Kia Carnival Complaints (2025)

197 consumer complaints on file.

#11756278August 11, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2025 Kia Carnival. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and coming to a complete stop, the vehicle shut off. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was restarted and driven back to the residence. The following day, the vehicle shut off again and was restarted after several attempts. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer on several occasions; however, the dealer was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 34,967.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11756017August 10, 2026
VISIBILITY/WIPER
This is a bran new vehicle purchased and only driven by me. I have video evidence that on the morning of 8/10/26 my windshield was perfectly fine. On returning at the end of the work day there is a 2 foot long crack internal to the windshield, a stress crack, that starts where the sensor panel is. There are numerous reports of this happening to a large number of Kia Carnival owners and Kia refusing to warranty this.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11755249August 6, 2026
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Fuel evap canister leak was suspected due to very strong gas smell inside vehicle. Dealership had to change out entire fuel tank to deal with whatever was leaking. Got the car back, and the next day, the smell was back. Dealership told us not to worry about the smell, that it was normal. Drove one more time and smell was so strong that it made two adults dizzy and nauseous within five minutes. Nausea lasted multiple hours. Parked and had it towed to dealer. After multiple days, still waiting to hear back, service apartment claims they're waiting for research from Kia. Vehicle has been too dangerous to drive so sitting at dealership for nearly 30 days now, total. No warning lights or messages ever came on to notify us of the problem.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11752888July 26, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My 2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid is experiencing repeated electrical and hybrid battery failures. The battery has died multiple times, and the vehicle has shut off while driving, including at higher speeds. When the vehicle shuts off, all electrical systems reset, warning lights flash, and the dashboard displays “User Authorization” notifications. This creates a serious safety hazard for me and my passengers. The defect has occurred multiple times and remains unresolved despite dealer visits. Kia corporate is not responding and is redirecting me back to BBB Auto Line without providing any repair plan. The defect is ongoing and poses a risk of crash, injury, or loss of vehicle control. These symptoms match other Carnival electrical/battery complaints already filed with NHTSA, including sudden shutdowns, battery failures, and electrical resets. I am submitting this report because the defect continues and Kia has not provided a permanent repair.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11752564July 24, 2026
SEAT BELTS
While my 2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid was parked, my [XXX] child attempted to unbuckle the rear passenger seat belt to exit the vehicle. The buckle mechanism jammed completely and would not release. The seat belt retractor then switched into Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR) mode, continuously tightening and squeezing my child against the seat. Due to the jammed buckle and the aggressive ratcheting of the belt, my child was nearly choked, and I could not create enough slack to free them. I was forced to call 911, and responding emergency services had to physically cut the seat belt to extract my child safely from the vehicle." INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11752483July 23, 2026
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I had two very serious incidents. July 8th: Horn just started blaring unprompted. Locking/unlocking doors, turning motor on, disconnecting battery did nothing to stop it. I was trying everything and as I was trying to find the correct fuse to disable (it wasn't labeled), the horn burned out and started smoldering. If the car was not in my driveway AND I wasn't home, I believe a fire would have started if I didn't pull the fuse AND douse it with water. It was parked next to my garage, so that would have been at risk as well. July 11th: When driving, my brake line burst resulting in a complete failure of my brakes. I narrowly escaped two accidents before I realized something was amiss. But the only warning was ABS was inactive, and active cruise control wasn't working. I had no warning that complete brake failure was imminent. I was extremely lucky. Mechanics had never seen a brake failure fail in a relatively new car in very good condition.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11750451July 14, 2026
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
The vehicle's passenger cabin continually has a strong odor smell after longer drives or after the vehicle idles for a longer duration in time. The vehicle was brought to Horne, KIA in Gilbert, AZ twice in June for same. Both times the service department stated they could not duplicate the problem and could not ascertain that it has anything to do with recall SC368. The problem continues at time of this writing (07/14/2026). The strong fuel odor is causing headaches to family and young children. The problem could not be reproduced but matches the SC368 recall. KIA Customer Service was contacted today, and they advised the only thing they can do is trust their authorized service department that there are no concerns (Horne KIA). I requested the matter be escalated, but my request was denied.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11749457July 10, 2026
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
On five separate occasions, while turning onto a high-speed roadway and attempting to accelerate to the flow of traffic, the vehicle suddenly lost the ability to accelerate. Despite pressing the accelerator, the vehicle would not exceed approximately 35 mph and then began to decelerate. During both incidents, a "Check Hybrid System" warning appeared, and I was forced to quickly pull over to the side of the high-speed road. The vehicle would only return to normal operation after it was turned off and restarted. This loss of power while merging into traffic created an extremely dangerous situation. Having three young children in the vehicle made the experience especially frightening, and I no longer have confidence that the vehicle can be relied upon to operate safely. Because this defect affects the vehicle's ability to accelerate safely in traffic, I am deeply concerned that it could result in a serious collision if it happens again. I took it into the dealership and the service center experienced the same issue. They thought they had resolved the issue and that it was a "one off" occurrence but it happened to me again just 3 weeks after the attempted repair. This time the engine light came on after the "Check Hybrid System" warning light.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11749274July 9, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The rear sliding door on the driver's side was not locking. I took it to the dealership and they have replaced the actuator, the wiring harness, and the IPM power module. None of this has fixed it. We now have a Kia special mechanic coming to [XXX] to take a look at it. I was told there are 19 other vehicles in [XXX] with the same issue. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11748893July 7, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, SEAT BELTS
The contact owns a 2025 Kia Carnival. The contact stated that while parked in a bank drive-thru, the contact's son mentioned that his seat belt was stuck. The contact parked the vehicle in a parking spot and attempted to remove the seat belt; however, the seat belt retracted tightly around his abdomen as the lower half of his body was turning blue, requiring the contact's husband to cut the seat belt. The contact mentioned that it was discovered that all seat belts located in the rear row seats failed. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were flickering on and off back in April. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed that all the third-row rear seat belts had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired by replacing the seat belts. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the seat belts were replaced and that the vehicle was ready to be picked up. The approximate failure mileage was 46,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11748283July 4, 2026
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
I live in [XXX]. On the way to [XXX], out of no where the car stopped accelerating. Was in eco mode at the time and dropped completely while trying to accelerate in the middle of the road. Pulled over completely turned off the car checked the engine nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Ran the diagnostics from the car and didn’t show any errors. Turned off again for a bit and turn on and everything was fine. Moved from eco to smart and turned around worked fine for about 5 m so we thought everything was on and tried to go back north to finish our trip and while on smart mode started to accelerate again and didn’t want to accelerate. Turned around and decided best to take it to dealership Monday. We have about another 1 hour to 2 hours to get home and it’s working fine in smart mode but it shouldn’t randomly drop acceleration at all in the middle of driving. Only at 16,487 miles. Doing it again only driving 33 m an hour and in smart mode. Not even going uphill just dropped acceleration while driving around town. About 15 m after. There’s still no error happening when it happens each time. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11747760July 1, 2026
CHILD SEAT:CRITICAL FASTENERS, CHILD SEAT:HARNESS RETAINER/CHEST CLIP
The contact owns a Chico Car Seat, Model Type: Fit 360, Model Number: 08087216240070, Manufactured Date: December 2025, and used in a 2025 Kia Carnival. The contact stated that the magnetic chest clip failed to remain closed as needed. The manufacturer was contacted and provided a replacement chest clip. The manufacturer stated that the chest clip operated as designed and was designed to come apart. The contact was concerned that the replacement chest clip was defective, and in the event of crash the car seat would not perform as intended. The contact requested a nonmagnetic chest clip from the manufacturer.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11747231June 29, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
**Vehicle:** 2025 Kia Carnival **Current Mileage:** Approximately 18,000 miles I am reporting a serious and ongoing safety defect involving the center LCD display in my 2025 Kia Carnival. The problem began immediately after the vehicle's first scheduled service at an authorized Kia dealership and has continued ever since. The center LCD screen intermittently flickers and then goes completely blank while I am driving. When this happens, the rearview camera image is also lost while the vehicle is in Reverse, leaving the display completely black and preventing me from seeing behind the vehicle during backing. This creates a significant safety hazard and increases the risk of striking a pedestrian, child, vehicle, or other object. The display failure while driving is also extremely distracting because critical vehicle information and functions become unavailable. I have taken the vehicle to authorized Kia dealerships multiple times for warranty repairs, but the defect remains unresolved. The LCD display has been replaced, yet the problem continues to occur. The dealerships have kept my vehicle for extended periods during several repair attempts without permanently correcting the issue. Service dates include: * September 9, 2025 * March 10, 2026 * March 18, 2026 * June 1, 2026 The issue is intermittent but repeatedly occurs without warning. I transport my family, including infants, in this vehicle, and I am extremely concerned about their safety and the safety of others. Losing the backup camera and display while reversing or driving creates an unacceptable safety risk. I believe this may be a safety-related defect affecting the vehicle's display system. I respectfully request that NHTSA investigate this issue because multiple warranty repair attempts, including replacement of the display, have failed to resolve the defect.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11746822June 26, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
The vehicle began shaking and having ABS problems when driving at ~30 mph after having driven for several miles without issue. The vehicle did not have any history of problems or recent symptoms and was just over one year old. The vehicle was towed to the dealership. The dealership reported a broken driver side front wheel speed sensor wire and attributed it to rodent damage without other evidence.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11744526June 16, 2026
ENGINE
Van made a loud pop noise and lost power. The HSG belt tensioner spring fell off it's seat loosing tension on the HSG belt. Was unsafe but luckily it happened before getting on the freeway, and coasted into a parking lot. Yes, it's at the dealership getting a replacement tensioner and belt. I believe so. No notification prior to failure, it was sudden.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11743531June 11, 2026
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
We purchased this vehicle toward the end of 2024. Within the first 10 months, there were two major recall issues with this vehicle. The recalls were for the 2nd row seating becoming detached from the frame of the vehicle and the other recall was for the computer logic board having the chance of dying and/or frying. These recalls were less than 10 months since date of purchase. There is now another National Recall on this vehicle that was initiated on April 10, 2026. We are a non profit organization and this vehicle is part of our necessary fleet. We called the dealership and was told to bring it in. We brought it in the following week and was told they were not notified yet of a recall. We were told to call back in like 2-3 weeks. We then called back three weeks later and were scheduled to bring the car in for repair. When we arrived at the dealership, we were told "Oh we don't have the parts to fix this. Call back in a few weeks." We waited another three weeks and called back and were scheduled to bring the car in for repair. Now today (June 11, 2026) I went to the dealership and was told once again..."Oh we don't have the parts. Call back in like a month." Now, this recall states that the car should not be driven as the fuel leak is a high chance for a fire. We are desperately trying to have this taken back to the dealership as a lemon car because after we bought this car there have now been three emergent recalls on this car. We paid a lot of money to be able to use this vehicles for our non profit work and over an 18 month period, the car has been out of service for well over 6 months. Dealership seems unable or unwilling to help us. Dealership is: Mark Kia 3333 N 89th St. Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11741345June 1, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
I am filing this complaint to report a recurring, life-threatening safety defect in my 2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid involving the battery and hybrid propulsion system. This defect has occurred twice, and despite dealer repair attempts, it has not been resolved. On both occasions, while the vehicle was in operation, the hybrid system failed without warning. The vehicle displayed a hybrid system failure alert, lost the ability to accelerate normally, and became unable to maintain safe driving speeds. On the most recent occurrence, the sudden and unexpected loss of vehicle power created an immediate risk of collision. The vehicle’s failure while in traffic nearly resulted in a serious crash. I was driving with passengers at the time. The vehicle was taken to an authorized Kia dealership for repair following each incident. The same defect has now recurred after the first repair was completed, demonstrating that the underlying cause has not been identified or corrected. This defect substantially impairs the safety of the vehicle. The sudden loss of hybrid system function and propulsion while driving at road speed creates a direct and serious risk of accident, injury, or death to the vehicle’s occupants and to other drivers on the road. I am a [XXX] resident and am aware that this defect is not isolated to my vehicle. Numerous other 2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid owners have filed similar NHTSA complaints regarding battery failure and sudden loss of acceleration. I urge the NHTSA to open a formal investigation into this defect and to require Kia Motors America to issue a safety recall. I am currently too frightened to operate this vehicle and request urgent attention to this matter. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11740593May 28, 2026
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
We have been having persistent safety issues with this vehicle. The issues have ranged from unsecured gas cap to loss of power. We’ve also had severe transmission issues where the car will not shift out of first gear. This happened on the Garden State Parkway and nearly caused an accident as the car wasn’t able to go above 27 mph safely.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11740406May 27, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
For the third time the 2025 KIA Carnival Prestige I own lost power while driving on the interstate! Without warning, the vehicle would no longer respond to the accelerator pedal. No matter what I did I could not get the vehicle to accelerate past 35 mph. The minimum speed limit on the interstate is 45 mph. I had to immediately engage my hazard lights and make my way over to the shoulder of the road from the passing lane. This was a dangerous situation for me and my family and others on the highway. Warning lights came on, check engine light, charging system, and a maintenance service message. Driving in Sport mode, Smart mode, nor Econo mode could change the negative situation. This took place multiple times during the final leg of my last trip to [XXX] , extending for over 120 miles. This is a very unsafe, unreliable vehicle, that should never be driven on public roadways… especially not highways nor interstates. Three negatively, traumatic experiences is ENOUGH!!! I’m DONE!!!! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11739119May 20, 2026
SEATS
The contact owns a 2025 Kia Carnival. the driver seat automatically pushed on the rear passenger driver side seat that had a minor occupant in a child seat. The seat was able to move forward with the seat adjustment buttons. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The approximate failure mileage 20,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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