2023 Kia Carnival owner complaints

The windshield started cracking while the car was parked and continued cracking over the next week. The crack now runs from the center top, 3/4 of the way across the driver's side

Gas/pump door actuator failed. Unable to open and put gas in car. This car is only 1.5 years old.

Very small rock hit windshield and cracked entire windshield; crack spread quickly and has continued to progress

On August 23, 2025, I purchased a certified pre-owned Kia Carnival. Within hours, the vehicle had a severe fuel leak that produced a strong gasoline odor. Driving it made me sick, and I feared for the safety of my three children in the vehicle. A Kia technician later confirmed a crossover fuel line leak so severe that he became ill while inspecting it and feared the vehicle could explode. Even after repair, the gas odor persisted. This vehicle was sold to me in unsafe condition, and I believe this may represent a larger safety issue that needs investigation.

My [XXX] son locked himself and his [XXX] brother in the car today. The scenario which is repeatable is if the cars start button is pushed to turn on accessory power the key fob will no longer unlock the doors. My father had the key fob outside of the car, while my son scrambled up front and pushed both the start button on the car and the door lock button. Again at this point the key fob is outside the car and will not unlock the doors. The daycare had to call 911 because two children were locked inside the car. This is an unacceptable situation for a minivan. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) I have not yet brought the vehicle to a dealer, there are no warning lights on the vehicle and the key fob is working and has power. INFOR

I have an issue that involves the metal railings in the center of the vehicle (on the floor) to get hot enough to burn and blister you. I filed a complaint with Kia which opened a case. I also took my vehicle in and this issue was verified by their mechanic. I was assigned a case number and after the employee on my case spoke with the enginer team it was determined that the only option for me was to purchase mats to cover the metal railings. I purchased both all weather and fabric mats when i purchased the vehicle. these mats do not cover the railing nor would you want them to. it would prevent the seats from moving forward and back and it would also be a fire risk. I have tried to find a solution with kia with no success. There are other forums of people complaining of the same issu

Sliding door shut on toddlers fingers, the safety mechanism for the door to open failed.

The rails in the middle row where the seats connect to, get extremely hot to the point where it is very hot to touch. This is a safety issue that could potentially cause a fire and/or burn my children’s’ feet. It doesn’t matter if the car has been driven for a short period of time or on a long trip, regardless the rails get very hot

The metal rails where the middle seat of the middle row is located occasionally gets too hot to touch. My daughter who was sleep had her sandals off. She woke up because her foot was hot. Shortly after her toe blistered. You won’t notice it if you have shoes on. It has happened while we were traveling and it happens when we’re just idle.

Passenger side sliding door periodically gets stuck trying to open or close. My 3 year olds finger got stuck in the closed position of the sliding door and we could not get the door open immediately because of the faulty door periodically getting stuck.

The power sliding door does not reverse when an object is in its path. The door closed on my sons body. He was okay we were able to pull the handle to make it open again but it did not stop on its own. Another instance the door did not stop closing when a toy went into the door. The door just crunched the toy and shut while beeping.

After working out at my gym, my daughters and I were driving on a side street near at around 35MPH. With no warning, a large POP happened and our passenger sliding door window shattered. Thankfully, nothing but a scratch happened to my [XXX] that was in her car seat closest to the window that shattered. I called our local KIA dealership and my insurance agent and both mentioned that it could be because of the heat we are having in our area. This concerns me because the Carnival is a “MPV” aka family car and this happened without a chip or anything in the glass and terrified both of my girls. I have never heard of a window solely shattering bc of heat. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Daughter presses the button on the inside of the van. She didn't move her hand soon enough out of the way for the door to close. The door closed on her hand, she had to press the button open from the door closing on her thumb. She came balling her eyes out to me. Her thumb swelled 3 x's as big. The sensor should be way more sensitive like a garage door opener.

The contact owns a 2023 Kia Carnival. The contact stated that an unknown fluid was leaking from the left side of the steering column while driving at various speeds. The contact took the vehicle to a dealer where the parts on the steering column were wiped down and the contact was instructed to return the vehicle to the dealer if the failure persisted. The failure returned and the vehicle was taken back to the dealer. A diagnostic test was performed, and the contact was informed that the vehicle was unsafe to drive. The contact was informed that the steering column needed to be replaced; however, the part for repair was on backorder. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was provided a case number. The vehicle was not repaired and remained with the dealer. The failur

The contact owns a 2023 Kia Carnival. The contact stated there was oil leaking from the vehicle onto the floorboard nearby the brake pedal. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who diagnosed that a seal for the steering column was leaking and could cause the steering wheel to seize while driving. The Lane Keep Assist and Steering Assist would deactivate independently. The contact was informed that the steering column needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and opened a case. The approximate failure mileage was 3,337.

Kia Carnival's 2nd row seta pretensioners are not working. In the vent of suddent breaks, the seat belts are not latching, and hence not holding the kids in the seats. We have faced this issue several times. Once my daughter came out of seat completely, since the seat belt didn't latch the belt. We took to the dealership(Kings Kia, Mason, OH), the technician agreed, there is problem with 2 seats, however, there is problem with all 3 seats. The dealership said they are still waiting for Kia corporate to send the new seat belt latch system, but there is no response from Kia yet.

The vehicle throws a forward collision warning and then suddenly brakes to slow down while driving with no road hazard in front. This occurs about once every 10 days. This is a safety hazard because the forward collision warning has to be turned off every time the car is turned on. It will not stay off. During sudden braking, an accident may occur behind the vehicle. We have left the car at the dealer for 3 days while paying for a rental car and they said they could not reproduce the error. I have contacted KIA through their website about a week ago and have received no response. I have video evidence of this problem occuring on dashcam.

My 2023 KIA Carnival has a windshield cracked even without hitting rock or anything. My vehicle was parked on the driveway overnight. I can prove that the damage occurred without the car moving. I have this issue on my dash cam too. The data is saved with date and time. Kia Findlay Las Vegas refuses repair. It's not an official recall about this problem. But Similar cases can be read on the Internet.

Purchased in Aug 2022 brand new I express concern very early on that the back door would reopen after starting the car I express concern about shifting/breaking being automatic/ice light coming on when you hit bumps coming in parking lots and the doors not unlocking. All were evaluated and basically all for nothing “ could not be duplicated” I called, left voicemails, emailed the dealership with concerns Advised there was a recall on Back door which was one of my complaints did recall update still and issue The back door should not re open and stay open that is not a safety feature this day and age it’s asking to be mug, robbed ect. After the 3rd time in a week happening I called the dealership spoke to the president and advised I no longer felt safe I just want to turn in the lease h

We drove an hour then sat in the car while it was on for about 30 minutes. The gas tank was 14% full. We started driving again down a bit of a hill & got to a stop light. The car started beeping & said “engine off! Switch to N then start engine” We turned the car off and back on & it started working.