Parasitic battery drain. Battery dead at 244 miles when left in garage for two nights with no explanation of drain.
2025 Kia Carnival
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Limited comparison data
There is not enough comparable history to draw a useful model-year comparison.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Carnival years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 6 of 124 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Electrical System. Review the 82 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine. Review the 15 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Fuel/propulsion System. Review the 8 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
What owners actually said
124 reportsI have a dead brand new car after not driving it for 3 days. And, the dealer is unable to tell me how to get into it because the key fob does not have a physical key in it. This appears to be a slow battery draining issue that is being reported heavily online it appears on Reddit, Facebook and multiple forums related to the 2025…
Read full complaint
I have a dead brand new car after not driving it for 3 days. And, the dealer is unable to tell me how to get into it because the key fob does not have a physical key in it. This appears to be a slow battery draining issue that is being reported heavily online it appears on Reddit, Facebook and multiple forums related to the 2025 Kia Carnival EX and SXP.
Having battery drain issues. Brand new vehicle with less than 2,000 miles. After locking the car at night, the remote start would not work in the morning because it stated battery under 40%. Vehicle started with key no issues. One week later, after one day of not driving the vehicle, battery would not unlock remotely or start. B…
Read full complaint
Having battery drain issues. Brand new vehicle with less than 2,000 miles. After locking the car at night, the remote start would not work in the morning because it stated battery under 40%. Vehicle started with key no issues. One week later, after one day of not driving the vehicle, battery would not unlock remotely or start. Battery was at 6.25 volt. Jumped battery and vehicle started no problem. No accessories were left on to cause this.
Component: Battery Safety concern: Not yet Dealership feedback: Not reported to the dealership yet Inspection: No such inspection happened yet Warning sign: The warning is on the app, currently impacting only convenience (unable to send remote commands via the app), but I am afraid that it will start impacting other areas soon. …
Read full complaint
Component: Battery Safety concern: Not yet Dealership feedback: Not reported to the dealership yet Inspection: No such inspection happened yet Warning sign: The warning is on the app, currently impacting only convenience (unable to send remote commands via the app), but I am afraid that it will start impacting other areas soon. Description: I brought the car home only 3 days ago. I already had a low battery notification on the app. I am afraid that this will result in a dead battery soon and I will be stuck on the road. Currently I am not able to send remote commands to the car due to the low battery voltage.
The battery is completed dead after overnight parking. Had to manually open the door from the key and kia roadside assistance was requested to jump start the battery. We kept the car running so that the battery would be charged and drove about 10-15 miles and the battery is dead again the next morning. Did some research and figu…
Read full complaint
The battery is completed dead after overnight parking. Had to manually open the door from the key and kia roadside assistance was requested to jump start the battery. We kept the car running so that the battery would be charged and drove about 10-15 miles and the battery is dead again the next morning. Did some research and figured out many 2025 Carnival SX prestige owners reported the battery parasitic drain and not been able to identify the cause. None of the lights or doors were open and this was confirmed after the jump start.
Car battery is diyng after less than 48hrs of standby. Have to keep car on trickle charger all the time
Battery died within 2 days on purchasing vehicle. Took to the the dealer and they replaced the battery but said to keep key fob away 32 ft at night. I carry around a portable charger with me since so many other people are having this issue if not worse.
This car was purchased new on [XXX]. In the ~30 or so days since purchase, the battery has died on 4 occasions and would not turn over, requiring it to be jump started, and began just 3 days after purchase on [XXX] and as recent as [XXX]. This is my wife's vehicle and she was left stranded with our newborn child on one of these …
Read full complaint
This car was purchased new on [XXX]. In the ~30 or so days since purchase, the battery has died on 4 occasions and would not turn over, requiring it to be jump started, and began just 3 days after purchase on [XXX] and as recent as [XXX]. This is my wife's vehicle and she was left stranded with our newborn child on one of these occasions in the 110+ degree Arizona weather. We ensure that everything is off before leaving the vehicle and the problem still persists. This is not an isolated issue, as there are thousands of posts online of others dealing with this exact problem with the 2025 model year Kia Carnival. We are extremely uncomfortable when leaving the house and not knowing whether our brand new vehicle will simply start as expected. However, we have no choice since we traded in our previous vehicle to purchase this car and are forced to risk continued dead battery issues. This is extremely dangerous given the temperatures found in Arizona. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The battery was completely dead after just 300 miles. And then it happened again at 450 miles. The car must be jumped and then the battery has to charge again. This is on a 2025 Kia Carnival (brand new).
Battery is continually draining while vehicle (2025 Kia Carnival SX Prestige) is off due to some unknown electrical system failure. I have owned the vehicle for only 24 days. In that time, I have experienced 4 instances where the battery has drained that has required the vehicle to be jump-started to operate. Upon jump starting …
Read full complaint
Battery is continually draining while vehicle (2025 Kia Carnival SX Prestige) is off due to some unknown electrical system failure. I have owned the vehicle for only 24 days. In that time, I have experienced 4 instances where the battery has drained that has required the vehicle to be jump-started to operate. Upon jump starting the vehicle, several vehicle safety systems (automatic emergency breaking, blind spot warning, forward collision warning, lane departure warning etc) indicate a malfunction evidenced by error messages/lights on the dash. The vehicle is a high risk for leaving me stranded and potentially providing unreliable operation while driving. The vehicle has now been with the dealership for service for 8 consecutive days and a timeline for resolution of this issue has not been established.
Official recalls
126V232000 · Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:hoses, Lines/piping, And Fittings
Apr 10, 2026
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2022-2026 Carnival vehicles. Fuel may leak at the pipe connection between the fuel pipe and fuel rail.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A fuel leak increases the risk of a fire.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and tighten, or replace the fuel pipe as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 2, 2026. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC368. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov on April 24, 2026.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.
Illustration