The 2017 Kia Soul has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 410,619 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 351 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the engine. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
AIR BAGS22V0310002022-01-25410,619 affected
Defect
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Sedona, Soul, Soul EV, 2017-2018 Forte, and 2017 Forte Koup vehicles. The Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) cover may contact a memory chip on the printed circuit board and damage the electrical circuit. Circuit damage may result in deactivated air bags that will not…
Consequence
Air bags that do not deploy as intended can increase the risk of injury in a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will inspect the ACU, and either update the software or replace the unit, as necessary. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 21, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC226.
Complaints by component
ENGINE
188
1crashes12fires3injuries
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
32
1crashes2fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
18
1crashes3fires
POWER TRAIN
18
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
17
1fires
AIR BAGS
16
11crashes13injuries
SERVICE BRAKES
12
4crashes3injuries
STEERING
9
1crashes
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
8
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
6
Total complaints351
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“The contact owns a 2017 kia soul. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 mph, a loud knocking sound was heard, and the vehicle's speed decreased to approximately 25 mph. The contact was able to safely pull over into a parking lot. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence.…”
“2017 kia soul, at approximately 87,000 miles began to show intermittent oil warning lights under regular g-loads pointing to oil starvation issues.vehicle was taken to kia dealer for oil change. Dealer stated that possible oil consumption would trigger a need to return to dealer before the 1000…”
“2017 kia soul, at approximately 87,000 miles began to show intermittent oil warning lights under regular g-loads pointing to oil starvation issues.vehicle was taken to kia dealer for oil change. Dealer stated that possible oil consumption would trigger a need to return to dealer before the 1000…”
“After multiple recent services at the dealership, the car caught fire while idle in the driveway. The fire was under the hood in the front part of the engine compartment, just behind the latch mechanism. Fire was extinguished and verified by the local fire department. The parking spaces are close…”
“I reported the issue yesterday, but we have additional information. Here is a timeline of the incident as recorded by the doorbell camera: 2026-05-03 085400 car parked 101423 car is already trying to start by itself 101713 car still starting, starter slowing down 101734 starter sounds overheated…”
“I reported the issue yesterday, but we have additional information. Here is a timeline of the incident as recorded by the doorbell camera: 2026-05-03 085400 car parked 101423 car is already trying to start by itself 101713 car still starting, starter slowing down 101734 starter sounds overheated…”
“The contact owns a 2017 kia soul. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the low oil pressure warning light illuminated. The contact added oil to the vehicle; however, the vehicle went into limp mode and failed to exceed 60 mph while driving. The vehicle was taken to the…”
“Driving on busy highway with one passenger. Vehicle began losing power and acceleration, but no warning lights came on. Kept driving for 20 miles and oil warning light came on, but temp vuage registered fine. I parked, checked fluid amounts, and oil was extremely low (even though it had been…”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2017 Kia Soul as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.