general problems of the 2016 Kia Motor Soul - part 1

I can not gain speed. The dealership says it’s the catalytic converter and there is an active recall for this on kia Souls. They previously did recall work to my car but now the catalytic converters not showing as a recall.

When the steering wheel tilt is adjusted while driving, the vehicle experiences a complete electrical shutdown — dashboard goes black and the engine may shut off. Electrical power may return when the steering wheel position is changed again. Because this involves a total loss of power while the vehicle is in motion, I am concerned about driver safety and would like this addressed as soon as possible.

The instrument cluster, the speedometer and "now" the odometer are not working--absolutely dead. "now" is in caps because to my surprise I noticed just recently that the odometer is not working. In April 2021, after several weeks of waiting for the repairs to be finished, a kia dealer, peak kia in colorado replaced the instrument cluster because of the faulty speedometer. (this repair was done after several months of back and forth to more than one kia dealer about this problem. Unlike now where the speedometer is dead, not moving at all, at that time it would stop working periodically, perhaps when my car was cold or not. It took several months of dealing with kia dealerships to acknowledge that it was a problem. ) right after the replacement in 2021, I texted the peak kia mechanics-representative, named trevor, that it was still a problem, not working every now and then. He replied in a text "what?" and that he would check with his technician. He never got back to me with an answer, and would not return my phone calls. ) since that time, I've been dealing with this infrequent or sometimes-problem. Note, I work from home so I do not drive my car every day, only once or twice a week. However, just recently before and around the holidays, I noticed first that the speedometer was dead, the needle was not moving at all during the entire time of driving, instead of every now and then. And closer to the holidays, I was shocked, noticing that the odometer was now not moving. This had never been the case before. To date, I only have a powertrain warranty(?) left that expires in December 2028. I called kia, the manufacturer, the other day and reported the above information. They said too bad, they will not cover it because the warranty for that 2021 repair expired 12 months after the repair, something I did not know. My concern is whether the kia dealer, arapahoe kia--where I usually go , will or should cover it. Plus, I feel this is a serious safety issue.

I was driving in the carpool line to anaheim with my daughter, the car starts pulling and make a noise in the front part and start loosing speed, from 75 miles per hour to 40 miles per hours in 2 minutes. I drove to the safety zone but in high risk to a crash. All the sensor lights on in the front part. And the steering feels hard, no movement. We feel so stressed and unsafe. The police officer help us and the 511 towing help this was on October 16th. We pay $830 dlls to the aaa to bring the car to san diego.

Inhibitor switch has to be replaced. 2017 vehicles had a recall, dealership wants 747. 00 to fix same when a recall for same a year later?.

While driving my 2016 kia Soul plus on the highway, smoke began coming from the rear of the vehicle. Within seconds, flames were visible. Other drivers flagged me down, and I was able to pull over. I evacuated three dogs from the car, but the vehicle quickly became engulfed in flames and was a total loss. The fire department responded and extinguished the fire. There were no warning lights or unusual performance issues immediately before the fire started. The vehicle had not been modified and was in regular use. This incident posed a severe risk to my safety, the safety of my pets, and others on the road. My VIN currently shows no active recalls, but kia has issued recalls for engine and electrical fire risks in other Soul models. The fire appears related to engine, electrical, or fuel system malfunction. I strongly believe this defect should be investigated for inclusion in kia’s fire-related recalls.

The contact owns a 2016 kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, an abnormal sound could be heard coming from the engine. The check engine light illuminated. In addition, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that once the vehicle gets up to speed, the abnormal sound could be heard coming from the engine. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The vehicle was diagnosed, and contact was provided with dtc codes: p0014 and p0013. The contact stated that the check engine light was turned off. The cam shaft was replaced. The contact stated that the failure persisted. Most recently, the contact stated that the horn failed to function as intended. The horn is no longer functioning. The vehicle was taken to a different independent mechanic who diagnosed that the failure was due to an electrical failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 19v120000 (engine, engine and engine cooling). However, the VIN was not under recall. The failure mileage was unknown.

Unknown.

The battery on this vehicle is absolutely worthless. If tales 8 hours to charge and on a full charge it will get 37 miles. The dealership refuses to replace it and the I owe over 10k on the vehicle.

I have a 2016 kia Soul. Second owner. 144,000+ miles. For nearly a year my car has been consuming oil at an alarming rate. But I have no oil leaks anywhere. My dealership did an oil consumption test about 5-6 months ago and within 1000 miles, I was already below the half way line on my dipstick but the dealership told me I was still in range and sent me on my way. Fast forward a few months and I brought up my concerns again with my dealership and the oil consumption. I was told to drive it until the engine seizes and they would tow me. At which point, I told them that sounded dangerous but apparently kia will not do anything for my vehicle if all it is doing is consuming oil. July 26, I’m out of town about two hours + from home and out of nowhere my car starts idling high. Failing to shift gears. If I go to speed up past 60mph, the car forcibly bogs down to 45mph and struggles to get back up to speed. The vehicle was shaking, knocking, and struggling with performance. I drove the car to a small town and checked my oil. Bone dry. So I top it off with a couple quarts. I drove the car to a non kia dealership where a mechanic told me my car was misfiring. He popped the hood and for the first time, my engine was knocking back and forth. It’s never done that. He said that he felt confident there was rod damage and drove it around the block. When he returned he said it was not safe to drive and I had it towed to the closest dealership over an hour away. The dealership felt extremely confident that my car was going to qualify for the motor swap warranty that kia offers up to 150,000 miles or 15 years. Keep in mind, my car never once threw a check engine light during any of these occurrences, nor did a low oil light ever come on in the 4 years I owned the vehicle. My vehicle has been down 3 weeks and still has not been fixed from kia.

Kia is refusing to repair a 2016 Soul subject to NHTSA recall no. 23v-218.

Incident: February 1st 2024 driving from studio to select physical therapy (appt at 9 a. M. ) - 8:45 a. M. : notice a slight gasoline smell in the car. I figured it was traffic smog. Select physical therapy parking lot - 10:24 a. M: I noticed the inside of the car still smelled of gasoline. Looked up on google to see if this was an underlying issue. My quick search led me to believe that it was severe. Firestone complete auto care -10:26 a. M: after a quick lookup on google, I called my local firestone via bluetooth to see if they had an opening today. When I talked to a worker describing my concerns, they told me there were no openings that day and that tomorrow (2/2) they were available. I booked an appt for 2/2 at 10 a. M. When I finished talking to firestone, I was driving through hacienda drive. Driving through south emerald drive to get back home (10:35 - 10:42 am): I stopped at a light that intersects between south emerald drive and west vista way. I noticed that the hood had smoke coming out and saw flames. I quickly grabbed my important belongings and tried to direct traffic behind me to go around me. I called 911, gave my location, and described the incident, and then they called the fire department.

Certainly. I own a 2016 kia Soul, and recently I've become aware of some serious issues with the vehicle that are deeply concerning. It has come to my attention that the car is experiencing piston damage, which could potentially result in engine stalling, thereby significantly increasing the risk of a crash. Furthermore, there is a possibility that a broken connecting rod may puncture the engine block, leading to the escape of engine oil. This could not only cause significant damage to the engine but also poses a serious safety hazard. In the worst-case scenario, the leaking oil may come into contact with the hot exhaust system, significantly increasing the risk of a my 2016 kia Soul has been causing me a lot of trouble. Every 5-6 months, it needs a tune-up, and it frequently starts making loud noises from the engine. The car also has a concerning habit of skipping, and at times, it won't go faster than 20 miles an hour. This unreliable performance has put me in dangerous situations, including being side-swiped due to the vehicle randomly cutting off while driving. In an effort to get to the bottom of these issues, I had a diagnostic test run on the car, and the results were troubling. The codes that came up include p1326 for the glow relay stuck on the power train system, as well as anti-lock codes what is particularly distressing about this situation is that despite the severity of these potential risks, kia of pendleton has refused to address the issue and rectify the problems with my vehicle. This lack of action is extremely worrying, especially given that I regularly travel with my two kids in the car. The safety of my family is paramount, and the fact that we have almost been involved in crashes twice due to these issues is deeply troubling. I am reaching out for assistance and resolution in this matter. The safety of my vehicle and the well-being of my family are at stake, and I urgently need a response and a plan to address these serious safety concerns.

Kia issued a safety recall for battery (thus is an all electric sol) and we dropped it to the dealer for repair. Since then kia has replaced the battery and updated software several times with no results. We continue to receive a battery warning and unable to charge the car. The car has been with the dealer multiple times for the past 6 months. The most recent visit it is with them since Dec 5th. We are left in a situation with no car for our 16 year old as she is not allowed to drive the loaner car or any other rental . Continued follow up with kia consumer affairs has provided no feedback and communication. The dealer has also indicated that there are several such cars at this dealer and others around the country. We need a solution immediately and meed our car.

Carmax sold a recalled vehicle in 2019 in 2020. Kia has still improperly repaired the vehicle the car is still doing the exactly same thing it was doing. That lead to the repair. After picking within the hour the engine light came back on and had been on ever since. I now have electrical issues with the window since kia napelton of elmhurst repaired the vandalism the wiper is malfunctioned at pick up. I want a refund the vehicle is a safety issue mechanical and for theft.

The car was recalled in 4/2019 for a repair. I purchased the car 8/2020. The repair indicated catalytic converter assessment to ensure that the engine did not need to be replaced. It was not checked or verified. The recall was insufficient done and the car should had never been sold. And the recall was not completed prior. I took the vehicle in to complete a recall on a hazardous vehicle. Kia had my car for a month and half replacing the engine and within hours of picking up my car the engine light came back on. The car is still doing the exact same thing it was doing leading up to original repair. That kia was suppose to had fixed. The car is also a theft safety issue as targeted I already paid 2700 for theft vandalism. The car is targeted and unsafe.

Car cuts off when idling. I took it to the mechanic several times and they produced the issue once but could not diagnose and would give it back to me at no charge. When it cuts off the rpms will sometimes stay at 0 even when I start the car again. Sometimes the check engine light will come on along with the traction light. Mechanic said it shows catalytic codes but said nothing is wrong with catalytic converter. They said they can’t find anything wrong to warrant repair. The check engine and traction control lights stay on and then go off randomly. The car cuts off at stop lights and today it cut off when I was turning right at a stop sign. I was already out in the road and someone was behind me. Thankfully no one was coming down the road at full speed. I am afraid to drive the car but no one knows what is wrong with it or how to fix it.

Bought car in March 2023, two days after purchasing the light came on with code 0456. Which is a small evap leak. Got multiple fixes with various mechanics including dealer. And no one can figure out what is wrong with it. It shows as a permanent code not allowing for emissions. Spent thousands and called corporate kia and they were no help. So car had a permanent code which seems to be an electrical issue from computer not sensing the right thing as the car drives perfectly fine.

The headlights will turn off and on randomly without warning. My driving panel shows no indicator or warning lights. This is an ongoing and extremely dangerous issue. I’m told it will be very expensive to diagnose and repair due to the need to remove the entire steering section to access the headlight control wand.

The check engine light came on a day after I bought the car and never went off it read for several code’s including a catalytic converter fuel cap timing solenoid all which I replaced and the light still was on after oil changes it was discovered there is a low oil condition and the engine needed to be replaced and a few months later the car stopped running and it needs a new engine the dealership knowingly sold that vehicle to me in that condition and they won’t even fix it.

Kia Soul base 2016 owner took to repair under warranty on 12/02/22 for the second time the catalytic converter and oil change because the check engine light was on and a kia technician update the codes. Today 12/22/22 the check engine light is on, driving in the highway it starts shaking and does not take acceleration it stalled without passing from 15mph putting my safety and the others at risk to cause an accident the power windows doesn't go up and when turn the steering wheel left or right the car is about to die and the breaks lights turn on and off working sometimes but flickering. The oil smells like gasoline and burns fast.

During normal driving operation, the car makes a loud bang and the drive system shuts down. The dash lights remain on indicating that the main drive battery needs to be checked. I've had to coast to the side of the road each time as there is no power at all. When I shut the car down and restart it, it drives normally. This happens at least once a week. I try to drive the car only in low traffic conditions. This has happened in places where I couldn't pull out of the traffic lanes and caused traffic to pile up behind me. I called the dealer the first time it happened and was told they didn't understand what it could be.

Kia motors America (kia) is recalling certain 2012-2016 kia Soul vehicles equipped with 1. 6l gasoline direct injection (gdi) engines. High exhaust gas temperatures may damage the catalytic converter, possibly resulting in abnormal engine combustion and damage to one or more of the engine's pistons and possible piston connecting rod failure. Recall consequence piston damage may result in an engine stall, increasing the risk of a crash. A broken connecting rod may puncture the engine block allowing engine oil to escape. The leaking oil may contact the exhaust, increasing the risk of a fire. Recall action kia will notify owners, and dealers will upgrade the catalytic overheating protection engine control unit logic to prevent overheating of the catalytic converter. In addition, the catalytic converter will also be replaced if it has been damaged. Depending on the extent of any damage, the engine may also be replaced, free of charge. The recall began April 17, 2019. Owners may contact kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is sc176.

My car starting making knocking noises and as im on the interstate my speed was 70 but I was not going 70 and I never had any trouble out of my car.

Ive gotten 3-4 tuneups every year for the past 4 years. Each year the car randomly shuts off and start running rough they change the coil packs and the spark plugs but every year I drive locally and not far yearly but I still have to get tune ups, 3rd party insurance and state farm spent a total of 12-14k of electrical wiring the doors were controlling the a/c the lights would flicker when trying to turn on a/c. The windows stopped working wouldnt go up or down, the a/c heat wouldnt work this was work everything new and rewired kia of anderson kept the car for 4-5 weeks and I had to turn around 2 days later bring it back because the doors and a/c and heat repeated the same thing, they changed the door panel on driver side and 4-5 months ago a/c heat stopped working randomly while my kids were waiting on bus one moring and couldnt use the heat. . . Contacting kia they said they were booked for a couple of weeks then, I would call get voicemails over and over and then I finally drove up there and they stated it may be the air resistor but then, under the car I hit a ditch where road work was being done on a one way in one way out street for 3 months cause the already loose muffler to cause the rest of the vehicle to not work. The a/c when on my son nose bleeds everytime if we are in the car for longer than 45 min to an hour. My daughter get migraines headaches dizzy spells when a/c heat is on, so do I. Also there is a random weird smell randomly off and on not everyday but atleast 12 days out of the month. . . Scared to drive the car sometimes. Last week twice the car shut off once on the bridge randomly and then turned back on. Also, if I drive the car for more than 30-45 min my left leg swells with fluid never happened in any other vehicle. . . Random devices can connect to my radio without me authorizing it. . Strange but I can wake up and have to delete a windows or mac desktop from radio, when using the radio the same ads play over and over not sure why we have to turn it.

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.

I have a 2016 kia Soul ev+. The hghi voltage battery pack assembly is malfunctioning and it only charges to 30 percent or a 30-mile range. It should charge to a 90-mile range. While driving, it suddenly drops from a 25-mile range to an 18- mile range, I sometimes smell an electrical burning smell. When the battery gets down to an 18-mile range. It suddenly starts to drop dramatically. The car goes into a turtle mode and cannot even reach 20 miles per hour. Kia has issued an important safety recall interim notice for this problem, and I contacted a kia dealership to resolve the issue. According to the notice, kia is supposed to replace the defective battery. I have put in three service requests, but I have not heard back from kia after the initial contacts. I cannot drive this vehicle like this, and I am making payments on it. I am requesting assistance with this problem.

The contact owns a 2016 kia Soul. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, he became aware that the vehicle was not calculating accurate ev range and was fluctuating abnormally. After closer observation, the contact became aware that the vehicle was unable to reach a full charge and would only reach 80% charge. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the charging system. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. After investigating the failure, the contact related it to NHTSA campaign number: 23v218000 (electrical system), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 33,000.

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.

The contact owns a 2016 kia Soul. The contact stated while driving 55 mph, the headlights would intermittently fail to illuminate without warning. The contact made repeated attempts to adjust her headlights to no avail. Due to the failure, the contact stated that another vehicle in the opposite lane had attempted to pass the vehicle ahead. The other driver assumed that there was no vehicle in her lane of traffic and the contact was forced off the road to avoid a head-on collision with the other vehicle. The contact did not lose control of the vehicle and was able to resume normal driving. The contact also stated that the interior and dashboard lights would intermittently flicker on and off without warning. The dealer was notified, and the contact was informed that she had to pay a diagnostic fee to determine the failure. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be serviced or diagnosed. The failure mileage was 52,080.

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.

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.