2023 KIA CARNIVAL
55 complaints filed with NHTSA.
NHTSA Safety Rating
Complaints by Component
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 19 |
| STRUCTURE:BODY | 10 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 6 |
| ENGINE | 4 |
| Chest Clip, Buckle, Harness | 2 |
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH:EMERGENCY MECHANICAL RELEASE | 1 |
| STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR | 1 |
| LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION | 1 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 |
| FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS | 1 |
| LANE DEPARTURE: LANE KEEP: STEERING ASSIST | 1 |
| STEERING:COLUMN | 1 |
| SEAT BELTS | 1 |
| VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 |
| STEERING | 1 |
Recalls (3)
STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling all 2022 and certain 2023 Carnival vehicles. The auto-reverse feature for the power sliding doors (PSD) may not activate in all situations.
STRUCTURE:BODY:ROOF AND PILLARS
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023-2024 Sportage and 2022-2024 Carnival vehicles. The roof molding may loosen and detach.
TRAILER HITCHES
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2022-2023 Carnival vehicles equipped with a tow hitch harness installed as original equipment, or purchased as an accessory through a Kia dealership. Water accumulation on the tow hitch harness module printed circuit board (PCB) may cause an electrical s
Recent Complaints
The contact owns a 2023 Kia Carnival. The contact stated that during freezing weather, the button was depressed to open the driver's side rear sliding door, and the door automatically opened; however, the motor reached a point of resistance and attempted to close the sliding door. Due to the failure of the cable in the door snapped behind the glass window. The contact manually opened the sliding door and used excessive force to close the door. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who confirmed t
Mileage: 63,476
The contact owns a 2023 Kia Carnival. The contact stated that during freezing weather, the button was depressed to open the driver's side rear sliding door, and the door automatically opened; however, the motor reached a point of resistance and attempted to close the sliding door. Due to the failure of the cable in the door snapped behind the glass window. The contact manually opened the sliding door and used excessive force to close the door. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who confirmed t
Mileage: 63,476
ABS was activating inappropriately creating a grinding/pulsating noise while I was attempting to stop at a light. The vehicle did slow down but despite the completely dry road service and sufficient stopping distance, the vehicle never came to a stop and ran into the vehicle in front of me. The vehicle is currently in the autobody shop to be repaired as it is not drivable (leaking fluids). I will be contacting my insurance company and an independent service center shortly to have it inspect
Strong fuel smell that comes and goes. Dealership replaced fuel injection related parts after finding a leak. Problem is still present.
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.
Gas/pump door actuator failed. Unable to open and put gas in car. This car is only 1.5 years old.
On August 23, 2025, I purchased a certified pre-owned Kia Carnival. Within hours, the vehicle had a severe fuel leak that produced a strong gasoline odor. Driving it made me sick, and I feared for the safety of my three children in the vehicle. A Kia technician later confirmed a crossover fuel line leak so severe that he became ill while inspecting it and feared the vehicle could explode. Even after repair, the gas odor persisted. This vehicle was sold to me in unsafe condition, and I believe th
On August 23, 2025, I purchased a certified pre-owned Kia Carnival. Within hours, the vehicle had a severe fuel leak that produced a strong gasoline odor. Driving it made me sick, and I feared for the safety of my three children in the vehicle. A Kia technician later confirmed a crossover fuel line leak so severe that he became ill while inspecting it and feared the vehicle could explode. Even after repair, the gas odor persisted. This vehicle was sold to me in unsafe condition, and I believe th
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.
My [XXX] son locked himself and his [XXX] brother in the car today. The scenario which is repeatable is if the cars start button is pushed to turn on accessory power the key fob will no longer unlock the doors. My father had the key fob outside of the car, while my son scrambled up front and pushed both the start button on the car and the door lock button. Again at this point the key fob is outside the car and will not unlock the doors. The daycare had to call 911 because two children were loc
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 âMPVâ ak
Gas door outside cover would not open which makes it impossible to pump gas. Dealership removed door to enable the ability to pump gas. This then disables the safety feature that keeps the van door from sliding open which a rear passenger may mistakenly open the door and the gas pump hose would be knocked off. if Dealership opens the door to the gas area, and leaves the door to the gas cover ajar slightly to enable the ability to pump gas, this causes an issue if the door is mistakenly opened
Unknown as to what exactly happened, but my husband put my daughter in her car seat buckled her and was just fine. We arrived to our destination no more than 15 minutes later and her chest clip buckle had busted apart. I do have video of the chest clip and how it was apart, however, as soon as I get the new piece and I will not have it to show due to needing the car seat. I do have video of the incident right after I noticed it and other videos showing the parts and pieces. My daughter ended u
The contact owns a 2023 Kia Carnival. The contact stated that the seat belt located in the rear middle row was inoperable. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the seat belt failed to retract. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the seat belt needed to be replaced. The dealer ordered the part, which was on backorder. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximatel
Mileage: 30,000
The car seat harness fails to stay engaged in a safe and secure position. When tightened to the correct position it becomes loose. I contacted Nuna and they advised I should clean the harness adjuster button from debris but I did that and the harness is still coming loose. I donât know how many times my children have been transported while wearing this faulty harness over time since purchasing our seats in 2021 but we are in our vehicle daily so my guess is upwards of 100âs of times. The man
The windshield started cracking while the car was parked and continued cracking over the next week. The crack now runs from the center top, 3/4 of the way across the driver's side
The contact owns a 2023 Kia Carnival. The contact stated that an unknown fluid was leaking from the left side of the steering column while driving at various speeds. The contact took the vehicle to a dealer where the parts on the steering column were wiped down and the contact was instructed to return the vehicle to the dealer if the failure persisted. The failure returned and the vehicle was taken back to the dealer. A diagnostic test was performed, and the contact was informed that the vehicle
Mileage: 10,000
My 2023 KIA Carnival has a windshield cracked even without hitting rock or anything. My vehicle was parked on the driveway overnight. I can prove that the damage occurred without the car moving. I have this issue on my dash cam too. The data is saved with date and time. Kia Findlay Las Vegas refuses repair. It's not an official recall about this problem. But Similar cases can be read on the Internet.
The rails in the middle row where the seats connect to, get extremely hot to the point where it is very hot to touch. This is a safety issue that could potentially cause a fire and/or burn my childrenâsâ feet. It doesnât matter if the car has been driven for a short period of time or on a long trip, regardless the rails get very hot
We drove an hour then sat in the car while it was on for about 30 minutes. The gas tank was 14% full. We started driving again down a bit of a hill & got to a stop light. The car started beeping & said âengine off! Switch to N then start engineâ We turned the car off and back on & it started working.