Vehicle Data Hub

2011 Kia Soul engine problems

28 complaints about engine have been filed for the 2011 Kia Soul, which is 10% of all its NHTSA complaints. It is the 3rd most reported problem area for this model year.

At a glance

Complaints
28 10% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage
107,000 miles 16 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires
1 and 2
Injuries and deaths
1 and 0

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When engine problems show up

Engine complaints by mileage, 2011 Kia Soul Complaints by odometer reading in 20,000-mile steps. The median is about 107,000 miles. 0k to 20k miles: 4 complaints 20k to 40k miles: 1 complaints 40k to 60k miles: 0 complaints 60k to 80k miles: 2 complaints 80k to 100k miles: 0 complaints 100k to 120k miles: 3 complaints 120k to 140k miles: 3 complaints 140k to 160k miles: 1 complaints 160k to 180k miles: 0 complaints 180k to 200k miles: 1 complaints 200k+ miles: 1 complaints 040k80k120k160k200k miles Typical: 107,000 miles
Based on 16 complaints that include mileage. 31% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.
View the numbers
MileageComplaints
0k to 20k miles4
20k to 40k miles1
40k to 60k miles0
60k to 80k miles2
80k to 100k miles0
100k to 120k miles3
120k to 140k miles3
140k to 160k miles1
160k to 180k miles0
180k to 200k miles1
200k+ miles1

What the data shows

Of the 16 engine complaints that report mileage, the median is about 107,000 miles, and 31% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 1 crash, 2 fires, 1 injury.

What owners wrote

Traffic came to an abrupt stop and IV rear ended ov1 which pushed ov1 into ov2 which was pushed into ov3. Vehicle in question (kia soul) was the IV. The IV suffered extreme front-end damage and was totaled. The air bags did not deploy. The officer at the scene and the towing company driver were adamant that the force exterted by the IV and the damage incurred should have deployed the air bags. Driver of the IV suffered injuries from being slammed into the steering wheel (chest) and dash board (knees).

Reported at 16,602 miles, May 2013 CrashInjury

The contact owns a 2011 Kia Soul. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer however, the vehicle had not been repaired. Shortly after the electronic stability control, ABS, and TPMS warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle began to emit an abnormal smoke odor from inside near the engine compartment.

Reported at 120,000 miles, March 2023

Other problems reported for the 2011 Kia Soul

Engine problems in other years

Engine problems across all Kia models