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2025 Kia Carnival

Hybrid Gas

Minivan - 2WD
2 EPA-rated configurations
Data refreshed 2026-10-26

Safety Signal

92 / 100 from the NHTSA recall record

RecallsNHTSA campaigns 1

Complaints3 crash · 1 fire · 15 injured reported 196

Crash ratingnot rated by NHTSA —

Fuel economybest combined, EPA 33 mpg

Starting MSRP9 trims · manufacturer $36,800

2027 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022

The 2025 Kia Carnival is sold in the U.S. as a hybrid and gas minivan with 2 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the Carnival Hybrid, is EPA-rated at 33 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 1 recall campaign for this model year, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of A. Owners have filed 196 complaints, most often about the electrical system. Manufacturer pricing runs from $36,800 to $52,900 across 9 trims.

Kia Carnival — photograph via Wikimedia Commons — Kia Carnival · Photo: Damian B Oh · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Trims & pricing

Source: manufacturer press kitWhich trim should I buy? → Compare a trim →

Trim	Powertrain	Drive	MSRP	HP	Torque	MPG comb	Seats	Wheels
LX	Gas	FWD	$36,800	287.1 hp	260.4 lb-ft	21 mpg	7	17 in
LXS	Gas	FWD	$38,800	287.1 hp	260.4 lb-ft	21 mpg	8	17 in
EX	Gas	FWD	$41,000	287.1 hp	260.4 lb-ft	21 mpg	8	19 in
SX	Gas	FWD	$45,900	287.1 hp	260.4 lb-ft	21 mpg	8	19 in
SX Prestige	Gas	FWD	$50,900	287.1 hp	260.4 lb-ft	21 mpg	8	19 in
LXS Hybrid	Hybrid	FWD	$40,800	241.7 hp	270.5 lb-ft	33 mpg	8	17 in
EX Hybrid	Hybrid	FWD	$43,000	241.7 hp	270.5 lb-ft	33 mpg	8	19 in
SX Hybrid	Hybrid	FWD	$47,900	241.7 hp	270.5 lb-ft	33 mpg	8	19 in
SX Prestige Hybrid	Hybrid	FWD	$52,900	241.7 hp	270.5 lb-ft	33 mpg	8	19 in

MSRP excludes destination. Open a trim for the complete spec sheet and standard/optional equipment. Have the car in front of you? Decode its VIN to see which of these trims it is and what it was priced at.

Specs & fuel economy

Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov

Configuration	Powertrain	Drive	Engine / motor	City	Hwy	Comb	Annual fuel*
Carnival Hybrid	Hybrid	FWD	1.6L 4-cyl turbo + 270V Li-Ion	34	31	33	$2,050
Carnival	Gas	FWD	3.5L 6-cyl	18	26	21	$3,200

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year at EPA reference fuel and electricity prices. fueleconomy.gov record ids: 48054, 47784.

Emissions & certification

Source: EPA emission certificates

Configuration	Smog rating	Emission standard	Where it can be sold new	SmartWay
Carnival Hybrid	6 / 10	Federal Tier 3 Bin 30 / California LEV-III SULEV30	All 50 states (federal, all altitudes); California and states following California standards	—
Carnival	5 / 10	Federal Tier 3 Bin 50 / California LEV-III ULEV50	All 50 states (federal, all altitudes); California and states following California standards	—

Certified for all fifty states, so it can be registered new anywhere in the U.S.

The smog rating scores tailpipe pollutants other than greenhouse gases, 1 (worst) to 10 (best), and is comparable only within a model year. The standard is the federal bin or California tier the configuration was certified to. Both come from the EPA certificate behind the window sticker.

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Recalls (1)

Source: NHTSA recall database

▲high

Fuel System, Gasoline

SC368

141,032 vehicles 39% reported repaired

Problem Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2022-2026 Carnival vehicles. Fuel may leak at the pipe connection between the fuel pipe and fuel rail. Risk A fuel leak increases the risk of a fire. Fix Dealers will inspect and tighten, or replace the fuel pipe as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 2, 2026. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC368. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov on April 24, 2026.

Filed with NHTSADefect report PDF Owner letter PDF Remedy instructions PDF Chronology PDF

NHTSA campaign 26V232000 reported Apr 10, 2026 Kia America, Inc. the full filing, and every vehicle covered →

These are vehicle campaigns — the ones the automaker filed against this model. NHTSA also records equipment recalls, filed by a parts maker against a component (a tyre, a child seat, an aftermarket part), and those are not listed here or counted above. nhtsa.gov/recalls shows both for a VIN.

Whether any of this applies to one specific Carnival

A campaign covers a build range, not a model year, so two identical-looking cars from 2025 can differ. Both of these check a VIN against the manufacturer’s own list, free, in about ten seconds. Kia publishes its own lookup because federal rule 49 CFR 573.15 requires it to, and to keep it current to within seven days.

NHTSA VIN check →Kia’s own VIN lookup →

Hear about a recall before the letter does

The manufacturer’s letter is the last step of a recall: it has up to 60 days after filing to mail owners, at the address on the registration. We email you the day NHTSA posts a recall on the 2025 Kia Carnival, with what to do next. Nothing else, ever — no newsletter, no marketing, one-click unsubscribe in every message.

Owner complaints

Source: NHTSA complaint database

196complaints filed

3 involved a crash · 1 a fire · 15 injuries · 0 deaths reported

30 per 10,000 built · Kia reported 65,220 Carnival built (its Early Warning production report to NHTSA)

Filed per year: 2024: 58 · 2025: 71 · 2026: 67

Most-cited components

Electrical System → 108

Engine 36

Unspecified 29

Vehicle Speed Control 28

Fuel/Propulsion System 21

Power Train 16

In depth: electrical problems →

In owners' own words

Filed with NHTSA by the people who own these cars, one per problem area. Quoted as written, with anything identifying removed.

When driving my van to work in the morning, I would get an alert on my screen that says to check the driver assistance system. Then I turned on to the freeway on ramp and my car lost all power, not letting me drive faster than 30 mph.

Electrical System Mar 18, 2025 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11648981

The Kia Carnival Hybrid wouldn't allow me to accelerate, topping out at 30/31 MPH despite me fully pressing down on the accelerator. It has happened twice now (a few days apart) and can only be resolved by turning the car off and then back on.

Vehicle Speed Control May 9, 2025 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11659865

While coasting at very low speed with foot off accelerator or brake, into a crowded parking spot, the brakes failed after foot applied to the brake petal. This caused our vehicle to collide with a vehicle in front of us, pushing it a few feet backwards. Despite strong effort to push brake pedal down further, car would not stop.

Service Brakes Apr 6, 2025 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11653011

Vehicle lost power and would not accelerate past 30 mph even when fully pressing down on the accelerator. After a few minutes a warning flashed to check vehicle hybrid system. Pulling over to the shoulder and restarting the car returned the car to normal operation

Fuel/Propulsion System Apr 5, 2025 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11652939

The shifter would indicate it's in neutral but the car would think it's in drive. The car was immobilized and could not be moved when hitting the accelerator. This happened in the middle of Baltimore. I had to 'reboot' the car to get it to work, 3-4 times, while sitting in traffic.

Power Train Mar 9, 2025 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11647191

Car would not accelerate past 30 or 31 MPH no matter how hard gas pedal was engaged. The RPMs increase, acknowledging the gas, but the speed stays the same. Stopping the vehicle and putting in park doesn’t fix it. This is particularly dangerous when going from city street to highway or interstate driving.

Engine Feb 21, 2025 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11644227

Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.

Reported by Kia itself: 12 death-or-injury claims on this model year in its quarterly Early Warning reports to NHTSA (49 CFR 579.21): 12 injured, as claimed, not verified — about 18 per 100,000 built. Every Carnival model year, by year and system → Dated and by system, they are exhibit F of the defect dossier.

Crash ratings

Source: NHTSA NCAP

Configuration	Overall	Frontal	Side	Rollover	Rollover risk
PV FWD	not rated	★★★★☆	not rated	★★★★☆	14%
PV FWD	not rated	★★★★☆	not rated	★★★★☆	14%

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program. Standard driver-assist: forward collision warning, lane departure warning, automatic emergency braking.

Service bulletins & campaigns

Source: NHTSA manufacturer communications

Communicationsfiled with NHTSA 75

Most recentmanufacturer date 2026-06-19

Kindsas classified by NHTSA 29 service bulletins, 27 others, 8 service campaigns

Most often about: Electrical System, Seats, Structure, Engine, Fuel/Propulsion System.

PSD_REMINDER2_105 Other
2026-06-19 · Structure — Body
IMPORTANT REMINDER: OWNER NOTIFICATION: CARNIVAL POWER SLIDING DOOR FEATURE (KA4PSD2 FLIGHT#105) - This document is the owner notification advising Kia's ongoing commitment to providing vehicle owners with a superior ownership experience. We would like to remind vehicle owners about the proper use of the power sliding door and its automatic stop and reversal feature in the Kia Carnival. The power
OTA_ELE413_NOTES_R2 Over-the-air update
2026-06-18 · Electrical System
RELEASE NOTES: OVER-THE-AIR: SOFTWARE UPDATE FOR DATA CONNECTIVITY (ELE413 Revision 2) - This Over-the-Air (OTA) software update is designed to update the Data Connectivity Unit (DCU) logic of certain 2025 - 2026MY Carnival, EV9, K5 and Sorento vehicles. This update is designed to improve the vehicle’s network communication performance.
PI2602_TSB Service bulletin
2026-06-16 · Seats
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: PRODUCT IMPROVEMENT CAMPAIGN: 2ND ROW SEAT (LH & RH) FOLDING TENSION SPRING REPLACEMENT (PI2602) - This bulletin provides information to enhance the second-row seatback recliner mechanism to dampen the motion of the manual seatback angle adjustment during the operation on certain 2022-2026MY Carnival (KA4) produced from 1/4/2021 through 4/14/2026 and certain 2025-2026MY
TSB_ELE422 Service bulletin
2026-05-28 · Electrical System
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM SOFTWARE UPDATE USING UPDATE. KIA. COM - This bulletin provides information and service procedures for updating the infotainment systems on applicable Kia vehicles using the Kia Navigation Updater available at update.kia.com. The software update may improve system performance, enhance existing features, and apply the latest operating software for sup
OTA_ELE413_NOTES_R1 Over-the-air update
2026-04-24 · Electrical System
RELEASE NOTES: OVER-THE-AIR: SOFTWARE UPDATE FOR DATA CONNECTIVITY (ELE413 Revision 1) - This Over-the-Air (OTA) software update is designed to update the Data Connectivity Unit (DCU) logic of certain 2025 - 2026MY Carnival, 2025 - 2026MY K5 and 2025 - 2026MY Sorento vehicles. This update is designed to improve the vehicle’s network communication performance.
SC363_TSB Service bulletin
2026-04-17 · Power Train
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: VOLUNTARY SERVICE CAMPAIGN: OIL LEVEL PLUG (OLP) INSPECTION, AND OLP GASKET AND/OR ATF FILLER BOLT REPLACEMENT OR A/T REPLACEMENT (SC363) - This bulletin provides information to inspect the oil level plug and automatic transmission fluid (ATF) for signs of leakage and, if necessary, replace the oil level plug gasket and/or ATF filler bolt, or the 8-speed Automatic Trans
TSB_ELE417 Service bulletin
2026-04-14 · Electrical System
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: INFOTAINMENT SOFTWARE UPDATE PROCEDURE - This bulletin provides information on the process for downloading infotainment software updates and preparing USB for installation on applicable Kia vehicles. The software downloads and USB preparation process is similar across all supported platforms; however, in‑vehicle installation procedures vary by head unit type.
TSB_ELE413 Service bulletin
2026-03-20 · Electrical System
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: DCU COMMUNICATION LOGIC IMPROVEMENT - This bulletin provides the procedure to upgrade the Data Connectivity Unit (DCU) system software on some 2025–2026MY vehicles listed in the table below. Kia has identified that Connected Car Services (CCS) functionality may intermittently fail due to temporary DCU communication issues. This condition can impact convenience and conne

A service bulletin is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a known condition. It is not a recall, not a finding that the vehicle is defective, and the work is not automatically free — though a bulletin is often what a dealer works from when you describe a symptom, so quoting the document number can save a diagnosis. The count is every communication filed; the list shows the most recent, one entry per campaign, because a single campaign is usually filed as several documents on the same day. The summaries are NHTSA's; the full documents come from the manufacturer.

At the New York inspection station

Source: New York State DMV

New York inspections 0.43%

failed the safety inspection

2,106 initial inspections of 2,064 vehicles.

Measure	The 2025 Carnival	Every 2025 vehicle	Behind it
Failed the safety inspection	0.43%	0.36%	2,106
Air-bag warning lamp stayed lit	0.09%	0.16%	2,106
Miles driven a year	10,746	8,354	odometer at inspection
Average odometer	15,322	12,194	odometer at inspection

New York does not emissions-test model years this new, so the safety inspection is the record here. First inspections only, so a car that failed and came back is counted once; private and special plates, not taxis, livery or commercial plates. A rate appears only where at least 200 inspections stand behind it. “Every 2025 vehicle” is every 2025 model-year car, SUV and pickup inspected in the same window, all makes. This is the state’s record of test results, not a reliability score by itself. Source: New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, Vehicle Inspections (data.ny.gov, Open NY terms).

Compare the 2025 Carnival with

Any vehicle, your weights →

Head-to-head	Verdict
2025 Toyota Sienna · Minivan · grade C	Carnival +16.6
2025 Honda Odyssey · Minivan · grade B	Carnival +8.3

Carnival by model year

all years, side by side →

Year Safety Recalls Complaints

2027 A^* 0 0 33 mpg 2026 B 2 53 32 mpg 2025 this page A 1 196 33 mpg 2024 B 2 75 22 mpg 2023 D 4 52 Park outside 2022 D 6 136 Park outside

Common questions about the 2025 Carnival

Source: EPA, NHTSA and manufacturer press kits

How much does the 2025 Kia Carnival cost?

Manufacturer pricing runs from $36,800 for the LX FWD to $52,900 for the SX Prestige Hybrid FWD, across 9 trims. Those are MSRPs from the manufacturer's own press material; they exclude destination, options, taxes and whatever the dealer adds. Every trim and price is listed above.

Does the 2025 Kia Carnival have any recalls?

NHTSA has posted 1 recall campaign for the 2025 Kia Carnival. The most serious on file is 26V232000, covering Fuel System, Gasoline. Check your own VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls; a recall applies to specific build ranges, not every car.

How safe is the 2025 Kia Carnival?

NHTSA has not published a crash-test rating for the 2025 Kia Carnival yet. On the recall record WhichTrim grades it A (92/100), which measures open and severe recalls rather than crash protection.

What is the fuel economy of the 2025 Kia Carnival?

Across the 2 EPA-rated configurations of the 2025 Kia Carnival, the best EPA combined figure is 33 mpg. Figures are the EPA's own, per configuration, and every one is listed above.

What do owners complain about on the 2025 Kia Carnival?

Owners have filed 196 complaints with NHTSA about the 2025 Kia Carnival, most often about electrical system, engine, unspecified. Of those, 3 involved a crash, 1 a fire, 15 reported injuries. Complaints are unverified owner reports, so treat the pattern as a signal and the individual report as an anecdote.

How clean is the 2025 Kia Carnival?

The EPA smog rating for the 2025 Kia Carnival runs 5 to 6 out of 10 across its configurations. That score covers tailpipe pollutants other than greenhouse gases, and it only compares vehicles within the same model year. It is certified for all fifty states, so it can be registered new anywhere in the U.S. Its configurations were certified to different standards — California LEV-III SULEV30, California LEV-III ULEV50, Federal Tier 3 Bin 30, Federal Tier 3 Bin 50 — which the table above lists per configuration.

Are there service bulletins for the 2025 Kia Carnival?

The manufacturer has filed 75 service bulletins and related communications with NHTSA for the 2025 Kia Carnival, most often covering electrical system, seats, structure. The most recent is dated 2026-06-19. A bulletin is not a recall: it is the repair procedure a manufacturer sends its dealers for a condition it knows about, and the work is not automatically paid for. It is still worth knowing — if the symptom matches, quoting the bulletin number at the service desk can save a diagnosis. The document numbers and summaries are listed above.

How does the 2025 Kia Carnival do at state inspection?

In New York’s inspection lanes over the 12 months to Oct 10, 2026, the 2025 Kia Carnival failed the safety inspection on 0.43% of first inspections — close to the 0.36% for every 2025 model-year vehicle inspected. The figures are New York State DMV’s own inspection records, first inspections only, and the table above sets each one against every vehicle of the same model year.

Which 2025 Kia Carnival trim is the best value?

$16,100 separates the cheapest of the 9 trims from the most expensive, so the answer depends on which of the differences you would actually use. Every trim has its own page here with the manufacturer's full specification and equipment list, plus a short summary of exactly what it adds over the base trim — worth reading before a dealer frames the walk-up for you. The trim-by-trim ladder shows what every step up costs and what it makes standard.

Is the 2025 Kia Carnival better than the 2025 Toyota Sienna?

The Kia Carnival wins clearly, 96.6 to 80, on tech & comfort, safety, performance. The Toyota Sienna is ahead on fuel & range. We publish a full side-by-side of the 2025 Kia Carnival against the 2025 Toyota Sienna — specifications by family, equipment feature by feature, safety record and ownership costs. You can re-weight what matters to you and the verdict recalculates.

What we hold, and what an empty row means

Paid vehicle-history reports will not tell you the difference between “nothing happened to this car” and “we never received that record” — both of the big two say as much in their own help pages. Most of what is on this page comes from complete federal registers, so we can tell you which is which, row by row.

Data	Held	Source	What it covers — or what empty means
Fuel economy & configurations	2 configurations	EPA certification records	Every configuration the EPA certified for sale, with its own test figures.
Emission certificates	2 configurations	EPA emission certificates	Smog rating, standard and the sales area that decides where the car can be sold new.
Recalls	1	NHTSA recall campaigns	A complete federal register: every campaign covering this model year, with severity and advisory flags.
Owner complaints	196	NHTSA complaint database	Also complete, but unverified: these are reports owners filed, not findings. Counts scale with how many were sold.
Crash ratings	2 tested	NHTSA NCAP	Only the configurations NHTSA chose to crash-test, which is never all of them.
Service bulletins	75	NHTSA manufacturer communications	Everything the manufacturer told its dealers about a defect or malfunction, short of a recall.
Investigations	none	NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation	No defect investigation has been opened.
Driver-assist crash reports	none	NHTSA Standing General Order 2021-01	No report has been filed. Only entities named in the order report, and only crashes they hear of — so this is also what an unequipped car, or a manufacturer without telematics, looks like.
Specifications filed with NHTSA	none	NHTSA vPIC, decoded from VIN patterns	We had no VIN pattern to decode for this model year, or the manufacturer filed nothing usable.
Trims, pricing & equipment	9 trims	Manufacturer press kit	Transcribed from the manufacturer's own press material, every value carrying the document it came from.

Rebuilt nightly; this page was generated 2026-10-26. Every figure above is traceable to the source named beside it, and the JSON for this page carries the same values with their identifiers.

Sources & method

Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). The most serious recall counts in full and each further one counts 85% of the one before, because a vehicle sold in millions is recalled more often than a rare one without being more dangerous — and because a flat subtraction bottomed the scale out, scoring a vehicle with 22 recalls within a point of one with six. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Read it as what it counts: recall campaigns on the federal record, weighted by severity. The damping reduces the sales bias by roughly 40% but does not remove it: like our complaint counts, this is not normalized by how many were sold, so a best-seller still scores somewhat worse than an obscure model with the same real risk. NHTSA crash ratings, do-not-drive and park-outside advisories, and the crash, fire, injury and death counts in owner complaints are reported separately on every page and never blended into the letter — a vehicle can hold five stars and a poor letter at once, and where that happens we say so rather than leave you to notice. Because the scale subtracts from a clean sheet, a model year too new to have been recalled, complained about or bulletined scores full marks on an empty record; we label those grades provisional rather than present them as earned.

EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records. Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed nightly. Trim-level specifications and pricing are transcribed from the manufacturer's official press kit; every value carries its source in the data file.

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