https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid New NHTSA complaints and recalls filed for the KIA Carnival Hybrid. en-us Sun, 18 Oct 2026 05:48:54 GMT https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid#complaint-2171464 Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT When driving my vehicle would not go over 31 MPH. Had to turn the vehicle off then restart to get it to clear. https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid#recall-26V046000-kia-kia-carnival-hybrid-2026 Tue, 27 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2025 Kia K4, 2025-2026 Sorento, Sorento Hybrid, Sorento Plug-In Hybrid Electric (PHEV), 2026 Sportage, Sportage Hybrid, Sportage PHEV, K5, EV9, Carnival, and Carnival Hybrid vehicles. Due to a software error, the instrument panel display may fail. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMV https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid#complaint-2169777 Sun, 25 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Driving on freeway with the heater on, Cold weather, car had multiple issue messages (transmission control unit and adaptive cruise control) as well as a check engine light come on as the car went limp and would not accelerate. Has to pull off of the freeway after nearly getting in multiple accidents due to losing speed from 65 mph to 30. Had the gas pedal all the way to the ground and the car wou https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid#complaint-2169778 Sun, 25 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Driving on freeway with the heater on, Cold weather, car had multiple issue messages (transmission control unit and adaptive cruise control) as well as a check engine light come on as the car went limp and would not accelerate. Has to pull off of the freeway after nearly getting in multiple accidents due to losing speed from 65 mph to 30. Had the gas pedal all the way to the ground and the car wou https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid#complaint-2169779 Sun, 25 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Driving on freeway with the heater on, Cold weather, car had multiple issue messages (transmission control unit and adaptive cruise control) as well as a check engine light come on as the car went limp and would not accelerate. Has to pull off of the freeway after nearly getting in multiple accidents due to losing speed from 65 mph to 30. Had the gas pedal all the way to the ground and the car wou https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid#complaint-2168846 Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Without presenting any errors, the vehicle appears to enter some sort of limp home mode which limits speed to 31mph until the vehicle is turned off and re-started. 31mph is well below the speed limit on most public roads and being limited to this speed with no ability to pull over to stop/start the car creates a significant safety hazard to the driver of the vehicle and other motorists. https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid#complaint-2157423 Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT While driving around, the van will go into "limp mode" effecting my speed and acceleration. Then the battery will become drained and the car alarms me to "Check Hybrid System. Stop safely." It seems the hybrid system fails to switch from battery to engine when the battery gets too low, creating the alert. While the vehicle is still running, I will check the diagnostics on the dashboard and it show https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid#complaint-2157424 Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT While driving around, the van will go into "limp mode" effecting my speed and acceleration. Then the battery will become drained and the car alarms me to "Check Hybrid System. Stop safely." It seems the hybrid system fails to switch from battery to engine when the battery gets too low, creating the alert. While the vehicle is still running, I will check the diagnostics on the dashboard and it show https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid#complaint-2154105 Thu, 04 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT Vehicle will randomly not engage into 3rd gear or go faster than 31 mph. The engine temp will increase as the RPMs continue to stay elevated since the vehicle isn’t engaging 3rd gear. https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid#complaint-2146392 Thu, 06 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT The contact owns a 2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle hesitated before accelerating while depressing the accelerator pedal. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was able to duplicate the failure; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed, and the cause of the failure was not yet determined. T https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid#complaint-2146393 Thu, 06 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT The contact owns a 2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle hesitated before accelerating while depressing the accelerator pedal. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was able to duplicate the failure; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed, and the cause of the failure was not yet determined. T https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid#complaint-2145197 Sun, 02 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT On the highway, the vehicle would not accelerate and was losing speed even though the gas pedal was fully depressed. Initially, the vehicle was in ECO drive mode, traveling approximately 65 mph and the steering wheel paddle to toggle the regenerative breaking between levels 1-3 prior to getting onto the highway. The vehicle speed dropped from ~75mph into the low 50mph range on the highway and was https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid#complaint-2145198 Sun, 02 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT On the highway, the vehicle would not accelerate and was losing speed even though the gas pedal was fully depressed. Initially, the vehicle was in ECO drive mode, traveling approximately 65 mph and the steering wheel paddle to toggle the regenerative breaking between levels 1-3 prior to getting onto the highway. The vehicle speed dropped from ~75mph into the low 50mph range on the highway and was https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid#complaint-2145199 Sun, 02 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT On the highway, the vehicle would not accelerate and was losing speed even though the gas pedal was fully depressed. Initially, the vehicle was in ECO drive mode, traveling approximately 65 mph and the steering wheel paddle to toggle the regenerative breaking between levels 1-3 prior to getting onto the highway. The vehicle speed dropped from ~75mph into the low 50mph range on the highway and was https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid#complaint-2139118 Mon, 13 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT The car fails to accelerate sporadically, occurred multiple times in a 2 day period. First time was getting on an on ramp to the highway, I got up to 55 MPH then couldn’t accelerate anymore even with my foot on the gas. I dropped down to 32 MPH and had to merge onto the highway at that speed. I had a semi fly up behind me and swerve around me because I was going so slow, I’m thankful there wasn’t https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid#complaint-2135979 Thu, 02 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT When the vehicle is idling, the battery refuses to charge, therefore, the car suddenly dies and makes it unsafe to pull over and dyes while driving, very dangerous and transmission doesn’t shift properly. https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid#complaint-2135980 Thu, 02 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT When the vehicle is idling, the battery refuses to charge, therefore, the car suddenly dies and makes it unsafe to pull over and dyes while driving, very dangerous and transmission doesn’t shift properly. https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid#complaint-2135981 Thu, 02 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT When the vehicle is idling, the battery refuses to charge, therefore, the car suddenly dies and makes it unsafe to pull over and dyes while driving, very dangerous and transmission doesn’t shift properly. https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid#complaint-2132016 Fri, 19 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT 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 https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid#complaint-2132017 Fri, 19 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT 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 https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid#complaint-2132018 Fri, 19 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT 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 https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid#complaint-2128079 Mon, 08 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT 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 https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid#complaint-2125204 Fri, 29 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMT 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 https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid#complaint-2125205 Fri, 29 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMT 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 https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid#complaint-2124721 Wed, 27 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMT 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. https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid#complaint-2124722 Wed, 27 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMT 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. https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid#complaint-2124723 Wed, 27 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMT 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. https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid#complaint-2119560 Mon, 11 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMT 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 mor https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid#complaint-2118882 Sat, 09 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMT 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 vehic https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid https://plaincars.com/make/kia-carnival-hybrid#complaint-2110763 Wed, 16 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMT 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)