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What 802 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Kia Soul EV

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (802)Crash / fire / injury (64)Engine (547)Engine & cooling (104)Fuel system (79)Transmission & drivetrain (64)Electrical system (57)Speed control (31)Steering (30)Brakes (20)Body & structure (18)Lights (18)

3 of 802 complaints match · Transmission & drivetrain · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Sep 13, 2021Transmission & drivetrainElectrical systemEngineFire

On Monday September 6, 2021 at about 11:30 pm, I was driving home east on interstate 90, just east of Roselle rd. near Schaumburg, Illinois. When the car began to violently shake. The dash board lights began to flash and the engine just stopped. We managed to steer the car to the side of the express way, in an attempt to restart the car with no luck. A Illinois Dept. of Transportation road side assistance driver tried to start the car when the car explored into fire, the driver put the fire out and provided us with the number of a toe truck , which we had the car toed to the Schaumburg Kia Dealer, located at 1100 East Golf Road, Schaumburg, IL 60173, phone No. is (847) 908-0502, where the dealer is trying to determine the cause of the fire and the amount of damage, if the car is a total loss or not. My car is a 2016 Kia Soul. At this point I have not heard from the dealer after a week, I have called the dealer several times with no reply at all.

NHTSA ODI 11432731

Jun 3, 2019Transmission & drivetrainSpeed controlEngineFire

ON SUNDAY, MAY 26TH, 2019, OUR KIA SOUL CAUGHT FIRE AS WE WERE DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY. MY FAMILY WAS IN THE CAR WHEN MY HUSBAND FELT THE CAR LOSE POWER. WE HEARD A KNOCKING SOUND BETWEEN US AND UNDER US, FORWARD BETWEEN OUR SEATS AND THE ENGINE. MY HUSBAND SAW SMOKE AS HE PULLED OVER ON THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY. A FEW SECONDS AFTER WE PULLED OVER, WE SAW FLAMES ERUPT FROM THE HOOD OF THE CAR. WE GOT OUR THREE KIDS OUT OF THE CAR AS FAST AS WE COULD AND RAN FROM THE CAR. WE CALLED 911 AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND POLICE CAME TO PUT OUT THE FIRE AND DIRECT TRAFFIC, AS AT LEAST ONE LANE WAS CLOSED. IN THE TIME IT TOOK FOR THE FIRST RESPONDERS TO ARRIVE, OUR CAR EXPLODED INTO A FIRE BALL.

NHTSA ODI 11217487

Sep 13, 2018Transmission & drivetrainCrash

BACKED UP DRIVEWAY TO PARK CAR IN GARAGE. PUT CAR IN "PARK". GOT OUT TO CLEAR PARKING SPACE IN GARAGE. TURNED AROUND TO SEE CAR ROLLING DOWN DRIVEWAY INTO WALL- WHILE IN "PARK".

NHTSA ODI 11129274

Working with the data? Download all 802 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 26, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2016 Kia Soul EV verdict →