2025 Kia Carnival

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.