Common problems

Kia Soul common problems

What MOT testers find on the Kia Soul: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 97,370 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 13 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=10,336)16.3

All cars at 13 years (n=6,612,160)17.0

Brakes advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=10,336)33.9

All cars, same age (n=6,612,160)25.0

What stands out

Steering fails show up on 15.8 of every 100 MOTs of a Kia Soul at 13 years old (n=10,336), against 2.9 for all cars of that age (n=6,612,160).
Suspension fails are less common: 12.0 per 100 MOTs against 14.9 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 13 years: steering track rod end: ball joint play, on 13.6 per 100 MOTs (all cars 1.9).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 17.5 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 13 years

How many of every 100 MOTs found a fail, or an advisory or minor defect, in each area. A test with faults in two areas counts in both.

Kia Soul at 13 years (n=10,336) against all cars at 13 years (n=6,612,160). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Lights and electrics	16.3	17.0	11.3	10.8
Steering	15.8	2.9	11.7	3.5
Brakes	12.1	9.1	33.9	25.0
Suspension	12.0	14.9	19.5	27.9
Tyres	7.7	7.3	28.4	28.1
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	6.3	5.6	5.4	4.7
Body and structure	3.1	5.0	4.0	8.0
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	2.5	4.3	7.4	8.2
Seat belts and airbags	0.5	1.2	0.6	0.7
Number plates and VIN	0.4	0.4	2.1	3.4
Road wheels	0.4	0.5	0.9	1.3

What testers fail most on the Soul at 13 years

Fail items on the Kia Soul at 13 years (n=10,336), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=6,612,160).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Steering track rod end: ball joint play	Steering	13.6	1.9	£54 to £128 per side (rough guide)
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	6.8	4.8	£10 to £47 per lamp
Suspension ball joint worn	Suspension	3.3	2.5	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	2.9	2.1	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	2.9	3.0	£88 to £145 per tyre
Handbrake too weak	Brakes	2.7	1.7
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.7	2.1	£15 to £30 per blade
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.4	2.0	£2 to £14 per car (rough guide)
Anti-roll bar link worn	Suspension	2.2	1.3	£33 to £102 per link (rough guide)
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded	Brakes	2.2	0.9	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 13 years

Advisories and minor defects are recorded, but the car still passes. Across all cars, a part with an advisory or minor defect failed at the next MOT 5.5 times in 100 (n=88,666,940 pairs of consecutive MOTs), against 0.3 times in 100 when the same part had none (n=12,936,860,350).

Advisories and minor defects on the Kia Soul at 13 years (n=10,336), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=6,612,160).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	17.5	18.2	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	13.7	10.6	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	Brakes	12.9	5.1	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	10.6	9.1	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	8.9	7.3	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Track rod end: ball joint has slight play	Steering	8.8	1.6	£54 to £128 per side (rough guide)
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	6.5	7.2
Coil spring: corroded	Suspension	6.2	5.6
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources	Lights and electrics	6.1	5.2
Windscreen: damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	3.9	2.9

Repair estimates are a guide for an independent garage: labour at the national median local garage rate (median £78 an hour from 65 garages, ONS price quotes) times estimated labour hours, plus a parts band. Labour hours and most parts bands are estimates, not quotes, and prices vary by model, engine and region. A warning light fault shows the cost of the diagnosis only.

How problems change with age

Fails per 100 MOTs in the three most common areas at 13 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Lights and electrics	Steering	Brakes
3 years	3,262	1.4	0.3	0.6
4 years	4,332	2.1	0.5	1.2
5 years	4,927	2.4	0.4	2.5
6 years	6,235	3.0	0.4	3.9
7 years	8,435	3.1	0.4	5.5
8 years	9,162	3.7	0.7	7.1
9 years	8,731	5.5	2.6	8.4
10 years	8,163	7.8	5.8	9.7
11 years	9,085	11.1	11.4	9.7
12 years	9,527	14.2	15.3	10.5
13 years	10,336	16.3	15.8	12.1
14 years	8,401	17.4	15.9	13.0
15 years	4,852	18.4	16.2	13.9
16 years	1,922	19.8	15.9	14.5

Mileage

At 13 years, Kia Soul cars showing 30,000 to 60,000 miles failed 32.2% of MOTs (n=1,694); the band that failed most, 120,000 to 150,000 miles, failed 50.3% (n=1,183). For pass and fail rates by age, see Kia Soul MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Kia Soul, testers most often record steering track rod end: ball joint play; side/position light not working; suspension ball joint worn. Look at these first, then the areas below.

Lights and electrics

With someone outside, try every light: dipped and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and number plate lamps.
Check that the warning lights come on with the ignition and go out once the engine runs.
Look for misted, cracked or yellowed headlamp lenses.

Steering

The steering should feel tight with no clunks when you turn from lock to lock.
On a straight road the car should hold its line without constant correction.
Look for split rubber gaiters on the steering rack and track rod ends.

Brakes

On the test drive the car should stop in a straight line without pulling, juddering or grinding.
Look at the discs through the wheels for a deep lip, heavy rust or scoring.
Check that the handbrake or electronic parking brake holds the car on a slope.
Ask when the pads, discs and brake fluid were last changed, and for the receipts.

Ask for the car's MOT history and service record: advisories that repeat from one year to the next show what has been left. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the most common problems on the Kia Soul?

At 13 years, the age with the most MOT tests (10,336), the fail items testers record most often on the Kia Soul are steering track rod end: ball joint play (13.6 per 100 MOTs), side/position light not working (6.8 per 100 MOTs), suspension ball joint worn (3.3 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (17.5) and brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (13.7).

Which parts of the Kia Soul fail more often than on other cars?

At 13 years: steering (15.8 per 100 MOTs against 2.9 for all cars); brakes (12.1 per 100 MOTs against 9.1 for all cars). Compared with 6,612,160 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Kia Soul problems by area

Other Kia models

All Kia models · Common problems by make

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

The all cars figures cover all class 4 vehicles (cars and light vans) tested at the same age.

Looking at a Kia Soul?

These figures describe the model, not the car in front of you. Found one you might buy? See what the VetTheCar Buying Report covers, or use the tools that work without a registration.

See a sample report Car tools · MOT fail rates by model · Compare models by MOT record

Repair estimates: ONS consumer price quotes for local garage labour (09/2025 to 08/2026), the MOT inspection manual for defect wording, and estimated labour hours and parts bands. Not affiliated with or endorsed by ONS.

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 28 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources