2012 Kia Soul transmission problems

Filed Sep 21, 2025 · Steering, Transmission · GA

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 the federal safety agency. 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.

Filed Nov 29, 2023 · Airbags, Electrical · 99,700 miles · CA · crash · 2 injuries

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.

Filed Sep 27, 2023 · Engine, Fuel system · NC

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.

Filed Jun 9, 2023 · Engine, Fuel system · NC

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.

Filed Oct 23, 2022 · Engine, Transmission · MO

"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.

Filed Jun 24, 2020 · Fuel system, Transmission · 100,000 miles · GA

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.

Filed Jul 25, 2019 · Engine, Transmission · 103,000 miles · VA

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.

Filed Jun 5, 2019 · Transmission · 74,599 miles · MA

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.

Filed May 13, 2019 · Engine, Transmission · 178,000 miles · IL · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia soul. The vehicle was included in the federal safety agency 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.

Filed Mar 19, 2019 · Transmission · 75,000 miles · MO

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".