2016 Kia Soul EV: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 4 recall campaigns for the 2016 Kia Soul EV. The newest campaign is 23V724000. NHTSA received the report on 26 Oct 2023. The NHTSA record gives the component Power Train / Automatic Transmission / Gear Position Indication (Prndl). NHTSA has 7 complaints on file for this model year. 2 NHTSA investigations name this model year.

The NHTSA recall file shows no do-not-drive advisory and no park-outside advisory on these campaigns.

This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.

Remedy of the newest campaign, 23V724000, in the NHTSA record

Dealers will update the electronic control unit software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 21, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC287. This recall expands and replaces recall number 20V-389. Vehicles previously repaired under 20V-389 will need to have the new remedy completed.

NHTSA VIN lookup

Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.
NHTSA publishes these words. Source: NHTSA Datasets and APIs, section Complaints, read on 1 Oct 2026. Complaint file through 30 Sep 2026. Recall file through 30 Sep 2026.

Since the last update

No tracked figure of this page changed in a data update. What the log tracks

All updates to the register

Recall campaigns

4 campaigns, newest first. 355,046 units in total.

23V72400026 Oct 2023Power Train / Automatic Transmission / Gear Position Indication (Prndl)
23V21800029 Mar 2023Electrical System / Propulsion System / Traction Battery
20V3890002 Jul 2020Electrical System / Software
17V60800029 Sep 2017Steering

23V724000Received 26 Oct 2023. 6,262 units.
Power Train / Automatic Transmission / Gear Position Indication (Prndl)
Defect, in the NHTSA record
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.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
Unintended vehicle movement can increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will update the electronic control unit software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 21, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC287. This recall expands and replaces recall number 20V-389. Vehicles previously repaired under 20V-389 will need to have the new remedy completed.
Report filed by Kia America, Inc.. Manufacturer campaign number SC287. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 21 Dec 2023.
23V218000Received 29 Mar 2023. 2,689 units.
Electrical System / Propulsion System / Traction Battery
Defect, in the NHTSA record
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.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
A battery electrical short-circuit increases the risk of a fire.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will update and/or replace the battery management system and software, as necessary, free of charge. The new software will illuminate the EV warning light, limit charging capacity, and reduce vehicle power if abnormal voltage is detected. If this occurs, the battery will be replaced, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 18, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC267.
Report filed by Kia America, Inc.. Manufacturer campaign number SC267. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 18 Aug 2023.
20V389000Received 2 Jul 2020. 3,714 units.
Electrical System / Software
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2015-2016 Kia Soul Electric Vehicle (EV) vehicles. The parking mechanism may become damaged if the driver moves the gear shift lever into Park 'P' before the vehicle comes to a complete stop. If the parking mechanism is damaged, unintended vehicle movement may occur when the gear shift lever is in the Park 'P' position and the parking brake is not applied.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
Unintended vehicle movement can increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Kia will notify owners, and dealers will update the electronic control unit software, free of charge. The recall began August 7, 2020. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC191.
Report filed by Kia Motors America. Manufacturer campaign number SC191. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 7 Aug 2020.
17V608000Received 29 Sep 2017. 342,381 units.
Steering
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2014-2016 Soul and Soul EV vehicles. The pinion plug may allow the pinion gear to separate from the steering gear assembly.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
If the pinion gear separates, steering will be lost, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Kia will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and secure the pinion plug or replace the steering gear assembly, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began November 16, 2017. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC155. Note: This recall supersedes campaigns 14V-332 and 15V-736. Vehicles previously remedied under those numbers are being recalled again under this campaign.
Report filed by Kia Motors America. Manufacturer campaign number SC155. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 16 Nov 2017.

The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.

Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.

Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.

Complaints by component

7 complaints, 8 component mentions.

A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. This model year has fewer than 50 component mentions, so the table shows the number of mentions only.

2016 Kia Soul EV: component mentions in complaints
Component		Mentions
Power Train		3
Unknown or Other		2
Visibility/Wiper		1
Service Brakes		1
Electrical System		1

Complaints that report a crash: 1
Complaints that report a fire: 0
Injuries in the complaints: 0
Deaths in the complaints: 0
Date of the newest complaint: 18 Sep 2023

These figures are the entries of the persons who sent the complaints.

Complaint: A report about a possible safety problem that a person sends to NHTSA. This site shows the number of complaints and not their text.

Complaints about the 2016 Kia Soul EV, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 2017, with 3 complaints.

Investigations

NHTSA investigations that name the 2016 Kia Soul EV
Number	Type	Subject	Component	Opened	Closed	Campaign
RQ23005	Recall query	Vehicle Rollaway	Power Train / Automatic Transmission / Internal / Park Pawl	10 Sep 2023	16 Jan 2024	23V724
DP22005	Defect petition	Pedestrian alert sounds	Electrical System / Propulsion System	27 Jan 2023	7 Aug 2023	22V063000

Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.

Other model years

The number under each year is the number of recall campaigns.

20141
20154
20164
20173
20183
20193

A year without a link has fewer than 2 campaigns and fewer than 25 complaints. It has no page.

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Official channels

NHTSA VIN lookupNHTSA shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle from its VIN or its license plate.
NHTSA: report a safety problemThe NHTSA form for a complaint about a vehicle, a tire, a child seat or equipment.
NHTSA page of the 2016 Kia Soul EVThe recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.

Cite this page

Recall Register. 2016 Kia Soul EV: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/kia/soul-ev/2016/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through 30 Sep 2026.

Sources

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Licence: US government work, public domain
Recall file through: 30 Sep 2026
Complaint file through: 30 Sep 2026
First complaint in the file: 1 Jan 1995
Manufacturer in the recall file: Kia America, Inc.

The NHTSA record is the authority. A complaint count is the number of different complaint numbers for the make, the model and the model year. How the register is made. Report an error.

Questions

How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 2016 Kia Soul EV?: 355,046 units in 4 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the Kia Soul EV have for all model years?: NHTSA lists 5 recall campaigns for the Kia Soul EV, model years 2014 to 2019. 4 of them name the 2016 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 2016 Kia Soul EV name most often?: Power Train: 3 of 8 component mentions.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 2016 Kia Soul EV open?: No. Each of the 2 investigations that name this model year has a closing date in the NHTSA file.