2025 Kia Soul problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Exterior Lighting (3) · Wheels (1) · Visibility/Wiper (1)
🧭 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 (0)
No recalls on record for this model year (campaigns announced since 2010).
Service bulletins (13)
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 2026-05-28 · 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 2025-09-11 · WTY041_TSB_R1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: horn assembly inspection/replacement (wty041) - 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 information associated with the ‘warranty extens
Steering 2025-07-25 · TSB_ELE395 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: service action: mdps connector locking insert inspection (sa623) - this bulletin provides information to inspect the steering mdps connector on certain 2025my soul (sk3) vehicles produced on june 16, 2025, which may not have a fully engaged secondary lock on their mdps co
Power Train 2025-04-17 · TSB_TRA046_R5 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: transmission fluid application guide - 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 information relating to the correct transmission fluid ty
Showing the 6 most recent of 13 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-08-06 · Unknown Or Other“i purchased a used 2025 kia soul with approximately 12,930 miles on the odometer in july 2026. prior to friday, august 1, 2026, i had not experienced any warning lights, warning messages, drivability issues, or other symptoms. the vehicle appeared to operate normally. on august 1, 2026, as i pulled out of the parking lot, the car surged or lurched …”
2026-05-30 · Unknown Or Other“car window was broken into while the car was locked and the alarm was on. the alarm did not go off!…”
2026-05-29 · Lane Departure: Blind Spot Detection“when pulling out of a parking spot all of collision responses started to flash. this included front collision, side collision and rear collision. the power steering no longer worked. i bought the car new in 11/05/2025. i only have 1,311 miles on the car. i did have an oil change done by the dealer about a week prior and the report showed no problem…”
2026-03-24 · Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking · 💥 crash“hit a deer. airbag did not deploy or emergency braking system didn't come on. police took pictures of car. the car is at the repair shop now. insurance company hasn't stated if it will be totaled. there were no other problems prior to incident.…”
2026-03-09 · Exterior Lighting“low beam headlights so dim is impossible to drive at night.…”
2026-02-03 · Visibility/Wiper“headlight housing kept falling out of the bracket driving at night impossable. fixed one light still dim lights makes driving at night dangerous. second dealer instructed me to not sue the suto light setting because it dims the headlights. it appears that the front bumper design blocks the light to the roadway. in my view the 4 seperte visits to th…”
2026-02-02 · Wheels“i am submitting this complaint to report serious concerns regarding the quality, safety, and reliability of my new kia soul, as well as the financial burden caused by defects that should not occur on a vehicle with such low mileage. at approximately **8,500 miles**, one of the original tires failed prematurely. i was forced to purchase a used tire…”
2025-12-26 · Lane Departure: Assist“2 incidents driving in a not familiar area...almost drove off the road in very dark conditions at a light because i couldn't see that my road had ended .i was almost side swiped trying to get back on the road the last second.iwas not taking any meds abd don't drink also drive at night on well lit highways.also the lights are so dim that my road as…”
2025-10-14 · Vehicle Speed Control · 💥 crash“while driving, the vehicle began accelerating (forced acceleration) without driver input. when driver attempted to stop or slow the vehicle down, the brakes were unresponsive due to the brake override system failure. because the vehicle could not be stopped or slowed down, and to avoid hitting or harming others, driver veered off the road which cau…”
2025-08-02 · Exterior Lighting“headlights when on dim are inadequate. you can not see the road. you can not drive with your lights on bright in traffic. severe hazard to all. near miss on animals and road damage. very frightening.…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.