NHTSA reportedly opens Kia Soul investigation after steering shaft failure
 

<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/economy/" rel="tag">Budget</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/safety/" rel="tag">Safety</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/hatchbacks/" rel="tag">Hatchback</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/kia/" rel="tag">Kia</a></p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/review-2010-kia-soul/#2071416"><img hspace="0" vspace="4" border="1" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/08/kia-soul-630.jpg" /></a>
<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><sma ll>2010 Kia Soul - Click above for high-res image gallery</small></em></strong></div>
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The <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/NHTSA">National Highway Transportation Safety Administration</a> has opened an investigation into a potential problem with the <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/10/review-2010-kia-soul/">Kia Soul</a>. According to the <em>Los Angeles Times</em>, the government safety watchdog is looking into an incident where the steering shaft in one vehicle separated from the steering wheel and then blocked the brake mechanism. The problem resulted in a total loss of control. It's unclear as to whether or not anyone was harmed in the incident from the LAT report. Typically, the federal government doesn't investigate single incidents, but in the case of the Soul, the problem presented itself on a fairly new vehicle and was so serious that NHTSA has elected to investigate. The hatch in question is a 2010 model and had just 4,300 miles on the clock when the problem occurred.<br />
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<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/make/kia/">Kia</a> hasn't commented on the situation other than saying that it is waiting for NHTSA's findings. The 2010 Kia Soul has been one of the Korean automaker's best-selling vehicles, with over 37,000 of the boxy econocars sold so far. <br />
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<div class="postgallery"><p><s trong>Gallery: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/review-2010-kia-soul">Review: 2010 Kia Soul</a></strong></p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/review-2010-kia-soul/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/06/kissoulreview002_thumbnai l.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/review-2010-kia-soul/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/06/kissoulreview003_thumbnai l.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/review-2010-kia-soul/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/06/kissoulreview000_thumbnai l.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/review-2010-kia-soul/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/06/kissoulreview001_thumbnai l.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/review-2010-kia-soul/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/06/kissoulreview004_thumbnai l.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a></div><br />
<em><strong><small>Phot os by John Neff / Copyright (C)2010 AOL</small></strong></em><br />
[Source: <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-0817-autos-kia-20100817,0,964591.story"> Los Angeles Times</a>]<p style="padding:5px;backgr ound:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/08/16/nhtsa-reportedly-opens-kia-soul-investigation-after-steering-sha/">NHTSA reportedly opens Kia Soul investigation after steering shaft failure</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblo g</a> on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 16:40:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/08/16/nhtsa-reportedly-opens-kia-soul-investigation-after-steering-sha/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/19595409/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/08/16/nhtsa-reportedly-opens-kia-soul-investigation-after-steering-sha/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>

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