2014 Kia Soul
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Engine is the leading concern among 902 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 2nd highest complaint count among 16 Soul model years with reports.
Of the 2014 reports, 34 involved a crash and 69 involved a fire. 30 people were injured and 1 person died.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Air bags, frontalFeb 18, 2022
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2014 Soul vehicles. The front air bags may not deploy during a crash if the Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) loses communication with the front impact sensors.
Front air bags that do not deploy as intended can increase the risk of injury in a crash.
Dealers will update the ACU software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 4, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC229.
Campaign 22V096000 on NHTSA.gov
EngineDec 2, 2020
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2012-2013 Sorento, 2012-2015 Forte and Forte Koup, 2011-2013 Optima Hybrid, 2014-2015 Soul, and 2012 Sportage vehicles. An engine compartment fire can occur while driving.
An engine compartment fire increases the risk of injury.
Kia will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the engine compartment for fuel and/or engine oil leaks, perform an engine test and make any repairs, including engine replacement, as necessary, free of charge. In addition, Kia dealers will update the Knock Sensor Detection System (KSDS) software, free of charge. The recall began January 27, 2021. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC200.
Campaign 20V750000 on NHTSA.gov
EngineFeb 22, 2019
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2012-2016 Kia Soul vehicles equipped with 1.6L Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) engines. High exhaust gas temperatures may damage the catalytic converter, possibly resulting in abnormal engine combustion and damage to one or more of the engine's pistons and possible piston connecting rod failure.
Piston damage may result in an engine stall, increasing the risk of a crash. A broken connecting rod may puncture the engine block allowing engine oil to escape. The leaking oil may contact the exhaust, increasing the risk of a fire.
Kia will notify owners, and dealers will upgrade the Catalytic Overheating Protection Engine Control Unit logic to prevent overheating of the catalytic converter. In addition, the catalytic converter will also be replaced if it has been damaged. Depending on the extent of any damage, the engine may also be replaced, free of charge. The recall began April 17, 2019. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC176.
Campaign 19V120000 on NHTSA.gov
SteeringSep 29, 2017
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2014-2016 Soul and Soul EV vehicles. The pinion plug may allow the pinion gear to separate from the steering gear assembly.
If the pinion gear separates, steering will be lost, increasing the risk of a crash.
Kia will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and secure the pinion plug or replace the steering gear assembly, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began November 16, 2017. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC155. Note: This recall supersedes campaigns 14V-332 and 15V-736. Vehicles previously remedied under those numbers are being recalled again under this campaign.
Campaign 17V608000 on NHTSA.gov
Vehicle speed control, accelerator pedalMar 2, 2015
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 Soul and Soul electric vehicles manufactured July 21, 2013, to January 8, 2015. A section of the accelerator pedal may bend and fracture.
If the vehicle has a bent or broken accelerator pedal, the driver may have difficulty accelerating the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Kia will notify owners, and dealers will add a supporting rubber underneath the pedal stopper, free of charge. The recall began on March 24, 2015. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC116.
Campaign 15V123000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: other or unspecified
83 reports, newest first. Show all
Other or unspecified, Apr 28, 2023
2014 KIA SOUL. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO DEFECTS IN VEHICLE. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE WAS HAVING ENGINE PROBLEMS THAT APPEAR TO BE RELATED TO, AND COVERED, BY ONE OR MORE RECALLS THAT APPLY TO THE KIA SOUL VEHICLE.
Power train, Other or unspecified, Engine, Apr 27, 2023
Catalytic Converter malfunction and it was check by my mechanic at Hillebrand Automotive. It causes my 2014 Kia Soul to stop running in the middle of the highway. There were no warning lights, massages or any other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. This happened 3 months ago. On January 21, 2023. It's still down because i can't afford to have it fix.
Other or unspecified, Fuel/propulsion system, Apr 20, 2023
My check engine light came on and took it to Coastal Kia. Was told the catalytic converter needed to be replaced. After checking it’s not on the recall list but why are some on recall and not others. It started with the light at 127,000 miles. At first it would only stay on for a few days and then go off. Now it stays on all the time. I’m going to have it replaced but trying to find out why only some of the 2014 Souls are under recall
Other or unspecified, Jan 15, 2023
Took my car in the dealership 3 months ago before I hit my 100K mark. The engine sounded like a Cummons diesel and the engine light kept going on and off. They did an oil change and kept my car for 3 days and were unable to diagnose the problem. I made sure the problem was documented by the dealer. Recently it started to sound the same and the light kept going on and off and I couldn't get into the dealership on my day off. So I went to a Jiffy Lube even though I still had some mileage before it was due. The guy there was very concerned and said my car was burning oil quite badly and there was an issue with the timing chain causing it and my car was at risk of seizing up. He recommended getting to the dealer as soon as possible. I took time from work the next day and fortunately the engine light was still on and they apparently diagnosed the problem without telling anything more than to expect a call from the manufacturer. That was on January 10th. It is now the 15th and I have not heard anything. I have never even been told when I take the car in for oil changes that I'm even low on oil and Jiffy Lube has been the only one to bring this to my attention. Prior to this the dealership has been the only one to do my oil changes and I was in one more time between when the problem started in February and now.
Other or unspecified, Engine, Jan 10, 2023
Whenever needing to accelerate sharply on highway or roadways a plume of white smoke is released from the engine manifold compartment area and creates a smoke screen surrounding and behind vehicle. Had numerous mechanics fix things on this, fuel injectors recently, Kia dealership states it needs a new engine but extended warranty would not cover the cost. Vehicle was sold to me and under financing through Westlake Financial and is lien holder, but vehicle is claimed by dealership to be unsafe to drive. Forced to purchase an additonal new vehicle and still paying and insurinance on this vehicle.
Other or unspecified, Engine, Dec 20, 2022, fire
The vehicle’s engine spontaneously caught fire on the interstate. Entire car and all belongings inside were a total loss.
Vehicle speed control, Other or unspecified, Engine, Dec 13, 2022
The engine is the system that is malfunctioned and yes it is available for inspection upon request. The vehicle accelerates at a slower pace than actual acceleration pressure put on pedal and then it lurches/jerks forward at a fast pace and then slows down and repeats that process over and over. Yes the problem has been confirmed. It has been inspected by the dealership. Yes the warning lamps that often illuminate are the check engine light and the oil light. They first appeared to my knowledge on 01/2020. I have been told numerous times by the Kia dealership where I get the vehicle serviced as well as Kia America Inc. Corporate Headquarters, that the engine has a malfunction and needs to be replaced. I attempted to have this problem fixed and I have missed work and spent thousands of dollars for this vehicle to work correctly.
Other or unspecified, Engine, Oct 11, 2022
My car was jerking, and smoking broke down in OK, the mechanic that fixed my car told me to reach out to KIA and you because he said that Oil was leaking down into the coils and I was lucky that A. it didn't catch fire with me and my child in the car and B. that it didn't burn up my motor. Since this happened on 9/5/22 I have to put 2qts oil in my car ever week and half because the oil is "burning up". I have the receipt with details from the shop in Oklahoma. I have reached out to Kia several times, but nobody calls me back.
Other or unspecified, May 31, 2022
The check engine light is displayed showing that the catalytic converter is bad. Vehicle is losing engine oil. Have filled complaint with KIA. No assistance offered other than stating there are no recalls on the vehicle.
Wheels, Other or unspecified, Apr 15, 2022
Check engine light continually emits., code states there is a catalytic converter issue., tire sensor light continues to emit., car idles high and shakes continually. Oil disappears and low oil indicator does not work.
Other or unspecified, Engine, Mar 30, 2022
I had my car “recall” checked out at a dealership. They preformed a software update but I have had problems ever since. I’ve replace the catalytic converter twice. Had to replace spark plugs after the dealership blew them all and only decided to fix one. I’ve had engine misfires and burning smells and have had those issues fixed multiple times. The car is not safe to drive. They won’t do anything because there’s no active recalls, but I am having these issues continuously. The engines either going to blow up or stall and someone including me is going to get hurt. Kia needs to be help responsible for this. I’ve had regular maintenance and oil changes my entire time owning the car. I shouldn’t be having to replace coil packs, ignition coils, spark plugs and catalytic converters every 4 months. My car is also burning oil like no other.
Engine, Other or unspecified, Mar 10, 2022
I recently had the engine related "recalls" done to my 2014 kia Soul car. The dealership made no mention of my bad engine noises on the service invoice or when he called me to come pick up the car that had "passed" the engine test and the ecu update. My faint engine noise is escalating greatly following the recall completion. After speaking a second time with the service advisor at Kia, he did admit the noise was present and said it was not my fault but, no coverage was available for me. My car was already over the extended warrantee mileage cap back when I received the initial recall notice so it seems I was always to be out of any engine repair coverage by Kia. I have a nice car in which I have overspent effort and money maintaining the engine better than the manufactures recommendations and it is basically junk now due to the engine prematurely breaking down. It sits in the street and I am without my car and I am far from alone as a Kia Soul owner. A car that is worth many thousands of dollars to me running is now worth only about $200. to the junk man. You can't find a good, affordable car to replace it with today. My question is: Why would the 2.0 Kia Soul owners not have the same, unlimited mileage warrantee on their engines which the other Kia and Hyundia owner's engines have received for these defective engines? I think it is criminal, literally stealing money from people by selling a defective item and not compensating the owners for that defect. this action also forces the customer to spend more money on another vehicle, way before the time it should be necessary to do so. I could have easily put 50-75K more miles on this Kia Soul car if it were not for the bad engine.
Vehicle speed control, Other or unspecified, Engine, Jan 6, 2022
Car has issues when starting up. When turning on, occasionally it will take time to completely turn on, its as if it’s not receiving enough power from battery, but then it will turn on with the traction control and engine light being on. I would have to turn it off and turn it back off for those light to turn off. I’ve also driven the car and it will turn off, but the light is still on, the engine just turned off. This will also happen when I’m idle and waiting to run the car. When driving, I feel something being moved and the traction light & engine light will turn on. Especially when I try to get more speed on the car. I’ve taken the car numerous times for this issue but each time they’ve told me nothing was wrong with it. I’ve replaced battery since this was what we thought the issue was initially. On the 3rd time I’ve taken the car to get fixed, i was told that the ECM is the issue. Took a month to get the piece and car fixed. Same day receiving it back, it was doing the same thing where it would not turn on properly and the traction control light is on. And now when driving the engine and traction light are both on more often.
Power train, Other or unspecified, Engine, Jan 6, 2022
I had the Knock sensor recall updated on my car last year. This installation was faulty so Kia had to create a software for my car for the knock sensor. Recently, my car has starting losing momentum when trying to drive and it's slow to shift almost like it's stuck in safe mode which is what happened after the kds was put in place. I believe the software or the sensor may be malfunctioning. This is affecting my gas mileage and possibly harming my transmission. This could possibly cause me to be in an accident with severe injuries or death.
Other or unspecified, Dec 21, 2021
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine, and Engine Cooling) however, the check engine warning light started illuminating randomly. The vehicle was diagnosed with catalytic converter failure. The contact was informed that the repair would be an out-of-pocket expense since the vehicle was no longer under recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 116,000.
Other or unspecified, Oct 15, 2021
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, exhaust fumes entered the cabin causing a headache. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a local dealer. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and was awaiting a response. The failure mileage was approximately 93,500.
Other or unspecified, Oct 4, 2021
Unknown, issue is the vehicle will not accelerate or change gears properly on an incline. On level roads the acceleration is still very slow.
Other or unspecified, Sep 10, 2021
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact stated that during a brakes and struts repair being performed by an independent mechanic, the mechanic informed the contact that there was oil pan leakage but could not fix the failure since the vehicle was under a recall. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the dealer performed an oil change and updated the Knock Sensor Detection System (KSDS) software. The dealer informed the contact to drive the vehicle for 1,000 miles then bring the vehicle back. The contact drove the vehicle for 400 miles and the check engine warning light illuminated and the knock sensor went into limp mode. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer and diagnosed that the engine was damaged from the previous dealer Richland Motors (4653 Pearl Rd, Cleveland, OH 44109) having the top engine taken apart and rebuilt. The dealer also informed the contact that it was normal for Kia vehicles to consume a quart of oil every thousand miles. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 64,000.
Electrical system, Exterior lighting, Other or unspecified, Sep 4, 2021
My dash lights would flash bright and dim randomly while driving at first. A few weeks later my headlights would flicker from high beam to low beam and dash lights would still flicker. Now about a month into this my headlights still flicker but they have even turned off all while driving and I was told my brake lights go off as well ,dash lights still flicker and my a/c will not work/blow randomly so it seems to be involving electrical .
Other or unspecified, Jul 21, 2021
The lights flicker on and off making it dangerous to drive. This is an ongoing problem and did not just happen one time
Other or unspecified, May 31, 2021
Can you please update the recall on this car it’s already has been fixed by the dealership in Arizona , 12 April 2021 the vehicle got fixed and i have all paperwork shows that
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, May 9, 2021
ABS LIGHT & BRAKE LIGHT AND OTHER DASH BOARD LIGHTS ARE ON, AND WONT TURN OFF. THERE IS A SOME SORT OF LEAK THAT I AM UNABLE TO FIND WHERE IT COME FROM. I TOOK IT IN FOR A SERVICE AND TO PERFORM RECALL P12002AQ WHICH THEY DID BUT KIA DID NOT ATTEND TO, OR ADDRESS THE BRAKE LIGHT & ABS LIGHT & UNIDENTIFIED LEAK REPORTED TO THEM AT THE TIME I BROUGHT CAR IN.. INSTEAD THEY WANTED TO CHARGE A VERY HIGH FEE TO ADDRESS THE ISSUES WHICH ARE THE SIGNS OF WHAT HAS CAUSED FIRE PROBLEMS WITH THIS KIA MODEL
Vehicle speed control, Other or unspecified, Engine, May 6, 2021
RECALL SC200 ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE SAFETY HAZARD. WHILE DRIVING AFTER I GOT OFF THE INTERSTATE AND GOT OFF ON MY EXIT, I HEARD A KNOCKING NOISE IN ENGINE, THEN OIL LIGHT AND ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, I GET MY OIL CHANGED ON THE REGULAR, SMELLED REALLY HOT HAD TO TURN OFF THE CAR IT SCARED ME BECAUSE IT ALSO STARTED TO DEACCELERATE WOULD NOT GO OVER LIKE 30 40 MPH. THE NOISE WAS TERRIBLE I WAS SO SCARED THE ENGINE WAS GOING TO EXPLODE I HAD TO HAVE IT TOWED. NOW AFTER THE KIA CONSUMER TOLD ME MULTIPLE TIMES THEY APPROVED THE ENGINE REPLACEMENT THE DEALERSHIP HAD SOME ISSUE DUE TO AN ECU KSDS UPDATE THAT I WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF AND IT WAS NEVER PREFORMED. SO SHE APOLOGIZED BY TELLING ME THE INFORMATION THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY PROVIDED MUTIPLE TIMES WAS INCORRECT AND I WOULD NEED TO PAY OUT OF POCKET. I READ OVER THE SC200 ENGINE INSPECTION TEST RECALL LETTER. IT ACTUALLY STATES THEY WILL PREFORM THE KSDS ECU SOFTWARE UPDATE IN ADDITION TO THIS RECALL. NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. SENT ANOTHER ESCALATION BECAUSE THIS IS NOT FAULT OF MY OWN THE CAR IS BROKE DOWN AND ALSO NOT MY FAULT THEY GAVE ME THE WRONG INFORMATION (SO THEY SAY.) REGARDLESS THEY SHOULD REPLACE IT BECAUSE THEY ALREADY TOLD ME IT WAS APPROVED TO BE FIXED AND FOR A RENTAL. I HAVE STILL NOT GOTTEN ANY THING. I AM COMPLETELY
Other or unspecified, Engine, Apr 11, 2021
CODE P050A CAME ON AFTER RECALL. DEALERSHIP CANNOT TELL ME WHAT IS WRONG AND IT ONLY COMES ON UPON STARTING IN COLD WEATHER. THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM AND KIA NEEDS TO PROVIDE A SOLUTION.
Exterior lighting, Other or unspecified, Engine, Feb 7, 2021
KNOCKING NOISES FOR LONG TIME. SCRAPING NOISE. LIGHTING DIM AND FLASES. NOISE TUNNEL CAUSING AUDITORY HALLUCINATIONS. BURNING SMELL. LEAKING OIL