general problems of the 2014 Kia Motor Soul - part 1

In June 2024, my 2014 kia Soul (VIN: [xxx] ) experienced a sudden engine failure without warning. I was driving on a busy road when the engine began sputtering and quickly stalled. The vehicle became inoperable and had to be towed. I had it inspected at a kia dealership, who diagnosed the issue as complete engine failure but have not provided me with a full diagnostic report despite multiple requests. This type of failure is consistent with the known defects in the theta ii engine that have triggered recalls and extended warranties in similar kia models. Although kia has denied coverage for my vehicle, I believe this is a related safety issue. The vehicle stalled unexpectedly, creating a hazardous condition on the road. I was traveling with my toddler in the back seat and felt our safety was at risk. I am submitting this complaint because I believe this failure is not an isolated incident and should be investigated. Kia has refused to acknowledge a defect, but the symptoms match those in previous recalls for other Soul and forte models with similar engines. I have also attached documentation showing service history and repair costs, and I am happy to make the vehicle available for inspection. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Q: what component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? a: my 2014 kia Soul "threw a rod" (as confirmed by a kia dealer in Jan 2025) at only 115,773 miles after years of regular (every 3-5k miles) maintenance. I bought the car used in 2017 and have documentation to show the maintenance for the subsequent years. The particular motor at issue is known by mechanics to have problems (according to my own mechanic and at least two others with whom I have communicated, as well as on-line research). However, there is no active recall on it, and the car is "out of warranty. " as of the date of this complaint, the car currently is available for inspection upon request. Q: how was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? a: it is my understanding that throwing a rod is a catastrophic engine failure and can result in loss of control of the vehicle, potentially leading to accidents, as the engine may seize or lose power abruptly. Furthermore, the broken rod can cause the engine to explode, leak oil, or punch a hole in the engine block, posing a risk of fire or further damage. I am lucky that I noted a reduction in engine power and my engine light and took it in for assessment before anything worse occurred. Q: has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? a: I brought my vehicle into a dealer in January 2025, where they diagnosed the problem. Q: has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? a: no q: were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? a: yes. The engine light came on and I had it checked by my mechanic and the dealer.

My vehicles ksds sensor was updated per recall. 2 months later the catalytic converter, pcv valve, and spark plugs needed replaced. After replacing and paying out of pocket in 01/2024, the check engine light began coming on as well as oil light. Vehicle began losing power and going into limp mode. Was taken to kia and knock sensor was replaced 06/15/2024. Less than 3 weeks later the check engine light was on again, loss of power and check engine began flashing. Towed to kia again to be told that I have to replace the engine out of pocket. This is a huge safety concern, considering the loss of power and all issues with kia Soul for any recalls or warranties have been the same issues with my vehicle. Vehicle had roughly 96k miles at first knock sensor replacement and approximately 104k at final issue.

The engine is consuming motor oil in excess after conducting oil changes. If it goes unaddressed after oil changes, it causes the pins in the engine to not operate properly. This results in a check engine light requiring the owners to get another oil change prior to actually needing one. Kia motors is aware of this issue; however are only willing to replace the engine if it fails due to pins and not the excessive oil consumption if your mileage is over the 10 year/100,000 miles. Both issues are interrelated and the engine needs to be replaced regardless!.

Oil consumption and catalytic converter clogging. My car burns through 5 liters of oil about every 1,000 miles. I've already had the catalytic converter replaced and my mechanic said it's from excessive oil leaking, and the only alternative to fix it is to replace the engine.

Three repeat incidents, a few months apart, introduced same hazard to passengers and others: end of year 2022 (date not remembered): car was stopped at stop sign at t-intersection to enter busy roadway. Break depressed. Engine rpms started high revving, and unexpected forward motion of car lurched into busy intersection - almost collision. April 2023 (two incidents in same month): 1. Car was at lighted intersection on state highway. Break depressed. Engine rpms started high revving (loudly noticed). Was familiar with condition so heavily leaned on break while rpms continued to climb. When intersection light turned green, break released, and car lunched forward. 2. Car traveling in heavy stop-and-go city traffic in downtown urban area. Break was momentarily depressed and held. Again, engine rpms regain to rev loudly. Pressed down on break harder and harder and could not control forward motion of car - almost bumped into car ahead of us. So, next put car in neutral and then in park then back in drive. Revving condition stopped. Made appointment with kia dealership 6/1/23 to address, but I think this might be a recall condition to report.

Check engine light came on the evening of 3/08/2023. Auto zone said it was a knock sensor code and was listed as a recall. Next morning while driving on highway to ft wayne kia dealership my car engine lost rpm while driving at 65 mph on I-69 chapel exit in ft wayne indiana. The car engine compartment almost immediately ignited into flames with an explosion. Driver barely got out before fire was in the dash. The front interior dash and front seat areas were caught on fire. Shrapnel blown from car started a grass fire as well. The fire department arrived to get both fires under control. My car was still under warranty at 108 months and 89,000 miles. Never had any problem with my Soul until that next day after light came on. I was not notified of the recalls except only recently received an airbag recall on 3/30/2023. I have contacted kia to file a claim with them.

Friday January 20th, 2023 while on the freeway my 2014 kia Soul with less than 75,000 miles spontaneously caught on fire. While merging over to the side of the road the breaks and throttle were inoperable. I was very fortunate that I did not suffer any injuries though it was a very close call. My safety was put at risk as I was unable to maneuver the car over to the side of the road while maintaining the flow of traffic due to the accelerator failure. Once near the shoulder of the road I was unable to stop the car due to the breaks failure which increased the amount of time I was exposed to the burning car and smoke. The problem has not been reproduced or inspected by the dealer, police, and insurance. There were no warning light before or after the fire was identified. The car was professionally maintained and was in great condition prior to this event.

Catalytic converter malfunction and it was check by my mechanic at hillebrand automotive. It causes my 2014 kia Soul to stop running in the middle of the highway. There were no warning lights, massages or any other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. This happened 3 months ago. On January 21, 2023. It's still down because I can't afford to have it fix.

Vehicle's engine failed months after a recall was performed on it in October 2021 to "protect the engine from damage" while failing to reason why this was necessary. Upon my vehicle breaking down on April 1st, 2022, I had it taken to a repair shop that performed about $2,000 worth of work on the vehicle, not knowing that kia had a known defect for code p1326 which was that the engine was defective and not that it was just a misfire as it is coded. My engine is similar to those of vehicles involved in class-actions and other nthsa complaints around the same model year, theta ii engine, with similar problems with oil consumption issues and it failed at 99,800 miles. When I asked dealerships about the oil consumption earlier on in ownership, I was told it was when the oil was low, but not low enough to trigger a warning lamp. This is the same noise heard now when the engine runs. An increasing "ticking" as the engine increases in speed. The vehicle is available for inspection at kia of schaumburg who also advised me of the defects of this engine when they were able to receive it. Our safety was put at risk by the engine suddenly dropping speed abruptly without warning on busy roads and by inadequately warning of a defective engine. The problem has been reproduced successfully by both a kia dealership and an independent shop, aaa of skokie. It has been inspected by the manufacturer's representative. The warning lamps first appeared right after the vehicle lost power and went into "protection mode" and sharply dropped speed along a busy corridor. The vehicle failed a second time a day after receiving it from aaa car care skokie from their initial work when turning onto a busy roadway, almost leading to a collision, with nowhere to immediately pull over. The vehicle's computer failed to immediately identify the misfiring until three separate turnovers and trips occurred.

I had the knock sensor recall updated on my car last year. This installation was faulty so kia had to create a software for my car for the knock sensor. Recently, my car has starting losing momentum when trying to drive and it's slow to shift almost like it's stuck in safe mode which is what happened after the kds was put in place. I believe the software or the sensor may be malfunctioning. This is affecting my gas mileage and possibly harming my transmission. This could possibly cause me to be in an accident with severe injuries or death.

The contact owns a 2014 kia Soul. The contact stated that while his wife was at a stop light, the vehicle shuddered and stalled. The power train warning light was illuminated. Additionally, while driving the vehicle was shuddering. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who informed the contact that the vehicle was misfiring and that the oxygen sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was towed to local dealer and was diagnosed with loss of pressure on cylinder #3. The psi pressure was five. There was indication of the vehicle leaking and burning engine oil. The manufacturer was notified and informed the contact that the failure was not related to NHTSA campaign number: 20v750000 (engine) however, no further assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 164,000.

The contact owns a 2014 kia Soul. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 mph, the accelerator pedal was depressed however, the vehicle failed to exceed 40 mph. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and told the contact that the VIN was not under recall. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000.

My engine shakes really bad while sitting idling and I can hear a loud huming noise while driving. I can also smell gas from time to time. My oil was just changed less than three weeks ago and it is already dirty, gritty and dark.

The contact owns a 2014 kia Soul. The contact stated while driving 30-40 mph, and depressing the brake pedal to come to a stop, the vehicle accelerated unintendedly. The contact immediately shifted into neutral (n). There was no warning light illuminated. The contact then shifted into drive (d) and the vehicle responded as needed. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times. The dealer diagnosed that no issues were found; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 41,000.

The contact owns a 2014 kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at unknown speeds, the check engine and oil warning lights were illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that there was an abnormal fuel odor detected. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 17v608000 (steering) and 20v750000 (engine). The vehicle was towed to trophy kia downtown los angeles (1945 s figueroa st, los angeles, CA 90007, (213) 342-0802). The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the system was down. The failure mileage was 93,000.

I was driving on interstate 75 north in marietta, GA when my vehicle suddenly lost power in front of an 18 wheeler. I was able to navigate off the next exit. There were no warning lights lit on my dash and there had not been any lit prior to this incident. June 2020 my catalytic converter was replaced under recall #sc176. All of the symptoms point towards engine damage that occurred prior to the recall repair.

I was approximately driving 65 mph when suddenly the motor developed a ticking noise. Then suddenly turned into a knocking/clattering noise. My oil light illuminated as well as my engine light. I then proceeded down the high way to the next exit to pull off and check my oil. Before I made it to my exit. The motor had loss of power. When I'd try to accelerate, it would bog down. Right as I was about to take a turn onto my exit the motor stopped and died so I coasted as far as a could and had to push it out of the road. When I examined my oil it was metallic. My vehicle only has 80,000 miles on it. With about 1500 miles on my oil change. (5-20w full synthetic).

My vehicle has been having issues with shifting into gears- ive had the vehicle checked and the system keeps telling me that the spark plugs/ignition coils are bad - ive replaced them multiple times and it keeps giving me the same response. Even when I replace that part, the vehicle keeps doing the same thing. The vehicle keeps idling very hard. The vehicle sputters when trying to shift and the entire vehicle shimmies.

I've taken my car to the dealership a couple times and I would like to see if the car can be fixed back to the way the car original was in perfect condition besides normal wear and tear. I am capable of fixing my car if it's my fault but I would really like to have a second hand specialist assist in this matter.

May 13, 2020 reoccurring issues with the check engine light. Error code po5oa reprogram powertrain control. Cold start idle air control system. Outside temp was 67f light went on while car was in flight on a highway. Car idles roughly when the light goes on.

Check engine light keeps coming on code is po50a cold start idle air control system performance this had been going on sense oct.

My kia Soul is burning oil every 1,000 excessively. Kia says it isn't burning that much. My dealer thinks it is. My car had the oil light come on in December. Received an oil change. February comes to start my consumption tests. My dipstick reads low level. I started 3 tests and they all 3 came up with different readings but burning oil at a rapid rate. I did testing each 1,000 miles. The 2nd test my car burnt a quart. I do think my car is burning at a rapid rate. It is a 2014 kia Soul with 94,000 miles. I bought brand new, only owner is me from my dealership.

Been getting regular oil changes on track. And on time. Last 2 oil changes I been noticing oil levels dropping low after 1000 to 1500 miles driven. No leaks no burning smell. Engine would be burning the oil. Twice kia never noticed anything wrong. Now driving down highway engine light came on. Heard klacking aound and slowed down. Car lost acceleration for 5 minutes. After pulling out the highway it started sputtering acting like it was going to stall out like it had low oil. Again it was low. Added oil. This was after 800 miles driving. Still no leaks. Towed it to kia garden grove California. They said I needed new engine. Oil filter had metal shavings said it Sould be already in engine. Quoted me 12k. Car is 2014 and has 115k miles. It's worth 6k. Looking at everyone's else CO plained you can clearly see an oil engine problem that might produce fires or engine breaking. Possible lubrication issue around 75k miles and on. There should be a recall on the engine.

Error code p1326 kia Soul 2014.

Car is going through all of its oil. Goes through approximately 1qt every 1,500 miles. When I first came across this problem the car was making a loud knocking sound, took it to the dealer and there was approx 1 quart of oil in the car. I only drove about 3,000 miles since the last full synthetic oil change. The dealership is telling me this isn't excessive and it is completely normal. I can only drive 1,500 miles until the oil is no longer showing on the dip stick. Currently still working with the dealership to prove there is a problem with these engines. I got a oil change approx 250 miles ago and have to drive 1,000 total and they will examine the car again.

Tl- the contact owns a 2014 kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at 30 mph, the engine shut off without warning. The contact spoke with a dealer(kia store clarksville 826 e lewis and clark pkwy, clarksville, in 47129 866-545-2429) and they offered her no assistance due to the fact that there are no recalls on the vehicle and the contact did not purchase an extended warranty. The contact had tried multiple times to contact the kia corporate office and was unable to reach a representative. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was 97,000. Jo.

I am writing in regards to a previous complaint I filed earlier. I was never notified by the kia company about a recent recall on 2014 kia Soul hatchbacks. The recall for faulty catalytic converters which can lead to engine damage is what is stated under the advisory. When my kia Soul was looked at by a local kia dealership it was found that the engine needed to be replaced. The repairs fell under the recall at no cost to me. I'm relieved it's being taken care of, but disappointed with kia's customers service. My concerns are about safety. Kia needs to know that the kia Soul hatchback + is affected by the recall and they need to notify their customers to prevent what happened to me.

I own a 2014 kia Soul, purchased directly from the dealer with 12 miles on it. Car is currently at 89,000 miles and I was informed by my dealer that the converter has a build up from everyday use and must be replaced for 2100. 00. Previous kia Souls had a recall for this same problem prior to 2014. Basically when accelerating I felt as if the car was struggling when trying to increase speed. The car would kick a little while in motion as it struggled from 20mph and up. The rpms increased between 4 and 5 at times when accelerating. I also felt when accelerating my pedal was nearly all the way down just to give the car some gas. I do a lot of highway miles and normally have to stay to the right lane until my car is able to pick up speed. This jerking would happen every time I need to accelerated. The kick back became noticable about a month ago. It started very light and has only progressed since.

Vehicle has had a lack of power was told it was due to a clogged converter. . . . Performed recall kia sc176. They replaced the converter and did an ecu upgrade. Car has serious lack of power now and when trying to drive down the highway the vehicle dont know which gear to be in so it constantly hunts for a gear. Gas mileage also has decreased from about 30-32 to 26-28. The car is a safety risk because sometimes it cant get out of the way of big trucks.

The floor board is always warm. The car seems to drive fine for about 20 -30 mins and then the car seems to lose power and will barely go uphill. . . Check engine light has been on for a catalytic converter in the past but went back out. Car has been at kia now since June 18th. . . Have a case with kia America. Dealer told me the cat was clogged. Now worried about engine damage because of clogged cat. Vehicle is under recall sc176 via kia.

My 2014 kia Soul (86,000 miles) is consuming oil extremely fast. I had my oil changed 5/2/19 and as of yesterday 5/26/2019 my low oil light came on while I was traveling down the interstate. There is almost no oil on the dipstick. This has been an ongoing problem for the past 6+ months. It is getting increasingly worse. No oil spots have been detected under the car. I park in the same place every day. No smoke is detected. The filter installed is a kia branded filter from the service dept of the kia dealership.

Vehicle in motion,driving in a parking lot at approximately 12mph when the engine stalled. Engine failed to restart after several attempts. Initial diagnosis and repair from kia dealership said internal damage to fuel pump. Less than one hour after picking vehicle up noted noise from engine during acceleration and check engine light came on. Took the car back to the dealership and dtc code indicated an issue with catalytic converter.

I was driving along the highway when I heard a clicking noise. After the noise, my car started to lose acceleration. No matter how hard I pressed the pedal, it just wouldn't go above 5mph and began making a loud noise. Had it checked out and it was determined to be the catalytic converter.

Loss of engine power, the car was towed to a nearest dealer for diagnosis and found that catalytic converter was defective.