Kia says that it is recalling the Carnival following nine reports of injuries resulting from hands or arms becoming squeezed by the power sliding doors. The automaker maintains that its doors are comparable to those in other minivans, but has made some safety-related updates all the same.
The company will now recall 51,568 Carnivals from the 2022 and 2023 model years to address the safety issue, of which it first became aware in the summer of 2021. At that time, an owner’s child was injured by the power sliding door.
In its investigation, Kia became aware of nine minor injuries. Examples include a case where a child stuck their hand through the door frame after pressing the door close button, and another in which a child who, after her father pressed the door close button, stuck her hand through the door just before it closed, leading to bruising.
Read: Kia Recalls 2022 Carnival After Finding That Sliding Door Can Fly Open While Driving
While these incidents are no doubt frightening and painful for the children involved, and distressing for their parents, most are pretty minor. In seven of the incidents, the injuries were limited to bruising, swelling, and minor cuts or scrapes.
However, in some scenarios, the injuries were much worse. One person’s thumb was fractured, and another’s arm allegedly broke because of the door closing on it.
During the investigation, Kia and a third-party biomechanics firm did not find any evidence that the doors in question were out of spec. Both parties also determined that the Carnival’s automatic closing door system and auto-reversal function are comparable to those of its competitors.
Given the complaints and injuries, though, it will still perform a recall on the minivan. The remedy is comprised of new software that adds warning chimes when the door is opening or closing, and slows the door down just as it approaches the latching point.
Kia plans to start notifying owners of the recall on April 28, and the update will be performed by a dealer at no cost to the vehicle’s owner.
