2012 Kia Soul: owner complaints and recalls

Complaints about the 2012 Kia Soul include 2 reports of a fatality, alongside 25 crashes and 23 fires across 513 filings.

513
Complaints
3
Recalls
25
Crash reports
23
Fire reports
25
Injuries
101.0
Severity index

Severity index 101.0 - High. It weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints, so a vehicle attracting serious reports scores above one attracting many trivial ones (how this is calculated).

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 101.0p25 35p75 96cleanestworst
Where the 2012 Kia Soul sits against the quartiles of every vehicle we track.

Among the 129 2012 vehicles we track with at least 40 complaints on file, the 2012 Kia Soul ranks 28 of 129 by severity, where 1 is the worst. Its severity is higher than 78% of its model-year peers. See the full 2012 ranking.

What actually fails

EngineEngine: 209 complaints (40.7%)209 41%SteeringSteering: 166 complaints (32.4%)166 32%Service BrakesService Brakes: 45 complaints (8.8%)45 9%Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 39 complaints (7.6%)39 8%Electrical SystemElectrical System: 38 complaints (7.4%)38 7%HydraulicHydraulic: 34 complaints (6.6%)34 7%Engine And Engine Cooli…Engine And Engine Cooling: 32 complaints (6.2%)32 6%Fuel/Propulsion SystemFuel/Propulsion System: 21 complaints (4.1%)21 4%
Systems named in complaints. One complaint can name several, so shares overlap.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
ENGINE20940.7%
STEERING16632.4%
SERVICE BRAKES458.8%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER397.6%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM387.4%
HYDRAULIC346.6%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING326.2%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM214.1%

Complaints filed per year

048962011: 32012: 192013: 192014: 72015: 132016: 82017: 252018: 502019: 962020: 432021: 502022: 472023: 622024: 392025: 222026: 10 (partial year)1112131415161718199620212223242526
Complaints filed per calendar year, not model year. The hatched bar is the current year and is still incomplete.
YearComplaints
20113
201219
201319
20147
201513
20168
201725
201850
201996
202043
202150
202247
202362
202439
202522
2026 (year to date)10
Complaint volume is broadly steady year over year.

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
19V12000022/02/2019ENGINEKia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2012-2016 Kia Soul vehicles equipped with 1.6L Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) engines. High exhaust gas temperatures may damage the catalytic converter, possibly resulting in abnormal engine combustion and damage to one or more of t
14V82200029/12/2014STRUCTURE:BODY:ROOF AND PILLARSKia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain model year 2010-2013 Kia Soul vehicles manufactured January 8, 2009, to October 2, 2013, equipped with a sun roof. A headliner plate may detach during deployment of the curtain air bag.
23V65200025/09/2023SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP:CONTROL UNIT/MODULEKia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2010-2019 Borrego, 2014-2016 Cadenza, 2010-2013 Forte, Forte Koup, Sportage, 2015-2018 K900, 2011-2015 Optima, 2011-2013 Optima Hybrid, Soul, 2012-2017 Rio, 2011-2014 Sorento, and 2010-2011 Rondo vehicles. The Hydraulic Electronic Con
Source. US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-25. Complaints are unverified consumer reports; volume is influenced by how many units were sold and how long the vehicle has been on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.