2022 KIA SOUL

What owners reported to NHTSA, ranked by how often and how seriously.

This is complaint data, not a random sample.

It only includes owners who chose to file a federal complaint, so it over-represents dramatic and safety-related problems and under-represents minor issues an owner just had fixed without reporting. Read this as what NHTSA complainants report most, not as this vehicle's true failure rate. Full methodology.

Component ranking

  1. #1

    engine internal

    3 stranded, 21 unsafe, 1 annoyance

    25
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=6)

    • "The contact owns a 2022 Kia Soul. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled while idling on several occasions. Additionally, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact scanned the vehicle with a vehicle scanner, and the DTC: P1C28 was retrie…"~62,000 mi, complaint #2158322
    • "The contact owns a 2022 Kia Soul. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V099000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). After retrieving the vehicle, there was an audible tinging sound coming from…"~69,000 mi, complaint #2190801
    • "The contact's daughter owns a 2022 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving 40 MPH, the engine froze for two minutes. The oil light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was undriveable. The vehicle was towed to the local…"~90,000 mi, complaint #2192317
    • "The contact owns a 2022 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving 55 MPH uphill, there was an abnormal knocking sound from the rod bearings inside the engine. The contact stated that the rod bearings had gone through the engine block, and there was black…"~101,000 mi, complaint #2226603
  2. #2

    engine oil consumption

    1 stranded, 13 unsafe

    14
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=2)

    • "The contact owns a 2022 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while receiving an oil change, the contact was informed that there was no oil in the engine. The contact stated that oil was being added to the vehicle more often than normal. The vehicle was taken to t…"~70,000 mi, complaint #2120622
  3. #3

    engine stall or no start

    5 stranded, 5 unsafe

    10
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=6)

    • "The contact owns a 2022 Kia Soul. The contact stated while stopped at a traffic signal, the brake pedal was depressed, and the vehicle shuddered and then stalled. The contact stated that while attempting to restart the vehicle, the check engine and battery war…"~80,000 mi, complaint #2074627
  4. #4

    control module

    3 unsafe, 1 annoyance

    4
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=4)

    • "The contact owns a 2022 Kia Soul. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V123000 (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL) However upon having the vehicle inspected by a local dealer, she was denied service of the recall due to the ECU unit not responding…"~95,700 mi, complaint #2054868
  5. #5

    other

    1 unsafe, 3 annoyance

    4
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=2)

    • "I received a letter stating that there is a major increase in contacts focus on certain Kia and Hyundai cars, including my car that is registered in New York State. It also is televising me that I can receive advice of tools, available free of charge to help m…"complaint #1934089
    • "The contact owns a 2022 Kia Soul. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V099000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). The local dealer was contacted; however, the dealer informed that contact that the part to do the recall repair was not yet ava…"complaint #2071247
    • "My car is still under factory warranty and there's a recall, yet Kia will not provide any help"complaint #2085779
    • "My [XXX] daughter was a passenger in a vehicle involved in a crash in which the vehicle struck a tree and a fire was present. She was unable to exit the vehicle and did not receive medical attention in time. Public records indicate the vehicle had an open fe…"complaint #2194961
  6. #6

    timing belt or chain

    3 unsafe

    3
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "Check engine light came on so I took the car to a mechanic who scanned the vehicle and found diagnostic trouble code P0017 (Crankshaft Position – Camshaft Position Correlation). This code indicates a timing issue that could be related to a timing chain or cams…"complaint #2114759
    • "In March 2025, my 2022 Kia Soul developed a check engine light and drivability problems that progressed to rough idle, loss of power, reduced power with limited speed and an unresponsive throttle, and stalling after continued driving. The vehicle was taken to…"complaint #2167318
    • "Vehicle is only 4 years old. Engine light came on. I used my Fixd code reader to diagnose. It mentioned several sensors which I replace cam shaft sensor. Intake sensor. Crank shay sensor. All were replaced, engine light came back on after each replacement. I…"complaint #2184686
  7. #7

    airbag system

    2 unsafe

    2
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=3)

    • "The contact owns a 2022 Kia Soul X-Line. The contact stated while at a stop, the vehicle was rear-ended and the seat belts did not retract nor did none of the airbags deploy. The contact sustained shoulder bruises and a hip bruise. The contact's friend was sit…"~8,000 mi, complaint #1785304
    • "The contact owned a 2022 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 35 MPH, another vehicle attempted to merge in front of the contact, causing the front driver side of the vehicle to collide with the rear passenger end of another vehicle…"~49,000 mi, complaint #2101235
  8. #8

    transmission automatic

    2 unsafe

    2
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "Transmission failed on my 2022 Kia soul in June 2022 when my car only had 4,594 miles. I was stuck in the middle of a busy intersection with my daughter and I in the car unable to accelerate almost being hit by multiple vehicles. Transmission failed on my 20…"complaint #1887574
    • "Transmission issues. 10/27/23 the engine turned off on Rt93 highway in Massachusetts while in stop-and-go traffic. I put it in park, and restarted the car. It seems to accelerate fine, but is herky-jerky when slowing down. It has a rubber band effect, and…"complaint #1942118
  9. #9

    acceleration loss or hesitation

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=1)

    • "The contact owns a 2022 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle briefly jerked and jolted before returning to normal functionality. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer…"~50,000 mi, complaint #2147420
  10. #10

    backup camera

    1 annoyance

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "Backup camera intermittently glitches and cuts to a black screen. Display will also occasionally appear darker than normal. Concern began suddenly with no known cause. It first occurred after vehicle was parked for 10-11 hours. "complaint #2219751
  11. #11

    battery and charging

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "2022 Kia Soul-Consumer is writing in about the battery discharge message display on the dashboard which causes a dead battery, requiring the battery to be jumped anywhere consumers wants to go. Consumers wife took vehicle to dealership where purchased for assi…"complaint #1897809
  12. #12

    brake hydraulics

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "When applying brakes over bumps the car sounds as if the brakes are locking up. When putting are in reverse and it uses the Automatic Emergency Braking aggressively too early. I have already paid to replace the window motors due to all windows not working when…"complaint #1928112
  13. #13

    engine head gasket

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "2022 kia soul, engine failed on the highway interstate. was traveling on [XXX] at 70mph and I slowed down due to an accident infant of me and went to accelerate again and my car shut down. and thats is when my engine failed. This is not safe at all. Took thr…"complaint #2043615
  14. #14

    hv system fault reduced power

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=2)

    • "The contact owns a 2022 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while at a complete stop, the vehicle lost motive power. No warning light was illuminated. The contact shifted to park(P) and turned off the vehicle to correct the failure. The contact related the failu…"~4,000 mi, complaint #1895464
  15. #15

    parking brake

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "Put my car in park in garage and got out of the car to place something on shelf in garage. Car rolled forward right in to some steel shelves."complaint #1810288
  16. #16

    seatbelt and pretensioner

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=1)

    • "The contact owns a 2022 Kia Soul. The contact stated while attempting to fasten the driver’s side seat belt, the buckle failed to latch as needed. The contact made several attempts before buckling the seat belt securely. While attempting to unlatch the seat be…"~50,000 mi, complaint #1873707
  17. #17

    software or update

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "I had this car go to the garage back in February under the 2021-2023 Seltos and Soul engine recall. The engine was fine but the check engine light is has been on since MARCH. I personally believe this was software related as I had MULTIPLE technicians verify t…"complaint #2120071
  18. #18

    throttle and pedal

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "RPM surges intermittently upon deceleration while in the sport mode. Began a few months ago."complaint #2060672
  19. #19

    transmission cvt

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "I purchased a brand new 2022 Kia Soul GT line on 9/01/2022. At 4300 miles, the IVT transmission imploded while on the freeway. Same issues as all the others reported here - fluctuating rpms, followed by a complete loss of power while the tach is redlined. Had…"complaint #1795609
  20. #20

    wiring harness

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "Rodents chewed through the main wire harness on my vehicle on 2 separate occasions, both times in the same exact location. This recurring damage poses a serious safety risk and may be linked to soy-based wire coatings that attract rodents. The first incident…"complaint #2092387

NHTSA investigations

Search NHTSA's own recall and complaint database for KIA SOUL directly.