AutoUtility currently tracks 213 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2018 Kia Soul. Engine & Cooling issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 131 complaints (61.5% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 14 filings cite a crash, 14 cite a fire, 10 report one or more injuries, 1 reports one or more fatalities.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 213 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Engine & Cooling (131 reports • 61.5% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Powertrain & Transmission (31), Electrical System (19)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 14 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 14 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 10 injury filings • 1 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2018 Kia Soul
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Engine & Cooling
Powertrain & Transmission
Electrical System
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech
Air Bags & Restraints
NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #22V031000 AIR BAGS
Symptoms Mentioned in NHTSA Owner Reports for 2018 Kia Soul
Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis
AutoUtility uses deterministic phrase matching to identify recurring symptom descriptions within consumer-submitted NHTSA complaint narratives.
Loss of Motive Power While Driving
Engine Coolant Intrusion / Oil Leak
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2018 Kia Soul
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"My car has very high oil consumption. I regularly take it for oil changes and have never missed an oil change. In between oil changes I need to put anywhere between 2-3 bottles of oil in. I have taken it in to the dealership for a couple of oil consumption tests that both failed step one so they..."
"The vehicle is suffering from an extreme internal engine oil consumption defect, burning approximately 3 quarts of engine oil every 500 to 600 miles with no external leaks. The internal oil burning heavily fouled the vehicle's ignition system (spark plugs and coil packs), causing severe engine..."
"My 2018 Kia Soul has failed on oil consumption test and needs and engine replacement. Kia knows of these issues with these cars but will not cover the engine replacement cost bc the class action suit does not cover oil consumption failure only rod bearings. This will be an issue sooner or later..."
"Car stalls in traffic repeatedly. Code identified crank shaft ."
"During a BBB dispute regarding warranty coverage, Kia Corporate claimed the vehicle is ineligible for safety recall repairs."
Complaint History for Kia Soul
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2025)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 Kia Soul | 902 | 36 | 4 | View 2015 Problems → |
| 2016 Kia Soul | 809 | 29 | 2 | View 2016 Problems → |
| 2017 Kia Soul | 270 | 17 | 1 | View 2017 Problems → |
| 2018 Kia Soul Current Page | 213 | 14 | 1 | Current |
| 2019 Kia Soul | 135 | 11 | 1 | View 2019 Problems → |
| 2020 Kia Soul | 371 | 9 | 1 | View 2020 Problems → |
| 2021 Kia Soul | 228 | 12 | 2 | View 2021 Problems → |
| 2022 Kia Soul | 88 | 4 | 1 | View 2022 Problems → |
| 2023 Kia Soul | 49 | 5 | 4 | View 2023 Problems → |
| 2024 Kia Soul | 29 | 0 | 0 | View 2024 Problems → |
| 2025 Kia Soul | 12 | 2 | 0 | View 2025 Problems → |
Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2018 Kia Soul
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 49 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE | 95 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 13 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 6 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,ENGINE | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,SEATS | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING,VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,LANE DEPARTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES,LANE DEPARTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (2)
Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)
Vehicle Rollaway
On July 2, 2020, Kia America Inc. (Kia) filed safety recall 20V-389 for model year (MY) 2015-2016 Kia Soul EV vehicles. This recall was in response to allegations of unintended vehicle movement while in Park and provided updated electronic control unit software for the electronic parking brake logic as the remedy. The updated logic, which was included during production for MY 2017-2019 Kia Soul EV vehicles, automatically activates the electronic...
Pedestrian alert sounds
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight ra...
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.