VehicleVerdict

2012 Kia Soul steering problems

The 2012 Kia Soul has 166 steering complaints filed with NHTSA — 25% of the year's total, and up sharply from the prior model year.

166

Steering complaints

25%

Share of year

3

Crash-involved

0

Related recalls

Steering complaints by year

Soul steering complaints by model year166 complaints2010: 12 complaints2011: 4 complaints2012: 166 complaints2013: 149 complaints2014: 55 complaints2015: 44 complaints2016: 30 complaints2017: 10 complaints2018: 5 complaints2019: 5 complaints2020: 16 complaints2021: 9 complaints2022: 2 complaints2023: 8 complaints2024: 1 complaints
Soul steering complaints by model year. Red bars are years to avoid.

What owners report

“I BOUGHT A BRAND NEW KIA SOUL IN NOV OF 2011. WITHIN 200 MILES OF OWNERSHIP, THE ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL MALFUNCTION AND FALSELY ACTIVATED. THE ESC NOT ONLY FALSELY ACTIVATED BUT REMAINED ACTIVATED. THE STEERING WHEEL WAS LOCKED UP AND COULD ONLY BE TURNED IF CONSIDERABLE FORCE WAS APPLIED TO…”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Steering · March 6, 2012 · crash

Common questions

How many steering complaints does the 2012 Kia Soul have?

NHTSA has 166 complaints about the 2012 Kia Soul steering — 25% of all complaints filed for that model year.

Related

Based on NHTSA ODI data through June 2026. Complaints are consumer-reported and unverified. Updated July 5, 2026.

Compiled by Sharon Ben-Moshe, Founder.