2023 Kia Soul

Fatalities reported

Owners filed 50 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the engine. It has been recalled 4 times.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Engine11
001
Electrical System9
101
Unknown or Other7
101
Air Bags5
1110
Service Brakes3
001
Power Train3
000
Exterior Lighting3
000
Steering2
101
Visibility/Wiper1
000
Vehicle Speed Control1
000

4 safety recalls

Part 573 reports
Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine › Hard Parts Internal/Mechanical25V099000
Filed Feb 17, 2025137,256 vehiclesKia America, Inc.

Defect. Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2021-2023 Seltos and Soul vehicles. The piston oil rings may have been manufactured incorrectly, which can result in engine damage.

Risk. Engine damage can cause a vehicle stall or fire, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.

Remedy. Dealers will inspect and replace the engine as necessary, free of charge. Dealers will also install piston-ring noise sensing system (PNSS) software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 4, 2025. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC336.

Air Bags23V830000
Filed Dec 22, 20232,967 vehiclesKia America, Inc.

Defect. Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Soul and 2024 Seltos vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, the side curtain air bags may deploy unexpectedly.

Risk. An air bag that deploys unexpectedly can increase the risk of injury or crash.

Remedy. Dealers will inspect and replace both side curtain air bag modules as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 31, 2024. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC289.

Power Train › Automatic Transmission › Fluid/Lubricant › Pump23V531000Park outside
Filed Jul 31, 202339,765 vehiclesKia America, Inc.

Defect. Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Soul, Sportage, and 2023-2024 Seltos vehicles. The electronic controller for the Idle Stop & Go oil pump assembly may contain damaged electrical components that can cause the pump to overheat.

Risk. An electric oil pump assembly that overheats increases the risk of a vehicle fire.

Remedy. Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will inspect and replace the electric oil pump controller, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed September 28, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC275.

Electrical System › Instrument Cluster/Panel23V298000
Filed Apr 26, 2023108,936 vehiclesKia America, Inc.

Defect. Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Sportage, Sportage Hybrid, Sportage Plug-in Hybrid, Niro Hybrid, Niro Plug-in Hybrid, Soul, and Telluride vehicles equipped with a digital instrument cluster containing a 4.2" LCD screen. The instrument cluster may fail to display any information when the vehicle is started. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard numbers 101, "Control and Displays," and 138, "Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems."

Risk. A blank instrument cluster display will not show critical information, such as tire pressure, warning messages, and warning lights, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy. Dealers will update the instrument cluster software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 26, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC270.

What owners reported

Newest filings
Engine
Filed Sep 4, 2026TX

While driving an alarm noise sounds and on the dash a message will appear stating engine off put car in p or n and I cannot accelerate.

Electrical System
Filed Aug 24, 2026KS

2023 Kia soul purchased brand new. Vehicle does not display speedometer, blinkers don't work, reverse camera doesn't work, nothing displays on dash, continuous alarm sound while vehicle is on. Having no indication of speed traveling or ability to signal turns is a safety concern. failure at approximately 1 year after purchase. Has been in the dealership for repair multiple times without success. Currently been at the dealership for 10 months with no offer of a loaner vehicle and refusal to buy back vehicle or replace vehicle. Dealer is unable to repair and claims it doesn't qualify for lemon law.

Electrical SystemCrash1 injured
Filed May 26, 2026TX

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 . That's what happened to son driving. My car was totaled. Why should I loose and now I don't have a vehicle .

Engine
Filed May 21, 2026HI

On may 20 2026 car died out multiple times when driving but would start back up. Today may 21 2026 car was lacking power and engine making noise while driving. Then the check engine light came on also the oil light flashed then turned off. Checked the code it said p00114. Then checked oil it was about 1 1/2 quart low after we did complete oil change a month ago. I then found this engine has the same exact problems we are experiencing and have a recall to replace engine, but when we enter our vin it doesn't show for our vehicle.

Tires
Filed May 8, 2026FL

205/60R16 Noticed that all 4 of my tires the rubber is peeling went to tire place they said they were chunking and they should not be having 23500 miles on my 2023 Kia soul tires have been rotated every 5000 or so miles

Electrical System › Instrument Cluster/Panel
Filed Mar 20, 202645,000 milesNV

The contact owns a 2023 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the instrument panel became inoperable. The instrument panel went blank while operating the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 45,000.

Exterior Lighting
Filed Mar 12, 2026PA

See attached document for complaint.

Vehicle Speed Control
Filed Mar 8, 2026CA

3/6/26 5:50 am unintended acceleration w such force pulling car toward right side n unable to stop, jumped over side walk, then stopped, it happened very fast, very scary accident, I was in shock and shaking so bad. Wknd disrupted, couldn't sleep n reliving bad experience over n over. Bringing it to the dealer 3/9/26. no damage to anybody or third party, unknown under car damage. Didn't file a report to the Police or DMV. no warning of any kind at all. Afraid to drive the car n how to proceed

Air Bags
Filed Feb 16, 2026TX

The airbag in this 2023 Kia Soul vehicle had a faulty airbag deployment. The steering wheel airbag exploded upon a minor impact of under 20 mph and no other airbags deployed. The steering wheel airbag never fully deployed or made driver contact, it just simply exploded. The dealership was notified, but declined to research the car immediately following the impact and said that was not part of their repairs and to take the vehicle to a body shop. So, no investigation was done by the dealership to identify the airbag's faulty deployment. Then, the manufacturer refused investigation when a case was filed and waited several weeks after pictures and a full report was filed to say they were dropping the case. Insurance did not declare the claim as a total loss and $7000 of work was performed. There was no assurance that the work performed at the body shop was secure as Kia never reviewed the case. Also, there was no safety camera detection or warning of impact. This model had recalls for the side airbags, but Kia neglected to follow up on this particular faulty airbag from the steering wheel.

Unknown or Other
Filed Dec 27, 2025WA

Honking function no longer works, this is a consistent problem noticed first on the beginning of December 2025, when I needed to notify another driver of a potential safety hazard. There is no honking sound available at any speed or at any time. Have an appointment with dealership this week.

Service Brakes
Filed Sep 26, 2025NV

When driving my vehicle under normal conditions, the car will unexpectedly slow down on its own, and the system brake lights and hazard lights will activate as if I am about to be in a collision, even though no accident is occurring. I have noticed this issue most frequently when I am stopped at a traffic light and begin to accelerate again. Once I turn the car off and restart it, the warning lights go away, but the issue continues to reoccur.

Power Train
Filed Sep 25, 202533,000 milesTX

The contact owns a 2023 Kia Soul. The contact stated that the battery discharge and Auto START/STOP warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V531000 (Power Train), for which the dealer replaced the electric oil pump controller as the remedy. After the repair, the cruise control was unintendedly activated. The Lane Keep Assist feature was intermittently activated independently. While refueling, the fuel gauge was half full and took approximately 30-40 minutes before quickly displaying a full tank. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that the recall repair was completed; however, the vehicle was not taken back to the dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and referred the contact back to the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 33,000.

Electrical System
Filed Sep 23, 2025FL

Since I purchased the car the steering wheel will jerk, when im on a 2 lane road. It always jerks towards on-coming traffic, and it only does this when there is a car coming in the opposite lane and is just about to pass me. I have to fight with the steering wheel to get it back to go straight. Because of this whenever I am on a 2 lane road like this I always drive slow. This is the first car I've owned with this feature so I wasn't sure if that was just a glitch in the feature and just dealt with it. Which ni do realize now that was stupid on my part. Also in the past few days the drivers side door speaker sometimes works fine other times it gets all static and I have to turn all the sound to the passenger side. With that 3 other things have happened in the same time frame, im not sure if they are all connected but they seemed to have happened all at the same time. The passenger side window will go down from the driver's side door control but only sometimes goes back up. The horn stopped working last night along with the beep when you hit lock on the key fob twice. Im not sure if these are just minor things due to my lack of vehicle knowledge or if they are a real concern, so that is why I wanted to bring it to attention, in case anyone else has experienced any of these issues. The car only has 12000 miles, I only travel locally so im not sure if thats problematic or not. But as I said id rather be safe and let these issues be known.

Electrical System
Filed Sep 10, 2025FL

I am reporting a recurring safety issue with my Kia vehicle that began around Labor Day 2025. The vehicle has abruptly shut down multiple times while I was driving on public roads in Hillsborough County, Florida. These shutdowns occurred without any dashboard warning lights, including while stopped at red lights and while in motion, creating dangerous traffic situations. Despite having a scheduled service appointment on September 5, 2025, I took the vehicle to the dealership a day earlier—on September 4—due to the increasing frequency and severity of the issue. Upon reviewing my service history (dating back to 2022), I found no documentation that the battery had ever been tested, despite regular multi-point inspections performed at the dealership. A battery test performed during the September 4, 2025, visit revealed that the battery was failing. I was required to replace it at a cost of nearly $400. The service team confirmed that the battery was draining and likely the cause of the vehicle shutting down. This issue could have resulted in a serious accident. I believe the failure to identify the battery problem earlier represents a potential safety oversight.

Unknown or Other
Filed Aug 7, 2025IL

First I get a safety issue warning with the front camera then I get a safety issue warning with a back camera well those warnings go off and I'm left with an ABS signal on my dashboard orange triangle with a exclamation point in it skid something with the car it shows it's weaving and I'm not sure what the fourth one was. But this has been going on going issue with this dashboard because when it starts flashing everything the car goes into limp mode. Usually if I shut the car off wouldn't turn it back on about 10 minutes later I don't get any flashing lights and the car is no longer limp mode. The problem has ever been found or corrected. the car is not sitting in my driveway waiting for a tow truck to take it to Kia soul over there in perryville Rockford Illinois but they don't provide tow service for the vehicles either. Even when it's a safety issue. I would never buy from this company again it's been one thing after another. This is only a 2 year old car has been driven 2500 miles.

Engine
Filed Jul 5, 2025KY

Was driving and the pistons shot out of the engine. Oil in the coolant as well.

Unknown or Other
Filed Feb 18, 2025CA

Radio recall 2025 Uvo work stop

Unknown or Other
Filed Jan 8, 2025CA

2023 kia soul lx problems clarity dive problems

Air Bags
Filed Dec 14, 2024CA

FM radio Black screen Black screen replacement kia soul

Visibility/Wiper
Filed Nov 11, 2024PA

The rear windshield spontaneously shattered while parked in the driveway and was not running. I was standing beside it when it happened. There was no glass inside vehicle all the glass was outside vehicle indicating that nothing hit the windshield, and nothing was around vehicle that could have hit the vehicle. The vehicle will be repaired tomorrow by Safelite as it is a commuting vehicle, and I have no other vehicle to drive to and from work. My insurance is not covering the damage as it is less than the deductible to just fix it.

20 of 50 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 2014
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
202512000Routine
202429010Routine
2023 — this page50411Fatalities reported
202288113Fatalities reported
2021232230Above average
2020378168Fatalities reported
2019136180Routine
20182181141Fatalities reported
20172711140Above average
20168112350High concern
20158974831Fatalities reported
20148985691Fatalities reported
20136623450High concern
20125143232Fatalities reported
2011194351Fatalities reported
20101353150Routine

Compare every Soul year →

Reading this record

1 death reported in complaints filed with NHTSA.

Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

Recall repairs are free for as long as the recall stands. Check whether a specific car still has open work at NHTSA's VIN lookup.

Most recent recall on file: Feb 17, 2025. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.