2021 Kia Soul — Known Issues & Recalls

Your 2021 Kia Soul is experiencing frequent, unpredictable engine stalling while driving and audible engine knocking, which creates a serious safety risk of being stranded in traffic or hit by another vehicle. Kia has issued Recall SC336 for this issue, which is caused by defective piston oil rings damaging the cylinder walls inside the engine. Your dealership cleared the recall based only on a software diagnostic pass, but a software test alone cannot fix the physical damage to your engine that's causing the stalling. Resolving this properly will likely require engine inspection, diagnostics, or engine repair or replacement to address the damaged cylinder walls and piston rings.

Your 2021 Kia Soul is stalling while driving and making unusual engine noises, which are symptoms covered under Recall SC336. The dealership refused to perform the required inspection, claiming your vehicle passed an initial diagnostic tablet test and stating they cannot do anything else. According to the recall protocol, if a vehicle shows these mechanical symptoms despite passing that initial test, the dealer is required to open a technical case with Kia for further diagnosis. The repair will likely involve a borescope inspection of your engine and potentially an escalated technical review with Kia's support line.

Your engine stalled while driving on a busy road, leaving you and your family stranded in a ditch. Diagnostic codes indicate misfires in multiple cylinders with no pressure detected in cylinders 2 and 4, suggesting possible piston ring failure. Your car shows the same symptoms as recall SC2091, but the dealership and manufacturer have declined to cover engine replacement under goodwill warranty. The engine will likely need to be rebuilt or replaced to restore proper compression and eliminate the stalling condition.

Your car's engine stalls (shuts off) whenever you come to a complete stop in traffic, and you have to manually restart it to drive again. This is dangerous because your car becomes stuck at red lights and in stop-and-go traffic, which could lead to another car hitting you from behind. The dealership has refused to diagnose the problem, but this stalling issue is a known defect under investigation by NHTSA for your vehicle.

Your engine seized while you were driving on the highway, causing the check engine light to come on and forcing you to pull over. Your vehicle needed to be towed to the dealer, where technicians determined the engine had failed and needed complete replacement. Before the seizure, your car was consuming 3-4 quarts of oil between oil changes, and this excessive oil consumption started after a recall repair was performed in 2021. Fixing this issue will require a full engine replacement.

Your 2021 Kia Soul experienced severe oil consumption for months after the piston ring recall service, then stalled and made loud knocking sounds shortly after an oil change. The dealership says your engine needs to be replaced, but the software update installed during the recall didn't prevent this problem or warn you it was coming. The fix will likely involve a complete engine replacement or overhaul to address the faulty piston rings.

Your 2021 Kia Soul has stalled twice in traffic due to a known safety recall (SC209), and the engine has failed both times. The dealer and Kia have refused to provide a loaner vehicle while the car is being inspected and repaired, leaving you without transportation. The manufacturer may need to replace or repair the engine component causing the stalling defect.

Your check engine light came on shortly after purchasing your 2021 Kia Soul, and you believe it's related to a recall involving oil and piston rings. You took the vehicle to the Kia dealership in Bakersfield, California for the recall service, but the engine failed during testing, and then a new updated recall procedure was released. After the new test procedure, the recall passed without any repairs being made to your vehicle. You suspect oil is leaking into or around the catalytic converter, which is causing the check engine light to remain on, and you're concerned about potential engine fire risk if the issue isn't resolved. The repair will likely involve diagnosing the source of the oil leak, testing the catalytic converter, and potentially replacing damaged engine seals, piston rings, or the catalytic converter itself.

Your 2021 Kia Soul is experiencing severe internal engine damage (heavy scoring on the piston and cylinder walls) that requires a complete engine replacement, even though your vehicle's VIN is not included in any existing recall. Your car has stalled while driving, similar to issues described in previous Kia Soul recalls. Fixing this issue will require replacing the entire engine.

Your engine developed sludge buildup inside despite regular oil changes, and Kia is saying the engine needs to be replaced rather than repaired. The dealer claims this sludge buildup isn't covered under warranty, even though your car had a recall for faulty pistons. The replacement would cost over $6,900 out of pocket. This likely involves removing the old engine and installing a replacement, along with related fluid replacements and reconnections.

Your 2021 Kia Soul is burning through oil much faster than normal, causing the oil level to drop even after you've recently added more. You may notice a loud noise from the engine, a rough idle, engine pulsing, and a check engine warning light. The dealer diagnosed this as engine failure and says the engine needs to be replaced or repaired, but the repair hasn't been completed yet.

While driving at 40 MPH, your engine lost power and the instrument panel displayed an overheating warning with an audible alarm. You pulled over but couldn't restart the vehicle and it had to be towed to the dealer. The dealer diagnosed complete engine failure, but refused to perform a related recall repair, stating the failure was unrelated to the recall.

Your 2021 Kia Soul is consuming excessive amounts of engine oil between regular oil changes, requiring you to top it off every two weeks. When you accelerate, you hear abnormal sounds coming from the engine. This issue may be related to a known manufacturer campaign and typically occurs around 150,000 miles. The fix may involve inspecting the engine for internal wear, valve seals, or piston rings, and could require engine repair or replacement.

Your 2021 Kia Soul's emergency braking and collision avoidance systems failed to activate during a near-collision, creating a serious safety risk. The vehicle is currently under recall and has been at the dealership for about a month. Kia has refused to investigate the braking system failure unless you pay out-of-pocket for data recorder removal and shipment. Fixing this issue will require the dealership to diagnose the brake system and collision avoidance electronics, likely involving replacement of faulty sensors or control modules.

Your brake pedal failed to respond normally when you needed to stop suddenly after another vehicle merged into your path. At the same time, your Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist and Automatic Emergency Braking systems didn't alert you or activate to help prevent the collision. You had to steer sharply off the road to avoid a crash, which caused significant damage including a broken axle, damaged wheels, and broken brake pads. Diagnosing this issue will require the dealership to inspect why the brake system and collision-avoidance systems didn't function during the emergency.

Your brake pedal failed to respond normally when you needed to stop suddenly after another vehicle merged into your path. Your Forward Collision-Avoidance system didn't alert you, and your Automatic Emergency Braking system didn't activate—both safety features that should have helped prevent or reduce the impact. You had to steer sharply to avoid a collision, which caused damage to your axle, rims, and brake components. The issue requires investigation into why your brakes and collision-avoidance systems didn't work as intended.

Your engine is making clanking noises like marbles in a can and is stalling unexpectedly while you're driving, which is a serious safety risk—especially on highways. The engine appears to have an internal problem with the piston or piston rings. Your car hasn't been inspected by a dealer yet, but you should get this checked immediately since loss of engine power while driving could cause you to lose control. The repair will likely involve engine internal diagnostics and possibly piston ring or engine component replacement.

Your car has completely lost power multiple times while driving on the street, leaving the engine and key functions completely unresponsive. This has happened three times over the past three months, creating a serious safety risk for you and other drivers. You've reported the issue to two different Kia dealers and Kia corporate without getting a resolution, and you've also filed a police report about mold inside the car. The repair will likely involve diagnosing and replacing the electrical system component causing the complete power loss, which could be a battery, alternator, or wiring issue.

Your transmission has failed twice in the time you've owned the car, and at 34,400 miles this is concerning. When the transmission fails, your car loses power while driving at high speeds, which creates an unsafe situation. Your piston rings were also replaced as part of a recall. The replacements have not resolved the underlying issue.

While driving at normal highway speeds, your car suddenly stalled and both the check engine and oil warning lights came on. The engine restarted quickly, but then stalled again about a mile later—this time you also lost power steering control. The combination of engine stalling and loss of steering is a serious safety issue that requires immediate diagnostic inspection.