# Kia gets airborn after hitting a tire

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/kia-gets-airborn-after-hitting-a-tire/189878>\
**Category:** Safety\
**Created:** [March 31, 2023, 11:40pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/kia-gets-airborn-after-hitting-a-tire/189878 "2023-03-31T23:40:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![TheWonderful90s](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/thewonderful90s/32/29584_2.png) [@TheWonderful90s](https://community.cartalk.com/u/TheWonderful90s)\
**Post date:** [March 31, 2023, 11:40pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/kia-gets-airborn-after-hitting-a-tire/189878/1 "2023-03-31T23:40:06Z")

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> **[Kia Soul Sent Flying Several Feet Into The Air In Unbelievable Crash | Carscoops](https://www.carscoops.com/2023/03/kia-soul-sent-flying-several-feet-into-the-air-in-unbelievable-crash/)**
>
> The Kia driver reportedly walked away from the wreckage

Another reason why SUVs with their higher bumpers are more dangerous on the highway.

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**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\
**Post date:** [March 31, 2023, 11:44pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/kia-gets-airborn-after-hitting-a-tire/189878/2 "2023-03-31T23:44:12Z")

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The Kia Soul is classified as a small station wagon, too low to be a SUV.

![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/3/2/321e25d0bf0ab9bfad6ac23b0421943ee5aae9c1.png)

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**Author:** ![TheWonderful90s](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/thewonderful90s/32/29584_2.png) [@TheWonderful90s](https://community.cartalk.com/u/TheWonderful90s)\
**Post date:** [March 31, 2023, 11:48pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/kia-gets-airborn-after-hitting-a-tire/189878/3 "2023-03-31T23:48:34Z")

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Is it exempt from NHTSA bumper height requirements?

> [@](#):
>
> The truth is, the Kia Soul is a subcompact SUV, as per Palmen Kia. While its unique exterior fuels the perception it could belong to any of these other categories, at its core, the Soul’s chassis and powertrain mark it as an SUV, albeit a small one.

Suorce: [Is the Kia Soul a Hatchback, SUV, or Wagon?](https://www.motorbiscuit.com/kia-soul-hatchback-suv-wagon/)

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**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2023, 12:28am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/kia-gets-airborn-after-hitting-a-tire/189878/4 "2023-04-01T00:28:10Z")

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Have you seen one? They’re not high. I do have to keep my eyes peeled for flying vehicles.

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**Author:** ![wolyrobb](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/wolyrobb/32/45497_2.png) [@wolyrobb](https://community.cartalk.com/u/wolyrobb)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2023, 1:14am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/kia-gets-airborn-after-hitting-a-tire/189878/5 "2023-04-01T01:14:56Z")

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Kia Soul is a subcompact car, not a suv despite being called a crossover.

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**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2023, 1:57am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/kia-gets-airborn-after-hitting-a-tire/189878/6 "2023-04-01T01:57:11Z")

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> [@TheWonderful90s](#):
>
> Another reason why SUVs with their higher bumpers are more dangerous on the highway.

Once again you show just how uninformed you are . The Kia Soul is not an SUV - the front is not much higher than most cars - that was a freak occurance and the fact that the Soul driver did not have a fatal result is fantastic.

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**Author:** ![auto-owner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/50afbb/32.png) [@auto-owner](https://community.cartalk.com/u/auto-owner)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2023, 2:11am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/kia-gets-airborn-after-hitting-a-tire/189878/7 "2023-04-01T02:11:44Z")

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The problem is goofy aftermarket wheels on pickups like this one.

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**Author:** ![TheWonderful90s](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/thewonderful90s/32/29584_2.png) [@TheWonderful90s](https://community.cartalk.com/u/TheWonderful90s)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2023, 2:19am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/kia-gets-airborn-after-hitting-a-tire/189878/8 "2023-04-01T02:19:28Z")

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Did you see how the brake disk broke off with the wheel?

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**Author:** ![auto-owner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/50afbb/32.png) [@auto-owner](https://community.cartalk.com/u/auto-owner)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2023, 2:27am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/kia-gets-airborn-after-hitting-a-tire/189878/9 "2023-04-01T02:27:10Z")

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There are better videos of this online.  
You’re probably talking about a damned wheel spacer.

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**Author:** ![davesmopar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/davesmopar/32/41750_2.png) [@davesmopar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davesmopar)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2023, 2:54am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/kia-gets-airborn-after-hitting-a-tire/189878/10 "2023-04-01T02:54:40Z")

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“The Kia Soul is a **subcompact car** manufactured and marketed by Kia since 2008. Often described and marketed as a crossover since its introduction, the Soul is a hatchback with a boxy proportion and tall roof, which are designed to maximize its interior space”

SUV is a very loose term and at best the Soul is a Subcompact SUV, meaning still very small with low ground clearance…

Call up a 4X4 shop and tell them you want to put a 6" lift on your Kia Soul with 37" tires and wait for the response…  
Although they do make lift kits for a Miata so maybe that is a bad example… 🤣

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**Author:** ![TheWonderful90s](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/thewonderful90s/32/29584_2.png) [@TheWonderful90s](https://community.cartalk.com/u/TheWonderful90s)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2023, 2:54am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/kia-gets-airborn-after-hitting-a-tire/189878/11 "2023-04-01T02:54:48Z")

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The brake disk is visible at 28 seconds in to the Twitter video.

I wonder what the bumper height on the Kia Soul is. The federal regulation for cars is between 16 and 20 inches above ground.

I wonder if the front bumper is especially flimsy which allowed the wheel to roll under it, or if there is a sharp edge that caught on the tire.

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**Author:** ![Cavell](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cavell/32/43396_2.png) [@Cavell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cavell)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2023, 5:47pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/kia-gets-airborn-after-hitting-a-tire/189878/12 "2023-04-01T17:47:19Z")

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![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/9/d/9dee0c9cebb0284c981d0a1c41cbfb5dcc863222.jpeg)  
Truck was seen 3 miles away.  
Hit and run.

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**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2023, 6:02pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/kia-gets-airborn-after-hitting-a-tire/189878/13 "2023-04-01T18:02:36Z")

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Wrong truck, wrong wheel, wrong location. Chevrolet in the video, that is a Dodge.

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**Author:** ![Cavell](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cavell/32/43396_2.png) [@Cavell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cavell)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2023, 7:16pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/kia-gets-airborn-after-hitting-a-tire/189878/14 "2023-04-01T19:16:53Z")

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Looks good though. How do you know this trucks wheel didn’t cause similar damage?

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**Author:** ![auto-owner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/50afbb/32.png) [@auto-owner](https://community.cartalk.com/u/auto-owner)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2023, 7:35pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/kia-gets-airborn-after-hitting-a-tire/189878/15 "2023-04-01T19:35:00Z")

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Different cars of differing designs will do different things hitting an upright wheel and tire at highway speeds. I first began to learn about deficient aftermarket parts while riding choppers in the 1970s. It’s been an ongoing learning experience.  
To be fair though, the wheel itself might have been okay, and just a crappy spaced installation.

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**Author:** ![auto-owner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/50afbb/32.png) [@auto-owner](https://community.cartalk.com/u/auto-owner)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2023, 7:50pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/kia-gets-airborn-after-hitting-a-tire/189878/16 "2023-04-01T19:50:04Z")

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–that was a freak occurrence and the fact that the Soul driver did not have a fatal result is fantastic–

Seat belts and airbags work though. If you don’t hit anything too hard, or get hit too hard, some really rough tumbles are survivable. I’ve seen cars that looked considerably worse than this one afterward, and no serious injuries.

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**Author:** ![Cavell](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cavell/32/43396_2.png) [@Cavell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cavell)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2023, 9:05pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/kia-gets-airborn-after-hitting-a-tire/189878/17 "2023-04-01T21:05:42Z")

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Having a car dropped on its roof might give you a headache. Don’t think they have airbags in the sunroof.

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**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2023, 9:44pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/kia-gets-airborn-after-hitting-a-tire/189878/18 "2023-04-01T21:44:42Z")

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Kia might want to buy this Soul for a display . They need some good Public Relation points .

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**Author:** ![TheWonderful90s](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/thewonderful90s/32/29584_2.png) [@TheWonderful90s](https://community.cartalk.com/u/TheWonderful90s)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2023, 1:20am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/kia-gets-airborn-after-hitting-a-tire/189878/19 "2023-04-02T01:20:08Z")

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> [@Cavell](#):
>
> Having a car dropped on its roof might give you a headache. Don’t think they have airbags in the sunroof.

The seat belt pretensioner would normally freeze the belt in place. So in this case the lap belt may have been tightened down and stuck there.

If that Kia Soul has this bumper, it looks like it mounts singnificantly higher than the front unibody frame rails. [https://archive.is/yvZul](https://archive.is/yvZul)

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**Author:** ![davesmopar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/davesmopar/32/41750_2.png) [@davesmopar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davesmopar)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2023, 1:48am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/kia-gets-airborn-after-hitting-a-tire/189878/20 "2023-04-02T01:48:58Z")

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There is a very good chance that the wheel was not torqued properly… You would be surprised at how many people don’t know the proper torque sequence and spec, even more important when dealing with custom wheels…

[Next page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/kia-gets-airborn-after-hitting-a-tire/189878.md?page=2)
