2025 KIA CARNIVAL HYBRID Problems & Recalls
Detailed safety information and owner complaints
Problem Breakdown
Compare to Other Years
Common Problems
While driving around, the van will go into "limp mode" effecting my speed and acceleration. Then the battery will become drained and the car alarms me to "Check Hybrid System. Stop safely." It seems the hybrid system fails to switch from battery to engine when the battery gets too low, creating the ...
While driving around, the van will go into "limp mode" effecting my speed and acceleration. Then the battery will become drained and the car alarms me to "Check Hybrid System. Stop safely." It seems the hybrid system fails to switch from battery to engine when the battery gets too low, creating the ...
Vehicle will randomly not engage into 3rd gear or go faster than 31 mph. The engine temp will increase as the RPMs continue to stay elevated since the vehicle isn’t engaging 3rd gear.
The contact owns a 2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle hesitated before accelerating while depressing the accelerator pedal. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was able to duplicate the fai...
Mileage: 3,000
The contact owns a 2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle hesitated before accelerating while depressing the accelerator pedal. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was able to duplicate the fai...
Mileage: 3,000
The car fails to accelerate sporadically, occurred multiple times in a 2 day period. First time was getting on an on ramp to the highway, I got up to 55 MPH then couldn’t accelerate anymore even with my foot on the gas. I dropped down to 32 MPH and had to merge onto the highway at that speed. I ha...
When the vehicle is idling, the battery refuses to charge, therefore, the car suddenly dies and makes it unsafe to pull over and dyes while driving, very dangerous and transmission doesn’t shift properly.
When the vehicle is idling, the battery refuses to charge, therefore, the car suddenly dies and makes it unsafe to pull over and dyes while driving, very dangerous and transmission doesn’t shift properly.
When the vehicle is idling, the battery refuses to charge, therefore, the car suddenly dies and makes it unsafe to pull over and dyes while driving, very dangerous and transmission doesn’t shift properly.
The car gave alert of "hybrid system failure" and showed a picture of a drained battery. After about 20 seconds, we were unable to drive over 30 mph. After about 30 more seconds, the car shut off and had to be jumped to work again. Luckily we were pulling over into a parking lot when it shut off, bu...
The car gave alert of "hybrid system failure" and showed a picture of a drained battery. After about 20 seconds, we were unable to drive over 30 mph. After about 30 more seconds, the car shut off and had to be jumped to work again. Luckily we were pulling over into a parking lot when it shut off, bu...
The car gave alert of "hybrid system failure" and showed a picture of a drained battery. After about 20 seconds, we were unable to drive over 30 mph. After about 30 more seconds, the car shut off and had to be jumped to work again. Luckily we were pulling over into a parking lot when it shut off, bu...
The contact owns a 2025 Kia Carnival. The contact stated that on several occasions the vehicle failed to start due to the 24-Volt battery failure. The vehicle was jump-started and operated normally, but the failure reoccurred. Additionally, the contact indicated that the emergency key failed to open...
Mileage: 600
While driving, the vehicle intermittently fails to accelerate when the accelerator is pressed; it will only coast at about 30 mph. At the same time, the hybrid battery indicator shows a low charge that continues to drop rather than recharge. The “Check Hybrid System – Stop Safely” warning also...
While driving, the vehicle intermittently fails to accelerate when the accelerator is pressed; it will only coast at about 30 mph. At the same time, the hybrid battery indicator shows a low charge that continues to drop rather than recharge. The “Check Hybrid System – Stop Safely” warning also...
The hybrid car intermittently switches into EV mode after coming to a complete stop (e.g., at a traffic signal or after briefly stopping to pick up my child). When this happens, the vehicle does not accelerate properly once back on the road and feels stuck in EV mode, unable to accelerate beyond ~45...
The hybrid car intermittently switches into EV mode after coming to a complete stop (e.g., at a traffic signal or after briefly stopping to pick up my child). When this happens, the vehicle does not accelerate properly once back on the road and feels stuck in EV mode, unable to accelerate beyond ~45...
The hybrid car intermittently switches into EV mode after coming to a complete stop (e.g., at a traffic signal or after briefly stopping to pick up my child). When this happens, the vehicle does not accelerate properly once back on the road and feels stuck in EV mode, unable to accelerate beyond ~45...
While driving at random times, there is no acceleration while pressing the gas pedal. The battery shows low charge and gradually goes down instead of up. Sometimes the “check hybrid system stop safely” warning light comes on. Our safety was put at risk because it has happened while trying to mer...
UNKNOWN. While driving, an alert will pop up "Consider taking a break." It is very distracting and actually startles me to the point of almost having had an accident several times. It will pop up several times while driving at random intervals. I have tried to disable it, but cannot. I called the KI...
Sometimes when I start the engine the sliding doors does a quick open and closes. Told the dealership about it and they couldn’t fix the problem. It’s annoying but I Didn’t really have an issue until my [XXX] old got hit on the head by the sliding door. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE F...
2025 KIA Carnival Hybrid gets stuck in electric mode. This cause rapid draining of the electric vehicle battery, reduced maximum speed, and reduced acceleration. This has occurred while merging onto the highway. I had to pull over to the highway on ramp shoulder, turn the vehicle off and back, and...
2025 KIA Carnival Hybrid gets stuck in electric mode. This cause rapid draining of the electric vehicle battery, reduced maximum speed, and reduced acceleration. This has occurred while merging onto the highway. I had to pull over to the highway on ramp shoulder, turn the vehicle off and back, and...
The Kia Carnival Hybrid wouldn't allow me to accelerate, topping out at 30/31 MPH despite me fully pressing down on the accelerator. It has happened twice now (a few days apart) and can only be resolved by turning the car off and then back on. Compared to similar complaints logged on the NHTSA websi...
The Kia Carnival Hybrid wouldn't allow me to accelerate, topping out at 30/31 MPH despite me fully pressing down on the accelerator. It has happened twice now (a few days apart) and can only be resolved by turning the car off and then back on. Compared to similar complaints logged on the NHTSA websi...
When pulling out onto the highway from my drive way the car would no accelerate when I pressed the gas, the car would not exceed 35mph, when caused me and my kids to almost get rear ended when pulling out since the car would not go..... the car will start to flash a " check hybrid system pull over s...
When pulling out onto the highway from my drive way the car would no accelerate when I pressed the gas, the car would not exceed 35mph, when caused me and my kids to almost get rear ended when pulling out since the car would not go..... the car will start to flash a " check hybrid system pull over s...
When pulling out onto the highway from my drive way the car would no accelerate when I pressed the gas, the car would not exceed 35mph, when caused me and my kids to almost get rear ended when pulling out since the car would not go..... the car will start to flash a " check hybrid system pull over s...
My carnival is only a few weeks old. The first week of driving I was on the freeway and I was suddenly unable to accelerate. The started slowing down and pressing the gas did nothing. I was able to get off to the side of the freeway where I turned off the car. Once the car was back on it was fine. H...
While coasting at very low speed with foot off accelerator or brake, into a crowded parking spot, the brakes failed after foot applied to the brake petal. This caused our vehicle to collide with a vehicle in front of us, pushing it a few feet backwards. Despite strong effort to push brake pedal down...
While coasting at very low speed with foot off accelerator or brake, into a crowded parking spot, the brakes failed after foot applied to the brake petal. This caused our vehicle to collide with a vehicle in front of us, pushing it a few feet backwards. Despite strong effort to push brake pedal down...
While coasting at very low speed with foot off accelerator or brake, into a crowded parking spot, the brakes failed after foot applied to the brake petal. This caused our vehicle to collide with a vehicle in front of us, pushing it a few feet backwards. Despite strong effort to push brake pedal down...
Vehicle lost power and would not accelerate past 30 mph even when fully pressing down on the accelerator. After a few minutes a warning flashed to check vehicle hybrid system. Pulling over to the shoulder and restarting the car returned the car to normal operation.
Vehicle lost power and would not accelerate past 30 mph even when fully pressing down on the accelerator. After a few minutes a warning flashed to check vehicle hybrid system. Pulling over to the shoulder and restarting the car returned the car to normal operation.
Cold winter day, the car would not accelerate past 30-35 MPH. The engine would rev but would not be able to get past about 35 MPH.
Car would not allow me to accelerate. It seemed to keep me running only on the electric motor vs the gas engine (the vehicle is a hybrid). This has happened multiple times. The fix is to turn the car off and on again.
Car would not allow me to accelerate. It seemed to keep me running only on the electric motor vs the gas engine (the vehicle is a hybrid). This has happened multiple times. The fix is to turn the car off and on again.
Car would not allow me to accelerate. It seemed to keep me running only on the electric motor vs the gas engine (the vehicle is a hybrid). This has happened multiple times. The fix is to turn the car off and on again.
When driving my van to work in the morning, I would get an alert on my screen that says to check the driver assistance system. Then I turned on to the freeway on ramp and my car lost all power, not letting me drive faster than 30 mph. I was able to get off of the freeway and on to a side street when...
When driving my van to work in the morning, I would get an alert on my screen that says to check the driver assistance system. Then I turned on to the freeway on ramp and my car lost all power, not letting me drive faster than 30 mph. I was able to get off of the freeway and on to a side street when...
When driving my van to work in the morning, I would get an alert on my screen that says to check the driver assistance system. Then I turned on to the freeway on ramp and my car lost all power, not letting me drive faster than 30 mph. I was able to get off of the freeway and on to a side street when...
The shifter would indicate it's in neutral but the car would think it's in drive. The car was immobilized and could not be moved when hitting the accelerator. This happened in the middle of Baltimore. I had to 'reboot' the car to get it to work, 3-4 times, while sitting in traffic. Problem has sur...
Temperature was 28 degrees outside. Car had 4500 miles on it. Car warmed up for 10 minutes before driving. At the one mile mark, it locked up at 31 mph and 1.4 rpm. It would not accelerate and it maintained the speed and rpm without pressing on the gas. The brakes did work. It lasted for another mil...
Temperature was 28 degrees outside. Car had 4500 miles on it. Car warmed up for 10 minutes before driving. At the one mile mark, it locked up at 31 mph and 1.4 rpm. It would not accelerate and it maintained the speed and rpm without pressing on the gas. The brakes did work. It lasted for another mil...
I own a 2025 Kia Carnival SX Prestige Hybrid, and the vehicle intermittently fails to exceed 31 mph when the outside temperature is cold, typically in the single digits or low teens. This issue occurs when I use the remote start system and get into the car to leave for work around 6:50 to 7 am. I ha...
I own a 2025 Kia Carnival SX Prestige Hybrid, and the vehicle intermittently fails to exceed 31 mph when the outside temperature is cold, typically in the single digits or low teens. This issue occurs when I use the remote start system and get into the car to leave for work around 6:50 to 7 am. I ha...
When driving the vehicle it would not accelerate beyond 31 mph. We were in traffic so not being able to drive the speed limit posed a risk of other vehicles hitting us. Also when merging into highway speed traffic this was very unsafe. No warning limits or check engine lights came on and the dealer ...
Vehicle not be able to accelerate over 31 mph, seems to happen when its cold outside. This is unsafe especially on highways. Dealership was not able to reproduce the issue. No warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms prior to the failure. The issue first appear under cold weather.
Car would not accelerate past 30 or 31 MPH no matter how hard gas pedal was engaged. The RPMs increase, acknowledging the gas, but the speed stays the same. Stopping the vehicle and putting in park doesn’t fix it. This is particularly dangerous when going from city street to highway or interstate ...
Car would not accelerate past 30 or 31 MPH no matter how hard gas pedal was engaged. The RPMs increase, acknowledging the gas, but the speed stays the same. Stopping the vehicle and putting in park doesn’t fix it. This is particularly dangerous when going from city street to highway or interstate ...
Car would not accelerate past 30 or 31 MPH no matter how hard gas pedal was engaged. The RPMs increase, acknowledging the gas, but the speed stays the same. Stopping the vehicle and putting in park doesn’t fix it. This is particularly dangerous when going from city street to highway or interstate ...
Turned out onto a busy city street and tried to accelerate but speed was electronically limited to 31mph. once it got to the 31mph, the car didn’t rev at all anymore. I had to pull over quickly. I drove around a parking lot a few times just to see if there was anything wrong in the settings. I cou...
While driving in the cold the hybrid vehicle will not go over 31 miles an hour. I was turning on to a road that is 45mph and unable to reach a safe speed with traffic. This has happened twice to me now. The dealer can not make it repeat the issue at this time and no warning lights come on.
Van accelerates up to 31mph only. Top speed is 31mph even with accelerator/gas pedal completely pressed to the ground (RPMs increase to 4K with no acceleration.) No warning or display lights illuminated. This happens in cold weather (under 20 degrees F), first trip after sitting overnight or for a l...
I'm not sure which component caused the issue, but this happened a couple of times already, when I stepped on the accelerator pedal, but the vehicle didn't response at all. The first time, when I was turning into a parking lot, I had to let off the gas pedal, and try it again. The second time this...
I'm not sure which component caused the issue, but this happened a couple of times already, when I stepped on the accelerator pedal, but the vehicle didn't response at all. The first time, when I was turning into a parking lot, I had to let off the gas pedal, and try it again. The second time this...
I'm not sure which component caused the issue, but this happened a couple of times already, when I stepped on the accelerator pedal, but the vehicle didn't response at all. The first time, when I was turning into a parking lot, I had to let off the gas pedal, and try it again. The second time this...
My wife and I have a 2025 Carnival SX Prestige Hybrid. We live in northern Maryland (lots of cold days lately!). This exact issue has happened three times and counting. While driving, our car will randomly lose all ability to accelerate. You can press the gas pedal all the way to the floor, and it w...
My wife and I have a 2025 Carnival SX Prestige Hybrid. We live in northern Maryland (lots of cold days lately!). This exact issue has happened three times and counting. While driving, our car will randomly lose all ability to accelerate. You can press the gas pedal all the way to the floor, and it w...
My wife and I have a 2025 Carnival SX Prestige Hybrid. We live in northern Maryland (lots of cold days lately!). This exact issue has happened three times and counting. While driving, our car will randomly lose all ability to accelerate. You can press the gas pedal all the way to the floor, and it w...
The acceleration didn’t want to pass 31 mph
Today I had an issue with my 2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid SX Prestige where it would not allow me to accelerate past 31 mph. I was on an on-ramp to the highway with my baby in the car and I was flooring the gas, yet it still would not go past 31 mph. I put on my hazards and pulled off, and checked that ...
On a day which had a high temperature of 16F our Kia Carnival Hybrid SXP, after not being used most of the day, when driving would not exceed 31 miles per hour. The engine would not rev loudly or give any indication of an error but would not go over 31 mph even with the gas pedal fully depressed. ...
On a day which had a high temperature of 16F our Kia Carnival Hybrid SXP, after not being used most of the day, when driving would not exceed 31 miles per hour. The engine would not rev loudly or give any indication of an error but would not go over 31 mph even with the gas pedal fully depressed. ...
The following has happened 4-5 times now on our Kia Carnival 2025 SXP Hybrid: After turning on the car, the car can be driven but does not allow the driver to increase the speed beyond ~30 miles per hour. No warning indicators or messages are displayed when this occurs. Turning the vehicle off and t...
I was driving on a secondary road that has a 45 MPH speed limit when the vehicle decelerated to 31 MPH on its own. I could not make it go faster with any application of the accelerator. This lasted for about 5 minutes. I called the dealer service and they said it was probably a "glitch" and they cou...
The vehicle(2025 Kia Carnival HEV) is brand new, just over one month old. We parked it in the garage, and after just 4 days of not driving, the battery was totally dead. We were not able to start the van. The battery was 4.5v when measured with a digital volt meter.
Being a new vehicle the 2nd row seats do not easily slide forward and back. My wife was attempting to move the 2nd row seat forward using the mechanism on the outside of the seat. The back of the seat and the seat moved forward suddenly, striking her in the forehead. The mechanism that holds the 2...
The vehicle is brand new. We drove it home from the dealership and parked it in the garage, and after just a few days, the battery was totally dead and unresponsive.
Battery died without cause