2021 KIA Soul problems
Owners have filed 320 complaints about the 2021 KIA Soul with NHTSA. Engine accounts for 43.1% of them, far more than any other system, ahead of engine and engine cooling at 15%.
Complaints320
Crashes24
Fires4
Injuries12
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Engine 43.1% · 138
Engine and engine cooling 15.0% · 48
Power train 8.1% · 26
Unknown or other 8.1% · 26
Electrical system 4.7% · 15
Fuel/propulsion system 3.1% · 10
Service brakes 3.1% · 10
Forward collision avoidance 2.8% · 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, 241 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 46,500 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
The check engine light came on in the car and within a few minutes while looking for a safe place the pull over there was a foul smell coming from the engine, followed by many error lights on the dash and the car losing the ability to accelerate and drive. The car had to be towed to a local repair shop who inspected the car and found that the engine a thrown a rod through the engine block. 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
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…