10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 0 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
I've owned my new car for less than two weeks and already my car has a dead battery. I did not leave any lights on or doors opened.
- Colorado Springs, CO, USA
Battery drain and dead battery when parked overnight.
- Saint Louis, MO, USA
After a week of owning the car the battery died over night. Was jumped by roadside and died later that day and jumped again. After the 2nd jump, the AC and air bags didn-??t work. Then the check engine light came on. Kia has had my brand new carnival since July 26 with no fix.
- Montpelier, VA, USA
On July 19, 2024, my 2025 Kia Carnival SXP experienced a significant battery drainage issue, rendering the vehicle inoperable. The cause is currently unknown, but it seems to involve a parasitic electrical draw that drained the battery while the car was parked and turned off. This issue occurred despite no prior warning or indication of battery problems. Compounding the situation, the door locks, including the mechanical lock, were disabled, preventing access to the vehicle. Kia roadside assistance sent a locksmith, who had to jump-start the vehicle to restore operation. After the jump-start, I received warnings that multiple systems were inoperable, including critical safety and driver assistance features such as the integrated braking system, motor-driven power steering, and tire pressure monitoring system. These failures raise serious concerns about the vehicle's reliability and safety, as it became inoperable and inaccessible without warning, potentially leaving drivers and passengers stranded in dangerous situations.
- Portsmoth, VA, USA
The battery on my new Kia Carnival 2025 SX has repeatedly died within the first few weeks of ownership. There seems to be some issue causing it to drain within 2-3 days. The battery has drained down to 4V and 7V in two of the instances. It does charge back up to full but will resume draining afterward, usually dying in 2-3 days. Kia dealer has replaced the battery but the issue still occurred after and now it is at the dealer for the third time in a month. They confirm the issue but have not been able to identify the cause of the parisitic drain yet.
- Blue Bell, PA, USA
New 2025 Carnival SXP that has been taken back to the dealer on 2 separate occasions in the first 2 weeks of owning the vehicle. The battery has died 4 times with no obvious reason for the parasitic draw. The dealer recharged the battery once but the issue again come back just a few days later. After the second trip to the dealer, they replaced the battery, but are unable to find any other reason for the problem to have occurred.
- Mooresville, NC, USA
Battery died after owning the car for 4 days. Kia service could not determine a cause. Parasitic drain of the battery caused car to be dead.
- Farmington Hills, MI, USA
Vehicle sat in my garage in for 2 days and when I went to go drive, I found the vehicle was dead and had to be jumped. The vehicle currently has 370 miles on it and when I started the vehicle, it returned an error stating that the electrical system drained the battery.
- Land O Lakes, FL, USA
The first sign of the parasitic battery drainage is typically a warning in the Kia Access app that says the vehicle's 12v battery levels have dropped below 40% and remote functions are halted. The app will not inform you of this issue. It's only when you try to use remote functions will you find out. The more direct way of knowing about the issue is obviously discovering a dead battery which will have to be jump started. For me, this happened around 400 miles after purchasing the vehicle brand new. The vehicle is now at the dealership for servicing.
- Falls Church, VA, USA
battery constantly dead. If the vehicle is locked, can't unlock, even with provided manual key. Dies on the highway creating dangerous conditions.
- Katy, TX, USA
Vehicle was purchased 7/31. Due to seeing others reporting battery drain, I began testing battery charge. I can report that my vehicle is also affected. Voltage drops significantly after just 12 hours of sitting. There-??s a parasitic draw somewhere in the vehicle that is killing the batteries in EX, SX, and SX Prestige trims. I-??ve purchased a jump box and I now hook it up to a battery tender every night. So far, this has prevented a dead battery, but this shouldn-??t have to be done with a vehicle that isn-??t yet a month old.
- Hudsonville, MI, USA
Our 2025 SX Prestiege was purchased on a Saturday afternoon and by the following Tuesday morning we had a low battery alert (below 40%). Our local Kia dealers are of no help as this appears to be a common issue that is related to something they are unable to diagnose. I have been placing my battery on a charger every night so we can still use the vehicle but every day the battery is low and requires this charge.
- Bristow, VA, USA
At around 200 miles, I could no longer gain access to my vehicle via via both keys and the Kia app. My vehicle has been sitting at the dealership for 20 days without a resolution and little communication from Kia
- Knoxville , TN, USA
Parasitic battery drain leaves car dead and unusable no matter how many jumps/replacement batteries. It happens overnight. This is WIDESPREAD - there are entire Facebook and Reddit groups with thousands of people with the issue. We need to have a fix so we can drive our cars. Driving it home from the dealership just to have it jumped or towed back to Kia and have it sit for weeks without a solution is UNACCEPTABLE. $60k for a car we can-??t drive. Absolutely insane. It-??s so unsafe to have a family vehicle - a minivan - have dead batteries with no warning on brand new cars. There were less than 75 miles on my car when it first happened. I had made one trip home from the dealership and one trip to the grocery store. This problem is affecting EVERYONE and Kia is about to be out of service techs and out of loaner cars with everyone in the shop until this is sorted out. Unbelievable. This is going to lead to thousands of new 2025 carnival owners going through lemon law to get cars replaced.
- Bay Village, OH, USA
Battery died without warning. Took 30 minutes to jump start. Nothing was left on, no warnings prior. Took it to the dealership the next day. They ran some tests. Everything appeared fine with the battery.
- Bremerton, WA, USA
We bought the car one month ago. 2 weeks ago the battery completely drained. it happened again a few days later. The car is currently at the dealer as they are trying to figure out what is causing the batter to drain when the car is off. Dealer acknowledged its wide spread but Kia does not have a solution yet.
- El Segundo, CA, USA
Battery died after 3 days of not driving it.
- Ellicott City, MD, USA
I purchased my 25 Carnival on July 8 and by the third week my battery died overnight. I was able to jumpstart the car but since the incidence, I wake up to a dead battery every morning. A lot of Carnival owners (especially SX and SXP) are experiencing similar parasitic battery drain and dealerships are clueless while KIA has refused to acknowledge the problem exist.
- Frederick, MD, USA
2 weeks after purchase, battery died with no warning. Nothing was left on in the car. Called roadside assistance who inspected the battery and alternator which are in good health. Roadside assistance said most likely a parasitic draw.
- Roswell, GA, USA
- Prosper, TX, USA