The contact owns a 2012 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, she observed smoke emanating from the engine compartment and heard an abnormal grinding sound, after which the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) and the VIN was included, but the parts were not yet available. 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 and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The failure mileage was 68,000.
2012 Kia Soul: grinding or squealing brakes
5 of the 516 complaints about the 2012 Kia Soul describe grinding or squealing brakes.
- owner complaints
- 5
- of this car's complaints
- 1%
- recalls
- 1
Grinding or squealing brakes by model year
What owners say
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while making a turn, there was an abnormal clicking and grinding sound coming from the vehicle. While driving at various speeds, the steering wheel drifted from one side to the next out of the hand of the contact. The steering wheel turned partially in one direction and aggressively before returning to center. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 99,000.
The steering wheel is very loose and makes a grinding noise.
I first noticed a grinding noise while backing out from a parking space. I thought perhaps a recent brake job needed some tweaking or maybe had a defective part installed. I dropped it at the dealership to get checked out on tuesday morning. When they finally looked at it on thursday they told me I needed a new engine due to "crank bearing failure" and "ring failure." my engine only had 63000 miles on it and all they could do was shrug and offer a used engine at the same cost as the current vehicle value.
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.
Related recalls
Service brakes, hydraulic: antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip: control unit/module
- What is wrong
- Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2010-2019 Borrego, 2014-2016 Cadenza, 2010-2013 Forte, Forte Koup, Sportage, 2015-2018 K900, 2011-2015 Optima, 2011-2013 Optima Hybrid, Soul, 2012-2017 Rio, 2011-2014 Sorento, and 2010-2011 Rondo vehicles. The Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit (HECU) may experience an electrical short, which can result in an engine compartment fire while parked or driving.
- Risk
- An engine compartment fire while parked or driving can increase the risk of injury.
- Remedy
- Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will replace the HECU fuse, free of charge. Interim notification letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed November 14, 2023. Owner notification letters were mailed March 29, 2024 through June 18, 2024. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1‑800‑333‑4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC284.
Recall number 23V652000 · Recall details
Questions about the 2012 Kia Soul grinding brakes
Is grinding or squealing brakes a common problem on the 2012 Kia Soul?
5 of 516 owner complaints about the 2012 Kia Soul (1%) mention grinding or squealing brakes. The model year with the most reports is 2015.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2012 Kia Soul?
There is 1 recall and 0 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2012 Kia Soul
Check engine light 86Steering noise 79Stalling 61Engine failure 50Knocking 50Harsh shifting 48Fire or smoke 28Won't start 16Loss of power 14Oil consumption 14Jerking 13No deployment 12Overheating 10Misfire 8Steering lock-up 8Won't shift 7Backup camera 6Hesitation 6Power steering loss 6Fuel smell 5Headlights 5
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