Kia Soul OBD port location

Illustration — use it to know where to look.

Location

Driver's footwell, low down at the outboard edge — RHD: right of the steering column, above the footrest; LHD: left of the steering column, above the footrest. The socket hangs below the bottom lip of the dashboard facing straight DOWN, set back far enough that you cannot see it from the driver's seat — you have to get your head into the footwell or feel for it. Look for the small moulded 'OBD' label with an arrow on the trim above it. It is NOT inside the fuse-panel flap: the previous 2014-2019 Soul put the connector a few inches higher, behind the fuse-panel door and facing rearward, and plenty of people waste ten minutes opening that flap on an SK3 and concluding the car has no port. Same position on both UK grades (Urban and Explore) and on the First Edition.

Illustration — use it to know where to look.

Location

Driver's side of the instrument panel, at the lower outer edge, behind the square access cover printed 'FUSE OBD' — RHD: right-hand end of the dash, outboard of the steering column, roughly level with your left knee when you are sat in the seat; LHD: the mirror-image position at the left-hand end of the dash. The cover is the fuse-panel door and the OBD door at the same time: the 16-pin connector is clipped into a bracket a couple of inches above the top row of fuses, inside the same opening, and it faces rearward straight at the back of the cover rather than downward. Same position on every PS trim, petrol and diesel, and unchanged by the facelift. Do not go feeling around under the dash for a downward-facing socket — there isn't one, which is the single most common reason people decide this car has no port.

How to access

Square snap-in plastic cover at the lower outer corner of the driver's side dash, marked 'FUSE OBD' with the fuse layout printed on the back of it. Push your fingers into the finger slot along the bottom edge and pull the cover straight out towards you — no tools, no screws. The 16-pin connector is visible immediately, sitting in its bracket above the fuse rows and pointing back at you. Because it faces rearward into the cover, a chunky dongle or a right-angle lead stops the cover going back on; unclip the connector from its bracket and let it hang if you need the cover refitted with something plugged in.