The best Soul years to buy are 2019 and 2022. Avoid the 2014 and 2015: catalytic converter and engine failures give them the most complaints.
Best years: 20192022 Years to avoid: 20142015
Every Soul year compared
Owner complaints per 100,000 cars sold. Lower is better. The newest years have had less time to collect complaints, so they are marked too new to judge.
Known Soul problems
Year by year
| Year | Complaints | Per 100k sold | Recalls | Top issue | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 31 | - | 0 | Other | Too new to judge |
| 2023 | 54 | - | 4 | Engine | Too new to judge |
| 2022 | 97 | 168 | 1 | Engine | Good buy |
| 2021 | 244 | 325 | 2 | Engine | Average |
| 2020 | 390 | 543 | 1 | Engine | Average |
| 2019 | 143 | 146 | 3 | Engine | Good buy |
| 2018 | 223 | 213 | 3 | Engine | Good year |
| 2017 | 291 | 251 | 3 | Engine | Average |
| 2016 | 830 | 536 | 5 | Engine | Average |
| 2015 | 909 | 618 | 7 | Engine | Skip this year |
| 2014 | 905 | 623 | 5 | Engine | Skip this year |
| 2013 | 669 | 567 | 3 | Engine | Average |
| 2012 | 516 | 446 | 3 | Engine | Average |
About the Soul
The Soul is a boxy small car that is popular used. The 2014-2016 cars with the 2.0L engine suffer catalytic converter overheating that can damage the engine and cause fires, and Kia recalled many for engine failure. The 2017-2019 cars are much better, and the 2022-2024 cars have the lowest complaint rates.
- 2012-2013: First generation. Moderate complaints.
- 2014-2019: Second generation. Catalytic converter and engine failures peak 2014-2016.
- 2020 on: Third generation. 2020 had a rough start; 2022-2024 much better.
Soul warranty extensions and special coverage
Carmakers sometimes extend the warranty on a part that fails too often, or pay for a fix outside a recall. These notices come from the dealer bulletins Kia files with NHTSA. 523 Soul bulletins are on file in total.
WARRANTY EXTENSION CAMPAIGN: DEALER PRINCIPAL MEMO (WTY041) - This document is the announcement to the dealer principals advising that Kia is extending the New Vehicle Limited Warranty coverage, to all owners, for repairs relat...
WARRANTY EXTENSION CAMPAIGN: DEALER PARTS AND SERVICE MANAGER MEMO (WTY041) - This document is the announcement to the dealer principals advising that Kia is extending the New Vehicle Limited Warranty coverage, to all owners, f...
WARRANTY EXTENSION CAMPAIGN: QUESTION AND ANSWER (WTY041) - This document is the Question and Answer Guide containing the most frequently asked questions regarding the Warranty Extension Campaign WTY041.
WARRANTY EXTENSION CAMPAIGN: REIMBURSEMENT FORM (WTY041) - This document is a Reimbursement Request form that was mailed with the customer letter advising them to submit the form if they had paid for repairs for this same matte...
WARRANTY EXTENSION CAMPAIGN: HORN ASSEMBLY INSPECTION/REPLACEMENT (WTY041) - This bulletin provides information associated with the Warranty Extension Program (WTY041) to inspect and, if necessary, replace the horn assembly on ...
WARRANTY EXTENSION CAMPAIGN: OWNER NOTIFICATION (WTY041) - This document is the owner notification advising that Kia is extending the New Vehicle Limited Warranty coverage, to all owners, for repairs related to the horn assembl...
HORN ASSEMBLY INSPECTION/REPLACEMENT (WTY041) - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information.
PRODUCT IMPROVEMENT CAMPAIGN: DEALER PRINCIPAL MEMO - This document is the notification to dealer principals of the updated warranty coverage for the product improvement (PI2002A).
PRODUCT IMPROVEMENT CAMPAIGN: DEALER PARTS AND SERVICE MANAGER MEMO - This document is the notification to dealer Parts and Service Managers of the updated warranty coverage for the product improvement (PI2002A).
PRODUCT IMPROVEMENT CAMPAIGN: QUESTION AND ANSWER - This document is the Question and Answer Guide containing the most frequently asked questions regarding the product improvement (PI2002A).
Ask a dealer to check a specific car by VIN. Extensions usually have a time or mileage limit.
Government investigations into the Soul
NHTSA opens an investigation when complaints point to a possible safety defect. Some end in a recall and some close without one.
Audit query AQ25001 · 2021–2023 · opened Aug 2025, closed Dec 2025
On August 6, 2025, the Office of Defect Investigation (ODI) opened Audit Query (AQ) 25001 to assess the implementation of Kia America, Inc.âs (Kia) remedy program for Safety Recall 25V099, involving incorrectly manufactured piston oil rings which may damage the engine causing a loss of motive power or fire.
Audit query AQ23002 · 2012, 2013 · opened Nov 2023
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received eight Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) and eight Kia America, Inc.
Recall query RQ23005 · 2015–2019 · opened Sep 2023, closed Jan 2024 · led to recall 23V724
On July 2, 2020, Kia America Inc.
Defect petition DP22005 · 2015–2020 · opened Jan 2023, closed Aug 2023 · led to recall 22V063000
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States.
Defect petition DP22003 · 2012, 2019, 2020 · opened Sep 2022, closed Dec 2023
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) received a letter dated July 13, 2022, petitioning the Agency to initiate a safety defect investigation into loss of motive power allegations attributed to oil drain pan assembly failures on certain Hyundai Motor America, Inc.
Engineering analysis EA21003 · 2012–2016 · opened Dec 2021, closed Feb 2024 · led to recall 23V877
On March 29, 2019, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened two Preliminary Evaluations (PE19-003 on Hyundai and PE19-004 on Kia) to broadly investigate incidents of non-crash fires (regardless of origin or operational status of the vehicle) on various model year Hyundai and Kia vehicles.
Preliminary evaluation PE19004 · 2012–2015 · opened Mar 2019, closed Dec 2021 · led to recall 20V088000
During this Preliminary Evaluation (PE), the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) assessed the scope, frequency and potential safety-related consequences of non-crash vehicle fires caused by both engine failures and failures of other vehicle systems/components in model year (MY) 2011-2014 Kia Optima, MY 2011-2014 K...
Defect petition DP18003 · 2012–2015 · opened Aug 2018, closed May 2019 · led to recall 18V907000
In a letter dated June 11, 2018, the Center for Auto Safety (CAS) petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to initiate a safety defect investigation into non-collision related fires on model year (MY) 2011-2014 Kia Optima and Sorento, and Hyundai Sonata and Santa Fe vehicles.
Soul vs rivals
Questions
What is the best year for the Kia Soul?
2019 and 2022. The best Soul years to buy are 2019 and 2022. Avoid the 2014 and 2015: catalytic converter and engine failures give them the most complaints.
Which Kia Soul years should I avoid?
2014, 2015. These drew far more owner complaints per car sold than the Kia Soul average.
Why do Kia Soul engines fail?
On 2014-2016 Souls the catalytic converter can overheat and break up, sending debris into the engine and damaging the pistons. Recalls 19V120 and 20V750 cover the engine on many cars, and Kia added a knock sensor update.
Based on 5,302 complaints filed by owners with U.S. safety regulators for model years 2012 to 2024, and U.S. sales by calendar year. How we score.