Kia Soul battery drain problems

Filed Jul 24, 2025 · Engine · TN

My wife had went to the store and came out and went to pull out and the vehicle jerked forward and died. I went to see if it was a dead battery the vehicle would not jump. I called a tow truck and realized that the engine had completely failed. I took it to Parkside Kia in Knoxville Tennessee and they confirm that it was an engine failure there was a recall from Kia referencing SC209 Parkside Kia states that the recall was addressed on this vehicle but the dealership that I purchased the vehicle from had no record of that recall being done and they are stating that they will not goodwill it or repair the recall I understood from my research that even if the vehicle was fixed under that recall that there were some cases of it not being fixed and resulting in needing a complete engine my main concern was the fact that my wife could’ve been driving down the road and been in and a severe accident thankfully, she was just in a parking lot

Filed Aug 5, 2024 · Acceleration, Brakes · 114,502 miles · AR · fire

I was driving to work. 12 miles my oil leaked. A state trooper turned around when seeing flames and called the fire department and tow truck. I lost control of the car, nothing was working. I was only ever given one recall notice which I fixed 2 months after buying the car. The car also has issues with security. Only certain insurance companies will cover the car and their prices are higher. We took car to dealership . three months later I contact attorney general. The GM this started attacking us, denying anything happened etc. He should be fired for how he treats people. Reviews of their business show others have had issues. Kia corporate has always told us they r waiting on images yet this GM contacted them, told us to leave, and screamed he would charge us for every day it was on lot. So we had it towed the next day. Insured company will be doing their own I xpection. This isn't about money, its about safety and these cars have slot of issues. It is wrong to blame the consumer for a faulty product. We had to get new car and now upside down in this one. We bought thus Kia be,cause the previous one the engine seized. We expressed our concerns, but got put in another car with issues. Kia corporate has been non talking to us the entire three months, so the only findings can be based on what GM said. They washed the motor. It sat so long the battery died. Someone went through papers in the glove box then left them out. We had medicine in the loaner, which they say is a lie. My daughter drives the car and recently was laid off. So now she can't have her medication..... Although she left it in the car they had no right to do that. There was plenty of other issues along the way.

Filed Jun 12, 2023 · Electrical · VA

The contact owns a 2019 Kia Soul. The contact stated that the vehicle was not driven for 3–4 days and the battery drained and failed to retain a charge. The vehicle failed to start. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact jumpstarted the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who replaced the battery; however, the failure recurred. The contact was able to jumpstart the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, no failure was found. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

Filed May 27, 2023 · Body · FL

2022 Kia Soul-Consumer is writing in about the battery discharge message display on the dashboard which causes a dead battery, requiring the battery to be jumped anywhere consumers wants to go. Consumers wife took vehicle to dealership where purchased for assistance. Consumer was told by dealership "all Kia's have the same problem & there's nothing that the consumer could do about it." Consumer states there should be a recall or a fix for the issue. Consumer "will send a letter to the state and government" to investigate the issue. Consumer states there should be a fix or pay off for the car, so they can trade it in on a new car that doesn't have this issue. The car is in his wife name, Johniece Lippincott, her contact number it the alternative # listed under Consumer Tab.

Filed Dec 8, 2020 · Engine · 130,000 miles · MO

While driving on a state highway at 70 MPH on cruise control, I was coming up an incline when my car suddenly started to decelerate. I tried to increase my speed by applying the acceleration pedal. The rpms increased without an increase in acceleration. I immediately put my hazards on as I was on a major highway with cars flying by me and attempted to get to the side of the road. My car would barely go 20-30 MPH and my car started to "rumble" or "shake" as if I was severely out of alignment. My engine and oil light also came on at the same time as the deceleration. The engine light continually flashed. When I checked the oil, it was almost empty and my husband had just changed the oil less than 30 days ago. We have also been having to increase how many times we're having to add oil because I'm burning through it very quickly and I only drive back and forth to work. When I'd broken down, I was nowhere near a town or city and I had my 3 children in the car. I was scared and nervous trying to drive on a major highway only able to go 25 MPH with my car shaking. Once I was able to get a tow, my battery died. The tow truck driver jumped the battery and turned the car on and my exhaust started billowing smoke out. My car won't drive now to get to a mechanic and im too scared to drive it. Ive already had 2 recalls on this car and I'd gone to kia before those recalls for those issues. I had to wait for the recalls for kia to fix it. This car just needs to be completely taken off the roads! Between the lights shutting off and the electrical fire in my engine (which was another recall!) I will never purchase another kia! I do not feel safe owning one ever again!

Filed May 5, 2020 · Engine · 109,776 miles · CA

As we excited the freeway, the car started running rough at the stop light. As I pulled into the gas station the engine stopped running on its own and I heard a loud "ping". After numerous attempts to re-start the car, we had to leave it at the gas station over night. When I was trying to re-start the car I noticed the engine wasn't cranking at all, almost like it was a dead battery. In the morning the car started right up but with a horrible loud knocking sound coming from the engine. I had to drive it home which is about 3miles, I had no other options. It was explained to me it was a rod knocking. I still owe $8,247.89 and to fix it is going to be well over $5,000. The car has 109,776 miles, my husband maintained it religiously, and to have this happen so close into paying it off is devastating as this was our only car. There was no warning, no check engine light, no low oil light, no rough idling or out of place sounds.

Filed Sep 9, 2019 · Electrical, Lights · 29,898 miles · TN

Tl* the contact owns a 2014 kia soul. While driving during the day or night, the headlights illuminated and then shut off independently. The vehicle was taken to kia of chattanooga (2136 chapman rd, chattanooga, tn 37421, (423) 855-1022) to be diagnosed, but the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The following day, the contact found that the parking lights illuminated independently and drained the battery. The vehicle was taken back to the same dealer and the contact was informed that a new battery was needed. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The contact stated that the parking light failure occurred a few years ago and was taken to the same dealer where it was diagnosed that there was an internal failure. The contact stated that an unknown switch was replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 29,898.

Filed May 1, 2019 · Engine · 66,245 miles · CA

I was driving home on the sepulveda pass which is a 45-50 MPH zone and suddenly my car lost power and from going 45mph I as going uphill at 10mph. I then lost all control and my battery died. I got towed to a mechanic and said it was an alternator problem at first then said it was the catalytic converter. I then had a sensor change and new battery bought when those two things weren't the problem.

Filed Nov 28, 2018 · Electrical, Engine · 144,000 miles · TX

11-6-18 - while in motion, mid turn, my car shut down completely. All the lights came on in the dash, and then when car shut down, battery died as well and window was stuck down. I am so thankful I was not on the interstate going 70 miles an hour. I could have been killed. Dealership has said motor is locked up and cannot even be manually started & that I need a whole new engine.

Filed Mar 13, 2018 · Electrical, Lights · 40,000 miles · OR

I bought my 2014 kia soul used with one previous owner. As I was driving home on the freeway after purchasing it my lights began to flicker. At times they would go out for a few moments. I had to pull over and have my husband drive in front of me with our other vehicle in fear the lights would go out and I wouldn't be able to see the road ahead. I could of been in a serious crash. Also came home to a dead battery one day because my lights which were off when I left the house randomly were on when I got home that night.