2019 Kia Soul Electrical System

The contact owns a 2019 Kia Soul. The contact stated that the vehicle was not driven for 3–4 days and the battery drained and failed to retain a charge. The vehicle failed to start. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact jumpstarted the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who replaced the battery; however, the failure recurred. The contact was able to jumpstart the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, no failure was found. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

2019 Kia Soul with 63900 miles fan control switch overheating causing harness to turn black. Failure of Ac due to this defect. The Ac Control unit was replace under warranty because of a fan control swith failer in the past. The vehicle is unsafe when these controls are used because of the current going through the switch appears to be to much for the swith to handle. We took the vehicle to the Dealer and they stated that the electronics and wiring is only covered for 5 years 60,000 miles. However, the part was last replaced by the dealer under warranty so this would be the 2nd switch assembly. We contacted Kia Corporate and they advised us to bring the car into the Dealer to have them diagnose the issue. The dealer contacted us and stated that the wiring harness will need to be replaced as well as the Ac Control unit. There was no warnings that this switch was failing again other than the Ac no longer worked.

The dash had a electrical burn smell then smoke started coming out. There were children in the car. Unsure if the dash was on fire we stopped and started removing the area the smoke was coming from. The knob that controls the fan speed for the heat/ac had burnt and melted the plug the sensor to the knob as well as inside the back of the knob. We immediately unplugged it to prevent further damage or fire. After checking the internet I saw many forums stating the fan would only blow if they fiddle with the knob between setting 3 & 4 which is how mine started. Also on this panel is the plug to the light for the passenger airbag. This is my main source of transportation and a very dangerous situation. I took it back to the dealership where I bought it brand new in 2019 and was informed it’s my problem and my responsibility to pay for this electrical issue. Giving other people are having the same problem I believe it should be looked into before someone’s car catches on fire. This is a manufacturing problem as it’s obviously something I could not have done and too many other complaints. I mentioned to the service man perhaps maybe it should be reported and looked into as a recall issue and was informed there’s no way because he’s never heard of anyone else having this problem or seen this before. I explained perhaps they just haven’t brought theirs in or reported it yet or they simple don’t know that’s the problem and this is the result. This is very dangerous please look into it. I am unsure if there was ever a small fire or it just became so hot it melted and we happened to smell and see the smoke.