On September 10, the Office of Defects Investigation opened a recall query into Kia America for unintended vehicle movement allegations. The safety boffins at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration learned about no fewer than three incidents, of which one resulted in a rollaway collision. As expected of the ODI, the South Korean automaker was forced to issue a recall for all potentially affected Soul EV vehicles sold in the US market.
Documents filed with the federal watchdog reveal a grand total of two crashes and no injuries whatsoever. Kia America is aware of 12 unintended vehicle movement incidents. The report attached below reads 6,262 potentially affected vehicles produced for the 2015 through 2019 model years between July 2014 and September 2018.
Unintended vehicle movement could occur intermittently, even with the gear selector in park, due to intermittent failure of the parking pawl. Kia still hasn't identified the root cause, yet suspects damage to the parking mechanism within the gear drive unit assembly. Supplied by Hyundai subsidiary Hyundai Transys, the assemblies in question are listed under part numbers 44500-18400 and 44500-18410.
Owners will be informed via first-class mail no later than December 22, whereas Kia dealers nationwide will be instructed on the remedy for this issue on December 19. Rather than replacing the GDU with a redesigned assembly, the South Korean automaker will update the parking brake's control unit software. This update is designed to activate the park brake when the gear selector is in park, regardless of the car being powered on or off.
Recall number 23V-724 replaces 20V-389 involving 2015 to 2016 model year Soul EV crossovers. Those vehicles are required to have their EPB control unit software updated as well. In the meantime, owners are recommended to manually engage the electronic parking brake prior to exiting the vehicle. Any owner who incurred expenses over said issue will be reimbursed by Kia provided that said owners produce a receipt or adequate proof of payment.
Photo: Kia
Discontinued from the US lineup after the 2019 model year, the Soul EV soldiers on elsewhere in the world. Over in Europe, customers are presented with a choice of either 100 or 150 kW from the front-mounted electric drive unit, meaning 134 or 201 horsepower. Battery capacities range from 39.2 kWh to 64 kWh, and WLTP estimates are listed as being 276 kilometers and 452 kilometers. In other words, 171 miles with 39.2 kWh and 281 miles with 64 kWh.
Revealed in September 2018, the 2019 model year Soul EV for the United States used to retail at $33,950 excluding the $995 destination freight charge. Rated at 109 horsepower and 210 pound-feet (285 Nm), the small zero-emission crossover offers no more than 111 miles (179 kilometers) of range under the EPA's combined test cycle. Or – better said – used to offer with a brand-spanking new battery.
The Soul never left North America, though. Now available with internal combustion exclusively in this part of the world, the Soul is Kia's most affordable crossover in this part of the world. Slotting below the $24,390 Seltos, the $19,990 Soul comes in four grades: LX, S, GT-Line, and EX, the latter starting at $24,290.
All feature 1,999 cubic centimeters and four cylinders arranged in a line, with said naturally-aspirated engine belting out a respectable 147 horsepower and 132 pound-feet (179 Nm). The port-injected lump takes 87 octane and returns up to 31 mpg (around 7.6 l/100 km) combined.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News