Seeking Advice on 2018 Kia Soul Gasoline Engine Not Starting - Possible ECU Main Relay Issue

Hey! I've got a 2016 Kia Soul (just a couple of years older than yours). Not a professional mechanic, but you could call me a car enthusiast at best. Same problem happened with my ride. At first, I thought it was the battery or the starter, but turned out the main relay was defective. I took mine to a local garage, and the bloke switched out the main relay for me, cost around 120€. For yours, I'd suggest having a professional check it out to verify the issue. By the way, is your car a manual or automatic? And has there been any recent work done to it before this problem happened? That'd help me give you a more informed suggestion. Keep us posted!

Hey, thanks for the super helpful response. My Soul's an automatic. I haven’t had any recent work done on it, and its last service was around the 100279 KM mark. I guess it's worth having the relay checked out, considering your experience. I’ll hunt down a local professional to take a look and will definitely update here once I have more information. Cheers for the advice!

No problem, happy to help out! Based on your info, and considering our similar models, it could very well be the main relay. Sometimes these problems can be due to relay age or rough handling during previous services. If your Soul is anything like mine, it probably doesn't give issues most of the time. Remember to go to a reputable garage, because a subpar mechanic can sometimes cause more harm than good. And don't shy away from asking for a detailed explanation or a demonstration of the problem. In my case, the guy explained the relay issue by showing me the old relay vs a new one and pointing out a significant difference. Hope this provides some clarity. Looking forward to hearing the expert's diagnosis, fingers crossed it's just the relay. Keep us in the loop, yeah? Good luck with the fix!

Hey, really appreciate your detailed advice and words of encouragement! Will definitely follow up on this thread once I learn more from the mechanic. I'm hoping as well that it's just the main relay. I'll certainly take your advice and seek thorough explanation from the mechanic. Navigating these car issues can be quite a journey, but it's great to have some familiar experiences to reference. Wish me luck, and fingers crossed it will all go smoothly!