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2018 Kia Soul

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2018 Kia Soul do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 225.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

80 reports with mileage · 138 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Engine. Review the 140 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 31 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 19 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

14 crash reports14 fire reports10 injury reports

Service Brakes complaints

6 reports
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Mileage unknown · May 20, 2026
Lane DepartureService BrakesUnknown Or Other

The ABS/traction warning lights came on. On April 29,2026, I took it to Beck and Masten Group 1 Kia inTomball, Texas and they diagnosed as HECU failure. The repair cost $2377.16. KIA corporate denied reimbursement. Lights were resolved after HECU replacement. There was no accident/injury/fire. mileage was 60400. I wanted to n…

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The ABS/traction warning lights came on. On April 29,2026, I took it to Beck and Masten Group 1 Kia inTomball, Texas and they diagnosed as HECU failure. The repair cost $2377.16. KIA corporate denied reimbursement. Lights were resolved after HECU replacement. There was no accident/injury/fire. mileage was 60400. I wanted to note and document as a potential safety trend.

NHTSA ODI #11739077

Mileage unknown · Nov 4, 2024
Electrical SystemService Brakes

The brake lights do not work even after they change all of them at the dealership

NHTSA ODI #11623391

Mileage unknown · Sep 2, 2024
Electrical SystemExterior LightingService Brakes

My vehicle recall is to do with electrical issue that not only may have affected the air bag, but the electrical system shorting that’s burning the bulb holders that holds all of the brake and tail lights bulbs on this vehicle. These brand new bulbs consistently burn or short out within 1 to 2 weeks. This expense has grown expe…

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My vehicle recall is to do with electrical issue that not only may have affected the air bag, but the electrical system shorting that’s burning the bulb holders that holds all of the brake and tail lights bulbs on this vehicle. These brand new bulbs consistently burn or short out within 1 to 2 weeks. This expense has grown expeditiously over the years of ownership, and because there is nothing in the information center to warn us, we are constantly due to no fault of our own, unknowingly driving with no brake light. Having to drive regularly on interstate 4, with traffic stopping warning, this is a great safety concern. Brake light are very very essential driving in sudden stopping traffic. Kia should be liable and responsible for correcting this traffic hazard. Thank you notes.

NHTSA ODI #11612062

Mileage unknown · May 14, 2024
Forward Collision AvoidanceService Brakes

a.e.b. ,autonomous braking system has been a defect since the day it was delivered in 2018. the company and the dealership have attempted to fix this problem 13 times in five years, and it keeps coming back. they kept throwing parts at it until the warranty expired on 12/31/2023 and they refuse to fix it again. they will not ext…

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a.e.b. ,autonomous braking system has been a defect since the day it was delivered in 2018. the company and the dealership have attempted to fix this problem 13 times in five years, and it keeps coming back. they kept throwing parts at it until the warranty expired on 12/31/2023 and they refuse to fix it again. they will not extend the warranty or buy it back as requested. the factory tech that the company sent to look at it stated he did not know what was wrong with it back in 2019 but he will start with the forward camera. fast forward to 2/2024 and i paid to have it looked at the dealer and the tech stated on the work order that he did not know what was wrong with it and he would start with the forward camera, same problem five years later. the car is like new with only 37,000 miles on it. not only is it a defect but kia has been commenting fraud by hiding the defect. now i have a car that cannot be fixed and i cannot sell. i have all of the work orders and Communcation with kia. your help in this issue will be appreciated

NHTSA ODI #11588743

11,000 miles · Sep 30, 2019
Power TrainService Brakes

1ST OCCURRENCE - DRIVER ENTERED VEHICLE AND DROVE THE VEHICLE FORWARD DOWN A GRADED DRIVEWAY. AS VEHICLE CAME TO THE ROADWAY, DRIVER APPLIED BRAKES. BRAKES WERE PRESSED TO FLOOR WITH NO RESPONSE FROM THE BRAKE. AFTER THE VEHICLE ROLLED TO A STOP IN THE ROADWAY, DRIVER PUT THE VEHICLE TRANSMISSION INTO REVERSE, AND PRESSED ON …

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1ST OCCURRENCE - DRIVER ENTERED VEHICLE AND DROVE THE VEHICLE FORWARD DOWN A GRADED DRIVEWAY. AS VEHICLE CAME TO THE ROADWAY, DRIVER APPLIED BRAKES. BRAKES WERE PRESSED TO FLOOR WITH NO RESPONSE FROM THE BRAKE. AFTER THE VEHICLE ROLLED TO A STOP IN THE ROADWAY, DRIVER PUT THE VEHICLE TRANSMISSION INTO REVERSE, AND PRESSED ON GAS - VEHICLE MOVED FORWARD - NOT BACKWARDS AS EXPECTED. DRIVER THEN TURNED VEHICLE OFF, AND RE-STARTED VEHICLE. VEHICLE THEN PERFORMED NORMALLY AFTER. SEPTEMBER 15TH, 2019 2ND OCCURRENCE - AFTER DRIVING FOR APPROXIMATELY 3 MINUTES, DRIVER CAME TO A STOP SIGN, CLEARED INTERSECTION, AND ATTEMPTED TO ACCELERATE BY PRESSING ON THE ACCELERATOR...NO RESPONSE...NO CHANGE IN IDLE OF ENGINE. VEHICLE WAS TURNED OFF, IN THE ROADWAY, AND TURNED BACK ON. THE CAR THEN DROVE NORMALLY. SEPTEMBER 28, 2019 2 SEPARATE DRIVERS, BOTH OF WHICH ARE FREQUENT DRIVERS OF THE VEHICLE, REPORTED THE ABOVE ISSUES. VEHICLE IS CURRENTLY AT DEALER FOR ANALYSIS. THEY HAVE CALLED AND STATED THEY CAN FIND NO ISSUES - THEY WILL CONTINUE TO TEST IT. TRANSMISSION (ACCELERATION/CHANGING DIRECTION) AND BRAKING ARE TWO SIGNIFICANT CONCERNS.

NHTSA ODI #11265252

1,200 miles · Jul 24, 2018
Air BagsService BrakesCrash

BRAKES FAILED. WAS PUMPING PEDLE, NO BRAKES WHATSOEVER AND REARENDED DRIVER INFRONT OF ME AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY

NHTSA ODI #11113338

Official recalls

1

22V031000 · Air Bags

Jan 25, 2022

Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Sedona, Soul, Soul EV, 2017-2018 Forte, and 2017 Forte Koup vehicles. The Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) cover may contact a memory chip on the printed circuit board and damage the electrical circuit. Circuit damage may result in deactivated air bags that will not deploy in a crash.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Air bags that do not deploy as intended can increase the risk of injury in a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect the ACU, and either update the software or replace the unit, as necessary. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 21, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC226.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.