Don't believe consumers reports.
How many problems have you had with the 21?

 

49k miles and all is well except one thing...ESC light flashes on and off every few days,and when it does I loose power. Can't accelerate. Brought to dealer where I bought it and of course it wouldn't misbehave for them, so left it for 2 days. Car was fine the whole time, so they couldn't find a code for it. Did an alignment, checked steering. Gave it back to me. Just came on again yesterday. Considering just turning it off. This is my second Soul and really like the car, and with interest rates the way they are, don't want to trade it in.

 

I don’t put a lot of stock in Consumer Reports anymore. But I can guess why they have the 2021 Soul listed, that was one of the years with the piston ring recall. But like hammerhead mentioned, what problems have you had with your Soul?

 

I think they are probably right, transmission went out on my 21 at 8000K and couple that with the engine problems and that will do it, Got 22K on the replacement trans they put in but what a PITA.

 

Our 2021 LX has 60,000 miles with only normal maintenance. That's a combination of long highway trips, around town, idling in traffic, and so on. Gets up to 37 mpg on the highway and doesn't use any oil between 5,000 mile changes. Very happy with our Soul.

 

Why does Consumer Reports consider the 2021 Kia Soul to be a "Used Car to Avoid"?
The answer is pretty clear when you take a look at the trouble spots that Consumer Reports indicates for the 2021 models: major Engine and Transmission issues. And, for those affected, these were very serious, time-consuming and potentially costly problems. The good news is the Kia stepped up and carried out expensive and complex repairs and replacements under warranty. On the other hand, Kia finally did this after some initial delays that frustrated affected owners even more.
As for whether a used car buyer today should consider a 2021 Kia Soul, I'd say go for it. Use the stain on the car's reputation as negotiating material to get the best price and support. Since both the engine and transmission (CVT) problems typically showed up at rather low mileage, a 3-4 year old Soul that's running properly today is almost certainly not likely to suffer from the big problems.
As a precaution, it would also be wise to enquire about the service history of any used car. If that's not available, then you have a reason to be cautious.

 

I view the 2021 souls in 2 categories… the pre-recall producti dates and the post recall production dates. I would not buy the early 2021 Souls, but I would buy the ones I believe made in May and after. Thankfully, the soul that I bought new was made 1 month after the recalled Souls.

 

I view the 2021 souls in 2 categories… the pre-recall producti dates and the post recall production dates. I would not buy the early 2021 Souls, but I would buy the ones I believe made in May and after. Thankfully, the soul that I bought new was made 1 month after the recalled Souls.

Our 2021 LX has 60,000 miles with only normal maintenance. That's a combination of long highway trips, around town, idling in traffic, and so on. Gets up to 37 mpg on the highway and doesn't use any oil between 5,000 mile changes. Very happy with our Soul.

This is good! This 21 is my second one, which I bought new. Traded in my very reliable
16+ , and I don't want to get rid of it. Just gotta get this friggen ESC thing figured out. BTW...ESC just came on yesterday and stayed on. Scheduled an appointment with the hopes it'll stay on this time so they can diagnose. Today? Went out. DANG! Dealer says come back when it stays on. Yeah right.

 

I do not recommend the kia soul did regular maintained oil changes every 3000 miles and my 2021 soul started to have a knocking noise in the engine at 36000 miles I am now fighting with kia to fix the issue..they said its not in the recall years so they will not fix the issue or warranty the car so now i have a car with 2yrs of payments left i cannot drive unless i fix out of pocket...very disappointed with kia

 

my 2021 soul started to have a knocking noise in the engine at 36000 miles I am now fighting with kia to fix the issue..they said its not in the recall years

The 2021 Soul has the piston ring recall (see below). You should be covered by the recall, and you should also be covered by the 5 year 60k mile warranty second owners get and if you’re the original owner that’s 10/100k.

Find another dealer or contact Kia USA customer care at this link:

Customer Care Center

customercare.kiausa.com

Recall notice:

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2021/RCONL-21V259-9728.pdf

 

Just took in our 2021 Soul because it was dying at low speeds (but starting back up). Then the famous Check Engine went on. Dealer said it was 'limping'. Dealer could not understand the codes, and 2 days later said we need a new engine - No charge, under warranty... 36K suburban/rural miles

 

I just had the DCT tranny replaced on my '21, of course under warranty, at 27K miles. Interestingly, it was technically outside of the production window referenced in a TSB covering "DCT judder" that called for replacement, so they may have not ID'd the "bad lot" very accurately.