KnownCarProblems2014 Kia Soul Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 902 complaints with NHTSA about the 2014 Kia Soul, most often about the engine (65% of complaints, typically around 103,000 miles). It is the most complained-about Soul model year since 2000 and has 5 recalls.
Most common 2014 Kia Soul problems
Engine
590 complaints · 65%Half of these problems showed up before 103,000 miles. Parts named most often: exhaust system, engine.
Safety concern: engine caught fire while driving. The vehicle is a 2014 Kia Soul with 104,000 miles. The vehicle was being driven through a residential area at <20 MPH when the engine made a single "pop" sound and the vehicle expelled a large black cloud of smoke from the exhaust pipe. The driver pulled over, into a…
On december 9th, 2018 at approximately 6:10am, while driving to work on the highway, my car suddenly broke down and began to smoke. I pulled over to the side of the road and removed my important belongings. Within minutes my car was on fire. I notified city police, fire department, and insurance company. My car was…
Lights
130 complaints · 14%Half of these problems showed up before 67,000 miles. Parts named most often: headlights, brake lights.
One the headlights started out as just flickering, it would turn off for 2 seconds but will come back on as I'm driving. Then after about a week, it would be a while and I have to turn my lights off then turn it back on to get it to work again. But these past few days, it would not turn on at all even after flipping…
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. While driving, the headlights started to flicker and then inadvertently failed. The vehicle was taken to lawrence Kia (1225 e 23rd st, lawrence, ks 66046, ([phone]) where it was diagnosed that the wiring overheated and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The…
Electrical
98 complaints · 11%Half of these problems showed up before 69,500 miles. Parts named most often: instrument panel, ignition, 12v/24v/48v battery.
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact smelled exhaust fumes and burning wires inside the vehicle. The instrument panel lighting was also flickering. The dealer and manufacturer were not notified. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 69,000.
Whether the vehicle is stationary, in motion, on a city street or a highway, the right headlight will flicker and then go out. No matter what I've done on my end, nothing has solved the issue, racking up unnecessary costs. Once in a while the headlight will stay on longer than expected but suddenly turns off, making…
Other or unspecified
85 complaints · 9%Half of these problems showed up before 80,000 miles.
I was driving about 30 MPH north on harbor blvd and first st in california sudendly I heard a loud knocking/clicking sound coming from the lower left side of the engine & no error codes came on prior to the noise so I pulled over and called a tow truck to take my vehicle to the nearest mechanic. Until today mechanic…
My Kia Soul 2014 just blew up and caught fire. The engine was a 4 cylinder gdi. The car went up in flames. The engine blew loud and as I came to a halt the entire car was on fire. Then the gas tank exploded. I was in cruise control going up a hip noticed the engine riveting hard and then the car engine made that loud…
Transmission
58 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 76,500 miles.
Car is going through all of its oil. Goes through approximately 1qt every 1,500 miles. When I first came across this problem the car was making a loud knocking sound, took it to the dealer and there was approx 1 quart of oil in the car. I only drove about 3,000 miles since the last full synthetic oil change. The…
2014 Kia Soul burning oil excessively. Have to refill oil one a week. This vehicle has never missed an oil change. 100, miles. Started at 80, miles.
Fuel system
57 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 84,500 miles. Parts named most often: delivery.
My car has been stalling for the last 6 months it had a recall on the catalytic converter due to overheating, resulting in abnormal engine conbusion and damage to the engine pistons. I have taken it to the Kia shop for an upgrade and that did not work.
After multiple attempts at the shop, the Kia has been burning oil. There is no smoke or leaks. A compression test was not done at the original inspection of the car, and there is no oil in the car after about 500 miles. This engine has been burning oil since 85000 miles and there is "nothing" that Kia can do for our…
Steering
55 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 36,000 miles.
Steering started making a clunking noisewhen turned slightly left or right. The dealer says that the steering rack needs to be replaced. The part needed to ordered. The dealer would not release the car to me because it is not save to drive. This is a 2014 Kia Soul+ that has 36000 miles. I see that other souls have had…
The contact owned a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 25 MPH, there was a complete loss of steering control causing the vehicle to veer off the road. As a result, the contact crashed the passenger's side of the vehicle into a tree. The air bags failed to deploy. A police report was…
Brakes
35 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 41,000 miles. Parts named most often: power assist.
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving 30-40 MPH and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle accelerated unintendedly. The contact immediately shifted into neutral (n). There was no warning light illuminated. The contact then shifted into drive (d) and the vehicle responded as needed. The…
At 10000mi, this car lost pick- up, then charging outlets failed. By 30000mi, the brakes were mushy and weak, the engine makes noise, steering issues and weird smells started to occur. By 45000mi, the brake light failed, vibration/shaking, hesitation and lurching (on its own), gas millage was cut in half, rmps/idle…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2014 Kia Soul recalls
Air bags: software
Risk: Front air bags that do not deploy as intended can increase the risk of injury in a crash.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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.
Engine
Risk: An engine compartment fire increases the risk of injury.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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.
Engine
Risk: 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.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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.
Steering
Risk: If the pinion gear separates, steering will be lost, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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.
Speed control: accelerator pedal
Risk: If the vehicle has a bent or broken accelerator pedal, the driver may have difficulty accelerating the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Engine fires
Summary
On march 29, 2019, the office of defects investigation (odi) opened two preliminary evaluations (pe19-003 on hyundai and pe19-004 on kia) to broadly investigate incidents of non-crash fires (regardless of origin or operational status of the vehicle) on various model year hyundai and kia vehicles.â during the pe investigations, hyundai and kia issued several recalls to address vehicle fires, including those due to engine failures involving various engine types.â the remedies for the engine failure recalls typically involve engine inspection (to detect existing damage), and if necessary, engine replacement.â additionally, both manufacturers have been installing an engine control software modif
Non-crash vehicle fires
Summary
During this preliminary evaluation (pe), the office of defects investigation (odi) assessed the scope, frequency and potential safety-related consequences of non-crash vehicle fires caused by both engine failures and failures of other vehicle systems/components in model year (my) 2011-2014 kia optima, my 2011-2014 kia sorento and my 2010-2015 kia soul vehicles equipped with theta II, gamma, nu and lambda II engines (approximately 1.7 million vehicles). Odi also reviewed field and other data on other kia vehicles (approximately 3.6 million additional vehicles) equipped with the same engines used in the above-mentioned vehicles.as a result of this pe, kia has issued NHTSA recalls 20v-750 and 2
Non-crash vehicle fires
Summary
In a letter dated june 11, 2018, the center for auto safety (cas) petitioned the national highway traffic safety administration (NHTSA) to initiate a safety defect investigation into non-collision related fires on model year (my) 2011-2014 kia optima and sorento, and hyundai sonata and santa fe vehicles. In a letter dated july 24, 2018, cas requested that my 2010-2015 kia soul vehicles be added to the petition. Cas stated that there is a higher number of complaints to NHTSA regarding non-crash fires on these vehicles compared to other similar vehicles. The office of defects investigation (odi) had already opened recall queries (rq17-003 and rq17-004) on all kia and hyundai vehicles equipped
Questions about the 2014 Kia Soul
- What are the most common problems with the 2014 Kia Soul?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: engine (590 complaints, typically around 103,000 miles); lights (130 complaints, typically around 67,000 miles); electrical (98 complaints, typically around 69,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2014 Kia Soul have?
- 5 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from February 18, 2022 (air bags). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2014 a bad year for the Kia Soul?
- It is the most complained-about Soul model year since 2000, with 902 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.