MODELYEARINDEX

Kia Soul

2,164 complaints across 12 scored model years and 15 recall campaigns.

Which years to avoid

Ownership label · Kia Soul Full report
F
Grade 2010–2021
2015 vs model median 2.4×
Model median3× median
Engine 89
Electrical 22
Steering 19
Avoid

2015 · 2020

Best

2017 · 2019

Year by year

Severity-weighted complaints filed in each model year’s first 60 months on the road, so every year is measured over an identical window.

Year Complaint volume vs median Reports Grade
2010
0.94× 102 C
2011
0.87× 93 C
2012
0.82× 89 C
2013
0.72× 99 C
2014
1.80× 203 D
2015
2.44× 240 F
2016
2.00× 228 D
2017
0.95× 127 B
2018
1.05× 124 B
2019
0.55× 66 B
2020
2.47× 318 F
2021
1.64× 194 D
2022 P
1.05× 133 B
2023 P
0.69× 86 C
2024 P
0.27× 41 A
2025 P
0.17× 21 A

P — provisional. These years have not completed 60 months on the road, so their totals are incomplete and they are excluded from the verdict.

What it costs to run

EPA figures for the most recent model year on record.

Combined MPG30
City / Highway27 / 33
Engine2L, 4 cyl
DriveFront-Wheel Drive
Annual fuel cost$2,050

Recalls

15 campaigns on record, 2 carrying a Park It or Park Outside warning.

Campaign Component Model years Units affected
23V652000 Park it SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP:CONTROL UNIT/MODULE 2011–2013 1,730,192
13V114000 EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS:SWITCH 2010, 2011 980,377
22V031000 AIR BAGS 2017–2019 410,619
19V120000 ENGINE 2012–2016 378,967
17V608000 STEERING 2014–2016 342,381
20V750000 ENGINE 2014, 2015 294,756
15V123000 VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL 2014, 2015 208,858
21V259000 ENGINE 2020, 2021 147,249

+ 7 further campaigns

Others in Subcompact SUVs

Same body and size class. Each grade describes that model against its own history — these are not ranked against each other.

Model Years to avoid Grade
Alfa Romeo Stelvio
2018
C
Audi E-Tron
none flagged
C
Audi Q3
20202021
C
BMW X1
2014
C
Buick Encore
2015
C
Buick Encore GX
none flagged
B
Cadillac XT4
none flagged
B
Chevrolet Captiva
none flagged
B

How this was calculated

Every model year is scored over an identical window: complaints filed with NHTSA during the first 60 months after that model year went on sale. Without this, older cars look worse purely because they have had longer to accumulate reports.

Limitations. Complaints are unverified reports submitted voluntarily by owners; they are allegations, not findings, and reporting rates vary between models. Model years with fewer than 60 months on the road are marked provisional and excluded from verdicts. Cross-model comparison is withheld pending production-volume data.

Full methodology · Sources · Data vintage August 9, 2026

Working 2015 Soul
Complaints in window
240
Severity-weighted
520.5
Model median (weighted)
214
vs model median
2.44×
Recall campaigns (weighted)
4
Open investigations
0
Score 29.1 F