2021 KIA Soul problems
Owners have filed 310 complaints about the 2021 KIA Soul with NHTSA. Engine accounts for 41.6% of them — far more than any other system, ahead of engine and engine cooling at 15.2%.
Complaints310
Crashes24
Fires4
Injuries12
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Engine 41.6% · 129
Engine and engine cooling 15.2% · 47
Power train 8.4% · 26
Unknown or other 8.4% · 26
Electrical system 4.8% · 15
Service brakes 3.2% · 10
Fuel/propulsion system 3.2% · 10
Forward collision avoidance 2.9% · 9
Severity
Of those complaints, 24 describe a crash, 4 describe a fire and 12 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Across the 13 model years of the KIA Soul in this data, 2021 sits 8th by complaint volume. 2014 draws the most.
Filings are rising — 231 in the last three years against 72 in the three before. For a vehicle this age that usually points to a wear-related failure owners are hitting now.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 46,250 miles.
In owners' own words
The contact owns a 2021 Kia Soul. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V259000 (Engine) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect. Engine
2021 Kia Soul started making engine noises as it was being driven home. The next day while driving home there was a loud boom and total loss of power while driving. It coasted to a parking lot. The vehicle had to be towed to the dealership. We are now awaiting approval for total engine replacement via warranty. Vehicle has less than 50K miles. Oil changes were done with synthetic oil. Engine
Engine does not work properly. It is loud and car shakes. Dealership had me do maintenance and did not fix the problem. Rear windshield wiper pours out fluid and turns on with no reason. They say there is a short however it turns on and blocks my rear window view every while just driving, or using my turn signal, I have to mess with the switch while driving to finally get it to stop. Engine
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…