Buyer Research

2023 Kia Soul — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $15,000–$20,000. There are 2 high-severity known issues you need to know before handing over a check.

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Kestrel Take

Fifty complaints is a thin record and it is not a reliability rating — but this year carries four recalls, and two of them are fire risks: the 2.0L engine's piston oil rings and an idle-stop oil pump controller that can overheat. Add a side curtain airbag that can go off on its own and a digital gauge cluster that can go dark at speed, and the recall list is the buying checklist. Run the VIN on NHTSA or Kia's lookup before you even drive it; all four should show closed. Then the test drive is about the engine (oil level, any tick or knock, any stall) and about whether the lane-keeping system tugs the wheel toward oncoming traffic, which is the steering cluster in plain English. With the recalls done and a stable oil level, this is a practical, roomy small car at a fair price.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 50 owner complaints for the 2023 Kia Soul, and 4 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. The largest single group is the engine at 28%. That is notable without being overwhelming — worth checking, not worth panicking about.

4 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 2023 Kia Soul

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

Piston oil rings can destroy the 2.0L engine — oil consumption, stall, fire (recall)High — wallet impact

Recall 25V099 covers 2021–2023 Souls and Seltos with the 2.0L Nu engine: the piston oil rings may have been made wrong, so the engine burns oil, scores its bores and can seize or catch fire while driving. Dealers run an engine test, replace the engine if it fails, and load piston-ring noise sensing software that will limit power if it hears knock. The 2023 owners' complaints are exactly that story: a 'turn engine off, shift to P or N' alarm at 45 mph, oil low at 950 miles on a brand-new car, a P0011 timing code and a flashing oil light. Confirm the recall is closed and read the invoice for whether the engine was replaced or only inspected. Then check the oil cold; a low dipstick on a recently serviced car is the tell.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $5,000–$8,000 for an engine paid out of pocket — about 46% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (14); 4 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Idle Stop & Go electric oil pump controller can overheat and start a fire (recall)High — wallet impact

Recall 23V531 covers 2023 Souls and Sportages and 2023–2024 Seltos: the electronic controller for the Idle Stop & Go transmission oil pump may contain damaged components that let the pump overheat, and Kia told owners to park outside and away from buildings until it was fixed. Dealers inspect and replace the controller free. This is a fire recall on a component that runs every time the engine restarts at a stoplight, so it is the first thing to check on the VIN. If the seller has the letter and the dealer invoice, good; if the recall is open, make closing it a condition of the sale.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: 4 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Digital instrument cluster goes blank at speed (recall), and shutdowns with no warning lightMedium

Recall 23V298 covers 2023 Souls with the 4.2-inch LCD gauge cluster: the display can go dark when the car starts or while driving, taking the speedometer, turn signal indicators and every warning light with it. The remedy is a software update. Owners also describe the car shutting down at stoplights or on the road with nothing on the dash, a steering wheel locked at startup, and every driver-assist warning lighting up in sequence with dealers unable to reproduce it. Check the recall on the VIN, then on the drive watch the cluster through a couple of restarts and note whether any warning cascade appears. A car that stalls once on the test drive has told you what you need to know.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $150–$600 to diagnose an intermittent shutdown outside it

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (13); 4 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Lane Following Assist tugs the wheel toward oncoming traffic on two-lane roadsMedium

Eight steering complaints, and most of them are the same sentence: on a two-lane road, just as an oncoming car is about to pass, the steering wheel jerks toward it and the driver has to fight it straight. That is the lane-keeping camera misreading the road edge, not a mechanical steering fault, and it can be switched off with the button on the wheel — but a system that pulls the wrong way is worth knowing about before you rely on it. On the test drive, take a narrow two-lane road with traffic and feel for it; a windshield camera recalibration is the usual fix if it is genuinely wrong rather than merely intrusive. Two of the eight reports ended in a crash.

Repair cost (estimate): $0–$400 for a windshield camera recalibration

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under steering (8), lane departure (7).

Side curtain airbags may deploy on their own (recall)Medium

Recall 23V830 covers 2023 Souls and 2024 Seltos: a manufacturing error means the side curtain airbags can deploy unexpectedly, without a crash. Dealers inspect both curtain modules and replace them as needed, free. This is a look-it-up recall rather than a test-drive one — there is nothing to see or hear at the car — so add it to the VIN check. Of the five airbag complaints on this year, one involved a crash and a fire; the record is too small to say more than that.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under airbags (5); 4 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Any of the four recalls open on the VIN lookup
✗Oil below the add mark on a cold dipstick
✗A 'turn engine off' alarm, a stall or a stumble on the test drive
✗Gauge cluster that flickers or goes dark on restart
✗Steering wheel that tugs on its own when oncoming traffic passes

Good Signs

✓All four recalls shown closed, with the engine recall invoice in hand
✓Recall 25V099 invoice showing a replacement engine rather than a passed inspection
✓Oil at the full mark cold, with receipts on Kia's interval
✓Gauges up and steady through three restarts
✓A steady idle through a long stoplight with the air conditioning on