Kia · NHTSA safety record
Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.
Owners have filed 64 safety complaints about the 2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid with the US government. Of those, 3 describe a crash, 1 mentions a fire, 8 people were injured and no death is recorded. No recall campaign has been matched to this year, make and model.
The most complained-about system is vehicle speed control, named in 24 complaints, 38% of the total.
Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers November 2024 to September 2026 · How this is counted
64
Complaints
3
Describe a crash
1
Mention fire
8
People injured
0
Deaths
A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.
No recall campaign was matched to this year, make and model. That is not the same as a clean vehicle: recalls are issued against production ranges, and the only reliable check is your own VIN.
One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 64.
By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2025 at 38.
This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2024 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.
NHTSA has not crash tested the 2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid. Its New Car Assessment Program tests a selection of each year's vehicles and does not reach motorcycles, heavy trucks, motorhomes or most low-volume models, so an absence here says nothing about how the vehicle would perform. It is not a low score.
What owners have reported about this vehicle is below, and it is a different question: a crash test measures what happens to the people inside in a controlled impact, while a complaint records what broke during ordinary use.
Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.
3 injured · crash · towed
the vehicle was rear-ended on the highway. The front driver airbag and seatbelt for the driver and passengers in the middle row, likely malfunctioned, as the driver hit her head on the front visor/headliner and rearview mirror. The rear passenger was thrown into the center console.
NHTSA complaint 11765465. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
2 injured · crash · towed
The seat and side curtain Airbags did not deployed on auto crash accident.
NHTSA complaint 11763227. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
1 injured
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)
NHTSA complaint 11673997. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
1 injured
While my 2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid was parked, my [XXX] child attempted to unbuckle the rear passenger seat belt to exit the vehicle. The buckle mechanism jammed completely and would not release. The seat belt retractor then switched into Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR) mode, continuously tightening and squeezing my child against the seat. Due to the jammed buckle and the aggressive ratcheting of the belt, my child was nearly choked, and I could not create enough slack to free them. I was forced to call 911, and responding emergency services had to physically cut the seat belt to extract my child safely from the vehicle." INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
NHTSA complaint 11752564, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
I had to slam on my brakes and the car went into Limp Mode, not allowing acceleration above 20 MPh. I drove for a while and then pulled into a parking lot and turned off the car and back on again. I was able to achieve normal acceleration after turning the car back on. We felt unsafe having no control over our speed and cars honking and racing around us. I am afraid to drive my family in this car for fear of having to slam on my brakes at a highway intersection or off/on ramp, which could cause a fatal crash. A Kia dealership is performing a diagnostic now and will advise. The vehicle has not been inspected by another agency. No warning lights went on that I can recall.
NHTSA complaint 11768008. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
On random occasions, car will display "check hybrid system" and go into limp mode (limiting speed significantly) check engine, oil, and battery lights also illuminate. Had car serviced twice by dealership who cannot replicate the error, nor can they find any engine codes stored. However, this incident keeps occurring. Planning on having the car serviced again and not picking it up until it's figured out, but also wanted to report this incidence as I have seen several posts with other people complaining of the same issue. Concern is for if this happens randomly at freeway speeds and becomes a serious road hazard.
NHTSA complaint 11766261. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
1 injured
The passenger-side sliding door closed while I was holding my son and leaning into the passenger doorway. At the time the door was closing, my son’s left foot was still inside the doorway. The sliding door closed directly onto his left foot and remained fully closed on his foot rather than stopping or reversing. His foot was trapped by the closed door until we were able to open it. This incident resulted in significant bruising to his left foot and concern for a possible fracture. The failure of the sliding door to detect the obstruction and stop or reverse put my son’s safety at serious risk and resulted in injury. The component involved was the passenger-side power sliding door and/or its
NHTSA complaint 11762863, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
My vehicle keeps throwing a code “check hybrid system” and slowing me down to 30mph, it will not accelerate. This is extremely dangerous. I can restart the car and it’s fine but this is a major safety issue considering it keeps happening
NHTSA complaint 11762493. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
| Model year | Complaints | Recalls | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 22 | 1 | — |
Complaints on file, same model year.
Every Kia on this site — 181 vehicles.
If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.
A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.
Compiled and maintained by guarledes
Independent developer and analyst