2000 Kia Carnival LS review from Australia and New Zealand

CD player replaced.

Stitching in the left middle seat came away, had to be repaired.

Roof lining had to put back in place started to fall away in certain parts of the roof.

Drivers side visor broke - replaced.

Vacuum hose on the fuel body replaced.

Brake pads replaced at 18000km, rotors machined, I had to pay for the pads.

Wore out a set of the factory fitted Kumo tyres on the front in 16000km, and again at 38000km both times they were warranted by Kumo - no cost.

Bad miss at 1500km replaced rear spark plugs and coil packs.

Two weeks out of warranty I found oil in the coolant overflow tank, no apparent signs of overheating, engine still running OK, obviously extremely concerned to the internal damage that was happening, rang the dealer who said the problem was a common one with this model, they submitted a claim for the motor which was thankfully approved by KIA. The problem was the sleeves that line the alloy engine bore had failed, subsequently the lower part of the motor is being replaced as I write this report, total cost of the repair$6000.

Having said all the above, the car does perform well and takes my family of 6 on long road trips in comfort including towing a small boat loaded with kids bikes etc. It does respond well to lower gear changes up hills and can keep up with the flow of traffic with ease. My attitude towards KIA I'm sure would have been different if the engine repair wasn't approved, but it all comes down to what the standards for allowing cars into a country without proper bench testing the engines prior to such a mass production of a car such as the Carnival. It has become Australia's largest selling passenger van for the last couple of years and you would think a manufacturer would have a better quality control scheme in place, but they have come to the party so to speak with all my repairs and they even hired a courtesy car for the 2 weeks the vehicle was off the road for the engine rebuild.