2014 Kia Soul problems & reliability
898 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2014 Kia Soul, alongside 5 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Sep 21, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several components.
24 complaints report injuries (28 injured, 1 deaths reported).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2014 Kia Soul vehicles were involved in 79 fatal crashes with 45 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Engine → | 552 | 61% |
| Exterior Lighting → | 130 | 14% |
| Electrical System → | 98 | 11% |
| Unknown / Other | 82 | 9% |
| Power Train → | 57 | 6% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling → | 55 | 6% |
| Steering → | 55 | 6% |
| Fuel/propulsion System → | 53 | 6% |
| Vehicle Speed Control → | 31 | 3% |
| Service Brakes → | 30 | 3% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
All 27 reported components →Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Among the 609 complaints that included a usable odometer reading, the median reported incident mileage was 89,000 miles (middle 50% between 60,000 and 113,000 miles).
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving, the vehicle suddenly lost power and came to a complete stop. After cooling down for approximately 10 minutes, the vehicle was restarted; however, smoke emanated from the engine bay and entered the cabin, and the vehicle stalled in traffic without…”
Engine · filed Sep 16, 2026
“The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine. The contact researched and discovered that there were several unknown recalls associated with the VIN. The dealer was contacted by phone and made aware of the failure…”
Engine · filed Sep 14, 2026
“The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag warning light unexpectedly illuminated. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 175,000”
Air Bags · filed Aug 31, 2026
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Engine Fires
Engineering Analysis EA21003 · opened Dec 22, 2021 · closed Feb 5, 2024 · led to recall 23V877
- Non-crash Vehicle Fires
Preliminary Evaluation PE19004 · opened Mar 29, 2019 · closed Dec 22, 2021 · led to recall 21V844000
- Non-crash Vehicle Fires
Defect Petition DP18003 · opened Aug 21, 2018 · closed May 10, 2019 · led to recall 19V204000
Technical service bulletins
175 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2014 Kia Soul. The 10 most recent:
VOLUNTARY SERVICE CAMPAIGN: OWNER RENOTIFICATION (SC334 Flight 201) - This document is the owner renotification advising that Kia is conducting a Voluntary Service Campaign to inspect and, if necessary, replace the…
SC334_OWNR_201 · Service Campaign · issued Aug 25, 2026
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: THEFT DETERRENT IGNITION: CYLINDER PROTECTOR & DECAL INSTALLATION (CS2311) - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of…
CS2311_TSB_R4 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 9, 2026
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: SUBSEQUENT REPAIR ACTION: CATALYTIC CONVERTER REPLACEMENT AND ENGINE INSPECTION/REPLACEMENT (SC176Y) - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections…
SC176Y_TSB_R1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 24, 2026
PRODUCT IMPROVEMENT CAMPAIGN: OWNER RENOTIFICATION (PI2002B FL701) - This document is the owner renotification advising that Kia is conducting a Product Improvement Campaign to perform a software update on 2014-2016 MY…
PI2002B_OWNR_701 · Other · issued Feb 24, 2026
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION CAMPAIGN: POSTCARD OWNER RENOTIFICATION (CS2311) - This document is the owner renotification advising that Kia is conducting Customer Satisfaction Campaign. Kia has developed a new zinc-reinforced…
CS2311_OWNR_PC201 · Other · issued Dec 19, 2025
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…
PS797 · Other · issued Dec 9, 2025
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: VOLUNTARY SERVICE CAMPAIGN UNDERBODY INSPECTION & ANTI-CORROSION MATERIAL APPLICATION (SC334) - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this…
TSB_SC334_R1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 20, 2025
VOLUNTARY SERVICE CAMPAIGN: UNDERBODY INSPECTION & ANTI-CORROSION MATERIAL APPLICATION (SC334) - This bulletin provides information to apply additional anti-corrosion material to underbody components, including…
SC334_TSB · Service Campaign · issued Jun 26, 2025
VOLUNTARY SERVICE CAMPAIGN: OWNER NOTIFICATION (SC334) - This document is the owner notification advising that Kia is conducting a Voluntary Service Campaign to inspect and, if necessary, replace the brake line(s) in…
SC334_OWNR · Service Campaign · issued Jun 23, 2025
VOLUNTARY SERVICE CAMPAIGN: DEALER PRINCIPAL MEMO (SC334) - This document is the announcement to the dealer principals advising that Kia is conducting a Voluntary Service Campaign to inspect and, if necessary, replace…
SC334_DP · Service Campaign · issued Jun 21, 2025
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2014 Kia Soul has 5 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2014 Kia Soul?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Among complaints with usable mileage, the median reported incident mileage was 89,000 miles. This does not predict when a particular vehicle will develop a problem.