Does (did) your dash look like this?
Without double checking, yeah.
Temp gauge is below the tach.
Definitely. I live in abject fear of exactly what happened, because many years ago when I was driving a little toyota I had inherited from a boyfriend, it ran perfectly until the day it just cut out and never started again…because…drum roll please: Timing belt! Which before that time, in 20 years of driving, I had never heard of. And of course I was devastated.
Because I am a person of limited means, taking care to pay close attention to any issues with my car is a life-critical activity. I do not ignore anything, ever.
I wouldn’t have even pulled all the way off the freeway in this instance, except the freeway I was on was pretty much pitch black and loaded with trucks and the chances that I might get smashed from behind were too high. I knew I had to get all the way off, which took more distance than I would have liked.
So now I would like to ask my readers a question: the car is outside my dwelling. I do have AAA. Before I give up on the car and assume that I did manage to melt the engine, what options for further testing and looking exist that won’t empty my pocket? What are the possibilities that it is not melted? Next moves? I really don’t wanna give up and put myself in that position until I have exhausted, reasonably exhausted the options. Just concluding that my car is irreparable (within my budget, which is painfully low) is a really devastating situation for me. It’s not minor. It’s not small.
So hopeful suggestions are welcomed gratefully. I really don’t need or want anybody to take time out of their life to type out anything along the lines of “It’s hopeless, don’t bother.” Because it’s a given that there is a contingent of persons who view it like that and I’m asking for shreds of hope.
Put a wrench on the crankshaft and see if the engine turns. If it doesn’t, it’s trashed.
If it does, you probably still need a head gasket, and maybe a head surfacing.
if you are in a reasonably urban area finding a replacement engine may be a viable option. That car isn’t worth much, but replacing it is obviously problematic. Enough Souls were sold that there should be quite a few with low miles in junkyards.
I assume you are talking about Walmart here - they aren’t going to check your water or do anything else other than what you asked them to. If you don’t mention that the check engine light is on, they aren’t going to try to find out why - if they will even do it then. I don’t know if Walmart does repairs or just oil changes/tires but I wouldn’t even expect my actual mechanic to check my water when they are doing an oil change- they probably would if I told them my check engine light was on but not if I was getting an oil change.
BTW, the steady check engine light sometimes does mean there is something serious- it might be just the gas cap but it might be something more. You should have the car checked as soon as possible when you have a steady check engine light - when it starts blinking, you need to pull over immediately. I know the guy at Auto Zone told you nothing was wrong with the car - but he’s not a mechanic.
I’m not clear on who looked at your car and told you you probably melted the engine- was it a professional mechanic? If not, I would get the car towed to a mechanic. I might do that even if the guy is a mechanic , since he said “almost certainly” which leaves a possibility that you won’t have to replace the engine. Even if the engine has to be replaced , you might be able to get a used one.
Yeah, I know. That is why I went to Walmart straight after, but as I said, the check engine light had actually gone off at that point.
First mistake was buying a Kia.
Second mistake was expecting it to last 10 years.
My friend works in maintenance at a Kia dealership. The weekly truck delivery always has a couple replacement engines on it.
These are cheap, shit , cars. That is why people buy them, Most people only keep a car for a couple of years and trade it in or sell it. If you kept a Kia since 2014 and expect it to last any longer, I would say that you are wildly optimstic.
I purchased it in 2017 with 25k miles on it. Current mileage is 70k. It doesn’t seem wildly optimistic to get to 100k…
I’ve never owned a car with a “low coolant” warning light on the instrument cluster, but I suppose that feature might exist in high-end cars. The traditional method for checking coolant level is to get the engine up to normal operating temperature, then pop the hood and take a look at the coolant overflow reservoir, which typically has “MIN” and “MAX” marks molded on its side. If the level is between those marks, then you’re good. If it’s low, then you add coolant/water to the reservoir.
My experience has been that there’s no need to open the radiator for a look. Out of curiosity, I dug up the owner manual for your car (PDF file can be found on this page), and waddyaknow, on page 7-29, they do say to start with a cold engine and pop the radiator cap for a look. Which means:
This was a legit answer on their part, but better customer service might have meant someone telling you that you should check it periodically yourself in accordance with the owner manual (i.e. at least once a year).
I overheated my engine on a trip to my parents
Normally my radiator didn’t lose water. The system with the overflow tank is so well sealed. I got out of the habit of checking the water every month.
My temp gauge went to red.
A bad rad cap caused it to run low on water. I pulled of at a little store. Thankfully they had a water hose already hooked up. I had to wait 30 minutes for it to cool before taking off the rad cap. Was about half empty.
$12 rad cap almost ruined an engine. There wasn’t a way to test it. I just went to NAPA and got a new cap. My coolant didn’t get low again.
Thankfulky there wasn’t any lasting damage. A few more miles and it would be a disaster.
I drive a Kia Soul, a 2023 model year bought in Feb. of '23. It already has 35k miles on it. I’m putting the first new set of tires on it this week.
Kia Souls are notorious for having engine problems. The '23 model year got a new, fully redesigned redesigned 2.0 which supposedly fixed several of the problems that plagued the older generations. I’m not quite sure I buy that and I’m militant about keeping up with all scheduled and recommended maintenance. Even so, I’m not confident I’ll get more than 150K miles from this thing. I hope I do, but I doubt it.
I bought this because I couldn’t afford the car I wanted: a Subaru Forester wilderness. The Kia was cheap and it shows: the parts are cheap, the fit and finish is cheap, and it’s already lost ~40% of its MSRP value according to KBB. I don’t necessarily regret buying it – I knew what I was buying when I signed the papers – but I doubt I’ll every buy another one.
If it was me, I’d consider junking the 2014 and start looking for something else. Even if you get the engine rebuilt or replaced with a crate engine it’s still a shit design that will give you lots of problems down the road. Which is unfortunate as my Soul is one of the most comfortable and utilitarian vehicles I’ve ever owned. I really do like it in many ways.
Someday I’ll start a thread asking for new car recommendations. If so, you’ll know my little Soul finally went to Kia heaven.
I would suggest a used car from this list Service data has been tracked for a few years and these are considered reliable.
I preder buying a three old car with under 60k miles. It’s broken in and any manufacturers problems have been fixed.
This list is from 2020. There should be a similar list published more recently. Although 2017 cars are still worth considering at the right price.
https://www.caranddriver.com/shopping-advice/g26327972/reliable-used-cars/
The usual way you check the water is by looking at the car overflow reservoir, also called coolant reservoir, which is connected by a tube to the radiator. Note you just look at it, it’s mostly transparent and you can see the level of liquid in it–just like you can in a lot of plastic bottles. Are you saying the reservoir still had liquid in it, but the radiator was empty?
So if this helps at all, this is the record of the repair that was done about 7,000 miles ago.
And this the way the engine currently sounds. Is this “turning”?
Thanks for your suggestions and experience.
A couple of bits of good news from the invoice and video.
From the video, it sounds like the engine turns over, so at least it’s not seized.
From the invoice, you have AAA, so you should be able to get a free tow to a real mechanic.
Suggest getting it towed to a mechanic and pay their diagnostic fee. Based on what they find you can determine your next move.
Hard to argue with that.
I do wonder about any possible connection with the cooling system work only 7k miles ago and the recent meltdown.
“Wonder.” It’s unlikely anybody can say with certainty.
Have your battery checked, too. Methinks it may very well be sketchy.
But … yeah: you’re engine is not locked up. That’s A Good Thing.
Damn! Two posts in a row giving me some shred of hope! I understand that in the end it may turn out to be what it is but it certainly is nice to know that there is some possibility of hope…