What 131 owners told NHTSA about the 2022 Kia Carnival

On [XXX], my kids were getting into the vehicle to go to a playdate. My [XXX] got in the car and into his seat. I was on the driver's side buckling my [XXX] in her car seat and my [XXX] was climbing into the door/her seat on the passenger side. The passenger side sliding door shut on my [XXX] 's hand. I immediately tried to open the door with the button next to the steering column and it would not respond. I then ran around to the other side of the car and used the button on the handle, but the door did not respond to open. I had to manually pull on the handle to force it open off of her hand. No fingers were broken, but the door was shut on her hand completely and she had bruising. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11663748

The sliding doors do not reverse like they should. The sensors are not good. Yes Kia added the warning sounds but it isn’t good enough. My LO’s entire hand was shut in the door.

NHTSA ODI 11611930

These doors need a sensor to reverse the sliding doors upon resistance. It has smashed me and my young children multiple times. The update did not solve this issue and it’s a major safety issue. My 4 year old and 1 year old both had their hand smashed in the automatic sliding doors.

NHTSA ODI 11535594

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

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

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

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

'Auto reopen' feature of power sliding side door FAILS TO REOPEN by not 'sensing' a SOFT item obstruction (i.e. arm, leg, hand, pet) when closing. Daughter had severe bruising to arm (i.e. sliding door significantly squeezed arm). Sensor replaced by KIA dealership, safety problem still persists. Continued talks with KIA eventually resulted in KIA stating (in written letter) that "the auto-reverse feature is supplemental feature and should never be relied upon as a primary safety feature".

NHTSA ODI 11461462

The contact owns a 2020 Kia Carnival. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the rear driver's side automatic sliding door sensor malfunctioned, causing injury to the contact's daughter's shoulder when it closed while she was exiting the vehicle. No medical attention was received. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with an unknown failure. The dealer informed the contact that an unknown part needed to be replaced and deactivated the rear-powered sliding doors. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 1,020.

NHTSA ODI 11458125

My passenger doors do not appear to have a sensor and do not stop when someone or something is in the way. Could be very dangerous. My arm almost got stuck in it. Had it been a child, they may not have had the reflexes to get out in time. Also. If the door is accidentally opened when pumping gas, will it stop? Likely not.

NHTSA ODI 11450964

The automatic doors are supposed to stop when they sense an interference but they don’t stop. My daughter got her hand smashed in ours. I thought maybe it was just where her hand ones but I used my own arm to test the door and it smashed by arm before re-opening. Left an awful bruise. I have heard many other carnival owners have had little hands smashed in their doors

NHTSA ODI 11448290