2017 Kia Soul

My cars check engine light has come on at 87,659 miles with a p0420 code. My dealer has determined that this is a defective catalytic converter and because of the mileage it is not warrantied. In doing research the 2012-2016 Kia Soul with the 1.6 gdi engine. My car is a 2017 experiencing the same symptoms as the cars a year older. The recall campaign is 19v120000 with the NHTSA and SC 176 with KIA dating back to 04/17/2019. My cars model year being a 2017 had not been determined at that time to be effected as the mileage had not yet accumulated to the mileage of the previous years. Now that my 2017 car had reached the mileage in which previous cars where effected , it too is experiencing this defect. The safety issue lies in that when the car is driven it could overheat without any warning lights indicating that and overheating a cylinder, piston damage will occur leading to catastrophic failure that could launch a connecting rod out the side of the engine block and allow oil to spray onto hot exhaust manifold leading to a fire.I would like to see that the recall to cover added years (2017-2019) to this recall as this is a continuing safety issue. The dealership is not wanting to acknowledge and help in this matter so I am filing this complaint to document continuing failures to aid in extending model years covered.

We were driving down the highway and the engine started making sounds like something was breaking. I pulled over and then couldn’t start it again. We had to have it towed to the dealership where we were told we needed a new engine without them explaining what happened or why. There were no symptoms of failure prior to the failure itself. Engine failure while driving down the interstate is dangerous and we are lucky nothing bad happened to us.

I was in the right lane, of two lanes, proceeding north. I had waited at a red light, the second car back from the cross street. The light turned green and I was slowly proceeding, maybe going about 15-20 mph. Suddenly, the car engine raced and the front of the car veered left. There were cars in front of me, in the lane to the left of me, and behind me. I had both of my hands on the steering wheel the entire time. I, of course, took my foot off the gas pedal and applied the brakes. The brakes were not stopping the car. The car took off and was uncontrollable. I hit the car in the lane to my left, traveled across the same lane, then luckily ran up a curb and onto a median that had grass on it. The car was out of control and moving swiftly. I steered it to the right and off the median (which avoided hitting oncoming traffic head-on). The brakes were not stopping the car. I heard and felt that the car was hitting things: the car to my left, the median, etc.) I think the car may have spun 360 degrees, one complete revolution, and then jumped the curb and went up onto the median again. Again, I steered to the right to avoid crossing the median. The car then spun 180 degrees, and stopped perfectly facing south in the left northbound lane. (I thought I had gone up the median two times; however, maybe it was only once, as my passenger thought. I don't know if it was once or two times up the curb and onto the median. It all happened so fast.) Car was towed away. What failed: the car wildly took off, veering to the left; the brakes didn't stop the car Risk: the car was uncontrollable (except steering somewhat) and moving; if not for the curb and wide median, I would have traveled head-on into oncoming traffic; the car spun as if spinning on ice Reproduced: the car has not been touched; there is a consumer affairs case open with its manufacturer Inspected: by my insurance appraiser, at the dealership Warning: none, was a shocking surprise

Engine seized and the piston rod put a hole in the engine block, spilling out all the oil. There was no warning light illuminated before the incident. There were no knocking before the incident. Kia is refusing to replace the engine. Stating I did not take it in to get the safety recall campaign. However, I never received a notice about this.

The contact owned a 2017 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving at approximately 60 MPH said she heard a clicking sound coming from the engine as she depressed the accelerator. The contact heard a loud bang coming from the engine, smoke began to emit from under the hood. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact pulled off to the left side of the highway and jumped over the highway divider and twisted her left ankle. The police and fire department was not called. The contact did not seek medical attention. The contact had the vehicle towed to her residence. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a dealer. The contact's insurance provider declared the vehicle a total loss. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 109,000.

My air bag, ABS and Brake Lights all gave warnings at about the same time, as well as my speedometer going "haywire" on a cold start. I got a recall notice about my airbag (electrical problems) and took it in to Parkway Kia, and was told that the airbag was not part of the recall, and that it would cost $1000 to repair the lights, as several different sensors had gone out at the same time. Included was 5 or 6 repairs that had already been verified that I didn't need. If the dealership is using recall opportunities to push $1000s of unnecessary "maintenance" repairs on their vehicles, no one is going to trust those recalls and this is creating an unsafe driving environment for everyone. I contacted Kia corporate and they stated each shop is "independently owned and operated" and "repairs can be declined." Kia is making a farce of this process and using your agency to perpetuate fraud.

The exhaust manifold with catalytic converter cracked and almost caught on fire. This after I had at a Kia dealership to diagnose why the car was smoking. They replaced an Oxygen sensor and the valve cover gasket telling me that was all that was wrong with it. It has been less than a month and there was no signs or lights that anything was wrong.