Kia America Recalls all 2015-19 Soul Hybrids for Software Bug

Kia America is recalling all 2015-2019 model year Soul EV vehicles manufactured from 15 July 2015 through 28 September 2018. The hybrid electric system has an intermittent failure where the parking pawl fails to engage the parking gear even though the hybrid is in Park,* Kia said in the required filing made public today by The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The recall was promoted by customer complaints to NHTSA. NHTSA encourages all consumers to report any safety concerns to the agency.

All owners of 2015-2019 model year Soul hybrids will be notified by first class mail telling them to bring their vehicles to a Kia dealer. Dealers will update the Electronic Control Unit software for the Electronic Parking Brake (EPB) logic so that the EPB automatically activates when the gear shift lever is in the “P” (Park) position regardless of whether the vehicle is powered ON or OFF. Kia will reimburse owners for repair expenses already incurred as required by US law.

*When the vehicle is left unattended while powered ON and the parking brake is not manually engaged, unintended vehicle movement may occur intermittently even though the gear shift lever is in the “P” (Park) position. This is caused by intermittent failure of the parking pawl to engage the parking gear, which Kia suspects is due to damage to the parking mechanism within the Gear Drive Unit (GDU) made in Korea by Hyundai Transys. The 2019 MY Soul EV is the last model year these vehicles were sold in the US.

Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed 22 December 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia’s number for this recall is SC287. This recall expands and replaces recall number 20V-389. Vehicles previously repaired under NHTSA recall 20V-389 will need to have the new recall software update completed. Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov about NHTSA recall 23V-724.