2026 Kia Carnival

I purchased a new 2026 Kia Carnival EX and noticed an unusually intense amount of heat coming from underneath the vehicle on the passenger side, particularly around the rear passenger door/second-row seating area. I first noticed the issue while the vehicle was parked and I was standing outside the open rear passenger door installing car seats and floor mats. The heat radiating from underneath the vehicle was intense enough that my feet and lower legs became extremely hot while standing next to the vehicle I also noticed that the seat/floor rails and other exposed metal components in and around the second-row passenger area became extremely hot to the touch. I could only keep my hand on some of these metal components briefly before the heat became too uncomfortable and I had to remove my hand. I am concerned about the safety of this condition because these hot surfaces are in an area routinely accessed by passengers, including children entering and exiting the second row. I am concerned about the potential for contact burns as well as whether the amount of heat being transferred into the floor, rails, and surrounding components could indicate an exhaust, emissions, heat-shielding, or other mechanical problem. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. At this time, the exact component or system responsible for the excessive heat has not been identified. The issue has not yet been reproduced or confirmed by a Kia dealer or independent service center. I have contacted Kia service personnel regarding having the vehicle inspected. I was informed that if the vehicle is inspected and the dealership cannot reproduce or identify a problem, I may be responsible for an approximately $210 diagnostic charge. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives, or another independent party regarding this issue. There were no warning lights or dashboard messages indicating a problem before or when I noticed the heat

The contact owns a . The contact stated that while parked when the brake was depressed, press start button, when put in reverse, it says gear is selected, the vehicle stayed in neutral. This happens intermittently. The stop button was pressed, all of the instrument panel warning indicators would not illuminate. When pressing p for parking to engage parking, it appeared as if it was in park; however the vehicle unexpectedly reversed. The vehicle was able to be stopped. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the issue could not be duplicated. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The approximate mileage was 2,200.

Battery died at under 3,300 miles. After roadside came and jumped the batter, it died again after two days. Jumped again for the second time, when driving the car around it would randomly shut off even when the car is moving at higher speeds on freeway. The shut off would be for just one second and comes back on - everything starts resetting. And goes to user authoriztions notifications. Car shut off three times while driving around.

2026 Kia Carnival MPV Hybrid SX Prestige(Exterior: Astra Blue Interior: Tuscan Umber / Off-Black) purchased December 2025. Two separate safety-related defects have gone unresolved for 31+ cumulative days across two dealer repair visits. DEFECT 1 — INSTRUMENT CLUSTER: Instrument cluster screen goes blank while driving, eliminating speedometer, TPMS, and all warning indicators. First observed February 2026. Dealer visit February 13–17 (4 days): technician said could not replicate. Defect recurred. Kia has since issued a federal safety recall confirming this exact defect — citing FMVSS noncompliance and stating the blank screen increases crash risk due to a software error causing overheat protection mode. Vehicle was at dealer for an active safety recall defect that went undiagnosed during a repair visit. DEFECT 2 — SEAT MODULE: Second-row seat module failed. Vehicle returned to dealer March 5 (still there, 27+ days). Wiring harness replacement attempted approximately March 21 — failed, defect persisted. Kia Engineering formally escalated approximately March 24. Seat module ordered but not yet installed. No resolution or completion date provided. Vehicle has been out of service 31+ cumulative days. Safety recall defect went undetected during prior dealer repair visit. Both defects remain unresolved on a vehicle purchased just 97 days ago.

This new 2026 Vehicle faced multiple issues within a few weeks of purchase as stated below. 1. The instrument display panel or the main display screen of the car stopped working. The screen was completely blank and would not turn on. (confirmed and reproduced by Kia dealer, service order attached) 2. An electric short caused the radio to fail (confirmed and reproduced by Kia dealer, service order attached) 3. The car battery died, rendering the car completely unresponsive. The car had to be towed to the Kia Dealer. (confirmed and reproduced by Kia dealer, service order attached) All of the above 3 issues happened one after the other. The first issue essentially disabled safety features of the vehicle as the display panel that displays rear view camera, camera monitoring system (CMS), etc was not able to display any information. An eventual electric short and a dead battery rendered the vehicle inoperable. The official Kia dealer attempted to diagnose and repair the vehicle. The vehicle was at the dealer service for 15 days. The dealer initially suggested that a part needs to be replaced and is in backorder till May 2026. However subsequently the dealer then claimed that the vehicle is now operating normally and should be taken by the customer. No root cause of the electric short and battery and screen failure was disclosed. Also contrary to what is stated in the service order, the service manager at the dealer verbally suggested that they did not replace the malfunctioning component.