Kia Recalls Carnival Over Sliding Doors That Could Squish Your Kids

Photo: Kia

As huge fans of minivans here at Jalopnik, we were excited when Kia announced the new Carnival. And after finally getting a chance to drive it, we ended up liking it even more than the incredibly popular Kia Telluride. So if you’re one of the wonderful people who actually chose a Carnival over a Telluride, we salute your decision and clearly impeccable taste. That said, you should definitely check with your dealer to see if yours has been recalled over problems with the sliding doors.

The Kia Amanti Was Basically a Knock-Off Mercedes

In case you missed it:

Consumer Reports has noted that Kia recently announced a recall of about 51,000 Carnival minivans from the 2022 and 2023 model years. Apparently, the power-sliding doors may continue to close even if there’s something in their way instead of opening back up. And unfortunately for the families involved, this problem with the doors has led to several injuries.

Kia is reportedly aware of nine injuries that have occurred so far, with seven of them classified as minor. One involved a fractured thumb, though, and the last was much more serious — one person broke their arm. Owners have also reportedly complained that it takes way too much force to get the door to reverse once it starts closing.

To fix the problem and hopefully avoid any additional injuries, Kia will give the affected vehicles a software update that adds warning chimes whenever the door begins to open or close. The update will also make the door close more slowly so passengers have more time to get their limbs out of the way. If your Carnival was built after February 23, 2023, though, your van shouldn’t be affected.

If you own a Carnival, you can enter its vehicle identification number on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website to check to see if your van is involved in the recall, as well as see if there are any other open recalls for your Carnival.