Fuel Economy
30–31MPG
Gas & Hybrid options available
NHTSA Complaints
49
5 crash reports • 6 reporting injuries
Safety Recalls
4
4 official NHTSA recalls
NCAP Safety Rating
Not Rated / Pending

EPA Fuel Economy & Powertrain Specifications

Official EPA laboratory test ratings, electric driving range, and annual energy cost estimates by powertrain configuration

Powertrain Group Engine / Drivetrain City MPG Hwy MPG Combined MPG Est. Annual Fuel Cost
Standard 2L 4-Cyl Regular
Automatic (variable gear ratios) • Front-Wheel Drive
28–29 33–35 30–31 MPG $2,000–$2,050 / yr

NHTSA NCAP Crash Test & Safety Ratings

Official 5-Star Safety Ratings evaluated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

NHTSA 5-Star NCAP laboratory crash evaluations are not currently on file for the 2023 Kia Soul.

Active Driver Assistance Systems (NHTSA Recorded): Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is documented as Not Specified and Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is documented as Not Specified in official NHTSA records for tested 2023 Kia Soul models.
View complete 2023 Kia Soul crash test & safety breakdown →

Reported Problems & Owner Complaints Summary (49)

Summary of 49 verified consumer defect submissions filed with the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)

Total Complaints
49
Crash Reports
5
Fire Reports
1
Complaints w/ Injury
6
Total Injuries
15

Top Reported Problem Categories

Ranked by total consumer complaint submissions recorded by NHTSA

Engine 6 complaints
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 3 complaints
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 3 complaints
Electrical System 2 complaints
Powertrain 2 complaints

Data Attribution & Context: Complaints are self-reported by vehicle owners to NHTSA and represent unverified consumer submissions. Complaint volume does not equal a statistically controlled failure rate and is not adjusted for total vehicles sold or cumulative mileage driven.

View all 2023 Kia Soul problems & component breakdown (32 categories) →

Official Safety Recalls (4)

Manufacturer safety recall campaigns monitored and recorded by NHTSA

NHTSA Campaign #23V531000 Active Recall
Affected Component: POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:FLUID/LUBRICANT:PUMP

Defect Summary: Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Soul, Sportage, and 2023-2024 Seltos vehicles. The electronic controller for the Idle Stop & Go oil pump assembly may contain damaged electrical components that can cause the pump to overheat.

Free Manufacturer Remedy: Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will inspect and replace the electric oil pump controller, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed September 28, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC275.
NHTSA Campaign #23V298000 Active Recall
Affected Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL

Defect Summary: Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Sportage, Sportage Hybrid, Sportage Plug-in Hybrid, Niro Hybrid, Niro Plug-in Hybrid, Soul, and Telluride vehicles equipped with a digital instrument cluster containing a 4.2" LCD screen.  The instrument cluster may fail to display any information when the vehicle is started.  As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard numbers 101, "Control and Displays," and 138, "Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems."

Free Manufacturer Remedy: Dealers will update the instrument cluster software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 26, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC270.
NHTSA Campaign #23V830000 Active Recall
Affected Component: AIR BAGS

Defect Summary: Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Soul and 2024 Seltos vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, the side curtain air bags may deploy unexpectedly.

Free Manufacturer Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace both side curtain air bag modules as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 31, 2024. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC289.
View all 2023 Kia Soul recalls & campaign history (4 campaigns) →
Official US Government Data Provenance

The specifications, safety ratings, defect reports, and recall campaigns published on this page are retrieved directly from official United States Government agency databases:

  • NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI): Consumer complaints and defect reports.
  • NHTSA New Car Assessment Program (NCAP): Frontal, side, and rollover 5-Star crash safety test ratings.
  • U.S. EPA / FuelEconomy.gov: Standardized multi-cycle dynamometer fuel economy, MPGe, and electric driving range ratings.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.