[Ziggidy]

I am sitting here at my dealership awaiting service for the recall. Just dropped it off so I am waiting for the complete cool down which they say takes about 2 hours and then they will test and do what they have to do.

Wow, that is unfortunate.

Truly sucks.

 

[Ziggidy]

After 3 hours I was told my Kia passed and the software will be updated. No real satisfaction here. The software “should” warn of a problem down the road; no fix for the problem. Now, who wants to buy a potential time bomb I will be selling?

 

[cleevee]

After 3 hours I was told my Kia passed and the software will be updated. No real satisfaction here. The software “should” warn of a problem down the road; no fix for the problem. Now, who wants to buy a potential time bomb I will be selling?

I traded in my 2020 Soul which I really liked but I totally agree "who wants to buy a potential time bomb". Same recall from 3 years ago??? I got $15,500 tradein for a nice 23 Mazda CX5 w/10k miles on it. Only complaint is Hyundai/Kia has excellent n working safety features n indicators compared to Mazda.

 

[OutbackWanderer]

My 2021 Soul LX has 49,000 miles. It doesn't appear to have consumed any oil since the last oil change 3000 miles ago. Does that mean I probably don't have the piston ring problem, considering that Kia says only 5% of Souls have it?

 

[The Bishop of Graham]

I thought they put this issue to bed? It’s ongoing from the earliest Soul gen 3 models. The factory can’t say. “Well we didn’t know the parts were bad.” It been years this recall has been out.
Soul owners have driven them for years. From the Gen 1. We are loyal owners.
To be taken lightly. As to, Well they are good for a trade in.
Despite all of the recalls and warranty work.

There is numerous threads on this topic. Across the entire forum. Make sure that any recalls, service updates are completed. To keep any warranty intact.

 

[rhysoul]

I thought they put this issue to bed? It’s ongoing from the earliest Soul gen 3 models.

The original recall for improperly heat treated piston oil rings was for model year 2020 and some 2021 Souls manufactured between 11/18 - 10/20 and affected about 1% of 2.0L Nu engines.

This new recall is also for a defect of the piston oil rings. I am not sure if it’s the same defect, but it seems likely.

The new recall is again about 1% of the 2.0L Nu engines in model years 2021-2023 Souls manufactured between 7/20 - 4/22.

I am not sure who their supplier is for piston rings, but quality control is lacking and it’s disappointing seeing this go on for almost 4 years.

 

[Ziggidy]

My 2021 Soul LX has 49,000 miles. It doesn't appear to have consumed any oil since the last oil change 3000 miles ago. Does that mean I probably don't have the piston ring problem, considering that Kia says only 5% of Souls have it?

Only way to know is to have it tested and the software updated. I would think it you do not have it tested and you know about the recall, engine failure may not be covered if it fails in the future. My Soul ran good, no problems. I had the recall done to cover me for the future.

 

[OutbackWanderer]

One difficulty I see is that virtually everyone drives under what Kia calls "severe" conditions at some point, therefore everyone should be getting more frequent oil changes, yet the longer interval is presented as normal, misleading consumers to believe they can change their oil at 7500 miles rather than 3750 . . . until you have an engine problem and then are they going to say no, you should have been changing your oil every 3750 miles, we're not covering the repairs??

The longer oil change interval is supposed to be a benefit of using much more expensive synthetic oil. Why are we using such expensive oil if it needs to changed as often as regular oil? I feel like this is deceptive on Kia's part. "Normal" should mean "applies to most people." In this case it appears that "severe" driving conditions apply to most people. I think more than half of all drivers experience at least 7 of the 11 conditions called "severe":
1. Repeatedly driving short distance of less than 5 miles in normal temperature or less than 10 miles in freezing temperature.
2. Extensive low speed driving for long distances = traffic jam
3. Driving on rough, dusty, muddy, unpaved, graveled or salt-spread roads (More than half of states use salt)
4. Driving in areas using salt or other corrosive materials or in very cold weather.
5. Driving in heavy traffic area.
6. Driving on uphill, downhill, or mountain roads. Seriously? If we go uphill or downhill that's severe driving??

The terms should be changed to something like "light duty" and "normal."

I think this will come down to whether Kia is overall an honest company that cares about its customers, or a company that will deny valid claims on the pretext that almost everyone should have been doing more frequent oil changes.

This reminds me very much of the Subaru head gasket problem that went on for years and was very difficult for owners to correct properly. You had to do a ton of research to find out the serial numbers of the defective parts and avoid them when you got the repairs. And one Subaru service manager told me the problem continued long after Subaru claimed it had been fixed.

Very disappointing! The Kia Soul was my dream car!

 

[Tree 44]

I’ve posted this before, but I will repeated it here, way back in late 2020 or early 2021, I recited a letter from Kia stating the , “ Kia considers all driving in North America to be under severe conditions.”

 

[OutbackWanderer]

I’ve posted this before, but I will repeated it here, way back in late 2020 or early 2021, I recited a letter from Kia stating the , “ Kia considers all driving in North America to be under severe conditions.”

That confirms that Kia is deceiving owners. In other words, the norm in North America is severe conditions, and that should be called "normal" and anything less than that should be called something like "light duty." More Kia Souls are sold in North America than anywhere else. So 3750-mile oil changes should be called "normal"!!

 

[Joemsj51]

I change the oil every 3k. That's every six months (Hyundai) - every eight months (Kia).
The HPL Super Premium oil costs me $16 per quart and since I have absolutely no other crutches or vehicle/home-related payments in life, I consider the hefty HPL cost as engine lengthening insurance and very easily affordable in my retired stage of life.

Now in regard to the Kia, there are no engine lengthening oils or softwares that'll do nothing more than sound alarms on reckoning ahead. Our piston rings decide the fate of these MPI engine lifetime lengths. Keep them full of oil using premium brands that are changed at Severe Service mileage. Use one step thicker oil than what is recommended in the Manual.

 

[cleevee]

The original recall for improperly heat treated piston oil rings was for model year 2020 and some 2021 Souls manufactured between 11/18 - 10/20 and affected about 1% of 2.0L Nu engines.

This new recall is also for a defect of the piston oil rings. I am not sure if it’s the same defect, but it seems likely.

The new recall is again about 1% of the 2.0L Nu engines in model years 2021-2023 Souls manufactured between 7/20 - 4/22.

I am not sure who their supplier is for piston rings, but quality control is lacking and it’s disappointing seeing this go on for almost 4 years.

Do you really believe 1% ? I don't

 

[Rio Taxi]

The money gained upfront by installing low tension piston rings across the engine lineup, saving on additional machining for tolerances and parts cost, specifically to allow for better fuel economy ratings to enable the avoidance of government corporate imposed fuel economy penalties, versus the variable cost of kicking the can down the road and playing the warranty card game years later rears it's ugly head again.......heh.

And Jeffrey Epstein didn't kill himself either.

With 160,000 KM on my 2020 I wasn't burning any oil when I sold it. I used M1 full synthetic and changed it every 6,000 miles.