2015 KIA SOUL — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 901 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: ENGINE (525 complaints · 58.3%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 35
  • Fires 82
  • Injuries 32
  • Deaths 1
Compare with 2014 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution ENGINE appears in 525 of 901 owner complaints (58.3%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 525 complaints, 58.3% of reports ENGINE 525 · 58.3% · 3 crash reports 46 fire reports FUEL SYSTEM: 46 complaints, 5.1% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 46 · 5.1% · 2 crash reports 4 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 46 complaints, 5.1% of reports POWER TRAIN 46 · 5.1% · 7 fire reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 42 complaints, 4.7% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 42 · 4.7% · 4 fire reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 32 complaints, 3.6% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 32 · 3.6% · 1 fire reports STEERING: 32 complaints, 3.6% of reports STEERING 32 · 3.6% · 6 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 20 complaints, 2.2% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 20 · 2.2% · 5 crash reports 1 fire reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 19 complaints, 2.1% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 19 · 2.1% · 1 crash reports 2 fire reports AIR BAGS: 11 complaints, 1.2% of reports AIR BAGS 11 · 1.2% · 9 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 144 complaints, 16.0% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 144 · 16.0% · 5 crash reports 18 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
ENGINE 525 58.3% 3 crashes · 46 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 46 5.1% 2 crashes · 4 fires
POWER TRAIN 46 5.1% 0 crashes · 7 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 42 4.7% 0 crashes · 4 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 32 3.6% 0 crashes · 1 fires
STEERING 32 3.6% 6 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 20 2.2% 5 crashes · 1 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 19 2.1% 1 crashes · 2 fires
AIR BAGS 11 1.2% 9 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 144 16.0% 5 crashes · 18 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Oct 2014. 2014-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2015-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2015-Q4: 12 owner reports 12 2016-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 2016-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2016-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2016-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2017-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2017-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2017-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2018-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2018-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2018-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2018-Q4: 13 owner reports 13 2019-Q1: 21 owner reports 21 2019-Q2: 38 owner reports 38 2019-Q3: 44 owner reports 44 2019-Q4: 32 owner reports 32 2020-Q1: 33 owner reports 33 2020-Q2: 36 owner reports 36 2020-Q3: 45 owner reports 45 2020-Q4: 47 owner reports 47 2021-Q1: 47 owner reports 47 2021-Q2: 37 owner reports 37 2021-Q3: 27 owner reports 27 2021-Q4: 32 owner reports 32 2022-Q1: 32 owner reports 32 2022-Q2: 21 owner reports 21 2022-Q3: 22 owner reports 22 2022-Q4: 27 owner reports 27 2023-Q1: 36 owner reports 36 2023-Q2: 27 owner reports 27 2023-Q3: 31 owner reports 31 2023-Q4: 18 owner reports 18 2024-Q1: 22 owner reports 22 2024-Q2: 25 owner reports 25 2024-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2024-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2025-Q1: 16 owner reports 16 2025-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 2025-Q3: 13 owner reports 13 2025-Q4: 14 owner reports 14 2026-Q1: 11 owner reports 11 2026-Q2: 13 owner reports 13 2026-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 Owner reports Oct 2014 Jul 2026 Investigation DP18003 ● Investigation DP18003 Investigation DP18003 ● Investigation DP18003 Investigation PE19004 ● Investigation PE19004 Investigation PE19004 ● Investigation PE19004 Investigation EA21003 ● Investigation EA21003 Investigation DP22005 ● Investigation DP22005 Investigation RQ23005 ● Investigation RQ23005
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2014-Q4 Owner reports 1
2015-Q1 Owner reports 1
2015-Q2 Owner reports 6
2015-Q3 Owner reports 5
2015-Q4 Owner reports 12
2016-Q1 Owner reports 10
2016-Q2 Owner reports 4
2016-Q3 Owner reports 6
2016-Q4 Owner reports 4
2017-Q1 Owner reports 3
2017-Q2 Owner reports 4
2017-Q3 Owner reports 5
2017-Q4 Owner reports 5
2018-Q1 Owner reports 6
2018-Q2 Owner reports 5
2018-Q3 Owner reports 9
2018-Q4 Owner reports 13
2019-Q1 Owner reports 21
2019-Q2 Owner reports 38
2019-Q3 Owner reports 44
2019-Q4 Owner reports 32
2020-Q1 Owner reports 33
2020-Q2 Owner reports 36
2020-Q3 Owner reports 45
2020-Q4 Owner reports 47
2021-Q1 Owner reports 47
2021-Q2 Owner reports 37
2021-Q3 Owner reports 27
2021-Q4 Owner reports 32
2022-Q1 Owner reports 32
2022-Q2 Owner reports 21
2022-Q3 Owner reports 22
2022-Q4 Owner reports 27
2023-Q1 Owner reports 36
2023-Q2 Owner reports 27
2023-Q3 Owner reports 31
2023-Q4 Owner reports 18
2024-Q1 Owner reports 22
2024-Q2 Owner reports 25
2024-Q3 Owner reports 7
2024-Q4 Owner reports 11
2025-Q1 Owner reports 16
2025-Q2 Owner reports 11
2025-Q3 Owner reports 13
2025-Q4 Owner reports 14
2026-Q1 Owner reports 11
2026-Q2 Owner reports 13
2026-Q3 Owner reports 6
Defect investigation 1 DP18003
Defect investigation 1 DP18003
Defect investigation 1 PE19004
Defect investigation 1 PE19004
Defect investigation 1 EA21003
Defect investigation 1 DP22005
Defect investigation 1 RQ23005
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (0)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

Zero safety recalls recorded for this model year in official NHTSA records.

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 901 complaints · page 1 of 37

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources