2016 Kia Soul engine problems

668 complaints about engine have been filed for the 2016 Kia Soul, which is 57% of all its NHTSA complaints. It is the most reported problem area for this model year.

Complaints: 668 57% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage: 91,000 miles 329 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires: 5 and 31
Injuries and deaths: 4 and 0

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When engine problems show up

Based on 329 complaints that include mileage. 15% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.

View the numbers

Mileage	Complaints
0k to 20k miles	11
20k to 40k miles	12
40k to 60k miles	26
60k to 80k miles	66
80k to 100k miles	79
100k to 120k miles	69
120k to 140k miles	35
140k to 160k miles	24
160k to 180k miles	4
180k to 200k miles	1
200k+ miles	2

What the data shows

Of the 329 engine complaints that report mileage, the median is about 91,000 miles, and 15% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 5 crashes, 31 fires, 4 injuries.

What owners wrote

I purchased this 2016 Kia Soul from a dealership in April, 2024. On [XXX], I was driving on a residential street when I heard an explosion. Smoke poured from the back of the car and from under the hood. I tried to stop, but the brakes failed. I put the car in park, but it would not stop. I finally put the emergency brake on and it stopped. By this time, the car was basically a fireball. I had to get out by stepping through fire. I inhaled smoke from the burning and melting elements of the vehicle.

June 2024 FireInjury

The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling) regarding the heat shield for the catalytic converter, which, was replaced under the recall. The contact stated that the vehicle began to malfunction after the repair. The vehicle would jump and shift into gear roughly while driving at various speeds. The RPM was revving abnormally.

Reported at 99,000 miles, September 2022

Engine problems in other years

Engine problems across all Kia models