Owners have filed 5,386 complaints on the Kia Soul, covering 2010–2025. The system named most often is Engine (1,866 reports). Worst years by volume: 2015, 2014, 2016; cleanest: 2025, 2024, 2023. 247 reports describe a crash, 312 a fire, 18 a death. On average the car was 5.7 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Kia Soul
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 5,386 Soul complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Engine 1,866 Read
My [XXX] daughter was a passenger in a vehicle involved in a crash in which the vehicle struck a tree and a fire was present. She was unable to exit the vehicle and did not receive medical attention in time. Public records indicate the vehicle had an open federal safety recall at the time, listed as incomplete. I am…
I was driving and car started to lose power,the service engine light came on less than a minute before the boom.l tried to speed up and then there was a big boom and it was loud, so I went to the shoulder of the road and the car stalled ,I tried to restart the car and it just engulfed into flames. The car is a total…
The contact owned a 2020 kia soul. While driving at 70 mph, the vehicle stalled as the engine warning light illuminated and the vehicle was merged to the side of the road. When the contact attempted to restart the vehicle, the engine caught on fire. The fire department extinguished the fire. A police report was filed.…
Power Train 348 Read
Air bag new
Purchased 6-22-24 fire happened 8-14-24 at approximately 11pm, with approximately 2691 miles, fire started in engine compartment, car burned to ground, nothing left, approximately 2691 miles on vehicle. I was lucky to get out alive, i had to kick the doors open
In April 2023 I purchased a 2021 Kia Soul. I had no issues at all with my Used Kia Soul. In Nov 2023 I was in an accident. I hit a deer and that did cause damage. My insurance company fixed it. I got my car back in Dec [XX], 2023 with approximately 96,000 miles on it. A few days later on my way to work. I entered the…
Electrical System 304 Read
The vehicle hit a tree at an unknown rate of speed. The seat belts functioned, and the air bags were deployed. The vehicle caught fire immediately or shortly thereafter. Two bystanders could not open the doors because the door locks were still engaged. They had to break the glass, manually unlock the doors, then open…
We were going south on [XXX] about 25 mph intending to make a left turn onto [XXX] My wife said “slow down or you won’t make the turn” to which I replied “I am trying but it won’t slow down” As I applied the brakes to slow down to turn, instead the car started to speed up and I could not make the left turn. I…
Car subject to theft SEE NHSTA press release Feb. 14, 2003 The press release announced a fix had already been achieved (EMPHASIS ADDED): Hyundai and Kia HAVE developed theft deterrent software for millions of their vehicles that lack an immobilizer and will provide it FREE of charge to vehicle owners Unless your PIO…
Engine And Engine Cooling 288 Read
The 2010 soul had a major failure when it impacted a tree at 10 mph. There were no leaking fluids, signs of smoke or fire. The vehicle caught fire roughly 15 minutes later and burned totally up before fire crews could get there to put it out. The origin of the fire was between the engine and the fire wall. I feel as…
The contact owned a 2019 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at 50 MPH, the brakes failed to operate upon depression as heavy, black smoke began to emit from the under the hood of the vehicle. The contact's daughter managed to pull off to the shoulder of the highway as all occupants…
The contact owned a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power and the engine made an abnormal sound. The contact turned off the vehicle to let it…
Steering 177 Read
The contact owned a 2023 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH, the lane assist feature malfunctioned and the steering wheel inadvertently turned sharply to the left and seized. As a result, the vehicle crashed into trees and rolled down the hill. The contact was removed from the vehicle. The contact…
Before the accident which my car was totaled, I would take it in with issues. Electrical lights coming on the car would stop .my transmission locking up . I would tell them that there was something wrong with the car . I had videos to show pannel lights coming on at 70 on freeway and car locking up and would just stop…
On a residential street doing about 15 mph. Without any warning veered to the right hitting a parked car and doing extensive damage to my kia soul and moderate damage to a ford explorer. It was mid day and good visibility and I was alert on familiar territory in my own neighborhood. I am concerned that even though kia…
Exterior Lighting 140 Read
The contact owns a 2014 kia soul. The contact stated that the vehicle headlights failed to illuminated while driving. The contact noticed that the headlights connector melted. The vehicle was taken to kia of anderson, 5281 us-76, pendleton, sc 29670, and was diagnosed that the headlights connector needed to be…
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Soul. The contact stated there was an abnormal fuel odor inside of the vehicle. Additionally, the brake lights were inoperable prior to replacing the rear taillight housings. After replacing the brake lamp housings, the contact became aware that the brake lamps remained illuminated. The…
Humidity gets insiste headlights. This issue affects headlights performance making hard to see at night. Safety is at risk
Air Bags 137 Read
My daughter was driving her 2021 KIA Soul S and a Chevy Silverado suddenly pulled in front of her. The crash report says impact was at 50 mph. My daughter survived the crash; however, the vehicle immediately caught on fire and flames entered the cabin from what was left of the engine compartment. Her airbag inflated,…
My spouse hit a large male deer head on at appx 55mph at about 5am this morning. The airbag deployed, but the blast from the airbag burned completely through the sleeves of his jacket, through two layers of shirts, and caused second degree burns of his arms. Had he not been wearing so many layers of clothing, we are…
As I was driving north on I-95 it had started to rain. I was in the left lane of a two lane highway going 60 mph in a 70 mph zone when an 18 wheeler went by me going 85 mph or more. It pushed water on the road over into my lane and I felt my wheels begin to move. I let off the gas and gripped the wheel. My ESC light…
Service Brakes 83 Read
My brakes failed to stop my car I was driving down [XXX]. I went to brake because I was going to slow down cause I was just over the speed limit and my brakes went all the way to the floor and I I could not stop the car with the brakes , so I pulled over to the side and slowly came to a halt. I was so shook up. I do…
I was going to get my mail attempting to park where I always park. I hit the brake and the car sped up and hit two mailboxes. I couldn't get it to stop. I do not know how fast it was going when I hit the mailboxes
Driving, slowing down for a stop light. Put the brakes on, they did not work. Push the all the way to the floor. Hit the vehicle in front of me. Luckily going slow between lights
Soul years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Air Bags, Forward Collision Avoidance | 2 | — | |
| 2024 | Back Over Prevention | — | 1 | |
| 2023 | Air Bags | 6 | 1 | |
| 2022 | Air Bags | 4 | 1 | |
| 2021 | Air Bags | 12 | 3 | |
| 2020 | Air Bags | 9 | 6 | |
| 2019 | Air Bags | 11 | 8 | |
| 2018 | Air Bags | 13 | 14 | |
| 2017 | Air Bags | 14 | 13 | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | 29 | 35 | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | 35 | 78 | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 31 | 69 | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 20 | 44 | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 21 | 22 | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 21 | 3 | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | 19 | 14 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 475 |
| Average complaints per series | 11.3 |
| Worst single series | 50 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.7 years |
A model average of 11.3 hides a worst series at 50. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,115,966 of them, covering 2,019 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Soul?
By complaint volume, 2015, 2014, 2016 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Soul years are the cleanest?
2025, 2024, 2023 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Kia Soul have?
5,386 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2010–2025. Of those, 247 describe a crash and 312 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.
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