2019 Kia Soul problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Engine (65) · Fuel/Propulsion System (9) · Seat Belts (5)
🧭 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
45 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 (99)
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
Structure:body 2026-06-04 · TSB_BOD336 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: key and cylinder set replacement - this bulletin provides information to replace the driver’s door lock and trunk lid key cylinders on some 2019-2024my kia vehicles listed below. on affected vehicles, the stored key code may not correspond to the mechanical key profile, w
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
Showing the 6 most recent of 99 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-29 · Structure:body“the paint is delaminating on the hood, around the windows, the mirrors and the door handles. i only have 28,000 miles on this white car.…”
2026-10-26 · Engine“the engine burns oil too quickly. i only have 130k miles on my car, only owner. i don’t even drive it every day at this point. i have ran out of oil and been stranded 3 times in the past few months. the engine completely burns all the oil and the oil light doesn’t even come on until there is none left! it’s like we have to check it every 500 miles.…”
2026-10-19 · Power Train“engine seized while driving with no warning. dealer has submitted findings to kia corporate techline for powertrain warranty claim which is requesting a $700 engine teardown at my expense…”
2026-09-15 · Engine“burns way to much oil then it should for a 2019. i have to put a quart of oil in every 1,000 miles due to the oil consumption the motor does.…”
2026-08-24 · Electrical System“my 2019 kia soul has been professionally diagnosed with dtc b162000, “internal fault – replace srscm,” involving the supplemental restraint system/airbag control module. my repair shop documented this diagnosis on august 24, 2026. kia safety recall sc226 / nhtsa recall 22v-031 addresses an airbag control unit defect in certain 2017-2019 kia souls a…”
2026-07-28 · Engine And Engine Cooling · 59,000 mi“the contact owns a 2019 kia soul. the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a burning odor and smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. additionally, the engine was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. the contact pulled over and checked the engine oil level, and the dipstick indicated that the engine oil level was…”
2026-07-15 · Unknown Or Other“i purchased a 2019 kia soul in june 2022. since purchasing the vehicle, it has been stolen three separate times. during at least one theft, the steering column was damaged to bypass the ignition, and responding officers indicated the theft method was consistent with the widely reported kia theft method. i had possession of my keys during the incide…”
2026-07-14 · Engine“i was driving through a busy intersection when the vehicle stopped accelerating causing risk to myself and other drivers. i was able to get the vehicle through the intersection and pulled over. i turned the vehicle off and it would not restart. i had the vehicle towed to my local independent service center where a diagnostic was performed. it was f…”
2026-07-07 · Engine“my engine has suffered a mechanical failure that makes the vehicle stall or lose power while driving, creating a massive highway safety hazard. kia is using a software update loophole to deny fixing a physical, dangerous manufacturing defect.…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.