Electronic Parking Brake (EPB) firmware : (November 2023 - another recall)

I know I'm reviving an old post, but this issue has become an issue on out 2016 Kia Soul EV with 165,000 km on it.

Our Soul has had the recall done, and the rear brakes come on when the car is in park and the car is turned off. About two months ago, my wife noticed that the car seems to roll back some if she was parked in the car waiting for someone, with it turned on. It caught her off guard at first, but she has video taped it happening now. It happens every time now.

The problem with the fix that Kia had made is that if you get out of your car with it running for any reason, or if you just park to wait for someone and look down at your phone, the car will roll away, if you were getting something out of the trunk or open a gate, this could have dire consequence as it could roll over you.

The fix should have been to repair the parking brake pin, or at least have the brake come on when the car is put in park.

If you have this issue, fill out the complaint form as Kia needs to fix this before someone gets killed or injured.

In Canada:
https://tc.canada.ca/en/road-transportation/defects-recalls-vehicles-tires-child-car-seats/concerned-about-your-vehicle-s-safety-transport-canada-can-investigate-your-safety-concerns

In the US:
https://www.nhtsa.gov/report-a-safety-problem#index

Kia wants $1200 to fix this problem properly, something they should fix for free as this is a design issue. My wife never slams her car into park while it's moving like Kia says.

I always manually put the EPB on as a habit, so I've not noticed the same scenario as yours.

Another problem is if you need to have your car towed.* Most tow truck drivers want your car to be in neutral, but even in neutral as soon as it no longer detects the key fob in the car it will engage the parking brake, so if you ride in the cab of the tow truck the only way to keep the parking brake disengaged is to leave the key fob in the car and the vehicle on. There might be a better way to do this but we couldn't figure one out. When I got to the destination there was a traction control warning on the screen no doubt because the back wheels were spinning and the front wheels were not. It was gone and never returned once I shut down and restarted the vehicle.

* So far I've only had to have the car towed once, when my battery pack was going bad and I was only getting 40 miles of range. Car died in visual sight of the DC fast charger.... I've been waiting since November 26, 2020 [edit: Oops, I mean 2021!] for the replacement and just a few days ago got news that it is confirmed to be IN THE US finally and heading to the warehouse to be tested and then sent to the dealership to be installed.

It's possible to get everything setup so the car can be towed when it is off, but it isn't easy. It's a two part process.

As part of the recall, they should have given you a little manual supplement and that has the instructions on how to turn the car off without the EPB applying itself - you need to have the car on and in gear so the EPB is off, then push and hold down the EPB button while you shift in to park and turn the car off. Only once the car is actually turned off do you let go of the EPB button. If you let go too early you will hear the whine of the EPB applying itself.

The car should now be turned off without the EPB applied but it is in Park. Leave the car turned off from this point, otherwise you will have to begin again.

You now need a little screwdriver or knife point to dig out the "Shift Release" plug that's by the gear shift lever. Once you have that out then you need to take the physical key out of the key fob and push that down the hole, pushing against a spring in the bottom. Put your foot on the brake pedal so the car doesn't roll away and move the gear shift lever to N. The car is now ready for towing, with only your foot on the foot brake holding it.

It's all quite tricky, after having to get towed once I made the rest of the drivers in my house try it at home, showing them the parts in the manuals, in case they ever need a tow.

I did not get this manual, so thanks very much for the info! The dealership did the update while they had my car in for another thing: Replacing the on-board charger (over $2000, so I'm glad it was under warranty!) I'll see if I can get a copy from the dealership OR if I can download it from somewhere. I looked online and all I keep seeing is the instructions for the EV techs on how to do the actual firmware upgrade for the EPB.

I have just tried the first part of the procedure, but not keeping the car in gear, and can report that it works with the selector in P, which is more intuitive. All you have to remember is to keep the brake button depressed when switching off, and the parking brake will not engage.

Then use the override to take the car out of P.

Thanks for testing it out, IanL. You're right, that's easier to remember. One thing that concerns me a tiny bit is the possibility of the EPB sticking in the 'engaged' position (after years of daily use). Has anyone had this happen or heard of it happening?

If it does fail in the on position then you can pop the power connector off the motor, remove a cover and use a hex wrench to wind it back to the off position.

For the manual update, see the last page of the recall instructions on the NHTSA website https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2020/RCRIT-20V389-5296.pdf

It lists the required part as SC191SOULOMS and instructs the tech to place it on the front passenger seat. It will be slightly different part number for Canadians as we get the English and French in one.

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Just got a recall notice for both my 2015 Soul EVs.
Another software update is needed for the Electronic Parking Brake (EPB).

I think I wrote on this before but the software fix to engage the parking brake when turning off the car is a half-arse fix. KIA really should do better. the car still rolls if you are parked and waiting on something. Significantly too. I suspect over time it will completely fail to the point where Park does about the same as neutral.

It's frankly dangerous. Perhaps we should reach out to the feds and make the case for a proper repair. 35yr of driving automatics, 600,000miles of driving, I've never had those issues with any car. I don't know how this fix was approved as a solution.

I have had the latest software upgrade, didn't notice any difference.

Here's some of the details and testing for this issue from NHTSA.
Office of Defect Investigation (ODI) testing of EPB

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Another thread talking about this recall - New recall: electric parking brake

Most interesting comment

Nigel said:

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Note that the automatic engagement of the EPB is a real pain when you want to change out the rear brake pads. I don't have the service tools to disengage the EPB so had to go to the dealership for a simple brake pad change out

Click to expand...

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The latest EPB software recall is now underway in Europe. - KRE23-41-E040-PS EV.

This is the description of the recall from NHTSA - Part 573 Safety Recall Report 23V-724
"When the vehicle is left unattended while powered ON and the parking brake is not manually engaged, unintended vehicle movement may occur intermittently even though the gear shift lever is in the "P" (Park) position. This is caused by intermittent failure of the parking pawl to engage the parking gear, which Kia suspects is due to damage to the parking mechanism within the GDU."

JeroenE said:

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My Soul EV always puts on the EPB by itself when you switch the car off. Does the new software already puts the EPB on when you select P?

Click to expand...

My 2015 Soul EV did not do this until an EPB update in September 2017. The latest software update isn't noticeable for me.

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Maybe this recall is related to this issue - bad parking causing excessive wear on the gears, which leads to 'park' failure.




From this Ukrainian YouTube video

JejuSoul said:

My 2015 Soul EV did not do this until an EPB update in September 2017. The latest software update isn't noticeable for me.

Click to expand...

You're probably right, maybe this behaviour came after an earlier update. So long ago I don't even remember

Just had this recall done. Works a treat and what it should have been the first time they recalled the failing Park pin. Also had BMS and harness done, along with a reduction gear oil change due at 75,000 miles. She's in tiptop shape again.

Thanks for that video link, JejuSoul. It was interesting to watch (but thank goodness for subtitles!). Nice to know there is a (small) industry out there who can repair electric cars outside of warranty. Some even do battery capacity upgrades (most notably for the Nissan Leaf). I'd love to see this for the 2015-2018 Soul EV because the newer Soul EVs (sadly not sold in the US) have a MUCH larger battery (64kwh vs 27/30kwh) which I would love to have in my 2018, though I'm sure it's not a plug-and-play situation!

JejuSoul said:

Maybe this recall is related to this issue - bad parking causing excessive wear on the gears, which leads to 'park' failure.

View attachment 59

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This seems to be confirmed on the Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Recalls Database
Under Transport Canada Recall # 2020-310 they state
"On certain vehicles, the transmission could be damaged if the driver shifts to the "P" (Park) position before the vehicle has stopped moving. As a result, the vehicle could move when the shift lever is in the Park position and the parking brake is not used."

I try to put the parking brake on manually every time I put it in park. I'm not going to let them update my car!