Has anyone else had a problem with sudden acceleration in a KIA SOUL? Mine was the 2010 comment. with picture by, Sandy Gr
My 2010 KIA SOUL which we bought from the dealer fully reconditioned used (one year ago), took off from a dead stop at a stop light with my foot on the brake when I began to release the brake to move forward. I was a car length behind the pickup in front of me and my KIA Soul jetted SO FAST, it shook and made this high pitched screaming sound, on it's own that it "slammed forward" into the pickup in front of me.
After impact, I couldn't stop the car from continuing to push into the pickup which pushed into the car in front of him and that one into the next car in front, but when I slammed "my KIA" transmission into PARK, it continued to push and I could only get it to stop by turning off the key! The RPM's were as high as they could go on the dial and so was the speedometer, they were buried on the dial. I've never had a ticket or an accident and I am a very responsible and honorable working citizen and wife and mother of 42 years. I was merely in town, one mile from home, driving to my mother's house. The traffic was extremely heavy and none of us were going over 35 MPH in a 40 MPH zone when we slowed and stopped for a light after a long and slow drive down a hill. I was about the 10th car in a row from the light with stopped traffic behind and in front of me.
The impact caused severe seatbelt bruising and my left foot hit the brake pedal which I was trying to "BRAKE" and also my left foot (which had been comfortably resting) hit the ridge of the fender well on the floorboard where you can rest your left foot on. My foot has some issues but it is not broken. I also have sinus infection from the chemicals of the airbag. NO ONE came to my aid but to the others. I got myself out of my car and ran to the others apologizing and showing great concern for all others involved. No one else was hurt badly.
I had (and still have) full coverage insurance however not PIP coverage on me (at the time but I do NOW) and my Drs offices' are scared to treat me even though I have confirmation from my Blue X Blue Shield that they will in fact cover the medical costs since I did not have PIP insurance for myself at the time. (My injuries are all still pending since the accident was recent on July 20th (2013) and it is now Aug 12th, 2013). I also have muscle separation from the seatbelt (thank heavens it works!) and hemotoma. I have been treated at an urgency care clinic recently but in another state since I was destined for a trip 6 days after the accident anyway. My insurance co., has totaled the KIA since it has massive front end damage including the engine was pushed into the firewall and the frame of the car was bent and cannot be repaired however they cannot "completely" payoff the loan so I am stuck with the remaining cost of the loan. I WILL NOT be purchasing ANY KIA at all in the future, of any size and model even though I loved my KIA for around town and it saved alot on gas but not it didn't get what it said it would get. It got 20-22 MPG around town. I never took it out of town.
I will stick with an American made car and one that is big and trustworthy! We own a Chrysler Pacifica for a second car, at least it is reliable and that is what I will drive for now, the heck with trying to save a few bucks for mileage!
I have contacted the KIA dealership and they said without them researching the problem of which someone would have to pay for the tow and "pay" for them to do the research, they would not be able to help me!!!!! GEEE...do you think they might find a problem with their car??? I doubt it!
Obviously the Insurance company owns the car now!
Sandy
Continued from Sandy Gr comment above: Also my 2010 KIA SOUL had been lurching periodically when I would pull up to a stop ever so slightly the few times I drove my KIA just before the accident when I would brake to a stop and then it would "stop" correctly. I thought, "what was that..." and it would be ok so I just thought it was the anti brakes or something......and I should take it in for service soon! This had happened only a few times just before the major collision (see comment and picture but I will attach one more picture here). The accident happened on a Saturday (7/20/13) and I was calling KIA on Monday to take it in for the lurching problem and for it's yearly service. I only drove it around town and occasionally out on the freeway around town, I never thought about major "problems" with it! It only had 34K miles on it but we bought it used from the dealership (with a SMA) and I hadn't put more than 4K of those on it myself in a years time! Consequently, I went to KIA several days after the accident to show them my bruises (using my other car) and they said since the KIA didn't make it to the shop they would only check it out if "someone paid for the tow to the shop and paid for the shop time!" Hmmmm... Well, since the car is totaled and owned by my insurance company now, it is out of my hands and I am left without the car being completely paid off and medical expenses and injuries and heartache for hurting other people which I would never do in a million years! I was given a ticket which I am going to court to plea my case to the judge and I will take any and all documentation I can find because I didn't cause this to happen! My perfect driving record of 45 years has been tainted and they all think you're crazy! Thanks KIA! The moral is: Don't buy foreign cars! My second car is a 2005 Chrysler Pacifica and I was just trying to save the mileage and fuel consumption but I will be driving it from now on! It is American MADE and I feel safe with it! It has 54K miles on it and NOTHING has happened to it!
SInce it occurred 3 weeks ago, I am in the process of working through all of this. Thanks for your comment. SG
My issue with my 2010 soul is the esc light keeps on lighting up at freeway speed.took it to the dealership twice and never really solve the issue.
I have a 2010 Soul! and I am experiencing the same issues, it just started occuring this year. I found this post because just today I was driving a steady spead of about 40mph and coming up to a stop when all of a sudden my RPM spiked high and my car accelerated signficantly. I had to pump the brakes for it to slow down. This is the 4th time my car has randomly accelerated on its own and it is VERY scary (no accidents, thankfully)! Each time is usually when I'm slowing down to a stop. I brought the car to a Kia dealership today, I'm too scared to drive it now! My car has a clean title and never been in an accident, only has about $47k miles on it. After reading Sandy's story, I'm glad I decided to bring it in. I hope they can figure out the issue!
I had the same SAI issues with my KIA Spectra. For weeks, the RPM accelerated even when I was at a stop sign. It kept jumping-up wanting to take off. One day, it did and I hit a wall, etc. Now I am disabled and ANGRY......
Is this for automatic trans, or manual? I recently purchased a Manual 2011 Kia Soul + recently and not had that issue.. I wonder if the automatics is prone more on this acceleration issue?
I have a family member where the same thing happened to her. She was driving around 30mph and out of nowhere, her car suddenly accelerated to a very high speed. Her car just seemed to take over. The brakes wouldn't engage and she swerved to keep from harming other people in the intersection. She slammed full speed into a tree and was severely injured. It's been an upsetting and scary situation for the family and a long road to recovery for her (3 surgeries and long hospital stays). It's a shame we as consumers cant feel safe, even in Brand New, off the Lot vehicles.
Happened today!! I was doing about 40km/hr in a school zone at the time. I had just pulled out into a clear lane, then the engine suddenly screamed at Max RPM. I had about 100m of open road in front of me. Os I had time to quickly throw it into neutral and shut the engine off. Towing it to the dealer. No longer feeling safe in that car.
I have a 2012 Kia Soul !. It has 24k miles and I experiencing the same issues. It suddenly accelerates to a very high speed with no notice.It started in Nov 2014 and then I had about 22k miles. I have taken to dealer 3 times and they cannot find out what is wrong. They say if no code comes up then they cannot help me and no code appears. I am scared to drive it. It suddenly accelerates to a very high speed.. For my safety, I am getting rid of this car and going back to GMC. I will NEVER!! buy another kia car. Carter in Virginia
I see a lot more folks are having the high idle issue. I also have the issue and they cant fix it. They say no codes also. I have had the car in for repair several times now. My wife who we purchased the car for will no longer drive it. From a simple idle it jumps up to 2 and 3 g's and launches you forward. They are trying to repair it again and have had it 3 weeks and keep telling me they are making sure the problem is gone. I say they cant fix it. I only have 3 payments left and I own it and really have not driven it for the last 2 years because it is going to kill someone. Sad, only 35,000 miles on it and its brand new. I think I have to take a loss on the car and will never buy kia again.
The sheriff officer has witness statements that my wife was weaving thru traffic at a high rate of speed and rear ended a truck. I believe that the 2013 Kia Soul had an electronic error and the car started going at a high rate of speed, then she tried to drive between two automobiles to avoid crashing and rear ended the two automobiles. She was removed from the kia unconscious and brought to the ER with loss of memory, the doctors found a fractured clavicle witch had dislocated from her sternum, and knee, back and hip injuries. She was released 4 days later and we are still doing follow ups with doctors 4 months later.
to help those who are looking for kia with SAI issues look at sudden unintended acceleration http://www.kiasoulforums.com/10-soul-problems/6755-acceleration-issues-2.html http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/video-lauri-ulvestad-survives-wild-ride-control-suv-stuck-115mph-highway-article-1.1145723 unintended acceleration kia throttle controls stuck-throttle electronic throttle control www.suddenacceleration.com
Update to my post of a year ago - I haven't experienced another sudden acceleration since I turned off eco boost. I have no idea if it's correlated to the issue, but so far so good. However, it does still idle high occasionally which makes me nervous! To answer someone's question above, my Soul is auto trans.
Oh! One more thing - I had both a Kia dealership and a local shop look at the car for the SUA issue and neither could help me. They said the only way to figure out the problem is to keep it long term so they could run the car and hope it happened again...
I have a 2014 Kia Soul Red Zone, special edition with the same problem. My sudden intensive acceleration problem is type specific. Happens every 3500 and 4000 miles and when the speedometer is between 15-20 mph between and the brake doesn't engage when first pressed, have to apply the brakes a second time, hard. Took it to KI service each time and they cannot find the problem. Opening a Lemon Law suit for my money back, and punitive damages. Did they offer a loaner car to keep me safe NO NO NO they did not. Now Kia is going to get it and be sorry they messed with me. Have lawyer and will be filing this week. In a Lemon Law case, Kia also pays for the attorneys fees. USING A LAWYER ENSURES THAT YOU RECEIVE EVERYTHING COMING TO YOU FROM KIA. Never purchase another Kia again. This was my 2nd soul, first one never had a problem with.
SUA issue also 2013 kia soul
My 2010 Kia Soul just did it ...again. I was merging into traffic and then it kept accelerating. I applied the brakes several times but it kept working against the brakes trying to accelerate. So I threw it into neutral, put the hazards on and pulled over onto the shoulder. It stayed at around 6500 rpm for about 20 seconds. I had time to take catch a quick video of the dashboard before it returned to normal RPM. Going back to the dealership tomorrow with the video as "proof. "
Not just the Soul. It happened to my 2006 Kia Sorento yesterday. Scary as hell. I had to swerve off the road to avoid hitting cars and ended up damaging the car body and tire before the engine finally quit revving.
I just purchased a brand new Kia Soul 2017, last week. Had the car 6 days, only 13 miles on it when I drove it off the lot. For 5 days all was well, was liking the car. Day 6, driving locally, a red light coming on up ahead, the street was on a decline, not major, but a decline. A few cars where in front of me. Started braking until it came to a full stop a good distance behind the car in front of me. As soon as it came to a full stop the engine revved up and the car took off. I was pressing on the brake with all my might but it felt like stepping on a sponge. Needless to say i ended up plowing into the car in front of me that was waiting for the red light. But that's not all, it just kept going, threw it into park, still going, bounced off car in front of me three times, only stopped when I turned off engine. People i hit were very upset, understandably, I tried explaining what happened but I guess they weren't listening, really can't blame them. My wife and son were with me in the car, thankfully nobody was hurt, but a woman in the other car, who seemed fine at first, left in an ambulance after another relative or friend showed up at the scene and talked to her. The police officer acted suspicious to my story asking if I stepped on the accelerator or both accelerator and brake at same time by mistake. I have been driving for 42 years, in New York City(this accident happened in NJ), I drove taxis, delivered pizzas and newspapers all as second jobs to earn more money, have driven Post Office parcel trucks, 15 passenger vans, even a bunch of industrial stuff like forklifts, hilo's, mobile sweepers and scrubbers, etc. I had one accident in my life, a drunk driver hit me from behind while I was at a stop sign driving a car service. I know the difference between an accelerator and a brake and I know when brakes do not stop a car and that a car is not supposed to accelerate when stepping on the brake. Anyway, the whole day was a huge headache, the treatment at the dealer, great when trying to sell you the car, not so much when they are trying to cover up their cars problems. The tow truck driver drove it a few feet to get it on flat bed and claimed the brakes were fine, as did the Police Officer watching. Well they were fine for me also for 5 and a half days. They were all looking at me like it was all my fault, I cannot stop a car with no brakes. I am waiting for them to look at the car because they are waiting for some consumer reports division to ok it first. Probably meaning they are trying to figure out how to cover up the problem first. Even if everything gets fixed(extensive damage to front of car also)I will be extremely concerned driving this car that this could happen again. This happened on a local road at fairly low speed, I shudder to think what may have happened if this happens on a highway. I was beginning to doubt myself , going over it in my head over and over but I know I did not do anything wrong. Waiting and not knowing what to do and what comes next. Car still in dealer now, insurance assessed body damage but the real problem not looked at yet. And not sure at what impact air bags are supposed to deploy, but they never did.
driving a rental car. Parked in an apartment parking lot. Got in car started it up and put in reverse, immediately engine revved and it started back,brakes did not work would not go out of gear, pulled up emergency brake and gear went into neutral at the same time I hit fence and finally stopped. Thank go I was not on the street
K I A I N M L E L R E I D C A Head trauma Brain damage, back broke in 3 places, clavicle dislocated, foot broke, knee broke Before you drive your KIA find a good Law firm. Check daily you brakes switch working an and you tail lights go on and off. This sends a signal to the data recorder. When your car crashes it will look as if you did not touch the brake. Look up KIA brake switch recall. when you are about to crash make sure that you aim your car directly to the center of a object and hope that the air bag goes off the first time. This should stop your car. This car hit five other cars. It keep going after the front passenger side was taken out. Enough I am mad.
2016 soul, just happened to me today. It was crazy! My car was revving and pushing the car in front of me, they pulled over, my car would not stop. Used the emergency brake to stop. Turned car off and now nothing, took it to the dealership and they said they find nothing wrong!
It sounds like the cruise control was on. It will make it jump to a high speed in a few seconds Hope you have a good attorney. Always check for factory recalls on your vehicle, notices could be going to previous owner , If not the dealership is responsible for selling a defective car. Don't let them screw you over, they are insured for stuff like this.
I have a 2010 Soul and the sudden rapid acceleration happened to me a couple of weeks ago turning right into a carpark space,, eased on the brakes and wham it suddenly accelerated luckily it was an end carpark space so I just mounted the kerb. Phoned Kia and they said it couldn't possibly be the car it would be driver error. Thought about that, ok I'll watch myself in future. Good driver, no previous accidents. Two days ago, again turning right into a carpark space, same thing, luckily again it was a tandem car park and there was no vehicle parked in front. Phoned Kia head office up after son checked out this site and they said again that it couldn't be the car, and this only happens in USA Kias (I'm in Australia), and yes, at my own expense it will be towed to a Kia dealership mechanic, put on their computer for analysis and reading the comments on this site I can guess what the answer will be. I won't be driving this vehicle again as lovely and economical as it is, I will get it wrecked. In all consciousness would not sell it on to some unsuspecting buyer to go through the same thing with possible worse consequences. Will be taking this further though and hope our government agencies in Australia can do something. Such a dangerous thing and how many people have been blamed for accidents and when their Kia is checked over and the results come back .... 'couldn't possible be the car it must be driver error ...!'
The cause is driver error, accidentally pushing the gas instead of the brake then panicking and shoving the gas all the way to the floor. The Soul does not use drive by wire, it's a mechanical linkage cable between the pedal you have shoved to the floor and the throttle that's wide open.
Thank you Jonathan, I just typed a lengthy comprehensive answer to your comment and it disappeared into the ether before I could press send ??? Anyway, the short version is, the Kia dealer, said I needed a new battery, which they kindly fitted for cost price and no labor costs. I had been filling up with a higher octane petrol, the type that cleans out the engine, so I switched back to the normal type petrol, and also these new fangled cars apparently drive differently than the ones that us oldies have been driving around for 50 odd years. So after an explanation of what I could have done wrong, and a test drive with the mechanic ... so far, it hasn't happened again and fingers crossed it will be okay from now on. Kind regards, Patti x
I have 2 Kia`s car experience, first one Kia Sophia (is new at beginning) electronic prats has only one year life, second is a year 2016 Kia Soul (also is new at beginning), is 1.6 GTI manual type car, when I do 30000 miles maintenance, open clutch transmission screw nut, is clean no any Kia 70W gear fluid inside (none gear fluid), means my car from new until 30000 miles, gear fluid tank is empty, driver a danger Kia Soul I Don't believe Kia any more, again I Don't believe Kia any more
I'm from Germany and I had a problem with my KIA Stonic last weekend. I wanted to stop my Kia in front of my electric garage door. But it was not possible to stop the car. Eventhough I tried to apply the brake it was not possible to slow down. Now the car is damaged and the Electric door. And KIA said that it was my fault...Luckily I have an insurance but I'm afraid that something like that will happen again and it would be even worse if there is a Person and not only the Garage door that is hit.
My mom has 2017 Kia soul. It lurched on monday. Went to get into my driving place. As I was parking the car accelerated, going over the sidewalk button a handicapped sign and tree. According to Kia nothing wrong. When I picked up the car on the way home it did it while driving.
As you can see from my previous post the same thing happened recently in my Kia Soul 2010 - twice! Luckily there was no damage those two times. The dealer, on checking out the car said it was my fault. This hasn't happened since, but I was thinking what had I done different ... and both times i'd filled up with that 'super' type petrol (gas) which allegedly cleans out the engine as you drive! I may be clutching at straws here but who knows?, could that perhaps be the problem for the Soul??? Patti xxx
i had a similar problem last night, when i start the engine the rpm go really high and engine sound goes high as if i have my foot on the accelerator. A local mechanic came this morning and remove the "vacuum switch" and it was full of dirt, so he cleaned it up with petrol very well. Guys, you won't believe the amount of dirt in the vacuum switch, after fixing the cleaned vacuum switch , the car started working fine.
We are having an intermittent problem with our 2015 Electric Kia Soul. Happens most frequently when coming down a particulary steep hill near us - one puts on the brakes to slow ones descent and the car lurches forward before slowing down. Also seems to happen on the flat sometimes if the pavement is wet - apply brakes, lurches forward. So far no joy from Kia. Any thoughts?
I have 2014 Kia Soul Plus and I was backing out of my driveway when it suddenly lurched backward at an incredible speed and I hit my gate that caused 1K+ to repair. When I took it to the dealer to be checked they claim they could not duplicate the problem. The did not try it in reverse mode...it has happened 2 more times and luckily nothing was behind me! Why hasn't the dealer notified Kia about this problem?
My parents on July 22 2019 had a tragic accident. My father couldn’t stop his 2015 Kia Soul. The engines RPM,s went high and the engine made a clunking sound and took off on its own going 40 miles almost running down people all he could do is honk is horn from a parking lot sending them air-born and into 6 lanes of traffic. He is still in the hospital after having brain surgery because of Kia Stupidity of Not recalling. My mother has 8 broken ribs separated and still in a lot of pain along w a tear in her liver. Kia must be stopped before this happens to anyone else family.
The problem is the cruise control, it activates on its own and pulls a cable linked to the throttle mechanism that accelerates the engine to red line rpm's. The green dashboard light that indicates that the cruise control is on never illuminates. I had this happen to my manual 2007 Kia Soul 2U and I was quick to turn off the engine. Several attempts to start the engine resulted in full acceleration and quick turn offs. I looked around in the engine bay and noticed that the throttle was way open this is when I noticed that the cruise control cable was pulling the throttle way open. The two cables (throttle and cruise control) run parallel at the center of the engine bay, just ahead of the intake manifold. I disconnected the cruise control cable and everything went back to normal, except for I lost the cruise control. I don't know if this is an issue of the activator where the cable comes out of or if it is an issue of the main computer on the car. IF THIS HAPPENS THE SAFEST WAY OUT IS TO KILL THE ENGINE USING THE KEY. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CONTROL THE CAR AS IT WILL KEEP GOING FASTER AND FASTER NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO. I STRONGLY SUGGEST THAT OWNERS OF KIA SOUL DISCONNECT THEIR CRUISE CONTROL CABLE UNTIL THIS DANGEROUS ISSUE IS SORTED OUT.
I don’t have a key. I’d have to get it into park and push the off button. This acceleration problem has just happened in the last couple days. But it stops after a second, so I’m not sure it’s connected to the cruise control.
