New to us kia soul

[ram_man]

We pulled the trigger on a 2016 Kia soul has 89,000 miles is in pretty great shape and best part of all it's a 6 speed manual.
Do I need to do anything special to it since it's a gdi? My uncle owns a forte with the same 1.6l engine and it's been flawless. Love the room and utility these offer. Got it for 10,500 which I am pretty happy with all things considered. I sold my Saturn and the Ford focus I bought to flip and decided to put the money towards this. I decided to put 50% down and I'll pay the rest off within a year. Great running little thing and has plenty of room. I plan on keeping it till the wheels fall off.

 

[blufeb95]

Change the oil at 3750mi or around 5000 if you do more highway oriented mixed driving.

 

[B1974]

it's a 6 speed manual.

Nice car, I didn't even know they came with a standard transmission. We had a Soul as a rental once and really liked it.

 

[Hyundai Respecter]

Make sure all the recalls and product improvement campaigns are completed, there’s a few. The KSDS (knock sensor detection system) campaign will also extend the engine warranty to 15 years or 150k miles (even subsequent owners). Change the oil on the severe schedule (3750 miles). Check the oil regularly.

I have the same car but it’s a 2019. I love it. Only complaint is the clutch. I find it is very vague, and sometimes I feel like it’s my first time driving manual.

 

[Hyundai Respecter]

Nice car, I didn't even know they came with a standard transmission. We had a Soul as a rental once and really liked it.

2021 is the last year unfortunately. The first few years they were offered in the upper trims too, but since 2014 they were only offered on the base model. It’s a fun car to drive.

 

[FT92]

i know 2 different people who own one and both have no complaints

 

[Accent Abuser]

We pulled the trigger on a 2016 Kia soul has 89,000 miles is in pretty great shape and best part of all it's a 6 speed manual.
Do I need to do anything special to it since it's a gdi? My uncle owns a forte with the same 1.6l engine and it's been flawless. Love the room and utility these offer. Got it for 10,500 which I am pretty happy with all things considered. I sold my Saturn and the Ford focus I bought to flip and decided to put the money towards this. I decided to put 50% down and I'll pay the rest off within a year. Great running little thing and has plenty of room. I plan on keeping it till the wheels fall off.

I believe this has the GF4D engine, same as my Accent.

Short oil change intervals (3-5k) with a good 30-40 grade, intake valves and ports need cleaning every 10k with CRC IVD, Seafoam spray etc. Techron in the gas tank every 3k. Check PCV valve, shake it to see if it rattles.

Engine might knock on regular 87 gas under load at highway speeds, would strongly recommend using 93 octane.

 

[ram_man]

I believe this has the GF4D engine, same as my Accent.

Short oil change intervals (3-5k) with a good 30-40 grade, intake valves and ports need cleaning every 10k with CRC IVD, Seafoam spray etc. Techron in the gas tank every 3k. Check PCV valve, shake it to see if it rattles.

Engine might knock on regular 87 gas under load at highway speeds, would strongly recommend using 93 octane.

Is there a particular reason they do this?

 

[RooflessVW]

Fill that sucker with Mobil 1 0W-40 and drive it like a rental car.

 

[cdlamb]

Does it have a scheduled maintenance for the timing belt replacement?

Had a co-worker who owned a Kia, can't remember what engine, make model, but it was just over the 100,000 kilometer timing belt recommended replacement and it done considerable engine damage when it failed (interference engine).

 

[benjy]

prolly spec'd for 87 but theres 89 oct + being a manual just shift down a gear as needed when YOU want! i buy ONLY manuals if possible + own NO newer rides. DI is a crap shoot some good others not so much, BUT non turbo'd have less issues, good luck!

 

[ram_man]

Does it have a scheduled maintenance for the timing belt replacement?

Had a co-worker who owned a Kia, can't remember what engine, make model, but it was just over the 100,000 kilometer timing belt recommended replacement and it done considerable engine damage when it failed (interference engine).

This is a timing chain engine fortunately.

 

[meep]

Very cool car. Enjoy it!

 

[twouvakind]

Make sure all the recalls and product improvement campaigns are completed, there’s a few. The KSDS (knock sensor detection system) campaign will also extend the engine warranty to 15 years or 150k miles (even subsequent owners). Change the oil on the severe schedule (3750 miles). Check the oil regularly.

I have the same car but it’s a 2019. I love it. Only complaint is the clutch. I find it is very vague, and sometimes I feel like it’s my first time driving manual.

You can thank Kia for the Clutch Delay Valve, some people delete it for a more natural feel.

 

[Malo83]

Daughter has a 21 Kia Soul Sport Turbo, she loves it, drives it like she's in the Indy 500.

 

[Hyundai Respecter]

You can thank Kia for the Clutch Delay Valve, some people delete it for a more natural feel.

I’m considering that. I saw a video of someone removing it on an older Forte, and I think it’s similar on the Soul.

 

[JavierH19]

Nothing special, It being out of warranty i'd use any sp rated 30 grade. id probably do the trans oil with whatever it specs.

 

[addyguy]

Had a 2010 2U for about 5 years. Great car, but they rev very hard on the highway and are loud. That’s why I kept using my 2009 Pontiac G5 for the all-highway driving I do to and from work.
Keep an eye on the oil level, sometime they like to drink a bit of oil. Like others have said, stick to 3500-4K changes; engine is relatively hard on oil.

 

[rob1715]

Good OCI and trans fluid change. Maybe an oil catch can. We had a 2012 Soul that we drove from Oregon to Florida and it ran perfectly.

 

[Accent Abuser]

Is there a particular reason they do this?

I'm not sure what part of my post you're referring to so I'm going to assume regarding the octane.

The engine has a fairly high compression ratio of 11:1, combined with an aggressive cam profile and aggressive ignition timing it really just needs the higher octane. I've tried every carbon/fuel injector cleaner out there but it never really ran great on 87. It's possible Kia may have programmed the ECU to be less aggressive with the VVT/Ignition timing since the same engine when placed in the Soul has 8 less HP than my Accent and 4 less lb ft of torque, but I figured I'd mention it because it's a very common issue with the same MY Accents and letting it ping away with low octane is how you crack a ringland or cause premature con rod failures (among many other nasty things).

Outside of that, the engine is very reliable, never done anything to it besides plugs, intake valve cleaning, and a water pump and I drive it very hard daily.