Buyer Research

2020 Kia Soul — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $12,000–$17,000. There are 2 high-severity known issues you need to know before handing over a check.

Deciding between model years? Compare the 15 Kia Soul years we've written up →

Kestrel Take

First year of the third-generation Soul, and the record is two problems with numbers attached: 65% of 375 complaints are the 2.0 engine, whose piston oil rings were not heat-treated properly and which Kia will inspect and replace under recall; 24% are the new IVT continuously-variable transmission, which owners report locking up at 10,000 miles, refusing to shift, and sending the tachometer swinging on the interstate. The engine has a recall and a knock-detection software update behind it; the transmission has neither, only Kia's warranty. So the checklist is specific: the recall inspection on the VIN with the outcome written down, a dipstick that has not moved between changes, a scan clean of P1326 and P1327, and a cold test drive where the IVT holds a steady RPM under load. A car that passes all four is a good, spacious, cheap-to-run hatch and worth the money. One that fails any of them is not, whatever the seller says the dealer told them.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 375 owner complaints for the 2020 Kia Soul, and 1 recall campaign.

A big number here usually means a lot of these were sold, not that it is a bad vehicle — popular models collect more complaints for the same rate of trouble. So the total on its own says little. What is worth reading is the shape of it. 65% of them are about one thing — the engine. That much concentration is a genuine pattern rather than background noise, and it is the first thing to check on any example you look at.

One recall campaign covers this model year. Recalls are repaired free, for any owner, with no time limit on most safety campaigns — but only if someone books it in. Ask the seller to show it was done, or have any dealer check the VIN; it takes them a couple of minutes and costs nothing.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2020 Kia Soul

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

Piston oil rings not properly heat-treated — oil consumption, knocking, stall, engine replacement (recall)High — wallet impact

Recall 21V259 covers 2020–2021 Souls with the 2.0L Nu MPI engine: the piston oil rings may not have been heat-treated correctly, and the result is scored cylinders, oil burned or leaked onto the exhaust, a knock, and an engine that stalls — six fires in this year's file. Dealers inspect the engine, replace it if it fails, and load a piston-ring noise sensing update that lights the check-engine lamp and limits power when it hears the knock (codes P1326 or P1327). Owners describe the frustrating middle: an inspection at 2,100 miles that 'passed' on a car now burning oil and showing blow-by; a recall signed off with no repair; a car that stalled at 70 mph and was returned repeatedly with a new battery and plugs. Others got a replacement engine and then had stalling and a P0420 afterwards. Ask for the recall repair order, not just the VIN result, and read what was done. Then pull the dipstick, listen at idle with the hood up, and scan for P1326, P1327 and P0420.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $4,500–$8,000 for an engine outside coverage — around 55% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (244); 1 NHTSA recall campaign on this model year.

IVT continuously-variable transmission locks up, refuses to shift, or sends the RPM swingingHigh — wallet impact

89 complaints, a quarter of the record, on a transmission that was new to the Soul this year. Owners describe the tachometer fluctuating wildly on the interstate with power fading whether on the throttle or cruise control, a transmission that would not come out of fifth ratio at a light and refused manual mode, and one car on its second complete transmission at 10,500 miles after the first locked up in a busy intersection. Some of what is filed here is the engine above dying under the gearbox, but the lock-ups and no-shifts are the IVT itself. Kia's factory warranty covers it on a car with the miles to still qualify — check the in-service date and mileage before you assume. Drive from cold, hold 45 mph up a grade and watch the tachometer stay put; then pull away hard from a stop three times and feel for a shudder or a bang.

Repair cost (estimate): $300–$600 for a fluid service and software update; $4,000–$7,000 for a replacement IVT — about 48% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the transmission and drivetrain (89).

Engine dies at a light with the auto stop-start, will not restart, or cranks without firingMedium

Twenty-eight electrical complaints, most of them the engine again from a different angle: the idle stop-and-go feature shutting the engine off at a red light and not bringing it back when the foot moves to the throttle; an engine at 115,000 miles that would start for a few seconds and die; a replacement engine that cranks freely but will not fire even with new camshaft and crankshaft sensors, with a dealer wanting $1,400 up front to look. One owner reports a rigid brake pedal while reversing. On this car the stop-start is the first suspect: switch it off with the button and see if the stalling stops. Have the battery load-tested — stop-start systems are hard on it — and start the car a dozen times over the visit, hot and cold.

Repair cost (estimate): $200–$400 for a battery; $150–$500 for a crankshaft or camshaft sensor

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (28).

Loss of power and hesitation on the throttle — the engine and transmission story from the fuel sideMedium

Sixteen fuel system and thirteen speed control complaints, one fire and two crashes between them, and most read as the same event: the car losing power on the highway or hesitating when the pedal is pressed, with or without a warning light. On a 2020 Soul that is usually the ring-failure engine or the IVT rather than the fuel pump, but a clogged catalytic converter from burned oil will do it too — a P0420 with a car that will not pull past 40 mph is the converter. It is one more reason to insist on a scan with the engine warm and a highway merge on the test drive rather than a lap of the block.

Repair cost (estimate): $1,200–$2,200 for a catalytic converter

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the fuel system (16), throttle and cruise control (13).

Steering clicks and pulls, and a brake pedal that went hardLow

Sixteen steering and eleven brake complaints, with one crash and one fire in the brake cluster. Nothing here is big enough to call a defect, and there is no recall on either; what buyers can do is check. Rock the wheel an inch each way at a standstill with the engine running and feel for a click, then on the road let go briefly at 40 mph on a flat, empty stretch and see if it tracks straight. Brake hard once from 40 mph and feel for a pedal that stays firm and a car that stops square. Note anything you feel and price it, but do not let it distract from the engine and transmission, which are where the money is on this car.

Repair cost (estimate): $150–$450 for a steering coupler or an alignment; $200–$500 for pads and rotors

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under steering (16), the brakes (11).

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Recall 21V259 shown as an inspection only, with a dipstick now below the low mark
✗Knock or tick at idle with the hood open, or blue smoke on a hard pull
✗Tachometer that wanders holding a steady speed up a grade
✗Shudder or bang pulling away hard from a stop, especially cold
✗Any P1326, P1327 or P0420 in the scan history

Good Signs

✓Recall 21V259 repair order showing a replacement engine, with the install mileage
✓Kia dealer confirming in writing what engine and IVT warranty remains on this VIN
✓Oil at the full mark and clean, with dated change receipts every 3,000–5,000 miles
✓A steady RPM holding 45 mph up a grade and smooth pulls from a stop on a cold drive
✓A clean scan with the engine warm and a dozen consistent starts, hot and cold, over the visit