2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid acceleration problems

Filed Oct 22, 2026 · Acceleration, Fuel system · TX

My 2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid was purchased new in January 2025. The problem began almost immediately, with the vehicle first presented to an authorized Kia dealer for this condition at only 810 miles. The vehicle repeatedly and unpredictably enters reduced-power or “limp mode,” causing a sudden loss of normal acceleration and limiting it to approximately 35 mph. This creates a serious safety risk on highways, while merging, crossing intersections, or whenever acceleration is needed to respond to traffic. Equally concerning, the vehicle does not consistently display a warning or retain a hard diagnostic error code when the loss of power occurs. Sometimes a check-engine light or “Check Hybrid System - Stop Safely” message appears, but at other times the vehicle enters limp mode with no warning. After turning the vehicle off and restarting it, normal operation may return and the error disappears, leaving the dealer unable to retrieve a stored code showing what occurred. The vehicle has been presented to an authorized Kia dealer for this recurring issue at least five times. In August 2026, it remained in limp mode and had to be towed to the dealer. We were initially told no error code had been found. Near the end of the service period, we were told a code had appeared indicating a faulty sensor, which was replaced, but the reduced-power problem later recurred. The vehicle’s automatically generated August performance report also indicated no vehicle issues despite the August incident. A Kia TechLine case was later opened, but the recurring problem was not identified or permanently corrected. The vehicle is available for inspection.

Filed Oct 14, 2026 · Acceleration, Electrical · NC

In May 2026, after driving through a heavy rainstorm on the highway, the car suddenly cut off cruise control and showed multiple warning lights (for most, if not all assistance systems) and an error message that was some version of "check hybrid system." When searching the code it seemed to be related to an electrical short in the hybrid system. I had no electric power to the engine, but the gas functionality still sort of worked, so I could drive, but there was a 2-3 second delay between pushing the gas pedal and getting any acceleration, and said acceleration was minimal. This occurred at 70+ mph on a busy highway, so the sudden lack of acceleration and control was alarming and put us and the cars around us at risk due to sudden speed change. When we pulled into a safe stop and turned the car off for a few minutes and then back on, the error messages were gone and hybrid system seemed functional again. The check engine light remained, but turned off after the next short trip. There had been no warnings, lights, or symptoms of any issues at any point prior to this occurring. The car was not seen at the time due to being on vacation and not near any Kia dealership. It is being seen in a few weeks, but as this was 5 months ago, I do not anticipate anything being found to explain the issue, particularly after reading other online reports of this issue. A similar issue happened recently (Oct 2026) with no rain present. I had just started driving, and got a warning about lane-keeping assist, but no others. I pulled over, couldn't find any other errors or details, and everything else seemed fine. I continued driving, and 1-2 minutes later, while trying to accelerate onto the highway, I suddenly had no acceleration power with the pedal touching the floor. I was again at risk of a high-speed accident if I had not been able to move the car toward the shoulder quickly. No error code appeared at the time of acceleration loss. Power returned after restarting the car.

Filed Oct 5, 2026 · Acceleration, Electrical · MI

Within 5 minutes of driving, the car stopped accelerating. Check hybrid system alert appeared one minute later. Car stalled out within approximately 1-2 minutes after warning light appeared. No other warning lights were present prior. This is a 2025 new Kia Carnival Hybrid. I was stranded on the side of a 55mph road. The first time the police helped me roll it off the road. The second time it couldn’t be pushed even though it appeared to be in neutral. The car dies but the accessory functions will not turn off. We have to unplug the battery each time. This car could die ANYWHERE leaving you stranded in a very dangerous situation. There is very little warning. This is extremely hazardous. This is the SECOND time this has occurred with a combined total of 5 hours waiting for tow trucks and countless hours contacting Kia. Kia kept the car for two weeks and recharged the battery. That’s it. It died again within 24 hours of being returned to us. This is UNSAFE and unreliable.

Filed Oct 2, 2026 · Acceleration, Brakes · TX

This complaint is a follow up to complaint #XXX. I took the car in to Dennis Eakin Kia in [XXX] to repair what caused the car to go into Limp Mode after slamming on the brakes. The dealership did a deep scan of the hybrid control and power train control module for historical or iintermittent codes. They could find none because the car apparently does not save them after the ignition is turned off. They are trashed. They also tried 4 times to re-create the event by slamming on the brakes, but were unable to re create it. They returned the car to me without fixing it. This is another deep -imbedded safety hazard of this car that a well-documented safety hazard from many drivers cannot be fixed because the car trashes any evidence of these incidences. This car is a clear danger to drivers, a danger that can only be fixed through a recall to get them off the road until a fix is executed by the manufacturer. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Sep 30, 2026 · Acceleration, Brakes · TX

I had to slam on my brakes and the car went into Limp Mode, not allowing acceleration above 20 MPh. I drove for a while and then pulled into a parking lot and turned off the car and back on again. I was able to achieve normal acceleration after turning the car back on. We felt unsafe having no control over our speed and cars honking and racing around us. I am afraid to drive my family in this car for fear of having to slam on my brakes at a highway intersection or off/on ramp, which could cause a fatal crash. A Kia dealership is performing a diagnostic now and will advise. The vehicle has not been inspected by another agency. No warning lights went on that I can recall.

Filed Sep 6, 2026 · Acceleration, Electrical · WV

My vehicle keeps throwing a code “check hybrid system” and slowing me down to 30mph, it will not accelerate. This is extremely dangerous. I can restart the car and it’s fine but this is a major safety issue considering it keeps happening

Filed Jul 10, 2026 · Acceleration, Fuel system · ID

On five separate occasions, while turning onto a high-speed roadway and attempting to accelerate to the flow of traffic, the vehicle suddenly lost the ability to accelerate. Despite pressing the accelerator, the vehicle would not exceed approximately 35 mph and then began to decelerate. During both incidents, a "Check Hybrid System" warning appeared, and I was forced to quickly pull over to the side of the high-speed road. The vehicle would only return to normal operation after it was turned off and restarted. This loss of power while merging into traffic created an extremely dangerous situation. Having three young children in the vehicle made the experience especially frightening, and I no longer have confidence that the vehicle can be relied upon to operate safely. Because this defect affects the vehicle's ability to accelerate safely in traffic, I am deeply concerned that it could result in a serious collision if it happens again. I took it into the dealership and the service center experienced the same issue. They thought they had resolved the issue and that it was a "one off" occurrence but it happened to me again just 3 weeks after the attempted repair. This time the engine light came on after the "Check Hybrid System" warning light.

Filed Jul 4, 2026 · Acceleration · AZ

I live in [XXX]. On the way to [XXX], out of no where the car stopped accelerating. Was in eco mode at the time and dropped completely while trying to accelerate in the middle of the road. Pulled over completely turned off the car checked the engine nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Ran the diagnostics from the car and didn’t show any errors. Turned off again for a bit and turn on and everything was fine. Moved from eco to smart and turned around worked fine for about 5 m so we thought everything was on and tried to go back north to finish our trip and while on smart mode started to accelerate again and didn’t want to accelerate. Turned around and decided best to take it to dealership Monday. We have about another 1 hour to 2 hours to get home and it’s working fine in smart mode but it shouldn’t randomly drop acceleration at all in the middle of driving. Only at 16,487 miles. Doing it again only driving 33 m an hour and in smart mode. Not even going uphill just dropped acceleration while driving around town. About 15 m after. There’s still no error happening when it happens each time. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Nov 6, 2025 · Acceleration, Transmission · 3,000 miles · WA

The contact owns a 2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle hesitated before accelerating while depressing the accelerator pedal. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was able to duplicate the failure; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed, and the cause of the failure was not yet determined. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 3,000. The VIN was not available.

Filed Oct 13, 2025 · Acceleration · OH

The car fails to accelerate sporadically, occurred multiple times in a 2 day period. First time was getting on an on ramp to the highway, I got up to 55 MPH then couldn’t accelerate anymore even with my foot on the gas. I dropped down to 32 MPH and had to merge onto the highway at that speed. I had a semi fly up behind me and swerve around me because I was going so slow, I’m thankful there wasn’t an accident, I had 6 passengers and it could’ve been a very bad situation. It finally gave some acceleration but even then later gave out when driving on the highway. I went from 70 to 53 MPH before I could accelerate again. Other times it happens I was on a road going 35 MPH and it wouldn’t accelerate anymore, dropped down to 26 MPH. I can only coast and pressing the gas just revs the engine, going up to 4000 RPM. It only happens when already driving, not from a dead stop (at least so far). This has happened in all 3 driving modes, Eco (happened the most in this mode), Sport and Smart mode. This has to be addressed and fixed, I’m nervous to drive the car or have my family ride in it. There were no warning lights showing and the diagnostics are stating normal. I’m taking it to a dealership today. The one detail I noticed that happened consistently was the car seemed to be stuck in a mode not being able to determine if it’s in charging, electric or hybrid mode and tries to combine them. There’s a graphic on the display that shows the power either coming from the battery to the front wheels OR from the front wheels to the battery, never arrows both ways. When this happened, there were arrows going both ways from the batteries to the front wheels and from the front wheels to the battery at the same time. Finally when I could accelerate again, the arrows were going one direction. Please report this and make Kia fix this terrible safety issue.