Total Complaints
23 filings
KIA SOUL EV · model year
23 NHTSA complaints, and 3 active recalls for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 2017KIASOUL EV carries 23 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 2 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. For crash performance, NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program gave this cohort an overall Not Rated/5 rating, with Not Rated/5 front crash, Not Rated/5 side crash, and Not Rated/5 rollover scores derived from standardized barrier and dynamic tests.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2017 SOUL EV is electrical system with 11 filings, followed by service brakes (3) and power train (2). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability. This model year has 3 active recall campaigns, which means the manufacturer is obligated to remedy the covered defect at no charge for the life of the vehicle — the full NHTSA campaign numbers are listed below.
NHTSA currently has 1 investigation file overlapping the 2017 SOUL EV. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
Total Complaints
23 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 11 |
| SERVICE BRAKES | 3 |
| POWER TRAIN | 2 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 2 |
| ENGINE | 2 |
| STRUCTURE:BODY | 1 |
| SEATS | 1 |
| VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 |
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:TRACTION BATTERY
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2015-2019 Soul EV vehicles equipped with an E400 battery. The high-voltage battery pack may experience an electrical short-circuit while driving.
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:GEAR POSITION INDICATION (PRNDL)
Kia America, Inc. (KIA) is recalling certain 2015-2019 Soul EV vehicles. The parking mechanism may be damaged, which can result in unintended vehicle movement when the gear shift lever is in the Park 'P' position and the parking brake is not applied while the vehicle is powered on.
AIR BAGS
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
When I apply brake the vehicle doesnât stop it jumps out (as if someone has crashed hitting the rear of the vehicle) and the vehicle shuts down. Then I have to park the vehicle in the middle of the road and restart the vehicle. Luckily I avoided many accidents by defensively driving. Talked with Kia customer care and complained about this safety issue . I took it to near by Kia dealer for the recall and complained on 25 July 2024. 2017 Kia soul + EV Only 30 thousand miles Iâm scared to drive and conserned about the safety of others around me. Please help me
When I apply brake the vehicle doesnât stop it jumps out (as if someone has crashed hitting the rear of the vehicle) and the vehicle shuts down. Then I have to park the vehicle in the middle of the road and restart the vehicle. Luckily I avoided many accidents by defensively driving. Talked with Kia customer care and complained about this safety issue . I took it to near by Kia dealer for the recall and complained on 25 July 2024. 2017 Kia soul + EV Only 30 thousand miles Iâm scared to drive and conserned about the safety of others around me. Please help me
When I apply brake the vehicle doesnât stop it jumps out (as if someone has crashed hitting the rear of the vehicle) and the vehicle shuts down. Then I have to park the vehicle in the middle of the road and restart the vehicle. Luckily I avoided many accidents by defensively driving. Talked with Kia customer care and complained about this safety issue . I took it to near by Kia dealer for the recall and complained on 25 July 2024. 2017 Kia soul + EV Only 30 thousand miles Iâm scared to drive and conserned about the safety of others around me. Please help me
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Soul EV. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal battery voltage warning displayed. The vehicle went into LIMP Mode. The contact stated that the battery failed to charge. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The message to âPull Over Immediatelyâ was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that an update, BMS, and wiring harness needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was towed back to the local dealer, where an unknown diagnosis and repair were performed. The manufacturer was contacted and opened a case. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
Mileage: 50,000
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Soul EV. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal battery voltage warning displayed. The vehicle went into LIMP Mode. The contact stated that the battery failed to charge. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The message to âPull Over Immediatelyâ was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that an update, BMS, and wiring harness needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was towed back to the local dealer, where an unknown diagnosis and repair were performed. The manufacturer was contacted and opened a case. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
Mileage: 50,000
Driving down open road with no vehicles in front or back when suddenly the rear window made a huge bang. It was raining at the time. Once home I took the attached photo. Don't remember turning the defrost on.
Application of the brakes causes complete vehicle shutdown along with message to check electrical system. Brakes appear to fail for a brief moment, then mechanical brakes kick in. Car has zero power until stopped and restarted. Problem is reproducible a high percentage of the time provided the brakes are pressed more than just lightly or briefly. At nearly full charge, this defect can also be triggered by just the engine brake (which is triggered every time your foot is taken off the accelerator). Appears to be an electrical short circuit of some type. Other faults occur upon application of power, shifting engine into low power or turtle mode at any level of battery charge.
Application of the brakes causes complete vehicle shutdown along with message to check electrical system. Brakes appear to fail for a brief moment, then mechanical brakes kick in. Car has zero power until stopped and restarted. Problem is reproducible a high percentage of the time provided the brakes are pressed more than just lightly or briefly. At nearly full charge, this defect can also be triggered by just the engine brake (which is triggered every time your foot is taken off the accelerator). Appears to be an electrical short circuit of some type. Other faults occur upon application of power, shifting engine into low power or turtle mode at any level of battery charge.
The 2017 Kia Soul EV+ vehicle turned off coming down a steep hill (at the bottom of the steep hill is both a school bus stop and and entrance/exit to a condominium community). When the car shut off all power steering and power brakes were lost, making control of the vehicle very difficult and unsafe. The dealer reported finding a code for the battery overcharging but cleared the code and did not offer any explanation. This has happened multiple times including when I was videotaping the dash to document irregular discharge occurring from the battery. Similarly the vehicle will be driving fine (at any speed) and suddenly lose power and only go 20mph (known as limp mode), a very dangerous situation driving at highway speed and then trying to avoid an accident due to sudden vehicle deceleration. This problem started occurring after a Battery Management System patch was applied by the dealer for a Kia Recall related to battery safety (overheating and fire issue) in July 2023. Upon pickup f
This is an update of the below. I have had several email exchanges with Kia Customer Service. They contacted the dealer and report that they could not get a response from their own dealer! They said I could try another dealer if I want. I asked for a recommendation of a dealer that would be responsive and got no further communication. Meanwhile, my car continues to show low charging pattern, which the recall warns is a symptom of a fault. ====================================== Received an "Important Safety Recall" notice from Kia recall number 23v218 in May 2023. This indicates my Kia Soul EV by VIN. The notice warns of a possible short in the main battery that can cause a fire. The notice says Kia is working on a remedy and that another letter will follow when the remedy is ready. No second letter yet, as of 9/13/23. The recall notice states that if in the meantime owner experiences "incomplete high voltage battery charging, loss/fluctuating vehicle EV battery range" to seek assistanc
Received an "Important Safety Recall" notice from Kia recall number 23v218 in May 2023. This indicates my Kia Soul EV by VIN. The notice warns of a possible short in the main battery that can cause a fire. The notice says Kia is working on a remedy and that another letter will follow when the remedy is ready. No second letter yet, as of 9/13/23. The recall notice states that if in the meantime owner experiences "incomplete high voltage battery charging, loss/fluctuating vehicle EV battery range" to seek assistance from nearest authorized Kia dealership. My vehicle experienced rapid decrease in range, down below 60% of the full range over a period of weeks. Most recently charging the vehicle (using two different chargers) causes the circuit breaker at my home to trip, something that has never happened before. I contacted Kia America by phone and email. They said I should take the car to the dealer. At the dealer I describe the problem, show the recall notice. They say they cannot exec
Kia Garden grove is recommending people not get the recall done, and refusing to schedule and service the recall.
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Soul EV. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V218000 (Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated she had replaced the battery for second time. The failure mileage was unavailable.
My 2017 KIA Soul EV battery has not been holding a full charge since the beginning of April. The dealer was notified in early May that the charges were seeming to cut off early & provided with a log of charging/driving. We waited, then were told that a replacement battery would be ordered, installed, & considered under warranty. Diagnostic tests were run, we were advised. We were told that the car was safe to drive, although with about 50% of the mileage available (50-51 miles). The final paperwork (vehicle registr.) copy was filed on May 18. Now we have received a safety recall notice. I am afraid to drive the car, having seen news of what loss of life can happen a fire breaks out while driving! My dealer has not offered me help with an interim rental car to date, although I have requested this several times, specifically yesterday - June 6, 2023. At this writing, I have been told that "the battery is on order, however, no specific info on shipment date or date expected" is available.
Original factory installed driver's side seat heater shorted out, caused fire and burned a hole in the seat back. This thermal event was reported to Kia Customer Service on March 16, 2023. Kia has not responded back for over 2 months, to address this issue. Kia case no. 15394468. Same problem with Kia Soul in Canada resulted in a recall to address the problem. Afraid to use the passenger side seat heater, as another short and fire can occur.
Original factory installed driver's side seat heater shorted out, caused fire and burned a hole in the seat back. This thermal event was reported to Kia Customer Service on March 16, 2023. Kia has not responded back for over 2 months, to address this issue. Kia case no. 15394468. Same problem with Kia Soul in Canada resulted in a recall to address the problem. Afraid to use the passenger side seat heater, as another short and fire can occur.
I first reported an issue with the car rolling while in park back on 8-23-22 (NHTSA complaint #11480710). It has rolled while in park 4 times on 05-21-2022, 8-16-2022, 8-30-2022 and again on today 01-10-2023. I took the car into the Kia Dealership on 09-26-2022 at the instruction of [XXX] from Kia's Corporate U.S. Headquarters. [XXX] coordinated having a Kia engineer fly out to look at my car. Unfortunately, none of the issues were resolved. I reached back out to [XXX] who put me in touch with [XXX] ([XXX] manager) @ [XXX]. I spoke with [XXX] for 15 minutes on 10-31-2022. He agreed to have [XXX] arrange for my car to be looked at again and all issues resolved, however [XXX] has not followed up with me and has not been responding to my emails (please see the attached email transcript). INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
The car rolls with the transmission gear placed in PARK. Kia USA has repeatedly failed to acknowledge the problem or respond to my multiple communications regarding this issue. Kia USA has failed to offer an inspection of the problem. There are no warning lights, messages or other symptoms.
Power failure going high speed decreasing from 45mph. Had disengaged cruise control and attempted to change lanes and prepare to turn at intersection after exiting off highway. Also happened a week prior in town in neighborhood. No cruise control was involved and going low speed under 35mph. Had to shut power off completely to re-start EV. Previously had dealer run diagnostics following first incident. Recall gradual power loss incidents past four months but was uncertain what was cause.
Power failure going high speed decreasing from 45mph. Had disengaged cruise control and attempted to change lanes and prepare to turn at intersection after exiting off highway. Also happened a week prior in town in neighborhood. No cruise control was involved and going low speed under 35mph. Had to shut power off completely to re-start EV. Previously had dealer run diagnostics following first incident. Recall gradual power loss incidents past four months but was uncertain what was cause.
Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.