How many miles will a 2011 Kia Soul last?
Half of the 132 NHTSA owner complaints on the 2011 Kia Soul that list mileage came after 49,000 miles, and 1 in 10 after 156,000 miles. NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026 holds 194 complaints on this model year; each mileage is the odometer when an owner reported a safety problem, not how long the vehicle lasted.
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See what the paid report includes →Of the 132 complaints on the 2011 Kia Soul that list mileage, the middle half came between 15,000 and 102,000 miles; 34 (26%) came after 100,000 miles, 17 (13%) after 150,000 and 2 (2%) after 200,000.
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How many miles will a 2011 Soul last?
The 132 mileages owners gave run from 100 to 270,000 miles. A quarter are at or under 15,500 miles, half at or under 50,000, three quarters at or under 101,350 and nine in ten at or under 157,000; 34 (26%) came after 100,000 miles, 17 (13%) after 150,000 and 2 (2%) after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2011 Soul wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 100 miles |
| 25th percentile | 15,500 miles |
| Median (50th percentile) | 50,000 miles |
| 75th percentile | 101,350 miles |
| 90th percentile | 157,000 miles |
| Highest mileage listed | 270,000 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | 34 (26%) |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | 17 (13%) |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | 2 (2%) |
Every model year together: Half of the 2,960 NHTSA owner complaints on the Kia Soul that list mileage came after 78,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a Kia Soul last? →
Common problems with the 2011 Soul
NHTSA's file holds 194 owner complaints on the 2011 Kia Soul. Owners named the brakes most often: 32 complaints, and half of the 11 that list a mileage came after 119,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 32 | 11 | 120,000 |
| Electrical System | 30 | 15 | 75,000 |
| Air Bags | 26 | 19 | 57,000 |
| Engine | 24 | 14 | 105,500 |
| Exterior Lighting | 13 | 11 | 106,000 |
Of the 194 complaints, 27 report a crash, 5 report a fire and 23 report an injury (29 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 2011 Soul a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2011 is a good or a bad Soul: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2011 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 194 complaints, the 2011 ranks 10th of the 16 Kia Soul model years from 2010 to 2025 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2015 (909). The fewest: the 2025 (14).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 Soul | 135 | 105 | 20,000 |
| 2011 (this page) | 194 | 132 | 50,000 |
| 2012 Soul | 516 | 309 | 87,000 |
| 2013 Soul | 671 | 367 | 91,000 |
| 2014 Soul | 906 | 622 | 88,000 |
| 2015 Soul | 909 | 544 | 86,000 |
| 2016 Soul | 831 | 371 | 81,900 |
| 2017 Soul | 291 | 121 | 73,000 |
| 2018 Soul | 224 | 80 | 54,100 |
| 2019 Soul | 143 | 47 | 50,000 |
| 2020 Soul | 392 | 162 | 13,400 |
| 2021 Soul | 245 | 67 | 65,000 |
| 2022 Soul | 97 | 24 | 62,000 |
| 2023 Soul | 54 | 6 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2024 Soul | 31 | 2 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2025 Soul | 14 | 1 | Under 10 mileages |
The linked 2015–2022 pages show NHTSA's September 15, 2026 collection, so their counts can differ from this table's.
Every Soul year compared on NHTSA’s complaints and recalls: Kia Soul years to avoid →
2011 Kia Soul recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 3 recall campaigns that name the 2011 Kia Soul. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
| Campaign | Report received | Component |
|---|---|---|
| 23V652000 | Sep 25, 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP:CONTROL UNIT/MODULE |
| 14V822000 | Dec 29, 2014 | STRUCTURE:BODY:ROOF AND PILLARS |
| 13V114000 | Apr 1, 2013 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS:SWITCH |
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 2011 Soul lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 2011 Soul.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 62 of the 194 complaints on the 2011 Kia Soul give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA names counted: SOUL and SOUL EV. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only these.
- Recall-file names matched: SOUL and SOUL EV.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
2011 Kia Soul questions
How many miles will a 2011 Kia Soul last?
Half of the 132 NHTSA owner complaints on the 2011 Kia Soul that list mileage came after 49,000 miles, and 1 in 10 after 156,000 miles. Of the 132 complaints on the 2011 Kia Soul that list mileage, the middle half came between 15,000 and 102,000 miles; 34 (26%) came after 100,000 miles, 17 (13%) after 150,000 and 2 (2%) after 200,000. These are mileages at a reported problem, not a lifespan: the file holds no 2011 Soul that never had one.
What are the most common 2011 Kia Soul problems?
NHTSA's file holds 194 owner complaints on the 2011 Kia Soul. Owners named the brakes most often: 32 complaints, and half of the 11 that list a mileage came after 119,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 194 complaints, 27 report a crash, 5 report a fire and 23 report an injury (29 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 2011 Kia Soul a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2011 is a good or a bad Soul: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2011 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 194 complaints, the 2011 ranks 10th of the 16 Kia Soul model years from 2010 to 2025 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2015 (909). The fewest: the 2025 (14).
How many recalls does the 2011 Kia Soul have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 3 recall campaigns that name the 2011 Kia Soul. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 2011 Kia Soul before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 2011 Kia Soul.