2014 Kia Soul Airbag Problems

Mileage when the problem started

• Under 25k
  526%
• 25k–50k
  526%
• 50k–75k
  15%
• 75k–100k
  316%
• 100k–150k
  316%
• 150k+
  211%

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2014 Kia Soul owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

The contact owned a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while the daughter was driving approximately 40 mph the vehicle crashed into the rear end of another vehicle. During the crash, the front end sustained severe damage and the vehicle was destroyed but the driver-side air bag did not deploy and the front driver-side seat belt malfunctioned and did not secure the occupant causing the driver's head to make contact with the steering wheel. The driver sustained a head injury that required medical treatment. A police report was taken at the scene and the vehicle was towed away. The cause of the failure was not determined and the local dealer and manufacturer were not notified of the incident. The failure mileage was 94,000.

The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 22V096000 (AIR BAGS), 15V123000 (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL), 17V608000 (STEERING), and 19V120000 (ENGINE, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. In addition, the vehicle jerked and vibrated abnormally. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle idled down to 5 MPH. The contact continued to drive; however, the contact had to pull over several times. The contact drove to the mother's residence. The vehicle was towed to the local mechanic, who diagnosed that the catalytic converter was clogged or had melted and damaged the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. …

The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 17V608000 (STEERING), 22V096000 (AIR BAGS) and 19V120000 (ENGINE, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING); however, the dealer and manufacturer informed the contact there were no recalls associated with the VIN. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated while the vehicle was driving at various speeds, stationary, or parked, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The independent mechanic diagnosed the vehicle with catalytic converter failure. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that three years after the initial repair, the check engine warning light illuminated. …

My wife was involved in a traffic accident yesterday where she was not at fault, was hit, had on her safety belt, and her head hit the steering wheel of this car and she lost consciousness and has lacerations requiring stitches on her face. The airbag should have deployed in this case and did not. I called 3 kia dealerships locally for several months since September 2022, requesting this warranty work be done, and they all refused to do the work by not scheduling me for a service appointment after repeated requests via telephone to each service department. They should have me in their computer system as having requested this work be done. Dealerships were DARCAR Kia Temple hills, Address: 4700 Branch Ave, Temple Hills, MD 20748, Koons Kia of Woodbridge, Address: 14208 Richmond Hwy, Woodbridge, VA 22191, and Ourisman Kia of Alexandria, Address: 8670 Richmond Hwy, Alexandria, VA 22309. …

The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact stated that after the vehicle was serviced under NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V75000 (Engine), the vehicle sputtered and hesitated while attempting to accelerate above 40 MPH. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the spark plugs were cracked. After replacing the spark plugs, the vehicle continued to experience failure. The contact stated that occasionally the vehicle stalled during the failure. Additionally, the air bag warning light illuminated and remained illuminated. The contact stated that the cause of the failures was not determined. The manufacturer was not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 80,000.

The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle briefly jerked and shook abnormally before returning to normal functionality. The contact retrieved the vehicle from the dealer following the repair under NHTSA Campaign Number 20V750000 (Engine) and NHTSA Campaign Number 22V096000 (Air Bags). The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to the recall repairs. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 144,000.

The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact stated that upon placing the key into the ignition and turning the key in the on position, the passenger side curtain airbag deployed without warning. No injuries were reported. The dealer was notified of the failure and he was referred to an independent body shop for assistance. The vehicle was taken to the body shop and remained in the possession of the body shop. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 111,000.

The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag warning light unexpectedly illuminated. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 175,000

I was informed by U.S. Mail with a letter from Kia America this vehicle has an important NHTSA Recall number 22V096. I have contacted three Kia dealerships since received the letter dated April 4, 2022, about 3 times each. Each time, a representative says they will contact me "when they receive parts for the recall" but this recall indicates there are no parts required, instead saying "dealers will update the ACU software to enable deployment of the frontal airbags..." I am concerned these three Kia dealerships are not acting in good faith to fix a critical safety recall on my vehicle. They are denying me service. This seems illegal. How do I get my car software fixed so the airbags will deploy properly in all accident conditions? …

The recalls on my car has not yet been resolved. I took the car to CarTown Kia Florence South Carolina and the one in Columbia. First time was at CarTown Kia Florence, they had every excuse that they were short of staff and my car sit there for over a month and claim that I needed to fix the head gasket was the issue in order to do the engine inspection and fix the recall. I took it to the Columbia location and they didn't do the recall but gave me a list of things and mentioned that the recall was not covered under the recall warranty. I'm not sure what that means when I clearly have a recall issue and the car is doing exactly that according to the issues for the recall. I told both places my car was doing exactly what the issues are stating in the recall in order to remedy it according to the remedy. But nothing has been done to fix the recalls issue.

Related recalls

Airbag complaints in other Soul years