2023 Kia Soul problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Engine (9) · Steering (7) · Service Brakes (5)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Kia Soul model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (4)
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.
Air Bags 2023-12-22 · campaign 23V830000 · 2,967 vehicles
Defect: Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Soul and 2024 Seltos vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, the side curtain air bags may deploy unexpectedly.
Risk: An air bag that deploys unexpectedly can increase the risk of injury or crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace both side curtain air bag modules as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 31, 2024. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC289.
Power Train:automatic Transmission:fluid/Lubricant:pump 2023-07-31 · campaign 23V531000 · 39,765 vehicles ⚠ PARK OUTSIDE
Defect: Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Soul, Sportage, and 2023-2024 Seltos vehicles. The electronic controller for the Idle Stop & Go oil pump assembly may contain damaged electrical components that can cause the pump to overheat.
Risk: An electric oil pump assembly that overheats increases the risk of a vehicle fire.
Fix: Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will inspect and replace the electric oil pump controller, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed September 28, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC275.
Electrical System: Instrument Cluster/Panel 2023-04-26 · campaign 23V298000 · 108,936 vehicles
Defect: Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Sportage, Sportage Hybrid, Sportage Plug-in Hybrid, Niro Hybrid, Niro Plug-in Hybrid, Soul, and Telluride vehicles equipped with a digital instrument cluster containing a 4.2" LCD screen. The instrument cluster may fail to display any information when the vehicle is started. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard numbers 101, "Control and Displays," and 138, "Tire Pressure Monitorin
Risk: A blank instrument cluster display will not show critical information, such as tire pressure, warning messages, and warning lights, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will update the instrument cluster software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 26, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC270.
Service bulletins (51)
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.
Electrical System 2026-08-19 · TSB_ELE426 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: avn gen 5.0 wide software update - this bulletin provides information on the audio video navigation (avn) system software update for certain vehicles equipped with avn5w and navigation system listed in the table below. affected vehicles may overestimate travel times durin
Electrical System 2026-07-29 · TSB_ELE425 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: front view camera replacement (ca2605) - this bulletin provides information to replace the front view camera on certain 2023-2024my soul (sk3) vehicles produced from march 15, 2022, through march 23, 2024. the affected vehicles may exhibit various warning lights illuminat
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
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
Electrical System 2025-11-04 · TSB_ELE402 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: power window main switch replacement (ca2510) - this bulletin provides information regarding an intermittent operation of the main power window switch on the driver’s door on 2022–2024my soul (sk3) vehicles produced from may 1, 2022 through july 19, 2024. the switch on th
Showing the 6 most recent of 51 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-10 · Engine“while driving the engine started shaking and smoke blew out from the tailpipe and then the vehicle stalled. i brought it in and the same thing happened on the way home from the dealership after it was supposedly fixed.…”
2026-10-02 · Service Brakes · 💥 crash“my brakes failed to stop my car i was driving down [xxx]. i went to brake because i was going to slow down cause i was just over the speed limit and my brakes went all the way to the floor and i i could not stop the car with the brakes , so i pulled over to the side and slowly came to a halt. i was so shook up. i do not know if i put it in neutral …”
2026-09-29 · Unknown Or Other“it appears to get really hot and then it starts to smoke abundantly. and then the car struggles to drive forward. and something about instrument cluster…”
2026-09-19 · Power Train“i will be accelerating and the car will on occasion start to sputter like it is going to die and loose power on me. it has done it three different times the last time it through a code on my obd monitor read it and said p0304 the 4th cylinder is misfiring. i took it in and they couldn't see the code or even the history of there being a code thr…”
2026-09-04 · Engine“while driving an alarm noise sounds and on the dash a message will appear stating engine off put car in p or n and i cannot accelerate.…”
2026-08-24 · Lane Departure: Warning“2023 kia soul purchased brand new. vehicle does not display speedometer, blinkers don't work, reverse camera doesn't work, nothing displays on dash, continuous alarm sound while vehicle is on. having no indication of speed traveling or ability to signal turns is a safety concern. failure at approximately 1 year after purchase. has been in the de…”
2026-05-26 · Steering · 💥 crash“before the accident which my car was totaled, i would take it in with issues. electrical lights coming on the car would stop .my transmission locking up . i would tell them that there was something wrong with the car . i had videos to show pannel lights coming on at 70 on freeway and car locking up and would just stop . that's what happened to son…”
2026-05-21 · Engine“on may 20 2026 car died out multiple times when driving but would start back up. today may 21 2026 car was lacking power and engine making noise while driving. then the check engine light came on also the oil light flashed then turned off. checked the code it said p00114. then checked oil it was about 1 1/2 quart low after we did complete oil chang…”
2026-05-08 · Tires“205/60r16 noticed that all 4 of my tires the rubber is peeling went to tire place they said they were chunking and they should not be having 23500 miles on my 2023 kia soul tires have been rotated every 5000 or so miles…”
2026-03-20 · Electrical System: Instrument Cluster/Panel · 45,000 mi“the contact owns a 2023 kia soul. the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the instrument panel became inoperable. the instrument panel went blank while operating the vehicle. the vehicle was taken to a dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the approxima…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.