2021 Kia Soul Check Engine Light

Is it safe to drive your 2021 Kia Soul with the check engine light on?

This question is not particularly straightforward because it all depends on the severity of the issue. If the cause is a minor issue, such as a loose gas cap, it should be safe to commute. This is naturally indicated by a steady glow of the check engine light. If you notice a difference in the performance of the vehicle, it could be an indication of a more admissible problem. If the check engine light is glaring, this means that there is a admissible issue and it is recommended to service your Kia Soul quickly. Call the experts at Courtesy Kia of Brandon by dialing 8138500547 so you can describe the issues. Or lower down your speed and bring your 2021 Kia to our certified mechanics as soon as attainable.

Check Engine Light Service 2021 Kia Soul

What do you do when you’re driving along in your Kia Soul and suddenly, a yellow light flashes on your dash and says "Check Engine". If you’re like most Kia owners, your heart sinks a little because you have little idea about what that light is trying to tell you or how you should react. The fear of the unknown (or the cost of the unknown) can be just as stressful. But take a deep breath and realize the light coming on doesn’t mean you have to pull the vehicle over to the side of the road and call a tow truck, but it is recommended that you get your 2021 Kia Soul checked as soon as accessible. Ignoring that warning could end up causing major damage to expensive engine components.

When your 2021 Kia Soul's ECM (electronic control module), which is the vehicle's onboard computer, finds a problem in the electronic control system that it can’t honest, a computer turns on your check engine light. This amber or yellow light is regularly labeled “check engine” or “service engine soon”, or the light may be nothing more than a picture of an engine, or a picture of the engine with the word “check.”

When the light turns on, the ECM stores an engine code or “trouble code” in its memory that identifies as the issue, whether it's a sensor or a failing engine part. This code is determine with an electronic scan tool that is used by our Kia auto repair mechanics at Courtesy Kia of Brandon. There are also a number of relatively inexpensive code readers that are designed for do-it-yourselfers, should you opt for that route too. While this code will tell you the issue that is detected, a true diagnosis still requires an skilled powerful to determine the issue and repair it.

What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?

One of the most frequently misunderstood lights or indicators in your 2021 Kia Soul is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the onboard diagnostics system, and displays in a few divergent ways. It can say "Check Engine", it can be a symbol of an engine, it can even be a combination of both. This light illuminates in either an amber or red color and is part of the diagnostics system found on your vehicle. Onboard computers increasingly have controlled and monitored vehicle performance since the 80s and do a variety of things for your 2021 Kia Soul. Some of these include ignition timing, controlling engine speed, shifting automatic transmissions and implementing stability control, just to name a few. With that being said, the check engine light can mean a variety of contrasting things. It can be as common as your gas cap being loose or as treacherous as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your 2021 Kia Soul, contact Courtesy Kia of Brandon. Contact Courtesy Kia of Brandon today! Our Kia service department can help you find out what code is turning your check engine light on or inspect why your check engine light is flashing.

How much does it cost to get the engine light checked?

The check engine light warns of issues ranging from a gas cap that's not perfectly tightened to a more awesome failure like a bad catalytic converter or a problem with one of the car's oxygen sensors, so it noteworthy to get the eager code reading and diagnosis. The central cost for a check engine light diagnosis & testing is frequently between $88 and $111. The noteworthy news, Courtesy Kia of Brandon offers complimentary multi-point inspections and free diagnostics, in most cases, to help indicate the cause of your check engine light.

2021 Kia Soul Check Engine Light Flashing

Although there are bountiful conceivable causes of an illuminated Check Engine Light, we know from years of providing Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that there are plentiful simple causes encompassing something as simple as a loose gas cap. Disparate simple reasons for a Check Engine Light are faulty head gasket, faulty emissions control part, damaged oxygen sensor, dirty mass airflow sensor, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, or defective spark plugs to name a few. No matter what is the root cause of the Check Engine Light, we have the Kia Certified Technicians and the certified service protocol to isolate the root problem and repair it as necessary to restore factory specifications. When this happens, the Check Engine Light turns off, and you can leave the service center knowing that your Kia issue was fixed.

Every 2021 Kia Soul was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the car on its critical systems. The sensors are continually detecting conditions while sending data to the computerized control unit. If the computerized control unit detects that the data is out of factory specifications, the Check Engine Light flashes telling you that there is a problem. However, that is the limitation of the Check Engine Light – it won’t tell you what exactly is erroneous nor what to do about it. That’s where we come in; Courtesy Kia of Brandon provides a Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that isolates the core problem and gives you a recommendation on what to do next from a Exceptionally Qualified Service professional.

What could cause the check engine light to come on in a 2021 Kia Soul?

When your check engine light comes on, this could be as authentic as tightening or replacing your gas cap. Likewise, the check engine light could also be a warning of a impressive problem that could cause impressive damage to your engine and come with a generous repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A plausible glow frequently means something less impressive but a flashing check engine light indicates that your vehicle’s engine is in impressive trouble and service is decisive immediately. If your check engine light is flashing in your 2021 Kia Soul, we highly recommend not to travel to work the vehicle and schedule Kia service immediately. Below is a list of the most impressive reasons your check engine light can come on:

• New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are imperative for your 2021 Kia Soul. The spark plugs are the part of your engine that ignites the air/fuel mixture in the combustion chamber of your vehicle. This explosion is what moves the pistons and makes the engine run. The spark plug wires deliver the spark from the ignition coil to the spark plugs. If your spark plugs or spark plug wires are bad or long-established, you will experience poor performance and reduced power. In some extreme cases, your engine will have trouble starting or continuing to run. Worn spark plugs and plug wires can cause clogged catalytic converter or damage to ignition coils and O2 sensors, leading to more expensive repairs.
• Issues with any aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or further item can wreak havoc on your 2021 Kia Soul if it’s not installed accordingly. These aftermarket parts and accessories can discard the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even prevent the vehicle from starting. If these issues sound prominent, bring your Soul to Kia and have our squad of certified mechanics ensure that your aftermarket items were installed correctly and aren't causing any issue. Getting accessories, notably aftermarket parts and accessories, or using OEM parts first place might cost a meager bit more but could save you money from having to get poor work and damage caused by poor installation work corrected.
• One of the most fair and many cause is that your 2021 Kia Soul gas cap is loose, damaged or missing. The gas cap for your 2021 Kia Soul serves multiple purposes. It prevents gas fumes from being released when you aren't driving, it seals the fuel system and helps maintain pressure within the fuel tank. What happens if you have a bad fuel cap? If your gas cap is long-established or has a ruptured seal, you can lose fuel through evaporation which will result in more trips to the pump. Luckily, to replace a gas cap isn't expensive. If your check engine light turns on immediately after you put gas in your 2021 Kia Soul, first thing you should check is to make sure the cap isn’t loose — or that it's still on your car’s roof or at the fuel pump.
• Your 2021 Kia Soul has a vacuum leak. Every Kia Soul has a vacuum system that performs a wide variety of functions. The vacuum system also helps reduce harmful emissions by routing the fumes as gasoline evaporates through the engine. If you notice that your RPM is high in idle or randomly surges, a vacuum leak could be the cause. Over time, vacuum hoses can dry out and crack, notably if they’re exposed to intense heat or extreme chilled.
• Your catalytic converter is bad or going bad. The catalytic converter is a part of your 2021 Kia Soul’s exhaust system. The catalytic converter's function is to turn the carbon monoxide created by the combustion process into carbon dioxide. A damaged catalytic converter is ordinarily caused by neglected maintenance, which is why Courtesy Kia of Brandon offers a complimentary multi-point inspection with every Kia service. If you have an issue with your catalytic converter and don't get it fixed, your 2021 Kia Soul will not pass an emissions test, show a lack of engine performance and will negatively affect your fuel economy. Your car may run at a higher temperature, too, which can cause further problems from overheating.
• Your mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be replaced. The mass airflow sensor in your Kia Soul is what determines how much fuel is imperative to run your engine efficiently by measuring the fee of air entering the engine. As a part of the engine management system, the mass airflow sensor helps adjust to confident changes, like altitude. If your Kia Soul is having trouble starting, idling rough or has a hasty change in the position of the throttle pedal, this could be a sign of a bad mass airflow sensor.
• The battery is low or dead. The battery in your 2021 Kia Soul is every critical. Without a car battery, your car won’t start, light up the road ahead, play the radio or charge your phone. Today’s car batteries last much longer than they did a few decades ago, and they don't surely require maintenance. The estimate of a new one depends on the type of Kia you drive, but check our present service coupons and specials.
• Your O2 Sensor (Oxygen Sensor) needs to be replaced. The Oxygen sensor, prominent as the O2 sensor, measures the fee of oxygen in your exhaust system. If there is excess oxygen in your exhaust system, fuel burns faster and your vehicle will be less adequate when it comes to fuel economy. So what happens if I don’t replace your O2 sensor? A faulty sensor can not only affect your miles per gallon, but it can cause damage to your catalytic converter and your 2021 Kia Soul's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to represent the right mixture of air and fuel that enters the cylinders in your engine. A bad O2 sensor can also cause a car to fail an emissions test.

2021 Kia Soul Check Engine Light

If the check engine light in your 2021 Kia Soul starts shining, that means that the problem needs prompt attention and your Kia should be brought in promptly. A shining light indicates that the problem is hazardous and if not taken care of promptly may result in considerable wear and tear to the vehicle. This blinking light commonly illustrates a strict engine misfire allowing unburned fuel to be discharged into the exhaust system. There it can suddenly expand the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where damage is attainable, requiring an expensive repair. Some owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can completely be the cause. A bad, old or dirty spark plug can cause the engine to misfire. If the problem is ignored or you continue to travel to work, this can spread to the spark plug wires, catalytic converter, or ignition coils which can lead to a very pricey repair. If your check engine light is flashing, please contact our company of automotive advisors at Courtesy Kia of Brandon rapidly by calling 8138500547.

Will the check engine light reset itself?

The check engine light on your 2021 Kia Soul will usually shut itself off if the issue or code that caused it to turn on is revamped. For example, if the cause of your check engine light coming on was a loose gas cap, if it's tightened, the light will turn itself off. Likewise, if your catalytic converter is going reasonable, and you did a lot of stop-and-go driving, that may have turned on the check engine light due to the high usage of the converter. In most cases, your 2021 Kia Soul light will go off after about 20-40 miles. If you drive over that amount and the light is still on, you will need to deliver it in to Courtesy Kia of Brandon so the light and code can be double-checked and reset.

2021 Kia Soul Check Engine Light Codes

The check engine light turning on can be quite intimidating to see that meager light on your vehicle’s dashboard suddenly illuminates, but in reality, it is not something that should cause you to shut down in fear right away. If you hear the term, diagnostic trouble codes (DTC), these are just additional name for check engine light codes. These are automotive computer codes stored by the ECM, also known as the OBD (on-board computer diagnostic system) in your Soul. There are hundreds of assorted codes that your check engine light can represent. While that sounds daunting, with a meager patience, tackling decisive diagnostics will give you practical knowledge about your vehicle and will also allow that Check Engine Light to do what it is genuinely supposed to do: be your guide. Unfortunately, conspicuous and realistic vehicle symptoms do not always accompany an illuminated Check Engine Light. Since there are hundreds of likely OBD codes, there are also hundreds of likely reasons for the light, including:

• Emissions controls issues
• Fuel and air metering systems problems
• Bad Spark Plugs
• Ignition system faults
• Loose Gas Cap or Missing Gas Cap
• Old Battery
• Computer output circuit issues
• Transmission issues
• O2 Sensor

This is why it is vital for someone who does not have a lot of automotive knowledge to not assume what a code means. When your check engine light comes on, you should get it checked out quickly by a certified Kia mechanic. Call Courtesy Kia of Brandon at 8138500547 today or schedule your check engine light service online today! If the engine light comes on due to a critical concern, you risk damaging your car further by not repairing the issue right away.

How many miles can you drive with the check engine light?

If you check engine light is flashing, we advise that you pull over and contact Courtesy Kia of Brandon to help represent if your vehicle is reliable to drive in or if we advise a tow truck. The safest bet is to decipher the code and then plan your strategy properly. Since all check engine code has its own level of severity, it is troublesome to predict how many miles you can drive with the warning light on. It could be anything from a bad sensor to plug wires needing to be replaced.