Kia class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: Plaintiff Eric Jasinski has filed a class action lawsuit against Kia America Inc.
- Why: Jasinski alleges Kia knowingly sold 2021-2023 Soul and Seltos vehicles with a defect that can result in engine failure and potential fire.
- Where: The Kia class action lawsuit was filed in Pennsylvania federal court.
A new nationwide class action lawsuit alleges Kia’s 2021-2023 Soul and Seltos vehicles have a defect that can cause engine failure and fires.
Plaintiff Eric Jasinski filed the class action complaint against Kia America Inc. on March 6 in Pennsylvania federal court, alleging violations of state and federal consumer laws.
He claims in the lawsuit that 2021-2023 Kia Soul and Seltos vehicles have faulty piston oil rings that can lead to engine damage, failure and even fires.
Jasinski alleges that, despite being aware of the defect, Kia America failed to disclose it to consumers at the time of purchase, leaving them with vehicles that are unsafe and have diminished value.
Jasinski says he purchased a 2021 Kia Soul from a dealership in Florida in June 2021, and was never informed of any recalls or defects related to the vehicle’s oil ring system.
He says he chose the vehicle based on Kia’s reputation for quality and reliability, as well as the salesperson’s assurances that it was a high-quality car with great technological features.
Kia recalled 137,000 vehicles in February, lawsuit says
In February, Kia issued a recall for more than 137,000 Soul and Seltos vehicles, offering to replace the engine and install piston-ring sensing noise software free of charge. However, Jasinski argues that the recall does not fully address the defect, as it only replaces the engine without guaranteeing a permanent fix for the underlying issue.
Jasinski alleges that the recall will cost him significant time and money, as replacing a car engine can take between 10 and 12 hours of chargeable work. He also points out that the recall does not compensate him for the loss of resale value, as vehicles with a known history of engine issues are worth much less than those without.
The lawsuit seeks to represent a nationwide class and a Pennsylvania class of individuals who purchased or leased a 2021-2023 Kia Soul or Seltos. It alleges violations of state and federal consumer laws, including breach of implied warranty of merchantability, fraud by omission and unjust enrichment.
Jasinski is seeking damages, including benefit of the bargain damages, loss of resale value and incidental damages, as well as injunctive relief to ensure that Kia addresses the underlying manufacturing issue.
In September 2023, Kia and Hyundai agreed to a class action settlement to resolve claims that some of its Kia and Hyundai vehicles suffer from engine defects that can lead to failure and even fire.
What do you think of the allegations made in this Kia class action lawsuit? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiff is represented by Stuart A. Carpey of Carpey Law PC.
The Kia class action lawsuit is Jasinski v. Kia America Inc., Case No. 2:25-cv-01234, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Pennsylvania.
Don’t Miss Out!
Check out our list of Class Action Lawsuits and Class Action Settlements you may qualify to join!
Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:
21 thoughts onKia class action claims 2021-2023 Soul, Seltos vehicles sold with an engine defect
I own a Kia Soul it’s a 2021 GDI Turbo. The transmission went at 65,000 miles (KIA replaced it) the engine went at 105,000 miles I had to replace it which cost about $9100 dollars. My VIN number was not eligible for the recall but the engine failure was a faulty valve just like the recalled engines. I feel I got taken on the engine replacement.
I own a 2022 Kia Soul, purchased new, it’s at 80,000 miles now and already went to the dealership twice for engine issues. We’ve purchased Wyler Care and ensured regular maintenance. They won’t admit there’s a real issue. They fixed it in July 2024 and here we are with the same issue in June 2025. The only solution they want to give is for ME to have the oil changed more frequently than their normal recommendations. It has over $4k in negative equity thanks to buying a NEW car and I’m literally stuck with the car unless I want to trade it in and have a $900 a month car payment now.
Where do I need to file my lawsuit..2015 kia soul same issue 🤔
I bought a 2020 Kia Sportage in Dec. 2024 from Dutch Miller Kia for $15,000. It was “Consuming” 1- 1/2 quarts of oil every 600 miles when I bought it, evidently. I took it to the dealership and had an oil consumption test performed and they deemed that it was excessive. The dealership and Kia refuse to acknowledge that this is a problem with cars they do not have listed under recall. This is a manufacturing defect and should be repaired/replaced by the manufacturer regardless of the car’s mileage. The 2020 Sportage is not under a recall but obviously it should be. Just because Kia says it’s not under recall doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be. And the value of the vehicle is greatly diminished, but the resale price Kia dealerships are charging for used cars does not reflect this. This is dangerous to the public as there is a risk of fire and having an accident due to potential stalling. The consumer has no way of knowing the car has a defect until they’ve already purchased it.
I have a 2022 Kia Soul … I have nothing but issues with this car since I bought it first off there is fluid leaking into my passenger side floor soaking my passenger floor. This is the 10th time since I bought this there every single time they tell me that it’s my AC hose gets clogged which is bull and never dried it so now I have a chemical smell smells like gas or oil or something to that effect. Now with this recall, they did the sub engine and that was on my receipt and on Carfax it says that they did the long blocks they never did the engine because the long blocks and the sub engine are two different things when they did that they mess with my catalytic converter and now it’s in the shop getting a new catalytic converter, but it’s doing my warranty wow isn’t that weird And this morning? My passenger side is soaking wet again wow wasn’t that funny and he’s blaming that on the catalytic converter. Also, I got a different text message from another Kia place stating that my recall with the engine still has not been done and they are telling me that it was done so is it done or is it not done? I’m sick and tired of this place and it’s raceway Kia freehold New Jersey
I went in there this morning to drop off my car. I went to go speak to somebody to possibly get a different vehicle because they sent me a flyer stating that they were giving me back a certain amount of money and I wouldn’t have to put any money down and they would make it my regular payment or lower find out that it was employed to get people in there so there is false advertisement and I really wanna go after the manufacturer. I wanna go after raceway Kia and freehold not only for the service department but also doing false advertisement.
Can somebody contact me at my email address …
I have a 2021 kia seltos that was supposed to be fixed several times. But it keeps stalling from lack of oil pressure because it burns up. I want rid of it.
I have a kia soul and it has a tick to the engine can’t get it in to the dealer intill a renter is available in the mean time at any point it could stop running that interfere with my daily things I have to do everyday
Hello, I recently purchased a 2021 Kia Soul at the end of last year. A couple months ago the engine caught fire while I was driving and after looking into it I found out that there was a recall on the vehicle. I reached out to Kia but they were not willing to accept the fault. Please contact me if you can help.