Kia Soul Reviews

We bought a 2019 Kia Soul for our high school son less than 6 months ago. 85,000 miles and the engine has failed. No engine, from any car company, should fail at 85,000 miles. We have been speaking with Kia Customer Service for 3 weeks. Nothing has been done. It's basically, "sorry for you, there's nothing we are going to do." Kia does not stand by their product. Their warranties mean nothing. I will never again buy a Kia and I do not recommend their product to anyone else. Be warned!

The 23 Soul we bought new is outstanding. However, as most new vehicles approach 100,000+ miles, most are, by design, not repairable by independent mechanics by design. Forced obsolescence is built into them to force consumers to use dealerships at $200+/hours labor plus retail for parts. They force software updates at $200 a pop every few years just to get able to use features for which we paid. So, while I love the Soul now, I'm hanging on to my 200,000+ vehicles from the early 2000s when many were bullet proof for many more miles. Now, they are built to last as long as the warranty, usually 60,000 miles.

I am reporting a serious issue involving my 2024 Kia Soul and the service I’ve received from Hollywood Kia. Since early on, this vehicle has had ongoing safety-related problems, including stalling at red lights and during normal driving. This creates a dangerous situation not only for me but for others on the road. In addition, the vehicle has had multiple defects such as A/C malfunction, horn failure, and loose components under the hood. I have made repeated attempts to resolve these issues through both the dealership and Kia America. However, communication has been extremely poor. Even Kia America has had difficulty getting timely and clear responses from Hollywood Kia, and my legal team has also been left waiting without updates.

I have a 2016 Kia Soul that I've had 5 years just paid off & as the usual my car is one for the high oil consumption which they're known for. You keep up with all oil changes every 3000 miles and added as needed in between. Well recently my car started not accelerating well. It was getting up to 60 then freezing up or seize like on limp mode. Well it was also delayed in shifting gears which later find that due to the clogged catalytic converter. Took it to a transmission shop for a free diagnostic check. They found out it's the engine. They told me my spark plugs were shot. Had to get those. Oil is getting in the chambers. They said they were corroded. They checked and removed my catalytic converter. It was clogged. They has to gut it. So now no catalytic converter so light comes on. They showed me my car is one of the ones in the engine list that Kia is suppose to give you upon these damages.

I am a 75 year old single woman. I bought a Kia Soul in 2016. This was to be my retirement car. It has been maintained with regular maintenance and repairs through the Kia dealer, Dennis Dillon in Boise. I was contacted that my car had one of the engines that had severe issues. During the last 6 months it has been burning oil at a significant rate with occasional knocking. I purchased the extra maintenance contract for 100,000 miles when I bought the car. When I took it to Dennis Dillion in Boise they would do nothing to resolve the situation even with my car having one of the bad engines.

We have a 2016 Kia Soul with p1326 code which is a engine knock sensor. Mileage of 150386. Can't drive 30 miles or engine light comes on and reduces power. Ccalled Kia in Joplin Missouri about the issues. There is a champion where they test the rod bearing which is a issue. And they change the motor 'cause they're bad. Was told we are past the mileage by 400 miles. DO not buy a Kia Soul. They are junk.

Love the car but the company is crap. I have 2 Kia Souls and they told me they would help with theft prevention. 2800 is repairs after it was attempted to be stolen. They sent me a letter to turn in the repair cost from the 2015 and would you believe they never responded or followed through. Good car, really bad company!!!!

Dear KIA Canada Leadership, I am writing today not just as a customer, but as a 55-year-old single ** woman who has placed her trust, her safety, and her livelihood in the hands of KIA for well over a decade. This letter is born from both hope and heartbreak. I pray it reaches someone who will hear my voice and recognize the faithfulness of a loyal customer who desperately needs compassion and support. I remember the exact moment I drove away in my brand-new 2016 KIA Soul. It was a moment I never thought would belong to me. As someone who had worked hard all her life, someone who had never owned a new vehicle, the joy was indescribable.

I just loved my 2018 Kia Soul however as it recently approached 100,000 miles I started experiencing issues with oil consumption (a recall issue) and P1326 knock sensor issue (also a recall issue). This car has been highly maintained with regular maintenance. Anything that needed to be fixed was fixed. Both issues noted above should have resulted in an engine replacement per the recall but the local dealers refused to do so. This is very disappointing as I would have purchased another Kia but will now no longer do so due to Kia not honoring their 100,000 mile warranty and I’m now stuck with trying to unload a 2018 well maintained Kia Soul that needs a new engine.

Second owner of a 2019 KIA Soul. All required oil changes and maintenance done, no evidence of neglect. At 93,200 miles it experienced a catastrophic engine failure with loud grinding noises, with no prior warning. Contacted KIA customer care, case number 25312368. I was told the 100,000 mi warranty is not valid due to not the original owner. The vehicle VIN is part of a class action lawsuit due to a defective engine, however because it never got a software update it is not eligible for the 150,000 mi warranty extension. Supposedly letters were mailed for notifying owners of this defect, although never received; unknown reason?

Warranty... I just got an email from a friend in TN. He told me that the best selling car in the state was the Nissan Rogue. I like the style of the Rogue and I used to work at Nissan in TN. So, I wondered what the deal was?? I called my mechanic friend in TN to ask him about the Rogue. Here is what I gathered from both sources:

I bought a 2016 Kia soul with 60k miles on it for my granddaughter from a private individual. Being a certified mechanic I looked it over. Ran great, saw no red flags. Had new tires, alignment and oil changes. She drove it approx 10k miles when the engine developed a knock. Needs an engine. Kia said the was a previous recall for ecu flash. Previous owner didn't have it done. We had no idea there was a recall. The recall was only to extend the warranty coverage for engine failure. Not a fix. I tried to explain to them had we known we would have had it done. They refused to help us out in any way. Now we're stuck with a useless car and don't have the money for a long block. I've heard similar stories from other Kia owners. Learn from my mistake. Do not buy a Kia!!!!

Dealing with Kia Soul after trying to get our lease buyout has been a ridiculous experience. Took two months to get a lease buyout letter after spending hours on the phone. By the time we got the letter our buyout loan was expired. Finally on month two we get the proper letter. We give the payment to Kia. Guess what we still don’t have the title because NO one will get back to us. I finally asked for a manager's email, in which I got a terrible attitude upon asking. We’ve been emailing for two weeks now with zero response. Vm is totally full. So they took our money and now we have a car we technically can’t drive with no title. Do not buy from them. Hey Kia, a response back would be amazing,

I am writing this review to express my frustration and disappointment with my 2015 Kia Soul!. Despite regular maintenance and proper care, my vehicle has been consuming excessive amounts of oil, which has resulted in frequent top-offs and unnecessary expenses. I have tried to address this issue with Kia Motors Customer Service, but their response has been unsatisfactory. They have failed to provide a solution or take responsibility for the problem, leaving me feeling ignored and disrespected as a customer.

My 2017 Kia Soul Plus is past the engine warranty in mileage. The lifetime warranty should transfer to second owner because they are the one that will experience engine failure!! Kia is very aware of their faulty engines and are leaving owners stranded! I am a 61 yr old woman that is all alone! I recently lost my job and with the loss of usage of my Kia Soul, I couldn't get to work or anywhere!! Kia should build the Kia body and put another reliable engine in their vehicles!! Fix my car as a good will gesture or a tax write off!! I have called customer service and a supervisor! Mostly said "too bad so sad". Kia should be held accountable for ALL one time engine replacement!!

Updated on 03/15/2024: This is a follow-up to October 13, 2023 review of my 2016 Kia Soul and the lack of Kia consumer response and easy out Cass Action Settlements. I've done what any customer would do, and that is reach out a company in earnest. Class Action Settlement for Corporations, like Kia allow them to pay off lawyers and courts and very little to the consumers. Iam going American or European vehicles where you don't have willfully negative guidance not to support your clients. Yes, client!

I bought my 2019 Soul new. When it had 46,000 miles on it the fuel pump quit working. I called the dealer so I could bring it in to be fixed. They said it would be a month before they could look at it. The other 2 Kia dealers in my area said the same thing. I could not go without a car for a month and could not afford to rent one for a month. I bought a new fuel pump from the dealer for $997 and paid a local garage $600 to install it. I submitted my claim for reimbursement with photos of the bills and mileage. They refuse to reimburse me because I didn't have it repaired by a Kia dealer. On top of that they voided my warranty for letting someone else fix it when they wouldn't. I will never buy a Kia again. Their warranty is worthless because they won't honor it.

Very poor consumer customer service on all levels, corporate offices and dealerships. Kia America and Kia dealerships are money making entities with no regard for its customers or consumers. The 2016 Kia Soul was manufactured poorly, with defects and several recalls. But, Kia America or Kia Corporation won't acknowledge that.

I had an oil change in May 2022, by August 2022 had an issue with car not moving with gas pedal to the floor. I had burned thru almost every ounce of oil and I had no idea of the problem until I had my garage check it. I was very lucky to not have the engine seize. It only had 70, 500 miles on it. Had to monitor the mileage and determined a quart was needed every 1000 miles. The Pre-owned Certified 10 year /100,000 mile warranty that my salesman said was great only covered engine problems if you are the original owner (of course that's not mentioned in the warranty). It's my understanding that this is a problem on most Kia cars/SUVs and some Hyundai's as well. I received no help from Kia at all and the dealership wanted to do their own oil change for the consumption test ($85.00). If burning oil was verified, the next test would be cleaning the upper half of the engine and again monitor oil consumption.

6 months after payoff of loan I still have not received the title & the representatives are rude. Seriously incompetent & I will never deal with KIA again. Now having to apply for a replacement title at my expense, buyer beware.

KIA is not trustful. And the battery capacity drop down to 40%. Since it was under a warranty, we contacted and did a test for that. Victoria dealership said we are qualified and then they applied for the new battery which was last AUGUST. We have been waiting for 6 months and dealership saying they don't know how long it will take and there's nothing they can do. Now I can't use my car to commute to work 'cause of the poor battery condition. I'm very disappointed with the service you provide. We want to know how the process goes and how long it will take! This is ridiculous!

I love my Kia Soul. I bought it used with just a little over 20k on it. I use it for a delivery vehicle, delivering packages for Amazon. Has a great amount of room for a subcompact vehicle. My husband who is 6'4". Has plenty of leg room. A great little vehicle and gets great gas mileage.

Man, I would HATE to be a Kia employee right now just because they're having to deal with my fire and fury. My 2022 Kia Soul was stolen this past weekend. Windows busted. Ignition plate ripped off. I located it and took it to get repaired at the dealership. The employee showed me just how easy it was for them to steal it. All you have to do is rip off the ignition plate. The internet is saying all you need is a screwdriver and a USB. But you don't even need that. The employee showed me how it was cranked, and he did it with his FINGERNAILS. You can crank a Kia.... with your fingernails.

2020 Kia Soul purchased brand new has had nothing but problem after problem, engine failure (stall) saw life flash before my eyes. Kia promptly says they need me to go back in unreliable death trap and do 1,500 KM oil test. I was mortified, I just 20 mins before avoided potentially horrible crash, do oil test send me on my way, engine replaced, only small block, TPS? sensor was first, oil in catalytic converter, changed, now again engine trouble, no one in household wants to drive it, I value my and my family members lives.

I own a 2015 and 2020 Kia Soul. The 2015 was recalled and the engine blew 11/24/2021 stranded my son in the middle of nowhere. $100 Tow to Carriage Kia. Spoke with Kia, told me they would reimburse me what I spend in Uber/Lyft/Rental Fees. The car was there for months and the amount to make it to work etc. was $3100+. They sent me a reimbursement letter on 6/30/22 which was immediately signed and sent back within minutes for $2800+. To this day I get the repeated story of it is still being processed. I have been promised by 3 different people that it is being ESCALATED. Nothing but lies from this company.

My 2016 Kia Soul with 62,000 miles engine stalled. Been 1 week since I took it to kia dealership. Still waiting for consumer affairs to approve it. Called them today I waited for 40 min on hold. Is this how they treat customers. Very disappointed.

My parents paid cash for top of the line Kia Soul the engine blew up & they accused my parents of not taking care of it & they are 75 & 80 years old. Told them they can cover the cost of the motor! They also top of the line warranty & paid cash for the car! If this is how they treat people but elderly people on top of it! Is disgusting & I would never deal with them ever for any Kia! This was in Orillia Ontario Kia dealership & head office absolute garbage vehicles.

I bought a Kia Soul 2017 brand new and since then I have had nothing but issues.. In two months my starter went bad..In four months my transmission went bad...In a little over a year my engine went bad..My converter went bad..The electrical system is bad etc..When I contacted customer service not only did they refuse to call back most times but their attitude was shameful and they hid behind the fact that Illinois state law protects them and they can’t do anything for me..Well yes They can. As a company they could’ve helped me out... They could’ve extended my warranty.. They could’ve done something and all they did was shame me...They are the worst company and I am writing a review everywhere I can find to warn people about Kia motor America.

Purchased a 2020 Kia Soul Jan 2020. 2/15/21 I came to a stoplight hit the gas and realize there's no power. Had to put the car in park and restart the engine. Check engine light is on. Go to dealership the check engine light is on the whole time. They tell me the whole of Kia's computers are down and don't know when they can look at my car. They didn't have a loaner and I had to rent a car.

66 with MS. Bought 2020 Soul to Avoid breakdowns-reliable car. 2/20/21 car engine light stays on, dies. Kia says have no loaners, May take weeks to fix, I do Grubhub, Lose job? Cant pay car? Kia doesn’t Help!

Bought a 2020 Soul LX with the cvt in June of 2020. The engine started knocking at 6-7k miles. Kia says it's normal. The engine also burns 2.5 quarts of oil every 5k miles. It holds 4.25. Kia says that's normal. It can burn up to 3qts per oil change. DO NOT BUY A KIA!!! The warranty means nothing! The bottom end of a motor should not knock! I will never purchase another Kia! I hope this saves other people time and money. Buy anything else but kia!

I own a 2013 KIA SOUL which I love but I need some work on it which requires to remove my lug nuts off my rim. My key broke and I cannot find it to be replace because is discontinued. So I am asking how do you expect me to remove my lug nuts off my car? I did go to the Kia store where I bought my car and have bought 2 other cars and they said tried to reach out to their tire person who they could not reach. So the person working there send me a link to buy the key on Walmart site which I did order it myself. The problem I have is why do I have to order some thing that is a KIA product that broke and you could not replace or at least order it for me to be replaced? The lug nut key is a 6 point spline turner lug nut key.

I purchase a certified preowned 2015 Kia Soul in 2017. I completed all regular maintenance (oil change, tires, full tune up). Less than a year after buying the car, the oil filter just falls out of the car. All oil spills out. Then it happens again. At around 70k miles I take the car for full inspection. The Kia dealership determines there is a manufacturing error... SO MANY RECALLS! Now Kia Corporate will not replace the engine. THEY ARE NOT HONORING THE 100k POWER TRAIN WARRANTY. They offered me $2000 toward repairs which cost $6500. I'm going legal on them - Ryan from corporate basically said, "Do what you have to do." DO NOT BUY A KIA!!!

I bought a Kia Soul because I needed a car quickly. 2 friends had older versions. Liked. Mine 2016. Bought 2017. Drove 2 years. DEAD now. ASHEVILLE PARAMOUNT KIA plays PRAISE music for 15 mins on hold, after you almost died because the engine seized up. REALLY!! A PUBLIC business. Jesus would not make a catalytic converter that there is a MAJOR recall for that MELTS and sends chards into your engine, breaks rods and pistons SL 176. Look it up. BUT THEN, the lying starts.... YOUR warranty holder will pretend YOU didn't do your oil changes correctly r/t 'finding sludge". Here's the deal. BE THERE when THEY declare "oh sludge", with your OWN mechanic. Seriously, think of this system. The perpetrator is going to 'decide' the problem? WOW. DO NOT BUY ONE OF THESE NOTORIOUS PIECES OF p..p. Look up the recalls. Look up the number of recalls. Do NOT think the 'warranty' means ANYTHING.

I purchased a pre-owned 2014 Kia Soul+ in 2015 for my niece to drive back and forth to college. We maintained the car with regular oil changes. In March 2020 she was driving the highway and the engine failed. We had it towed to a mechanic and he found metal shavings in the oil. This was after the oil had been changed 6 weeks prior. I contacted Kia Motors of America and they informed me that the car would not be covered because the mileage was over 100K. Kia had earlier recalled the Kia Soul 1.6L engine for this problem. Also, their sister company Hyundai has recalled the 2014 & 2015 Tucson with the same engine. There is a defect with this engine. Hundreds of owners have experienced the same problem per the NHTSA website. Kia needs to make this right. The replacement engine will be $6000 + if you can find one.

I traded a 2017 Kia Soul for a 2020 Kia Soul and was supposed to receive a refund on GAP and overpayment on the 17. It’s been a year and many phone calls and I still don’t have the refunds, unprofessional!

I have been leasing a Kia Soul since 2017. I was attracted to it after having a loaner when my Toyota Matrix was in the shop some time ago. One sits up a bit higher than the smaller cars I've typically driven. For drivers with sciatica or low back pain, that is a blessing. The color was gorgeous and for those who think this is a small thing, I found it morale boosting.

As I stated Kia vehicles and they've all had problems. Most of the Time they fix the issues that come up but other times they won't do it even if you give them evidence and proof. She show that the issue is caused by them so because of that I will certainly not buy another kia product. Deftly not a new one. I'm not giving kia corporation any more of my money. They've had a lot of problems in the past with their engines going bad really early and they replaced them because they know the issues but some cars the engines go bad just a little over the amount of miles that they will do it for and those people even though the issue is still their fault kia corporation. I mean they don't do ending for them. It's a shame.

I own a 2020 EX model that the divers seat already took a hard set that my other vehicles in the past took years to crush into. When driving at/around 45mph wind noise is extremely noticeable more so than the 2006 F150 I traded in. It gets to a certain volume & stays there no matter the speed that's above 45 mph. It seems the weather stripping allows for a cowl induction drag the way it lips low down from the corner of the glass. This car has a tremendous driver side blind spot & they put the lane check sensor indicator lamp right where most people put a spot mirror. This was a dumb thing to do because it goes against common sense & behavior.

This is the third Soul I have owned and the worst car I have ever owned. My new souls in the past I have loved and always recommended. Not the case with the 2020 Soul. There have been many changes, and in my opinion all bad. First, the most dangerous one. The high beam switch, the shape has been changed and has a flat area that when you move your fingers forward you risk accidentally toggling the headlights off. It has happened to me over ten times. It should be recalled on this.