KIA Complaints

Popping noise from steering and play in steering wheel. Was informed by a local mechanic that is was the steering coupler for the MDPS unit. Checked and saw a recall for the same issue with the Kia Soul but saw nothing for the Forte even though Hyundai had a recall for the Elantra and Sonata for the same issue. This is a vital part of the car and if it breaks as easy as it does it needs to be recalled on all the vehicles that have it and not just certain ones. I have not had it repaired yet but will be doing so shortly as well as talking with an attorney about the issue.

. In October 2023 (see KIA service ticket) my KIA was brought into Jackson KIA Cocoa, FL, for something not operating correctly. The vehicle periodically would hesitate when pressing the accelerator and other times when you had pressed the accelerator to go faster and removed your foot from the accelerator, the vehicle would not slow down, rather continue to speed up even if you tapped the brakes. The service technician had the vehicle for two days and confirmed during several of his test drives that the vehicle would hesitate and speed up with your foot off the accelerator. The service technician said the fuel pump was the issue; however, to cover it under our vehicle warranty, the vehicle would need to generate either a service code error or the indicator light would have to turn on. Neither of these happened during the service technician’s test drives. The service technician wanting to confirm his assessment that the fuel pump was faulty, replaced the fuel pump with a new one and test drove the vehicle. The issues of hesitation and acceleration didn’t happen as they did with old fuel pump. The service technician put the old fuel pump back in because I refused to accept a charge for replacing the fuel pump when it was under warranty. I made an appointment with Jackson Kia in August 2024, explaining that the vehicle had not improved and no error codes and no indication lights but the vehicle was accelerating and hesitating even more than it was almost a year ago when their service technician confirmed the issue with the fuel pump. I left the vehicle with Jackson KIA again for three days for them to diagnose the problem and confirm that the fuel pump was faulty. The service technician confirmed that the other service technician from a year ago diagnosed the problem correctly. It was in fact the fuel pump and is exhibiting the conditions as outlined in the KIA Motors Fuel Pump notice, except the vehicle did not have any diagnostic error codes nor any lights

The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle failed to start on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the catalytic converter had failed and needed to be replaced. The dealer replaced the part free of charge but charged a fee for the labor. The contact stated while driving 45-50 MPH two weeks later, the vehicle stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to pull over to the shoulder of the road where the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to another dealer, Raceway KIA of Conshohocken (402 Ridge Pike, Conshohocken, PA 19428), where it was diagnosed. The dealer informed the contact that the crankshaft was damaged due to a faulty recalled catalytic converter being installed on the vehicle during the previous repair. The dealer informed the contact that the previous dealer should have repaired the vehicle under NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling), free of charge. The dealer determined that the catalytic converter and the crankshaft needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,500.

Pearl white color paint chipping, and breaking due to water and air. Bad batch of primer and coating has caused the paint to chip and peel across the body of the car.

While driving in the rain, the vehicle failed to decelerate and brake efficiently. There were two event this morning (12/18/24). 1. Approaching a red light with Regen braking set to lvl 3 the car failed to slow after removing my foot from the accelerator. Quickly i began applying braking force with the brake pedal, but there was no change in the vehicles speed. Finally I firmly forced the brake pedal to the floor and the car came to a quick stop with ABS kicking in. Thinking that some of the sensors may have been affected by the wet road conditions, i disabled regen/ self braking. 2. With regen set to zero I began approaching slower traffic in a bend on the highway. When i saw brake lights ahead i began to brake and the pedal did not respond. It wasn't firm, nor soft just "regular". Knowing that i had distance to avoid collision, i let off the brake then applied again. This time-still nothing. I'm running out of space now so I quickly jab the brakes, activating abs, and avoiding the rear end of the pickup in front of me. I have yet to take the car to the dealership as they don't open until 9am (currently 7:44 am). I fear that they will not be able to replicate problem unless it is still raining when i arrive.

I'm [XXX] from Brooks Alberta Canada. I purchased this car from a private seller here in Brooks last [XXX] named “Hein Teresa Lorraine” lives in [XXX], Brooks AB T1R 0R7" and she did not include all the details in her car that it has a recall issue with the engine which is the Knock Sensor Problem. After a couple of days of using it I experience engine malfunction, the oil pressure light is keeps on flickering and as I drove from Brooks going to Calgary the engine suddenly stalled and activates the “Lymp Mode”. I cannot able to move forward and almost hit by a huge truck because of that incident. I coordinated with Straightline Kia Medicine Hat that incident, they check the vehicle and test it, after several testings they proved that the vehicle has a engine recall backjob. The check engine code shows P01326 which is responsible for engine stalling while accelerating. Kia Manager "Kent" talk to me and promise me that he will do all the reports to replace the engine. He submitted the report to the engineering department of Kia for the engine replacement but they declined it due to lack of documentation proof for regular maintenance of the vehicle from the previous owner. I told them that i recently purchased the car and I cannot able to provide the previous oil change done with the vehicle. Unfortunately after 2 weeks of waiting for nothing, Kent refuse to do a follow up report on the said incident and telling me that I need to take my car and need to pay a certain amount for their job done to my vehicle. Even the car rental that they provided I am also shouldering the expense because Kent is insisting that my car is not covered by the warranty anymore. As I do my research it has a lifetime warranty for the Knock Sensor failure for the same Car model. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The engine was smoking. I had smoke coming through the vents in my car. The turbo is leaking and now it’s dangerous to drive. The dealership isn’t even recommended fixing it. The car is not safe to drive and has not been since I purchased it.

The contact owns a 2013 Kia Soul. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The dealer informed the contact that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

Opened the sunroof today for the first time in over a year. The sunroof opened with no problem. Tried to close sunroof, and it will not close all the way. Tried multiple times to open and close without success.

The snow-white pearl paint is peeling off - this is a common problem, and the paint is flaking off - not adhering to the base material - seems like a factory defect. This will be a huge re-paint cost to be fixed, and it is just getting worse over time