2015 Soul EV Transmission Flush?

Our Kia Soul EV battery/wiring harness recall was resolved a few months ago (after months in the shop) and has been running well.

Now there is a now a noticeable "noise", though runs well. Taken in for a look and was surprised with the recommendation. Thoughts?

That makes no sense - the SoulEV has a single speed transmission with reverse implemented by reversing the traction motor. Afaik, it is not cooled, and it certainly has no converters. As for the price, you should be able to get a replacement transmission for that!

I suspect they are using AI to generate that recommendation. Some authors refer to AIs as Artificial Stupids - they have no common sense.

You should immediately get a qualified shop to check the gear box gear oil level. On my car one of the front axle seals failed and leaked out the 1 litre or so of gear oil. There is no transmission to flush, and changing the gear oil should cost < 1 hour of labour.

Unfortunately, having the "reduction gear" / gearbox / "transmission" gradual fail is fairly common on these Soul EVs. I had to replace mine off warranty last year.

FYI, as noted in https://www.mykiasoulev.com/threads/2016-soul-ev-range-anxiety.2072/post-14944,
The Korean warranty is 10 years, 160,000km to 70% SOH.
The United States is 10 years, 100,000 miles to 70% SOH.
The Canadian warranty is 8 years, 160,000km to 70% SOH
The United Kingdom is 7 years, 100,000 miles to 70% SOH.
Europe is 7 years, 150,000km to 70% SOH.

I had a look at the battery warranty to check what is included.

Electric Vehicle (EV) System

• Electric Motor
• Gear Drive Unit
• Battery Pack
• Electric Power Control Unit (EPCU)
• On Board Charger (OBC)

Click to expand...

So yes the Gear Drive Unit is included. But that is for when it breaks not for regular maintenance.
I guess if the seal leaks then that counts as a fault.

I have two 2015 Soul Evs.
Both cars had the gear oil changed after 120,000km at the 7 year service.
Same time. Same day. Took less than an hour. I paid for the service. It wasn't much.

ksoul2084 said:

You should immediately get a qualified shop to check the gear box gear oil level. On my car one of the front axle seals failed and leaked out the 1 litre or so of gear oil. There is no transmission to flush, and changing the gear oil should cost < 1 hour of labour.

Unfortunately, having the "reduction gear" / gearbox / "transmission" gradual fail is fairly common on these Soul EVs. I had to replace mine off warranty last year.

FYI, as noted in https://www.mykiasoulev.com/threads/2016-soul-ev-range-anxiety.2072/post-14944,
The Korean warranty is 10 years, 160,000km to 70% SOH.
The United States is 10 years, 100,000 miles to 70% SOH.
The Canadian warranty is 8 years, 160,000km to 70% SOH
The United Kingdom is 7 years, 100,000 miles to 70% SOH.
Europe is 7 years, 150,000km to 70% SOH.

Click to expand...

Great info, thanks! Was your gearbox replacement ~$8000?

JejuSoul said:

I had a look at the battery warranty to check what is included.

So yes the Gear Drive Unit is included. But that is for when it breaks not for regular maintenance.
I guess if the seal leaks then that counts as a fault.

I have two 2015 Soul Evs.
Both cars had the gear oil changed after 120,000km at the 7 year service.
Same time. Same day. Took less than an hour. I paid for the service. It wasn't much.

View attachment 208

Click to expand...

Nice! Did you use Kia to change the gear oil? Can a regular oil change shop like Valvoline do it?

I used Kia but this is not necessary. Any shop could do it.

edman98 said:

Great info, thanks! Was your gearbox replacement ~$8000?

Click to expand...

At the time (I checked, it was 2 years ago already, Oct of 2022) I was able to find a much less expensive option to purchase a new gearbox from, namely https://www.kia.parts. They are based in the US. Total cost for the new gearbox shipped to my home in Canada was $3,176.09 Cdn $ (approx $2300 USD).

Then I found a local transmission shop that I had dealt with in the past on another vehicle and literally convinced the owner/operator to install it for me after sending him the relevant sections from the service manual. They did the install and it only cost me about $700 for that, from memory. So all in a hair under $4,000 Canadian ($2900 USD).

I also got quotes for a few different KIA dealerships and they were all outrageously expensive, such as $9989 from one I have a record of, just for the gearbox part, then another 10-12 hours to install. They really don't want you to fix your car...