2010 KIA Soul Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other Soul years
- Fewer complaints than other years 12th of 16 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 3 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- Not rated
Owners have filed 135 complaints with NHTSA about the 2010 KIA Soul. That ranks 12th out of 16 Soul model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is electrical system (24 complaints, 18%), typically at around 64,000 miles. Complaints mention 23 crashes, 15 fires, 19 injuries. There are 3 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 3 defect investigations involving it.
- 135owner complaints
- 3safety recalls
- 3NHTSA investigations
- 23complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 2010 KIA Soul problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical System | 24 | 18% | 64,000 | — | — |
| Air Bags | 21 | 16% | 39,000 | — | — |
| Structure | 21 | 16% | 3,000 | — | — |
| Steering | 12 | 9% | 4,050 | — | — |
| Power Train | 11 | 8% | 36,000 | — | — |
| Service Brakes | 11 | 8% | 77,000 | — | — |
| Unknown or Other | 11 | 8% | 81,250 | — | — |
| Visibility | 10 | 7% | 3,500 | — | — |
| Engine | 9 | 7% | 65,000 | — | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 9 | 7% | 47,000 | — | — |
| Tires | 6 | 4% | 30,000 | — | — |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 5 | 4% | 13,248 | — | — |
| Wheels | 5 | 4% | 63,000 | — | — |
| Interior Lighting | 4 | 3% | 550 | — | — |
| Seat Belts | 4 | 3% | 31,100 | — | — |
| Suspension | 4 | 3% | 87,761 | — | — |
| Visibility/wiper | 4 | 3% | 41,000 | — | — |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 3 | 2% | 53,000 | — | — |
| Exterior Lighting | 3 | 2% | 106,296 | — | — |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 3 | 2% | 15,500 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 3 | 2% | 6,500 | — | — |
| Equipment | 2 | 1% | 31,000 | — | — |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 2 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Latches/locks/linkages | 2 | 1% | 100 | — | — |
| Traction Control System | 2 | 1% | 500 | — | — |
| Parking Brake | 1 | 1% | 21,300 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Electric | 1 | 1% | 1,902 | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
2010 KIA Soul recalls (3)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Structure:body:roof and pillars
Problem: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain model year 2010-2013 Kia Soul vehicles manufactured January 8, 2009, to October 2, 2013, equipped with a sun roof. A headliner plate may detach during deployment of the curtain air bag.
Risk: A detached headliner plate may increase the risk of injury to the occupant during a vehicle crash.
Fix: Kia will notify owners, and dealers will install industrial adhesive strips to secure the headliner plates, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin February 2, 2015. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC112.
Exterior lighting:brake lights:switch
Problem: Kia Motors Corporation (Kia) is recalling certain model year 2007-2010 Rondo, model year 2007-2011 Sedona, Sorento and Sportage, model year 2010-2011 Soul, model year 2008-2011 Optima, model year 2010 Forte, model year 2007-2009 Amanti, and model year 2009 Borrego vehicles. Originally, in April 2013, Kia recalled 623,658 model year 2007-2010 Rondo and Sportage, model year 2007-2011 Sorento, model year 2007 Sedona, model year 2010-2011 Soul, and model year 2011 Optima vehicles. In September 2013, Kia informed the agency that it was adding an additional 356,719 vehicles to this campaign. The total number of vehicles being recalled is now 980,377. In the affected vehicles, the stop lamp switch may malfunction. A malfunctioning stop lamp switch may cause the brake lights to not illuminate when the brake pedal is depressed or may cause an inability to deactivate the cruise control by depressing the brake pedal. Additionally, a malfunctioning stop lamp switch may also result in intermittent operation of the push-button start feature, affect the operation of the brake-transmission shift interlock feature preventing the shifter from being moved out of the PARK position and cause the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) malfunction light to illuminate.
Risk: Failure to illuminate the stop lamps during braking or inability to disengage the cruise control could increase the risk of a crash. Additionally, when the ignition is in the 'ON' position, the transmission shifter may be able to be moved out of PARK without first applying the brake. This may lead to unintentional movement of the car which may increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Kia will send an interim notification to owners in May 2013. When parts are available, owners will receive a second notification and dealers will replace the stop lamp switch, free of charge. Owners may contact Kia at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's recall campaign number is SC098.
Electrical system:wiring
Problem: Kia is recalling certain model year 2010 soul and model year 2011 sorento vehicles manufactured from september 7, 2009 through july 30, 2010. A limited number of wiring harnesses supplied by jci and used for the lighting in the kia soul vehicle's advanced lighting speakers, located in the front door trim panels, and the kia sorento vehicle's interior accent illumination, located in the front and rear door trim panels, may have been improperly soldered.
Risk: When the lights are illuminated under certain conditions, an electrical short may occur that can result in a fire.
Fix: Dealers will replace the wiring harnesses for the lights in the kia soul vehicle's advanced lighting speakers, and the wiring harness for the kia sorento vehicle's interior accent illumination. This service will be performed free of charge. The safety recall began on september 13, 2010. Owners may contact kia consumer assistance center at 1-800-333-4542.
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
NHTSA defect investigations
- Non-crash Vehicle Fires (PE19004) — opened Mar 29, 2019, closed Dec 22, 2021, led to recall 20V088000.
- Non-crash Vehicle Fires (DP18003) — opened Aug 21, 2018, closed May 10, 2019, led to recall 18V907000.
- Steering Shaft Separation (PE10030) — opened Aug 12, 2010, closed Dec 14, 2010.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
The air bags did not deploy and the seat belt didn't lock and at the moment it is available to be inspected. My seat belt didn't lock so it is probably why my back fractured. I don't know if the problem has ever been reproduced or confirmed. To my knowledge no one has inspected the car. There was…
See attached document for complaint.
Gas tank mounting are rusting and are not the correctly plated
Hello, I would like to report that someone attempted to steal my 2010 Kia Soul. The incident occurred on [XXX], in San Jose, CA 95111. As a result of the attempted theft, there is damage to the carâs steering wheel and ignition. Please let me know if additional information or documentation is…
Scanner can not communicate with the ecm/tcm U0101 code shifting issues starting issues
Other KIA Soul years
| Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 Soul | 12 | 0 |
| 2024 Soul | 30 | 0 |
| 2023 Soul | 54 | 4 |
| 2022 Soul | 94 | 1 |
| 2021 Soul | 238 | 2 |
| 2020 Soul | 386 | 1 |
| 2019 Soul | 136 | 1 |
| 2018 Soul | 219 | 1 |
| 2017 Soul | 272 | 1 |
| 2016 Soul | 816 | 2 |
| 2015 Soul | 901 | 4 |
| 2014 Soul | 902 | 5 |
| 2013 Soul | 666 | 3 |
| 2012 Soul | 514 | 3 |
| 2011 Soul | 194 | 3 |
| 2010 | 135 | 3 |
See all KIA Soul problems by year, every KIA model, or the KIA VIN decoder.
Similar KIA models
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Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 2010 KIA Soul?
Owners most often report electrical system, air bags, structure problems. The top one, electrical system, accounts for 24 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 2010 KIA Soul?
Yes, 3 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 2010 KIA Soul a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other Soul model years, the 2010 has fewer complaints than most years. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.