2020 Kia Soul Driver assistance Problems

The contact owns a 2020 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving approximately 35-40 MPH, the vehicle stalled with several unknown warning lights illuminated. After several attempts, the vehicle was restarted, and the contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. After waiting for a while the contact was able to restart the vehicle and continued driving slowly; however, the failure recurred. The contact had to turn off and restart the vehicle several times. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the throttle had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.

NHTSA ID

11639429

Incident

Dec 16, 2024

Mileage

30,000 mi

When I would come to a complete stop at a stop sign it would stall battery light and oil light would come on. I would need to put it in park then turn it off and turn it back on. It also would suck up oil like crazy I would need to replace the oil every few days otherwise it wouldn't start. I took it to the shop and 2 of the 4 pistons blew and all the timing stuff stopped working.

NHTSA ID

11632582

Incident

Dec 9, 2024

Our vehicle experienced every dash light on the board coming on intermittently. At time, we could not use the remote control and had to open the door and crank the car manually. Windshield Wipers and headlamps did not work, nor did any of the safety features on the car or indicator lights. When all illuminated, we took the vehicle to local Kia dealership and eventually they replaced the electrical panel. The side and rear collision indicators never worked again even after repairs were done. The car continued to display every light on the dash after the electrical panel was replaced and local dealership could not fix it. None of the indicator lights showed problems with the engine and regular maintenance to the vehicle was maintained on schedule. Four years into the life of the vehicle, the car started burning all the oil in the engine and oil indicator light did not come on. The oil life was within the schedule to be changed. Oil ran low on car and caused the oil control valve to not operate properly. Local dealership requests we play $6,069 (approximately a third of the vehicle's original cost) to repair the timing chain. All maintenance records were produced for the dealership service department and we were denied that the engine would be repaired while still under warranty because we were told we did not maintain the vehicle properly. This, of course, was not true because we had all the receipts to prove it. The vehicle failed to indicate a problem and as a result --- permanent engine damage occured to the vehicle.

NHTSA ID

11627552

Incident

Jul 1, 2022

I was driving to work. 12 miles my oil leaked. A state trooper turned around when seeing flames and called the fire department and tow truck. I lost control of the car, nothing was working. I was only ever given one recall notice which I fixed 2 months after buying the car. The car also has issues with security. Only certain insurance companies will cover the car and their prices are higher. We took car to dealership . three months later I contact attorney general. The GM this started attacking us, denying anything happened etc. He should be fired for how he treats people. Reviews of their business show others have had issues. Kia corporate has always told us they r waiting on images yet this GM contacted them, told us to leave, and screamed he would charge us for every day it was on lot. So we had it towed the next day. Insured company will be doing their own I xpection. This isn't about money, its about safety and these cars have slot of issues. It is wrong to blame the consumer for a faulty product. We had to get new car and now upside down in this one. We bought thus Kia be,cause the previous one the engine seized. We expressed our concerns, but got put in another car with issues. Kia corporate has been non talking to us the entire three months, so the only findings can be based on what GM said. They washed the motor. It sat so long the battery died. Someone went through papers in the glove box then left them out. We had medicine in the loaner, which they say is a lie. My daughter drives the car and recently was laid off. So now she can't have her medication..... Although she left it in the car they had no right to do that. There was plenty of other issues along the way.

NHTSA ID

11606634

Incident

Apr 27, 2024

Mileage

114,502 mi

See attached document from complainant

NHTSA ID

11548398

Incident

May 5, 2023

While driving on the highway at 60 mph, the vehicle Started To feel like it was trying to go forward (thrusting) on its own. It then accelerated on its own to over 80 mph. I slammed on the brakes and pulled over and put it in park.the engine was revving in park. After Kia roads on assistance couldn't send a tow truck,I thought I would be okay driving on the emergency lane The 2 miles home from the highway. As I put the car in drive, the engine was revving at 6 On the gauge but the vehicle Wouldn't go over 20 miles an hour. It is at the dealership today. There were no warnings or lights or sounds.It all started with the slight thrusting of the entire car. I could have easily slammed into the back of another vehicle if it had been in front of me.

NHTSA ID

11513944

Incident

Mar 26, 2023

The car has rebooted (like a computer) three times in the last month as I am driving the car. Not in Park, not just starting the car. I am in drive and the car just reboots. Today, I received a warning about my forward collision system and all the lights on the dashboard lit up.

NHTSA ID

11506715

Incident

Feb 10, 2023

The vehicle stalls and turns off while stopped. The vehicle turns off quickly with all dash light sensors turned on with a front collision warning. The vehicle can only be restarted when is boosted. The battery was checked and is in good working condition.

NHTSA ID

11497870

Incident

Nov 30, 2022

WE PURCHASED A 2020 KIA SOUL IN JANUARY 2020, WITH 11 MILES ON IT. EVERYTHING WAS FINE FOR THE FIRST FEW MONTHS, UNTIL ONE DAY MY WIFE WAS DRIVING AT ABOUT 40 MILES AN HOUR AND WAS SLOWING DOWN TO TAKE A RIGHT TURN, THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED UP AND SHE ALMOST WRECKED, THANKFULLY SHE JERKED THE WHEEL HARD ENOUGH TO BREAK IT LOOSE, BUT IN DOING SO THE SPEEDO CLUSTER GLAD SHATTERED. IT WAS FIXED BUT THE DEALERSHIP TRIED TO BLAME US SAYING SOMEONE HAD TO OF PUNCHED IT. BUT WHEN LOOKING AT THE GLASS CLUSTER IT'S OBVIOUS THAT NOT EVEN A BABY'S HAND COULD FIT DOWN INTO THE CLUSTER TO HIT THE GLASS. THEN AT 20K MILES ALMOST EXACTLY, THE TRANSMISSION WENT OUT, AGAIN THE DEALERSHIP TOOK CARE OF IT, TOOK ABOUT 2 WEEKS FOR A NEW TRANSMISSION. IT STARTED REVVING UP AND WOULD JERK LIKE IT WAS BEING DOWN SHIFTED WHILE GOING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AT 70 MPH. SINCE THEN WE'VE PUT ABOUT 9K MILES ON THE NEW TRANSMISSION AND IS DOING THE SAME THING AGAIN. THE DEALERSHIP TOLD ME THERE WAS 2 RECALLS ON THE VEHICLE FOR THE TRANSMISSION WHEN IT FIRST HAPPENED, ONE WAS FOR AN ELECTRONIC UPDATE, THE OTHER WAS FOR THE ACTUAL TRANSMISSION, BUT I HAVEN'T SEEN ANY RECALLS POSTED, THIS IS THE WORST NEW CAR I'VE EVER OWNED

NHTSA ID

11414903

Incident

Jan 13, 2021

Mileage

20,000 mi

STOPPED AT STOP LIGHT, LIGHT TURNED GREEN. PRESSED GAS AND DASHBOARD SYMBOLS CAME ON AND CAR DIED. TRIED STARTING AGAIN AND IT WAS DEAD. PUSHED IT TO PARKING LOT AND TRIED TO JUMP IT. DIDNT JUMP.. PUSHED TO AUTO ZONE. TESTED BATTERY IT WAS AT 10%. THEY DIDN'T HAVE A BATTERY. USED A JUMP BOX AND CAR STARTED. WAS ABLE TO DRIVE IT HOME.

NHTSA ID

11414810

Incident

May 1, 2021

Mileage

28,000 mi

2 TRANSMISSION FAILS IN LESS THAN 12 MONTHS. WHEN RUNNING, IT EFFECTS THE ABILITY TO MANEUVER IN DAILY DRIVING ROUTINE.

NHTSA ID

11398707

Incident

Feb 23, 2021

Mileage

12,500 mi

1-ON THREE DIFFERENT TIMES I PULLED OUT ONTO THE HIGHWAY TO GO AND MY CAR GOES INTO LIMP MODE NO POWER HOW MUCH YOU PUSH THE GAS PETAL THEM EVENTUALLY IT TAKES OFF AND GOES. CALLED THE DEALER WHERE I PURCHASED MY CAR AND THEY TOLD ME TO JUST DRIVE MY CAR IN SPORT MODE. I DON'T LIKE HAVING TO DRIVE MY CAR IN SPORT MODE THE RPM'S RUN HIGH AND IT USES MORE GAS. 2- MY FORWARD COLLISION ASSIST SYSTEM CAUSES MY DASH LIGHTS (COLLISION LIGHT, ABS LIGHT, TRACTION CONTROL LIGHTS COME ON AND AGAIN WENT BACK TO KIA AND THEY BASICALLY TOLD ME UNTIL THEY CAN DUPLICATE IT THEY DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO CALL KIA ABOUT. 3- MY GAS HAND LIES AT TIMES I CAN FILL MY CAR UP AND THE HAND GOES TO HALF A TANK AND TAKES HRS TO A DAY OR TWO FOR THE HAND TO MOVE TO FULL. 4-JUST RECENTLY IN A WALMART PARKING LOT MY CAR JUST SHUT OF AS IF I TURNED THE KEY OFF AGAIN MY DEALER SAID IF THE CAN'T DUPLICATE IT THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO. I DON'T FEEL SAFE DRIVING MY CAR SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE I WONDER IF ANYONE ELSE IS HAVING THE SAME PROBLEMS. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING OVER 5 MONTHS WITH THE LAST EPISODE ON JAN.6,2021

NHTSA ID

11389135

Incident

Jan 6, 2021

Mileage

16,000 mi

AT 10K MILES THE VEHICLE SHUT OFF MULTIPLE TIMES WITH NO WARNING OR DUMMY LIGHTS RIGHT AFTER I SLOWED AND MADE A TURN. OIL CHANGE WAS SCHEDULED FOR THE FOLLOWING WEEK. TOOK VEHICLE IN AND WAS ALMOST OUT OF OIL. AT 13,400 MILES VEHICLE STARTED MAKING LOUD TICKING NOISE AND WAS NOT PROPERLY ACCELERATING. EACH TIME I HAD SLOWED TO MAKE A TURN AND WHEN I ATTEMPTED TO ACCELERATE, THE RPM WOULD GO UP, BUT THE VEHICLE DID NOT GO AS IF IT WAS IN NEUTRAL. TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID THERE WAS NO OIL ON THE DIPSTICK. THEY STARTED AN OIL CONSUMPTION TEST AND SAID THE ACCELERATION ISSUE WAS DUE TO LACK OF OIL. 5 DAYS AND 200 MILES LATER I TOOK IT BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP BECAUSE IT WAS MAKING THE LOUD NOISE AGAIN FROM THE ENGINE AND ALSO NOT ACCELERATING PROPERLY. THEY TEST DROVE IT AND SAID THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG AND TO COME BACK IN 300 MORE MILES. THIS VEHICLE IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE 300 MORE MILES DUE TO THE ACCELERATION ISSUES. I CALLED KIA CORPORATE AND THEY SAID THE DEALERSHIP KNOWS BEST. I AM FEARFUL OF DRIVING IT BECAUSE IT HAS ALREADY ALMOST CAUSED AN ACCIDENT ONCE.

NHTSA ID

11388266

Incident

Jan 9, 2021

Mileage

13,400 mi

TODAY WHILE DRIVING HOME. MY 2020 KIA SOUL HIT 23000 MILES. SHORTLY AFTER AS I WAS ON HIGHWAY ON WAY HOME STILL. MY VEHICLE STARTED SPUTTERING LIKE BAD GAS. THEN STARTED JERKING AND RPMS KEPT REVVING UP EVEN THOU I WASNT PUSHING ON GAS ANY HARDER.ABOUT 27MILES FROM HOME RPMS SHOT UP AND CAR STARTED SLOWING DOWN. QUICKLY PULLED OVER. SO I PUT IN PARK THE SHIFTED TO DRIVE AGAIN TRIED TO GIVE LIL GAS BUT CAR DIDNT MOVE HAD TO GET TOWED HOME.

NHTSA ID

11384890

Incident

Dec 24, 2020

Mileage

23,020 mi

WHILE PULLING INTO DRIVEWAY AND COMING TO A STOP AND THE ENGINE TURNED OFF . I LET MY FOOT OFF THE BRAKE AND THE CAR TOOK OFF LIKE A ROCKET AND HIT A PARKED CAR IN OUR DRIVEWAY . IT PUSHED THE PARKED VEHICLE FORWARD ABOUT 2 FEET UNTIL THE CAR STOPPED . THIS IS A DIRT DRIVEWAY. I GUESS WHAT HAPPENED IS THIS CARS START AND STOP FEATURE WHICH TURNS THE MOTOR OFF WHEN YOU COME TO A STOP AND STARTS BACK UP WHEN YOU LET YOUR FOOT OFF THE BRAKE . SOME KIA FEATURE THAT WENT HAYWIRE AND CAUSED THE ACCIDENT . YOU CAN DISENGAGE THIS FEATURE BUT IT MUST BE DONE EVERY TIME YOU STOP AND TURN OFF HE VEHICLE . THE DEALER DID NOT EVEN WANT TO LOOK AT THE VEHICLE AND SUGGESTED TAKING IT TO A MECHANIC TO MAKE SURE THE RADIATOR WAS NOT DAMAGED .

NHTSA ID

11355620

Incident

Sep 15, 2020

Mileage

10,000 mi

BOUGHT THE CAR 2-11 WITH 1200 MILES ON IT DROVE IT FOR 8 DAYS THEN ON 2-19 IT STARTED JUMPING AND JERKING AND MAKING SOME REALLY BAD SOUNDS. ON 2-21 IT WAS SO BAD THAT I HAD IT TOWED TO BATTLEGROUND KIA BECAUSE I WAS SCARED TO DRIVE IT, THEY HAD IT FOR 3 DAYS AND THEN ON 2-24 CALLED ME TO COME GET THE CAR BECAUSE THEY FOUND NOTHING WRONG WITH IT. I HAD THE CAR 1 DAY IT STARTED ACTING UP AGAIN AND THEN ON 2-26 IT WAS SO BAD THAT I DROVE IT BACK TO BATTLEGROUND KIA AND MADE A MECHANIC DRIVE THE CAR WITH ME IN IT, BECAUSE I WAS SCARED TO DEATH TO DRIVE IT ANYMORE SO WE MADE IT ALL OF 1 BLOCK THEN HE TURNED AROUND AND HEADED BACK TO THE SHOP. WE CAME UP ON A 4 WAY STOP AND HE GAVE IT GAS TO GO AND THE RPM'S WENT TO 6000 AND THE CAR DID NOT GO AT ALL, THEN HE GAVE IT MORE GAS AND IT STARTED JUMPING AND JERKING AND KNOCKING SO BAD THAT WHEN WE GOT BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP HE IMMEDIATELY SAID THE TRANSMISSION HAS SERIOUS ISSUES AND PUT IN THE PAPER WORK TO HAVE A NEW TRANSMISSION PUT IN. WE BOTH DECIDED THAT DRIVING THE CAR THE WAY IT WAS WAS VERY DANGEROUS AND NOT SAFE AT ALL. THERE IS A SERIOUS ISSUE WITH THE IVT TRANSMISSION THAT KIA NEEDS TO RECALL, JUST HOPE THE REPLACEMENT TRANSMISSION IS NOT THE SAME. AT THIS POINT I'M IN A RENTAL CAR PROVIDED BY KIA WHILE I AWAIT MY FATE.

NHTSA ID

11311733

Incident

Feb 26, 2020

Mileage

1,666 mi

I NOTICED MY CAR WAS ACCELERATING DIFFERENTLY AND SEEMED TO NOT BE SHIFTING RIGHT. I CALLED THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT AND THEY ADVISED ME TO PUT FUEL CLEANER IN IT. I DID SO AS ADVISED. A FEW DAYS LATER I WAS MAKING A TURN ACROSS A HIGHWAY AND MY CAR REVVED UP REALLY HIGH AND THEN DIED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LANE OF ONCOMING TRAFFIC. THE CAR STARTED BACK UP AND WE GOT IT OUT OF THE ROAD BUT IT WAS NOT RUNNING RIGHT. THE NEXT DAY WE GOT IT IN THE SHOP AND THEY TOLD US IT NEEDED A WHOLE NEW TRANSMISSION. THE CAR HAS LESS THAN 17,000 MILES ON IT AND IT HAS BEEN NEARLY A MONTH IN THE SHOP.

NHTSA ID

11311451

Incident

Jan 30, 2020

Mileage

16,000 mi

THE DATE LISTED BELOW IS THE DAY I TOOK MY KIA SOUL IN FOR THE 2ND TIME FOR SURGING AND JERKING. I FOUND OUT THE 3RD OF FEBRUARY THIS PAST MONDAY IT HAS A BAD TRANSMISSION AND NEEDS REPLACED. THEY ORIGINALLY WANTED TO SEND ME HOME YET AGAIN AFTER THIS PROBLEM UNTIL MY DAD STEPPED IN AND TOLD THEM TO FIGURE THE PROBLEM OUT AND JUST DOING SOME "ADJUSTMENT " TO THE ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION ISN'T GOI NG TO FIX THE ACTUAL PROBLEM. MY CAR HAS BEEN IN THE SHOP 3 TIMES NOW AND I'VE HAD A LOANER IN TOTAL OF 10 DAYS SPLIT BETWEEN ALL THE ISSUES WITH MY "NEW" CAR. I BOUGHT THIS CAR BECAUSE I LOVED IT AND NOW I CANT STAND IT THINKING I MIGHT GET STRANDED WITH MY KIDS SOMEWHERE IN THE COLD. I WANT MY MONEY BACK OR A NEW CAR. THIS IS THE 2ND TIME I'M POSTING A PROBLEM ON HERE THE FIRST TIME WAS BECAUSE OF THE RADIO GOING IN AND OUT OF A BLACK SCREEN AND FREEZING. I TOOK IT IN FOR THAT AND ALL THEY DID WAS AGAIN HIT A RESET BUTTON AND SHOWED ME HOW TO RESET IT MYSELF SO I DONT HAVE TO BEING IT IN AGAIN FOR THE SAME ISSUE. SORRY BUT IT'S NOT MY JOB TO FIX THIS ISSUE I WASNT HAPPY WITH THAT STATEMENT EITHER. AND NOW THE TRANSMISSION ISSUE IN TWICE FOR THAT AND NOT TO MENTION ALL THE LIES I'VE CAUGHT THE DEALERSHIP SAYING TO ME. I'VE DONE MY RESEARCH AND KNOW PEOPLE IN THE INDUSTRY I DONT TAKE BEING LIED TO FOR EASILY WHEN I'M SPENDING OVER 25 GRAND ON SOMETHING. I HAVE VIDEOS TO PROVE WHAT WAS GOING ON SINCE THEY WERE SAYING IT WOULDN'T REPEAT THE PROBLEM BUT I'M NOT ABLE TO ATTACH THEM HERE.

NHTSA ID

11307321

Incident

Jan 30, 2020

Mileage

5,000 mi

VEHICLE RPM BEGAN FLUCTUATING WHILE ON CRUISE CONTROL IN RAINY WEATHER. SWITCHED TO MANUAL (SPORT MODE) CONTROL AND THE PROBLEM LESSENED. VEHICLE BEGAN TO LOOSE POWER AND WAS SHIFTING RANDOMLY BETWEEN GEARS AUTOMATICALLY, EVENTUALLY REDLINING WHILE MAINTAINING 74MPH. A LOSS OF POWER OCCURRED AND NEARLY CAUSED A COLLISION ON INTERSTATE 10 AS MY SPEED FELL DRAMATICALLY. I WAS ABLE TO COAST TO THE NEAREST EXIT BUT THE CAR WOULD NOT SHIFT OUT OF 5TH GEAR. WE WERE STRANDED IN A THUNDERSTORM FOR SEVERAL HOURS AND DEALERSHIP OFFERED NO HELP. AAA SAVED THE DAY, GOT THE VEHICLE BACK, AND THEN THE DEALERSHIP REFUSED TO ISSUE A RENTAL CAR FOR SEVERAL DAYS AFTER THE INCIDENT. PLEASE BE AWARE THAT IF THE TRANSMISSION FAILS AT INTERSTATE SPEEDS, THE RISK OF INJURY IS HIGH AND DO YOUR BEST TO GET OFF THE MAIN ROAD AS SAFELY AS POSSIBLE. DEALERSHIP HAS SINCE ISSUED A RENTAL CAR AND INFORMED ME THAT A TRANSMISSION WOULD BE RE-MANUFACTURED. FOR MY VEHICLE. I AM NOT AFRAID TO DRIVE A BRAND NEW VEHICLE ANYWHERE AWAY FROM HOME.

NHTSA ID

11301559

Incident

Jan 18, 2020

Mileage

7,800 mi