2022 Kia Soul problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Engine (35) · Engine And Engine Cooling (19) · Power Train (11)
🧭 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
23 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (1)
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.
Service bulletins (77)
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
Structure:body 2026-02-19 · TSB_CS2312_R1 · 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
Showing the 6 most recent of 77 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-21 · Engine And Engine Cooling · 33,000 mi“the contact owns a 2022 kia soul. the contact stated that the vehicle was previously repaired under nhtsa campaign number: 25v099000 (engine and engine cooling); however, the engine was not replaced under the recall. while the contact's wife was driving 10 mph, the vehicle started sputtering. the vehicle later lost motive power while the contact wa…”
2026-10-15 · Engine“my 2022 kia soul was previously serviced under safety recall sc336 (nhtsa campaign 25v099000), and the dealership only uploaded the monitoring software. the safety recall remedy has now completely failed. the software's warning triggers are active: the oil light is flashing, the check engine light is flashing, and the engine is vibrating violently …”
2026-10-10 · Unknown Or Other“the paint above the windshield is peeling. …”
2026-10-10 · Unknown Or Other“the paint above the windshield is peeling off. …”
2026-10-08 · Unknown Or Other“jake sweeney kia opened a repair order for safety recall sc336 on my 2022 kia soul at 8:00 am on wednesday. at 3:10 pm the exact same day, they finalized the ticket with a 'pass' result and issued an invoice. the manufacturer’s official technical service bulletin for campaign sc336 explicitly mandates a 24-hour overnight cold engine soak before the…”
2026-10-07 · Engine“engine oil light came on and went to take in to get an oil change though it had 1000 miles or so to go. had oil change but light did not go out, and service said to get it diagnosed at mechanic. made an appointment and car then driven by my daughter stalled when entering the freeway. the car started and i had her drive it home. i tried it the next …”
2026-10-02 · Engine“the oil consumption is outrageous. i have to check the oil every week. i keep taking it to wyatt johnson kia but they refuse to report the oil consumption problem to kia…”
2026-07-17 · Engine · 101,000 mi“the contact owns a 2022 kia soul. the contact stated that while driving 55 mph uphill, there was an abnormal knocking sound from the rod bearings inside the engine. the contact stated that the rod bearings had gone through the engine block, and there was black smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. the vehicle became inoperable after the failure. the …”
2026-06-25 · Unknown Or Other“backup camera intermittently glitches and cuts to a black screen. display will also occasionally appear darker than normal. concern began suddenly with no known cause. it first occurred after vehicle was parked for 10-11 hours. …”
2026-06-14 · Power Train“• a theft attempt caused by the widely reported kia software vulnerability (documented in my police report) • a display failure that kia refused to repair • a recall that kia refused to perform because the display was broken • repeated defects lighting, battery warning indicators never come on when the oil is beinf consumed • and now a complete en…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.