Complaints & Recalls
Consumer Complaints
46 ComplaintsKia America, Inc.
Defect Description:
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Potential Consequences:
The following has happened 4-5 times now on our Kia Carnival 2025 SXP Hybrid: After turning on the car, the car can be driven but does not allow the driver to increase the speed beyond ~30 miles per hour. No warning indicators or messages are displayed when this occurs. Turning the vehicle off and then on again temporarily resolves the issue. One of the times it occurred, I went straight from a 25 mph city street onto a highway onramp that didn't have a safe place to pull off. When I got on the onramp, I discovered that the issue was happening as I was unable to accelerate beyond 30mph. The highway had a speed limit of 65mph and a minimum speed limit of 55mph. Joining the highway at 30mph was both illegal and unsafe and could have absolutely caused a fatal crash. ---- To troubleshoot this issue, we took it into the dealership and they didn't find any errors recorded or anything abnormal in diagnostics. They told us it was probably just a malfunctioning of the "Auto Highway Speed Change" setting that is intended to slow you down around curves when using cruise control on the highway. We told them that didn't make sense because it happened to us on city streets where that setting isn't even in play, but they insisted it was still the culprit and didn't investigate further. It happened again to us today with AHSC disabled, so clearly the AHSC setting doesn't explain things(and would be an issue that needs fixing even if it did).
Corrective Action:
The following has happened 4-5 times now on our Kia Carnival 2025 SXP Hybrid: After turning on the car, the car can be driven but does not allow the driver to increase the speed beyond ~30 miles per hour. No warning indicators or messages are displayed when this occurs. Turning the vehicle off and then on again temporarily resolves the issue. One of the times it occurred, I went straight from a 25 mph city street onto a highway onramp that didn't have a safe place to pull off. When I got on the onramp, I discovered that the issue was happening as I was unable to accelerate beyond 30mph. The highway had a speed limit of 65mph and a minimum speed limit of 55mph. Joining the highway at 30mph was both illegal and unsafe and could have absolutely caused a fatal crash. ---- To troubleshoot this issue, we took it into the dealership and they didn't find any errors recorded or anything abnormal in diagnostics. They told us it was probably just a malfunctioning of the "Auto Highway Speed Change" setting that is intended to slow you down around curves when using cruise control on the highway. We told them that didn't make sense because it happened to us on city streets where that setting isn't even in play, but they insisted it was still the culprit and didn't investigate further. It happened again to us today with AHSC disabled, so clearly the AHSC setting doesn't explain things(and would be an issue that needs fixing even if it did).
Additional Notes:
The following has happened 4-5 times now on our Kia Carnival 2025 SXP Hybrid: After turning on the car, the car can be driven but does not allow the driver to increase the speed beyond ~30 miles per hour. No warning indicators or messages are displayed when this occurs. Turning the vehicle off and then on again temporarily resolves the issue. One of the times it occurred, I went straight from a 25 mph city street onto a highway onramp that didn't have a safe place to pull off. When I got on the onramp, I discovered that the issue was happening as I was unable to accelerate beyond 30mph. The highway had a speed limit of 65mph and a minimum speed limit of 55mph. Joining the highway at 30mph was both illegal and unsafe and could have absolutely caused a fatal crash. ---- To troubleshoot this issue, we took it into the dealership and they didn't find any errors recorded or anything abnormal in diagnostics. They told us it was probably just a malfunctioning of the "Auto Highway Speed Change" setting that is intended to slow you down around curves when using cruise control on the highway. We told them that didn't make sense because it happened to us on city streets where that setting isn't even in play, but they insisted it was still the culprit and didn't investigate further. It happened again to us today with AHSC disabled, so clearly the AHSC setting doesn't explain things(and would be an issue that needs fixing even if it did).
Mfg Campaign: 11637284
Recall Date: Jan 21, 2025
Kia America, Inc.
Defect Description:
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Potential Consequences:
I was driving on a secondary road that has a 45 MPH speed limit when the vehicle decelerated to 31 MPH on its own. I could not make it go faster with any application of the accelerator. This lasted for about 5 minutes. I called the dealer service and they said it was probably a "glitch" and they could not investigate unless I left the vehicle with them until they could reproduce it. One unusual fact is that it was very cold the morning it happened, 9 degrees fahrenheit. I believe this could be very dangerous, particularly if hit happens on a highway. I spoke to another owner on Reddit who had the same thing happen twice.
Corrective Action:
I was driving on a secondary road that has a 45 MPH speed limit when the vehicle decelerated to 31 MPH on its own. I could not make it go faster with any application of the accelerator. This lasted for about 5 minutes. I called the dealer service and they said it was probably a "glitch" and they could not investigate unless I left the vehicle with them until they could reproduce it. One unusual fact is that it was very cold the morning it happened, 9 degrees fahrenheit. I believe this could be very dangerous, particularly if hit happens on a highway. I spoke to another owner on Reddit who had the same thing happen twice.
Additional Notes:
I was driving on a secondary road that has a 45 MPH speed limit when the vehicle decelerated to 31 MPH on its own. I could not make it go faster with any application of the accelerator. This lasted for about 5 minutes. I called the dealer service and they said it was probably a "glitch" and they could not investigate unless I left the vehicle with them until they could reproduce it. One unusual fact is that it was very cold the morning it happened, 9 degrees fahrenheit. I believe this could be very dangerous, particularly if hit happens on a highway. I spoke to another owner on Reddit who had the same thing happen twice.
Mfg Campaign: 11637026
Recall Date: Jan 20, 2025
Kia America, Inc.
Defect Description:
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Potential Consequences:
The vehicle(2025 Kia Carnival HEV) is brand new, just over one month old. We parked it in the garage, and after just 4 days of not driving, the battery was totally dead. We were not able to start the van. The battery was 4.5v when measured with a digital volt meter.
Corrective Action:
The vehicle(2025 Kia Carnival HEV) is brand new, just over one month old. We parked it in the garage, and after just 4 days of not driving, the battery was totally dead. We were not able to start the van. The battery was 4.5v when measured with a digital volt meter.
Additional Notes:
The vehicle(2025 Kia Carnival HEV) is brand new, just over one month old. We parked it in the garage, and after just 4 days of not driving, the battery was totally dead. We were not able to start the van. The battery was 4.5v when measured with a digital volt meter.
Mfg Campaign: 11635179
Recall Date: Jan 10, 2025
Kia America, Inc.
Defect Description:
SEATS
Potential Consequences:
Being a new vehicle the 2nd row seats do not easily slide forward and back. My wife was attempting to move the 2nd row seat forward using the mechanism on the outside of the seat. The back of the seat and the seat moved forward suddenly, striking her in the forehead. The mechanism that holds the 2nd row seat belt is made of a very hard plastic. This hard plastic is what made contact with my wife's forehead, knocked her glasses off and left a swollen lump. The seat belt mechanism and/or plastic material needs to be re-engineered. This could result in a serious injury to a young child or elderly person.
Corrective Action:
Being a new vehicle the 2nd row seats do not easily slide forward and back. My wife was attempting to move the 2nd row seat forward using the mechanism on the outside of the seat. The back of the seat and the seat moved forward suddenly, striking her in the forehead. The mechanism that holds the 2nd row seat belt is made of a very hard plastic. This hard plastic is what made contact with my wife's forehead, knocked her glasses off and left a swollen lump. The seat belt mechanism and/or plastic material needs to be re-engineered. This could result in a serious injury to a young child or elderly person.
Additional Notes:
Being a new vehicle the 2nd row seats do not easily slide forward and back. My wife was attempting to move the 2nd row seat forward using the mechanism on the outside of the seat. The back of the seat and the seat moved forward suddenly, striking her in the forehead. The mechanism that holds the 2nd row seat belt is made of a very hard plastic. This hard plastic is what made contact with my wife's forehead, knocked her glasses off and left a swollen lump. The seat belt mechanism and/or plastic material needs to be re-engineered. This could result in a serious injury to a young child or elderly person.
Mfg Campaign: 11633005
Recall Date: Dec 29, 2024
Kia America, Inc.
Defect Description:
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Potential Consequences:
The vehicle is brand new. We drove it home from the dealership and parked it in the garage, and after just a few days, the battery was totally dead and unresponsive.
Corrective Action:
The vehicle is brand new. We drove it home from the dealership and parked it in the garage, and after just a few days, the battery was totally dead and unresponsive.
Additional Notes:
The vehicle is brand new. We drove it home from the dealership and parked it in the garage, and after just a few days, the battery was totally dead and unresponsive.
Mfg Campaign: 11629402
Recall Date: Dec 7, 2024
Kia America, Inc.
Defect Description:
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Potential Consequences:
Battery died without cause
Corrective Action:
Battery died without cause
Additional Notes:
Battery died without cause
Mfg Campaign: 11624531
Recall Date: Nov 11, 2024
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