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 rotating contactor switch for the heat/air conditioning fan on the dashboard appears to get very hot on the internal side. This resulted in discoloration of the plugs on the back side of the control panel, and melting of the contactor housing within the control box. No modifications have been made to this system to my knowledge, and no fuses were burned out prior to the dial failing, due to the melting plastic creating an air gap between the contactor terminals. Half of the plastic on the housing appears to be a heat resistant glass reinforced polyamide, and the (melted) half appears to be made of standard ABS plastic. This implies engineering expected this component to get hot, but still cut costs irresponsibly by using cheaper ABS in hope that the other half of this component would not get hot enough to melt (or potentially catch fire, had the plastic not melted away in a fashion that simply disconnected the contactors). I believe this case is not unique, as failures of this component appear common online. However I believe the true cause of failure (and potential risk of fire from the heat) has not yet been identified due to this contactor being located within a sealed control board assembly.
For a week or two when I turned the heated seat on I would often feel a very intense heat from the seat back when it started up for a period of time. I had just recently had a back injury so I thought perhaps my back was being overly sensitive. Finally on the 27th just after I started driving the car in the morning I felt the burning feeling on my back again and stuck my hand behind me to feel the seat. I felt burning on my hand and pain and yanked my hand away immediately, pulled over, and looked behind me at the seat, in time to see a curl of smoke coming out of a small hole on the back of the seat. I also found that the palm of my hand had a small mark beneath the base of my thumb where I had felt the burning pain. It took at least half an hour for the burning sensation to fade. I also detected an odor of smoke for a bit afterward. I had no warning that this was going to happen other than the burning feeling the heated seat had started to generate upon my back- no warning lights or such. I have not had any service done on the problem yet though I intend to contact Kia soon; so the car is currently in the same state although obviously I don't turn the heated seat on anymore since I don't want things in my car to be on fire.
My Kia Soul's engine failed when we were exiting the highway. The car started making awful grinding sounds and went into "limp mode." When I tried to restart the vehicle, the oil lamp and check engine lamp illuminated. The car had shown NO issues the entire day and I had put oil in it earlier that morning because I noticed it was low (I try to check the oil every time I get gas). I had my partner and our dogs in the car with us and had to walk down the highway to the gas station to call somebody since we didn't have service. It was also 110 degrees outside, so the car failing put us in a pretty dangerous situation. We had JUST gotten the recall notice for the vehicle's engine a week before (it looked like it had gotten lost in the mail) and had called around to the Kia Dealerships in the area and none could see us for over a month, which was a problem because we were going to be moving back to the PNW from Death Valley (we had to relocate because I was laid off due to COVID) in less than a month. The closest dealerships were also 100+ miles away. We towed the car with us to WA and got it into a dealership ASAP and they confirmed that the engine had a knock, but Kia refused to fix the issue, stating that because the Knock Sensor Detection Software hadn't been installed, it was not under warranty. The car got serviced at least once every 4 months (I have service records), and I would check and fill the engine oil regularly because the car would burn through it like crazy.
When switching from AC to heat, moisture starts spraying from vents, rapidly dripping on floor and completely fogging up windows causing zero visibility. I was forced to pull off roadway for fear of a collision. It then takes at least ten minutes for the moisture to stop and the windows to clear. This happened a year ago at the same time when the weather is changing from warm days using the ac and then using the heat on cold mornings. The dealership charged me to replace the cabin air filter which did not fix the problem. I have seen this complaint by other KIA Soul owners on a number of public internet sites.
On Monday September 6, 2021 at about 11:30 pm, I was driving home east on interstate 90, just east of Roselle rd. near Schaumburg, Illinois. When the car began to violently shake. The dash board lights began to flash and the engine just stopped. We managed to steer the car to the side of the express way, in an attempt to restart the car with no luck. A Illinois Dept. of Transportation road side assistance driver tried to start the car when the car explored into fire, the driver put the fire out and provided us with the number of a toe truck, which we had the car toed to the Schaumburg Kia Dealer, located at 1100 East Golf Road, Schaumburg, IL 60173, phone No. is (847) 908-0502, where the dealer is trying to determine the cause of the fire and the amount of damage, if the car is a total loss or not. My car is a 2016 Kia Soul. At this point I have not heard from the dealer after a week, I have called the dealer several times with no reply at all.
- Tinley Park, IL, USA
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The lights flickered and I lost both head lights. Head light bulbs keep going out randomly. Sometimes both at the same time. I have replaced them 4 times this year.
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.
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.
The uvo system which includes the backup camera has failed. Kia should be required to replace as a safety item at no charge, just like Tesla is required to do for their failed screens.
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 20V389000 (power train, electrical system). The contact received a courtesy service and software update. After leaving the dealer and while driving at 50 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact pulled over the side of the roadway and waited for approximately to restart the vehicle. The vehicle restarted however, while driving, the vehicle hesitated and failed to exceed 40 mph. The vehicle was taken to oakland Kia (2500 webster St, oakland, ca 94612, (888)871-7024) where the vehicle was diagnosed and it was determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and deemed the vehicle unsafe to drive. The manufacturer provided the contact with a case number. The failure mileage was approximately 79,000.
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.
Upon parking my car I noticed the engine was on fire. Smoke and flames were coming from up under the hood. The car was declared a total loss by my insurance company and the fire was deemed electrical in nature.
I keep having a reassuring issue with my headlights multiple times I have taken the vehicle to the dealer paying to get the issue fixed. Spending countless dollars on this issue for the problem to continue. The Kia dealers keep changing parts out and nothing has helped. Is it a way that this issue can get check by someone please.
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while his wife was in a parking lot with the vehicle idling, the vehicle stalled without warning. An independent mechanic inspected the vehicle and informed the contact that the battery and starter functioned as designed. The local dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The failure mileage was 112,000.
While driving the car in a shopping mall parking lot the vehicle stopped running. The entire electrical system of the vehicle shut down. No electric power in the vehicle would work. The entire electrical and computer system in the vehicle shut down. I was unable to restart the car. The lights, radio and power windows did not work. Vehicle was towed to Kia country (savannah, ga) on 12/23/2019. Consumer was informed that they would be responsible for the repair. Consumer contacted manufacturer to see if vehicle was covered under NHTSA #19V120, recall #SC176. Consumer is still waiting on a response from the manufacturer.
Driver seat giving off electrical shock to legs and butt when pressing the gas the engine stalling the cataylic converter over heating vehicle steering right air bag symbols pops up every now and then the consumer stated the vehicle experienced various life threatening cyber security risk.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Waynesboro, PA, USA