Engine locked up at around 69,000 miles when contacting Kia about warranty the man on the phone knew the problem when told what the vehicle was and said that it is very common. There was no warning except for knock shorty before happening standing me on the interstate on January 19th 2022.
2017 Kia Soul engine complaints
Page 6 of 8: complaints 131 to 160 of 199, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Kia started knocking loudly and then seized while driving turnpike. Car had to be pushed off road. Unable to restart. It had blown a rod. Oil was dry but had not appeared to be leaking prior and no warning lights were on before failure. Now needs new engine but is not in any current recalls thought the engine seems to have been recalled in other models.
The number 2 compressor(if I’m wording correctly) in engine failed causing the engine to be useless. When failed the engine reduced power, sputtered and began knocking. Fumes filled the cabin. We immediately pulled over and stopped driving. A repair shop did the compression test and confirmed the failure. 126,000 miles. Less than 5 years old. Just out of warranty. Car used to commute to work in metroplex only. Oil changes every six weeks
It started with stalling on hills, acting sluggish, and losing oomph. This worsened over the course of approximately one month. I did a mini engine flush and changed the oil (at a reputable shop) early, thinking maybe it just needed a little love. A week later, I was driving down the freeway (Interstate 5) at night when the car stalled - all of the dashboard lights came on and the engine disengaged. I pulled off, and turned the car off. I attempted to restart it, and it would not turn over. After waiting on the side of said highway with two children for almost 3 hours, I had it towed. Ultimately, it was taken to two different service shops - one independent and one dealership - who both diagnosed the engine had essentially "exploded"; there were metal shards everywhere, no oil pressure, and lots of knocking/misfiring. The engine needs to be replaced - this has been reported to KIA, who has yet to decide if they are going to address the issue (case number 14385039). Insurance declined to address it. Police were not called.
There has been 3 separate times the car has stalled out for no reason. Sometimes at high speeds. I have taken it to different mechanics and they can find nothing wrong with it. It's like the engine just freezes and it will not start back for some time.
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The engine. Vehicle is currently at the dealership. No idea when we'll get it back, but we'd be more than willing for it to be inspected. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Any time a car engine is at risk of dying or seizing, it's a risk. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? The dealer seems to know what the issue is and is jumping through Kia's hoops to try and get something done about it. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? By the dealership. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? The problem first appeared over the Fourth of July weekend of 2021. I was alerted to the fact that there was an issue because the oil light would flicker for just a split second on sharp curves. The car had somewhere in the neighborhood of 60K miles at that point. From what I'm finding out, many of the 2017 Kia Souls have the same issue with their engines that the Kias that are under recall have. Burning copious amounts of oil, stalling, running rough to the point that it feels like it's going to die at stops. Kia is quietly replacing these engines after a long cycle of testing, but they're definitely taking their time.
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving at an unknown speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing an oil change. The dealer had the oil maintenance completed but continued to see the check engine warning and low oil level lights illuminated. The contact took the vehicle back to a local dealer who called the manufacturer and was instructed to have an oil consumption test completed. The contact took the vehicle back on 11/2/2021 to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the engine to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired but was pending repairs. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
The contact's daughter owns a 2017 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving 55 MPH, she heard abnormal knocking sounds coming from the engine and the vehicle inadvertently began to stall. The check engine warning light illuminated. The contact's daughter veered to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who diagnosed that the engine had failed and needed to be replaced. Then the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who provided the same diagnosis and advised the contact to tow the vehicle back to the dealer as the failure was a safety issue. The vehicle was towed back to the dealer. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The contact was still awaiting a call back from the manufacturer. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.
Engine completely shutdown in heavy traffic. Very unsafe condition. Teenage driver unable to control the vehicle and nearly caused subsequent accident. No prior warning messages, prior to the engine shutting down, and then getting the check engine light. Had to have car towed to local dealer. Engine no longer usable and needs to be replaced. Vehicle has only 62,000 miles on it, 2000 miles out of warranty. Vehicle unsafe.
On 10/23/2021, I took my vehicle for a oil change around 10:30 in the morning, afterwards I proceeded to run errands before heading to work. While on my way to work my vehicle started to make a rattling noise from the engine bay. So I decided to drive to the dealership to see if my oil change was done incorrectly on the way to dealership my vehicle rattling grew louder and started to sound like a freight train I made it to the dealership a the service advisor said I’m glad you made it and checked my vehicle after letting him know I just got a oil change I was advised oil change wasn’t done incorrectly but my vehicle is possibly among the recall for the 2.0L engines for failure my vehicle is only at 45,000 miles.
while driving on the freeway, car completely shut off. There was a safety risk as the car was driving 65 on the freeway at the time. Car has been at a indpependent car shop and has now been at the dealership for 5 weeks and was told that complete engine failure. Car was driving fine up until the moment it died. There was no sputtering, or engine light that came on for a warning. Had to very carefully get the car over to the side of the freeway.
Engined seized and had to be replaced due to an issue known to dealer. (Learned after the fact) Zero issues before it happend. Nearly caused accident. Going up a hill and all at once dead shake, lost acceleration and steering for a moment.
We have been driving the vehicle all day doing some shopping and my fiance took the vehicle up to his parents house after we got home to eat dinner with them. The vehicle had driven fine day long and we had just done an oil change and tune up 2 weeks prior. There was no warning lights no knocking and no indication that there was any issue. Regardless on the way home my fiance calls me and tells me he had just he Had to push the vehicle from the middle of the road where it stopped cold turkey to get it out of traffic. We now have had to drop thousands by due to catalytic converter being faulty it caused the engine to throw a piston. Which just so happens was the exact thing that caused prior years to be recalled . The car only has 110000 and I'm the only owner I purchased it brand new and to top it off I still owe 5000 on the thing
At around 50,000 miles the engine of the vehicle began knocking loudly. I immediately pulled over and had it towed to the dealership. It has been well-maintained and there were no warning lights. The engine has failed and Kia is refusing to honor the warranty, citing lack of physical records of oil change.
Upon startup one day, the engine began knocking. It was turned off and towed. Both an independent service center and Kia dealer have confirmed connecting rod failure, and the need for a total engine replacement. The vehicle is still available for inspection at this time. Fortunately, the issue began when the engine was turned on so the car was not moving at the time of failure, but had it begun on the highway or had a portion of the rod perforated the engine, it could have led to immediate loss of power while in motion and/or leaking oil. There were no warning lamps or messages prior to failure, and the engine had been maintained according to manufacturer guidelines. Periodically prior to this occurrence, the engine did demonstrate temporary reductions in power when accelerating, like it was hesitating to rev up beyond idle speed. However, the local Kia dealer was unable to diagnose the problem at that time (53,293 miles), and simply said to come back if it got worse, giving me the phone number for Kia Roadside Service. Although the loss of power was always temporary and infrequent, it could be a bit surprising when making a right turn into moving traffic, or a left turn across traffic because the car did not move into the traffic as fast as usual, which could have led to a collision with oncoming traffic. Fortunately it never lasted more than a second or two at a time. These symptoms returned the day prior to engine failure in greater frequency and duration. This type of failure is highly unusual for a vehicle of this age (4 years old) and mileage (67,000 miles), and Kia has denied warranty coverage, even though engine issues began before expiration of the warranty.
The car's oil pressure light started blinking while driving on the highway. The vehicle stalled at a nearby gas station, and no oil was present on the dipstick. The car was less than 1,500 miles off of an oil change, and had oil present on the dipstick before the incident. After filling the car back up with oil a knock was present, and no check engine light was shown. The car was towed to a dealer who claimed it was a rod bearing.
Engine blew while driving down the highway, gave no indication anything was wrong.
On Tuesday July 27 2021, we noticed that the oil light was flickering at idle on our 2017 Kia Soul. We called a dealership and they recommended that we have the car towed to their service department. We received confirmation that the car arrived at the dealership at 1.32 pm on Tuesday July 27 2021. We’d like to note that our 2017 Kia Soul had approximately 20,000 miles on it at this time. The dealership ran diagnostics on car and found nothing wrong. They also drove the car and said that they saw no indication of a problem (no flickering oil light). They said that the oil looked dark and thin. We had checked the oil the day before and it looked yellow to gold in color. We were not shown any evidence that the oil was dark, only the word of the service department. We had the car serviced and then picked it up from the dealership. 10 minutes or so after picking the car up from the dealership, on Colorado Highway 58 heading west, just outside Golden, CO, there was a loud knocking noise and the check engine and oil pressure lights starting blinking. Seconds later, the car lost power, and then stalled. My husband was able to steer it to side of the highway, where we waited more than three hours for roadside assistance from Kia before having to leave the car to get somewhere safe. The outside temperatures were 90 degrees of more and our child, who was with us, is very sensitive to high temperatures. We are waiting to hear from the dealership (Kia towing somehow managed to cancel the tow order and left the car on the side of the road all night) and do not yet know the exact nature of the engine failure but the car is undriveable. The fact that the engine stalled and died on the highway, traveling at a speed of 55 mph, is incredibly dangerous and put my husband at extreme risk for an accident or the infamous Kia engine fire. All of this happened just minutes after picking up a car that we were told had no issues.
Without warning indicators, my car lost power while I was driving it on a busy highway. I was able to coast onto an exit and a friend towed it to a safe area. I discovered there was no oil in the engine, even though I had had a recent oil change and no indicator on the car showed a problem with oil pressure, excessive heat, etc. I added oil and drove it a few feet to a secure location, but heard engine knocking. I called a mechanic, who inspected it and confirmed that a rod was thrown and the engine would need to be replaced. He is sourcing the replacement currently. This is a 2017 Kia Soul, 2.0 engine.
Beautiful morning only 72 at the time been driving for only about 15 mins. Pressed the gas and the car didn't do anything . I took my foot off and tried again this time I heard a shattering of glass? In the engine and the knocking started. I only drive it a block before I stopped and turned the vehicle off. Opened the hood checked the oil and it was empty. Nothing dripping under the car no smoke except from the area you add oil. Added oil tried again started still knocking towed It to the mechanic. I was told I have to replace or rebuild the engine. Like many I still have a loan payment and the cost of the repair is more than the cost of the note. Asked from help from insurance its not covered. Asked for help from the service department at the dealer they offered to sale me a new vehicle. Talking to an attorney now. There were no indications that there was anything wrong with the car and the engine is blown??? With correct maintenance.
Oil light came on and engine started knocking, then car shut off in the middle of the highway
My KIA Soul did not have any warning lights on or strange sounds/issues when I began driving on the highway on 6/5/21 with my 12 year old special needs son. A short time after we entered the highway I began to notice a strange knocking sound and it felt like the car was struggling to maintain speed. Within a few seconds I started to smell a "hot" smell and immediately pulled over to the side of a two lane highway with a very small shoulder. When I pulled over the knocking became very loud and then all of the warning lights on the dash flashed on and then the car died. We were stranded on the side of the road in the middle of no where while trucks and cars flew by at high rates of speed. It was also incredibly hot and the car was not functioning to be able to roll down windows. I was able to use roadside assistance through my insurance company and it was towed to a local repair shop. I was told that the engine was blown and my engine had "thrown" internal parts. They said the engine was completely dead and needed replaced. They also stated that they have seen this issue a lot with Kia Soul's especially 2015-2017 models. In fact the owner said as soon as he heard what the car was he knew it was going to be engine failure. I am very lucky that I was able to pull over to the small shoulder before the car died or I would have been stuck in the middle of the road right after a hill and my car would have been impossible to see stopped by drivers coming over the hill before it would have been hit. This has also caused my special needs son to become extremely panicked in the car and afraid to drive with me. After a quick Google search I was able to find complaint after complaint after complaint about this issue with the 2017 Kia Soul at around 70-80,000 miles which is exactly where I am at. I know owe a great deal of money on a car that is totaled out unless I spend over $6,000 to replace the engine. Money that I do NOT have after losing my job due to Covid.
I was headed to a family BBQ on memorial day in my 2017 Kia Soul that I have had about 2 years and is a certified pre-owned vehicle and did not notice any abnormalities or sounds prior to the incident. I went to partk and noticed that my check engine light popped on but thought nothing of it as my gas cap lock was broken and so I turned off the vehicle. I want to note there was no sounds, and no over heating. That evening I went to leave and the car would not turn over and thought maybe the battery was bad, but was reminded that it was replaced one week prior. So I had it towed in the next day to a mechanic and upon initial inspection he found that the engine had siezed and locked up as well as it would not turn over. I'm pretty good about personally completing oil changes, but was sharing vehicle with my ex partner and was told that the oil came up 2 quarts short upon checking, but was told that should not be enough to make the engine seize. So the mechanic replaced the starter and upon turning over the vehicle the engine began to produce a bad knock and I was told that the engine was needing to be replaced and was going to lock up again if driven. The vehicle is at 70,000 miles so is no longer covered under the factory warranty and the extended warranty may not cover it so I'm at a lose at the moment. I find it really hard to believe that after all the research I've done on this engine problem and seeing all the people with the same situation occurring that a recall has not been issued on this year.
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, he noticed that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The contact was adding a quart of oil every 546 miles. The contact stated that the oil warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with the engine needing to be replaced. The engine was flushed however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was informed of the failure but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.
Driver was on freeway when car lost acceleration. Driver pulled over at first exit when the dash flashed various lights and shut down. Driver attempted to start the car but was unable to do so -- there was smoking from the engine so Driver had the vehicle towed to shop. It was determined that the engine failed catastrophically and would require an engine replacement.
Without any warning, there began a clunking sound coming from under the hood of my vehicle while I operated it on the highway at highway speeds. All of a sudden, the car could not accelerate or maintain speed, and began losing speed quickly. I was lucky there was no one behind me, because the car slowed down so rapidly I almost didn’t make it to the brake down lane. My car was brought to my mechanic and it was diagnosed with a broken rod, even though there has been detailed and documented maintenance preformed in the vehicle. My mechanic said that there is no reason for the piston to have broken like that especially when there was no operator negligence.
A couple hours after getting an oil change the engine started knocking. It got so bad we couldn’t continue to safely drive it, even to get it back to the service station. Had it towed to repair shop and they have said there is a bearing rod that is messed up in the engine. There was not an accident or fire only because we stopped driving before things could get worse. Although the 2017 Kia Soul does not have any recalls it uses some of the same parts of other models that have been recalled. I have also been told this is a common issue for this model. I don’t have an estimate yet as the repair shop is still working on that. I don’t remember exact mileage and can’t check because car is at shop.
Got in my car september 2020 and heard knocking under hood. Drive it to the penzoil less than 15 minutes away and I knock got faster and louder. Penzoil told me park it and tow to nearest kia. Extremely disheartening I'm 23 y/o single mother. Now with a broken car. 16000 in debt for a year and half worth of driving less than 80000 on odometer jeeeshhh kia . Hopefully we get recall soon
Yes ive been experienceing a strong gas smell when idle and a fast not normal oil consumption and problems withe the elctric system
Oil light came on, checked oil and it was low. Added oil. The next day the car loss complete power and stalled on the side of the road. Engine made a loud sound and stopped. Had the vehicle towed to our dealer and was told the lower part of the engine blowed at 82,509 miles. Regular maintenance was done at a dealership in our town. Extended warranty that was purchased had went out 1000 miles back and now we are told the regular power train warranty doesn't cover because we were the 2nd owner. We were told about $9000 to fix the car. I have contacted kia and because they dont have any issues with this VIN# they can't help. Even though when you google engine problems with this year there are plenty of complaint all over the internet. If these cars are giving so much trouble, why isn't there something they can do. I work with 2 people that own kia's of other models and had the same problem and their motor was replace free of charge. I need help, please. We front have the money to replace the motor and my daughter still owes over $9000 on this car.
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