NHTSA Complaint #11491984 — 2020 KIA SOUL

At around 91, 697 miles, our 2020 Kia Soul EX began to have issues with the engine stalling out while downshifting in lower speeds, We took our Kia into the local (still an hour away from our home) dealership, for the recall "fix" which involved uploading a firmware update to the ECM for the knock sensor. We also had the dealership look into the issue of stalling out, but they could not replicate the issue and therefore sent us on our way. About two weeks later, the vehicle started making an extreme knocking sound (I am a mechanic and knew what the issue was immediately), and it brought up a check engine light, however there was no oil light or warning of any kind that came on. Upon further inspection, it was discovered that there was no oil in the vehicle. Upon filling the vehicle back up with oil, everything seemed normal, until the weekend of 11 October, when the motor again had an extreme amount of oil consumption, to the point of the same symptoms, along with a loud rattling sound, as if something had broken due to lack of lubrication, despite having an oil change completed less than a month prior, with approximately 1200 miles due to the next oil change. This almost left us stranded approximately 1.5 hours away from home. Again, we filled the engine with oil, and drove with extreme caution as the check engine light never shut off. Again, no oil light or indication the vehicle was experiencing a no-oil condition was present. After getting an appointment and taking the vehicle into the dealership on 20 October 2022, the technician stated that there were multiple CEL codes, including P0017 Crankshaft Position, multiple cylinder misfire codes, and low compression on cylinders 2,3, and 4, with cylinder 2 being the lowest. It was deemed that the top end of the motor looked good, with no obvious signs of neglect in maintenance, or issues that may cause false codes. The vehicle continues to exhibit stalling, and low acceleration, posing a severe safety issue.