2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid acceleration & cruise control problems

Related recalls

No recalls on file.

What owners say

1. Filed Oct 5, 2026MIElectrical SystemAcceleration & Cruise ControlTransmission & Drivetrain

   Within 5 minutes of driving, the car stopped accelerating. Check hybrid system alert appeared one minute later. Car stalled out within approximately 1-2 minutes after warning light appeared. No other warning lights were present prior. This is a 2025 new Kia Carnival Hybrid. I was stranded on the side of a 55mph road. The first time the police helped me roll it off the road. The second time it couldn’t be pushed even though it appeared to be in neutral. The car dies but the…

   NHTSA complaint #11768901 · source
2. Filed Oct 2, 2026TXBrakesAcceleration & Cruise ControlTransmission & Drivetrain

   This complaint is a follow up to complaint #XXX. I took the car in to Dennis Eakin Kia in [XXX] to repair what caused the car to go into Limp Mode after slamming on the brakes. The dealership did a deep scan of the hybrid control and power train control module for historical or iintermittent codes. They could find none because the car apparently does not save them after the ignition is turned off. They are trashed. They also tried 4 times to re-create the event by slamming…

   NHTSA complaint #11768594 · source
3. Filed Sep 30, 2026TXBrakesAcceleration & Cruise ControlTransmission & Drivetrain

   I had to slam on my brakes and the car went into Limp Mode, not allowing acceleration above 20 MPh. I drove for a while and then pulled into a parking lot and turned off the car and back on again. I was able to achieve normal acceleration after turning the car back on. We felt unsafe having no control over our speed and cars honking and racing around us. I am afraid to drive my family in this car for fear of having to slam on my brakes at a highway intersection or off/on…

   NHTSA complaint #11768008 · source
4. Filed Sep 6, 2026WVElectrical SystemEngineAcceleration & Cruise Control

   My vehicle keeps throwing a code “check hybrid system” and slowing me down to 30mph, it will not accelerate. This is extremely dangerous. I can restart the car and it’s fine but this is a major safety issue considering it keeps happening

   NHTSA complaint #11762493 · source
5. Filed Jul 10, 2026IDFuel, Hybrid & EV PropulsionAcceleration & Cruise Control

   On five separate occasions, while turning onto a high-speed roadway and attempting to accelerate to the flow of traffic, the vehicle suddenly lost the ability to accelerate. Despite pressing the accelerator, the vehicle would not exceed approximately 35 mph and then began to decelerate. During both incidents, a "Check Hybrid System" warning appeared, and I was forced to quickly pull over to the side of the high-speed road. The vehicle would only return to normal operation…

   NHTSA complaint #11749457 · source
6. Filed Jul 4, 2026AZAcceleration & Cruise Control

   I live in [XXX]. On the way to [XXX], out of no where the car stopped accelerating. Was in eco mode at the time and dropped completely while trying to accelerate in the middle of the road. Pulled over completely turned off the car checked the engine nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Ran the diagnostics from the car and didn’t show any errors. Turned off again for a bit and turn on and everything was fine. Moved from eco to smart and turned around worked fine for about 5 m…

   NHTSA complaint #11748283 · source
7. Filed Nov 6, 20253,000 miWAAcceleration & Cruise ControlTransmission & Drivetrain

   The contact owns a 2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle hesitated before accelerating while depressing the accelerator pedal. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was able to duplicate the failure; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed, and the cause of the failure was not yet determined. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure,…

   NHTSA complaint #11697908 · source
8. Filed Oct 13, 2025OHAcceleration & Cruise Control

   The car fails to accelerate sporadically, occurred multiple times in a 2 day period. First time was getting on an on ramp to the highway, I got up to 55 MPH then couldn’t accelerate anymore even with my foot on the gas. I dropped down to 32 MPH and had to merge onto the highway at that speed. I had a semi fly up behind me and swerve around me because I was going so slow, I’m thankful there wasn’t an accident, I had 6 passengers and it could’ve been a very bad situation. It…

   NHTSA complaint #11693029 · source
9. Filed Sep 19, 2025FLElectrical SystemFuel, Hybrid & EV PropulsionAcceleration & Cruise Control

   The car gave alert of "hybrid system failure" and showed a picture of a drained battery. After about 20 seconds, we were unable to drive over 30 mph. After about 30 more seconds, the car shut off and had to be jumped to work again. Luckily we were pulling over into a parking lot when it shut off, but were blocking the entrance. This is the 4th time this has happened in a couple of months since we bought the car.

   NHTSA complaint #11688400 · source
10. Filed Aug 27, 2025TXEngineAcceleration & Cruise ControlTransmission & Drivetrain

    The hybrid car intermittently switches into EV mode after coming to a complete stop (e.g., at a traffic signal or after briefly stopping to pick up my child). When this happens, the vehicle does not accelerate properly once back on the road and feels stuck in EV mode, unable to accelerate beyond ~45 mph. This creates a safety concern when merging or crossing intersections.

    NHTSA complaint #11683507 · source
11. Filed May 9, 2025CAAcceleration & Cruise ControlTransmission & Drivetrain

    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. Compared to similar complaints logged on the NHTSA website, the difference is that this happened when it was roughly 50-60 degrees outside--not during extremely low temperatures as the other examples have described.

    NHTSA complaint #11659865 · source
12. Filed May 1, 2025ARElectrical SystemEngineAcceleration & Cruise Control

    When pulling out onto the highway from my drive way the car would no accelerate when I pressed the gas, the car would not exceed 35mph, when caused me and my kids to almost get rear ended when pulling out since the car would not go..... the car will start to flash a " check hybrid system pull over safely" light and then the car will start to coast and I have to find somewhere safe to coast off to, to turn the vehicle off and then on again, it will run fine after that but it…

    NHTSA complaint #11658095 · source

Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation public data. Complaints are submitted by owners and are not verified by NHTSA or by us; a complaint does not prove a defect exists. View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov Methodology