2016 Kia Soul: shudder or vibration when accelerating

Filed Apr 18, 2026 · Engine · NV · fire

I had the oil changed on my car at a local tire and lube shop. Two weeks later I drove to Vegas (7 hrs one way). While in Vegas I started to hear a super faint clicking noise coming from under my hood, but no lights came on inside, so I assumed maybe it was nothing serious and would have it checked when I returned home 3 days later. On the way home (2 hrs from home) the clicking got louder. I attempted to pass some cars and, as I accelerated, the clicking got much louder and then I heard a loud clank and the car shuttered. I proceeded to pull over and got out of the car and saw small flames and smoke coming from under my car. A couple had pulled over with me and had a fire extinguisher which they used to put the fire out. Upon towing the car home I found a piece of metal hanging from a melted piece of plastic. I inspected it and discovered that it was a piece of a piston from my engine. There was also a puddle of oil and a streak of gasoline on the trailer that had come from my car. I experienced catastrophic engine failure. When the engine broke it punched a hole in my oil pan which caused a fire and burned a hole in my fuel line. I am unsure of what caused the engine to fail, but in seeing the recalls for the exact same thing happening to previously recalled Kia Souls I figured i'd check it out to see if I may be included in that. No lights came on alerting me to any problems. There were no signs of leaking oil. Just clicking that got louder and then a loud noise and shudder and fire.

Filed Sep 7, 2023 · Acceleration, Engine · 68,000 miles · LA

The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle shuddered and stalled while accelerating. The transmission also shifted hard, and the vehicle shook abnormally. The vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of oil. The vehicle was overheating. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the fuel filter, cooling system, and air cleaner needed to be serviced. The ECU update was completed. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer however, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. While driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was determined that the vehicle was consuming an abnormal amount of engine oil. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who removed the muffler and catalytic converter, due to engine damage. The manufacturer was contacted, and the contact was informed there was no warranty or recall coverage for the vehicle. The manufacturer referred the contact to the local dealer for a goodwill repair. The failure mileage was approximately 68,000.

Filed Oct 14, 2022 · Engine · 56,000 miles · PA

The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the engine would shudder and lose power while idling, without warning. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and the contact was provided an estimate for a diagnostic test. The dealer informed her that bad gasoline might have caused the issue; however, the failure persisted. Upon investigation, the contact discovered the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) which she linked to the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 56,000.

Filed May 20, 2022 · Engine · 82,000 miles · IL

The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated while his daughter was driving 45 MPH, she heard abnormal knocking sounds coming from the engine and the vehicle started shuddering. The vehicle then stalled. The contact’s daughter was able to veer to the side of the road. The contact met his daughter at the scene and drove the vehicle back to his residence. However, the vehicle would not exceed 22 MPH. The dealer was notified of the failure and advised the contact that the failure was associated with the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine, and Engine Cooling). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they would not assist as the contact failed to complete the repair for Technical Service Bulletin: PI2002B. The failure mileage was approximately 82,000.

Filed Jun 10, 2021 · Engine · 59,600 miles · CO

The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving 35 mph, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle shuddered and loss motive power. The contact restarted the vehicle and continued driving to the residence. An unknown warning light was illuminated when the vehicle was restarted. The contact had the vehicle towed to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine rod had fractured and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage 59,600.

Filed Dec 4, 2020 · 54,500 miles · WV

I have not had a safety failure yet, just to clarify. I bought the car certified in october. It revs up to 2,500 - 3,000 upon startup, loud enough for a neighbor to come over and tell me to get it checked out. It hard-idles and shudders when it's stopped. I'm very concerned about it being unreliable, but more worried about it being unsafe with the revving. After three visits to the dealership for these issues, I'm told it's due to a bad software update from before I bought the car. They can't/won't tell me details on the update, but say that I'm lucky my car is still running because it put a lot of cars "out of commission". Because it's still running, the dealership and manufacturer are refusing to help me (no fix is available, and they've refused a refund or replacement). I just need a safe and reliable car. I refuse to simply trade it in and pass the problem along to someone else. Kia did not disclose the software issue in advance and isn't backing their product. I wonder how many other people have been affected.

Filed Jun 29, 2020 · Engine · 20,000 miles · OH

Tl* the contact owns a 2016 kia soul. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle consumed one quart of oil for every 2,500 miles driven. The vehicle was taken to kia of dayton located at 8560 troy pike, huber heights, oh 45424, (877) 862-6928, however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was next taken to matt castrucci kia located at 3013 mall park dr, dayton, oh 45459, (855) 250-8987, and repaired under the federal safety agency campaign number: 19v120000 (engine, engine and engine cooling). The contact stated that while approaching a traffic light, the vehicle hesitated and shuddered without warning. The contact pulled over and waiting for approximately 10 minutes before continuing on to her destination. The failure recurred four times. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that there was oil on the spark plugs, there was low compression on 3 cylinders, and that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of failure. The failure mileage was 20,000.*dt