CSR

Kia · NHTSA safety record

2026 Kia Carnival

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

22

Complaints

2

Crashes

0

Fires

4

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2026 Kia Carnival have filed 22 safety complaints with NHTSA between August 2025 and August 2026. The most complained-about system is the electrical system, named in 5 of them (23%). The typical failure was reported at 2,379 miles, the median across the 3 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 2 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (2)

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS

26V232000 · April 10, 2026

The defect
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2022-2026 Carnival vehicles. Fuel may leak at the pipe connection between the fuel pipe and fuel rail.
The risk
A fuel leak increases the risk of a fire.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect and tighten, or replace the fuel pipe as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 2, 2026. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC368. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov on April 24, 2026.

Kia America, Inc. · up to 141,032 vehicles across all model years covered

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL

26V046000 · January 27, 2026

The defect
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 (FMVSS) numbers 101, "Controls and Displays" and 138, "Tire Pressure Monitoring System."
The risk
An instrument panel display that fails to show critical safety information, such as the speedometer, tire pressure, or warning lights, increases the risk of a crash.
The remedy
The instrument panel display software will be updated over-the-air (OTA) or by a dealer, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed March 26, 2026. Owners may contact Kia Customer Service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC361. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov on February 9, 2026.

Kia America, Inc. · up to 42,677 vehicles across all model years covered

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 22.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER 9 41%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 5 23%
POWER TRAIN 4 18%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 3 14%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 2 9%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 2 9%
AIR BAGS 1 5%
ENGINE 1 5%
LANE DEPARTURE 1 5%
SEAT BELTS 1 5%
SEATS 1 5%
STEERING 1 5%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2026 at 14.

2025 2026
2025 to 2026, the last of them a part year

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

STEERING

3 injured · crash · towed · 29,272 miles

The contact owns a 2026 Kia Carnival. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, while avoiding another vehicle that almost crashed into the vehicle, the contact attempted to turn the steering wheel, and the vehicle became difficult to maneuver, and the front passenger side of the vehicle crashed into a guard rail and the front bumper detached. No warning lights were illuminated. The air bags had not deployed. A Police report was filed. The contact sustained back, neck, and head pain from the impact in the crash. Medical attention was sought, and the contact was diagnosed with a whiplash. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic; however, the vehicle was not yet

NHTSA complaint 11746424, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY

1 injured

Subject: Safety Complaint – Power Sliding Door Failure Injuring Child (2026 Kia Carnival) I am submitting a safety complaint regarding a 2026 Kia Carnival. During normal use, the vehicle’s automatic power sliding door closed while my [XXX] child was partially outside the vehicle near the door track area. The door continued to close and did not stop or reverse when it encountered my child, resulting in the child being pinned between the sliding door and the vehicle body. I physically intervened by placing my body in the path of the door to stop it and remove my child. The child sustained bruising to the legs and torso. The concern is a potential failure of the anti-pinch / obstruction

NHTSA complaint 11743596, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

crash · towed · 2,379 miles

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 then towed to an autobody, where it was totaled by the insurance company after further investigation. The dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed

NHTSA complaint 11740309, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Distracting feature which is dangerous to the operator: The control for the radio volume is the same knob as the control for the air and heating. As a result when you go to turn down the radio or change the volume you often change the fan and temperature... and likewise when you go to change the temperature you inadvertantly change the volume on the radio which is difficult to change back. The constant switching between the Radio control and the temperature/fan control for the car is a huge distraction for a driver who needs to stay focused on the road Thankfully we have not been in an accident at this time, but the distraction is a concern with this vehicle and we felt should be reported

NHTSA complaint 11754532, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
We were driving down [XXX] south towards home and out of nowhere, it sounded like something clapped against our passenger driver's side window. the window completely shattered and then proceeded to fall inwards onto my [XXX] old. It was absolutely traumatizing. Nothing hit us. It just exploded. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint 11753576. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:BODY CONTROL MODULE/BCM

2,200 miles

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 taken to the dealer where the issue could not be duplicated. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The approximate mileage was 2,200.

NHTSA complaint 11739601. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Kia Carnival

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2025 121 1
2024 68 2
2023 50 4
2022 133 6

Other 2026 Kia models

Every Kia on this site — 176 vehicles, 208 recall campaigns and 1 open investigation .

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. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

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.

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