2020 KIA SOUL Complaints

The contact owns a 2020 Kia Soul. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V259000 (Engine). The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal sound coming from under the hood. The contact turned off and attempted to restart the vehicle after arriving at work; however, the vehicle failed to restart. The contact stated that prior to the failure, while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled. The check oil and engine warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that prior to the failure, an oil and filter change was performed on the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and the failure was deemed recall-related; however, due to a lack of oil records, the vehicle was deemed unrepairable by the dealer and manufacturer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure by the local dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 105,000.

My engine stalled out as I was heading up a hill after taking a right turn. There were cars coming up behind me and could have had a rear end collision. A day or two before, the check engine light came on but it was not flashing. I was going to have it looked at ASAP. I had it towed to my mechanic who found that there was zero oil in oil tank. They did some research and found a technical service bulletin for excessive oil consumption for Kia Souls through 2021. (I have kept up with all maintenance) They recommend I have it towed to a Kia dealer. I spoke with corporate and they refuse to cover engine repairs which would cost approximately $4,000, even though there is a TSB on this make and model. This is outrageous as my car only has 49,000 miles on it.

Was driving home from work and the car started smoking and making nose. Full power loss but was able to safely pull over to side of the ride. Had vehicle towed to mechanic and a piston had blown a hole through the engine. Mechanic estimated the cost of repair $7000 or more to replace the engine.

So the actual oil piston ring problem started with the 2020 Kia soul, I had a recall and I took it to the Kia dealership, over 3 hours away and they performed their noise test and checked it over, I complained about burning quite a bit of oil and they said they would have to do a oil consumption test, so I agreed and they changed my oil and guess who had to pay for that, yes me, so I drive back home 3 hours and I decided to check my oil in the morning, they purposely over filled the oil, was half an inch over the fill level, but needless to say nothing was done about anything just like the 2021-2023 models, now I'm seeing a bunch of transmissions dieing out with the same model and yes my transmission died out a few weeks ago and nothing is being done about it, we're does it end with these car companies, extremely disappointed in the care and service I received from Kia, hopefully the transmission issue can get taken care of soon and hope that future models don't have to go through the same thing

Piston oil ring failure resulting in needing a complete new engine. Known recall issues on other years same model/engine(2.0L). Car would lose oil pressure and stall while driving at any speed.

The engine totally failed while driving without any warning. Zero warning lights came on and the car would not restart. I had it towed to the dealership where they reported that I needed a new engine which is not covered under warranty or recall repair even though its been recalled several times and half the people who own 2020 KIAs seem to have almost the same exact problems. The cars start to consume way too much oil and then the engines seem to fail not soon after so I brought the car back home since its over $8000. to replace just the engine! This vehicle is not paid off so its sitting at my house without being repaired or drivable. The dealership where I had it towed, Ray Skillman NE KIA, in Indianapolis charged me $200 for diagnostics yet never explained what was wrong with the car other than it needs a new engine.

Paint bubbling on both side of the car. Kia claims there is no defect in their paint however it seems to be a known problem with the white Kia soul.

My wife had went to the store and came out and went to pull out and the vehicle jerked forward and died. I went to see if it was a dead battery the vehicle would not jump. I called a tow truck and realized that the engine had completely failed. I took it to Parkside Kia in Knoxville Tennessee and they confirm that it was an engine failure there was a recall from Kia referencing SC209 Parkside Kia states that the recall was addressed on this vehicle but the dealership that I purchased the vehicle from had no record of that recall being done and they are stating that they will not goodwill it or repair the recall I understood from my research that even if the vehicle was fixed under that recall that there were some cases of it not being fixed and resulting in needing a complete engine my main concern was the fact that my wife could’ve been driving down the road and been in and a severe accident thankfully, she was just in a parking lot

The contact owns a 2020 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact stated that the check engine, low oil, and battery warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was making an abnormal rattling sound before the vehicle stalled. The contact coasted to a stop but was unable to restart the vehicle. The contact had the vehicle towed to a local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that an engine rod had failed, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and informed the contact that vehicle was no longer under warranty. The failure mileage was 93,307.

Vehicle: 2020 Kia Soul VIN: [XXX] Component: Engine What happened: My 2020 Kia Soul experienced sudden engine failure at around 130k miles. I was driving when the oil light turned on, and within seconds the engine seized and locked up. The check engine light came on afterward. There were no prior warning signs, no check engine light, and the oil level was not dangerously low. This is the second Kia Soul I’ve owned that experienced this exact failure pattern—my previous 2014 Kia Soul also seized without warning. Kia is refusing to assist or escalate, despite the fact this issue closely mirrors Recall SC209 related to the 2.0L Nu MPI engine. I believe this is a serious safety issue and mechanical defect that deserves further investigation and may justify expanding existing recalls. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)