What 131 owners told NHTSA about the 2022 Kia Carnival Hev

The engine has shut off while driving multiple times.

NHTSA ODI 11492348

Around 17,000 -18,000 miles, the engine started to shutter like it wanted to die or wasn't getting enough fuel. While driving, it feels like it's trying to accelerate by itself even when cruise control is set. Even when it is just in nurtural it does it.. Still waiting to get the car into dealership to figure out the cause.

NHTSA ODI 11492030

The safety feature on the sliding back doors is not safe for children. Previous vans I have owned had a sensor that would trigger the door to open back up if it were closing and ran into something, like a child getting caught in the sliding door. I am a grown adult and the door closing on the Kia Carnival is too strong for me to even stop with my entire body weight. A child is going to get crushed in those sliding doors.

NHTSA ODI 11491053

I have owned this 2022 Kia Carnival for about a year and half. Since owning this vehicle the front windshield glass has mysteriously gotten two separate cracks causing me to have to replace this glass twice. Initially when the cracks appear they are already 3-5 inches in length and continue to spread across the entire length of the glass without provocation. The glass seems to be pretty susceptible to these cracks because I have never owned a vehicle that this has occurred to so often and/or owned a vehicle where there would at least be a small crack that could be repaired without replacing the entire windshield.

NHTSA ODI 11489705

There needs to be sensors on the sliding doors if an object is in the way of closing. These doors do not stop with even full adult resistance and child’s had was closed in the sliding doors. This is a common complaint for this vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11489577

My toddler, 3 years old climbed into my 2022 Kia carnival to get into his car seat. I was standing outside the door waiting to buckle him when the sliding door started to close on its own and my toddlers leg got trapped under the track of the door and he started screaming. I then had to put my whole body between the door with force to prevent it from closing all the way. I was then able to pull his leg out. There has been no inspection to the vehicle yet as it happened last night. There were no warning or messages about the problem prior and we have had no issues like this before.

NHTSA ODI 11489378

The windshield appears to be made of soft material. Windshield scratches easily when the slightest debris is on windshield and wipers are being used. Multiple scratches become present on windshield through simply wiper use. This is resulting in distraction and makes visibility through windshield poor.

NHTSA ODI 11489240

Sliding door closed on a child's arm and bruised it. We have had multiple situations where the door does not stop if it hits something, it just continues to close.

NHTSA ODI 11487649

Sliding doors do not stop closing if something is in the way. Have closed myself and children in the door and it doesn’t stop.

NHTSA ODI 11487671

The handle to release the back of the middle passenger seats is on the front inside lower part of the seat. This requires the passenger to lean in to pull and release. The seat then comes forward with such force that it slams the passenger in the head or face. This has happened several times in my vehicle leaving adults and teens in tears. It happened to me today striking me just under the nose. The impact caused me to black out for a second. I have a slightly swollen lip and am concerned that the root of my front tooth may be damaged. I’m convinced that the rate at which the seat comes forward could easily cause concussion, break someone’s nose or possibly a jaw. Please consider adjusting the rate at which the seats come forward. This malfunction could easily be inspected and reproduced, but I have not brought it in for inspection.

NHTSA ODI 11487418

Windshield crack without major incident. No debris or rocks noted hitting. Cracked all the way across the windshield within a week. Adaptive cruise control keeps failing. Says radar is being blocked, usually when attempting to start cruise but sometimes when cruise control is already set. When this happens, no cruise control is available until it seemingly randomly starts working again. Inspected all cameras and sensors for dirt/bugs and they are not blocked.

NHTSA ODI 11487055

A very small pebble hit the windshield causing a very large chip. We had the chip repaired to prevent further damage, but that did not help and it continued to crack in several different directions across the windshield. This made it very difficult to drive as it was hard to see especially when the sun would hit the cracks and almost blind you.

NHTSA ODI 11483511

We have owned this vehicle for about 15 months. With this replacement, we will be on our third windshield. The first windshield needed to be replaced after a crack started across the windshield following a pebble that hit the edge of the glass. We went through our insurance as there was an impact—however minor. We waited over three months for an OEM replacement windshield, and had it professionally installed. Now, two months later, we come out to our parked car and there is a crack in the middle of our windshield! There was no impact with anything, or a chip to be found anywhere. This crack is spreading through the driver’s line of sight and raises serious concerns as to the integrity of this glass and its ability to protect us on the highway. Of all the vehicles we’ve owned over the last twenty years of driving, we have never had to replace cracked windshields like this. At this point we are looking at the Kia OEM glass as being defective.

NHTSA ODI 11481534

My 2022 Kia carnival’ s windshield cracked for no reason. No visible sign of damage from external forces. Attempted to rectify with Kia, but sadly given the run around. It's a brand new car ( 8000 miles) .

NHTSA ODI 11478618

1st incident May 2022: Driving in the highway when a small rock hit the windshield. At that time there was a crack (3-4 cm wide) on the windshield. A technician came out to repair the area of injury. 2nd incident July 2022: Driving in the highway when I heard something hit the windshield. At that time, I did not notice any obvious damage.When I first noticed there was a crack, my car was stationary in my garage. The crack was about 10 inches long. The windshield has quickly began to crack. That same day it went from 10 inches to 24 inches at minimum.

NHTSA ODI 11476534

I left the car while it was still running to check that my trailer lights were working. I had the key FOB in my pocket, but when I got to the car the doors were locked. I tried unlocking it with the key FOB but nothing would happen. My 2 year old son and 3 year old daughter were locked in the car! Luckily, my daughter was able to get to the door and open it from the inside. This should never be something that can happen. The door locking from the inside and the key not working, especially while it is running!

NHTSA ODI 11475713

Side sliding doors fail to automatically retract open when they encounter something in the way. Both doors present the same problem. Door failed to retract when child was in way, resulting in an injury.

NHTSA ODI 11472272

Child got hand smashed in rear sliding door. There is no pressure sensor to avoid the door closing on hands or fingers.

NHTSA ODI 11471224

There is either no sensor, or one that is too weak/defective, in the sliding doors to stop it if a person’s (particularly a child’s) fingers, hands, arms, or other body parts were in the way. Anything in the way would just get crushed by the door! This is not just my vehicle. All Carnivals seem to have a very weak or defective sensor and it’s a serious safety hazard, particularly considering it’s supposed to be a family vehicle! I have prevented injuries so far (thankfully) but have tested the door and it in fact will not stop if something is in the way.

NHTSA ODI 11471232

We purchased our Carnival in November of 2021. A few months ago a rock hit our windshield. I could tell that the small rock chip was quickly making crack lines. We called a windshield repair company who suggested that we put a piece of tape over it until we could get it fixed. Luckily we followed his advice and put tape on it until we could get in a few days later for a chip repair. If we would not have followed his advice I have no doubt the cracks would have spread. Fast foward to last Saturday, June 18th. We were driving down the freeway and suddenly we notice that there is a large crack in the windshield, directly in front of the driver's view. It's maybe 8 inches long and we have no idea where it came from. We thought for sure we would have a few days to take care of it before it spread. It has already doubled in size. There have been no extreme temperatures to explain the quickly spreading crack. When we looked to see the source of the large crack, we noticed a very very small chip in the very edge of the windshield. The chip is not even visible from the inside of the car. It seems to me that the windshield is make from weak materials. I have never had this many problems with a car. And keep in mind we've only owned this car for 7 months! I believe Kia needs to address this issue. The windshield is the only thing between the face of the driver and the outside elements. It should be durable and reliable. This type of situation makes me concerned about the quality of the windshield, especially over the life of the vehicle. Thank you.

NHTSA ODI 11470164

The power sliding doors fail to stop closing unless excessive force is used. If an arm or hand is in the way it gets hurt and the door will try to close on it. The dealership inspected it and said it's a known issue that extra force is needed. There's nothing they can do. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? My child's was being closed in the door and when I tried to stop it to save my daughter my arm was bruised. Yes, the dealer knows of the issue but plays it off as just a door that requires more force to stop. Yes, Kia inspected it, found you need to apply more force then normal but has no solution but to make sure to keep far away when it's closing. They However said nothing can be done, it's just how the van comes.

NHTSA ODI 11469661

The doors sensors do not work. I am 200+ lbs and have to push with force to get it to stop closing. My 2 year old last minute stuck her hand into the car while the door was closing to get a blanket and it CRUSHED her fingers. These doors are extremely unsafe. Then we took it to Kia and they said “just keep the kids away from the doors” which is INSANE when you’re talking about little kids.

NHTSA ODI 11468938

My daughter was closing the left sliding door with her right hand using the button and her left hand was in the doorway. There is no worthwhile sensor in the car to detect her hand and thus the door crushed her hand. She now has a fractured left thumb due to the Kia Carnival. I have tried to see if the sensor would detect my entire hand and it didn’t! I am appalled that a car could be sold that has ZERO sensor

NHTSA ODI 11466619

The automatic doors will close even if a child or something is in the way. Kia has acknowledged that the sensor may not work, but this is a huge safety issue when dealing with small children. I was loading the car and pressed the button to close the door. Then, I realized I forgot something and placed my hand in front of the sensor to stop the doors from closing, but the sensor failed.

NHTSA ODI 11466623

The middle seats seem to be spring loaded, when pushing them back into position the spring back with significant force if not "clicked" in. This resulted in a significant bruise after hitting me in the head.

NHTSA ODI 11465687