It’s been a tumultuous few years for car brand Kia. For example, the brand recently came under fire after the rise of the “Kia Boyz” trend where young people exploited a fault in the brand’s design that allowed for their vehicles to be easily hijacked. As a result, the brand’s stock price dropped and a lawsuit was filed against them, which they settled for $200 million.
Now, a user on TikTok is calling out the brand once more after her new Kia Soul allegedly shut off while she was driving.
In a video with over 62,000 views, Idaho-based TikTok user Casey White (@caseywerealien) shows her car on the side of the road. In the video, she says that this has happened before and that Kia support hung up on her when she tried to call to resolve the issue.
“Driving my husband home from the airport our car shut off going 55,” she writes in the caption. “The car fishtailed, the lights went out, the steering wheel locked and we almost went into a telephone pole an irrigation ditch before the car turned itself back on.”
@caseywerealien Driving my husband home from the airport our car shut off going 55. The car fishtailed, the lights went out, the steering wheel locked and we almost went into a telephone pole an irrigation ditch before the car turned itself back on. Kia customer support hung up on me twice because they wanted me fo pay over $200 for a tow. The car is a month old. The dealership said they fixed this. This isnt the first time it shut off while driving. They told me they couldnt replicate the problem. My daughter, husband and i could have been killed. I am irate @Kia America #kia #kiasoul #kiasoulhateclub #kiasoulclub #mechanic #accident #nhtsa #fyp #fypシ #disabledveteran ♬ original sound – Casey White
“Kia customer support hung up on me twice because they wanted me to pay over $200 for a tow,” the caption continues. “The car is a month old. The dealership said they fixed this. This isnt the first time it shut off while driving. They told me they couldnt replicate the problem.”
“My daughter, husband and i could have been killed,” she concludes. “I am irate.”
In a follow-up video, White offers more details about what happened.
@caseywerealien Okay so to answer questions and respond to comments. And a little about how everything has been going with @Kia America 🔥 it is a brand new 2023 Kia soul 🔥 I’ve owned it a month 🔥 we are safe 🔥 I’ve called Kia corporate. I’m 3 weeks out from even getting my case looked at because they are back logged due to lawsuits and recalls. 🔥 I have filed two nhtsa complaints 🔥 I have repeatedly told the dealership I don’t want this car, they need to take it back. They say it’s on Kia America 🔥 I’ve left messages for the gm, got to talk to him for the first time today, he did not seem to know everything on what’s going on 🔥 it has been to the dealership three times now. 🔥 the clips you see are not the whole process. If I’m filming it’s because I already contacted the dealership and we are half way through getting the car to function 🔥 if I had money, I wouldn’t be driving a Kia 🔥 if I had more than Kia money I would have a lawyer 🔥 it’s great your Kia works. Mine has tried to kill me and my family 3 times now. 🔥 I have reported to the nhtsa, the attorney general for my state, Kia America, my insurance, and now the local news 🔥 I did not expect my video to get traction 🔥 yes I know how to start a car and turn it off. 🔥 no I don’t care about your one man Kia circle jerk. 🔥 no I haven’t done work on the car, it’s brand new, I shouldn’t have to. 🔥 no I don’t have a starter ring. They are ugly, and I know they cause issues 🔥 I plan on getting a dash cam if I can afford it 🔥 it’s been in my physical custody for less than a week total 🔥 yes they gave me a loaner 🔥 yes I understand how a locked steering wheel functions. I’ve probably rebuilt more shit boxes than the sales person has sold 🔥 yes I know the car should not be doing this 🔥 yes, I do live in idaho. 🔥 if I could just take it back and get another that would have happened the first time it did this. 🔥 no, my vehicle is not part of the recalls. I check the vin on the nhtsa daily. 🔥yes I document and record everything. 🔥 no, the dealership has not documented the repairs correctly and everything up to this point they’ve claimed is a long crank issue. 🔥 I’ve asked for the records and have not been given them. 🔥 I hate this car. 🔥 I understand how lemon laws work and consumer protections. I’ve been going through this process since I bought it. 🔥 I understand every car and maker has its own issues. Turning itself on and then shutting off going down the highway are unacceptable issues. 🔥 kia america has not emailed me like they said they would ❌ do not be that sideways chucklefuck who tells me kias are amazing and it’s a problem with me. Licking the ground that kias drive on does me no favors. Trying to bully me into liking Kia is a no fly. I have no brand loyalty to anything. I’m just an exhausted mom, who never expected this much attention, and I don’t know what else to do. I don’t mean to come off rude, but trying to respond and having people act like they have towards me is exhausting. I just want a safe car for me and my family, and that’s what I thought I was getting and that I expected. #kia #kiasoul #kiaamerica #kiasoul #kiasoulhateclub #kiasoulfanclub #kiasoulclub #mechanic #lemon #fyp #fypシ #possessedcar #carproblems #car #lemon ♬ original sound – Casey White
“The steering wheel in the car jerked hard to the left as it accelerated on its own, which flung me into a spin,” she recalls. “As that started, that’s when the car shut off, and we had enough momentum to keep going.”
She was eventually able to rectify the situation and avoid a collision after the car restarted on its own.
As for Kia hanging up on her, she says it was because she was in farmland and Kia was not able to offer support unless she had cell phone data and/or could provide an address—eventually, she was able to provide them with GPS coordinates.
Since the incident, White says she’s contacted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, her Attorney General, her insurance provider, and her dealership, Stones Kia in Idaho Falls, Idaho.
“Kia said it will be weeks before they get to me because of the recalls and stuff,” she states. She noted in the caption that her car was not one of the cars that had been recalled.
In an email to the Daily Dot, White says that she has heard of other Kia vehicles doing this and that “Kia America told me they were escalating the issues.”
“I’m hoping they buy the car back, or replace it,” she says of the dealership. “They never reached out to me via email like they said they would. I have been informed that I do have a case manager, but she is out of office. So the person I spoke to doesn’t have access to my files.”
“I will never trust this car,” she states. “It’s been weeks and there’s no answer and no one knows why it’s doing this. I will never feel safe, and my daughter will never be safe in this car.”
In the comments section, users called out Kia.
“My Kia got stuck in drive this morning then the alarm wouldn’t turn off,” a user claimed. “Had to disable the alarm manually and turn off the car in gear.”
“MY KIA WOULD FLOOR IT INTO intersections!!! Randomly accelerating! It almost KILLED ME,” alleged another. “KIA basically told me to suck it. They know the issues.”
“I had a Kia and I’m sooo glad I got rid of it,” a third offered. “I now drive a GMC.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Kia via email and Stones Kia via the website contact form.
