2020 Kia Soul problems and recalls

Owner complaints on the 2020 Kia Soul include 8 fatality reports, 9 crashes and 6 fires across 387 filings.

387
Complaints
1
Recalls
9
Crash reports
6
Fire reports
6
Injuries
102.9
Severity index

Severity index 102.9 High. The index weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints. How it is calculated.

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 102.9p25 46p75 80cleanestworst
Severity index against the quartile range for all tracked vehicles.

Ranked 9 of 104 by severity index among 2020 vehicles with at least 40 complaints, highest first. 91% of those vehicles scored lower. Full 2020 ranking.

Components cited in complaints

EngineEngine: 244 complaints (63.0%)244 63%Power TrainPower Train: 91 complaints (23.5%)91 24%Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 52 complaints (13.4%)52 13%Electrical SystemElectrical System: 28 complaints (7.2%)28 7%SteeringSteering: 16 complaints (4.1%)16 4%Fuel/Propulsion SystemFuel/Propulsion System: 15 complaints (3.9%)15 4%Vehicle Speed ControlVehicle Speed Control: 14 complaints (3.6%)14 4%Engine And Engine Cooli…Engine And Engine Cooling: 11 complaints (2.8%)11 3%
A single complaint can cite more than one component, so shares total over 100%.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
ENGINE24463.0%
POWER TRAIN9123.5%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER5213.4%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM287.2%
STEERING164.1%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM153.9%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL143.6%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING112.8%

Complaints filed per year

036722019: 172020: 512021: 692022: 282023: 452024: 362025: 722026: 69 (partial year)192021222324257226
Complaints by the calendar year they were filed. The hatched bar is the current year to date.
YearComplaints
201917
202051
202169
202228
202345
202436
202572
2026 (year to date)69
Filings in 2023 to 2025 were close to 2020 to 2022 (153 against 148).

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
21V25900013/04/2021ENGINEKia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Soul, and 2021 Seltos vehicles equipped with 2.0L Nu MPI engines. The piston oil rings may not have been properly heat-treated, which may result in engine damage.

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.