2024 Kia Soul: Recalls, Complaints & California Lemon Law

My vehicle has less than 8K miles. This weekend my horn stopped working (a definite safety problem) and the signal that I had locked my car doors using my fob failed to work. The lights did flash to signal they were locked (I checked just to be sure!) I need to have the vehicle checked before part(s) can be ordered. That requires 2 trips to the dealer instead of one. I was told that this problem is a "recall under warranty". Kia isn't doing anything to keep their customers with this lack of service.

NHTSA #11712484

Started the car this morning and noticed that the dashboard screen was blank. This had never happened before. Turned the car off and on twice thinking maybe it was just a software glitch but the screen stayed blank. Took the car to the dealer shortly after. When I picked it up the service advisor said they did a reset and a software update. The advisor had not seen this in a 2024 Kia Soul. But when checking on-line, I saw several similar complaints for this year/model.

NHTSA #11669941

Well, isn't it wonderful that Kia has extended the warranty on the horn assembly. Now, how do I avail myself of the warranty? Simple - if the horn DOES NOT WORK or emits an unusual or different sound just bring it to KIA for a diagnosis. Now, when is it most likely that I realize the horn DOES NOT WORK? When I need it the most, or when the bicyclist or pedestrian or whatever needs my horn to work. How in the world does KIA think it can keep possibly unsafe vehicles on the road? I have no idea but I am filing a complaint and ask all others to do so. The horn is a critical safety feature that must work all the time. How does KIA think it can get away with this? Vehicles are required to meet and continue to meet at all times Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards in existence at the time of manufacture. This is simply unacceptable.

NHTSA #11652709

Driver Attention Warning (DAW), "Consider Taking A Break", is coming on randomly, sometimes multiple times within a short driving distance. Has become a DISTRACTION instead of a SAFETY FEATURE! Cannot turn off or even turn down the sound. Even on "low" sound, still loud enough to wake up a sleeping passenger! Taken back to Kia dealer 3 times. They will do nothing because as they say" technician cannot duplicate customer concern."

NHTSA #11709981

Horn malfunctioned, a known issue recognized by Kia on these models. Visited an authorized Kia repair center in Maryland on June 14, 2025. The repair center indicated that the necessary parts (96611-K0030 and 96619-T6000) are not available in Maryland or surrounding states, and backorder delays are at least four to six weeks. The vehicle is meanwhile not road safe due to the lack of a horn.

NHTSA #11666893

I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE IN JAN 2024 AND IT NOW HAS 16000 MILES. TOOK MY CAR INTO RAY SKILLMAN, PIKES PLAZA WESTIDE FOR SERVICE LAST MONTH BECAUSE MY HORN WAS NOT WORKING. THEY TOLD ME THAT THERE WAS A NATION WIDE BACK ORDER ON THE PART AND JUST 2 DAYS AGO, I RECEIVED AN EMAIL FROM KIA CUSTOMER SERVICE/CARE, STATING THAT THEY WERE TOLD THAT THERE IS NO ETA AT THIS TIME. THIS (NOT HAVING A HORN) IS A SAFETY CONCERN AND ALSO THE SERVICE TECH THAT TOOK MY CAR IN, TOLD ME THAT IT AFFECTED OTHER KIA MODELS AS WELL, THEY DID NOT SEEM TO THINK THAT IT WAS A BIG DEAL AND THE CAR WAS DRIVEABLE, BUT WITHOUT A HORN, IT IS VERY UNSAFE. I'M ALSO CONTACTING THEM FOR A LOANER WHICH THEY REALLY DON'T SEEM TO WANT TO DO THAT ROUTE, BUT I ALSO DON'T WANT TO RENT A VEHICLE TO BE REIMBURSED (SINCE IT IS A WARRANTY REPAIR), BECAUSE THAT IS A LOT OF MONEY OUT OF POCKET THAT I DON'T HAVE. IF THAT IS A PROBLEM WITH MULTIPLE KIA MODELS, WHY IS THAT NOT A RECALL? THERE HAVE BEEN MULTIPLE TIMES SINCE THEN, THAT I HAVE BEEN IN A SITUATION WHERE MY HORN WAS NEEDED SO AS TO AVOID AN ACCIDENT OR INJURY, AND I DID NOT HAVE ONE. (NO ACCIDENTS SO FAR) BUT IT IS BOUND TO HAPPEN.

NHTSA #11665443

Intermittent failure of multiple safety‑critical Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) while driving. Forward collision avoidance, lane safety, and other driver‑assist features disable simultaneously without warning.

NHTSA #11734083

shortly after purchasing the car (06/2024) while driving (regardless of the weather or temperature, whether it’s day, night, hot, cold, etc) all of my dash warning lights come on, complete ADAS system malfunction. it shows a code for my front camera through the kia connect app and says it’s chasis related. i have taken my car in multiple times for this and i still leave with it the same day hours later. despite being told that both recommendations from my last service appointment had already been done, this is what i am left with. even after being involved in a front end collision, none of my safety features (that have never not been on) never came into play, emergency braking never happened. attaching most recent, first time addressing this issue was in august.

NHTSA #11654302

The vehicle was looked at and was told it didn’t have sensors for the problem, I can’t believe the vehicle didn’t have sensors for that problem when the rest of the vehicle has sensors for everything else. The vehicle should be recalled to have the sensors put on for safety concerns. I have a camera but no warning sound when object is detected.

NHTSA #11655606

No sound when object is in area of vehicle when backing up.

NHTSA #11656255

The contact owns a 2024 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving on an access road at 20 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact pulled over onto the side of the road to inspect the vehicle. The vehicle was restarted, and the contact started to drive however, the failure recurred. The contact inspected the vehicle but found no cause for the failure. The vehicle was restarted; however, the vehicle failed to exceed 20 MPH. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 7,000.

NHTSA #11635672

While sitting at a light, the vehicle would completely turn off! I put the vehicle in park and attempt to restart it. After several attempts, the vehicle would turn on and work properly. This happened to me on 2 occasions. The first time it happened was [XXX]. (My son and I were on the way to church).The second time was approx. a week and a half later. Then, on 8/8/24 about a week after the second stalling, the check engine light came on. I called the dealership and explained the problem. I took the vehicle to the dealership on [XXX] and on [XXX] the Service manager was attempting to return the car to me, when the car shut off in traffic while she was behind the wheel. She called me to let me know what happened and returned the car to the dealerships service department. This was on [XXX] and the car is still at the dealership. The service manager told me they can't start working on my car until they hear from the Engineers! This was on [XXX]. It's now 9/16/24. I haven't heard from anyone at the dealership! I've made 2 car payments and I've paid my auto insurance in full for 6 months for a car that I can't drive and don't have!!! I called the gentleman that sold me the car and left a message asking him to have the owner of the dealership to call me. He returned my call and said that I could come in and trade the vehicle in for another car. I plan on attempting this on 9/20/24. This car was purchased at Clay Cooley Kia of Irving in Texas and this experience has been an ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE!!! I can't wait for this TO BE OVER!!! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA #11614930

Headlights are not bright enough. In areas with no street lights it’s like driving with candles. The light is yellow and dim. This is a new car

NHTSA #11630215

The contact owns a 2024 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at night, the low beam headlights were very dim. The headlight control was set to automatic, but the dimness of the headlights was the same as when switched to manual control. The failure was not as noticeable while using the high beam headlights. The contact stated that the low beam headlights failed to properly illuminate in low-light areas. The vehicle was not taken to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The local dealer was contacted and advised the contact that there was no fix for the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed and was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 5,000.

NHTSA #11724073

This 2024 Kia soul, 2 issues 1. the instrument cluster does not show, when turning the vehicle on the instrument cluster is blank, meaning I cannot see the speed limit, how much fuel or use any adaptive features, braking, lane departure, cruise control, etc ****this creates a dangerous situation and I do not believe the car is safe to drive**** I see there is a recall for this issue on 2023 models Kia 23V298000 Kia SC270 2. Intermittent window issues with the automatic windows, when opening from the driver side the windows will not come back up, have to pull over and turn vehicle on and off and /or try to close the windows from each door individually I called to report this to Kia at [XXX] and asked them to repair both and they were not much help, I asked this be reported and am not confident the person will actually do so They did tell me there were issues already noted which I requested be raised to a technical service bulletin or a recall and extend the warranty for all affected vehicles thank you INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA #11733186

It started appearing to be electrical and ended in some type of engine/system emergency! I rented this vehicle through Avis and the first few days everything appeared ok, regarding the functionality vehicle. Mid-day on 10-4-25, I attempted to put groceries in the trunk, wouldn’t open. After 4 minutes, I gave up, assuming I’m doing something wrong.That evening, the gas mileage hadn’t moved remained at (90), the battery light, oil pan, mph:stuck on 23, and the rev stuck on 1.2, and the Odometer hasn’t changed. When I removed the key the dash board remained on and once I hit the lock button it turned off.10-5-25, I put gas in the car and the indicator marker never moved. I called to report these issues because my vehicle was not inspected before I left the lot. We canceled our paid trip and headed back to TX. While driving, the gas and oil pan light would turn on (2-3 min) then go off. While on the freeway, suddenly, the car shuts off. The best way I can describe it during the process is (sitting in a parked car with the ACC position) everything is working but the car isn’t “on”. Due to MPH being stuck at 23, I can say I was literally going the speed limit (60-65, flow of traffic) to 0! The phones were still charging, lights, and dashboard stayed lit, hazards light worked, and we literally rolled until the car stopped! Since this is a rental by law it should have been checked before handing me the keys. The employee handed me the keys and pointed to the car from his computer. As soon as I was aware it was a problem I called multiple times to report this. When the situation was not properly handled by Avis the first 4 times, I called the police. I requested to file a report and the officer did not show, however, Harris County sent a tow truck. I will be filling a police report in the morning. Although there is not a recall, I see there are social groups with similar issues in the Kia 2024 Sol! This was a lemon rental and the experience was traumatic!

NHTSA #11691536

Size: P205/60R16 My Daughter was driving when all of a sudden the Front Driver Tire exploaded while taking a turn on a residential street. There was no nail or puncture to the tire (see photos). We do have a video showing that there is no puncture damage via nail or sharp object, but the video file is too large.

NHTSA #11616862

THE BRAKE PEDAL RUBBER IS MADE OF A HARD PLASTIC OR SYNTHETIC RUBBER. BOTH I AND MY WIFES FOOT SLIDES OFF OF IT NO MATTER WHAT TYPE OF SHOE WERE WEARING. I STARTED WEARING TENNIS SHOES, HELPED A LITTLE. BUT I'VE NEARLY HAD SEVERAL WRECKS WHERE I WAS GOING SLOW CAME UP TO THE LIGHT AND MY FOOTS COME OFF THE PEDDLE AND I NEARLY RAN INTO THE STOPPED CAR INFRONT OF ME, I MEAN BY INCHES. I PUT BOTH FEET ON THE PEDDLE NOW WITH ONE UP ON THE PEDDLE METAL STEM THAT HOLDS THE PAD OWN OUT OF AN ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION. I'M REALLY AFRAID TO DRIVE THE CAR.IT'S AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN

NHTSA #11613757

purchased 6-22-24 fire happened 8-14-24 at approximately 11pm, with approximately 2691 miles, fire started in engine compartment, car burned to ground, nothing left, approximately 2691 miles on vehicle. i was lucky to get out alive, i had to kick the doors open.

NHTSA #11653589

Budget rental out of KSGF. THIS DANGEROUS COMPACT SUV IS UNFIT FOR UNITED STATES ROADS AND INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS. IN 2 WEEKS THE CAR OVER 8x Attempted to Overpower my driver inputs nearly driving me in to semi tractor trailer rigs. Further every time that happens a loud annoying message to take a coffee break even 7 minutes into the drive since engine start up. The partial Turn Off only partly lessens this Dangerous technology. It attempts to STOP THE DRIVER FROM STEERING AND ACCELERATOR AND EVEN BRAKE INPUTS. maybe appropriate in South Korea type of roads and laws and high density of autos... not true in the Continental U.S..

NHTSA #11595961