2016 Kia Soul Ev problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Power Train (2) · Visibility/Wiper (1) · Service Brakes (1)
Safety recalls (4)
Power Train:automatic Transmission:gear Position Indication (Prndl) 2023-10-26 · campaign 23V724000 · 6,262 vehicles
Defect: Kia America, Inc. (KIA) is recalling certain 2015-2019 Soul EV vehicles. The parking mechanism may be damaged, which can result in unintended vehicle movement when the gear shift lever is in the Park 'P' position and the parking brake is not applied while the vehicle is powered on.
Risk: Unintended vehicle movement can increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will update the electronic control unit software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 21, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC287. This recall expands and replaces recall number 20V-389. Vehicles previously repaired under 20V-389 will need to have the new remedy completed.
Electrical System:propulsion System:traction Battery 2023-03-29 · campaign 23V218000 · 2,689 vehicles
Defect: Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2015-2019 Soul EV vehicles equipped with an E400 battery. The high-voltage battery pack may experience an electrical short-circuit while driving.
Risk: A battery electrical short-circuit increases the risk of a fire.
Fix: Dealers will update and/or replace the battery management system and software, as necessary, free of charge. The new software will illuminate the EV warning light, limit charging capacity, and reduce vehicle power if abnormal voltage is detected. If this occurs, the battery will be replaced, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 18, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC267.
Electrical System:software 2020-07-02 · campaign 20V389000 · 3,714 vehicles
Defect: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2015-2016 Kia Soul Electric Vehicle (EV) vehicles. The parking mechanism may become damaged if the driver moves the gear shift lever into Park 'P' before the vehicle comes to a complete stop. If the parking mechanism is damaged, unintended vehicle movement may occur when the gear shift lever is in the Park 'P' position and the parking brake is not applied.
Risk: Unintended vehicle movement can increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Kia will notify owners, and dealers will update the electronic control unit software, free of charge. The recall began August 7, 2020. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC191.
Steering 2017-09-29 · campaign 17V608000 · 342,381 vehicles
Defect: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2014-2016 Soul and Soul EV vehicles. The pinion plug may allow the pinion gear to separate from the steering gear assembly.
Risk: If the pinion gear separates, steering will be lost, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Kia will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and secure the pinion plug or replace the steering gear assembly, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began November 16, 2017. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC155. Note: This recall supersedes campaigns 14V-332 and 15V-736. Vehicles previously remedied under those numbers are being recalled again under this campaign.
Service bulletins (76)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Visibility/Wiper 2026-08-28 · TSB_CLI049_R2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: partial repair – electrical a/c compressor - this bulletin has been revised to include additional information. new/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. this bulletin provides information regarding the partial repair of the air
Fuel/Propulsion System 2026-03-05 · SC310Z_TSB_R1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: subsequent repair action: high-voltage bpa replacement (sc310z rev 1) - this bulletin has been revised to include additional information. new/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. this bulletin provides information regarding th
Fuel/Propulsion System 2026-03-05 · SC267Z_TSB_R2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: subsequent repair action: high-voltage battery pack assembly replacement (sc267z rev 2) - this bulletin has been revised to include additional information. new/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. this bulletin provides inform
Back Over Prevention: Warnings 2025-12-09 · PS797 · Other
pitstop: technical operations: external damage to ultrasonic sensor: this pitstop provides information related to parking distance warning (pdw) alerts and repairs involving ultrasonic sensors. the pdw system alerts the driver while parking, by calculating distance based on the difference in signal
Power Train 2025-04-17 · TSB_TRA046_R5 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: transmission fluid application guide - this bulletin has been revised to include additional information. new/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. this bulletin provides information relating to the correct transmission fluid ty
Fuel/Propulsion System 2024-06-05 · SC310A_OWNR1517 · Service Campaign
voluntary service campaign: owner notification (sc310a) - this document is the owner notification advising that kia is conducting a voluntary service campaign to update the vehicle's battery management system (bms) software to the latest version in certain 2015-2017 my soul ev vehicles. our records
Showing the 6 most recent of 76 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2023-09-18 · Electrical System:12v/24v/48v Battery · 129,000 mi“the contact owns a 2016 kia soul ev. the contact stated that on several occasions while the vehicle was on the charging port, the vehicle failed to hold the charge and only displayed an 83 percent charge. additionally, the contact stated that when the vehicle was fully charged, the energy percentage display rejected and while driving after a full c…”
2019-06-30 · Service Brakes · 25,532 mi“automatic transmission was placed into park after driving. the car indicated it was in park, however the car rolled - it was not in park. applying the foot brake worked. applying the parking brake worked, however the gearshift did not engage park properly.…”
2018-11-10 · Unknown Or Other · 15,181 mi“the horn and alarm dont work even when i set the alarm theres no beep just flashes and ive press the horn multiple times and it doesn't make a sound this occur during driving and after while i was stationary just to check…”
2018-09-13 · Power Train · 20,781 mi · 💥 crash“backed up driveway to park car in garage. put car in "park". got out to clear parking space in garage. turned around to see car rolling down driveway into wall- while in "park".…”
2017-10-12 · Visibility/Wiper · 8,731 mi“sunroof collapsed while driving to school in the morning without any significant change of temperature.…”
2017-07-15 · Power Train · 14,500 mi“after putting the car in park and turning it off, the car started rolling. i stopped the car, turn it on, put it in drive, then turned it back off. it rolled again (in a relatively flat parking structure.) i normally set the parking break so i'm not sure when this may have started.…”
2017-03-16 · Unknown Or Other · 1,250 mi“charging port can automatically lock the charging connector, making it impossible to remove without damage occurring, if not done correctly. of course, this only occurs with the vehicle stationary at a charging station. (i understand this is not unusual on electric cars because it is supposed to keep people from removing it while the car is chargi…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.