2024 Kia Carnival

The contact owns a 2024 Kia Carnival. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle jerked violently and experienced a loss of motive power, with reduced power. Several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired because the warning lights were no longer illuminated. The contact continued to drive the vehicle, and the failure recurred. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and was awaiting diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 48,320.

My 2024 Kia Carnival smells strongly like gasoline after about 15–20 minutes of driving. The smell gets worse at idle, worse the longer I drive, and seems even stronger with the A/C on. Two dealerships in Las Vegas have told me this is “normal.” Meanwhile, I can’t park it in my garage because the smell fills my house. I’ve had headaches and nausea, and my kids have complained of headaches and stomach aches too.

On 8/25/2026 I dropped the vehicle at Plaza Kia, 2699 Nostrand Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11210 (Kia Repair Facility #7119189) for four open recalls: PI2501, PI2602, SC320, and SC368. Brakes were functioning normally at drop-off. Per repair order [XXX] dated 8/26/2026, only PI2501 and PI2602 (second-row seat recalls) were performed; SC320 (EGR valve) and SC368 (high-pressure crossover fuel pipe) were not completed — parts on special order. The dealer's multi-point inspection sheet, printed 8/26/2026 12:36 PM, marked brake fluid level/condition and brake system components as OK/green. The technician time log on the RO shows 0.0 actual hours for that day. The brake lining inspection panels on the sheet are blank. The dealer returned the vehicle to my residence via valet on 8/26/2026. On first use, the brake pedal was extremely hard and stiff with the engine running; the vehicle would only slow with full-force pedal pressure. I nearly collided with a parked vehicle exiting the parking space. I parked and did not drive it further. A vacuum-assist test (pump pedal engine off, hold, start engine) showed the pedal sinking only slightly, and braking under drive felt like engine-off braking — partial or total loss of power assist. Kia Roadside Assistance towed the vehicle to Plaza Kia. Plaza Kia refused to tow it themselves. Plaza Kia has since diagnosed a brake master cylinder failure and stated parts are approximately two weeks out. Repair is under warranty; updated RO pending. Kia Consumer Affairs case #[XXX] has been opened. Summary: brake power-assist failure on a 2024 Carnival at ~33,000 miles, occurring in dealer custody or immediately upon return from recall service, on the same day the dealer's inspection cleared the brake system. No prior brake symptoms. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

On our 2024 KIA Carnival, which my wife is the primary driver, the blind spot warning on the passenger side does not work all the time. Driver side is 100% okay. She drives on I40 and hwy111 to and from work daily, and when passing on the left, she looks for the red triangle to let her know it is clear to get back in the right lane. It only works about 50% of the time and the dealership has worked on it three times unsuccessfully, so we put in a complaint to KIA corporate in June and they have been very unresponsive. We keep the vehicle clean, so it is not that. She just wants it to be reliable for safety reasons and it is not. It probably just takes a different set of engineering eyes to look at it but KIA seems like a dead end so far. Please help us. Thanks. BTW, the people at the dealership have been very good to us, we just believe engineers at a higher level need to solve this problem.

Recall SC368 was performed. After the recall repair, I began smelling gasoline. The dealer has diagnosed a separate fuel-system issue requiring multiple parts including replacement of the fuel tank. More details: My vehicle underwent a safety recall for a fuel leak/fire risk. Following that repair, I developed a strong gasoline odor. My Kia dealer has now identified a separate fuel-system problem that requires replacement of multiple components, including the fuel tank. The dealer has informed me that multiple Carnivals in Arizona are experiencing the same problem and that a replacement fuel tank is currently unavailable nationwide. I do not have a repair date and I do not consider the vehicle safe to drive.

This specific van has 2 open recalls already: 1 on a rear seat issue and 1 on a fuel pipe issue which is why i submitted to KIA dealer in the first place after smelling gas inside the cabin of my car while driving for 3 days until the dealer opened. While at the dealer they found a manufacture defect of the gas tank expanding in the heat and releasing liquid fuel into the charcoal cannister meant to catch fumes. The fumes then go into the cabin of the car and smell and make passengers sick as well as create a fire safety hazard on the vehicle. After discovering this they have informed me that the parts for this defect as well as the fuel pipe recall are on national backorder and the solution was to siphon off 1/4 tank of brand new gas and told me not to fill past 3/4 fulls or smoke in the vehicle and they THINK it SHOULD be fine. Google disagrees with this and says once the cannister has had liquid fuel in it, it can cause more problems. They have no loaners to offer as there are too many KIA recalls and they have no ETA on the parts coming in. I have been offered no solutions that are safe besides hold on to the vehicle and maybe it will be ok.

Incident description: While driving, the vehicle’s dashboard illuminated all warning lights (ABS, traction control, battery, check engine, forward safety system) and the engine revved to approximately 8,000 RPM with unintended rapid acceleration. Driver had to apply hard braking to maintain control and avoid a collision. A nearly identical event occurred approximately one month earlier while driving on the highway, at which point the vehicle suddenly braked hard on its own. The vehicle has been at the dealership for repair a combined 38 days across two visits. The dealer initially attributed the first event to a failed alternator voltage regulator, replaced it, but the same warning codes and behavior returned on the second occasion. Crash/injury: No collision occurred; avoided through evasive braking. Speed: Highway speed (both instances). Incident description: While driving, the vehicle’s dashboard illuminated all warning lights (ABS, traction control, battery, check engine, forward safety system) and the engine revved to approximately 8,000 RPM with unintended rapid acceleration. Driver had to apply hard braking to maintain control and avoid a collision. A nearly identical event occurred approximately one month earlier while driving on the highway, at which point the vehicle suddenly braked hard on its own. The vehicle has been at the dealership for repair a combined 38 days across two visits. The dealer initially attributed the first event to a failed alternator voltage regulator, replaced it, but the same warning codes and behavior returned on the second occasion. Crash/injury: No collision occurred; avoided through evasive braking. Speed: Highway speed (both instances).

While stopped, the brake pedal drops to the floor and the vehicle begins to roll forward. I went to the dealership and told them what happened, they told me there is no recall on this, and it is a "normal part of driving". This is not a normal part of any braking system. The pedal should not drop to the floor while stopped with your foot on the pedal. No warning system lights that came on. This happens frequently. You have to start pumping the brake repeatedly to get the vehicle to stop. It will eventually raise off the floor.