2023 Kia Soul Steering Problems

Before the accident which my car was totaled, I would take it in with issues. Electrical lights coming on the car would stop .my transmission locking up . I would tell them that there was something wrong with the car . I had videos to show pannel lights coming on at 70 on freeway and car locking up and would just stop . That's what happened to son driving. My car was totaled. Why should I loose and now I don't have a vehicle .

NHTSA ID

11740264

Incident

May 9, 2026

3/6/26 5:50 am unintended acceleration w such force pulling car toward right side n unable to stop, jumped over side walk, then stopped, it happened very fast, very scary accident, I was in shock and shaking so bad. Wknd disrupted, couldn't sleep n reliving bad experience over n over. Bringing it to the dealer 3/9/26. no damage to anybody or third party, unknown under car damage. Didn't file a report to the Police or DMV. no warning of any kind at all. Afraid to drive the car n how to proceed

NHTSA ID

11722861

Incident

Mar 6, 2026

Since I purchased the car the steering wheel will jerk, when im on a 2 lane road. It always jerks towards on-coming traffic, and it only does this when there is a car coming in the opposite lane and is just about to pass me. I have to fight with the steering wheel to get it back to go straight. Because of this whenever I am on a 2 lane road like this I always drive slow. This is the first car I've owned with this feature so I wasn't sure if that was just a glitch in the feature and just dealt with it. Which ni do realize now that was stupid on my part. Also in the past few days the drivers side door speaker sometimes works fine other times it gets all static and I have to turn all the sound to the passenger side. With that 3 other things have happened in the same time frame, im not sure if they are all connected but they seemed to have happened all at the same time. The passenger side window will go down from the driver's side door control but only sometimes goes back up. The horn stopped working last night along with the beep when you hit lock on the key fob twice. Im not sure if these are just minor things due to my lack of vehicle knowledge or if they are a real concern, so that is why I wanted to bring it to attention, in case anyone else has experienced any of these issues. The car only has 12000 miles, I only travel locally so im not sure if thats problematic or not. But as I said id rather be safe and let these issues be known.

NHTSA ID

11689118

Incident

Jun 21, 2023

Out of no where and without warning, the steering wheel pulls in opposite direction and stability control light turns green and stays on the dashboard. Cannot move steering wheel. Simultaneously, the HD radio will get very staticy and abruptly shut off. After about a minute, the radio will come back on and the steering no longer has that pressure. It is terrifying.The car has less than 100 miles on it. I bought it 8/15/23. This has happened twice. Trying to get a service appointment for this week.

NHTSA ID

11541289

Incident

Aug 25, 2023

On 8/15/23 I received my car back from the dealership after almost a month of repairs, trying to fix the issue where it would turn itself on and where it shut down while driving 45 miles an hour; at various points I was told it was the crankshaft, camshaft, spark plugs, fuel injectors, the pcm and a connector that was overheating. Yesterday, 8/15/23 the car was stuck in a long crank cycle. I notified the dealership. They told me to call kia. I drove the car to pick my husband up from the airport. While driving home the car suddenly accelerated, cars lights shut off, and the steering wheel made a hard turn to the left, the steering wheel then locked, sending us towards a ditch, and the car shut off, and the brakes locked. Right as we hit the edge of the irrigation ditch the car turned back on, the brakes went soft, and the steering wheel unlocked. While trying to correct the car the lane assist turned on (I never use it) causing us to further fishtail and almost drive into a telephone pole and another ditch. The back and forth motion caused me to pull a muscle in my neck, and I have had a migraine since the incident. I have been unable to seek medical care. When the car was stopped, the oil cap started sucking and blowing hot air, and the engine had a light knocking noise, somewhere between a lifter tick and a rod knock. When trying to use the Kia assist in the car it could not locate where we were, resulting in Kia trying to charge us for a tow. I have had the car a month, but ive only had it in my possession 5 days because of it returning to the shop for the same issues. The kia dealership says they have never seen this and don't know what is wrong. They have encouraged me to reach out to kia to see about a buy back, but kia is 3 weeks out on even reviewing my case.

NHTSA ID

11539009

Incident

Aug 15, 2023

On wednesday July 19th, at approximately 1745 (5:45 pm) I got into my car and started it. I attempted to back out of the driveway and noticed my steering wheel was locked. I pulled forward, and put the car in park. I tried to turn the car off. It then restarted itself, revved the engine, turned the heater on, rolled down the windows and engaged the back up camera. The check engine light came on, the low oil light, and the battery light were all on. The car would not turn off, every time I pressed the off button it would idle strangely and turn itself back on. I had to remove the key fobs, and my phone from the vehicle (i have a remote start app) to get it to turn off. I had it towed to the dealership, who returned the car the next day and told me nothing was wrong and that it was in auxiliary mode. They showed me auxiliary mode and it did not do what had happened. I told them I would film it if the vehicle did it again. Yesterday July 21, 2023 the vehicle did it again, at approximately 2110 (9:10 pm). The dealership advised me to bring it back up today. While driving it up there the engine shut off while driving I was doing approximately 43mph with the keys located in the storage space near the gear shift. The entire car shut down, instrument cluster and all, my steering wheel locked, and i had to coast to the side of a road. The car then restarted itself and picked up where the cruise control had previously been set. It did this twice and I was almost hit by a large pick up truck the second time. Had the truck not braked in time I could have been killed, and had my daughter been with me she could have been seriously wounded. The dealership told me to limp it to them as a tow truck would not be avalible for hours. During the short drive the instrument cluster continued to fade in and out. The dealers only solution was to let them hold the car and drive it for the weekend while trying to replicate the problem. I have filmed it restarting, but not dying on the road

NHTSA ID

11533870

Incident

Jul 19, 2023

The contact owned a 2023 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH, the lane assist feature malfunctioned and the steering wheel inadvertently turned sharply to the left and seized. As a result, the vehicle crashed into trees and rolled down the hill. The contact was removed from the vehicle. The contact sustained injury laceration to both hands and knuckles, reinjured right hip, bruised spinal cord, strained shoulder, neck, and injury to the left knee that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The vehicle had not yet been diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was deemed a total loss by the insurance company. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that someone will reach out to him but no response. The contact. The failure mileage was approximately 17,000.

NHTSA ID

11524077

Incident

May 18, 2023

Mileage

17,000 mi

The contact owns a 2023 Kia Soul. The contact stated that on multiple occasions while driving at approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle went into LIMP mode and stalled. On another occasion while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle started to vibrate after the accelerator pedal was depressed and the front driver’s and passenger’s side headlights failed to operate. Additionally, the contact stated that she took the vehicle to the car wash and noticed that fuel had leaked onto the tires. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that tire shine was on the tires not fuel. The contact also stated that the vehicle had lost power steering functionality. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure could not be duplicated. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 400.

NHTSA ID

11491280

Incident

Oct 14, 2022

Mileage

400 mi