Kia Soul Review – Maybe you are just done learning to drive and you need a vehicle that is really user friendly and fuel efficient, you can check out the Kia soul. It is also a really nice car for teen drivers as well.
Are Souls Reliable?
A question that may be topmost on your mind with regards to the vehicle is whether or not it is reliable. You will be happy to know that the Kia soul is actually a reliable subcompact SUV.
J.D Power a UK-based marketing research firm scored the 2021 model 85 over 100 with regards to reliability.
In addition, Cars U.S. News referred to the 2019 Kia Soul as the Best New Car for Teen drivers.
Judging from the above, we believe you are now convinced that indeed, the vehicle is reliable.
Another lovely fact that you will be glad to know about the Kia soul is that it boasts of low ownership cost. On an average, the annual ownership cost of the vehicle is about $437.
This is noticeably lower than what is obtainable with other subcompact SUVs where you have ownership costs ranging from $466 or other cars that have theirs at about $652.
Also know that the repair frequency of the kia soul is 0.2 times per year. There is nothing surprising here as it is just about the same thing with other cars in same category. Other car models have theirs at about 0.4.
There is a 9% chance of taking the kia soul in for major repairs and this is noticeably lower than what is obtainable with other car models seeing that they have theirs at 12%.
As long as you take proper care of your Kia Soul and this involves servicing, maintenance and repairs, the car can last for about 200,000 miles and that is simply amazing.
Common issues with the Soul
Like we already pointed out earlier, the kia soul is a really reliable car. However, there have been some complaints with regards to some of its models. This is also the case if you are purchasing an already used Kia soul.
We will now take a look at some of the common issues with some of the models of the Kia soul.
Engine Knocking
For the 2014 to 2015 model year, a major complaint is knocking engine. The car owners that had such complaints talked about hearing a knocking noise from their car before it stopped completely.
One of them even explained that when she heard the knocking noise, she pulled over only to discover that there was a small fire under the hood which later escalated to the car going up in flames. She also added that when this occurred, she had not had the car for up to 90 days.
The car manufacturers made a recall in December 2020 under recall #SC200 so as to handle the issue.
Clicking Sounds When Turning
With the 2012 Kia Soul, a complaint was with the cars steering system. Some of the car owners complained of hearing a clicking sound in the steering column. For some, they heard this sound while they were making turns while others heard theirs when driving at a particular speed.
For most of them, this occurred at about 70,000 miles and cost an average of $800 to take care of it.
The car manufacturers have released a lot of TSBs with regards to this complaint about the steering system.
Engine Refusing To Start
For the 2016 Kia Soul, one of its serious issues is with the car engine. There were complaints of the engine refusing to start. Some of the car owners said this occurred at about 10,000 miles, while another said it happened less than a month after she purchased the car.
One of the car owners who encountered this issue said that it was handled by changing the car’s battery.
Cruise Control Surge
CarComplaints.com has it that the cruise control on some Kia Souls especially the 2018 model year has a high probability of surging.
One of the car owners with such a complain stated that the car abruptly surged in speed but then slowed down to about three miles per hour. He also said that if the cruise control was engaged, everything will seem to be okay with the car. He was of the opinion that maybe there was a vacuum leak or the cruise control was trying to take over his car.
Engine Failure
Another issue with the 2016 Kia Soul is engine failure. There were also complaints about this with the 2012-2015 model years. Car owners complained of their car just losing power and stopping while they were driving.
CarComplaints.com has it that the car owners that had this complaint encountered it at about 70,000-80,000 miles and spent nothing less than $3,800 for repairs.
The car manufacturers launched an investigation into this and discovered that the catalytic converters of some 2012-2016 Kia Soul cars had been damaged by high exhaust gas temperatures.
This then caused irregular engine combustion and resulted in damage to the engine’s pistons and connecting rods, hence the engine failure.
On February 22, 2019, Kia had to recall over 350,000 affected cars under recall #SC176.
Ticking Noise
The ticking noise complaint is more common with the 2013 Kia Soul. The car owners who experienced this explained that they just heard loud ticking noise from their engine and their car began to lose acceleration.
Taking care of this issue cost the car owners an average amount of $4,000. One of the owners even had to change their car engine in a bid to take care of the problem.
It was indeed a relief for the affected car owners when they found out that the extended warranty that came with the #SC176 recall also applied to them.
You have to read up on the particular model that you want to purchase so that you can be aware of common complaints and know how best to go about it.
