10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
4 / 0
Average Mileage:
24,995 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2013 Kia Soul body / paint problems

body / paint problem

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2013 Kia Soul Owner Comments

problem #10

Jul 072022

Soul

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Paint is bubbling up and peeling off everywhere on my car

- Arlington, TX, USA

problem #9

Jan 012013

Soul

  • miles
I purchased the 2013 Kia Soul used on 5/22/2021 and shortly afterward discovered water leaking into the front passenger side compartment and evidence that the leak was old. I brought the car to Fred Anderson Kia of Raleigh (kiaofraleigh.com) on 6/7/21, 6/25/21, and 7/20/21, and they incorrectly diagnosed the leak as an air conditioner hose. And then, after they replaced the hose, they thought it might be a windshield leak. After the unneeded air conditioner repair, they referred me out for windshield/water leak testing. McConnell Auto Glass (mcconnellautoglass.com) determined that the windshield was not leaking. The leak was coming in from substandard factory welding in the car frame. The car has never had frame repair on that side. My attempts to patch the bad weld joints with JD Weld caused the leak to continue to move across multiple failing car frame welds. The leak has damaged the interior of the car, grown mold, and exposed the electrical components to failure, rust, and fire. I contacted Kia Corporation (800 333 4542) on 1/12/22, 1/20/22, and 1/21/22. They have told me that Fred Anderson Kia will not return their outreach calls, and they would refer my case # 14586235 to the district manager for a callback -- which has not happened. They tell me the DM-??s name and contact information are secret, so I can not call them. Q1: The frame welds. I have covered some of the leaking areas with JD Weld, but the welds are unaltered and could be inspected by removing the JD Weld. I also took several pictures. The leak is still present. Q2: The leak caused interior damage, including mold, and could damage electrical components due to moisture, rust, or fire. Q3: Fred Anderson Kia of Raleigh verified the leak but could not correctly diagnose it. McConnell Auto Glass verified the leak. Q4: Yes, Fred Anderson Kia of Raleigh on 6/7/21, 6/25/21, and 7/20/21 Q5: I noticed the wet carpet shortly after I purchased the car, but there is evidence of long-term damage.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

problem #8

Jan 012013

Soul

  • miles
I purchased the 2013 Kia Soul used on 5/22/2021 and shortly afterward discovered water leaking into the front passenger side compartment and evidence that the leak was old. I brought the car to Fred Anderson Kia of Raleigh (kiaofraleigh.com) on 6/7/21, 6/25/21, and 7/20/21, and they incorrectly diagnosed the leak as an air conditioner hose. And then, after they replaced the hose, they thought it might be a windshield leak. After the unneeded air conditioner repair, they referred me out for windshield/water leak testing. McConnell Auto Glass (mcconnellautoglass.com) determined that the windshield was not leaking. The leak was coming in from substandard factory welding in the car frame. The car has never had frame repair on that side. My attempts to patch the bad weld joints with JD Weld caused the leak to continue to move across multiple failing car frame welds. The leak has damaged the interior of the car, grown mold, and exposed the electrical components to failure, rust, and fire. I contacted Kia Corporation (800 333 4542) on 1/12/22, 1/20/22, and 1/21/22. They have told me that Fred Anderson Kia will not return their outreach calls, and they would refer my case # 14586235 to the district manager for a callback -- which has not happened. They tell me the DM-??s name and contact information are secret, so I can not call them. Q1: The frame welds. I have covered some of the leaking areas with JD Weld, but the welds are unaltered and could be inspected by removing the JD Weld. I also took several pictures. The leak is still present. Q2: The leak caused interior damage, including mold, and could damage electrical components due to moisture, rust, or fire. Q3: Fred Anderson Kia of Raleigh verified the leak but could not correctly diagnose it. McConnell Auto Glass verified the leak. Q4: Yes, Fred Anderson Kia of Raleigh on 6/7/21, 6/25/21 and 7/20/21 Q5: I noticed the wet carpet shortly after I purchased the car, but there is evidence of long-term damage.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

problem #7

Jun 122021

Soul

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Spontaneous paint loss down to the bare metal. Yesterday I noticed a large fist-sized paint loss on top of my car above the drivers side. There is no damage to the area just the paint loss out of nowhere. I also noticed a couple of tiny paint losses somewhat near the large loss, which are about 1/2 the size of a peppercorn. I'm confident they will get larger.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #6

Apr 142015

Soul

  • 30,000 miles
In April of 2015 I drove a half hour of highway driving to an appointment. I parked my car (with the ignition off). Walked into the building and within 1 or 2 minutes my car was engulfed in flames. 911 was called. The fire department came and put out the fire but car was totaled. My insurance co. Hired a forensic specialist to determine the cause of fire for insurance purposes. The specialist was unable to determine the cause of this freak incident. I have pictures but don't know how to include them.

- South Royalton, VT, USA

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problem #5

Aug 212017

Soul

  • 69,129 miles
As my wife was entering eastbound us expressway 83 (interstate 2) just West of Minnesota road (approximate time 5:15 pm) the hood flew open and damaged the windshield and hood. The car was safely pulled over but the hood was so damaged that it had to be removed in order to drive the car home. The car had only been driven approximately 1.5 miles from the house on the frontage road before getting onto the expressway when the incident occurred. Speed was accelerating to highway speeds of 60 mph but not yet at 60 mph. The vehicle was just getting on the overpass after entering the expressway and was traveling in a straight path on the entry lane barely merging into traffic before needing to pull over on the bentsen palm road overpass.. the hood had not been opened for at least 2 weeks when I last filled the windshield washer reservoir. It has been driven on the expressway at highway speeds during the last two weeks on a daily basis. It appears that the hood latch is broken. The latch is too far to the right and doesn't move back into a position to allow the hood to close.

- Palmview, TX, USA

problem #4

May 152015

Soul

  • 18,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Vehicle was traveling North at approximately 50 mph. Driver veered right accidently and went off asphalt surface into ditch. Vehicle rolled end over end twice and landed upright facing South on third rollover. Driver was wearing seat belts. Vehicle was damaged on both sides of front, top was crushed in, right front wheel bent into wheel well, windshield was shattered and caved in. There was damage to both sides of the vehicle and the hood. Driver was injured and transported by ambulance to hospital. The major complaint was that the air bags did not deploy to protect driver. Vehicle engineers from Kia motors national Consumer Affairs inspected the vehicle and stated that air bags were not deployed in a rollover because car was not equipped that way. He reported that the air bags in front would have deployed in a front impact, the side curtain air bags would have deployed in a side impact. The car was considered a total loss and not repairable.

- Harveyville, KS, USA

problem #3

Jan 042014

Soul

  • 2,000 miles
Was making a left hand turn into a parking spot next to car that was already parked, was barely moving when all of a sudden the car takes off hits the curb and hits the wall of a building, air bags deployed. We had been driving that morning with no problem until that time. Front end was totaled with possible damage to the wheels/axles due to the impact with the curb. Couple of days later neck pain probably due to whiplash, glasses were knocked into the back seat - wife just jammed her pinky.

- Skokie, IL, USA

problem #2

Oct 312012

Soul 4-cyl

  • 130,042 miles
Airbag exploded on impact with gaping holes with heavy smoke coming out with hot heat causing redness to my chest and redness to my hands and a blow to my wrist that caused fracture to my left wrist.

- Bloomfield, NJ, USA

problem #1

Jul 162013

Soul 4-cyl

  • 780 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 mph, the driver's side A-pillar trim cover detached unexpectedly. The failure was contributed to the force of the wind. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for the new replacement part. The technician informed the contact that the defect was a common issue. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 780. Updated 09/05/13

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

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