2018 Kia Soul problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Engine (106) · Power Train (25) · Vehicle Speed Control (7)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Kia Soul model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
79 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (1)
Air Bags 2022-01-25 · campaign 22V031000 · 410,619 vehicles
Defect: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Sedona, Soul, Soul EV, 2017-2018 Forte, and 2017 Forte Koup vehicles. The Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) cover may contact a memory chip on the printed circuit board and damage the electrical circuit. Circuit damage may result in deactivated air bags that will not deploy in a crash.
Risk: Air bags that do not deploy as intended can increase the risk of injury in a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the ACU, and either update the software or replace the unit, as necessary. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 21, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC226.
Service bulletins (95)
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.
Service Brakes 2026-08-25 · SC334_OWNR_201 · Service Campaign
voluntary service campaign: owner renotification (sc334 flight 201) - this document is the owner renotification advising that kia is conducting a voluntary service campaign to inspect and, if necessary, replace the brake line(s) in certain 2014-2019 my soul vehicles that were originally sold in or a
Structure:body 2026-06-09 · CS2311_TSB_R4 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: customer satisfaction: theft deterrent ignition: cylinder protector & decal installation (cs2311) - 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 provi
Engine 2026-04-08 · PI2107_OWNR_501 · Other
product improvement campaign: owner renotification (pi2107 flight 501) - this document is the owner renotification advising that kia is conducting an important product improvement campaign to perform a software update on 2017-2019 my kia soul vehicles equipped with 2.0-liter nu gdi engines to protec
Structure:body 2025-12-19 · CS2311_OWNR_PC201 · Other
customer satisfaction campaign: postcard owner renotification (cs2311) - this document is the owner renotification advising that kia is conducting customer satisfaction campaign. kia has developed a new zinc-reinforced ignition cylinder protector hardware upgrade and can be installed at the ignition
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
Structure:body 2025-08-20 · TSB_SC334_R1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: voluntary service campaign underbody inspection & anti-corrosion material application (sc334) - 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
Showing the 6 most recent of 95 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-25 · Engine“**vehicle:** 2018 kia soul\ **mileage:** approximately 198,000 miles 1\. what component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request?** the engine appears to have experienced a serious malfunction, and the vehicle is no longer moving. i believe the engine may have failed. the vehicle is available for inspectio…”
2026-10-14 · Engine“i am reporting excessive engine oil consumption in my 2018 kia soul, vin [xxx], with over 150,000 miles. the engine consumes approximately 1-2 quarts of oil every 1,000 miles. there are no visible external oil leaks, and the vehicle does not produce visible exhaust smoke. i am concerned that this excessive oil consumption may indicate an internal …”
2026-09-09 · Engine“this kia has an oil consumption issue i need to add oil every 3 to 4 hundred miles also my oil gets black at least 1 week after an oil change.…”
2026-08-11 · Unknown Or Other“my car has very high oil consumption. i regularly take it for oil changes and have never missed an oil change. in between oil changes i need to put anywhere between 2-3 bottles of oil in. i have taken it in to the dealership for a couple of oil consumption tests that both failed step one so they kept it overnight and did some kind of flush or clean…”
2026-07-25 · Engine“the vehicle is suffering from an extreme internal engine oil consumption defect, burning approximately 3 quarts of engine oil every 500 to 600 miles with no external leaks. the internal oil burning heavily fouled the vehicle's ignition system (spark plugs and coil packs), causing severe engine misfires and a sudden vehicle stall while operating in …”
2026-07-21 · Engine“my 2018 kia soul has failed on oil consumption test and needs and engine replacement. kia knows of these issues with these cars but will not cover the engine replacement cost bc the class action suit does not cover oil consumption failure only rod bearings. this will be an issue sooner or later with the oil problem. kia has several recalls on other…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.