Kia bulletin PI2501
What it saysPRODUCT IMPROVEMENT CAMPAIGN: 2ND -ROW SEAT RAIL COVER INSTALLATION (PI2501) - This bulletin provides information to install new 2nd -row seat rail covers on all 2022-2024MY, and certain 2025MY Carnival (KA4) vehicles… NHTSA’s full summary ↓
Kia filed this with NHTSA as a manufacturer communication dated Mar 20, 2025, received Mar 25, 2025, about the seats — 5 documents under this number: PI2501_TSB, PI2501_OWNR, PI2501_QA, PI2501_DPSM and 1 more. It names 4 model years (2022–2025). A manufacturer communication is not a safety recall: it is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a condition, and whether the work is paid for depends on the warranty in force. Quoting the number at a service desk can save a diagnosis.
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What the bulletin says
Source: NHTSA's summary of the manufacturer's communicationWhat it applies to, as the document itself states it — the build window in the manufacturer’s own words, read by machine from the PDF NHTSA serves. The build date is on the certification label in the driver’s door jamb; the dealer settles a borderline vehicle by its VIN.
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: PRODUCT IMPROVEMENT CAMPAIGN: 2ND -ROW SEAT RAIL COVER INSTALLATION (PI2501) - This bulletin provides information to install new 2nd -row seat rail covers on all 2022-2024MY, and certain 2025MY Carnival (KA4) vehicles manufactured from January 4, 2021 through March 31, 2025. The subject vehicles are equipped with seat rails on the interior floor of the passenger compartment which allow for the adjustment of the 2nd -row seats. Under certain operating conditions in high temperature environments, the 2nd -row seat rails may become warm or hot to the touch. A hot seat rail can result in discomfort if an occupant touches the seat rail with their bare skin. This campaign is to install covers on the 2nd -row seat rails that reduce the surface temperature of the rails and improve the vehicle occupants’ experience.
Documents filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PI2501_TSB | Service bulletin | Mar 20, 2025 | 11015935 | PDF, 1,726 KB |
| PI2501_OWNR | Other | Mar 14, 2025 | 11015934 | PDF, 132 KB |
| PI2501_QA | Other | Mar 12, 2025 | 11015933 | PDF, 109 KB |
| PI2501_DPSM | Other | Mar 12, 2025 | 11015932 | PDF, 84 KB |
| PI2501_DP | Other | Mar 12, 2025 | 11015929 | PDF, 83 KB |
The summary is NHTSA’s abstract of the document, as filed under 49 CFR 579.5. One communication is usually filed as several documents — the bulletin, a dealer notice, an owner letter — and the number on any of them finds this page. A PDF link is shown only once NHTSA’s own server has been seen to serve that document; the rest are checked over the following nights. Quote the number at a service desk; it is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Model years it names
Source: as the manufacturer filed themA vehicle page’s bulletin list shows the newest few communications filed against that model year; the count there is every one.
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What owners reported
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseOwners of the 4 model years this bulletin names have filed 460 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 7 of them name Seats — the same broad component group this bulletin is filed under. NHTSA groups complaints coarsely, so that means the same area of the vehicle, not necessarily the same fault.
The rails/tracks that the seats slide forward and back on get extremely hot while the car is on. The seat rails/tracks are exposed so the seats can slide and passengers have to step on them to get in and out. The amount of heat coming from the seat rails/tracks poses a burn risk, especially to children’s delicate feet
2024 Kia Carnival · Seats · filed with NHTSA Jul 29, 2024 · ODI 11605093
A complaint is one owner’s account, not a defect finding, and a bulletin is not a recall. Nothing here says this bulletin was issued because of these complaints, or that the repair it describes fixed them. Complaint files on this site begin in 2015.
More bulletins about the seats
Source: same model, same component group4 other manufacturer communications filed against the Kia Carnival under the same component group (seats), newest first.
| Number | Kind | Dated | NHTSA’s summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| PI2602 | Other | Jun 16, 2026 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: PRODUCT IMPROVEMENT CAMPAIGN: 2ND ROW SEAT (LH & RH) FOLDING TENSION SPRING REPLACEMENT (PI2602) - This bulletin… |
| PI2301_DPSM_UPD | Service bulletin | Sep 5, 2023 | PRODUCT IMPROVEMENT CAMPAIGN: DEALER PARTS AND SERVICE MANAGER MEMO - This document is the announcement to the dealer Parts and Service Man… |
| PI2301_DPSM | Service bulletin | Aug 8, 2023 | PRODUCT IMPROVEMENT CAMPAIGN: DEALER PARTS AND SERVICE MANAGER MEMO - This document is the announcement to the dealer Parts and Service Mana… |
| PI2301_DP | Service bulletin | Aug 8, 2023 | PRODUCT IMPROVEMENT CAMPAIGN: DEALER PRINCIPAL MEMO - This document is the announcement to the dealer principals that Kia is conducting an i… |
Quote the number at the service desk. It is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Every manufacturer communication NHTSA holds for Kia, by the number printed on the letter.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR 579.5Is Kia PI2501 a recall?
No. A manufacturer communication is a manufacturer communication filed with NHTSA under 49 CFR 579.5; a safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number (two digits, a letter, six digits) and a federal duty to repair for free. Check the vehicle’s recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, or on its page here.
Is the PI2501 repair free?
Not automatically. A service bulletin describes how to diagnose or repair a condition; who pays depends on the warranty in force, any extension, and the dealer. Quoting the number can save a diagnosis either way. Every Kia warranty extension on file lists the ones Kia has filed.
Which vehicles does PI2501 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 4 model years: 2025 Kia Carnival, 2024 Kia Carnival, 2023 Kia Carnival, 2022 Kia Carnival. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone. The document itself sets the build window: 2025MY Carnival (KA4): built 4 Jan 2021 – 31 Mar 2025; Carnival (KA4): built 4 Jan 2021 – 31 Mar 2025 — the build date is on the certification label in the driver’s door jamb.