NHTSA lists 1 safety recall and 381 owner complaints for the 2020 Kia Soul.
1Safety recalls
381Owner complaints
9Complaints citing a crash
6Complaints citing a fire
Data: NHTSA recall and complaint filesUpdated Sep 28, 2026
Recalled components: engine. Most-described problem: stalling or shutting off while driving (106 complaints, 28%). Most-reported area: engine (238 complaints, 62%; median mileage when it happened: 24,000). Excludes the electric Soul EV.
1 safety recall for the 2020 Kia Soul
Newest first. Summaries are NHTSA's own wording. Open a recall for the fix and the full notice.
0L Nu MPI engines. The piston oil rings may not have been properly heat-treated, which may result in engine damage.
Risk: A damaged engine may stall, increasing the risk of a crash. In addition, oil may leak onto hot exhaust components, increasing the risk of a fire.
The fix and full notice
Fix: Kia will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the engine, free of charge. In addition, Kia will deploy Piston Ring Noise Sensing System (PNSS) software. The recall began June 11, 2021. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC209.
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Soul, and 2021 Seltos vehicles equipped with 2.
NHTSA listing: SOUL. Kia campaign SC209.
Questions about any of these recalls: call NHTSA's Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 (TTY 888-275-9171) or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
What owners report
Owners have filed 381 complaints with NHTSA about the 2020 Soul. Below, they are sorted by the problems owners describe and by the areas NHTSA files them under. NHTSA does not verify complaints.
Problems owners describe
Stalling or shutting off while driving106 · 28%
Median 28,000 miles at failure, from 49 reports with mileage
Check engine light84 · 22%
Median 40,700 miles at failure, from 44 reports with mileage
Engine failure or replacement73 · 19%
Median 51,500 miles at failure, from 26 reports with mileage
Excessive oil consumption48 · 13%
Transmission failure or replacement46 · 12%
Median 9,200 miles at failure, from 33 reports with mileage
Loss of power or limp mode37 · 10%
Median 17,800 miles at failure, from 21 reports with mileage
Won't start17 · 4%
Hesitation or slow acceleration16 · 4%
Counted from the complaint text: a complaint counts once for each problem it describes (how we match them). Some complaints describe none of these.
Areas named in complaints
Engine238 · 62%
Median 24,000 miles at failure, from 86 reports with mileage
Powertrain89 · 23%
Most named: automatic transmission (3) · Median 8,800 miles at failure, from 60 reports with mileage
Electrical system28 · 7%
Steering16 · 4%
Fuel and propulsion system15 · 4%
Speed control14 · 4%
Brakes11 · 3%
Unknown or other52 · 14%
A complaint can name more than one area, so shares add up to more than 100%. Mileage is shown where at least 15 owners reported it.
Kia Soul recalls and complaints by model year
The highlighted bars are the 2020 model year. Newer model years have had less time on the road, so their counts are lower. Counting complaints filed in each model year's first three years, the 2020 Soul drew the most (165).
Owner complaints
2020: 381 complaintsTap or drag across the chart for other years.
Show as a table
Owner complaints by model year, Kia Soul
Model year
Complaints
2016
812
2017
272
2018
218
2019
136
2020
381
2021
233
2022
88
2023
51
2024
29
2025
12
Safety recalls
2020: 1 recallTap or drag across the chart for other years.
Show as a table
Safety recalls by model year, Kia Soul
Model year
Recalls
2016
2
2017
1
2018
1
2019
1
2020
1
2021
2
2022
1
2023
4
2024
0
2025
0
Crash test ratings
NHTSA's 5-Star Safety Ratings for each version it tested. Rollover risk is NHTSA's estimate of the chance of rolling over in a single-vehicle crash.
Tested version
Overall
Frontal
Side
Rollover
Kia Soul SUV FWD
Rollover risk 14.7%
Questions
What are the most common 2020 Soul problems?
In the 381 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2020 Kia Soul, the problems described most are stalling or shutting off while driving (106), the check engine light coming on (84), and engine failure or replacement (73). NHTSA does not verify complaints, and one complaint can describe several problems.
Is the 2020 Kia Soul safe?
In NHTSA crash tests every tested version of the 2020 Kia Soul earns 4 stars overall. The table above lists each tested version.
How do I check if my Soul has an open recall?
Enter the 17-character VIN from your dashboard, door jamb or registration at nhtsa.gov/recalls. The lookup lists unrepaired recalls for that exact vehicle. Safety recall repairs are free at Kia dealers.
Sources and method
NHTSA recalls file (NHTSA datasets), dated Sep 29, 2026; every campaign checked against NHTSA's recalls API.
NHTSA owner complaints file, dated Sep 28, 2026. Counted by complaint number, so a complaint naming three components counts once in the total.
NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings (NCAP).
NHTSA model names covered: SOUL.
Complaint counts are unverified owner reports. They rise with sales volume and time on the road, so compare model years with care. How we build these pages. Spotted an error? Tell us.