2023 Kia Soul: owner complaints and recalls

Complaints about the 2023 Kia Soul include 1 report of a fatality, alongside 5 crashes and 1 fires across 48 filings.

48
Complaints
4
Recalls
5
Crash reports
1
Fire reports
15
Injuries
387.5
Severity index

Severity index 387.5 - 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: 387.5p25 35p75 96cleanestworst
Where the 2023 Kia Soul sits against the quartiles of every vehicle we track.

Among the 80 2023 vehicles we track with at least 40 complaints on file, the 2023 Kia Soul ranks 1 of 80 by severity, where 1 is the worst. Its severity is higher than 99% of its model-year peers. See the full 2023 ranking.

What actually fails

Electrical SystemElectrical System: 12 complaints (25.0%)12 25%EngineEngine: 12 complaints (25.0%)12 25%Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 12 complaints (25.0%)12 25%SteeringSteering: 8 complaints (16.7%)8 17%Service BrakesService Brakes: 7 complaints (14.6%)7 15%Lane DepartureLane Departure: 6 complaints (12.5%)6 12%Air BagsAir Bags: 5 complaints (10.4%)5 10%Forward Collision Avoid…Forward Collision Avoidance: 5 complaints (10.4%)5 10%
Systems named in complaints. One complaint can name several, so shares overlap.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM1225.0%
ENGINE1225.0%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER1225.0%
STEERING816.7%
SERVICE BRAKES714.6%
LANE DEPARTURE612.5%
AIR BAGS510.4%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE510.4%

Complaints filed per year

08152022: 32023: 152024: 142025: 92026: 7 (partial year)222315242526
Complaints filed per calendar year, not model year. The hatched bar is the current year and is still incomplete.
YearComplaints
20223
202315
202414
20259
2026 (year to date)7
Complaint volume is rising - the last three years carry 12.7x the filings of the three before them, which usually signals a wear-related defect surfacing with age.

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
23V29800026/04/2023ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANELKia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Sportage, Sportage Hybrid, Sportage Plug-in Hybrid, Niro Hybrid, Niro Plug-in Hybrid, Soul, and Telluride vehicles equipped with a digital instrument cluster containing a 4.2" LCD screen.  The instrument cluster may fail to displa
23V53100031/07/2023POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:FLUID/LUBRICANT:PUMPKia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Soul, Sportage, and 2023-2024 Seltos vehicles. The electronic controller for the Idle Stop & Go oil pump assembly may contain damaged electrical components that can cause the pump to overheat.
23V83000022/12/2023AIR BAGSKia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Soul and 2024 Seltos vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, the side curtain air bags may deploy unexpectedly.
25V09900017/02/2025ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:HARD PARTS INTERNAL/MECHANICALKia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2021-2023 Seltos and Soul vehicles. The piston oil rings may have been manufactured incorrectly, which can result in engine damage.
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.