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Kia Soul exhaust, emissions and leaks problems

DVSA MOT tests 2022–2025 · 10,336 MOT tests · Updated

At 13 years, 2.5 in 100 MOT tests of the Kia Soul failed on exhaust, emissions and leaks, against 4.3 for all class 4 vehicles the same age (all test years; 10,336 MOT tests) [1].

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  • Against all class 4 vehicles the same age: fails less often than all class 4 vehicles the same age (0.5–0.7×) (all test years), 257 MOT tests with a fail
  • By age: seen at 14 ages from 3 to 16 years, 97,370 MOT tests
  • MOT tests at 13 years: 10,336 for the Kia Soul

Figures are for the model as a whole, not for one car.

What the MOT tests show

What we know

2.5 fails per 100 MOT tests at 13 years, against 4.3 for all class 4 vehicles tested at 13 (all test years). The Kia Soul fails less often here.

Why it matters

An exhaust, emissions and leaks fail stops the car passing until it is fixed.

What to check

Start the car from cold and look for smoke at the exhaust, listen for blowing joints, and look under the engine and gearbox for fresh oil or fluid drips.

Kia Soul exhaust, emissions and leaks fails by age

Kia Soul exhaust, emissions and leaks fails per 100 MOT tests by ageSolid line: the Kia Soul. Dashed line: all cars the same age. The table below lists every value.02463 years: 0.0 per 100 (all cars 0.5), 3,262 MOT tests34 years: 0.2 per 100 (all cars 0.7), 4,332 MOT tests5 years: 0.2 per 100 (all cars 1.0), 4,927 MOT tests56 years: 0.3 per 100 (all cars 1.3), 6,235 MOT tests7 years: 0.3 per 100 (all cars 1.7), 8,435 MOT tests78 years: 0.5 per 100 (all cars 2.1), 9,162 MOT tests9 years: 0.5 per 100 (all cars 2.4), 8,731 MOT tests910 years: 1.0 per 100 (all cars 2.8), 8,163 MOT tests11 years: 1.5 per 100 (all cars 3.2), 9,085 MOT tests1112 years: 2.1 per 100 (all cars 3.7), 9,527 MOT tests13 years: 2.5 per 100 (all cars 4.3), 10,336 MOT tests1314 years: 2.9 per 100 (all cars 5.1), 8,401 MOT tests15 years: 2.5 per 100 (all cars 5.7), 4,852 MOT tests1516 years: 3.3 per 100 (all cars 6.2), 1,922 MOT tests
Fails per 100 MOT tests by age, all first-use years pooled. Kia Soul All class 4 vehicles the same age
AgeMOT testsFails per 100All class 4 vehicles the same age
33,2620.00.5
44,3320.20.7
54,9270.21.0
66,2350.31.3
78,4350.31.7
89,1620.52.1
98,7310.52.4
108,1631.02.8
119,0851.53.2
129,5272.13.7
1310,3362.54.3
148,4012.95.1
154,8522.55.7
161,9223.36.2

All first-use years of the Kia Soul pooled at each age, against all class 4 vehicles at that age over all 2022–2025 test years.

What fails in the exhaust, emissions and leaks at 13 years

Advisories (not fails)

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  • Model risks for this year and fuel
  • What similar cars did at their next MOT
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By engine and fuel

  • 1.6 diesel: 1.8 per 100 at 13 years, fails less often than diesel class 4 vehicles the same age (0.4–0.5×) (all test years; 7,274 MOT tests)

How to check on a test drive

Start the car from cold and look for smoke at the exhaust, listen for blowing joints, and look under the engine and gearbox for fresh oil or fluid drips.

The most common advisory here in MOT records: Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive.

Check one Kia Soul, not the average

The figures here describe Kia Soul cars as a group. These free tools answer for one car. Each line says what the tool reads.

Other Kia Soul problems

Exhaust, emissions and leaks on rival models

Questions people ask

Does the Kia Soul have more exhaust, emissions and leaks problems than other cars?

0.5 to 0.7 times the exhaust, emissions and leaks fail rate of all class 4 vehicles the same age at 13 years (all test years), from 10,336 MOT tests. The interval is clear of 0.8 in the same direction at 5 of the 14 ages seen (ages up to 18 with at least 100 MOT tests with a fail).

How common are Kia Soul exhaust, emissions and leaks problems?

2.5 in 100 MOT tests at 13 years failed on exhaust, emissions and leaks, against 4.3 for all class 4 vehicles the same age (all test years; 10,336 MOT tests).

Sources

  1. Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2022 to 2025. DVSA MOT data, Open Government Licence v3.0, 97,370 MOT tests. Accessed 7 Oct 2026.

Parts: against all class 4 vehicles at the same age, all 2022–2025 test years pooled, not adjusted for mileage. Breakdowns and non-MOT faults are not in this data. How we compare