2003 Kia Carnival Warranty Complaint
Name: kathryn
Car Make: Kia
Car Model: Carnival
Year of Manufacture: 2003
Warranty Complaint:
Sudden engine failure, water in fuel, blown gasket. Lander dealership says it is not an engine problem (that was apparently only with 2002 models) but have quoted up to $8500 to replace engine- which they say is whats required- plus towing plus $650 just for looking. This is utter BS. We bought this car new, still owe heaps on it, and have religiously taken the car back to dealership the whole time for overpriced ineffective servicing. Car has only done 88000kms and city driving.
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Blauplunkt $2000 in
350klms to the tank no wonder it blew up.
If your probs are genuine u should stop waiting for other people to do the dirty work for u.
Step up!!!!!!
Too many dummies not prepared to step up. That’s how they get away with it. If u still have warranty u have them by the balls!!!!!
If u have full service history again u should have them by the gonads.
Whining people expecting someone else to solve the prob for them. Get off your collective butts if u have been screwed over!!!!@!@!!!!
Organise a rally outside Kia headquarters.Have it towed there if u have too. How hard is it to put collective pressure on a maker?
U have to step up or shut up.Simple.
Organise and embarrass them and I bet crates of the latest
Hyundai engines will appear.
Help me somebody help me on a site like this is pissing in the wind. Read my earlier hints for a call to action if u are serious in righting a wrong.
If I had this prob with my first Carnival I promise Kia wouldn’t be trading in Australia today.
I hate weak people!!!!!!
The silence is deafening.
I suspect a few pot stirrers at work.
So tell me Realcars..what car do you own??? Your aggressive tone is deafening..Some people are only in a position to buy a car such as a Kia Carnival as it is the cheapest people mover on the market. Sometimes its best to keep your \’Should have or should do\’s to ones self\’ as not to come off pompous.
Hi All
My sister and I purchased a carnival for our disabled mum.
With the fit out for her to drive it independently is cost $50,000. We aren’t rich and we don’t live with her. My Dad died and MUm wanted to stay where she had always been so we did what we could to help her live as she wanted.
We are still paying the car off.
Last week the motor did exactly what you are all talking about and the dealer told her it was a fault with the motor but since it is 5 years old ( only done 60,000) she ( or we) will have to pay $6,000 to have it reconditioned.
Mum has no other means of transport , she is in an electric wheel chair which means she cant go any where in anyone else’s car because it doesn’t fit.
She can get to the local store but has to carry the food back on the chair and it is expensive. SHe lives on a pension and we try to help her.
The car is crap quality anyway inside things are always falling off or falling apart.
She is devastated.
I would be happy to be part of a class action
Jenni
I had exactly the same problem with a 2001 Carnival LS. 2 litres of coolant was flowing into the sump a week. Contacted Kia and was told to take it to Ferntree Gully Kia so they could have a look. The engine had already been changed at 40,000Km and Kia refused to do anything about this fault. Took the car to my local mechanic and explained the situation. His suggestion was to put a $12 bottle of Chemiweld into the car. (Get a mechanic to do this for you if you are not mechanically inclined) This happened 3 years ago and the engine now has another 50,000 Km on it with no more coolant loss. I’m sure this won’t work in all cases but it worked for me. Suffice to say, I check the coolant level EVERY DAY. You should do the same. This won’t work if you have oil in the coolant and radiator. It only works if you have coolant in the oil. Best way to determine if coolant is in the oil is to remove the oil cap and look inside the cap. If it has a milky white froth inside, you have coolant in the oil.
Hope this helps. Brad
Having recently aquired a carnival (03) model from a dealer it nuked the block within 200 km – technically it is the dealers problem but i intend to get around this problem myself – i am an engineer and my group has found a cheap($2000)(150,000+ garantee)., ultra reliable engine and gearbox combo from another car and we will start the transplant over the next couple of weeks.We are interested to see if there is enough interest aus wide for us to take on the transport authorities approve it as a retro kit for the market,rather than a 1 off engineering approval….
Hi All. Bought 2003 Kia Carnival LS new & the engine just blew up @ 40,000km. In my case, I took it to my mechanic and made a claim w/ my insurance company. My mechanic stated that this was an inherent fault w/ Kia and the insurance assessor had it confirmed from the local Kia Dealer. My mechanic negotiated w/ Kia, and Kia provided a new engine free of charge on the condition it had to be installed by a Kia dealer (cost me $2000.). I had spoken to the dealer & the National Service Manager to try to recover the $2000. but it was “No.” Basically, they said I was lucky to get the engine outside warranty. My recommendation is try going through your insurance company first & another mechanic to determine the cause. Once your engine is replaced, get rid of the Kia. No one could give me a reply when I asked if the new engine still had the defect. To me, that means it’ll blow up again.
Phillip/ 2.5 or 2.7 engine? If 2.5, that’s Rover engine….so that’s Rover’s fault not Kia
Brad we are having the exact problem with our 2001 LS Carnival. We bought this car 2nd hand in May so just out of its dealer warrenty bought an addtional warrenty but ofcourse they do not cover this. I will suggest the chemiweld and maybe that will solve our problem until we trade it in!
How did you go Heather?
Hello,we bought a 2003 Kia Carnival new in 2003 after three years the warranty ran out we had the car serviced regularly the motor blow up three months after waranty ran out Kia wasn’t interested in discussing thematter with us we were told it will cost us $11000 to get a new motor put in we can’t afford that we are looking for a reconditioned motor and we are finding it very hard almost impossible there should be some compensation to cover costs we don’t know where to go
Our wonderful Kia now joins the many crappy kia.we i think were lucky that we didnt owe money on it but sold it to buy a good car, a ford, which was what we should have bought in the first place.We wouldnt be out of pocket say at least $20,000.
Brett:
I’m (and I’m sure a whole lot of other people would be) interested in hearing more on your “cheap ($2,000) (150,000+ guarantee) ultra reliable engine and gearbox combo from another car”.
Please post more (complete) details – i.e. Engine Make / model etc so we can make an informed decision !
Also, it’s now 1 November – how did your “transplant” go ?
Oh no, very depressed finding this website and reading how bad Kias are! We bought a second hand Kia just last week from NSW (we live in Victoria), everything great until we took it for its 100k service, new timing belts etc. $1550, new engine mount $400, plus some new tyres(it apparently had a replacement engine at 45k), picked up from Kia Dealership on Friday night, Saturday morning (less than 100km later, head gasket/coolant everywhere!), still waiting to hear the bad news…. Of course, no warranty, but seems that Kia are covering up something here. Definitely interested in being involved in class action or whatever it takes to get bad workmanship off our roads.
Just wondering how brett’s transplant is going. Can you tell me which engine youre planning to use?. I think we have decided to take the car off the road untill we come up with an alternativ power plant/ gearbox.
Just had the bad news from Kia dealership, they’ll replace front head for $2500 or $5500 for both heads (with 12 month guarantee), think a new alternative engine is the way to go. Not impressed, our $7800 purchase now cost us $16000 so far.
Just curious if anyone has had any issues with the automatic gear box (Sluggish gear changes, and jolts) and the alternator’s? Mines a 2004 Kia Carnival and I’m a single mum of 4 little children, 1 with disabilities and not in the financial situation to be able to replace a car or even pay for big repairs. I’ve noticed lately that the temp gauge has been slowly rising when driving, say 60km/h just around town, but is fine on highway driving. Could all of this be a sign of impending problems? I’m up to 89,000kms now and has only broken down twice. First time being a dead battery, 2nd time a faulty battery.
Trading our 2003 Kia Carnival in tomorrow. Paid $30,600 4 years ago – trade in $6,500. Haven’t had problems but at 68,000 km got scared after reading this site. Done some money on it and would never touch another Kia in my life. 4 dealerships really did not want to touch the car and all warned that the Carnivals have a huge reputation for failing engines. Traded in on a Mitsubishi Grandis, which all my research indicates should be pretty good. Should have stuck with quality in the first place. Just wondering why Kia Carnival continues to be the best selling people mover – what percentage overall have engines failing ? Anyway – hope people sue the pants of this company as the evidence seems damning – just a heap of crap car !!
We bought our 02 carnival 9 months ago, it had 104k on motor, we replaced timing belts 6 months ago. motor blew up the other day and now we dont know what to do. Apparently the cogs on the end of the cam shafts have a centre bolt with a locating pin. the centre bolt came loose on one cam eventually twisting the cam shaft and exploding the motor, i have a piece of one piston and a piece of the block on my computer desk. two mechanics have verified that there is no lock tight on any internal bolts, (parts) in the 2.5 litre motor and they just shake the motor apart. I personally believe that there is no quality assurance on these motors, hence the problems everyone is having. Can anyone tell us how we can get our motor dealer to fix this problem because we just dont have $6000 for complete motor replacement here in Tassie.
hi all, i here all your plight and i am willing to work on a fix, but i need the help from someone first, i am going to work on an engine swap for the carnivals that is a lot cheaper than a kia engine, it will be a 2nd hand engine and no other, what i need is a kia carnival to buy cheap and i mean under
Wow I wish I found this website earlier.We bought an 03 LS kia carnival in 2004 an with 4 kids we needed a people mover.. Our Kia decided it had had enough an died on xmas eve..What a xmas present that was!!!! exactly the same problem as everyone else, only thing is we were lucky to get 100,005km out of ours with no previous problems….Only thing now is we really like the style and room in the kias the price range suits as well..Do the 07 08 kias have the same problems???? Please if anyone knows would be greatly appreciated if you could let me know..thanks Lisa
Gday all, I have just found a secondhand motor for our carnival which i have sauced through a web site called parts locator. just sign in ask the question about (supply good motor) and parts locator will submit emails to dismantlers etc around Aus, you should get a reply by email very quickly. if motor is secondhand ask for vin number then ring Kia dealer they should be able to tell you if engine is series 2 which i am told is the replacement motor for the rubbish motor they came out with. Also if someone out there has a little bit of money and the knowledge to replace these dud motors with a motor out of something else i believe that they will make a small fortune out of resurecting all the dead carnivals that are around Australia. Models are 1999 to 2003 2.5 litre rover engine.
oh kia wonderfull kia,
i payed 24000 for a dec 2001 model kia carnivalin 2004 with 22000km on the clock.it blew its first egine, head gaskets split the motor at 32000km. kia replaced the motor but we payed for labour and fluids.
that motor then did the same thing at 30938km. we were without a car for over6 weeks with 5 children to get to school etc, had to hire a car. kia refused to warrent motor as it was 938km out of allowed km’s. we then had to fork out 9500 to get our car back on the road. it then blew a fuel pump, harmonic ballencer, door handles etc etc.
now guess where our car is?
at the mechanics with a blown head gasket. we have been without car now for 3 weeks and the mechanic believes that there is another problem and said start figure would be $1500. we are 30km from town and stuck with 6 kids.
what do we do? pay more money and fix it again or count our losses and sell it as is?
its getting depressing.
the car has had over $26000 spent on it in 3 years.
but is only worth about 15000 if we are lucky.
i wish i could hold kia accountable.
but …………
oh and forgot to mention the engine mount had to replaced as well .
just heard from mechanic…. new motor needed at a cost of $8500 not including install and oils etc….
im depressed
Glad I found this site, as I have just left a deposit on a 2004 Carnival, after reading this, no way!!!! I am out of this deal, only left a $100.00 deposit, I will be happy to lose it!!! after reading the above stories here.
Must be able to make Kia accountable for all your expenses and worries????
2004 Kia Carnival – Bought new and double serviced(7500km intervals) Currently 171000km on the clock and the only trouble has been the erratic auto transmission, new right driveshaft, dirty MAF sensor and have just found that the rear wheel bearings are shot.
Not a bad run I think.
Thank you everyone for sharing your Kia Carnival experiences. I was considering buying a 2003 model advertised by a private seller in the Trading Post. Now after reading all your stories, I will definitely not buy it. I’m a bit disappointed that people would resell it and advertise it as such a great car when they know how much trouble they really are.
Anyway, thanks for sharing, I’m sure your stories have helped alot of people from getting into the same predicament.
To ‘Vic’
I have an engineless 2000 Kia Carnival, and I’d like to talk to you about an alternative engine. My Kia is for sale an Ebay right now for $1000, but with a good engine (not Kia) it would be worth much more. When you get time, could you give me a ring on 0433 763428. You could buy my Kia, or we could discuss the pros and cons of replacing the engine.
Cheers.
Laurie Godfrey
Here’s yet another complaint.
http://www.allclassifieds.com......=122160682
I cannot beleive that Kia have been able to get away with this for so long. Is not some sort of class action warranted? Consumer affairs or the ACCC should be informed if they already haven’t. I have never read so many complaints about what appears to be the biggest lemon ever sold in Australia. I hope with this finacial crises Kia Australia will be one of the manufactures to go under. They deserve to it looks like.
Hello sirs,
Greetings from Guatemala, Central America. Unbelievable, I also had the same very Bad Luck of buying that piece of Kia Canival 2002. The engine blew just after 3 months of using it. I got it 2 yars ago, with 57,ooo kms. And dealer here is close to nobody. I want to install a new engine from a diferent car maker, Does anybody had any succes making it? Please if you have been succesfull replacing the engine, and tranny, please email me to vacaloca@intelnett.com. I will shurelly appreciate it. Kia SUCKS!
Another ”proud” Kia Carnival owner (2001 model) with an oil and coolant mixture. Car has 119,000k’s on is, brought used at 89,000k’s and has had a few minor things go wrong. I now wish I had of done some research on these cars as I would never of brought it, so I am now the proud owner of a lemon that will have to sit in my garage. I have no idea whether to fix it and waste thousands so I can get rid of it or just cut my loses and see the bank about getting another people mover.
Very disappointed in Kia
I bought a 2001 Kia last year and my engine just blew up 2 weeks ago ….Head gasket . I am in the process of rebuilding it as i need a car for my family but i wished i had seen this site before buying a KIA . I am in the process of emailing every single person that i know and i am hoping that it will put a stop to KIA from dealing in this country . You should all mail your friends and relatives and help boot KIA out. They should not be allowed to get rich on people’s misery .
That is Rover made engine in that Kia should have not used Rover engine…
Brett / vik
you posted that you were looking at putting in a different engine for a lot cheaper than 7000 have you had amy luck yet ? if you have I’m interrested in what you fitted and how you did it. Any info you can post would be good I own a 2001 carnival which is getting oil into the coolant I have 155,000km but brought the car with 135,000km on the clock not sure if it has already had the engine replaced before
Bought a used Year 2000 KrapIA Carnival LS about 4 years ago and am just waiting for the SCRAP DEALER to collect it today. Engine ‘went’ for the second time. First time round we managed (eventually, after threatening legal action) to get the (short) engine and surrounds replaced on the warranty. This took 6 months going backwards and forwards. (This warranty was through the dealer). The problems started with the coolant becoming mixed with oil. The engine ‘went’ for a second time and this time there was no chance. Repair from Kia dealer in Canberra was quoted at $8,000. Independent mechanics would not touch it. It has been sat on the drive for over a year because I still had finance on it. Will be glad to see the back of it. I would dissuade anyone from buying one of these, even people I don’t like. It has been about as much use as a chocolate teapot. cblak32@hotmail.com
Anybody want to buy a Kia Carnival Its motors been replaced, transmission replaced, engine revs constantly, and now the antenna makes this horrible clunking noise and I csnt even listen to the radio. I’ts left me stranded on the side of the road with 5 kids Kia wont fix a thing they helped with the motor being replaced but nothing else Its only travelled 67 000 at 42,000 the engine blew up at 50,000 the transmission went. Anybody know of a decent people mover that doesnt cost 50,000 and doesn’t break down?
I am so upset, I put a deposit on a carnaval 2002 on the condition it passed the racv test, the test came out as caution, everything on the report was given the green light accept the engine needed some work. When I went today, the dealer told me he wasn’t willing to sell it to me becuase he didnt want the hassel of it breaking down. Im glad he was honest but I am so dissapointed that these cars look great, are so versitile, and comfortable and no one has bothered to find a solution to their problem. As much as I want a KIA, I’m not going to buy a second dud car, the first one was a ford falcon ea 89, which I bought for $8000 and have rebuild it I don’t know how many times, for fear of purchasing another crap car ( better the devilk u know)….when I think about it I probably spent another 15,000 fixing that ford. so sad!!!!!I want a kia so bad it’s so prettyyyyyyy.
On a positive note: thank u all for sharing ur experiences.
Hi All, Well I wish I had found this site sooner. I have just purchased a Kia Carnial 2002 from a second hand dealer 4 weeks ago. The dealer stated that it was the 2001 and earlier models that had this problem and that from 2002 onwards it was fixed…what a crock of shit…being desperate for a I belived him…my fault. I have just started having problems with it. Tonight while driving, the car started to heat up….really hot. I checked to make sure it had oil and water which it did but it still continued to get hot. So I am off to the mechanics tomorrow, no doubt what I am going to hear. I have purchased this car on finance and will no be out of pocket, just like everyone else. I will let you all know what they say…I am sure you already know…Thanks to you all for all your very helpfull imput, without you all people like us would be left in the dark.
Hi guys I am also in the same prodit, 2001 model brought in Sept 2008, 75,000 on the clock, on staurday after a full oil change and service it split a radator hose, (no warning of over heat) with a lovely coffee milkshake all under the bonnet!! I wish I had listened to my husband who did some research and told me about the problems before I purchased the vehicle but I knew better!!!! so I guess it will sit on the scrap heap and I will not be able to mover my grandchildren around the region on there visit from the NT. Thanks KAI, not that you care!! NO MORE KAI CARNIVALS!!
hi everyone i also have kia (2002) same problem as everyone else head gasket water in motor was hoping if someone could tell me what other engine will fit in a kia as i dont want to replace with a new motor and end up with the same problem any help would be great tamnie2000@hotmail.com
These are eight and nine year old cars. Regardless of klms traveled all cars wear out. No car company will cover a car that’s a decade old so why boo Kia??????. Best way to fit the problem…….Buy a new car! Don’t try and save money on a used car and expect trouble free motoring
Dear salesman, regardless wether this Kiacrap car is old or new the car broke down from day one. if you did your research like most of us have even if the horse bolted first you would see that 1999 through to 2004 Kia Australia have had a problem with the KV6 motor wether it had 10,000ks or 100,000 and when the dealers did replace these motors some would blow after 2000ks.If they blew a h/gasket they could not be fixed without having to put a new head on because of no valve clearance tolerances. you can put a lock on the bottom of the sleeves to stop them from moving hence the water problems. (A gentleman in Qld has developed this lock and swears by it, you might try Ebay.The other problem you have is nothing in these series 1 motors have any locktight on the internal bolts so they tend to shake bits loose hence maybe a piston going through the sump or camshaft cog coming loose. the KV6 motor was originally a Rover motor which Rover Europe produced in the eighties for there own but they had these problems so they scrapped the motor. Kia Korea bought the patent from Rover and built the motor for the carnival. A magna motor i believe will bolt up with minimal fuss but the fire wall has to be cut back. the problem would be getting a roadworthy inspection to pass. It would have passed in the 70s. goodluck everyone as i have also been bitten in the past. Kia sportage motors are next.
Hi all- i have a Kia Carnival 2001 – same problem with heads etc, am going to try Kia to get some goodwill but am sure i will not get far – but i am willing to go to the media and organise massive Carnival dump at kia headquarters or the like if i have to – this is just ridiculous how many are in the same boat – if you have any ideas to contribute feel free – or if u want to join me to do something publicly (in Melbourne) let me know…maybe we can do something if we all get together and make a big enough noise. fmaelasi@optusnet.com.au