2022 Kia Soul: Refinance the Loan or Leave It Alone

The setup

You bought a 2022 Kia Soul, you're making payments, and now you're wondering if refinancing makes sense or if you should just ride out the current loan terms. Maybe interest rates shifted. Maybe your credit improved. Maybe you're just looking for lower monthly payments.

But here's the thing: the refinance decision for this particular vehicle isn't just about interest rate spreads and amortization schedules. It's about whether you're going to own this car long enough for a refinance to matter, and whether the underlying asset is going to hold together while you pay it off.

The 2022 Soul has a serious engine problem. Not a minor annoyance, not a fit-and-finish quibble, but a pattern of failures that NHTSA owner reports describe in alarming detail. That changes the calculation entirely.

What NHTSA data actually shows

NHTSA has 91 owner complaints on file for the 2022 Kia Soul and 1 safety recall. Of those complaints, 4 involved a crash, 1 involved a fire, and 8 reported injuries.

The ENGINE category dominates the complaint record with 53 reports. That's 58 percent of all complaints. ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING adds another 19. POWER TRAIN contributes 12 more. Add those up and you're looking at 84 complaints about the basic mechanical systems that make the car move. Out of 91 total complaints.

That's not normal distribution. That's a pattern.

One owner filed this report with NHTSA: "The contact owns a 2022 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving 55 MPH uphill, there was an abnormal knocking sound from the rod bearings inside the engine. The contact stated that the rod bearings had gone through the engine block, and there was bl..." Rod bearings going through the engine block. That's catastrophic mechanical failure.

Another owner reported: "Engine oil light came on and went to take in to get an oil change though it had 1000 miles or so to go. Had oil change but light did not go out, and service said to get it diagnosed at mechanic. Made an appointment and car then driven by my daughter stalled..."

And this: "The oil consumption is outrageous. I have to check the oil every week. I keep taking it to WYATT JOHNSON KIA but they refuse to report the oil consumption problem to KIA."

There's an open recall right now, campaign 25V099000, for ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:HARD PARTS INTERNAL/MECHANICAL. The consequence listed by NHTSA: "Engine damage can cause a vehicle stall or fire, increasing the risk of a crash or injury." The remedy is engine inspection and replacement as necessary, plus installation of piston-ring noise sensing system software. Free of charge, but that doesn't fix the months without a car or the reliability anxiety.

The crash test numbers are fine: overall 4 of 5 stars, frontal 4, side 5, rollover 4. Rollover probability is 14.7 percent. The structure protects you in an accident. But you need to get to the accident first without the engine destroying itself on the highway.

The math

Let's work an example with stated assumptions. Say you financed $24,000 at 7.5 percent for 60 months. Your payment is around $479. You're 18 months in, you've paid down about $6,800 in principal, and you owe roughly $17,200.

Your credit improved and you can now refinance the remaining balance at 5.5 percent for 42 months. New payment would be about $415, saving you $64 a month.

Over the remaining 42 months, that's $2,688 in payment reduction. Sounds good.

But refinancing typically costs $200 to $500 in fees. Let's call it $300. So net savings drop to $2,388 over three and a half years.

Here's the table:

That math works if the car survives 42 more months without a major engine failure. If the engine grenades itself in month 24, you're still making payments on a car that needs a $5,000 to $8,000 engine replacement, recall remedy or not. Insurance doesn't cover mechanical failure. You're paying for the repair and the loan simultaneously.

The refinance saves you money only if the underlying asset remains functional. With 53 engine complaints and an open recall for engine damage that can cause stalling or fire, that's a genuine risk.

What we recommend

Refinance now. Lower your monthly obligation while the car still runs.

This isn't about squeezing every basis point out of your interest rate. It's about reducing your financial exposure to a vehicle with a documented engine problem. The $64 a month you save is $64 a month you can bank toward the repair you might need or the replacement vehicle you might have to buy sooner than planned.

The open recall tells you Kia knows there's a problem serious enough to warrant inspection and potential engine replacement. The owner complaints tell you the problem is real and recurring. The fire risk mentioned in the recall consequence isn't hypothetical; 1 complaint already involved a fire.

Get the recall work done immediately if you haven't already. Then refinance to the lowest rate and payment you can find. Build a cash cushion with the payment savings. Check your oil every week like the owner in the NHTSA report. Drive it gently. Hope the engine holds.

If you're underwater on the loan, refinancing becomes even more important because it buys you time to close the gap between what you owe and what the car is worth. You want to be in a position to sell or trade before a major failure locks you into negative equity on a broken car.

Our refinance verdict page walks through the general framework, but this specific vehicle tilts the decision heavily toward lowering your payment now.

What would change our mind

If Kia issued a more comprehensive fix that actually solved the underlying engine defect, not just added monitoring software, we'd feel better about leaving the loan alone. Monitoring doesn't prevent failure. It just warns you before the rod bearings punch through the block.

If the complaint rate dropped significantly in the next 12 months, suggesting the recall remedy worked, that would matter. But right now, as of this data pulled on 2026-10-10, the pattern is clear and alarming.

If you're planning to sell or trade within six months anyway, refinancing might not be worth the fees. Just get out. Our sell or keep analysis can help with that decision.

Bottom line

The 2022 Kia Soul has 53 ENGINE complaints out of 91 total reports filed with NHTSA, an open recall for engine damage that can cause stalling or fire, and owner descriptions of catastrophic mechanical failure. This isn't a car you want to bet on for long-term reliability.

Refinance to lower your monthly payment and reduce your financial exposure. Take the savings and build a repair fund or a down payment on your next vehicle. Get the recall work done. Check your oil compulsively. And start thinking about your exit strategy, because this engine problem isn't going away.

The math only works if the car works. Right now, that's an open question.

Safety figures on this page come from the NHTSA public complaint and recall database for the 2022 Kia Soul, retrieved 2026-10-10. Complaint counts reflect reports filed by owners and are not verified defect findings.