2023 Kia Soul problems & reliability
50 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2023 Kia Soul, alongside 4 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Sep 22, 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.
6 complaints report injuries (15 injured, 1 deaths reported).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2023 Kia Soul vehicles were involved in 20 fatal crashes with 19 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical System → | 13 | 26% |
| Engine → | 13 | 26% |
| Unknown / Other | 12 | 24% |
| Steering | 8 | 16% |
| Lane Departure | 7 | 14% |
| Service Brakes | 7 | 14% |
| Air Bags | 5 | 10% |
| Forward Collision Avoidance | 5 | 10% |
| Exterior Lighting | 4 | 8% |
| Power Train | 4 | 8% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
All 18 reported components →Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“While driving an alarm noise sounds and on the dash a message will appear stating engine off put car in p or n and I cannot accelerate.”
Engine · filed Sep 4, 2026
“2023 Kia soul purchased brand new. Vehicle does not display speedometer, blinkers don't work, reverse camera doesn't work, nothing displays on dash, continuous alarm sound while vehicle is on. Having no indication of speed traveling or ability to signal turns is a safety concern. failure at approximately 1 year after…”
Exterior Lighting · filed Aug 24, 2026
“Before the accident which my car was totaled, I would take it in with issues. Electrical lights coming on the car would stop .my transmission locking up . I would tell them that there was something wrong with the car . I had videos to show pannel lights coming on at 70 on freeway and car locking up and would just stop…”
Steering · filed May 26, 2026
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Kia 25V099 Piston Oil Ring Recall Effectiveness
Audit Query AQ25001 · opened Aug 6, 2025 · closed Dec 18, 2025
Technical service bulletins
51 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2023 Kia Soul. The 10 most recent:
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: AVN GEN 5.0 WIDE SOFTWARE UPDATE - This bulletin provides information on the Audio Video Navigation (AVN) system software update for certain vehicles equipped with AVN5W and Navigation System…
TSB_ELE426 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 19, 2026
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: FRONT VIEW CAMERA REPLACEMENT (CA2605) - This bulletin provides information to replace the front view camera on certain 2023-2024MY Soul (SK3) vehicles produced from March 15, 2022, through…
TSB_ELE425 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 29, 2026
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: KEY AND CYLINDER SET REPLACEMENT - This bulletin provides information to replace the driver’s door lock and trunk lid key cylinders on some 2019-2024MY Kia vehicles listed below. On affected…
TSB_BOD336 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 4, 2026
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM SOFTWARE UPDATE USING UPDATE.KIA.COM - This bulletin provides information and service procedures for updating the infotainment systems on applicable Kia vehicles using the…
TSB_ELE422 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 28, 2026
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: POWER WINDOW MAIN SWITCH REPLACEMENT (CA2510) - This bulletin provides information regarding an intermittent operation of the main power window switch on the driver’s door on 2022–2024MY Soul…
TSB_ELE402 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 4, 2025
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: POWER WINDOW MAIN SWITCH REPLACEMENT (CA2510) - This bulletin provides information regarding an intermittent operation of the main power window switch on the driver’s door on 2022–2024MY Soul…
TSB_ELE402 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 1, 2025
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: HORN ASSEMBLY INSPECTION/REPLACEMENT (WTY041) - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the…
WTY041_TSB_R1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 11, 2025
This bulletin provides instructions to perform an engine vibration inspection using the Kia Diagnostic System (KDS) tablet on certain Kia engine/model vehicles. The piston oil ring(s) in certain Kia engines may, over…
SST082_R1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 4, 2025
This bulletin provides information related to the Technical Service Bulletin previously published under SC336 titled “Engine Inspection/Replacement and ECM Logic Improvement”.
SC336YZ_TSB · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 4, 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 2023 Kia Soul has 4 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 2023 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.