2025 Kia Carnival Driver assistance Problems

The battery is draining due to external things but it’s not attached to anything and now all screens in the car flash on and off and go black including speedometer

NHTSA ID

11768241

Incident

Oct 1, 2026

We have been having persistent safety issues with this vehicle. The issues have ranged from unsecured gas cap to loss of power. We’ve also had severe transmission issues where the car will not shift out of first gear. This happened on the Garden State Parkway and nearly caused an accident as the car wasn’t able to go above 27 mph safely.

NHTSA ID

11740593

Incident

Apr 26, 2026

For the third time the 2025 KIA Carnival Prestige I own lost power while driving on the interstate! Without warning, the vehicle would no longer respond to the accelerator pedal. No matter what I did I could not get the vehicle to accelerate past 35 mph. The minimum speed limit on the interstate is 45 mph. I had to immediately engage my hazard lights and make my way over to the shoulder of the road from the passing lane. This was a dangerous situation for me and my family and others on the highway. Warning lights came on, check engine light, charging system, and a maintenance service message. Driving in Sport mode, Smart mode, nor Econo mode could change the negative situation. This took place multiple times during the final leg of my last trip to [XXX] , extending for over 120 miles. This is a very unsafe, unreliable vehicle, that should never be driven on public roadways… especially not highways nor interstates. Three negatively, traumatic experiences is ENOUGH!!! I’m DONE!!!! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11740406

Incident

May 26, 2026

I am submitting a safety complaint regarding the driver monitoring/driver assistance system in the 2025 Kia Carnival. The system repeatedly issues “take a break” or inattentive driver warnings during normal, attentive driving conditions. These alerts are overly sensitive, frequent, and intrusive. Rather than improving safety, the warnings are highly distracting. The visual and audible alerts demand attention at critical moments, pulling focus away from the road. This creates a counterproductive and potentially hazardous situation, especially in traffic or complex driving environments. There appears to be no reasonable way to adjust the sensitivity or disable these alerts without impacting other safety features. A driver assistance system should support the driver—not introduce additional distraction or frustration. I request that this issue be investigated, including the calibration, trigger thresholds, and user control options for the system. A redesign or update may be necessary to ensure the feature enhances safety instead of undermining it.

NHTSA ID

11734940

Incident

Apr 1, 2026

Date/time of incident 03-16-2026 18:09-18:17 * Faulting component: Infotainment screen (screen to the right of gauge cluster) * Incident: While backing out of a parking spot and utilizing the cameras to watch my surroundings, the infotainment screen became unresponsive and began flashing between visual noise similar to 'snow' on old broadcast television, primary colored jagged/blocky artifacts, and a black screen. The screen would occasionally revert back to normal imagery but with severely lagging touch response and stuttering screen transitions. This persisted until I pulled over, parked the car, & restarted the vehicle. After restarting the vehicle the infotainment screen flashed: Solid Black -> Solid White -> Solid Red -> Solid Green -> Briefly solid black -> Briefly Solid Green -> Then the infotainment functionality returned to normal operation after a brief stutter. --I have a video of the last portion of this incident that I can share upon request * All camera related safety functionality became unresponsive/unusable during this incident * I've requested an appointment with the local Kia dealership * As this incident just occurred, I have not yet reached out to other parties * No warning lamps or diagnostic warning appeared during or after the incident

NHTSA ID

11724822

Incident

Mar 16, 2026

I was stopped in in the left turn lane with my right foot on the brake pedal. Suddenly the car began to rapidly move forward. I jammed my right foot down and stopped the car, avoiding an accident.

NHTSA ID

11695410

Incident

Oct 6, 2025

The 2025 Kia Carnivals have a safety systems that prompts the driver to, "Take and coffee break". The system cannot be turned off and is extremely distracting. The system prompts the driver even if the adaptive cruise control is turned off. I called Kia and they told me to take the vehicle to the dealer. The dealer was not able to turn the computer nag off either. The car makes a noise and the prompt flashes at the driver every few miles. This happens when traveling at highway speeds and in traffic. The driver has to look down from the road to see what the noise is and is greeted with the infuriating "Take a coffee break" message. It is extremely distracting and annoying to the point it induces road rage. The NTSB needs to investigate this system and require manufacturers to either allow owners to turn it off or do not include this feature in their vehicles. The next question is irrelevant because this happens on almost every highway drive. It is not a one time occurrence.

NHTSA ID

11685204

Incident

Sep 4, 2025

The main screen dashboard suddenly turned off while driving and will not come back. No odometer, turn signal, lane keeping, anything available.

NHTSA ID

11683404

Incident

Aug 26, 2025

The "consider taking a break" feature pops up every 5 minutes when I am driving and it is beyond distracting and leads me to believe I have something wrong with my vehicle. There is no way to turn it off. Please demand that Hyundai/Kia issue a software update so I can turn this off. Thnaks!

NHTSA ID

11660327

Incident

May 11, 2025

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.

NHTSA ID

11607738

Incident

Jul 19, 2024