NHTSA recall 20V389000
A recall listed here may apply to a vehicle of this year, make and model. Only the manufacturer can say whether it applies to one vehicle: check the VIN with the official lookups.
| Published by | NHTSA (United States) |
|---|---|
| Campaign number | 20V389000 |
| Manufacturer's number | SC191 |
| Manufacturer | Kia Motors America |
| Reported | 2020-07-02 |
| Owners notified | 2020-08-07 |
| Component | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE; POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:GEAR POSITION INDICATION (PRNDL) |
| Units potentially affected | 3714 |
| Report | Annual report 3, for 2024 quarter 3 to 2025 quarter 2 |
|---|---|
| Filed with NHTSA | 2025-07-30 |
| Vehicles in the campaign | 3714 |
| Reported remedied | 2577 (69%) |
| Reported unreachable | 300 |
| Reported removed | 132 |
These are the manufacturer's totals for the whole campaign at the end of 2025 quarter 2, as filed with NHTSA. They do not say whether one vehicle has been remedied: check the VIN with the official lookups. The reports are from data as of 2026-10-19.
What is wrong
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2015-2016 Kia Soul Electric Vehicle (EV) vehicles. The parking mechanism may become damaged if the driver moves the gear shift lever into Park 'P' before the vehicle comes to a complete stop. If the parking mechanism is damaged, unintended vehicle movement may occur when the gear shift lever is in the Park 'P' position and the parking brake is not applied.
What can happen
Unintended vehicle movement can increase the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Kia will notify owners, and dealers will update the electronic control unit software, free of charge. The recall began August 7, 2020. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC191.
Notes
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.safercar.gov.
| 2015 KIA SOUL EV | Listed as a series or trim of this model. |
|---|---|
| 2016 KIA SOUL EV | Listed as a series or trim of this model. |
A vehicle with no link is not in this site's catalog, which covers cars, multipurpose vehicles and trucks by model year. The campaign is from data as of 2026-10-19.
Bulletins for the same vehicles and component
| PI2002B_TSB_R1 | 2020-11-03. Service bulletin. TSB - PRODUCT IMPROVEMENT CAMPAIGN: NU 2.0L GDI - KNOCK SENSOR DETECTION SYSTEM (KSDS) ECU UPGRADE (PI2002B) - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This bulletin provides information related to a software update to the Engine Control Unit (ECU) to install the Knock Sensor Detection System (KSDS) in order to protect the engine from excessive connecting rod bearing damage. |
|---|---|
| PI2002B_OWNR | 2020-09-03. Service bulletin. PRODUCT IMPROVEMENT - Owner Letter - This document is the notice to customers advising them of the Product Improvement Campaign to update the ECU in their vehicles. Kia Motors America, Inc. is conducting an important Product Improvement Campaign to perform a software update on 2014-2016 MY Soul vehicles equipped with 2.0L Gasoline Direct Injection (“GDI”) engines to protect the engine from excessive connecting rod bearing damage. The update will be done free of charge and will only involve the addition of newly developed computer software for the Engine Control Unit (“ECU”). |
| PI2002B_QA | 2020-09-03. Service bulletin. PRODUCT IMPROVEMENT - QA document which contains frequently asked questions regarding a campaign. |
| PI2002B_DSM | 2020-09-03. Service bulletin. PRODUCT IMPROVEMENT - Dealer Service Manager Letter - This document is the notice to the dealer service managers advising them that Kia is conducting a Product Improvement Campaign to perform a software update to the Engine Control Unit (ECU) to protect the engine from excessive connecting rod bearing damage on 2014~2016 MY Soul vehicles equipped with the 2.0-liter GDI engine, manufactured from July 21, 2013 through August 11, 2016. |
| PI2002B_DP | 2020-09-03. Service bulletin. PRODUCT IMPROVEMENT - Dealer Principal Notice - This document is the notice to the Dealer Principals advising of the Product Improvement Campaign to perform a software update to the Engine Control Unit (ECU) to protect the engine from excessive connecting rod bearing damage on 2014~2016 MY Soul vehicles equipped with the 2.0-liter GDI engine, manufactured from July 21, 2013 through August 11, 2016. |
| TSBENG164_R2 | 2018-08-06. Service bulletin. TSB - ECU UPGRADE ? DTC P0441 LOGIC IMPROVEMENT - This bulletin has been revised and is no longer a Service Action. bulletin provides information related to the Engine Control Unit (ECU) software upgrade for some 2012-2016MY Rio (UB), 2014-2016MY Soul (PS), and 2012-2013MY Soul (AM) vehicles, which may have a malfunction indicator light (MIL) ON with DTC P0441: Evaporative Emissions System Incorrect Purge Flow. |
| TSBELE091R3 | 2017-12-22. Service bulletin. TSB - IDENTIFYING HEAD UNIT SOFTWARE VERSION FOR DIRECT EXCHANGE - This bulletin provides the procedure on how to identify and record the head unit software level on various head unit platforms and generations. |
| TSB-ELE091R1 | 2017-08-31. Service bulletin. TSB: IDENTIFYING HEAD UNIT SOFTWARE VERSION FOR DIRECT EXCHANGE - Identifying Head Unit Software Version For Direct Exchange (ELE091) (Rev 1) - This bulletin provides the procedure on how to identify and record the head unit software level on various head unit platforms and generations. This procedure will now be required when ordering head units through the Direct Exchange Program (see Parts Bulletin 91-961-0005). |
| TSBELE134 | 2017-08-25. Service bulletin. TSB: SERVICE ACTION: ECU UPGRADE: BMS (BATTERY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM) LOGIC IMPROVEMENT (SA297) - This bulletin provides information related to the BMS (Battery Management System) software upgrade for some Soul EV (PS EV) vehicles produced from July 15, 2014 through May 15, 2016, which may experience an inoperative reserved climate control system (set climate pre-conditioning times) when the vehicle is stored at low temperatures without power-on for a certain period of time. |
| TSB-ENG164 | 2017-08-02. Service bulletin. COMBINATION TSB / SERVICE ACTION: ECU UPGRADE ? DTC P0441 LOGIC IMPROVEMENT (SA280) - This bulletin provides information related to the Engine Control Unit (ECU) software upgrade for some 2012-2016MY Rio (UB), 2014-2016 Soul (PS), and 2012-2013MY Soul (AM) vehicles, which may have a MIL on with DTC P0441: Evaporative Emissions System Incorrect Purge Flow. To correct this condition, the ECU should be reprogrammed using the KDS download as described in this bulletin. |
A bulletin is the manufacturer's note to its dealers. It is not part of this recall.