Soul (3rd)

The third-generation Kia Soul carries 679 complaints across six model years, and the reliability story lives almost entirely under the hood. The base 2.0-liter engine draws 650 of those complaints and earns the lowest rating in the data, which reframes the Soul from quirky, affordable runabout to a car whose value depends heavily on which engine sits between the fenders. Ranked fourth in a compact field with a segment median near 30 complaints per year, this Soul sits on the wrong side of average, and the reason is specific rather than diffuse.

The bright spot is the 1.6-liter turbocharged four. Offered only on 2020 through 2022 cars, it generated 16 complaints against the 2.0-liter's 650 and rates as recommended. Buyers who track one down get 201 horsepower and a record that looks nothing like the volume engine's. Outside the powertrain, the Soul's electrical and cooling systems each account for 62 complaints, a modest figure next to the engine total, so the pattern here is concentrated rather than scattered across the whole car.

Engine failures dominate, with 424 complaints tied directly to the engine and cooling components. Two separate recalls, one in 2021 and another in 2025, target piston oil rings that were either improperly heat-treated or incorrectly manufactured, both of which can lead to engine damage. That the same defect surfaced in campaigns four years apart tells you the problem persisted across build years rather than getting cleanly resolved early. Transmission complaints add another 121, and the safety record is sobering for a car this size: 11 fire reports, 30 crash reports, and nine deaths recorded against the generation.

Three more recalls round out the picture. A digital instrument cluster that could go dark, an Idle Stop and Go oil pump controller with damaged electronics, and side curtain airbags on 2023 cars that could deploy without a crash. None of those match the engine recalls for severity, but the airbag campaign is worth confirming as closed on any 2023 car.

The Soul makes sense for a used-market shopper who does the homework: verify the engine, confirm the recall work, and favor the turbo where budget and availability allow. Treated as a blind buy on the least expensive 2.0-liter car on the lot, it carries real risk that the complaint data spells out plainly.