13th Mar 2005, 23:12
We too have 2000 model Kia Carnival. at 90,000 km the engine packed up. Kia agreed to replace the engine, but we still had to cough up 800 dollars in consumables. Three weeks later the gearbox packed up. We then had to wait 6 weeks for the parts to arrive. 5 days after the new gearbox was fitted it ceased up resulting in a tow back to the dealer. I think Kia really need to come to the party on this car. Why do the dealers sell you these cars knowing of the problems.
20th Feb 2006, 05:18
We have had our Carnival for 6 years. We did have our engine replaced at 50,000 under warranty, this took a week as ours was one of the first to fail and there was not a back up. Other than this the main problem is the sliding door handles snapping, our passenger door handle has been broken for a couple of months, the kids all climb in the other side. I am a little disappointed at the fact that at 6 years old, the car is looking rather worn.
Really, you get what you pay for, it is not a high quality car and shouldn't be thought of as such.
27th Dec 2006, 23:58
Carnival 2001...engine failed, oil and coolant mixed??? The specialists/mechanics please forward your comments.
9th Jan 2007, 23:47
10th January 2007.
2001 Kia Carnival oil and coolant mixing, head gasket gone, apart from that a great car.
13th Jan 2007, 03:40
Initially I thought there was a head-gasket problem and got the car checked, but when the problem persisted I thought it was probably something else. The Mechanics telling me that the sealer they used in sealing the cylinder sleeve to the block cracked causing oil and water to mix. But changing the engine block doesn't cure the problem. KIA must come up with a re-engineered product to prevent the sealer from cracking otherwise I would not even buy a raffle ticket with KIA in its prize.
20th Apr 2007, 09:37
I am planning to buy Carnival 2006 but when I went to the workshop of Kia, I found that there are 17 similar 2002 with engine problem.
Carnival 2006 has made major changes in the engine, and I don't know if it is still the same or not.
12th Jun 2007, 01:41
My 2004 KIA CARNIVAL did a head gasket at 79,000km, I've been told the exchange motor is only good for about 30,000km.
6th Nov 2007, 14:22
After replacing the head gasket on my KIA Carnival (Euro 1200), after only week of driving, oil is again mixing with coolant water. Service Dealer is proposing change of engine block and again not guaranteeing anything. I am wondering why KIA didn't recall this engine if so many people has the same problem. Since I bought this car second hand and do not have any warranty on it, I don't know what to do.. Especially because so many comments are saying that after even three times of changing the engine block, same problem re-apears! God heeeelp!
9th Jan 2008, 13:30
Hi! We have a Carnival Skyline 2.9 CDRI which is re-imported from Germany, 38.000 km. In one Year we haven't got any problems yet. That's why I'm asking if You with the head gasket problems have a petrol or a diesel engine. We have 3 kids and a dog and the car is very suitable for us. Pls note a new Carnival diesel here in Finland costs around 48.000 € = c. a 60.000 USD cause of our stupid taxes. The only thing which worries me is the loosing of coolant water. After a pressure test there seems to be no problems... As a car fan I noticed that it's very difficult to fill the cooling system. It needs 3-4 times to fill it upp again cause of the long piping. Maybe this is the reason for blown gaskets. The Kia people don't know what to do. Any questions, pls don't hesitate to mail me! Regards from cold Finland!
16th Jan 2008, 03:25
We have the same problem with our Kia Carnival 2001 as all those commenters above. We bought it second hand; it was not exactly cheap, but okay price. We did not know anything about cars as we had no car for the last 12 year living in London were oblivious to the problems mentioned here--lucky for the sellers. We have had problems almost from the start, but we thought that it was natural as it was not a new car some parts wear out. Now at 60,000 miles engine is dead. We just spent a great deal of money updating other parts. Now we have to decide if it is even worth it to fix--will it work after? It is sooo undependable and is our only car loaded up with four kiddies breaking down on highways in the middle of Taiwan. Glad we bought it through a friend of a friend. Did they know? We don't know --it sad to think they might have.
27th Jun 2008, 09:33
I've just found oil mixing in my coolant in my 2001 KIA Carnival and it's only done 73000km. I knew about the engine problems mentioned here, but I thought I was fortunate enough not to have them for 7 years... but I spoke too soon. The KIA people here in Adelaide have said that KIA will supply up to $3000 in parts only. Even then, the whole job could be still be as high as $9,000 for me to fork out. Pretty rich considering it's Kia's fault and the car is worth less than that even if it was working. I'll never touch Kia with a barge pole again.
29th Jun 2008, 02:26
Hi, we have a '03 carnival LS series, and we have just had problems. When we bought the car from a Kia dealership, I asked the question about the faulty engines, as I was aware of the rumours. I had been told that yes there has been a problem, it was now recalled and all problems would be fixed by Kia at no charge to ourselves. We have done 127000km, always had it serviced. On a recent trip, it decided to play up, feels like it running on only a few cylinders??? Is this the first signs of the engine blowing??? We have also read that the manual models don't seem to have as many probs? Can anyone confirm this?
We have been looking at buying an 06'or '07 grand carnival, reason being that the engine for that actually comes via mitsubishi. Has anyone had any faults with these yet? Our main reason for upgrading was that we have 4 children of our own, and I also run a family daycare, so at anyone time I can have up to 7 children in my car.
Our car is booked in on tuesday to see what the problem is, but if it is the engine, unfortunately, we still owe approx 8k on finance, so in reality, we will be screwed!!!
Fingers crossed.
9th Mar 2005, 03:58
Our KIA Carnival 2003 model which we were told had all the engine bugs ironed out has just died for the second time. First time 29,000ks and just now 50,000ks. Both times due to engine failure, blown head gasket, warped head leading to contamination of the coolant and oil systems. We have been back repeatedly with the mysterious missing water from the reserve coolant tank, just in the last 6 weeks, which we were told was due to a radiator leak (not) and now the real problem, a blown head gasket. We lost 6 weeks the first time this happened, and it appears we will loose another 6 weeks. The annoying part to all of this, lack of acknowledgment of a known fault, and blatant misinformation to the consumer. What I don't understand is KIA's stand on this issue, "Replace the engine". Our warranty runs out soon, and I don't really know what will happen at that point. The way we are going we will be lucky to get to 75,000ks on our second engine. I think it is time for all Carnival owners to unite, maybe a class action would change KIA's thinking regards this poor mans Voyager.