On 8/22/23, I purchased a 2023 Kia Soul Sport trim from Kia Atlanta South. Just two days later, the 12V system stopped working, and yesterday, on 8/6, I discovered the car, which I had owned for only two weeks and driven 950 miles, was low on oil. Some of those miles were already on the vehicle when I bought it. I suspect both the electrical system and the engine may be faulty. Despite my concerns, the dealership claimed they had no knowledge of any recalls, despite there being an issued one.
2023 Kia Soul electrical complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 14 of 14, newest first, as owners wrote them.
On wednesday July 19th, at approximately 1745 (5:45 pm) I got into my car and started it. I attempted to back out of the driveway and noticed my steering wheel was locked. I pulled forward, and put the car in park. I tried to turn the car off. It then restarted itself, revved the engine, turned the heater on, rolled down the windows and engaged the back up camera. The check engine light came on, the low oil light, and the battery light were all on. The car would not turn off, every time I pressed the off button it would idle strangely and turn itself back on. I had to remove the key fobs, and my phone from the vehicle (i have a remote start app) to get it to turn off. I had it towed to the dealership, who returned the car the next day and told me nothing was wrong and that it was in auxiliary mode. They showed me auxiliary mode and it did not do what had happened. I told them I would film it if the vehicle did it again. Yesterday July 21, 2023 the vehicle did it again, at approximately 2110 (9:10 pm). The dealership advised me to bring it back up today. While driving it up there the engine shut off while driving I was doing approximately 43mph with the keys located in the storage space near the gear shift. The entire car shut down, instrument cluster and all, my steering wheel locked, and i had to coast to the side of a road. The car then restarted itself and picked up where the cruise control had previously been set. It did this twice and I was almost hit by a large pick up truck the second time. Had the truck not braked in time I could have been killed, and had my daughter been with me she could have been seriously wounded. The dealership told me to limp it to them as a tow truck would not be avalible for hours. During the short drive the instrument cluster continued to fade in and out. The dealers only solution was to let them hold the car and drive it for the weekend while trying to replicate the problem. I have filmed it restarting, but not dying on the road
The instrument cluster is no longer displaying vital information. (Speedometer, tachometer, odometer, warning indicator lights, etc.) It still displays turn indicators and headlight indicators. The remedy is to replace the instrument cluster and have it recalibrated
I am driving on the highway. No construction. No traffic. Cruising. No problems. I get a dashboard warning "WRONG WAY! Turn around safely" It was on for at least 10minutes. Very worrisome. But the lane assist was still working.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2023 Kia Soul?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history