The Lemon Index$7,000 middle bill · most between $6,000 and $8,000
Lower than the $8,000 middle bill owners of all 168 models reported.
Owners who gave their mileage: a middle of 85,000 miles (21 reports).
Kia Soul owners reported paying a median of $7,000 for a engine replacement, with the middle half of bills between $6,000 and $8,000. That's from 45 owner reports (45 complaints to NHTSA). Costs vary by shop and region.
What owners paid
- Under $5000%
- $500–$1,0000%
- $1,000–$2,5002%
- $2,500–$5,0007%
- $5,000 and up91%
Share of the 45 owner reports in each price band.
By model year
- 2012 Kia Soul4$5,800 middle bill
- 2013 Kia Soul5$6,200 middle bill
- 2014 Kia Soul8$7,000 middle bill
- 2015 Kia Soul5$6,700 middle bill
- 2016 Kia Soul6$6,000 middle bill
- 2017 Kia Soul6$7,400 middle bill
- 2018 Kia Soul1too few for a middle
- 2019 Kia Soul1too few for a middle
- 2020 Kia Soul5$8,000 middle bill
- 2021 Kia Soul4$7,500 middle bill
Reports per model year, with the middle bill where there are 3 or more. YouTube amounts count for the generation the video covers.
How often owners report the failure
- 2014 Kia Soul125 complaints name it14% of that year's complaints
- 2015 Kia Soul125 complaints name it14% of that year's complaints
- 2016 Kia Soul113 complaints name it14% of that year's complaints
- 2017 Kia Soul62 complaints name it23% of that year's complaints
- 2021 Kia Soul53 complaints name it22% of that year's complaints
- 2020 Kia Soul49 complaints name it12% of that year's complaints
Owner complaints to NHTSA whose own words name a engine failure. Raw counts: popular years get more complaints. A complaint is a report, not proof of a defect.
Keep going
Other repairs Kia Soul owners reported
Catalytic converter replacement (30) · Brake repair (6)
The details
How we count
Every number here is a repair bill an owner reported, never a shop's price list. Two sources: the bills owners wrote in their own complaints to the U.S. government (NHTSA), and the dollar amounts owners said out loud in YouTube repair and ownership videos. A figure counts for a repair when that repair is the part named nearest to it. Left out: purchase prices, payments, rentals, towing, warranties and deductibles, amounts under $50 or over $15,000, parts-only prices ("the part was $80 on Amazon"), bills for two different repairs named together, and money someone else paid. One number per complaint (or video) and repair: the biggest, so it's the bill, not the diagnosis fee.
The range is the middle half of the bills (the 25th to the 75th percentile), so one wild number can't swing it. Owners who complain to the government often had expensive repairs, so a typical bill can be lower. Costs vary by shop and region, by dealer vs independent shop, by parts and by miles. This is what owners reported, not a quote for your car.
Check the bills yourself
NHTSA complaint numbers (search them at nhtsa.gov): 11764497, 11756376, 11741891, 11728553, 11712729, 11704926, 11695662, 11695658, 11680898, 11677093, 11633246, 11619716 and more.
Quick answers
How much does engine replacement cost on a Kia Soul?
Kia Soul owners reported a median of $7,000, and the middle half paid $6,000 to $8,000, from 45 owner reports. Costs vary by shop and region.
Is a Kia Soul engine replacement more expensive than on other cars?
The Kia Soul middle bill of $7,000 is lower than the $8,000 owners of all 168 models we have reports for paid.
Where do these Kia Soul repair costs come from?
From 45 complaints to NHTSA: what owners themselves said they paid. They aren't verified bills or a shop's quote.
Which Kia Soul years report this failure most?
In complaints to NHTSA, owners of the 2014 (125), 2015 (125), 2016 (113) Kia Soul named it most. Raw counts, not a failure rate.
Sources: NHTSA owner complaints and YouTube videos (amounts said out loud), sorted by The Lemon Index. Owner reports, not a price quote. Costs vary by shop and region.