Kia Soul
Owners filed 5,525 complaints across 16 model years of the Kia Soul. The 2014 drew the most (898); the 2025 the fewest (12).
Model years16
Complaints5,525
Recalls34
Fires323
Deaths18
Every Kia Soul model year compared
Complaints per year| Year | Complaints | Relative volume | Recalls | Fires | Crashes | Most reported | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 12 | 0 | — | 2 | Exterior Lighting | Routine | |
| 2024 | 29 | 0 | 1 | — | Electrical System | Routine | |
| 2023 | 50 | 4 | 1 | 5 | Engine | Fatalities reported | |
| 2022 | 88 | 1 | 1 | 4 | Engine | Fatalities reported | |
| 2021 | 232 | 2 | 3 | 12 | Engine | Above average | |
| 2020 | 378 | 1 | 6 | 9 | Engine | Fatalities reported | |
| 2019 | 136 | 1 | 8 | 11 | Engine | Routine | |
| 2018 | 218 | 1 | 14 | 14 | Engine | Fatalities reported | |
| 2017 | 271 | 1 | 14 | 17 | Engine | Above average | |
| 2016 | 811 | 2 | 35 | 28 | Engine | High concern | |
| 2015 | 897 | 4 | 83 | 34 | Engine | Fatalities reported | |
| 2014 | 898 | 5 | 69 | 33 | Engine | Fatalities reported | |
| 2013 | 662 | 3 | 45 | 22 | Engine | High concern | |
| 2012 | 514 | 3 | 23 | 25 | Engine | Fatalities reported | |
| 2011 | 194 | 3 | 5 | 27 | Service Brakes, Hydraulic | Fatalities reported | |
| 2010 | 135 | 3 | 15 | 23 | Electrical System | Routine |
Which Kia Soul years should you avoid?
On raw complaint volume the 2014 is the weakest year on record, with 898 complaints concentrated in the engine. It carries 5 recalls.
Read these numbers with sales volume in mind. A model year that sold in huge numbers naturally accumulates more reports than a rare one, and older cars have had more years to fail. The stronger signal is the severity columns and whether the same component keeps coming up year after year.
Data: NHTSA complaint and recall files, September 2026. Complaints are unverified owner reports.