2021 Kia Soul problems and complaints
Owners have filed 238 complaints with NHTSA about the 2021 Kia Soul. The most-reported areas: Engine (138), Engine And Engine Cooling (47), Unknown Or Other (26).
Key takeaways
- 238 owner complaints on file with NHTSA.
- 12 involve a crash, 3 a fire, 5 reported injuries.
- Complaints are unverified owner reports; recalls are confirmed defects.
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Engine | 138 | 58% |
| Engine And Engine Cooling | 47 | 20% |
| Unknown Or Other | 26 | 11% |
| Power Train | 26 | 11% |
| Electrical System | 15 | 6% |
| Fuel/Propulsion System | 10 | 4% |
| Service Brakes | 10 | 4% |
| Steering | 9 | 4% |
| Exterior Lighting | 6 | 3% |
| Visibility/Wiper | 6 | 3% |
| Suspension | 5 | 2% |
| Forward Collision Avoidance | 5 | 2% |
One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
| Version | Overall | Front | Side | Rollover |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 Kia Soul SUV FWD | 4/5 | 4/5 | 5/5 | 4/5 |
Latest complaints, as filed
Owner-written and unverified by NHTSA.
Engine - filed 2026-10-15
My kia's soul was part of a major safety recall for oil piston ring. The reason it's not showing on a recall list is because they claim to have fixed the issue. And it was removed. The issue is still persistent, and now the car has suffered catastrophic engine failure due to this recall issue. Kia corporate is refusin...
Engine - filed 2026-10-11
The car was constantly burning through large amounts of oil. One night I was driving and the car started slowing down and lost power completely. This put my safety at Risk because I was on the freeway and came to a complete stop. I brought the vehicle to the dealership and they said it would be 4k to fix and did not f...
Engine - filed 2026-10-06
Burning oil and piston failure in my 2021 Kia soul. But it’s not the 1 percent under recall. More than just the 1 percent
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More for the 2021 Kia Soul
Complaints are reports filed by owners with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them, and counts rise with how many cars were sold, so compare years of the same model rather than different models. Crash ratings are NHTSA's own 5-Star Safety Ratings results.