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2015 Soul Engine Failure

40K views 80 replies 43 participants last post by  rhysoul 
#1 ·
Hello everyone,
I have a 2015 Kia Soul with 90,000 miles. I am the original owner. I have taken the car to Kia for all maintenance and oil changes. My car always idled rough when it was cold for the first few minutes. About 3 months ago my ECV went of course Kia repaired the car at no cost. 2 weeks ago my car started making the same noise again and the check engine light came on. I took it to the dealer immediately they said it needed a timing chain, tensioner, Constant Variable Valve Timing Control System. While tearing apart my engine for repair they found metal shavings in my engine. They are saying the rods are deteriorating and are replacing the engine, under warranty. I have read some other people who have had this problem on complaint forums and had several engine replacements. Obviously, I am not a car mechanic or car person. I am concerned with my warranty being so close to its end that this might happen again. Has anyone else had problems with their engine? Is it time to part with my car? Any advice?

Thank you,
Claire
 
#3 · (Edited)
Hi Claire and welcome to the forum!

You are not alone with this problem. I'm not sure how much you know about the Hyundai/Kia problem, across multiple vehicles, with this "metal shavings" problem AND engine fires. Check the link below for a discussion and links to other threads.

There is a class action lawsuit, that includes your 2015, in the works. While the Soul isn't recalled for this problem, the suit wants it, and other years added.

Other models that have been recalled receive an extended powertrain warranty to 120,000 miles (whatever??).

Is it time to part ways with your Soul? I would look at it this way: beyond this obvious inconvenience, you are about to receive an almost new engine, free of charge. Plus they will probably extend your Powertrain Warranty (which basically fixes anything related to the engine keeping your car moving) beyond 10 years. Often with a new engine like you're getting, they give you a new 10 year from the rebuild.

The Soul otherwise is incredibly reliable. I'd stay with this car, at least through the warranty period, unless you have another reason to dump this ride :)

Did you buy the car new? To have 90,000 miles on a 2015 is above average, but in a way you're very lucky it happened now and not in another 10,000 miles. Do you drive alot of highway or more city miles?

Keep us posted on your story and it's great to have you join us!

https://www.kiasoulforums.com/145-soul-problems-gen-2/112311-jalopnik-hyundai-kia-called-recall-3-million-cars.html

You can also scroll to the box entitled "Similar Threads" at the bottom of this page for more chatter on this topic.
 
#5 ·
Thank you so much for your responses at Kia they didn’t mention the extended warranty or anything. I feel so much more comfortable and confident that my car will be fine. I really like my car it is such a fun little car. I was just so worried this was going to happen again. I am a high mileage driver unfortunately.
 
#6 ·
That's the first 2015 Soul that I've heard of with that problem. You don't say which model you have (the 1.6L and 2.0L engines are different, and I think with other Kia/Hyundai it's always been the larger engines with metal shavings). It does concern me, since I also have a 2015 (albeit with the 1.6L engine) and no warranty (voided due to a few little dimples in the sheet metal, whether by hail or a motorcycle gang of hamster hating squirrels). Oh well, at my present rate of use, it'll be another 7 years before I hit 90K.
 
#7 ·
Why would your warranty be voided due to hail dimpling sheet metal? Maybe the paint warranty would be no good but hail doesn't "void" warranties. Also, your insurance should have fixed it. Hail isn't a warranty issue.
 
#9 ·
You may have noticed my thread which is a very similar problem to yours. I won't repeat myself here. Unfortunately, I am out of warranty by 4000 miles and they said Kia will still eat the cost of a new motor but not the labor which was quoted at 3000.00. I am hoping for a recall or extended warranty as well so that I will get that money back. Anyway, I am going on over 2 weeks with no update from the dealer but they did give me a brand new 2019 to drive in the meantime so I'm in no hurry to go back to pick up and pay for my 2014. They told me 10 days but I have a feeling it will be much longer. Good luck with your situation.
 
#12 ·
Hi neil,

All 2010-2015 Soul's are included in the Class Action lawsuit (for fires). To my understanding, no Soul's have been recalled for metal shavings. Kia's position is they will handle it on a case by case basis.

Other Hyundai & Kia models have been recalled en masse.

My guess is they will be forced to deal with the Soul fire & frozen engines by a court order.
 
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#15 ·
My wife's 2014 Optima had a recall notice about 1 year ago on it cause it has the 2.4 L and kia has a big recall going on for that motor and if I rember there are about 500,000 motors that fall in the time frame that could have metal shavings in it, when inspected it passed but it does not sound ok to me so hearing about your problem does not shock me and I would press the issue before the warante expires
 
#16 · (Edited)
Hey neil,

You can get your engine specs (mines a DOHC GDI Gamma 1.6ltr) by entering your VIN here (it's free):

https://driving-tests.org/vin-decoder/

There's multiple places to check if your specific engine has been recalled (eg: safercar.gov) or I use the Kia Owners Website. It's pretty cool with alot of information about your car. If your Soul hasn't been recalled, there's no way to know for sure if your engine has any problem (your guess is as good as anybodys). I honestly wouldn't worry too much about it. It really is an infinitesimal amount of vehicles (not much solace however if it happens to you). Here's that link:

https://owners.kia.com/us/en/kia-owner-portal.html/

All the best!
 
#19 ·
My 2012 Kia Soul+ is not in any recall list. I have proactively changed PCV valve (suggested in one of the post). There was a misfire from one of the cylinders so I have replaced all spark plugs and coils. No major issues to report other than a squeak sound (looks like body panel joints) coming from driver side door or under chassis.

Are we expecting any recall (due to engine fire) for this model?
 
#20 ·
Hello everyone! I just wanted to post an update. I heard back from the dealer today and the said the recieved my head back today and I will get my car back next week. I inquired as to why my head went to the machine shop she said they do that with all of the cars with engine problems. I inquired about extending my warranty as a result of this and she said that is not happening my car is not included in those vehicles. My warranty on the engine will expire with the rest at 100,000 miles. 10,000 miles from now. She doesn’t anticipate the soul being added to the engines with the recall. Just letting y’all know what my dealership is saying.
 
#22 ·
I drive my cars a long time so I am used to driving vehicles out of warranty. It means paying for your own repairs, but in general that is much cheaper than buying a new car.

Your warranty will expire in 10,000 miles, but with a rebuilt engine (or whatever they did) you should go at least another 90,000. If you like the car, keep it, IMHO.

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#21 · (Edited)
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#23 ·
From a documentation perspective, it might not be a bad idea to have a few used oil analyses (UOAs) performed (effectively, you or whoever services the car takes a sample of the used oil when the oil is being drained, puts it into a sample container, you mail it off to a lab with a few dollars, and the lab runs an analysis on the contents within that oil and gives you a printout of levels/interpretation.) Essentially, this gives an overview of the state of the oil and a snapshot into several metrics that can indicate some aspects of engine health. Having one performed with your first oil change might not be a bad idea...metal levels will generally be higher on a new engine as such, but it still provides a baseline (where with subsequent UOAs, many of those elevated metal levels are expected to decrease, and certain patterns emerge.)

By the time you reach the point that the warranty expires, you'll have some indicators of the health of the new engine. Further, in the event you have an engine issue shortly after the warranty expires, you may have documentation that can use to argue that the defect/problem began while the car was still under warranty (and request a future claim still be covered.) None of this is guaranteed, obviously, but it's not much money for a little more peace of mind.

https://www.blackstone-labs.com/products/free-test-kits
 
#24 ·
GeoSoul - VERY interested in this class action lawsuit you mentioned? Does that include the 2014 Kia Soul Exclaim? My engine suddenly just died at 144K miles and they're saying I need a whole new engine for $10K...Kia of America is taking their sweet time & I've had to make 3 car payments already on a car I haven't been able to drive since November 2018.
 
#34 ·
Lately I check the oil a couple times per week. Based on early evidence, the engine seems to be using about 1 quart oil every 1000 miles.
I am recording every oil addition, and saving receipts for the oil.

Friday my wife took it to the Dealer for an oil change and she reported the oil use. The Writer agreed to document it on the work order, but they would not do any engine examination. For that they wanted a different appointment made. Which leads me to my next question;

What would they do to check engine oil consumption? Or, what could one expect to be done? And should something like that be warranty?
Thanks.
 
#35 ·
Last year when my new Certified Pre-owned 2015 Soul ! was leaking oil and I called the dealership about it - I was told:

1. For it to be considered abnormal and under warrenty repair the leak would need to be GREATER than 1 quart every 1000 miles - this was very surprising to me!
2. To confirm abnormal leaking - I would have to bring it to the dealer every 1000 miles x 5 (5000 miles total) where they would check the oil level and track the leakage

Mine turned out to be an improperly installed crush nut (I think that's the right term) so it was a quick an easy fix which made me very happy because I barely drive 5000 miles in a year.
 
#38 ·
I agree dynamo. If the low engine oil light comes on, it's not a suggestion like the low gas tank light.

What's become clear is you need to maintain a fairly full oil pan to maintain proper, full lubrication of these engines with extremely tight tolerances. That means full oil pressure, circulation and capacity.

If I was experiencing any low oil level, I'd be sure to carry extra oil in the boot space and if that light came on, stop ASAP and fill it up.
 
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#41 ·
Feb 28, 2019 - Kia said it is recalling 378,000 2012-2016 Kia Soul vehicles over engine damage and fire risks, while Hyundai and Kia are recalling 155,000 2011-2013 Tucson vehicles and 2011-2012 Sportage vehicles over possible oil pan leaks in a separate callback.

The Class Action Lawsuit filed in California:

Attorneys representing the plaintiffs in this Hyundai and Kia class action lawsuit say, “Hyundai and Kia are putting their own consumers in grave danger of spontaneous fires, loss of property, and personal injury, and alarmingly they have also chosen to actively conceal the defect.”

Models impacted in this Hyundai and Kia class action lawsuit include Hyundai cars 2013-2019 Santa Fe and Santa Fe Sport and the 2011-2019 Hyundai Sonata. Affected Kia models are the 2012-2019 Kia Sorento, the 2011-2019 Kia Optima, the 2012-2019 Kia Soul, and the 2011-2019 Kia Sportage.
 
#43 ·
is it a leak or is it burning oil? If it is burning oil in your using synthetic, try going to 5w 30 or 10w 30 conventional oil and see how it does. My Soul was burning a quart every thousand Miles using 5w 30 synthetic and I changed over to conventional, and after 1500 miles, it hasn't burned a drop. Just my input.

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#44 ·
Thats an interesting situation. How many miles on your '14 when it started using oil? Were you using only one brand of synthetic? Having recently purchased a used '14, i'm watching the dip stick frequently. I am using 5-30 Penns Plat syn so far, but only 1500 miles on it at this point.
 
#48 ·
Interesting 2015white, my dealer puts 5w-30 in mine and it's never burned oil.

My manual, along with the oil cap says 5w-20, but in parentheses says 5w-30.
 
#51 ·
FWIW
Currently, this oil guzzler Soul is in a Oil Consumption Test. The Dealership changed the oil, then taped down the dipstick, and the oil fill cap so as to prevent me from looking, touching, etc. 1000 mile intervals X 3 we bring it in to them and they check the oil and record the results. I am to trust they re-filled exactly, using the usual weight oil.

Easier on them than a 4 cylinder compression test, I guess.
The Service guy seems to think only consumption over a quart/1k miles will get any action out of Kia.
But, his Dealership did just warranty an engine with the same problem just lately.
And by the way, how much damage is this causing the catalytic converter?
 
#53 ·
 
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