The 2016 Kia Soul Ev has 4 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 355,046 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 8 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the power train. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
POWER TRAIN23V7240002023-10-266,262 affected
Defect
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
Unintended vehicle movement can increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy
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…
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
A battery electrical short-circuit increases the risk of a fire.
Remedy
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…
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…
Consequence
Unintended vehicle movement can increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy
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.
STEERING17V6080002017-09-29342,381 affected
Defect
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
If the pinion gear separates, steering will be lost, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
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…
Complaints by component
POWER TRAIN
3
1crashes
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
2
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V BATTERY
1
SERVICE BRAKES
1
VISIBILITY/WIPER
1
Total complaints8
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“The contact owns a 2016 kia soul ev. The contact stated that on several occasions while the vehicle was on the charging port, the vehicle failed to hold the charge and only displayed an 83 percent charge. Additionally, the contact stated that when the vehicle was fully charged, the energy…”
“Automatic transmission was placed into park after driving. The car indicated it was in park, however the car rolled - it was not in park. Applying the foot brake worked. Applying the parking brake worked, however the gearshift did not engage park properly.”
“Automatic transmission was placed into park after driving. The car indicated it was in park, however the car rolled - it was not in park. Applying the foot brake worked. Applying the parking brake worked, however the gearshift did not engage park properly.”
“The horn and alarm dont work even when I set the alarm theres no beep just flashes and ive press the horn multiple times and it doesn't make a sound this occur during driving and after while I was stationary just to check”
“Backed up driveway to park car in garage. Put car in "park". Got out to clear parking space in garage. Turned around to see car rolling down driveway into wall- while in "park".”
“Sunroof collapsed while driving to school in the morning without any significant change of temperature.”
“After putting the car in park and turning it off, the car started rolling. I stopped the car, turn it on, put it in drive, then turned it back off. It rolled again (in a relatively flat parking structure.) I normally set the parking break so I'm not sure when this may have started.”
“Charging port can automatically lock the charging connector, making it impossible to remove without damage occurring, if not done correctly. Of course, this only occurs with the vehicle stationary at a charging station. (I understand this is not unusual on electric cars because it is supposed to…”
Defect investigations
InvestigationDP22005 Opened 2023-01-27 · closed 2023-08-07
Pedestrian alert sounds
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for…
InvestigationRQ23005 Opened 2023-09-10 · closed 2024-01-16
Vehicle Rollaway
On July 2, 2020, Kia America Inc. (Kia) filed safety recall 20V-389 for model year (MY) 2015-2016 Kia Soul EV vehicles. This recall was in response to allegations of unintended vehicle movement while in Park and provided updated electronic control unit software for the electronic parking brake logic as the remedy.…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2016 Kia Soul Ev as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.