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2018 Kia Soul Recalls & Complaints

1

open safety recall on record

Serious

290 owner complaints filed · Severity Index 0.58 · updated 2026-08-07

The recalls

Serious22V031000

Air Bags

Air bags that do not deploy as intended can raises the risk of injury in a crash.

Remedy & full details

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.

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 deploy in a crash.

Complaint volume

290 this model-year 7 median, same year

Volume alone is not a fault rate — popular vehicles attract more reports. Read it next to the severity mix below.

What owners reported happened

19Crashes
20Fires
15Injuries
1Deaths

Across 290 complaints. Severity Index 0.58.

Severity Index weights each complaint's reported outcome (death ×10, injury ×4, fire ×3, crash ×2) and divides by total complaints. It measures how severe reports are, not how often faults occur.

What owners report most

Engine134 · 46%Power Train31 · 11%Unknown Or Other29 · 10%Electrical System17 · 6%Air Bags11 · 4%Fuel/Propulsion System11 · 4%Vehicle Speed Control7Engine And Engine Cooling7
  1. Engine — 134 reports
  2. Power Train — 31 reports
  3. Unknown Or Other — 29 reports
  4. Electrical System — 17 reports
  5. Air Bags — 11 reports
  6. Fuel/Propulsion System — 11 reports
  7. Vehicle Speed Control — 7 reports
  8. Engine And Engine Cooling — 7 reports
  9. Service Brakes — 6 reports
  10. Steering — 5 reports

What to do

  1. Find your 17-character VIN on the driver's door jamb or the base of the windscreen.
  2. Check it against NHTSA's official lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls — the authoritative record for your exact car.
  3. Book the repair with any franchised dealer. Safety recall work is free, with no time limit and regardless of who owns the car now.

Other model years

2010 (3) · 2011 (3) · 2012 (3) · 2013 (3) · 2014 (5) · 2015 (4) · 2016 (2) · 2017 (1) · 2018 · 2019 (1) · 2020 (1) · 2021 (2) · 2022 (1) · 2023 (4) · 2024 · 2025

Numbers in brackets are open recall campaigns for that year.

Questions

Does an open recall mean the car is unsafe to drive?

Not usually. NHTSA issues a "do not drive" or "park outside" advisory when a defect is dangerous enough to keep you out of the car — those are flagged Critical above. Everything else should be repaired promptly but is not an immediate stop-driving order.

Do I pay for recall repairs?

No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to fix a safety recall free of charge, including parts and labour, whether or not you are the original owner.

Why are there complaints but no recalls?

Complaints are unverified reports filed by owners. They can prompt an investigation, but many never become recalls — either the fault isn't safety-related or it isn't widespread.

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