Kia Carnival Complaints (2025)

197 consumer complaints on file.

#11688400September 19, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
The car gave alert of "hybrid system failure" and showed a picture of a drained battery. After about 20 seconds, we were unable to drive over 30 mph. After about 30 more seconds, the car shut off and had to be jumped to work again. Luckily we were pulling over into a parking lot when it shut off, but were blocking the entrance. This is the 4th time this has happened in a couple of months since we bought the car.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11685733September 8, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V BATTERY
The contact owns a 2025 Kia Carnival. The contact stated that on several occasions the vehicle failed to start due to the 24-Volt battery failure. The vehicle was jump-started and operated normally, but the failure reoccurred. Additionally, the contact indicated that the emergency key failed to open the doors of the vehicle after the battery malfunction. A locksmith was called to the scene to open the doors. The cause of the failures was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 600.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11685204September 5, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
The 2025 Kia Carnivals have a safety systems that prompts the driver to, "Take and coffee break". The system cannot be turned off and is extremely distracting. The system prompts the driver even if the adaptive cruise control is turned off. I called Kia and they told me to take the vehicle to the dealer. The dealer was not able to turn the computer nag off either. The car makes a noise and the prompt flashes at the driver every few miles. This happens when traveling at highway speeds and in traffic. The driver has to look down from the road to see what the noise is and is greeted with the infuriating "Take a coffee break" message. It is extremely distracting and annoying to the point it induces road rage. The NTSB needs to investigate this system and require manufacturers to either allow owners to turn it off or do not include this feature in their vehicles. The next question is irrelevant because this happens on almost every highway drive. It is not a one time occurrence.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11685082September 4, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN
Vehicle Malfunction Report What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The vehicle's transmission and/or gear shifter system has failed to function as intended. When the gear shifter is set to "Reverse," the transmission has repeatedly shifted into "Drive" or "Neutral" instead. Concurrently, the vehicle's electronic backup camera system and audible sensor beep activate, indicating that the vehicle believes it is in reverse. The van is available for inspection upon request. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? My safety and the safety of others were put at risk on multiple occasions due to the vehicle shifting into the wrong gear. This has caused the van to unexpectedly lurch forward when I intended to back up. I have nearly collided with other parked vehicles and my garage door between 10 to 20 times. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? The problem has not yet been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or service center, but it has occurred on numerous occasions and is a confirmed issue by the driver. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? To date, the vehicle and its components have not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, or insurance representatives. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? There were no warning lamps or messages displayed prior to the problem occurring. The primary symptoms of the malfunction are the vehicle shifting into "Drive" or "Neutral" instead of "Reverse," while the backup camera and an audible beep are active. These symptoms began almost immediately after the vehicle was purchased.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11683819August 29, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
While driving, the vehicle intermittently fails to accelerate when the accelerator is pressed; it will only coast at about 30 mph. At the same time, the hybrid battery indicator shows a low charge that continues to drop rather than recharge. The “Check Hybrid System – Stop Safely” warning also comes on. This recurring loss of propulsion creates a significant safety risk because we cannot reach or maintain normal traffic speeds. We have taken the van to our local Kia dealership about this situation on two separate occasions; the first time it was reported no faults found bc they couldn’t replicate the problem. I was told there was a recall and it should fix the problem. The second time I was able to capture video of it happening multiple times to show the service technician. I was told it was something about the air intake system not being properly positioned. Now that the car is out of the shop, about two weeks later I’m experiencing issues where I’m unable to switch gears properly on multiple occasions as well. It’s been one thing after the next since I’ve gotten this vehicle.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11683507August 27, 2025
ENGINE, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, POWER TRAIN
The hybrid car intermittently switches into EV mode after coming to a complete stop (e.g., at a traffic signal or after briefly stopping to pick up my child). When this happens, the vehicle does not accelerate properly once back on the road and feels stuck in EV mode, unable to accelerate beyond ~45 mph. This creates a safety concern when merging or crossing intersections.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11683404August 27, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION
The main screen dashboard suddenly turned off while driving and will not come back. No odometer, turn signal, lane keeping, anything available.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11681167August 17, 2025
STRUCTURE:BODY
Side passenger doors do not stop when something is in the way when the automatic door close feature is used. We tried holding a hot dog and large piece of celery in the way of the door as it closed. The sensor did not detect either item and broke them both in two. If this was a human limb, finger, neck or other body part, great bodily harm would occur.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11680927August 15, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
On two separate occasions, [XXX] and [XXX], I received emails from Kia Connect giving me a 12-Volt Battery Discharge Warning. I have the car out at the local dealership right now and they say there is nothing wrong with the battery but they are replacing it. I have noticed online multiple owners are complaining of the same issue and Kia has had a recall of a similar issue with a different model of car in the past. 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
#11680625August 14, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
When I was trying to accelerate over 30 MPH I got a driver assistance warning 10 warning lights came on so I pulled over and once I put the car into park it would no longer shift into drive.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11679979August 11, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
While driving at random times, there is no acceleration while pressing the gas pedal. The battery shows low charge and gradually goes down instead of up. Sometimes the “check hybrid system stop safely” warning light comes on. Our safety was put at risk because it has happened while trying to merge on to the freeway or when there is no shoulder or area to stop safely. Since we can only glide no more than 30 mph we can easily cause an accident if we are not able to exit the road safely. We have taken the van in for inspection to two different Kia dealers and they are not able to find anything wrong. We were stranded 2 hours from home and had to take an uber because the van would not accelerate fast enough to drive on the freeway. The check hybrid system light has turned on at least 3 times but the dealership says there is no record of any warning lights turning on. We took a picture of the light while it was on the last time. This problem has occurred over 8 times putting our lives at risk.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11679528August 9, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
UNKNOWN. While driving, an alert will pop up "Consider taking a break." It is very distracting and actually startles me to the point of almost having had an accident several times. It will pop up several times while driving at random intervals. I have tried to disable it, but cannot. I called the KIA hotline and they said for me to not drive the vehicle, but also, they would not purchase the vehicle back from me. They did not offer any other solutions beyond that. I have talked with the dealership and they do not have a solution. They did not mention this feature when purchasing. I would not have bought the vehicle if I had known about it ahead of time. I would like for the Kia company to allow users to disable this distracting feature.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11677758August 1, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Battery randomly dies.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11676353July 26, 2025
AIR BAGS, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
On or around [XXX] the rear occupant sensor warning light came on. We scheduled a service appointment with the dealership for 7/15/25 at 7:00 a.m.. We were informed later that morning that it was a defective module that could affect the air bags and it wasn’t safe to drive the car. It is 7/26/25 and we still wait on the part. Yesterday we were told by the service department that they didn’t know when the part would be available, it is back ordered due to the number of vehicles with the same issue. While our car waits at the dealership we got an email from Kia Connect giving us a 12 volt battery discharge warning. We don’t know if this is related or not but when looking online we found several people with that same problem as well. Our mechanic agreed that the 12 volt battery should not be discharging that fast due to just not being driven. The car sits at Russ Darrow Kia in Madison WI where parts and other information should be available. 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
#11675728July 23, 2025
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
This is the second time, while I was driving that the car would not want to pick up speed and shuddered. The engine light came on again. And stayed on this time. I brought it back to the Kia dealer. They ran a diagnostic. They first wanted me to pay the cost. It is under the warranty. Now I am waiting for the parts and was told to not drive my car until it gets repaired. No loaner was offered. They said to drive it home and they will contact me.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11674907July 20, 2025
STRUCTURE:BODY
The passenger sliding door pinch sensor did activate; but not before child’s hand was pinched in door and it almost drew blood. Door closes forcefully I have noticed compared to other minivan experiences I have with automatic doors. Quite a bit of force is needed to activate the sensor and cause the door to open back up. It needs to be more sensitive to avoid injury.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11674870July 20, 2025
STRUCTURE:BODY, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The floor behind the passenger side gets very hot and you cannot touch where the tracks for the seat are with your hand for risk of pain. This occurs for the middle passenger behind the front passenger and also the third row floor on the passenger side. Also the temperature in the cabin is substantially warmer due to this heat
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11673997July 16, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Sometimes when I start the engine the sliding doors does a quick open and closes. Told the dealership about it and they couldn’t fix the problem. It’s annoying but I Didn’t really have an issue until my [XXX] old got hit on the head by the sliding door. 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
#11673961July 16, 2025
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN
The car doesn't start after overnight, or after a period of no usage for a certain time. Push button doesn't start the engine, it takes 25-30 attempts to get it started. It keeps happening almost every day.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11669584June 26, 2025
ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
I was turning onto a main thoroughfare fare, and the van was slow to accelerate, Engine light briefly blinked, then went off, and then when I was on the interstate I had to pull over the van was running rough. Once I went back on the road, the steering wheel was shuddering and finally the engine smoothed out. This has happened more two other times to me.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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