2022 Kia Carnival: What to check before buying

Power sliding doors keep closing when a hand, arm, or leg is in the doorway. Most of these reports involve young children, and 12 people were injured, mostly with bruised or crushed fingers, hands, and arms. Adults say it takes their full body weight to stop a closing door. Some owners report that a replaced door sensor or a dealer software update did not help, and one dealer told a parent to keep the kids away from the doors. A separate report describes a broken liftgate strut that let the gate drop without warning.

Power liftgates rise to the set height and then drop partway back down, hitting people in the head and arms. One dealer quoted over $2000 for the actuator. The horn works only some of the time, and dealers often cannot reproduce the fault. Other reports describe the climate control and gear indicator lights going dark at about 9,000 miles, a fuel door that will not open and has no manual release, and an instrument cluster that went blank at 80,000 miles. Sliding doors that do not reverse after a software update also appear here.

Windshields crack with nothing hitting them, while driving or while parked, and the cracks spread across the glass within hours or days. Small rock chips also grow fast into long cracks in the driver's view. Some owners say the windshield scratches easily from normal wiper use. Rear side passenger windows shatter on the road with a loud bang. Replacement glass is sometimes out of stock. One report also describes adaptive cruise control shutting off with a blocked radar message when the sensors are clean.

Windshields crack repeatedly, often from a tiny pebble or no impact at all, and the cracks spread across the driver's line of sight. Some owners are on their second or third windshield. Waits for factory replacement glass run from 49 days to over three months. One owner says forward collision avoidance worked only intermittently after a windshield replacement. Rear side windows also shatter while driving, one at about 3,000 miles. A separate report describes dead 12V and 115V outlets with parts on back order.

In very cold weather, ice forms in the throttle body and limits the van to roughly 10 to 20 mph with the check engine light on. Some vans had to be towed, and one owner reports code P211800. Other reports describe the engine shutting off or losing power while driving, including one at about 13,125 miles. In the most serious cases, an engine failed at 62,203 miles and sat two months awaiting replacement, and another burned coolant in cylinder 6, leading to an arbitration buyback order.

Transmissions refuse to upshift, leaving the van stuck near 30 to 35 mph with the pedal floored, often while merging onto highways. Owners describe near rear-end collisions. Other reports describe sudden loss of power at 45 and 65 mph, jerking that the check engine light traced to the torque converter, and shudder under acceleration or braking. One owner sees repeated code P0191 for fuel rail pressure. Several say dealer repairs did not stop the problem from coming back.

Outboard second-row seats in the 8-passenger layout spring forward hard when the fold lever is pulled, or snap back if they are not fully clicked into place. Riders get hit in the face and head. Three people were injured, with reports of a split lip, a possible broken nose, a momentary blackout, and fear of concussion. The release lever sits low on the seat front, so people lean right into the seat's path. One separate report describes a driver's seat frame breaking in half.

Power sliding doors close on people or open and close on their own. One owner pinned by a closing door suffered a torn shoulder, and the dealer said the door was operating as designed. In another case, a door sensor reprogramming did not stop the false movement. One van's rear sliding door opened by itself while driving and would not latch at about 500 miles. A software update and latch lubrication did not fix it.

No airbags deployed in high-speed side impacts, according to two crash reports. Both involve a vehicle running a stop sign and striking the driver's side. The drivers describe head injuries, a concussion, and lost consciousness, and one van was totaled. Both owners believe side curtain airbags would have reduced their injuries. With only two reports, no wider pattern is visible, but the injuries described are serious.