2015 KIA SOUL — Complaint #2165936
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about ENGINE filed January 13, 2026
NHTSA complaint #2165936 (ODI reference 11710722) concerns a 2015 KIA SOUL and was filed on January 13, 2026. The owner reports the failure occurred on November 10, 2025. The report was geocoded to South Carolina based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as engine, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. No crash, fire, or fatality was associated with this report, which places it in the early-warning stream rather than the priority-review stream. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same KIA SOUL cohort independently describe similar engine failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2015 KIA SOUL shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
The engine warning light illuminated and the vehicle began to hesitate and lose power while driving, making the vehicle unsafe to operate. The problem involves the engine and powertrain. A Kia dealer inspected the vehicle and found a timing-related engine fault code (P0014). The dealer stated the condition is consistent with the Kia engine bearing failure recall and referenced recall SC200PS, but said this VIN was not included. The vehicle has reduced power and cannot be safely driven. This creates a safety risk because the engine can lose power without warning while the vehicle is in motion. Warning lights were present before and during the failure. The vehicle has not been repaired and is available for inspection.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 2165936 |
| ODI Number | 11710722 |
| Date Filed | January 13, 2026 |
| Failure Date | November 10, 2025 |
| VIN | KNDJP3A5XF7 |
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Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.