55 of the
538 complaints filed about the KIA Carnival
are about the body and structure —
10% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2022.
The contact owns a 2022 Kia Carnival. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V908000 (Latches/Locks/Linkages, Structure); however, the failure persisted. The contact stated that the rear passenger’s side power sliding door failed to latch securely. The contact used force while pushing the rear passenger’s side sliding door from the outside to latch the sliding door properly. The dealer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that it was unrelated to the recall repair. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.
NHTSA complaint #11753013 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
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 detection system on the power sliding door, which is intended to prevent this type of injury. I am requesting that this incident be documented and reviewed as a potential safety defect. Vehicle: 2026 Kia Carnival Incident involved: automatic power sliding door failure to reverse upon obstruction Injury: bruising to a [XXX] child (legs and torso) INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11743596 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2023 Kia Carnival. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 MPH, the driver’s side roof molding ejected from the vehicle. The contact immediately stopped the vehicle but was unable to locate the molding. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V025000 (STRUCTURE). The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 77,000.
NHTSA complaint #11742271 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Vehicle: 2022 Kia Carnival Component: Liftgate — right-side support/strut (shoulder) failure Safety Issue: The right-hand side trunk strut/support has completely broken, causing the liftgate to drop unexpectedly. The trunk will not stay open and can fall abruptly during use. This creates a significant safety hazard for adults and children standing underneath, and while loading/unloading cargo. There was no prior warning or misuse. The failure is structural and sudden. Resulting Risk: Risk of head/neck injury, especially for children or anyone attempting to open or hold the liftgate. The sudden drop makes the rear of the vehicle unsafe to use. Request: Investigation into whether this is a defect affecting other 2022 Kia Carnival vehicles.
NHTSA complaint #11701168 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Passenger side sliding door periodically gets stuck trying to open or close. My 3 year olds finger got stuck in the closed position of the sliding door and we could not get the door open immediately because of the faulty door periodically getting stuck.
NHTSA complaint #11695330 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2024 Kia Carnival. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V025000 (Structure). The contact stated that the driver's side roof molding was detaching, and the contact attempted to secure the molding in place several times. The dealer was contacted to schedule an appointment for the recall repair, but the dealer informed the contact that the recall repair had already been performed while the vehicle was at the dealer for an unrelated service, a month prior. The contact stated that the dealer had failed to perform the recall repair correctly because the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was filed; however, no assistance was provided. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The failure mileage was approximately 25,000.
NHTSA complaint #11689092 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The power sliding door does not reverse when an object is in its path. The door closed on my sons body. He was okay we were able to pull the handle to make it open again but it did not stop on its own. Another instance the door did not stop closing when a toy went into the door. The door just crunched the toy and shut while beeping.
NHTSA complaint #11683764 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The Kia Carnival was parked a slight decline and when the button to close the passenger sliding door the door closed rapidly like a guillotine. Thankfully no children or body part were in the path of the door because it would have severely damaged them. After it closed rapidly the door was unable to be opened. The dealership is still working on the Carnival and it has been over 3 weeks and they said they have never seen anything like this since it tore off a bolt in the body frame and caused damage to the body frame and they were unable to open it. Still don't have a timeline for repair. Also concerned it may happen to the other side and the safety issues around it.
NHTSA complaint #11682325 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Side passenger doors do not stop when something is in the way when the automatic door close feature is used. We tried holding a hot dog and large piece of celery in the way of the door as it closed. The sensor did not detect either item and broke them both in two. If this was a human limb, finger, neck or other body part, great bodily harm would occur.
NHTSA complaint #11681167 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
After working out at my gym, my daughters and I were driving on a side street near at around 35MPH. With no warning, a large POP happened and our passenger sliding door window shattered. Thankfully, nothing but a scratch happened to my [XXX] that was in her car seat closest to the window that shattered. I called our local KIA dealership and my insurance agent and both mentioned that it could be because of the heat we are having in our area. This concerns me because the Carnival is a “MPV” aka family car and this happened without a chip or anything in the glass and terrified both of my girls. I have never heard of a window solely shattering bc of heat. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11676838 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The floor behind the passenger side gets very hot and you cannot touch where the tracks for the seat are with your hand for risk of pain. This occurs for the middle passenger behind the front passenger and also the third row floor on the passenger side. Also the temperature in the cabin is substantially warmer due to this heat
NHTSA complaint #11674870 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The passenger sliding door pinch sensor did activate; but not before child’s hand was pinched in door and it almost drew blood. Door closes forcefully I have noticed compared to other minivan experiences I have with automatic doors. Quite a bit of force is needed to activate the sensor and cause the door to open back up. It needs to be more sensitive to avoid injury.
NHTSA complaint #11674907 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2022 Kia Carnival. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the driver's side windshield exterior A-Pillar trim flew off and struck the vehicle behind, almost causing a crash. The contact pulled over to the side of the road temporarily. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, and the vehicle was inspected. The dealer determined that the trim needed to be replaced; however, the repair was not covered under the bumper-to-bumper warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 22,023.
NHTSA complaint #11664391 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Driver side sliding door closed COMPLETELY on daughter's finger causing significant damage and laceration down to the bone. Required extensive laceration repair.
NHTSA complaint #11663660 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
On [XXX], my kids were getting into the vehicle to go to a playdate. My [XXX] got in the car and into his seat. I was on the driver's side buckling my [XXX] in her car seat and my [XXX] was climbing into the door/her seat on the passenger side. The passenger side sliding door shut on my [XXX] 's hand. I immediately tried to open the door with the button next to the steering column and it would not respond. I then ran around to the other side of the car and used the button on the handle, but the door did not respond to open. I had to manually pull on the handle to force it open off of her hand. No fingers were broken, but the door was shut on her hand completely and she had bruising. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11663748 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The passenger side sliding door would not respond to any button pushed to open the door. Once I get it manually opened, it will not latch upon closure resulting in a beeping and warning in my dash. I can turn off power doors and manually force it to shut and most of the time that works but this specific incident it was not working. I ensured that there was nothing blocking the door from shutting and finally got it to shut and latch. I drove out of the location I was at and the sliding door flew open at about 20mph.
NHTSA complaint #11663751 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The passenger automatic sliding door closed on my arm and required a lot of effort to push it back open. I’d it was my child standing there he would have been seriously injured. The problem has been reproduced, but I’m terrified to actually leave my arm there to see if it will close on it again. Nothing was inspected and there were no warnings prior to this happening.
NHTSA complaint #11656201 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
One night while driving all lights went out even panel radio too and in a couple of seconds came back to normal..a few weeks after that while driving a loud warning sound came on and the info panel turned Red when I felt a breeze my door was opened by inself
NHTSA complaint #11648010 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Roof molding has either completely detactch or partial detached from top of vehicle 4 times now. They have attempted to glue it back on but it still fails! This is dangerous for other drivers and my family
NHTSA complaint #11616889 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The sliding doors do not reverse like they should. The sensors are not good. Yes Kia added the warning sounds but it isn’t good enough. My LO’s entire hand was shut in the door.
NHTSA complaint #11611930 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.