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Electrical systemPart report

2012 Kia Soul Electrical system Problems

Complaints
38about this part
Share
7%of 515 total for the year
Median mileage
68,000miles
Trend
RisingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% higher than in the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 38 complaints about the electrical system of the 2012 Kia Soul, 7% of the 515 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 68,000 miles. 2 of these say a crash was involved and 2 a fire, according to the filers.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“Received a letter from Kia stating to have my steering checked out . I am hearing a popping noise when I turn left in the steering. It pulls to the right when driving the Kia dealership is saying there's nothing wrong. But there's got to be something going on and they keep trying to tell me that there's nothing wrong. …”

NHTSA complaint #11207500, filed 2019-05, 5,000 miles

“My car's heater assembly control has failed and in doing so my car's heater defaulted to cold and face making it impossible to defrost the windshield. Kia wants an astronomical fee to diagnose the problem and even more for the part and installation.”

NHTSA complaint #10785246, filed 2015-10, 88,700 miles

“I just bought my car in april and with registration papers I received recall papers stating 2 recalls for my vehicle I didn't think it was legal to sell vehicle without having it fixed.?? Next I. Take my vehicle to Kia dealer on monday august 3 to fix recalls they.said.no codes show.. I drive home 45 mini away. Car dies. Inext morning.it.dies.again wont start.. I looks under the hood and there.is a.wire buring through my fus box which was not there before and now I have no.power to my vehicle and something isn't right I know that wire wasn't there before.”

NHTSA complaint #11344118, filed 2020-08, 112,000 miles

“Was going down ten, Kia can't determine if my power steering want bout while going down the highway going 55, and then hitting a deer. The body work has been fixed but my vehicle has no power steering. Power steering is not responding - mdps will not communicate with vehicle. Failure in electronic mdps at top of steering column. They checked all connectors, and no physical damage to column itself. Found c1503 -ESC/ecs (esp) error and c1687 - time out vsm2 (mdps) failure. Diagnosis says I need a power steering column and motor assembly. …”

NHTSA complaint #11155899, filed 2018-12, 88,282 miles

“My 2012 Kia SOUL (base) with the 1.6l gdi recently had a problem on I-80 traveling between des moines, ia and denver, co. (there had been no prior symptoms) after reaching around 65 MPH, the engine began misfiring emmiting obd error code 0336 indication a bad crankshaft position sensor. I stopped at the nearest autozone, bought a appropriate replacement, and installed the part in the parking lot. Upon ignition, the car immidiately began misfiring and died. On the second attempt, the car started and misfired; but it sent the same 0336 code then the tachometer died. …”

NHTSA complaint #11187115, filed 2019-03, 207,465 miles

Related service bulletins

Electrical system: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2024930%
20231426%
20221011%
2021156%
2020287%
20191410%
2018209%
2017197%
2016567%
2015758%
20149811%
20137111%
2012387%
20113015%
20102418%

Other parts of the 2012 Kia Soul

Engine
210 complaintsSteering
166 complaintsBrakes
46 complaintsOther or unknown
40 complaintsEngine cooling
32 complaintsFuel system
23 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
21 complaintsBody and structure
18 complaintsAir bags
17 complaintsExterior lighting
10 complaintsVehicle speed control
10 complaintsElectronic stability control
7 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2012 Kia Soul

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 28, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology