10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
17,450 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2012 Kia Soul:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

problem #6

Sep 272023

Soul

  • miles
Driving down the highway at a speed of 65mph and my car just began to idle and slowed down to reducing speed quickly. I could not give it enough acceleration to pick up speed. I pulled over to shut my engine car off. Turned car back on and my rpms to shift to 2nd gear were low. I had to shift my gears quickly to be able to drive. Since then, my engine light is blinking and I cannot go faster than 50mph

- Fredericksburg, TX, USA

problem #5

Jul 102023

Soul

  • miles
The vehicles steering wheel makes a clunking sound and there is a lot of play in it. It makes noise from left to right and vibrates at higher speeds. I have to drive with both hands gripping the wheel to hold it steady. I drive on the freeway at least once a week to visit my son and grandkids and now to nervous to drive it as it-??s an hour drive. I am a senior and cannot afford to pay out of pocket. I-??ve had my 2012 Kia Soul since 2013. I bought it used with 22,000 miles on it. I now have reached the 100,000 mile mark. I paid $20,000 for this vehicle over time and now I need Kia to step up and pay for this defect. Since it-??s happening in almost all their cars it must be their fault. I don-??t understand why they are not fixing the 2012-??s but all other years are covered. That is a mistake that will kill someone soon and then they will have a lot more problems than they are facing now. They recently offered me a steering wheel lock so that my car can-??t be stolen, that-??s funny cause I don-??t think that it would be worth stealing cause the steering is already compromised. Please get them to step up and take care of all their customers as it-??s their fault. The part is a little rubber star thing that costs $8 but labor is 400 dollars and up. Thank you for listening.

- San Francisco, CA, USA

problem #4

Oct 012012

Soul

  • 5,000 miles
Received a letter from Kia stating to have my steering checked out. I am hearing a popping noise when I turn left in the steering. It pulls to the right when driving the Kia dealership is saying there's nothing wrong. But there's got to be something going on and they keep trying to tell me that there's nothing wrong. Also there's a suspension noise coming from the rear when I go over a great or anyting even a small little dent in the road it sounds like the whole back end of my car is going to fall apart another issue with the brakes when I apply the brakes my lights dim on the inside of my vehicle then when I go the lights will go bright again.

- Vancouver, WA, USA

problem #3

Mar 152013

Soul

  • 68,000 miles
Bought wife brand new 2012 Kia Soul in 2012. Got standard transmission. At around 20K I noticed a squeal coming from the vehicle when the clutch was completely disengaged, by that I mean vehicle running foot completely off clutch. I presumed it was a throw out bearing. Took it to local mechanic and he agreed. So I took it to local Kia dealer. Bought vehicle in denton Texas, but had moved 7 hours South to corpus christi area. When I took it to Kia in corpus I got the run around. Yes of course they could hear it but everything was working mechanically. So I was basically told too bad. Wife really wanted the Soul. And now I have to tell her Kia doesn't care if it makes embarrassing noises while she's driving, just as long as I'm making the payments. Throw out bearings are not supposed to squeak or squeal. That noise is metal on metal friction, the energy it takes to make that noise has to be made by some sort of fuel. In this case it's metal rubbing on metal in a fashion that causes an unbearable amount of pressure until something finally gives prematurely. Wife decided she would do her best to ignore it. And just enjoy her new car. Here we are 2015. Has made that horrible noise all these years. We both despise the vehicle and Kia in general for the lack of ethics. Last month she was driving behind a work truck and the work truck had a major malfunction. Front passenger tire broke off of the truck at the upper and lower ball joints. The assemble flew back and smashed into my wife's car. The guys insurance claimed his responsibility. They had the vehicle at allen samuels for 5 weeks. Picked it up last night. Throw out bearing is unbearably loud and new squeal as well. Body shop said not their problem. Should have replaced it when I first heard it. They replaced whole front right of vehicle, but didn't touch loud new squeal.

- Port Aransas, TX, USA

problem #2

Jul 142015

Soul

  • 29,000 miles
My car was going approximately 50mph when it rear ended a stopped vehicle in the middle of a busy highway. Then my car was rear ended seconds afterwards. My car was scrunched (totaled), both front and back, and the airbags never deployed. Had the airbags deployed, the injuries to the driver would've been much less severe. I have huge concerns and doubts about the safety of this model. I don't think the airbags in this model propertly function.

- Mcminnville, OR, USA

problem #1

Aug 242012

Soul

  • 2,700 miles
Driving South on I65 between gardendale, al and birmingham, al. At approximately 60 mph - clear day, sunny appx 80 degrees at 11:00 am cst. Concrete roadway with expansion joints. Experienced violent gyrations - car literally bouncing off roadway. Slowed to 50 mph and moved vehicle to far left lane - roadway was smoother and car returned to a stable condition. The original lane was rougher. But the car became very unstable to the point of fearing that I would lose control. I was able to resume normal freeway speeds without further incidents. No apparent damage but I will have the suspension checked by the dealer.

- Brownsboro, AL, USA