What breaks most · 2010 to 2025 model years
Kia Soul problems by year
Owners have filed 5,495 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Kia Soul across model years 2010 to 2025. Three years stand out: 2015 for engine complaints, 2014 for engine complaints and 2016 for engine complaints. The quietest years are 2023, 2022 and 2010.
- Years to check closely: 2015, 2014, 2016
- Fewest complaints: 2023, 2022, 2010
- Complaints on file
- 54952010 to 2025, all trims
- Worst year
- 2015897 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 266322 fires · 261 injuries · 18 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 80kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 34Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 135 | 23 | 3 | Electrical system (24) | |
| 194 | 27 | 3 | Brakes (hydraulic) (32) | |
| 514 | 25 | 3 | Engine (209) | |
| 660 | 22 | 3 | Engine (282) | |
| 896 | 33 | 5 | Engine (550) | |
| 897 | 34 | 4 | Engine (628) | |
| 803 | 28 | 2 | Engine (552) | |
| 270 | 17 | 1 | Engine (190) | |
| 213 | 14 | 1 | Engine (135) | |
| 135 | 11 | 1 | Engine (86) | |
| 372 | 9 | 1 | Engine (231) | |
| 228 | 12 | 2 | Engine (129) | |
| 88 | 4 | 1 | Engine (51) | |
| 49 | 5 | 4 | Electrical system (13) | |
| 29 | 0 | 0 | Electrical system (9) | |
| 12 | 2 | 0 | Exterior lighting (4) |
What fails on the 2015 Kia Soul
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EngineEngine gaskets and seals | 70% |
628 | 4 | Shop engine parts for the 2015 Kia Soul |
| Unknown or other | 12% |
107 | 1 | — |
| Fuel systemFuel pumps and injectors | 8% |
76 | 3 | Shop fuel system parts for the 2015 Kia Soul |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 8% |
75 | 1 | Shop electrical system parts for the 2015 Kia Soul |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 7% |
60 | 1 | Shop all powertrain and transmission parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Engine and coolingRadiators, thermostats and cooling | 6% |
58 | 0 | Shop engine and cooling parts for the 2015 Kia Soul |
| SteeringPower steering pumps, racks and hoses | 5% |
44 | 8 | Shop all steering parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Exterior lightingHeadlights, tail lights and bulbs | 4% |
36 | 0 | Shop exterior lighting parts for the 2015 Kia Soul |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
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Please see attached documents. I have also put them in the US mail. One to KIA: Kia Customer Care Center, Kia Motors America, Inc., P.O. Box 52410, Irvine, CA, 92619-2410 and one to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: 1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E., Washing, DC 20590.
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Oil warning dash light illuminated red. Engine oil dipstick showed empty. Oil had been changed within 4 months. Added approximately 3.5 quarts of oil.
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I have put my 3rd Catalytic Convertor on this car. It looses power going uphill. Which is not safe. Just had 3rd on replaced yesterday Feb. 9, 2026. The mechanic said there is too much oil going to the engine. Mechanic said next thing would be replacing the engine. Why does my 2016 not have a recall on the engine.
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 6, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Kia Soul years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2015, 2014, 2016 carry the most filings on the Kia Soul. The 2015 alone has 897 complaints, led by engine.
What is the most common Kia Soul problem?
On the 2015 model year, the most-reported component is engine with 628 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Kia Soul problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Kia Soul complaints that include mileage is about 80,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.