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2023 Kia Soul

Gas Wagon

2025202420232022202120202019201820172016
Specs & fuel economyRecallsComplaintsCrash ratings
F
Safety Signal
54 / 100
FSafety Signal · 54 / 100
4Recalls · 2 critical
50Complaints · owner reports
4★Crash rating · NHTSA overall
31 mpgFuel economy · best combined
⚠️
Active NHTSA advisory: park outside and away from structures until repaired. Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls and see the recall details below.

The 2023 Kia Soul is sold in the U.S. as a gas wagon with 2 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the Soul Eco dynamics, is EPA-rated at 31 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 4 recall campaigns for this model year, 2 rated critical, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of F. Owners have filed 50 complaints, most often about electrical system. NHTSA crash-tested it at 4 stars overall.

Specs & fuel economy (EPA)

ConfigurationPowertrainDriveEngine / motorCityHwyCombAnnual fuel*
Soul Eco dynamicsGasFWD2.0L 4-cyl293531$2,000
SoulGasFWD2.0L 4-cyl283330$2,100

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year and EPA reference fuel/electricity prices. Source: fueleconomy.gov vehicle records.

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Recalls (4)

Engine And Engine Cooling

critical
137,256 vehicles

Problem: 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.

NHTSA campaign 25V099000 · reported Feb 17, 2025 · Kia America, Inc.

Air Bags

high
2,967 vehicles

Problem: 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.

NHTSA campaign 23V830000 · reported Dec 22, 2023 · Kia America, Inc.

Power Train

critical
Park outside39,765 vehicles

Problem: 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.

NHTSA campaign 23V531000 · reported Jul 31, 2023 · Kia America, Inc.

Electrical System

high
108,936 vehicles

Problem: 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 Monitoring Systems."

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.

NHTSA campaign 23V298000 · reported Apr 26, 2023 · Kia America, Inc.

NHTSA investigations

Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine:Hard Parts Internal/Mechanical — Kia 25V099 Piston Oil Ring Recall Effectiveness (closed)

On August 6, 2025, the Office of Defect Investigation (ODI) opened Audit Query (AQ) 25001 to assess the implementation of Kia America, Inc.’s (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. This AQ was opened in response to consumer complaints alleging of an ineffective remedy, inconsistent inspection results to determine whether an engine replacement was needed, and the unavailability of recall remedies. On August 11, 2025, an Information Request (IR) was issued to Kia requesting: 1) why the inspection test was revised from requiring a ‘cold’ engine to a ‘warm’ en

Opened Aug 6, 2025 · closed Dec 18, 2025 · action AQ25001

Owner complaints

50 complaints filed

5 involved a crash, 1 a fire, 15 injuries, 1 deaths reported by owners.

Filed by year — 2022: 3 · 2023: 15 · 2024: 14 · 2025: 9 · 2026: 9

Most-cited components

  • Electrical System — 13
  • Engine — 13
  • Unknown Or Other — 12
  • Lane Departure — 8
  • Steering — 8
“On 8/15/23 I received my car back from the dealership after almost a month of repairs, trying to fix the issue where it would turn itself on and where it shut down while driving 45 miles an hour; at various points I was told it was the crankshaft, camshaft, spark plugs, fuel injectors, the pcm and a connector that was …”Aug 16, 2023 · Engine · NHTSA owner report
“On 8/22/23, I purchased a 2023 Kia Soul Sport trim from Kia Atlanta South. Just two days later, the 12V system stopped working, and yesterday, on 8/6, I discovered the car, which I had owned for only two weeks and driven 950 miles, was low on oil. Some of those miles were already on the vehicle when I bought it. I susp…”Aug 6, 2023 · Engine · NHTSA owner report
“On wednesday July 19th, at approximately 1745 (5:45 pm) I got into my car and started it. I attempted to back out of the driveway and noticed my steering wheel was locked. I pulled forward, and put the car in park. I tried to turn the car off. It then restarted itself, revved the engine, turned the heater on, rolled do…”Jul 22, 2023 · Engine · NHTSA owner report

Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.

Crash ratings

ConfigurationOverallFrontalSideRolloverRollover risk
SUV FWD★★★★☆★★★★☆★★★★★★★★★☆15%

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program. Standard driver-assist: forward collision warning, lane departure warning, automatic emergency braking.

Other Soul model years

A

2025 Soul

0 recalls · 12 complaints

A

2024 Soul

0 recalls · 29 complaints

B

2022 Soul

1 recalls · 88 complaints

C

2021 Soul

2 recalls · 231 complaints

B

2020 Soul

1 recalls · 375 complaints

C

2019 Soul

3 recalls · 138 complaints

C

2018 Soul

3 recalls · 216 complaints

C

2017 Soul

3 recalls · 288 complaints

F

2016 Soul

5 recalls · 812 complaints

Sources & method

Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.

EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records (ids 45303, 45302). Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.

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