Kia Soul fuel pump problems

Filed Jan 9, 2026 · Engine, Fuel system · VA

On 12/ 22/ 2025 I went to start the 2012 KIA Soul and it would act like it would start but, it would not turn over. Battery was fine checked it. Let it set a moment and tried it again would not start. Called a wrecker and towed it in. The service guy tried and couldn't get it to start either. He ran a diagnostic on it, there were not type of codes, no check engine light nothing. He had it for until 1/5/2026 and when they went to check it it started right up. They drove it for 20 miles to check to see if it would cut off while driving, it didn't. It starts now but for how long. Here's the strange thing, I drove it 20 minutes away and I noticed that the counter for when You fill up with gas states how many miles you have left to go before fill up was counting UP not DOWN. So I think it could be the computer or electrical, I thought it was the fuel pump at first. Still no warning signals nothing.

Filed Sep 18, 2025 · Engine · FL

Car was purchased used in November 2024. Driven minimally through 2025. July of 2025 engine began stalling at low idle or when pulling into a stop and repeatedly stalling out. Took car to mechanic and replaced crankshaft position sensor, spark plugs, and fuel pump - cost $1,218. Stalling still occurred. Took it to Kia Dealership and they stated, “Cylinder 1 scoring damage, and needed new engine”. This was/is a known problem with various Kia models: “Engine stalling symptom from defect manufacturing of oil rings in cylinder that causes scoring and engine damage.” We bought this car for $12,000 in good faith and it didn’t even last a year!!

Filed Apr 14, 2025 · Engine, Transmission · OH

I dropped off my 2021 Kia Soul at the dealership where I purchased it to address a nationwide recall, which states: “The piston oil ring(s) may have been incorrectly manufactured, potentially damaging the engine cylinder wall. This can lead to increased oil consumption, abnormal engine noises, engine seizure, and possible fire from oil leaking onto hot exhaust components. Loss of drive power and/or fire increases crash and injury risk.” My vehicle has shown multiple symptoms, including rough running, significant shaking, illuminated check engine and oil lights. On 01/02/23, I brought it in, but the dealership found no stored codes and took no action. On 04/20/23, a code for a cylinder 1 misfire was found, but because the issue wasn’t present at that moment, no repairs were made. On 10/05/23, spark plugs and fuel pump were replaced under warranty. No further issues occurred until 02/14/25, when the same symptoms returned. I was told I’d be charged for a diagnosis and they likely wouldn’t find anything, so I left without service. On 04/09/25, the symptoms reoccurred. I dropped off the vehicle on 04/10/25 and paid out-of-pocket for a rental until 04/14/25. On 04/14/25, after being told earlier that work couldn’t be done because the engine hadn’t cooled to 55°F, I was later told the recall was completed and the vehicle was safe—despite ongoing issues. I fear for my safety and the safety of others. I believe my vehicle needs an engine replacement and is unsafe to drive. The recall letter states inspection and software update should take 1–2 hours, and engine replacement 8+ hours. I request further diagnosis and repairs. Despite the vehicle continuing to show symptoms, I was dismissed. I am seeking accountability and proper resolution.

Filed Mar 13, 2025 · Engine · 80,000 miles · MS

The contact owns a 2021 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was unable to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway and was assisted in pushing the vehicle to a safe location, where the vehicle failed to restart. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the fuel pump. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 80,000.

Filed Oct 22, 2024 · Fuel system · TX

My car has never had the gas mileage that is advertised; it’s always been about 3-4 mpg less than the 28 mpg city/31 mpg highway. Recently, I had multiple engine system failures with the plug-in check devices at places like AutoZone saying my ignition coils were misfiring, and after bringing it to the dealership twice for about 1.5 months each time for a total of 3 months, they replaced the fuel injectors and a few other parts the first time before releasing the car to me only to have the same errors come back within 24 hours and I ended up bringing it back only for them to tell me the entire fuel pump system is shot and needed to be completely replaced and all fuel flushed out. Both times I brought it in they claimed it was due to bad gas, but after talking to my insurance, my claim agent concluded it was not bad gas as newer cars like mine have internal sensors that will completely stop the car from driving or even turning on if bad gas is detected to prevent further damage and that’s never been the case for me. I’ve always been able to drive my vehicle and the only noticeable issue would be my fuel mileage. I’ve had the new fuel pump system for about a week now, and my fuel mileage is around 28-29 mpg, more than it’s ever been since I bought the vehicle back in November 2020. I’ve only ever had a max of 26 mpg no matter how or where I drive. I did find recalls on similar makes of cars with the same year as mine from both Kia and Hyundai, and I believe that the Kia Souls around 2020-2021 also have faulty fuel pump systems and should be recalled. I don’t know how many of them are out there, but despite only having 50k miles on my car, the bad gas diagnosis excluded it from the warranty and I had to pay out of pocket the $1,516.83 for the fuel pump system replacement and flushing of the ‘bad gas’ at the Kia dealership.

Filed Apr 13, 2024 · KS

At a speed of 50+ the car wants to shake and sputter as if trying to die out. Oil, all fluids faithfully changed since purchased, along with rotatable tires.fuel pump good, many trips to local dealership but nothing completely resolved as informed. Aside air bag never checked or replaced. Desperately need assistance in resolution please.

Filed Nov 29, 2023 · FL

There has been multiple incidents the first time the car started jumping and smoking on 12/7/2022 I had it put in the shop and they said it was 2 oxygen sensors and crank position sensor after that repair the ac goes out completely. So it drove fine for a couple months then started jumping in middle of interstate again and check engine light came on so I pull off interstate before I got hit it dropped speed and wanted to keep shutting off didn't want to pick up speed so got it checked out again they changed out spark plugs, air filter and catalytic converter also not to mention tow bill. Then thinking everything should be took care of after that no for the third time after being exhausted of repairs on a over paid car I was on interstate again on 11/21/2023 I was going 65mph when all of a sudden my battery light, ! Light came on and service engine light all lights started flashing so I barely made it off interstate when my car started jumping so I pull over and steering was getting hard to turn as the car shuts off and leaves me stranded once again with a towing bill and another shop they replaced the alternator,ignition coil,fuel pump,spark plugs again,bolt flang,fuel pressure sensor,cop coil,high pressure sensor,battery. It's been costly and for how long before something happens again for a car that I'm paying twice the amount it's worth.

Filed Apr 20, 2023 · Electrical, Engine · MI

Since I bought this car, I have experienced hesitation, stalling, high RPM idle, fluctuating idle, burning smell, lurching, running though gas very fast (not due to increased driving), engine noises, dash panel half lighting up, hard to accelerate when the headlights are on, or heat, or air con, odd noises..and through this entire time, check engine light comes on and off and on and off...along with my gas gauge saying empty when its full. I have reported ALL of this throughout the entire time since all bought it. Every single time they say "software update" and send me home with nothing ever fixed. EVER. Now again check engine and false fuel reading, hesitations, etc....again! This engine and fuel pump is bad and explains all of my complaints since 10kmiles. My car has under 80k mi on it, its been a lemon from the start. Hesitation with no pick-up at an intersection and noises....just beyond dangerous. I have not driven my car on the freeway in 5 years because itis not safe, but Kia NEVER checks out problems. They charge for inspection and say "software update". Its maddening.

Filed Jan 29, 2023 · Engine, Fuel system · VA · fire

On 11/07/22 my car started to sputter & lose power while going up a hill, the incident only lasted a few seconds with no warning lights. Later that same day my car wouldn't start and when it finally did start it started sputtering, had no power with no warning lights, plus there was a strong smell of gas from inside the car. I had the car towed to a local shop. The shop cleaned the injectors, put a fuel treatment in the tank and replaced a bad O2 censor. 8 Days later on another hill it happened again. A hard sputtering followed by loss of power, still no warning lights but also no smell of gas. I drove it back to the same shop and after just one day the shop could not get my car to reproduce the same incident but was having difficulty starting it so they installed a new battery. 5 Days later on Thanksgiving my car sputtered hard while driving with no warning lights or smell of gas. I was barely able to get my car across 2 lanes of oncoming traffic in order to pull into a store's parking lot. I had it towed to a new shop. At this new shop it was diagnosed that the car needed new Spark Plugs, a new High Pressure Fuel Pump and new Injectors but the shop took 3 weeks to give me an estimate and so I went and retrieved my car and towed it KIA of Lynchburg, having only had the Spark Plugs replaced. Once at KIA, I was told I had a Catalytic Converter failure and it needed replacing. KIA said that it would be covered under Emissions Warranty. I had the part installed and 3 days later on New Years Eve as I was driving on the highway, I had to come to a stop due to a stop light and when I halted, the car again sputtered and I limped into a nearby parking lot and had it towed back to KIA. KIA tried to say it was Engine Failure this time but the Engineers said the High Pressure Fuel Pump should be replaced. Once installed and during a test drive by the Master Mechanic, smoke emanated from under the hood. Soon after that my Engine bay was on fire which led to a total loss.

Filed Jun 12, 2022 · Engine, Fuel system · OK

I was heading home on the highway when I noticed the car was having trouble accelerating.  I was taking the exit to my house when I heard the knocking in the engine start.  I was half a mile from my house so I continued slowly as the acceleration issues continued. As I was getting closer to my house the oil light came on.  I parked the car in the driveway and turned it off immediately. A cursory inspection indicates that the engine has suffered catastrophic damage. There is high end a “tapping” sound coming from the top side, even while briefly idling the engine, indicating damage in the area of lifter/s and/or camshaft lobe/s. Inspection of the engine oil presents metallic particles. Finally, we observed that an uncharacteristic and excessive pressure is coming from the crankcase when the oil filler cap is removed while the engine is idling. This is consistent with the GDI engine failure mode - lack of lubrication between piston rings and cylinder walls due to fuel thinned oil caused by high-pressure fuel pump Fortunately, since I exited the highway and the failure occurred close to home, the dangerous stall condition that is a typical failure mode of the GDI engine did not occur in this particular instance. Nevertheless, severe damage to the motor has been observed. The fact that the engine began “knocking” prior to the low oil indicator lamp illuminating would indicate that the engine was damaged due to the thin oil/fuel mixture rather than the engine being completely deficient in lubricating engine oil. Internet research has brought to our attention the issues and the precedent-setting class action lawsuits, that Kia Inc. has been forced to contend with due to the inherent design problems of the Theta II, GDI 1.6L, and 2.0L engines - direct injection (DI) system and high-pressure fuel pump issues causing the engine failure through piston ring “blowby” and subsequent thinning of the engine oil. I contacted KIA and I still have the Soul in my possession.