Home · 2026 Kia Carnival Hev · Complaints

What 20 owners told NHTSA about the 2026 Kia Carnival Hev

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (20)Crash / fire / injury (3)Electrical system (5)Transmission & drivetrain (4)Speed control (3)Backup camera & sensors (2)Driver assistance (2)Airbags (1)Body & structure (1)Engine (1)Lane Departure (1)Seat belts (1)

1 of 20 complaints match · Engine · clear filters

Mar 23, 2026Transmission & drivetrainEngine

When accelerating, the car feels stuck to gear up. After 2 seconds of loud revving, it would switch and have a prominent jerk motion that it finally switched gears. There have been times the car wouldn't go past 30 mph, stuck at the gear making a loud noise. This is dangerous! There's absolutely no way I can get on the freeway never getting past 30ish mph. I checked recalls for this vehicle and there isn't any. No warning lights in the dash.

NHTSA ODI 11726379

Working with the data? Download all 20 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 19, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2026 Kia Carnival Hev verdict →