2021 KIA SOUL — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 228 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: ENGINE (142 complaints · 62.3%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 12
  • Fires 3
  • Injuries 5
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2020 →
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 142 of 228 owner complaints (62.3%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 142 complaints, 62.3% of reports ENGINE 142 · 62.3% · 1 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 18 complaints, 7.9% of reports POWER TRAIN 18 · 7.9% · 1 crash reports FUEL SYSTEM: 6 complaints, 2.6% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 6 · 2.6% · 1 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 5 complaints, 2.2% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 5 · 2.2% · 1 crash reports FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: 5 complaints, 2.2% of reports FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 5 · 2.2% · 4 crash reports STEERING: 5 complaints, 2.2% of reports STEERING 5 · 2.2% VISIBILITY: 5 complaints, 2.2% of reports VISIBILITY 5 · 2.2% EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 4 complaints, 1.8% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 4 · 1.8% SERVICE BRAKES: 4 complaints, 1.8% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 4 · 1.8% · 1 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 37 complaints, 16.2% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 37 · 16.2% · 6 crash reports 2 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 142 62.3% 0 crashes · 1 fires
POWER TRAIN 18 7.9% 1 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 6 2.6% 1 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 5 2.2% 1 crashes · 0 fires
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 5 2.2% 4 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 5 2.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 5 2.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 4 1.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 4 1.8% 1 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 37 16.2% 6 crashes · 2 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 2020; the first recall shown was reported in Apr 2021. 2020-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2021-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2021-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2021-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2021-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2022-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2022-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2023-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 2023-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2023-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2023-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2024-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2024-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2024-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2024-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2025-Q1: 22 owner reports 22 2025-Q2: 40 owner reports 40 2025-Q3: 18 owner reports 18 2025-Q4: 12 owner reports 12 2026-Q1: 28 owner reports 28 2026-Q2: 29 owner reports 29 2026-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 Owner reports Oct 2020 Jul 2026 Recall campaign 21V259000 ◆ Recall campaign 21V259000 Recall campaign 25V099000 ◆ Recall campaign 25V099000 Investigation AQ25001 ● Investigation AQ25001
  • Campaign 25V099000 was reported 1,551 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2020-Q4 Owner reports 3
2021-Q1 Owner reports 2
2021-Q2 Owner reports 5
2021-Q3 Owner reports 3
2021-Q4 Owner reports 5
2022-Q1 Owner reports 2
2022-Q2 Owner reports 5
2022-Q3 Owner reports 2
2022-Q4 Owner reports 3
2023-Q1 Owner reports 10
2023-Q2 Owner reports 3
2023-Q3 Owner reports 6
2023-Q4 Owner reports 6
2024-Q1 Owner reports 8
2024-Q2 Owner reports 2
2024-Q3 Owner reports 2
2024-Q4 Owner reports 2
2025-Q1 Owner reports 22
2025-Q2 Owner reports 40
2025-Q3 Owner reports 18
2025-Q4 Owner reports 12
2026-Q1 Owner reports 28
2026-Q2 Owner reports 29
2026-Q3 Owner reports 10
Recall campaign 1 21V259000
Recall campaign 1 25V099000
Defect investigation 1 AQ25001
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (2)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 21V259000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    A damaged engine may stall, increasing the risk of a crash. In addition, oil may leak onto hot exhaust components, increasing the risk of a fire.
    Remedy:
    Kia will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the engine, free of charge. In addition, Kia will deploy Piston Ring Noise Sensing System (PNSS) software. The recall began June 11, 2021. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC209.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 25V099000

    Report date
    Component:
    ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
    Consequence:
    Engine damage can cause a vehicle stall or fire, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.
    Remedy:
    Dealers will inspect and replace the engine as necessary, free of charge. Dealers will also install piston-ring noise sensing system (PNSS) software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 4, 2025. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC336.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
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 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 228 complaints · page 1 of 10

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 2026-08-21
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