2019 KIA SOUL — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 136 complaints · 0 recalls

Verdict & Safety Summary

Most-reported system: ENGINE (68 complaints · 50.0%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 13
  • Fires 8
  • Injuries 14
  • Deaths 0
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 68 of 136 owner complaints (50.0%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 68 complaints, 50.0% of reports ENGINE 68 · 50.0% · 1 crash reports 5 fire reports FUEL SYSTEM: 11 complaints, 8.1% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 11 · 8.1% SERVICE BRAKES: 8 complaints, 5.9% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 8 · 5.9% · 3 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 7 complaints, 5.2% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 7 · 5.2% · 2 fire reports AIR BAGS: 6 complaints, 4.4% of reports AIR BAGS 6 · 4.4% · 4 crash reports SEAT BELTS: 5 complaints, 3.7% of reports SEAT BELTS 5 · 3.7% · 1 crash reports STEERING: 3 complaints, 2.2% of reports STEERING 3 · 2.2% WHEELS: 3 complaints, 2.2% of reports WHEELS 3 · 2.2% EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 2 complaints, 1.5% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 · 1.5% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 27 complaints, 19.9% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 27 · 19.9% · 5 crash reports 1 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 68 50.0% 1 crashes · 5 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 11 8.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 8 5.9% 3 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 7 5.2% 0 crashes · 2 fires
AIR BAGS 6 4.4% 4 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 5 3.7% 1 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 3 2.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
WHEELS 3 2.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 1.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 27 19.9% 5 crashes · 1 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 Jan 2019. 2019-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2019-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2019-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2019-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2021-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2021-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2021-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2022-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2023-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2023-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 2023-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2024-Q1: 12 owner reports 12 2024-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2024-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2025-Q1: 15 owner reports 15 2025-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2025-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 2025-Q4: 14 owner reports 14 2026-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2026-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2026-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 Owner reports Jan 2019 Jul 2026 Investigation DP22003 ● Investigation DP22003 Investigation DP22005 ● Investigation DP22005 Investigation RQ23005 ● Investigation RQ23005
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2019-Q1 Owner reports 5
2019-Q2 Owner reports 3
2019-Q3 Owner reports 2
2019-Q4 Owner reports 2
2020-Q3 Owner reports 2
2020-Q4 Owner reports 4
2021-Q1 Owner reports 2
2021-Q2 Owner reports 3
2021-Q3 Owner reports 1
2022-Q1 Owner reports 2
2022-Q2 Owner reports 4
2022-Q3 Owner reports 2
2022-Q4 Owner reports 2
2023-Q1 Owner reports 1
2023-Q2 Owner reports 2
2023-Q3 Owner reports 10
2023-Q4 Owner reports 4
2024-Q1 Owner reports 12
2024-Q2 Owner reports 1
2024-Q3 Owner reports 5
2024-Q4 Owner reports 5
2025-Q1 Owner reports 15
2025-Q2 Owner reports 7
2025-Q3 Owner reports 10
2025-Q4 Owner reports 14
2026-Q1 Owner reports 5
2026-Q2 Owner reports 6
2026-Q3 Owner reports 5
Defect investigation 1 DP22003
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 136 complaints · page 1 of 6

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