KIA / Carnival Hybrid / 2025
2025 KIA Carnival Hybrid problems
Owners have filed 122 complaints about the 2025 KIA Carnival Hybrid with NHTSA. Vehicle speed control accounts for 22.1% of them, narrowly the most common, ahead of electrical system at 19.7%.
Complaints122
Crashes6
Fires2
Injuries12
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Vehicle speed control 22.1% · 27
Electrical system 19.7% · 24
Engine 17.2% · 21
Power train 12.3% · 15
Fuel/propulsion system 8.2% · 10
Unknown or other 6.6% · 8
Service brakes 3.3% · 4
Air bags 1.6% · 2
Severity
Of those complaints, 6 describe a crash, 2 describe a fire and 12 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 3,000 miles.
In owners' own words
On a day which had a high temperature of 16F our Kia Carnival Hybrid SXP, after not being used most of the day, when driving would not exceed 31 miles per hour. The engine would not rev loudly or give any indication of an error but would not go over 31 mph even with the gas pedal fully depressed. After pulling over and turning the car off and on the problem did not repeat. Vehicle speed control
Vehicle not be able to accelerate over 31 mph, seems to happen when its cold outside. This is unsafe especially on highways. Dealership was not able to reproduce the issue. No warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms prior to the failure. The issue first appear under cold weather. Vehicle speed control
Car would not allow me to accelerate. It seemed to keep me running only on the electric motor vs the gas engine (the vehicle is a hybrid). This has happened multiple times. The fix is to turn the car off and on again. Vehicle speed control
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…