towed to the closet Kia dealership the next day, and they said, "its the engine". with that said, I have seen the recalls which this qualifies for. I believe my vehicle meets the criteria for this particular recall.

- Vallejo, CA, USA

problem #180

Jul 012020

Soul

  • 80,000 miles
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving 20 mph, the check engine warning light illuminated. Additionally, the oil level warning indicator light was flashing. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the contact was informed that a tune up was needed. The vehicle received the service however, the failure recurred. The contact stated that while driving, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine before the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to abeloff Kia 1169 N 9th St, stroudsburg, pa 18360, (877) 816-7612, but was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

- Bushkill, PA, USA

problem #179

May 182020

Soul 4-cyl

  • 80,000 miles

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

I purchased my 2015 Kia Soul used in June 2017. While driving straight in low traffic to work on a freeway in May 2020, I felt my Kia Soul begin to bog down, then the engine light came on. Next, I heard a knocking sound. I stopped and checked the oil and saw it was low, despite a full oil change in March 2020. I filled it with oil and I was able to get it to my mechanic the next day. At the mechanics, I was told he was only able to find less than 1 quart of oil despite me adding 3 quarts. He said the engine was damaged and would need to be fully replaced.

- Lakeside, CA, USA

problem #178

Jul 032020

Soul

  • 107,000 miles
Check engine light came on this morning. Auto parts store ran the code, we were informed it was just the gas cap. Tightened the gas cap, and they reset the code. About 3 hours later the oil light started flashing, we promptly added more oil. Several hours later we were going to lunch and the engine is knocking very loudly. Vehicle is not running properly, and we were told it sounds like a rod or bearing.

- Murfreesboro, TN, USA

problem #177

Jul 022020

Soul 4-cyl

  • 106,850 miles
2015 Kia Soul + has just been checked by our dealership service department for not accelerating and shifting properly. Dealer performed transmission service at 106,768 miles on June 30, 2020, and this did not clear the issues, 2nd service inspectrion on July 1, 2020 resulted in service department saying the issues are with a plugged catalytic converter, which has been a potential contributor to the ongoing NHTSA investigation of all Kia Soul models with the 2.0L nu engine. We also noted excessive oil consumption to the service department on multiple occasions, but they have declined starting an oil consumption test. Neither the dealer nor extended warranty company will cover repairs, and allowed us to leave the dealership with the vehicle in potentially unsafe condition, with no remedy other than us paying for parts and labor to replace the catalytic converter. I want to have my complaint added to the ongoing investigation, and can provide and encourage other Kia Soul owners to also add their similar issues, M which are well documented on line in forums and social media.

- Jacksonville, NC, USA

problem #176

Jun 122020

Soul 4-cyl

  • 90,400 miles
On June 12th or 13th can't recall what day around 9 am on mojave road in parker AZ, I was driving back to my grandmothers home about 2 miles away from my friends house when all of a sudden I started hearing a knocking sound coming from under my hood. I made my dad check where it was coming from and he said from my engine. I haven't drove my car since because I'm afraid I'll make more damage to it.

- Parker, AZ, USA

problem #175

Jun 272020

Soul

  • 70,000 miles
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Soul. The contact stated the vehicle was repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 19V120000 (engine, engine and engine cooling) however the failure recurred. The contact stated that while driving 25 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was restarted however, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to Kia store elizabethtown located at 1501 N dixie hwy elizabethtown, ky 42701, to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.

- Fort Knox, KY, USA

problem #174

Jun 032020

Soul

  • 73,000 miles
Car was at 73,000 miles and I had only had it for about a year and during this time I heard a ticking noise, rattling from the engine so I got a oil change. The noise continued and got louder. One day on the freeway the noise got extremely loud then I heard a loud pop and didn't know at the time but my car began smoking and someone thankfully flagged me down. I got out of the vehicle to see all the oil completely came out my car was complete empty of oil. My engine blew. I took my car to a dealership where they just sent a bill $5000+ and didn't check to see the reason on my engine blowing I believe it's part of the recall even though it's not specific for my VIN since I literally just got the vehicle it's only 5 years old the engine should not have blown up like that. I could have been seriously injured.

- Columbus, OH, USA

problem #173

Jun 252020

Soul 4-cyl

  • 71,000 miles
Car was in motion going down street then engine stopped froze shut off while driving through middle of intersection. Tried to restart car once it started again engine began a loud grinding noise like pistons were ready to explode. I drove home with the engine make the loud grinding noise and stalling creating unsafe driving condition. I see that there is a 2015 Kia Soul recall for gdi engines but the Kia headquarters are saying there is no recall. The car is at the Kia service center now and the first thing they said is that we may need a new engine. I feel that this is a very unsafe in this car and I am afraid of known Kia Soul engine defects could put my life in danger while driving.

- Fort Knox, KY, USA

problem #172

Jun 172020

Soul 4-cyl

  • 77,830 miles
I was driving at approximately 55 mph on a local highway and the car shuttered. Immediately after the shudder there was a loud knocking noise coming from the engine. I called renaldo Kia in shelby nc and was able to drive the car there. About two miles from the dealership the check engine light came on and was alerted by the internal system that there was an abnormal fault in the engine. The car had less than 78K miles. The service center rep said that 2015 Kia's were constantly in her shop and there was in fact 2 in front of mine for the exact same issue. I was told that both of these cars had mileage exceeding 100K miles but that this was not a unique issue for this make and year. My car's engine is currently being torn apart and I do not know exactly what the failure mode was but was advised by the service department its most likely going to result in a replaced engine.

- Kings Mountain, NC, USA

problem #171

Jun 202020

Soul 4-cyl

  • 87,648 miles
My motor engine started making a knocking sound and start to stop moving took it nappa mecanich and was told it was not fixable the part that is the problem has been recalled.

- Haver De Grace, MD, USA

problem #170

Jun 182020

Soul 4-cyl

  • miles
I purchased my vehicle certified used from enterprise rent a car. A little over 30,000 miles I began having engine oil burn issues in which I was losing engine oil quickly and with no discernible leaks after bringing it to a mechanic. I have learned from researching other complaints online that this is a problem many with this model vehicle are experiencing and that dealerships are often telling consumers who voice their concern that they must not have handled maintenance correctly. I have since been keeping oil on hand to refill my oil somewhat regularly and checking the oil more frequently as this issue apparently may cause an engine to seize with little warning and no oil warning light, as mine does not go off when it otherwise should when I am ridiculously low. The rate of burn is inconsistent and I just had another surprise to that effect and I am worried that while I still owe money on the vehicle I may not be able to afford replacing the engine myself and am interested in why this hasn't resulted in a manufacturer recall?

- Robbinsville, NJ, USA

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