2015 KIA SOUL Complaints

The contact owns a 2015 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle started to stall. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with needing the engine replaced; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure but offered no additional assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.

The catalytic converter is causing my engine to have issues. I was traveling up an incline and the car would not accelerate past 30mph. I never received any warning signs such as engine light, black smoke from the exhaust, and the egg smell if the converter is going bad. I took the car to Kia and they could not see the car until the last week of February. The service department was backed up and understaffed. I took it to an independent service center and they said it was the catalytic converter. I continue to perform maintenance on the vehicle. The vehicle was not inspected by the manufacturer etc. Again, I didn't get any warning messages, I did a vehicle diagnostic UVO It said no critical issues were found. Traveling 60mph, your vehicle shutting down to 30mph in traffic is dangerous.

It was the engine that failed and my car stopped on the highway and I could’ve been a car accident. Yes it been confirmed by the service department at DARCARS Kia of Temple Hills md. It been inspected at the car dealership. The engine light came on a month or two before the engine went out and then it went off.

The contact owns a 2015 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving 15 MPH, the vehicle stalled inadvertently. The check engine warning light illuminated. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The contact was able to restart the vehicle to continue driving; however, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine. The contact became aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V750000 (Engine) and contacted the local dealer; however, the local dealer informed the contact that they could not repair the vehicle under the recall because the service records for an oil change that she provided did not indicate that oil changes had been completed as needed. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

At busy intersection was stopped for red light. When light turned green put foot on gas and car would not move more then 5 miles per hour. No warning lights on dashboard. Was able to get to side of road. Has car towed to mechanic close by, they said both catalytic converter would have to be replaced $4,700. Strange to have this kind of damage fir car under75,000 miles. Looked up recalls and KIA had one fir that year of car. Recall number: SC176 Had car towed to closest KIA dealer in Gladstone Oregon. They said the engine showed damage and would $8,700 to fix. Said recall or the warranty would not cover cost. Warranty for up to #100,000 and recall states recall could cause engine damage.

The car began burning oil at around 60K miles. When I took it in for oil changes, it was consistently low on oil. When the car was taken in for a recall SC200, the engine was checked and was not registering any codes and declared healthy. However, the car continued to struggle to accelerate, make rumbling noises and burning oil. Six months later, the engine failed at 80K miles. Three of the four cylinders were scored. The car was taken back to the dealership and a scope of the engine cylinders showed the damage. There is no record that when the car was in the dealership for the KSDS recall that a scope was put in the engine to check the cylinders. The check engine lights never illuminated despite the engine damage. Kia will not replace the engine as the engine is not showing a code that relates to the KSDS defect (it would replace if it showed such a code). The 100,000 mile warranty is void as I bought it second hand.

Increased use of oil with no visible signs of external oil leak. Oil light comes on and knocking sound heard and when oil level was checked it was 2-3 quarts low each time. This has happened at least three times since October 2021. Most recently December 24, 2021 2.5 quarts low, February 4, 2022 3 quarts low.

My concern is probably a concern with all Kia owners with Gamma and Nu engines. I first noticed this issue after a CEL came up on the dash and then my car went into a Safety "Limp" Mode condition. I returned home and tried to diagnose why the car went into Limp Mode (acceleration limited to <2000RPM). I turned off the vehicle and restarted and restarted it to see if that would clear the CEL. That did not clear the issue. I then checked the engine oil and found that the oil level was below dipstick level. That was very odd as it had only been 3,100 miles since the last dealer oil change for the vehicle. That was when I began to read issues with the Kia engines and the excessive oil burning issues of the engines in question. For my current issue, I refilled the oil level and brought my vehicle to my mechanic who read the CEL as P1326 Knock Sensor Detection System which was brough on by the lack of engine oil. I was told by my Extended Warranty company that the engine was therefore in need of replacement. It was then that I brought my vehicle to a Kia dealership because this is an issue that has been brought up with Kia with other owners. The dealership could not replicate the issue. This I believe is due to the fact that I have been monitoring the oil level constantly and not letting the level fall below the minimum indicator. This though is not a solution Kia must admit the fault in their engines and come up with a solution to mitigate this fiasco. Having the purchaser continually add oil is not the solution.

The contact owns a 2015 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was a knocking sound coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to examine the vehicle due to the large volume of vehicles that were also in for service for the same failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but had not yet responded to or rendered a decision to the dealer regarding the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 107,000.

The contact owns a 2015 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while she was driving from a complete stop, the accelerator pedal was depressed all the way to the floorboard however, the vehicle would not accelerate above 10 MPH. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that both catalytic converters had failed, and the vehicle was not drivable and was unsafe to drive. The independent mechanic advised the contact to take the vehicle to the dealer. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that the repair could not be covered under the engine warranty or NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling) without service records; however, the contact provided the six service records that she had available at the time to the dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 74,834.