2005 Kia Carnival LS from Australia and New Zealand - Comments

When the vehicle was delivered, the radio/CD player did not work. The radio was replaced and a few months later it blew a fuse.

I have travelled 36,000 kilometers and the clutch has started slipping. I took the vehicle into the authorised Kia service centre to make a claim under the warranty. I was told that it will only be replaced if it is a mechanical problem under warranty.

I was also told that if it was not a mechanical problem, to expect a bill for $1360 for the replacement. I have been in the motor industry for fifteen years, and have never worn a clutch out at 36,000 kilometers.

I was also told that a clutch is a consumable item and is not covered by the warranty. Having a legal background, I will seek a ruling in the small claims court before the discovery.

We have been happy until the clutch incident occurred.

There is no such thing as a 3 litre Kia Carnival in Australia or New Zealand. Perhaps before you take your 'case' to the small claims court you should learn the specifications of the car.

I bought a Kia Carnival about 2-3 years ago and have had no problems at all. Yes it does have some small problems, but face it, sometimes you get the dud.

I have a 2005 kia carnival

the clutch had to be replaced at 43000 klms

the cd player has been replaced

as well as the dvd player

2 arm rests

two seat trims

four tyres in 12 months

& a drivers seat belt which was wearing badly.

Abnormal clutch wear for Kia/Hyundai V6s is a well know problem. This affects all V6 with manual transmission delivered from Kia/Hyundai. Putting in a new original one won't help either they'll wear out in no time. Go for an after market clutch, racing type with improved endurance.

We bought a 2005 Kia Carnival brand new. It will not get a WOF at any testing station on the handbrake. The dealer was given many opportunities to fix the problem, but kept saying that it was just the design and testing stations needed to understand that.

So I took it to an independent brake specialist and paid for a report. They said the vehicle was totally unsafe. Eventually the dealer replaced the cable. I had asked for a brake reading from WOF testing station after it had been repaired. Instead he gave me a printout from a portable, and the date wasn't even right on it, nor could I understand it. He did our WOF for us that year.

Since then the brakes are still sticking, and yesterday the car wouldn't move when I had to pick it up from mechanic after the thread had come out of the oil sump at 56000km. After talking to the mechanic, he told me their centre used to be the Kia Dealers, but the cars were so crap they wouldn't sell them any more. He said there had been a recall on these cars for handbrakes, and that replacing cables would not fix the problem, basically the whole car needed to be replaced!!

The thread from the oil sump is also common, due to Kia not using a strong enough alloy in them. We have also had problems with the speaker system for the stereo, had 1 seat trim replaced, and the brackets for the trays behind the seats snapped off in the first week. My husband ended up repairing himself by making metal brackets that could handle the pressure of the struts.

Apart from the ongoing handbrake problem, which I am off to have a good go at dealers about today, this has been a really nice car to drive in and very practical.