What 898 owners told NHTSA about the 2015 Kia Soul EV

The contact owns a 2015 Kia Soul. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V750000 (Engine) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. 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.

NHTSA ODI 11488363

The contact owns a 2015 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 mph, a thumping noise occurred under the vehicle and suddenly the speed was reduced and the vehicle would no longer accelerate. While coasting to the side of the road smoke was present coming from under the hood of the vehicle. Moments later flames from under the hood engulfed the vehicle. The fire department was called to the scene and extinguished the flames. No injuries were reported. The vehicle was destroyed. A fire and a police report were taken and the vehicle was towed away. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 85,000.

NHTSA ODI 11487979

On March 31, 2022 I was driving to work. The engine light was on. Without warning, the engine stalled while I was driving, and my car coasted to a stop in traffic. It was an unsafe situation. I had the car towed to the Kia dealership, which had previously told me (on January 7th) that there was nothing wrong with the engine, it was normal for the engine warning light to stay on, and no repairs were needed. The car has been at the Kia dealership since March 31st and no repairs have been done.

NHTSA ODI 11487631

Engine burns oil which led to engine failure

NHTSA ODI 11486269

While driving on the interstate. the oil change light and battery light came on and the car started spuddering immediately on the interstate forcing the car to slow down. It was towed to a local mechanic who did not notice anything wrong except there was low oil. The last oil change was performed on the car about 2000 miles ago. He topped it off and the car started running fine. After about 2 hours of driving on the interstate and the car started having trouble accelerating and started spuddering again. Drove it slowly to the nearest mechanic. This mechanic tested it and it was diagnosed with a complete engine failure. They drove it around to confirm the diagnostics. They also said the oil was low which the oil was confirmed by me and the mechanic for being full at the time of the first incident. Called Kia to check for warranty and it appeared that there was a recall for the engine but the repairs was not made. I was not given a notice about a recall. I called the dealer that I bought the vehicle who says they do not perform recall repairs on vehicles. Kia refuses to do anything about the vehicle and it almost caused a major accident on a major freeway that could have resulted in a life

NHTSA ODI 11486137

I was driving on the highway and suddenly was unable to accelerate. The car went from about 65 mph to 20mph and I was not able to get it back up to speed. There were many cars behind me and it could have easily been an accident. After this happened, it was also extremely dangerous to try to merge into another lane to be able to get off at an exit or pull over. I took the car to an independent repair facility and they suspect a clogged exhaust system and pointed me to a KIA recall notice for the years my car was manufactured. They advised me to contact a dealer because it might be under warranty and the last time they attempted this repair the car started a fire. I had the car towed to a kia dealership. They say there are no recalls for my VIN # and that my car is unaffected by the SC176 Safety notice. There have been no symptoms or warning lights prior to this happening. Even while taking the car to the repair shop and also the kia dealer the car does not show any codes/messages that would indicate the car has a problem.

NHTSA ODI 11484350

Catalytic converter needed replacing at 100,000 miles! REALLY!! I have NEVER OWNED A CAR THAT NEEDED A CATALYTIC CONVERTER REPLACED BEFORE 200,000 miles! CHEAP PRODUCT installed!

NHTSA ODI 11482729

Having catalyst system efficiency below threshold issues The engine light is on code is P0420 Autozone gave me the diagnostic Engine light turns on and off

NHTSA ODI 11480152

The contact owns a 2011 BMW 32i. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (ENGNIE) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11478387

CONSTITUENT CONTACTED SENATOR BLACKBURNS OFFICE CONCERNING THEIR AUTO COMPLAINT WITH KIA REGARDING RECALLED ENGINE REPAIR NEEDED ON THEIR 2015 KIA SOUL. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE WAS SOLD BY THE DEALERSHIP WITHOUT HAVING THE OPEN RECALLS COMPLETED. THE DEALERSHIP DECLINED TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE AND SUGGESTED THE OWNER PURCHASE ANOTHER VEHICLE.

NHTSA ODI 11478390

2015 KIA SOUL. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO AN ISSUE WITH THE COMBUSTION CHAMBER. THE CONSUMER TRADED THE VEHICLE IN BECAUSE OF THE FAILURE, PRIOR TO DISCOVERING THE RECALL NOTICE.

NHTSA ODI 11477722

The contact owns a 2015 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal with the check engine warning light flashing on the instrument panel. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer on several occasions and the knock sensor, O2 sensor, engine pistons, and other engine parts were replaced; however, the failure persisted. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine, and Engine Cooling) which she linked to the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was provided a case number. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000

NHTSA ODI 11477749

I was just driving home from work on a main road. Car started perfect as usual. Got about 5 miles down the road i started to hear a rattling noise almost like a tin can. I slowed down to pull over. Got out to look at the problem with the car shut off. A huge puddle of oil leaked out and car will no longer turn on. Had to get it towed home. Contacted Kia dealership after doing research on the issue. I was Never informed by phone, mail, email about this recall or the upgrade needing to be done. The dealership told me they won’t honor the recall. So I’m left with a unusable car.

NHTSA ODI 11476754

The contact owns a 2015 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving approximately 5 MPH, the vehicle vibrated and stalled. The TPMS warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed a failure with the catalytic convertor, engine, and pistons. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000.

NHTSA ODI 11473899

On 7-3-2022, I was driving my 2015 Kia Soul on I-5 north with my daughter heading home from a short road trip to San Francisco. We where @ 70mph and started up the Shasta mountain when my check engine light started flashing, and I lost all power, the motor started knocking and smoke started to come from the exhaust. As a semi had to blow his horn and swerved to ovoid hitting us.

NHTSA ODI 11473494

Engine blew up unexpectedly while driving with no prior warnings.

NHTSA ODI 11473140

The contact owns a 2015 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while he was performing an oil change, he noticed that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The dealer informed the contact that the vehicle was not covered under warranty due to him being the second owner. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 60,799.

NHTSA ODI 11472726

My 2015 Kia Soul had a massive engine failure at 80 thousand miles, and the engine is damaged beyond repair.

NHTSA ODI 11472211

1. The Oil light came on and I thought I just needed an oil change. I was driving when my car started making a knocking noise. I called 4 KIA Dealerships to explain my situation and they all kept trying to push me off on the other, until one of them was finally able to get me an appointment at the other location in Longwood, Fl. Long story short they told me that there were a few recalls on my car and they could be fixed, only to find out later they could not fix my car due to another recall not being done on the car, even though the recall notice that they sent me was said they are to fix Catalytic Converter Protection logic in the Engine Control Unit, and if Necessary Replace the Catalytic Converter and/or Engine at NOT COST TO ME. Yet KIA Dealership called me back to tell me they couldn't fix it and I must speak with the manufacturer of KIA to ask them to fix it only for them to say they would give me a case number and call me back, ONLY NOT to call me back and then the person who said he'd be fixing my car kept giving me the run around and then told me he would speak with the regional manager of KIA and they could possibly GIFT me an ENGINE, for my car. Like how odes that make since. They can GIFT ME AN ENGINE, but they can't fix my car like it states in the letter they sent me. It clearly states my car can stall (which it did) and cause an accident, catch fire or combust due to the recall issues. No matter what was said it's like KIA Dealership was trying to BLAME ME FOR THE ISSUES WITH MY CAR WHEN THEY SENT ME A NOTICE AND THEY TOLD ME ABOUT THE RECALLS WHEN MY SON BROUGHT THE CAR TO THEM. I screen shot all the conversations sent to me via text and chat. LIES AFTER LIES FROM THE KIA DEALERSHIPS so disappointing. My car has been at the dealership for almost 2wks and nothing has been done. They want ME to pay $6,720 for a new/ENGINE replacement when they are supposed to fix it for free regardless the issues and warranty! No one has contacted me for days now!????

NHTSA ODI 11472161

The contact owns a 2015 Kia Soul. The contact stated the vehicle was being driven to the dealer for an oil change when the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The contact stated that the oil level warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed and the contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the dealer stated that the recall under NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling) needed to be completed before the engine would be replaced. The contact stated that she also received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number 19V101000 (Engine) however, the dealer and manufacturer declined repairs for both recalls. The contact stated that she received the recall notifications in April of 2022. The contact stated that the dealer was notified of the recall and stated that if there were no issues with the vehicle that there was no reason to take the vehicle to the dealer for the recall repair. A case was opened with the manufacturer. The failure mileage was 103,629.

NHTSA ODI 11471161

As per Kia's recall on the catalytic converters on some models, our Kia is also giving the CEL obd code of p0420, but on nhtsa our specific car isn't listed as being a part of the recall. It fits in the engine being a 1.6l and the correct year for the recall, and is having the same issues as the recalled models, but for some reason our's isn't shown as having that recall on this site, even tho it does show up as having that recall on other vin checking sites.

NHTSA ODI 11470361

While driving down the interstate, my car started sputtering, decelerating, and then cut off. I was able to get it back on long enough to get off the interstate. When I stopped, my car cut off. Turn it back on, sputter down the road, then engine knocking, turn off. For about 15 miles. I finally got it towed to my Kia dealer and I explicitly told them about the recall. They had no idea what I was talking about so I called Kia. According to Kia, even though my car is on the recall list, I'm out of luck because I wasn't informed that it had to be done during a certain time. I'm not the original owner and never got notice and now I'm out of a car I am STILL paying on!

NHTSA ODI 11470016

Kia Soul is burning oil more frequently before every scheduled oil change. Lost of power going uphill.RPM goes high and drops speeds drastically. I had already replace catalytic converter twice. Most recent, it started to lose power, went into limp mode with no check engine light and messed up the catalytic converter had to replace again.

NHTSA ODI 11465062

Engine light and ABS light always on, kia hasnt explained this issue or expressed concern about it.. Engine randomly started leaking oil, blowing out white smoke, stalling out upon accelerating causing safety issue in traffic. Kia has had car for 2 weeks now with no answers to resolve. Being told the recall issue is "fine" I use my car for work and this unresolved issue is affecting my livelihood. This all began on 4-29-22 and am now being asked to pay for further testing for diagnostic purposes. Told there are no loaner vehicles and to rent one at my own expense.

NHTSA ODI 11464445

Engine knocking extremely loud

NHTSA ODI 11463775