2020 KIA SOUL Complaints

Faulty design of rear right hand passenger seatbelt buckle prevents use while the left side of the split seat is folded down for cargo.

Approximately 30 miles into a trip, with mostly highway driving, the transmission failed completely. Stepping on the gas pedal caused the engine to roar but did not move the car. Unfortunately, this happened while I was driving eastbound on the San Francisco Bay Bridge, causing a very dangerous situation. There was a slight downhill at that point, so I was able to coast, but eventually the car stopped. Once it stopped, I turned off the engine and restarted it and put the car in Drive, but this did not enable me to move the car. I tried this a few times. This put me in great danger of being hit by other cars. Fortunately, the passenger was able to call 911 and a CalTrans tow truck arrived soon and pushed my vehicle, first to the shoulder and then into a bridge parking facility between the eastbound and westbound lanes. Another fortunate thing was that the traffic was moving well below the speed limit.

While driving down the street the car turned completely off. Had aaa Try to jump it…aaa guy said it looks like there might be a problem with the engine…it has been sitting at the car dealership for the last 3 weeks.

The car stalled when coming to a stop and would not start for over 5 mins while on a major road. When the car finally started engine light started to flash and at a fast speed. Got the car home and noticed the oil leaking heavily. I have only had the car for 2 weeks so I took the car into the AutoCare shop for diagnoses and the code came back as code p1327. I was told the car must go to the Kia dealership immediately and be towed.

I recently purchased this 2020 Kia Soul at the end of April 2023. About 2 weeks ago while I was stopped for a red light in a busy intersection and the "restart" feature was engaged as I had the brake pedal pressed but then as the light turns green and I move my foot from brake to gas (that step is supposed to restart the engine) it did not start immediatley as it should have, Which left me in the lane of traffic vulnerable to possible accidents until it restarted. It finally started after what seemed to be forever and embarassment caused by the restart failure. This event could have had a different outcome if the car wouldn't have restarted. I am taking the car to the dealer tomorrow to have it inspected. I wasn't that there was even a problem until this happened there were no warning lights. I also recieved a "voucher" in the mail to take with me to the dealer stating that my car is a high risk potential pre existing conditions with mechanical or electrical issues. I have only had this car less than 2 months and am already having issues with it. I think I'm regretting this purchase. There is also a sluggish gear shift in the transmission it does'nt seem to be working properly also an engine knock that wasn't there previously. It's not even due for the first oil change since purchase. Kia shoulkd get it together and stop duping unsuspecting naive first time car buyers like myself.

ON 8/18/22 I HAD 5 RECALLS DONE ONE BEING SC209 THE PISTIONOIL RING, THAT WAS CAUSING IT TO STALL OUT/DIE IN TRAFFIC AFTER THE RECALL IT WORKED FINE FOR A FEW DAYS THEN IT PROGRESSIVE GOTTEN WORSE AND STARTED USING OIL, AND THE OIL LIGHT NO LONGER WORKED . ALSO AFTER A OIL CHANGE THE "ALERT FOR DUE OIL CHANGE " DID NOT RESET I TOOK IT BACK TO KIA OF CHATTANOOGA,(2/22/23) AND THEY PROCEEDED TO TELL ME EVERY OTHER THING THAT WAS WRONG AND DID NOT ADDRESS THE OIL LEAK OR THE STALLING OUT. THEY WERE DISMISSIVE OF MY CONCERNS AND TOLD ME THE ENGINE WAS FULL OF GUNK AND IT WAS FROM IMPROPER UPKEEP WHICH IS UNTRUE I TRIED TO EXPLAIN THAT THE OIL CHANGE I HAD DONE WASNT REGISTERING, BUT I WAS IGNORED AND SO I TOOK MY KIA TO GOODYEAR(2/24/23) AND HAD THE $800+ IN REPAIRS DONE. WHICH STILL DID NOT REPAIR THE STALLING OUT. I TOOK IT BACK TO KIA ON 6/1/23 AND THEY REFUSED TO DO ANYTHING TO IT SAYING MY WARRANTY WAS VOID SO I TOOK IT BACK TO GOODYEAR ON 6/2/23 HAD $250+ OF MORE WORK DONE AND IT STILL DID NOT FIX MY CAR . IT IS NOW SITTING IN MY PARKING LOT UNDRIVABLE BECCAUSE IT WILL NOT STAY CRANKED AND THE ENGINE NO LONGER SHIFTS GEARS ON ITS ON . THIS IS A ENGINE ISSUES AND THEY WILL NOT ADDRESS IT BECAUSE THERE ARE NOT ANY RECALLS .

I have two complaints. One just occurred while driving down the highway. My hood popped open. I do not go under the hood. I have my car serviced. The last time it was serviced was over a month ago. The hood popped open immediately the alarm began to ring and I pulled over. I got out on the side of the highway to close it. I immediately called the dealer and they say they have to keep my car to address this and another issue I previously reported. The other issue is my car revs and sounds like a race car. When I told them this they asked how many miles I have. I did pay for an extended warranty. The last time I serviced the car with them in November they said it was taken care of but it is not. I told them don't wait until the mileage reads high and the warranty has expired. I need my only vehicle to run appropriately. I looked today and it seems that the 2020 kia soul has engine issues which might account for the rev and poor running. I was told they should make the corrections free of charge. I am a woman dealing with this so it has been my experience that the treatment and service provided for a man and a woman is not always equitable. Please help.

The auto start-stop function sometimes will not restart. This time it happened in the middle of traffic at an intersection, and I had to put the car in park and restart it before I could move. This could cause a collision in busy traffic times or if people are not paying attention. The problem has not been confirmed by a dealer at this time. During the time it shut off, the battery light and oil light came on, but I just had the car serviced three weeks ago and was told it passed their inspection (I only go to my manufacturer's dealership for service). The oil light and battery light shut off and did not reappear again after restarting the car. The vehicle can be available for inspection depending on time and date. This happened once before about a year ago, but the dealership said nothing was wrong with the vehicle.

On 5/27/23 I was stopped at a light in the middle of active traffic. When traffic started moving again, I put my foot on the accelerator. Nothing happened: the "check engine" light appeared on the dashboard as well as the "Auto Stop" light, which showed up yellow. The engine was dead. Cars in back started honking. I put on my hazard lights, turned the ignition off, waited a few seconds, then on impulse turned the key on again. Car started without a problem, and the indicator lights disappeared. I called the dealership but could not get a service appointment until Thursday. I am afraid my own car will kill me if this happens again in active traffic.

massive oil consumption engine knocking and needs to be replaced 3 weeks and kia can't tell me why this an issue hasn't fixed engine issue