The contact owns a 2015 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at 20 MPH, the brakes became inoperable. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was towed to the local dealer for Service Campaign SC334 - Brake Line Corrosion. The vehicle was repaired after 35 days, but the failure recurred. While driving approximately 40-45 MPH, the brakes became inoperable. The driver began pumping the brake pedal, but the brakes failed to respond. There was an exclamation symbol displayed on the instrument cluster, and the battery light was illuminated. The vehicle was driven through the parking lot. The vehicle was then towed to the residence. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 126,000.
2015 Kia Soul electrical problems
75 complaints (8% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 65,000. 1 crash reported.
- owner complaints
- 75
- of this car's complaints
- 8%
- typical mileage
- 65,000
- crashes
- 1
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Ignition: anti-theft: immobilizer/proximity: key/sender1
- 12v/24v/48v battery1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Kia Soul electrical problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2015 Kia Soul electrical
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Related investigations
Non-crash Vehicle Fires
During this Preliminary Evaluation (PE), the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) assessed the scope, frequency and potential safety-related consequences of non-crash vehicle fires caused by both engine failures and failures of other vehicle systems/components in model year (MY) 2011-2014 Kia Optima, MY 2011-2014 Kia Sorento and MY 2010-2015 Kia Soul vehicles equipped with Theta II, Gamma, Nu and Lambda II engines (approximately 1.7 million vehicles). ODI also reviewed field and other data on other Kia vehicles (approximately 3.6 million additional vehicles) equipped with the same engines used in the above-mentioned vehicles.As a result of this PE, Kia has issued the federal safety agency Recalls 20V‑750 and 21V‑844 to address potential engine failures and fires in certain Kia vehicles equipped with various engine types.Additional information on these and other related recall actions is available in the downloadable version of this resume available at addition, ODI has upgraded this PE to an Engineering Analysis (EA) 21-003 which will focus on potential recall scope concerns and recall remedy concerns related to the engine failure-related recalls mentioned above and conducted previously.See the EA21-003 Opening Resume available at for more information.Also available in the downloadable version of this resume is a list of the reference numbers for the 444 ODI reports, or Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs), cited above which ODI received through mid-November 2021.Note that the Manufacturer reports cited above are customer complaints received through March 2019.
PE19004
Non-crash Vehicle Fires
In a letter dated June 11, 2018, the Center for Auto Safety (CAS) petitioned the federal safety agency to initiate a safety defect investigation into non-collision related fires on model year (MY) 2011-2014 Kia Optima and Sorento, and Hyundai Sonata and Santa Fe vehicles. In a letter dated July 24, 2018, CAS requested that MY 2010-2015 Kia Soul vehicles be added to the petition. CAS stated that there is a higher number of complaints to the federal safety agency regarding non-crash fires on these vehicles compared to other similar vehicles. The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) had already opened Recall Queries (RQ17-003 and RQ17-004) on all Kia and Hyundai vehicles equipped with Theta II engines for engine failures that may cause stalling and fires.The queries cover most of the petition subject Optima, Sorento, Sonata, and Santa Fe vehicles but not any of the subject Soul vehicles.On August 21, 2018, ODI opened a Defect Petition (DP18-003) to evaluate whether to grant or deny the CAS petition. ODI sent Information Request letters to Kia and Hyundai (September and October 2018) requesting information on all engine and non-engine related fires in the petition vehicles.ODI performed extensive analysis on the information obtained from Kia and Hyundai. During the DP18-003 analysis, Kia and Hyundai each initiated three additional safety recalls related to engine compartment fires on certain petitioned and non-petitioned vehicles (nearly 740,000 total vehicles: Recalls 18V‑907, 18V‑934, 19V‑101, 19V‑063, 19V‑120, and 19V‑204). Based on ODI?s review of the applicable materials, including responses to Information Requests sent to multiple manufacturers, Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQ), and Early Warning Data, the federal safety agency decided to grant the petition.The CAS petition was granted on March 29, 2019. Preliminary Evaluations (PE19-003 on Hyundai and PE19-004 on Kia) have been opened to assess the scope, frequency, and potential safety-related consequences of alleged defects relating to non-collision vehicle fires in the 2011-2014 Kia Optima and Sorento, 2011-2014 Hyundai Sonata and Santa Fe, and 2010-2015 Kia Soul.Attached is a list of the reference numbers for the 404 VOQs cited above.
DP18003
What 2015 Kia Soul owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
The engine warning light illuminated and the vehicle began to hesitate and lose power while driving, making the vehicle unsafe to operate. The problem involves the engine and powertrain. A Kia dealer inspected the vehicle and found a timing-related engine fault code (P0014). The dealer stated the condition is consistent with the Kia engine bearing failure recall and referenced recall SC200PS, but said this VIN was not included. The vehicle has reduced power and cannot be safely driven. This creates a safety risk because the engine can lose power without warning while the vehicle is in motion. Warning lights were present before and during the failure. The vehicle has not been repaired and is available for inspection.
Headlamp Multi-Function Switch Service Campaign Hazwewdiouse may cause colition or vision impairment. from ongoing traffic and or insufficient illumination While driving lights will flicker, causing drivers to high beam you, it does not matter if the high beams are on or not, the light will randomly flicker and turn off, very dangerous in southern and eastern areas, there is limited to no street/road Lights It has been noted that For some 2014 Kia Soul models, Kia issued a warranty extension and a service bulletin (SC330) to address intermittent flickering of the low/high beams. This is caused by wear on the contact points inside the multi-function switch, which controls the headlights and turn signals. Kia has extended the warranty on this specific component from 5 years/60,000 miles to 15 years/unlimited mileage from the date of the vehicle's first service. If your headlights are flickering, you can have a Kia dealer diagnose and replace the switch at no cost to you under this warranty extension. This malfunction is not just happening to the specific year, Component: Headlamp Multi-Function Switch Problem Description: The vehicle's headlights and/or high beams intermittently flicker and turn off while driving. This is a severe safety hazard, as it causes momentary vision impairment and can lead to a collision. Hazardous Condition: The flickering and sudden deactivation of the headlights cause temporary blindness for the driver and can lead to a loss of control or a collision. The erratic light behavior causes a "high-beam" effect on oncoming traffic, causing other drivers to react by flashing their high beams in an unprovoked manner. This issue is extremely dangerous in areas with limited or no streetlights, where visibility is already compromised. History: I have experienced this issue on multiple occasions. I am aware that Kia has issued a service campaign (SC330) for certain Kia Soul models regarding this issue, but my vehicle is not included in
When I signal a lane change, the lights flicker or turn off completely. Happens often.
When using the blinker, the headlights turn off completely or temporarily. I’ve seen this as a normal thing on Reddit and other sites
The concern, is that Kia recently (2023) recalled the BMS (and potentially the HV Battery) for vehicles as old as 2015 on the Koa Soul EV, and their warranty on said parts is 10 yrs or 100k miles. The concern is that there is no extended warranty period FOR the cars. So if the cars fail again within a yr, you end up paying out of pocket for the repairs. There are plenty of forum posts that talk about their batteries being replaced with re-manufacturered, only to need to be teplaced AGAIN within less than a yr. I think Kia needs to be forced to extend the warranty on these batteries to cover any potential future issues.
My headlights turn off when I use my blinkers. They also flicker sometimes.
I was driving about 50mph when my car suddenly stopped accelerating. I rolled down the hill a little before I hit the brake and put the car in park right in the middle of the street in traffic
Car burning oil every 1,000 miles or less causing catalytic converter to over heat, which could cause fire. Wiring harness on driver side shorting lights out which could cause a fire. Vehicle can be ready for inspection at anytime. Have been calling dealer about it since 2019 said recall was fixed but wasn’t done properly. Electrical issues started around 01/15/2024.
On April 11,2024, I attempted to drive my Soul EV out of the parking lot of my place of employment going less than one block only to have the power severely limited (from a speed of 40mph to 15mph on a busy road at rush hour). I was able to safely get myself to a parking lot and placed the car in park. I noticed both the triangle with the exclamation mark and EV in the center plus the turtle lights illuminated on the dashboard. I searched those lights and discovered there was an immediate warning about the EV battery and a failure within the battery plus a problem with the temperature of the battery cooling system. I turned the car off, placed it in park and attempted to drive again within the parking lot only to have the same scenario repeated. I was informed by the Kia Service Center that "Kia engineers are aware of this problem but there's no solutions. This is the THIRD time I have received a notice that the EV battery may malfunction or ignite and cause a fire. This car just had a battery recalled due to a malfunction as I had the car stop suddenly on a 3 lane highway. I waited months to get a replaced battery, then I got a recall notice but my battery had been replaced but I had to have some "wiring harness" repaired with the computer upgrade. Now suddenly the car stopped and showed a warning light about the temperature of the motor is too high. The service advisor acknowledged the car is unsafe to drive and has been unsafe.
Questions about the 2015 Kia Soul electrical
Does the 2015 Kia Soul have electrical problems?
Owners have filed 75 complaints about the electrical of the 2015 Kia Soul, 8% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 2015 Kia Soul electrical problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 65,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2015 Kia Soul electrical?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Kia Soul have the most electrical problems?
The Kia Soul model years with the most electrical complaints are 2014 (98 complaints), 2015 (75 complaints) and 2013 (73 complaints).
Other 2015 Kia Soul problems
Engine 663Fuel system 79Transmission 61Steering 44Lights 36Brakes 32Acceleration 30Airbags 20Body 16Seat belts 10Visibility 7Wheels 6Driver assistance 4Seats 3Suspension 3Tires 1
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