I bought a new Soul in January in Tomato Red ! The chips on the hood are really bad - but yesterday I noticed that the paint is coming off on the area around the back wheel arch... I brought it to the dealership today and they took some photos and said they will get onto Kia & see what they can do... The service guy did mention that most other Kia's have this prob but that the manufacturers have improvised and 'taped' the area and while there is a small 'taped' section on the Soul - it's not large enough to cover the effected area. Has anyone had this problem ? I love my Soul but I'm really worried that these chips etc are going to cause major probs for me Also does anyone know if I can get a hood reflector in Ireland ?
Join the club!!! Mine looks like someone shot it with a shotgun!! Getting them touched up next week and clear bra put on front and whole lower rocker area
I have the same problem. The kickup is from the front tires. The factory mudguards do nothing to protect the side panels. I installed long mud guards over my factory ones. They were 10.99 for two. I put them very low because the rear of this car arches out and catches the sand that the front tires are throwing. It is a poor design. i posted some pics.
The paint issues seem to come from souls that dont have a metallic color. My soul is titanium and i have not seen any paint issues at all and ive had my soul for a year. The black and red souls seem to have the worst paint issues.
I too have the red. Most of my paint issues are on the hood but I've noticed chips on the front fenders too. I called Kia last week. After a few days they called me back and told me to take it to the local dealer and have it photographed so they can decide if this is "normal wear" or a paint defect. I'll report after I hear more.
Mine is denim and I have the paint problem I was in touch with Kia Canada and sent them pics and they said they would review it and make a dissision hat was 3 weeks ago
i have a red soul with all the problems you guys are having i took it to kia and took pictures of it came back to me couple weeks later and told me that the wearing on the paint was inconsistent with paint warrarty and told me im on my own with it so now im stuck with a 8 month old car that looks likes it 5 to 6 years old ILL NEVER EVER BUY ANOTHER KIA PRODUCT AGAIN!!once i get enough money save up get the car repainted in those areas and get rid of it!!
It would be under 3 year 36 month warranty! Dont let them tell you it's not. Hire a lawyer maybe you qualify for lemon law. Today's paints are water base base and only the top coat i belive is urethane. My toyotas paint nicked easy in front as well.
I have 3100 miles on my Molten produced in Oct. 2009 and yet have no paint chips or other paint issues. However, I am in Florida and the roads here are very clean - no salt, gravel, or sand. I still plan on putting the KIA hood shield on it anyway.
Hey Guys just to let you know Kia have agreed to paint the wheel arches but I'm going to press them on the hood & doors. The dealer had taken pics & said Kia wanted to inspect the car but then they phd me & just said they'd do it... I'll keep you posted...
I've also had really bad issues with chips on the hood. I used a paint pen for now but I will be visiting the dealer because my Polar Soul has insane rust spots and it's barely a year old!
Had an Xpel clear bra installed last week after my detailer buddy touched up all the chips.Looks awesoome! No chips and look brand new.He did the whole front end,mirrowrs and the whole rocker form the body moduling down,from wheel well to wheel well! The best thing is it blends in so good on the red you can hardly tell its on.I guess I could have gone to the dealer and started a mess,but did that once before.Chevy fixed it ,but paint didn't match!! If I knew about this I would have had this done the day I got it! Next car will be done before I drive it off the lot!
i worked at a Ziebart for a while and we installed it there, they call it clear shield there. but stop in and check the price, i thought they did it for 300 bux. its basically a clear vinyl they cut and stick.
I want to get ahead of this paint issue and am calling around to see how much it would cost here (Albuquerque and Santa Fe) to put the clear bra on the hood, back of mirrors, and the bumper. I'm getting in the $450-$425 range. That hurts. Has anyone here done it themselves? And, if so, where did you get the material and how much did it cost? Thanks.