Kia Soul

Which Kia Soul years should you avoid?

Going by 5,587 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the Kia Soul years to avoid are 2014, 2015, 2016, 2013 and 2012.

• 2014903 complaints, 3.8× a typical Soul year, most often about the engine.
• 2015902 complaints, 3.8× a typical Soul year, most often about the engine.
• 2016818 complaints, 3.4× a typical Soul year, most often about the engine.
• 2013668 complaints, 2.8× a typical Soul year, most often about the engine.
• 2012516 complaints, 2.1× a typical Soul year, most often about the engine.

Too new to judge: 2025. Complaints take a few years to arrive, so a new model year looks better than it is.

How this is worked out: each year is compared with a typical year of the same model, which takes most of the difference in sales out of it, and its share of serious failures is compared with every other car of the same model year, because older cars were complained about differently. A year needs 25 complaints to be judged at all. Complaints are unverified owner reports. Full method →