2012 Kia Soul Powertrain (other) Problems

In March 2023 I reported my keys stolen by a tow truck driver and in March 2025 I discovered my auto registration documents was forged by the auto dealer. The time In August 2024 my ID was stolen and because of slander HPD refused to investigate. All of this was followed by more violence against me and I decided to move to another state. I believe my car has been tampered with as the reasons for the theft of the keys which have been replaced three times. Now I am having problems with the gear shifting. I believe someone is trying to slander me as a person with dementia to stop me from driving disrupting my life. No pictures of the harassment I have received but I have tried to take notes of certain events. My previous vehicle was Kia Soul also, a newer model but it was totaled by a Nigerian attorney’s son when the whole family was in the car. The police officer who wrote the crash report , the prosecuting attorney and my attorney and judge I believe were all paid off so that the son could walk free without penalties for hurting me and totaling my vehicle. I believe this harassment has gone too far and is actually threatening my life and others by being allowed to continue harassing me and cause damage to my vehicle. I need direction on how to take care of of this issue as why I have contacted NHTSA. I also believe this is age related discrimination issue with strong attempts to stop me from driving although I have an excellent record in three states with one traffic ticket. My recent oil change was an unpleasant event because the technician refused to do a battery replacement and allowed me to drive away in that condition although I explained earlier, I needed my car checked completely so safely to drive A trip out of town. I had to return to the repair shop and speak to the manager and get my car serviced again with a new battery. I hope you can direct me on how to resolve this issue to drive safely without harassment and personal property violations.

NHTSA ID

11688776

Incident

Aug 27, 2025

The contact owned a 2012 Kia Soul. The contact stated while stopped at an intersection, the vehicle independently accelerated while depressing the brake pedal. The contact steered the vehicle to the left in an attempt to stop the acceleration and repeatedly depressed the brake pedal. Due to the failure, the contact hit a curb, a sidewalk post, and finally, a retaining wall which stopped the vehicle. The sidewalk post was damaged due to the crash. The contact was unaware if any warning lights appeared on the instrument panel. The air bags did not deploy at any time during the failure. A woman was knocked over by the vehicle as a result of the failure. The woman sustained a cut to her right hand and suffered pain to the right side of her body. The woman was taken to the hospital by ambulance for treatment, her whereabouts remain unknown. The contact was treated at the scene by paramedics but did not need further medical assistance. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed from the scene to an independent mechanic and was deemed a total loss. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 99,700.

NHTSA ID

11557416

Incident

Nov 13, 2023

Mileage

99,700 mi

My 2012 Kia soul base, had this SC176 recall which I took it into the dealer, at that time I really didn't know exactly what the recall consisted of, until months later after researching the performance of my car, my engine lights comes on and stays on for two weeks ,then go off a day and it's back on, my car drives sluggish and it's acceleration power is bad , where it won't get up to necessary speed, and it making a loud noises when I accelerate ,which the mechanic said it's my Cadillac converter which was under recall and most likely damaged , from high exhaust gas temperatures,I do believe it's all under the last recall, my engine was damaged and should of been replaced along with the catalytic converter, I believe the KIA dealership knew of the damages but didn't replace my catalytic converter or my engine, my cars performance has gone down tremendously , month by month because of this recall that didn't work , I loved my car but sometimes I don't feel excited about cranking it up and driving it away from my house, because I'm not sure if I'm going to make it back home safe or maybe have it towed, I'm depending on Kia to do the right thing and fix this recall ,because I could be a returning customer.

NHTSA ID

11546870

Incident

Jan 30, 2023

My car stalls and the engine light frequently stays on, my car is driving sluggish every since I got the recall adjustment my car has declined in performance and the engine light started coming on more frequently up until now, it's loud at and experiencing a great lost of power ,the computer is giving the code PO420 reading as bank 1 oxygen sensor , I had intended changing out both sensors, but wasn't sure if it's a damaged engine effecting the Cadillac converter from the 2019 recall, # 19V120000 giving a false reading.

NHTSA ID

11526267

Incident

Jan 30, 2023

"play" and clicking noises in steering wheel have increasingly gotten much worse and noisier, clicking and clunking on turns. I feel like any moment my steering is going to go out and I am going to put everyone in my car and around me at risk. Called dealership and they said it is a common problem which I researched and found that the coupler in steering wheel fails. Kia used the same part in presvious years same model and even years afterward and those years were recalled but not my year. Makes no sense. The next issue was I was driving on the highway at 70 and all of a sudden lost power and car would not accelerate beyond a speed of 45 mph. Black smoke came out of my tail pipe and I limped home at 20 mph. Mo engine warning lights but I could smell something was hit like melted plastic. After letting the car sit a couple hours, I started it and it sounds like there is a hole in the exhaust all of a sudden. There lots of black ish grey soot under my car as if a balloon burst with soot in it from underneath the car somewhere. I called the dealer and described the issue and all they did was look up my vin and tell me there is no recall and that I must have gotten bad gas somewhere.

NHTSA ID

11490443

Incident

Oct 22, 2022

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 KIA SOUL. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE STOPPED AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITH THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE FAILED THE EMISSIONS TEST DUE TO THE WARNING LIGHT BEING ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN UNKNOWN DEALER TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE FUEL CAP NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE FUEL CAP WAS REPLACED AND THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT WAS NO LONGER DISPLAYED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 100,000.

NHTSA ID

11330572

Incident

Mar 5, 2020

Mileage

100,000 mi

VEHICLE CUT OFF WHILE AWAITING LIGHT CHANGE. AFTER NUMEROUS ATTEMPTS TO START VEHICLE, OVER COURSE OF AN HOUR, VEHICLE SPIT OUT CLOUD OF BLACK SMUT BEFORE CUTTING OFF AGAIN.VEHICE WAS TOLLED FOLLOWING DAY. THE NEXT DAY I WAS INFORMED KIA WOULD NOT HONOR RECALL.

NHTSA ID

11234750

Incident

Jul 20, 2019

Mileage

103,000 mi

THE TRANSMISSION FLUID TEMPERATURE SENSOR A ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT INPUT SIGNAL HAD HIGH VOLTAGE FOR A PREDETERMINED PERIOD OF TIME WHICH CAUSES THE CAR TO SHIFT HARD AND BUCK. THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION ACTS LIKE A MANUAL. YOU HAVE TO TAKE YOUR FOOT OFF THE GAS AND LET IT SHIFT. THIS HAPPENS NO MATTER WERE YOU ARE DRIVING. IT COULD HAPPEN WHEN YOU'RE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY OR CITY STREETS.

NHTSA ID

11218190

Incident

Apr 1, 2019

Mileage

74,599 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 KIA SOUL. THE VEHICLE WAS INCLUDED IN THE NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 19V120000 (ENGINE, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT ACCELERATE OVER 35 MPH. THE VEHICLE STALLED AND THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO COAST TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, HOWEVER THERE WAS BLACK SMOKE DETECTED COMING FROM UNDER THE HOOD WHICH LED INSIDE THE VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER TOWED THE VEHICLE TO CASA KIA 1374 GEORGE DIETER DR, EL PASO, TX 79936 (915) 856-2982 WHERE THE CONTACT WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE RESULTS FROM THE DIAGNOSTIC TEST. THE CONTACT WAS ALSO INFORMED THAT THE RESULTS WAS SENT DIRECTLY TO THE MANUFACTURER AND THE REPAIRS WERE DENIED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 178,000.

NHTSA ID

11207248

Incident

May 2, 2019

Mileage

178,000 mi

THE GEAR SHIFT SELECTOR (MANUAL TRANSMISSION) WOULDN'T FIND ANY GEAR. THE TRAFFIC SIGNAL TURNED GREEN, I PLACED THE GEAR IN 1ST. IT DROVE ABOUT 200 FEET AND I HEARD A FAINT "POP". THE TRANSMISSION GEAR SELECTOR DID NOT HAVE ANY FEELING IN IT, AND I COULDN'T GO INTO ANY GEAR. THE ENGINE REMAINED RUNNING, I STILL HAD A CLUTCH PEDDLE, JUST NO GEARS. I HAD IT TOWED TO A KIA DEALER WHERE THEY INFORMED ME THAT THE TRANSMISSION CABLE LINKAGE HAD FAILED AND IT WAS GOING TO BE DIFFICULT TO FIND A NEW ONE. APPARENTLY THE 2012 SOUL 6 SPEED TRANSMISSION IS A ONE YEAR ONLY? WHEN ASKED HOW LONG WOULD IT BE THE DEALERS RESPONSE WAS, "WE HAVE A LOT OF RECALLS IN HERE, AND YOUR PART IS ON BACK ORDER".

NHTSA ID

11189870

Incident

Mar 7, 2019

Mileage

75,000 mi

ENGINE LEAKING AND CAT CATALYTIC CONVERTER DOESN'T SEAM RIGHT

NHTSA ID

11184409

Incident

Jan 1, 2019

Mileage

155,000 mi

I STOPPED MY CAR AT TOP OF MY STEEP DRIVEWAY,PULLED UP EMERGENCY BRAKE,PUT CAR IN PARK BUT LEFT CAR RUNNING TO LISTEN TO SONG ON RADIO. I SAW A PROBLEM IN MY YARD,OPENE THE DOOR, TOOK CARE OF PROBLEM THEN GOT PARTIALLU BACK IN THE CAR TO CUT OFF ENGINE. AS SOON AS I SWITCHED OFF THE ENGINE THE CAR STARTED ROLLING BACKWARDS, STILL IN PARK WITH THE EMERGNCY BRAKE UP AND MY LEFT LEG DRAGGING THE GROUND AS IT ROLLED ACROSS THE STREET AND INTO MY NEIGHBORS BEDROOM. IT IS A VERY COSTLY ACCIDENT. ALL WAS FINE UNTIL I CUT OFF THE ENGINE SO I THINK THAT CUTTING OFF THE ENGINE CAUSE A GLITCH IN THE ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION TO CAUSE IT TO GO INTO NEUTRAL WHILE STILL SHOWING IN PARK.

NHTSA ID

11021248

Incident

Sep 2, 2017

Mileage

58,000 mi

BOUGHT WIFE BRAND NEW 2012 KIA SOUL IN 2012. GOT STANDARD TRANSMISSION. AT AROUND 20K I NOTICED A SQUEAL COMING FROM THE VEHICLE WHEN THE CLUTCH WAS COMPLETELY DISENGAGED, BY THAT I MEAN VEHICLE RUNNING FOOT COMPLETELY OFF CLUTCH. I PRESUMED IT WAS A THROW OUT BEARING. TOOK IT TO LOCAL MECHANIC AND HE AGREED. SO I TOOK IT TO LOCAL KIA DEALER. BOUGHT VEHICLE IN DENTON TEXAS, BUT HAD MOVED 7 HOURS SOUTH TO CORPUS CHRISTI AREA. WHEN I TOOK IT TO KIA IN CORPUS I GOT THE RUN AROUND. YES OF COURSE THEY COULD HEAR IT BUT EVERYTHING WAS WORKING MECHANICALLY. SO I WAS BASICALLY TOLD TOO BAD. WIFE REALLY WANTED THE SOUL. AND NOW I HAVE TO TELL HER KIA DOESN'T CARE IF IT MAKES EMBARRASSING NOISES WHILE SHE'S DRIVING, JUST AS LONG AS I'M MAKING THE PAYMENTS. THROW OUT BEARINGS ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO SQUEAK OR SQUEAL. THAT NOISE IS METAL ON METAL FRICTION, THE ENERGY IT TAKES TO MAKE THAT NOISE HAS TO BE MADE BY SOME SORT OF FUEL. IN THIS CASE IT'S METAL RUBBING ON METAL IN A FASHION THAT CAUSES AN UNBEARABLE AMOUNT OF PRESSURE UNTIL SOMETHING FINALLY GIVES PREMATURELY. WIFE DECIDED SHE WOULD DO HER BEST TO IGNORE IT. AND JUST ENJOY HER NEW CAR. HERE WE ARE 2015. HAS MADE THAT HORRIBLE NOISE ALL THESE YEARS. WE BOTH DESPISE THE VEHICLE AND KIA IN GENERAL FOR THE LACK OF ETHICS. LAST MONTH SHE WAS DRIVING BEHIND A WORK TRUCK AND THE WORK TRUCK HAD A MAJOR MALFUNCTION. FRONT PASSENGER TIRE BROKE OFF OF THE TRUCK AT THE UPPER AND LOWER BALL JOINTS. THE ASSEMBLE FLEW BACK AND SMASHED INTO MY WIFE'S CAR. THE GUYS INSURANCE CLAIMED HIS RESPONSIBILITY. THEY HAD THE VEHICLE AT ALLEN SAMUELS FOR 5 WEEKS. PICKED IT UP LAST NIGHT. THROW OUT BEARING IS UNBEARABLY LOUD AND NEW SQUEAL AS WELL. BODY SHOP SAID NOT THEIR PROBLEM. SHOULD HAVE REPLACED IT WHEN I FIRST HEARD IT. THEY REPLACED WHOLE FRONT RIGHT OF VEHICLE, BUT DIDN'T TOUCH LOUD NEW SQUEAL.

NHTSA ID

10811867

Incident

Mar 15, 2013

Mileage

68,000 mi

BEFORE APPLYING BRAKE PEDAL UPON SEVERAL OCCASIONS WAS ABLE TO SHIFT VEHICLE FROM PARK TO DRIVE JUST BY DEPRESSING SHIFTER. SEVERAL TRIPS TO DEALER AND THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE PROBLEM.

NHTSA ID

10760849

Incident

Sep 1, 2015

Mileage

63,000 mi

MY KIA SOUL 2012 HAS A NOISE AT COLD START THAT LAST 15 TO 20 SECOND, IT FEEL LIKE SOME THING LOOSE. DEALER AT SAHARA, LAS VEGAS NEVADA HAD IT FOR THREE TIMES AND 4 DAYS EACH TIME AND THE FIRST TIME THEY SAID WAS THE TIMING TENSIONER AND THEY REPLACED, BUT NOISE STILL THERE SO THEY HAVE TWO TIMES MORE AND AT THE END THE SAID THE NOISE IS THE OIL PUMP, OS IF IT WAS THE OIL PUMP WHY THEY REPLACE THE TIMING TENSIONER ? THE NOISE STILL EVERY DAY IN THE MORNING, PLUS SMELLING GAS BY THE MOTOR AND INFEST THE WHOLE GARAGE, SO I TOOK IT TO DEALER AT HENDERSON ,NEVADA CAUSE I FOUND OIL LEAKING BY OCV ( OIL CONTROL VALVE, SO THEY REPLACE TWO OCV AND STILL LEAK OIL, SO I REALIZED LOOKING DEEPLY THAT FIRST TWO INJECTORS ARE LEAKING GAS, MIXING WITH OIL. THEY ASKED IF OIL GOT ON THE GARAGE FLOOR AND WHEN I SAID : NO YET, SO THEY SAID CAN NOT DO ANY THING. SO, THE SERVICES MANAGER THERE JUST PUT ALL THIS INFORMATION TO SEE IF A PERSON FROM MANUFACTURE OR SOME ONE HIGHER THAN THEN CAN LOOK IT UP. I THINK WHEN THEY REPLACE TIMING TENSIONER THEY DID NOT PUT RIGHT THE LIQUID GASKET, CAUSE I SEE THE LEAKING FROM THAT PLACE. I HAVE THOSE PROBLEM SINCE I BOUGH THE CAR AND I WASTE MY TIME THREE TIMES 4 OR 5 DAYS EACH WITHOUT MY CAR, CAUSE THEY DON'T RENT CARS OR EVEN GIVE YOU ONE TO MOVE. *TR

NHTSA ID

10692885

Incident

Feb 27, 2012

Mileage

100 mi

THE FIRST TIME THAT THIS HAPPENED I WAS DRIVING AND WAS ATTEMPTING TO CHANGE LANES AND I STEPPED ON THE GAS PEDAL TO SPEED UP AND THE CAR HESITATED AFTER A FEW SECONDS I HAD POWER AGAIN. WHEN THE CAR DID ENGAGE A BIG THICK CLOUD OF WHITE SMOKE CAME OUT OF THE TAILPIPE.THE SECOND TIME THIS HAPPEN WAS ON 5/25/2014 MY WIFE WAS ON A RAMP TRYING TO GET ON THE INTERSTATE GOING ABOUT 30-40MPH, THERE WAS A VEHICLE COMING SO SHE LET OFF THE GAS PEDAL THAN WHEN THERE WAS AN OPENING SHE STEPPED ON THE GAS PEDAL AGAIN AND THERE WAS NO POWER. AFTER SEVERAL SECONDS THE CAR FINALLY ENGAGED AND ACCELERATED CAUSING A BIG THICK CLOUD OF WHITE SMOKE COME OUT OF THE TAIL PIPE. *TR

NHTSA ID

10595148

Incident

Mar 14, 2014

Mileage

16,000 mi

8-31-13 IS THE FIRST TIME I WENT INTO THE DEALERSHIP TO COMPLAIN ABOUT THE CAR ACCELERATING WHEN I WOULD FIRST START THE CAR UP IN THE GARAGE AND THEN WHEN I WAS DRIVING IT WOULD JERK INTO ANOTHER GEAR. THEY RESET THE ADAPTIVE LEARNING SYSTEM. 10-9-13, IS THE 2ND TIME I WENT TO DEALERSHIP WITH THE SIMILAR SITUATION, BUT THE CAR WOULD SEEM LIKE IT WAS SHIFTING FROM 1ST TO 2ND WHILE I WAS ACTUALLY DRIVING. THEY CHECKED TRANSMISSION FLUID LEVELS AND THEY THOUGHT IT WAS LOW (THEY TOLD ME THIS IS NONSERVICEABLE AREA AND THEY HAD TO ACCESS THE COVER WHICH IS BOLTED). THEY FILLED THE TRANSMISSION FLUID AND SAID TO WATCH AND CHECK NEXT TIME I HAVE AN OIL CHANGE. 10-11-13, ON WAY TO WORK, CAR WAS BEING DRIVEN TO WORK (30-45 MPH, CITY DRIVING) WHEN IT SEEMED LIKE IT WAS HOLDING ITS BREATH,,,SUDDENLY DOWNSHIFTED ON IT'S OWN. GOT TO OFFICE. WHEN LEAVING FOR THE DAY, CAR WAS JERKING AS IT WAS SHIFTING FROM FIRST TO 2ND AND SEEMED TO NOT ENGAGE PROPERLY. HAPPENED A COUPLE OF TIMES AT SPEEDS LESS THAN 40 MPH. THEN NOTICED THE EQUIVALENT OF A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND STAYED ON. CALLED DEALERSHIP BEFORE I GOT HOME AND ASKED IF I COULD COME IN FIRST THING IN THE MORNING. WILL BE TAKING TO DEALERSHIP IN MORNING. THIS IS SIMILAR SITUATION THAT SOMEONE ELSE PREVIOUSLY REPORTED TO THIS SITE ON 8-10-13 FOR KIA SOUL 2012. *TR

NHTSA ID

10547682

Incident

Aug 31, 2013

Mileage

11,230 mi

VEHICLE WITH AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION IS EXPERIENCING A VIOLENT SHIFT FROM FIRST GEAR TO SECOND GEAR UNDER GENTLE ACCELERATION AND A LAG IN THE SHIFT WHERE THE ENGINE RACES FROM 2ND TO 3RD AS IF IT WAS CAUGHT BETWEEN GEARS. THIS IS AN INTERMITTENT PROBLEM THAT MAINLY SEEMS TO OCCUR UNDER GENTLE ACCELERATION IN TRAFFIC. *TR

NHTSA ID

10534640

Incident

Aug 1, 2013

Mileage

29,400 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 KIA SOUL. THE CONTACT STATED THAT ONCE SHIFTED INTO PARK, THE VEHICLE AUTOMATICALLY UNLOCKED ALL OF THE DOORS. THE CONTACT BELIEVED THE FAILURE TO BE A SAFETY ISSUE SINCE THE FEATURE WAS UNABLE TO BE TURNED OFF. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS PERFORMING TO STANDARDS AND THAT THEY WERE UNABLE TO ALTER THE DESIGN OF THE VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE WHO DID NOT OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 1,200.

NHTSA ID

10458588

Incident

Mar 23, 2012

Mileage

100 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 KIA SOUL. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING 60 MPH WHEN THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS RESTARTED BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED AS THE CONTACT WAS ATTEMPTING TO DRIVE UPHILL. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A DEALER FOR A DIAGNOSTIC TEST. THE DEALER STATED TO THE CONTACT THAT THE VEHICLE NEEDED A SOFTWARE UPDATE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 600.

NHTSA ID

10453192

Incident

Mar 27, 2012

Mileage

600 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 KIA SOUL. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH WHEN THE TRANSMISSION DOWNSHIFTED AND CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO DECELERATE ABNORMALLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO ADVISED THAT THEY WERE UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THIS FAILURE RECURRED AT LEAST THREE TIMES SINCE THE PURCHASE OF THE VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED WHO ADVISED THAT THEY COULD NOT REPAIR A VEHICLE THAT THE DEALER WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 860.

NHTSA ID

10438749

Incident

Nov 23, 2011

Mileage

860 mi