2018 Kia Soul problems and recalls

Owner complaints on the 2018 Kia Soul include 1 fatality report, 14 crashes and 14 fires across 219 filings.

219
Complaints
1
Recalls
14
Crash reports
14
Fire reports
12
Injuries
105.6
Severity index

Severity index 105.6 High. The index weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints. How it is calculated.

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 105.6p25 46p75 80cleanestworst
Severity index against the quartile range for all tracked vehicles.

Ranked 8 of 122 by severity index among 2018 vehicles with at least 40 complaints, highest first. 93% of those vehicles scored lower. Full 2018 ranking.

Components cited in complaints

EngineEngine: 141 complaints (64.4%)141 64%Power TrainPower Train: 31 complaints (14.2%)31 14%Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 30 complaints (13.7%)30 14%Electrical SystemElectrical System: 19 complaints (8.7%)19 9%Fuel/Propulsion SystemFuel/Propulsion System: 11 complaints (5.0%)11 5%Air BagsAir Bags: 11 complaints (5.0%)11 5%Engine And Engine Cooli…Engine And Engine Cooling: 9 complaints (4.1%)9 4%Vehicle Speed ControlVehicle Speed Control: 8 complaints (3.7%)8 4%
A single complaint can cite more than one component, so shares total over 100%.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
ENGINE14164.4%
POWER TRAIN3114.2%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER3013.7%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM198.7%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM115.0%
AIR BAGS115.0%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING94.1%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL83.7%

Complaints filed per year

016322018: 92019: 212020: 152021: 312022: 302023: 262024: 292025: 322026: 26 (partial year)18192021222324253226
Complaints by the calendar year they were filed. The hatched bar is the current year to date.
YearComplaints
20189
201921
202015
202131
202230
202326
202429
202532
2026 (year to date)26
Filings in 2023 to 2025 were close to 2020 to 2022 (87 against 76).

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
22V03100025/01/2022AIR BAGSKia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Sedona, Soul, Soul EV, 2017-2018 Forte, and 2017 Forte Koup vehicles. The Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) cover may contact a memory chip on the printed circuit board and damage the electrical circuit. Circuit damage may result

Other Kia Soul model years

Severity index for every other model year on file. Compare all 14 years side by side.

Source. NHTSA public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-10-23. Complaints are unverified consumer reports. Totals vary with units sold and years on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.