2025 Kia Carnival: What to check before buying

The 12-volt battery goes dead after the van sits overnight or for a day or two, often within the first few hundred miles. Reports describe a parasitic drain with no lights or doors left on, repeated jump starts, and the Kia app halting remote functions once the battery falls below 40%. Some owners lose access through both keys and the app. A weak battery can make the electrical system flicker and shut the van off. Dealers often keep vans for days or weeks without a fix. Other reports cite a failed body control module and a hybrid stuck in electric mode at 30-35 mph.

Hybrid vans suddenly stop accelerating at about 31 mph, even with the pedal floored. Many cases happen on cold mornings, some after remote start, and turning the van off and on usually clears it. Warning lights often stay dark, though some drivers see hybrid system or powertrain failure messages. Dealers frequently cannot reproduce the problem. Other complaints describe the shifter showing one gear while the van is in another, hesitation when pressing the gas, and push-button starts that take many tries. Drivers report being stuck at low speed while merging or pulling into traffic, a clear crash risk.

The van refuses to go faster than 30 or 31 mph while the engine keeps revving. Most reports come from cold weather, often on the first trip after sitting overnight, and warning lights rarely appear. Restarting usually restores normal power, though some cases clear only after about 5 minutes. Some drivers also lose power at highway speed. The main danger is merging onto highways far below the speed of traffic, which invites rear-end crashes. Dealers often cannot reproduce it. A separate report describes the van surging forward while stopped with a foot on the brake.

Acceleration stops at 30 to 31 mph, sometimes with a false 30 mph speed limit warning on the dash and no check engine light. Dealers have not found a cause, and one reset the transmission computer. Other reports describe slow acceleration with a briefly blinking engine light and rough running, a van that will not shift into 3rd gear while engine temperature climbs, and limp mode with no warning or stored trouble codes. One complaint links limp mode to oil overfill after oil changes. Each of these can leave the van slow in traffic.

Power sliding doors close with strong force, and the obstacle sensor reacts late or not at all. One report describes a child's hand pinched before the door reversed, and 1 injury is recorded. Another describes doors closing straight through objects held in their path, a pinch risk for fingers and limbs. A separate complaint says the passenger-side floor near the second- and third-row seat tracks gets too hot to touch and warms the cabin.

Second-row seats on new vans stick when sliding, then lurch forward suddenly when the outside release is used. In one report the seatback and its hard plastic seat belt housing struck a person beside the seat in the forehead, leaving a swollen lump. Only 2 complaints are on file, and one gives no details, so no wider pattern is visible yet.