10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
11 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
7 / 0
Average Mileage:
92,316 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.

2016 Kia Soul seat belts / air bags problems

seat belts / air bags problem

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2016 Kia Soul Owner Comments

problem #13

May 042024

Soul

  • miles

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

On Saturday morning may 4th, I found the driver side window smashed in and lots of broken glass on street and in my car. I wasn't driving.. it was parked on atreet

- Colorado Springs, CO, USA

problem #12

Jul 142022

Soul

  • miles
Airbag Control Model malfunction discovered during diagnostic test at inspection and confirmed at service center. Must be replaced. Safety compromised as airbag may not deploy in an accident.

- Bethlehem, PA, USA

problem #11

Nov 242020

Soul

  • 35,911 miles
The crash at about 2:30am early Tuesday morning on Nov. 24, 2020, on her way home from her nearby 2nd shift job, my wife's 2016 Kia sol was hit hard on the driver's side by a car being pursued by police. Luckily, and possibly because my wife is short and sits high, she appears uninjured although visibly shaken and very nervous about night driving. My wife had pulled her car over to the right side of the 4+ lane road when she heard sirens. While pulled over with the car running and her foot on the brake, the perpetrator's vehicle crashed into the driver's side and pushed her car several feet further to the right, crumpling the doors and breaking off the left rear wheel and suspension from the impact. The police report showed that the perpetrator's vehicle approached her car from the front left, but the vehicle hit the very short Kia squarely and only in the two driver's side doors with no damage to the front or rear fenders. Clearly not sideswiped where the entire side would have been damaged. Allstate insurance totaled the car and photos from the accident scene and towing yard are attached, as is the police report. No airbags deployed! none of the Kia's airbags deployed. We bought the car new in late 2015 and it has been completely serviced since then at the original Kia dealer. They recently updated the car's computer under a Kia recall. On Dec. 4, 2020, I contacted the Kia consumer assistance center (kaylee C at 949-468-4689) and asked why the airbags failed. After looking at photos I sent her and from the copart lot, she quickly said the car was "sideswiped and not hit hard enough to deploy the airbags". her response was protecting Kia line as any review of the photos shows that he car was hit from the side very hard and not sideswiped. I ask that NHTSA investigate this incident as it's unlikely that only my vehicle has this potentially fatal flaw.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

problem #10

Oct 282020

Soul

  • 120,000 miles

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

On October 28, 2020 I had a box truck slam the brakes in front of me causing me to rear end them going approximately 25/30 mph. The front of my Kia was smashed into the engine and airbags did not deploy. I have sustained major long term injuries due to the airbag not deploying.

- Daytona, FL, USA

problem #9

Jul 212020

Soul

  • 112,000 miles
I was rear ended on the 91freeway in California.I was almost at a complete stop due to traffic.I was hit so hard from the back that I was thrown into vehicle in front of me.my daughter and I were in the car.my car is a total loss.not one single air bag deployed.but by the grace of god we escaped with minor injuries.by that I mean were alive.

- San Bernardino, CA, USA

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problem #8

Mar 072020

Soul

  • 751,000 miles
Front impacted another vehicle at 35-40 mph and air bags did not deploy. This happened 3/7/2020 at 3:45 in port charolette fl. This occurred on route 776 and toledo blade

- Port Charlotte, FL, USA

problem #7

Dec 062019

Soul

  • 32,000 miles

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

Driving to work on freeway going about 15-20mph when all of a sudden I was blind-sided by a Chevy Silverado truck going 50-60mph. The initial impact was my rear passenger side door. Absolutely no airbag went off on that side. The impact knocked me across two lanes of the freeways oncoming traffic where I was hit again on driver's side. The steering wheel bag went off after the 2nd impact. The driver's side curtain airbags did not go off. Is this the car you have a 5-star crash ratings? my car was totaled. I incurred a severe concussion and multiple fractures that requires surgery.

- L.A., CA, USA

problem #6

Nov 192018

Soul

  • 27,000 miles
Daughter was in an accident on a highway driving at approximately 60 mph in her 2016 Kia Soul when she rear ended a Suburban after it was cut off by another vehicle. The front end damage was extensive and her car was totaled and shockingly, the air bags did not deploy.

- Overland Park, KS, USA

problem #5

Jan 302019

Soul

  • 60,000 miles
The contact owned a 2016 Kia Soul. While driving 30 mph, the vehicle skid and crashed. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact sustained neck and back injuries that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot and deemed destroyed. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.

- Gilmanton, NH, USA

problem #4

Feb 222019

Soul

  • miles
My wife hit a car (T boned) the front of the car was totaled. The airbags did not diploid. She went in the hospital. The S belt went in her chest and she has neck and back pain. I reported it to the Kia dealer and never got an answer.

- Titusville, FL, USA

problem #3

Mar 272018

Soul

  • 30,000 miles

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

I was in a car accident a few months ago that involved me leaving the road and that I was completely airborne landing on the other side of the embankment my air bags did not deploy under the force of my car going airborne and landing so hard that my underside of my car was torn up needing almost 6,000 dollars in repairs. Including breaking my oil filter off of the car. I was told that my airbags should have completely deployed. But they did not. I really am scared that if I was in another accident they will not deploy when needed to save my or my families life.

- Acworth, GA, USA

problem #2

Dec 012018

Soul

  • 30,000 miles
On highway in rainy conditions hydroplaned in to concrete barrier wall at about 70 mph first impact on drivers front corner near headlight. Airbags never deployed.

- Morgantown, WV, USA

problem #1

Feb 182017

Soul 4-cyl

  • 2,200 miles
On 2/18/17 my daughter was involved in a front end collision in our 2016 Kia Soul. She struck a stopped Toyota carolla at over 45mph on southbound I-5 in seattle wa. This was a direct front end collision and the airbags in the Kia Soul did not deploy even though the metal bumper bar was completely bent in a "V" shape back beyond the radiator. Kia usa first claimed that this was due to under riding. Sent them daytime photos from the next day when we visited the car to remove personal items and they changed the story to "the air bag sensors are in the connecting pillars so this still would not have triggered the air bags. Kia usa is accepting no fault and it taking no action. Based on my research, this collision should have triggered both front airbags as both front seats were occupied by adults at the time of the collision. My hope is you can use this information and my photos to investigate this situation and resolve it with Kia. From my point of view we experienced a complete failure of one of the cars main safety features, front driver and passenger airbags. I have additional photos and a video that I am willing to share if you would like them. [xxx] [xxx] [xxx] [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Redmond, WA, USA

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