2021 Kia Soul problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Engine (108) · Engine And Engine Cooling (43) · Power Train (18)
🧭 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
65 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (2)
Engine And Engine Cooling:engine:hard Parts Internal/Mechanical 2025-02-17 · campaign 25V099000 · 137,256 vehicles
Defect: Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2021-2023 Seltos and Soul vehicles. The piston oil rings may have been manufactured incorrectly, which can result in engine damage.
Risk: Engine damage can cause a vehicle stall or fire, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.
Fix: 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.
Engine 2021-04-13 · campaign 21V259000 · 147,249 vehicles
Defect: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Soul, and 2021 Seltos vehicles equipped with 2.0L Nu MPI engines. The piston oil rings may not have been properly heat-treated, which may result in engine damage.
Risk: 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.
Fix: 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.
Service bulletins (117)
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.
Engine 2026-08-05 · TSB_ENG263 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: misfire concern due to overrunning alternator decoupler - this bulletin provides information to address unresolved misfire events on some 2020–2024my forte (bdm) produced from january 1, 2019 through september 30, 2024, and 2020–2022my soul (sk3) vehicles produced from no
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 2026-06-08 · CS2312_TSB_R2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: customer satisfaction: theft deterrent ignition cylinder protector and decal installation (cs2312) - 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 prov
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
Electrical System 2026-05-28 · TSB_ELE422 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: infotainment system software update using update.kia.com - this bulletin provides information and service procedures for updating the infotainment systems on applicable kia vehicles using the kia navigation updater available at update.kia.com. the software update may impr
Power Train 2026-02-19 · SC199_OWNR_SK3_3 · Emissions
voluntary emissions service campaign: owner renotification (sc199 fl301) - this document is the owner renotification advising that kia is conducting voluntary service campaign to update the software programming on the transmission control module (tcm) and, if necessary, replace the intelligent vari
Showing the 6 most recent of 117 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-28 · Engine“we have been in dispute with hart kia and kia corporate over a reoccurring issue directly related to the recall remedy sc336 oil piston rings manufacturer defect that is affecting my vehicle. …”
2026-10-25 · Unknown Or Other“i bought my car brand new. 5 years later, im driving and come to a stop and stall. crank up, drive and come.to a stop and stall again. i took to dealership twice and another shop for second review. shop said i should be covered under the oil piston recall, but need to find out. dealership at first only.told.me i just needed a tune-up. then when i t…”
2026-10-15 · Engine“my kia's soul was part of a major safety recall for oil piston ring. the reason it's not showing on a recall list is because they claim to have fixed the issue. and it was removed. the issue is still persistent, and now the car has suffered catastrophic engine failure due to this recall issue. kia corporate is refusing to rectify.…”
2026-10-11 · Engine“the car was constantly burning through large amounts of oil. one night i was driving and the car started slowing down and lost power completely. this put my safety at risk because i was on the freeway and came to a complete stop. i brought the vehicle to the dealership and they said it would be 4k to fix and did not fix the recall. …”
2026-10-06 · Engine“burning oil and piston failure in my 2021 kia soul. but it’s not the 1 percent under recall. more than just the 1 percent …”
2026-10-03 · Engine“was driving engine jumped time and stalled out doing 45. vehicle only has 63499 miles on it. had it towed to dealership. the vehicle passed the original piston oil ring recall test in 2025 and 15,000 miles later is needing a new engine due to the ineffectiveness of kia recall.…”
2026-09-28 · Engine“consumer protection complaint against gateway kia of north brunswick for wrongful warranty denial, deceptive business practices, and failure to comply with a federally mandated class action settlement.on friday, september 25, 2026, my 2021 kia soul was left at gateway kia due to engine distress. the service department performed a physical mechanica…”
2026-09-24 · Engine“my 2021 kia soul was included in recall sc336 involving defective piston oil rings that may cause increased oil consumption, engine damage, and stalling. the recall remedy was done in june 2025. kia digitally inspected the engine and said it passed so no engine replacement was performed. eight months later the car began having symptoms mirroring th…”
2026-09-09 · Engine“recall 25v099/sc336 was not performed on my vehicle when it was in the dealership. my vehicle is now disabled at capitol kia san jose with complete engine failure. they are denying any responsibility and refusing repair coverage. i have written a formal letter to kia corporation requesting an immediate review of my vehicle. with this being an nhtsa…”
2026-09-08 · Engine“the check engine light came on in the car and within a few minutes while looking for a safe place the pull over there was a foul smell coming from the engine, followed by many error lights on the dash and the car losing the ability to accelerate and drive. the car had to be towed to a local repair shop who inspected the car and found that the engi…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.