Kia Soul cd-radio amplifier problem

139190 · Feb 4, 2020

Hi, I really hope you can help. I posted this question on the kia owners club forum but have had no response yet and I'm desperate for help.

I have a 2009 Kia Soul. The radio (model no. A-200AME) recently stopped working completely. No display, buttons not working. Only thing still working was the lights around the buttons when the car headlights were on.

I sourced a second hand one; all the functions seem to work, the display is fine,... but the volume is painfully quiet, even turned up fully.

The seller has informed me that some Kias have radios with built-in amplifiers, whereas some have an external amplifier. Jist of it being that my old radio perhaps had a built-in amplifier, whereas the new one (model no. A-210AMERL) doesn't.

So now, I'm stuck. I don't know (a) if my car has an external amplifier (i.e. did it break at the same time as the old radio?) or (b) if I simply have the wrong radio.

I cannot find anywhere online that tells me which models of radio have an amplifier and which don't, so I can't source another one without knowing this.

Any advice? What are my options? (Other than paying Kia dealership £1600 to fit a new unit, which ain't gonna happen!)

I have no idea what caused the old one to stop working. There were no issues with it prior to complete breakdown.

Buzz · Feb 4, 2020

Howdy and welcome to the forums!
I had issues with the stock head unit in my 2010. So I went with an aftermarket head unit. I have an Exclaim which came with the factory amp. What sub-model do you have, is it a Base , Plus or Exclaim?

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139190 · Feb 4, 2020

Um... I'm not sure? embarrassed I think its a Base... how would I tell? (I've only had it for a year)

If it helps:

It doesn't have a speaker in the middle of the dashboard that I've seen on some Soul photos (there is just a circular area for storing things)
It doesn't have Sat Nav (does have MP3/USB connection though, below the heater controls)
It doesn't have a speaker in the boot
Says 'Soul 2' on the boot
It is orange

I wouldn't want anything fancy as a replacement though - all I want to do is play my CDs again... and see what the time is when I'm driving!

Are the aftermarket ones easy to fit?

conwelpic · Feb 5, 2020

they have totally different model names in the UK plus they could have different equipment too.

eGAK009 · Feb 5, 2020

There is also a fourth 2009 model , Sport, in the U.S.A.

139190 · Feb 5, 2020

Here are pictures of the old radio unit.

On eBay, (for example), there seem to be several different ones which look the same as this but have slightly different model nos.

Does anyone know, which other model nos. would have the built-in amplifier like this one apparently has?

Or can I even source a slightly different style unit from another Kia model, if it has the same connections?

I thought the replacement I did find would be fine (it had all the same connections and looked just like this one), I just didn't know about the internal/external amplifier business but I simply cannot find any information about that online.

Really hoping someone can help here.

Kia Soul cd-radio amplifier problem

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