Kia America, Inc. recall 26V232

Affected vehicles (1)

Component / system

Defect

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.

Risk / 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.

Chronology of events

1. Jan 8, 2025

   January 8, 2025 During routine review of field data, Kia North America (Kia NA) Safety Office identifies reports of fuel smell and leakage from the high-pressure crossover fuel pipe (“cross over pipe”) connecting the GDI fuel rails in the 2022-2024MY Carnival. No fire incidents identified. Kia NA Safety Office begins to collect warranty returned parts and monitors the issue.

2. Feb 27, 2025

   February 27, 2025— Kia NA Safety Office sends collected crossover pipe assemblies to

3. Mar 31, 2025

   March 31, 2025 Kia Corporation (Kia HQ) for evaluation. Kia HQ and cross over pipe assembly supplier (“supplier”) conduct dimensional and hardness analysis and informs Kia NA Safety Office that no issues identified. Kia HQ and supplier continue investigation.

4. Apr 29, 2025

   April 29, 2025—August Kia HQ works with supplier and supplier conducts additional 4, 2025 component inspection and engine vibration testing to evaluate potential effect of engine vibration on the crossover pipe nut tightness. No issues found. Kia HQ continues to work with supplier.

5. Aug 4, 2025

   August 4, 2025—August Kia NA Safety Office inspects vehicles in the field with and 28, 2025 without fuel leak allegation. Two (2) vehicles with a reported fuel leak from a loose cross over pipe nut were inspected and found to have a loose nut with no root cause identified. Six (6) vehicles with no reported fuel leak were also inspected and found to have secure cross over pipe nuts and joints.

6. Sep 9, 2025

   September 9, 2025— Kia HQ informs Kia NA Safety Office of its finding of the

7. Jan 5, 2026

   January 5, 2026 supplier’s inconsistent records of thread lubricant concentration applied to cross over pipe nuts. Test results indicate that when nuts with lower concentration of thread lubricant are torqued to specification, the resulting axial force at the cross over pipe joints is lower than that of parts with proper concentration. Kia HQ and supplier conduct additional vibration durability testing and Kia HQ informs Kia NA Safety Office that even with lower thread lubricant concentration, the nuts remain fastened.

8. Jan 1, 2026

   January 1, 2026—March Kia HQ and Kia NA Safety Office continue to review additional 24, 2026 potential contributing factors from engine production and supplier. No root cause confirmed. However, engines produced after

9. Nov 19, 2024

   11/19/2024 have an updated crossover pipe torque specification. Evaluation with supplier confirms that increased torque application 1 Kia America, Inc. to cross over pipe nuts with low thread lubricant concentration achieves higher axial force.

10. Apr 2, 2026

    April 2, 2026 Kia NA Safety Office updates field data analysis and identifies no fires, accidents or injuries. However, finds 258 unique VINs with fuel leak at the cross over pipe [dates of receipt 9/22/2021—

11. Mar 18, 2026

    3/18/2026]

12. Apr 3, 2026

    April 3, 2026 Kia NA Safety Office decides to recall all 2022-2024MY and certain 2025-2026MY Carnival vehicles as a precautionary measure to address the risk of a potential fire. 2 Kia America, Inc.

Notification schedule

Dealer notification

Apr 13, 2026 - Apr 13, 2026 No Dealers

Owner notification

Jun 02, 2026 - Jun 02, 2026 Phased Recall