2014 Kia Soul Engine Problems

The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V096000 (AIR BAGS). The vehicle was taken for the oil change, and the contact was informed that the engine was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The oil level was extremely low. The contact was informed that the manifold was cleaned; however, the cause of the excessive oil consumption was not yet determined. The vehicle was not repaired. Upon further investigation, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (ENGINE, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). However, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 101,000.

Excessive Oil Consumption/Burning Catalytic Converter Clogging Check Engine Light/Misfires My engine has all of these issues. It has been determined as known KIA issues not driver/owner related. My car has 94,000 miles but none of what's going on is any cause other than KIA issues/problems. I work a full time job and have missed work due to car not being able to be driven at random times.

The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V750000 (Engine). The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact observed a leak underneath the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was determined that the master seal was leaking and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The repairs were denied due to the failure not being covered under the recall. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and it was determined that the master seal needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a complaint was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 90,140.

The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 MPH on the Interstate, the vehicle started shaking and there was a knocking sound coming from the engine with smoke and a burning oil odor. The engine, ABS, and traction control warning lights simultaneously illuminated. The vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road to cool down. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with a fractured engine pin, which caused the knocking sound. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V750000 (Engine); however, the VIN was not included. The approximate failure mileage was 138,929.

The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH uphill with her daughter and her small dog inside the vehicle, the brake pedal was depressed, but the vehicle stalled and shut off unexpectedly. The contact stated that several minutes later, the vehicle started working as intended; however, a fuel smell remained inside the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. Neither an independent mechanic nor the dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. There was a fuel odor while attempting to start the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (ENGINE, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING); however, the VIN was not associated with the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not associated with the recall. The failure mileage was 228,041.

Engine failing, pistons, and major oil consumption

The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact, who was an independent dealer, purchased the vehicle for resale. The contact researched and identified an unrepaired recall under NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling) associated with the VIN. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the dealer declined to repair the vehicle. The contact was informed that, because of missing or incorrect VIN information, the repair was declined. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact had not experienced a failure.

The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact received a recall letter related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that while driving 40-45 MPH, the vehicle lost power and stalled. The vehicle was restarted. The engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who retrieved DTC: P0420; which was related to the catalytic converter. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where the software update was completed, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 177,238.

The engine has absorbed an insane amount of oil the last several weeks, and this week it burned 1/2 quart of oil in four days- it was fully filled to 1 quart monday and by Friday of the same week was halfway gone. Otherwise it has worked well. Other Kia souls in the area are selling for much more money even if they have the same or more miles on them, but because mine needs an engine rebuild due to piston ring issues, it is worth much less than it should be. And there are no available recalls even though this is a known issue for Kia souls.

** Component/system that failed: The engine and catalytic converter. An independent mechanic confirmed the catalytic converter is clogged due to engine oil burning and entering the exhaust system. The component is still in the vehicle and available for inspection upon request. ** Safety risk: The car struggles to accelerate, especially from a stop or uphill, and cannot reliably reach or maintain highway speeds. It revs at 3,500–4,000 RPM at just 20–60 mph. This creates a serious safety hazard, especially when merging, changing lanes, or avoiding traffic, putting myself and others at risk. ** Problem confirmed: Yes. A trusted independent shop diagnosed and confirmed the engine is burning oil, contaminating the catalytic converter, and advised against replacing the converter until the root cause is fixed, or it will fail again. The Kia dealership dismissed the issue without testing, claiming it’s acceptable to burn 1 quart of oil every 1,000 miles. However, my vehicle consumes about 1 quart every 500 miles despite routine 2,500-mile oil changes with 5W-20 high-mileage oil. This excessive consumption is abnormal and being overlooked without proper evaluation. ** Inspection by manufacturer or others: Yes. A Kia dealership inspected the vehicle but refused to perform an oil consumption test, claiming the vehicle was “too unstable to drive,” despite me driving it 20 miles there. They blamed the converter failure on “normal wear and tear,” and denied the presence of an oil leak. ** Warning symptoms prior to failure: Yes. The symptoms began months ago and progressed over time, including: loss of power, high RPMs under low speed, poor fuel economy (range dropped from 350 to 310 miles), and difficulty accelerating. No warning lights have appeared. ** Additional note: This issue closely mirrors NHTSA Recall 19V120, but my Soul has a 2.0L engine, not a 1.6L. Many 2.0L owners report the same problem. I believe this defect should be investigated for recall expansion.

In 2023 I had my car repaired at a Kia dealership due to NHTSA Recall Number: 19V120, KIA Customer Care Case Number: [XXX]. It mentioned in recall that the engines may need to be replaced. Even though the engine had made grinding noises when I brought the vehicle in for repair on that recall, the Kia dealership told me my engine did not need to be replaced. However, on [XXX] as I was driving, the car began making loud grinding noises, the check engine & oil light came on and white smoke was coming out of the back. I immediately pulled into a gas station & shut the engine off. After waiting several minutes, I tried to restart the engine and it would not start. The battery had gotten weak. I got a jumpstart from a customer at the gas station, and when the engine turned over a large cloud of white smoke came out of the back, so I turned it off again and called for roadside assistance who towed the car to my home. I had the vehicle towed to a local garage on 6/14/2025. I believe this engine failure is part of the ongoing issues with defective Kia engines. And also stems from the issues from the recall mentioned above because when I took the car to the service center for that recall, it was vibrating and making a lot of noise at that time, and I believe damage had already started to happen to the engine. I contacted Kia 6/16/2025 and they claimed that I was out of warranty and that everything would be out of my pocket, but I think this engine should be covered under all the recalls and the class action lawsuits because it’s a safety hazard when your car shuts down in the middle of a highway. I never received any letters from Kia except when I contacted them about NHTSA Recall Number: 19V120. The case number for that issue is Case Number: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) Vehicle is at local garage.

My VIN number was included as part of the engine recall up to 150,000 miles. My car sat at the dealership and the engine replacement was denied because the leaking piston were not cover as part of the engine recall. I even called Kia directly and they would not cover the engine replacement. The excessive oil consumption starter at 93K, the engine failed at 120,000 mile and 7 years old. I bought the vehicle brand new and I changed my oil faithfully. I think they denied the engine replacement because they started getting all these other engine recalls. The car was very reliable and no other major problems until this.

The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the contact was informed that the catalytic converter was defective and needed to be replaced. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.

The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving approximately 25 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact restarted the vehicle and continued driving. The failure had occurred twice in one week. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was temporarily illuminated during the failures. The vehicle was taken to a certified mechanic who provided the contact with information of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V750000 (Engine); and referred the contact to the dealer. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.

The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine light illuminated. The contact pulled to the side of the road. When the vehicle was turned off, oil leaked from the vehicle. The contact drove slowly to a business parking lot. The vehicle was towed to the residence and was then towed to the dealer. The vehicle was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired, and the dealer refused to complete the recall repairs. The contact was informed that the manufacturer refused to do the recall repairs and stated that the warranty had expired. The vehicle remained at the dealer unrepaired. The contact was informed that the vehicle needed to be removed from the premises. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and filed a claim. Afterwards, the contact was informed that NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 22V096000 (AIR BAGS), 17V608000 (STEERING), 19V120000 (ENGINE, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING), and 15V123000 (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL) were associated with the VIN. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.

The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed with cruise control activated, the RPM's suddenly increased to over 4,000 and the contact heard an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact pulled over to the shoulder of the roadway where the failure persisted. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that she was previously informed that the catalytic convertor needed to be replaced prior to the failure; however, the catalytic convertor had not been replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 120,000.

I purchased this vehicle used just four months ago. Since then, I’ve had continual problems with it, costing me a significant amount of money. To date, it required all new tires, a new battery, and multiple problems related to the engine light turning on. So far, these problems have resulted in two sensors being replaced and my catalytic converter becoming so clogged that the car lost all acceleration while on the highway. A Kia dealer wanted $2800 to repair the catalytic converter. I then had to have it towed to private mechanic who only charged me $700 for the same repair. However, the engine light continues to go on. The latest later scan indicates that yet had another sensor needs to be replaced.

The engine stalls without warning while driving. It’s been at dangerous times on highways or just driving around town. There’s no rhyme or reason and has almost caused horrible traffic accidents. When calling the local Kia dealer to see if there was a recall concerning engine stalling I was treated very rudely and told that there wasn’t any recall issues or problems. However, upon doing an internet search I find that to be a lie. I guess it would take me getting into an accident and suing Kia before responsibility is taken.

Catalytic converter overheated. Motor stalled. Wallace Kia, Stuart, Florida ran diagnostics on my vehicle. I brought it into Wallace Kia, Stuart, to get it fixed via the recall. They refused to do it. They said that the catalytic converter overheated and the motor has damage. I don't understand why they won't honor the recall and fix my car. They wanted me to pay for the diagnostics, but they won't send me an invoice.

I was driving down a major highway (I65, northbound, indiana) and my vehicle suddenly slowed down and wouldn't accelerate in the middle of traffic. The check engine light came on and was flashing, as well as many other lights on the dash. Thankfully I was able to pull over. I had to wait on the interstate for a tow truck with cars and semis flying past me. It was absolutely dangerous and Kia states they won't cover it because it wasn't dangerous. This is a known issue with this vehicle, and I did get the updated knock sensor when that recall came out. My engine completely stalled on a highway.