NHTSA Data Explorer

Kia Carnival

Data refreshed May 30, 2026

Select a model year to filter results to that year of the Kia Carnival.

Complaints

417

Active records

Recalls

7

Active records

TSBs

124

Active records

Filing history

Monthly totals over the last 20 years. Click a legend item to show or hide that series.

Reported severity

Based on consumer complaints filed since 2000. Recalls and TSBs do not include severity data.

Deaths

0

Injuries

56

Crashes

9

Fires

0

Top reported issues — Kia Carnival

Click a category to expand its values.

Operating state

111

Electrical issue

104

Access/entry issue

87

Reporting mechanism

85

Condition issue

80

Performance issue

76

Driver assistance issue

24

Thermal issue

24

Engine behavior

23

Transmission/drivetrain behavior

19

Electrified system issue

18

Fluid issue

18

Vibration/harshness

17

Safety restraint issue

16

Smell

13

Noise

12

Braking behavior

11

Lighting behavior

10

Safety restraint behavior

10

Infotainment behavior

9

Starting behavior

9

Powering on/off behavior

8

Recent change

6

Steering behavior

6

HVAC behavior

4

Communication/network issue

2

Wiper/washer behavior

2

Ride/handling behavior

1

Recent filings

The 10 most recent filings for each type.

2025 KIA CARNIVAL

Filed May 28, 2026


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.

2025 KIA CARNIVAL

Filed May 27, 2026


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…

2026 KIA CARNIVAL

Filed May 27, 2026


Crash

The contact owned a 2026 Kia Carnival. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently hit a deer. The check engine warning light illuminated after the collision. The contact's wife was occupying the front passenger's side seat and the contact's daughter was occupying the rear driver's side seat during the collision. The air bags failed to deploy, and the seat belts failed to retract as needed. There was no reported injury. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The vehicle was…

2026 KIA CARNIVAL

Filed May 22, 2026


The contact owns a . The contact stated that while parked when the brake was depressed, press start button, when put in reverse, it says gear is selected, the vehicle stayed in neutral. This happens intermittently. The stop button was pressed, all of the instrument panel warning indicators would not illuminate. When pressing p for parking to engage parking, it appeared as if it was in park; however the vehicle unexpectedly reversed. The vehicle was able to be stopped. The vehicle was…

2025 KIA CARNIVAL

Filed May 20, 2026


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.

2026 KIA CARNIVAL

Filed May 19, 2026


Battery died at under 3,300 miles. After roadside came and jumped the batter, it died again after two days. Jumped again for the second time, when driving the car around it would randomly shut off even when the car is moving at higher speeds on freeway. The shut off would be for just one second and comes back on - everything starts resetting. And goes to user authoriztions notifications. Car shut off three times while driving around.

2022 KIA CARNIVAL

Filed May 18, 2026


Crash

My 2022 Kia Carnival, approximately 80,000 miles, had intermittent dashboard warning lights and grinding brake noise for a few weeks. I brought the vehicle to Tasca Kia White Plains first time on 4/14/26 then again on 5/8/26. The dealership initially could not reproduce the issue, then later suspected an ABS sensor issue and ordered the part. On 5/12/26, before the repair was completed, I was driving downhill with my children in the vehicle when the brakes failed to respond properly. I had to…

2023 KIA CARNIVAL

Filed May 14, 2026


1 injured

Our Carnival had the SC266 recall repair done on July 3rd, 2023, at 3074 miles. Then our [XXX] daughter was injured as a result of the safety function not working and the door closed without any chimes. [XXX] (my spouse) is a cardiac nurse at our local hospital, and I have combat medical training, so we took care of the minor injury. Her small hand was spared the devastation a larger one would suffer. The dealership is pretending it’s unreproducible (even though I supplied them with video…

2025 KIA CARNIVAL

Filed May 13, 2026


The contact owns a 2025 Kia Carnival. The contact received the recall letter for NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V320000 ( NA) The local dealer was contacted but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The contact had not experienced a failure.

2025 KIA CARNIVAL

Filed May 12, 2026


1 injured

Passenger sliding door failed to detect my son and closed completely on his arm. The doors will push the kids and don’t detect even adults at times. He now has a buckle fracture that they are concerned is a full fracture in both bone on his forearm. He is [XXX] old. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Data sourced from NHTSA's public datasets. Issue classifications are generated by Repair Surge. About this data.

Updated May 30, 2026. Refreshed nightly.