Buyer Research

2021 Kia Soul — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $13,500–$18,500. 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

Kia has now recalled the 2021 Soul's 2.0 engine twice for the same part — piston oil rings made wrong — and 77% of its 232 complaints are that engine burning oil, running rough, and stalling. 163 of those complaints were filed in 2025 and 2026, after the second recall letter went out, and a lot of them are owners whose car passed an inspection and then failed anyway, or sat at a dealer for months waiting for an engine to be approved. That is the whole purchase: not whether the recall shows closed, but what the repair order says was actually done, and whether the dipstick has moved since. The IVT transmission has its own small cluster of replacements at low miles. Get the recall paperwork, a full and clean dipstick, a scan with no P1326 or P1327, and a cold drive where the RPM holds steady, and this is a roomy, efficient hatch with most of Kia's 10-year powertrain warranty still on it for the original owner — ask what transfers. Without that paperwork, the price is not the discount it looks like.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 232 owner complaints for the 2021 Kia Soul, and 2 recall campaigns.

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. 77% 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.

2 recall campaigns cover 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 2021 Kia Soul

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

Piston oil rings made wrong — oil consumption, stall, engine fire risk, engine replacement (two recalls)High — wallet impact

Two campaigns for one part. Recall 21V259 covers 2020–2021 Souls with the 2.0L Nu MPI: the oil rings were not properly heat-treated. Recall 25V099 covers 2021–2023 Souls for rings manufactured incorrectly. The failure is the same — scored cylinders, oil burned or dripped onto the exhaust, a knock, a stall, and in the worst case a fire. The remedy for both is an inspection, an engine replacement if it fails, and a piston-ring noise sensing software update that turns on the check-engine light and cuts power when it hears the knock (codes P1326 and P1327). The record is full of the gap between the two: a car that passed the first inspection and is now using two quarts in under 1,000 miles; a dealership that did not perform the 2025 campaign during a visit and then declined coverage when the engine failed; cars failing the vibration test and waiting months for an engine. Ask for both repair orders and read them. 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 50% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (179), the fuel system (11); 2 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

IVT transmission replaced at 1,000 miles, RPM bouncing, engine and gearbox failing togetherHigh — wallet impact

Twenty-six power train complaints, and they come in two kinds. One is the engine again: stalls at 80 mph with the check-engine light, a humming noise at 70,000 miles before the light started blinking, a car that lost power at 50 mph and was diagnosed with a failed engine and a failed transmission at once. The other is the IVT continuously-variable transmission on its own — one replaced within a month and 1,000 miles of purchase, then the RPM needle bouncing two years later; another replaced along with the steering rack for a clunk. Kia's powertrain warranty covered most of these for the original owner; for a second owner it is shorter, so ask a Kia dealer what this VIN still carries before you rely on it. Drive from cold, hold 45 mph up a grade and watch the tachometer, then make three hard pulls from a stop and feel for a shudder.

Repair cost (estimate): $300–$600 for a fluid service and software update; $4,000–$7,000 for a replacement IVT — about 44% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the transmission and drivetrain (26).

Auto stop-start stalls at red lights; headlights, wipers and dash go dark together; theft attemptsMedium

Fifteen electrical complaints with three separate stories. The stop-start system shuts the engine off at a light and does not bring it back when the brake is released, with every warning light on — on this car, switch the system off with the button and see whether the stalling stops, and have the battery load-tested, because stop-start wears batteries fast. One certified pre-owned car lost its headlights, wipers, dash and infotainment display at once on a rainy day within 24 hours of purchase. And thieves broke a window and tore apart the steering column and ignition on one, which is worth knowing on a car without a strong immobilizer reputation — ask the dealer whether Kia's anti-theft software update has been loaded. A P1C28 code stored in the transmission module also appears; have any scan include the powertrain module, not just the engine.

Repair cost (estimate): $200–$400 for a battery; $150–$600 for a body control module or switch

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (15).

Six crashes in ten brake complaints, and a steering clunk that cost a rackMedium

Ten brake complaints, six of them crashes, is a high ratio for a small cluster even though it is too small to call a defect, and there is no brake recall on this year. Nine steering complaints sit beside it, one of which ended in a dealer replacing the rack and pinion for a clunk from the wheel. We cannot tell from the record whether the brake reports are pedal failures or stopping distance, so test both things: one hard stop from 40 mph on an empty road, feeling for the ABS pulse and a car that stops square; and, engine running at a standstill, rock the wheel an inch each way and feel for a knock. Anything you feel is a negotiating point and a question for the dealer, not a reason to skip the engine checks.

Repair cost (estimate): $150–$400 for a wheel speed sensor; $800–$1,600 for a steering rack

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the brakes (10), steering (9).

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Recall 25V099 open on the VIN lookup, or shown closed as an inspection with the dipstick now low
✗Knock, tick or hum at idle with the hood open
✗Two quarts of oil in the hatch, or a seller who mentions topping up between changes
✗Tachometer wandering while holding a steady speed up a grade
✗Engine that dies at a light with the stop-start engaged and does not restart on the throttle

Good Signs

✓Recall 25V099 repair order showing a replacement engine, with the install date and mileage
✓Kia dealer confirming in writing what engine and IVT warranty transfers to a second owner 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 three smooth pulls from a stop on a cold drive
✓A clean scan of the engine and transmission modules with the engine warm