[Lisab21]

Hi Everyone,

I am a first time Kia Soul owner, and I bought mine in 2020 and its a GT Line. The transmission is completely gone. I am really disappointed. I have never owned a Kia product, and moving forward, will sell this car in the next two years.

Is it the CVT transmission? I have never had a car fail like this and I am 60 years old! I am really sad as I really enjoyed this car.

 

[Hammerhead]

Warranty at dealer. How many miles? If it's not a turbo you have the ivt.

 

[Lisab21]

It has 28000 miles and it is not a turbo.

 

[rhysoul]

It has 28000 miles and it is not a turbo.

Yes it’s the CVT (Hyundai calls it IVT) and some 2020s had a recall on them. Did yours have a recall? Dealer will have to replace it under warranty. Make sure they give you a loaner.

 

[Lisab21]

Got a free repair and loaner. This car is history. I spoke to the van driver on the way to Enterprise and he knows one person that replaced their transmission three times. I am done. Kia's suck.

 

[Hammerhead]

So yours and 1 more person you heard of had transmission failures. When you ditch the Kia come back and tell us what you replaced it with. ALL vehicle lines have problems. You're getting it fixed and a free ride. I understand the frustration, not being sarcastic. If it's mechanical it will break at some point. Good luck and hope everything works out for you.

 

[Hammerhead]

Kia also calls it ivt. Intelligent variable transmission. 😁

 

[Tree 44]

Just wondering, where have you had your Soul serviced, at the dealer or an independent shop? There was an update to the transmission electronic controls in June 2020. Was this done?

 

[jdmartin]

Got a free repair and loaner. This car is history. I spoke to the van driver on the way to Enterprise and he knows one person that replaced their transmission three times. I am done. Kia's suck.

I'm guessing statistics is not your strong point. Luckily your failed transmission and an anecdotal story from some guy gave you enough information to be able to come to a clear conclusion about a car that two hours ago you said you really enjoyed.

I feel sorry for all the people who live in fantasy worlds where nothing ever breaks and no one has warranties because they never need them. You got a free loaner car and a brand new transmission. What else do you want - a human sacrifice?

 

[bwdz75]

If the car was not brought in for the recall then no one is surprised that it failed.

 

[JoBongy]

My 2019 Kia Soul ! Turbo also needed a brand new transmission at only 17,000 miles. I bought it used at under 4,000 miles. Yes it was covered under warranty and loaner wasn't available at dealership I took the car too. Took forever for Kia to reimburse me for part of the loaner. Wondering why only some 2020 Kia Soul's transmissions were recalled if this is a known issue. BTW I LOVE my Kia Soul, first car was a 2006 Kia Sportage SUV which was passed down in the family [over 200,000 miles]. LOVE KIA!!

 

[Tree 44]

My 2019 Kia Soul ! Turbo also needed a brand new transmission at only 17,000 miles. I bought it used at under 4,000 miles. Yes it was covered under warranty and loaner wasn't available at dealership I took the car too. Took forever for Kia to reimburse me for part of the loaner. Wondering why only some 2020 Kia Soul's transmissions were recalled if this is a known issue. BTW I LOVE my Kia Soul, first car was a 2006 Kia Sportage SUV which was passed down in the family [over 200,000 miles]. LOVE KIA!!

There never was an official recall on the 2020 Souls regarding the transmissions. It was a TSB service item issued in June 2020 to reprogram the ECM module that controlled the IVT/CVT on non Turbo models made before June 2020. The Turbos used the dual clutch transmission which, as far as I know has not been recalled.

 

[Lisab21]

I have so much gratitude that the transmission replacement and loaner car are covered. In 40 years I have never had a car fail like this. I spoke to the Service Manager at Crown Kia. He said he has seen only one problem with the replacement transmissions; it was replaced and the customer was asked not to take it as they already knew the replacement transmission was bad.

The only thing that concerns me is that the Service Manager said I should expect "weird shifting" in the new transmission until it breaks in. So, while I will still have the 10 year warrantee, I may keep it a while and then get rid of it.

 

[Hammerhead]

The transmission has adaptive learn. What he meant was it will learn your driving habits and adjust to it. Normal.

 

[Lisab21]

Hammerhead, that's really interesting. Thank you! That's exactly what he said. I've not heard that before!

 

[Hammerhead]

You are welcome. Enjoy your ride.

 

[bwdz75]

My 2019 Kia Soul ! Turbo also needed a brand new transmission at only 17,000 miles. I bought it used at under 4,000 miles. Yes it was covered under warranty and loaner wasn't available at dealership I took the car too. Took forever for Kia to reimburse me for part of the loaner. Wondering why only some 2020 Kia Soul's transmissions were recalled if this is a known issue. BTW I LOVE my Kia Soul, first car was a 2006 Kia Sportage SUV which was passed down in the family [over 200,000 miles]. LOVE KIA!!

By mentioning a different generation Soul (2019 Gen2, 2020 Gen3) it has a totally different transmission that does not have one component in common and being a turbo it is totally different from the other Gen2 transmissions as it is not an automatic hydraulic but rather a double clutch transmission that is an electronically controlled stickshift. You guys are confusing people by mentioning issues with different transmissions as it is not the same problem.
The IVT in the early Gen3 has a recall and associated with that there is an above normal failure rate. The dual clutch is a totally different trans in the Gen2 and has had a nearly non existent failure rate. The regular hydraulic 6 speed transmission (there are 2 types but similar for the 2.0 and the 1.6) has a pretty bulletproof reputation.