[vsrikkanth]

Originally Posted by Vsh06

Thanks @vsrikkanth! I've read and heard that the side walls of the bridgestone's are weak and are prone to side wall punctures more often than not. Let me know how your experience has been with them considering that the carnival is wide.

Thanks

I have clocked 65000 kms so far in which only 25k was with stock wanderers. No complaints of sidewall weakness so far. Plus the same Ecopia 850 is used in other cars such as XUV 700, Tucson and XUV 500. So far the tire has been very reliable. But I always replace the tire when 10% life is remaining, since the spare tire is not full size. I have external TPMS and Tusa inflator to maintain correct tire pressure.

[rrsteer]

Recently completed our Carnival’s 50k/ 5th service. Apart from a resurfaced squeaking sound that was addressed 3 months back by replacing the tensioner assembly, I had no other concerns to report. I can say that the overarching story of my ownership remains intact. The car performs well, but service support has been very poor. It would not be wrong to say that apart from the failed bearing of the tensioner assembly, all other issues have had the dealer’s stamp. Earlier they spoilt the tyres of the car, last service they damaged the front bumper, and this time they provided me an inside view of their terrible work processes. I had placed an order for a part – replacement for the car’s cardboard type underbody cover which had a slight tear. This request was placed in September last year. Six months on, I am still waiting for the correct part to arrive. To begin with, the dealer personnel forgot to place the order, later, thrice they ordered the wrong part, of which twice the same wrong part was ordered in succession.

There is good news though. The dealer finally opened a new service center. In my last update I had mentioned how weary I was taking the car to the dealer because of the cramped spaces. This concern is no longer relevant now. The new facility is quite large, well designed and looks quite modern too.
The new service center:


But can’t help thinking, it seems to be in sync with Kia India’s general philosophy (my opinion only) – more focus on the outside look and feel, but less on the inside.


Coming to the car itself, it has now completed over 50k kms in 31 months of ownership. That translates to a monthly running of about 1500kms. It is a sharp reduction compared to the car it replaced -the Innova, which averaged about 2500 kms per month. A part of this is attributable to the mindset shift post Covid. People are more amenable to doing business over video calls or transacting virtually, reducing the need to travel. But a good deal is because the Carnival has brought about a specialisation to our garage which didn’t exist before. Due to its shape and size, we are following an unsaid rule that Carnival=highways. This specialisation has been further cemented with the recent purchase of Tiago.EV – a most suitable car for city runabouts.

As mentioned above, the car recently faced its first mechanical/electronic part failure. The bearings of the tensioner assembly failed at 46k kms and 28 months into the ownership period. The new part was ordered and fixed in two weeks. The assembly itself was replaced under warranty. However, the belt, being a wear-and-tear item, wasn't covered. I ended up paying for half the cost of the belt, the other half was waived off as a goodwill measure after some negotiations. Disappointingly, the replaced part too failed within three months. The new part is expected to arrive by next week. Same part failing twice is not confidence inspiring, but for now I am willing to look pass it as a case of bad luck, as generally the car has been quite reliable and drives as good as new.

I have both read and heard from a few owners, complaints about early brake wear – somewhat understandable, as it’s a heavy vehicle with an auto gearbox. But am happy to report that at 50k, the brakes of my car were reported to be good for another 10k kms at least. Apart from the brakes, I am also much inclined towards preventive upkeep of the auto transmission. Going against the tide, Kia prescribed a transmission oil change at the 90k km mark in the owner’s manual. I brought this up with the service advisor as part of a discussion, to which he said and I quote ‘as per the latest advisory from Kia, the transmission is sealed for life and we are not authorized to do a transmission oil change.’ If that’s the case, I will get the oil changed from an able outside garage at 60k kms.

I recently also purchased a Scangauge for the car, and its a good way of keep a tab on transmission temperature. The transmission temperature mostly stays below 70 degree Celsius, but take the car to the hills and the temperature shoots up to 90-95 degrees in no time, although I have yet to see it go past 100. I am no expert in this, but I generally stop the car by the side for some rest if the transmission temperature continuously stays over 95 degrees for a longer duration. The other thing I have noticed is that the temperature increase gradient is less steep if driven in the manual mode. Generally too, I enjoy driving more in the manual mode, while driving on the hills.

Overall, as mentioned in earlier posts, the space and practicality that accompanies the design of a full size MPV, the lusty engine programmed to an intelligent 8 speed auto and the great highway fuel economy that the car is capable of, are its biggest draws for me.

Some pictures to go along with this update.

Above, I talked about practicality, didn’t I? Some demonstrations below:

Here we are carrying about 60-70 tree saplings.


Transporting all sorts of things.


An update will be incomplete, without me flaunting some fuel economy figures. Below are the stats of a recent drive from Delhi to back home Jalandhar. It was done on a long weekend, meaning heavy traffic throughout, while also having to deal with road diversions and interruptions caused by the farmer’s protest. I was very pleased with the figures in the end. The lifetime average fuel economy too is a very good 12.9kmpl.


It has not been all highways for the car, when presented with a chance and if conditions allow, I do carefully take it offroad.





I have also been adding accessories, bit by bit. In the last 10k kms, I have added the following:

1) An external tyre pressure gauge. It has proved very helpful in keeping the tyre temperature around the intended values.

2) Scangauge II (got it from US through a visiting relative). It throws a range of data- not all of which I understand or even need, but its greatest use is keeping an eye on transmission temperature. The other thing I found out is that the eco mode in the car is an eyewash. I have not seen any change in the engine rpm, air fuel mixture or the engine load while using it.


3) A neat trunk organizer – helps me keep the tyre puncture repair kit and other things neatly tucked in.

4) A funnel for pouring DPF. Again, of great use, no more spilling of DPF fluid.


5) Some ambient lighting – I arranged them around the perimeter of the front seats, and it gives a nice effect at night, although there is just one color.


6) Rubber door beadings – have a real tight garage and this helps in protecting the door edges.



That’s it, for now. Hopefully would provide the next update at 60k kms.

[sh3lby]

The Carnival really is a practical, well-designed minivan. An MUV done right in my opinion. And I daresay you're a good owner, taking care if the transmission etc like that - going the extra mile.
Disappointing to read about the incompetence of the dealership but that's Indian dealers generally in my view, they're either really good or the opposite. Have a good time with the car!

[VEA]

I feel KIA’s recommendation of 35 psi tyre pressure is a bit low for the vehicle. The tyre looks and feels under inflated and the sides wear off which is typical of under inflation. I can see the darker wear bands on the edges. 40 psi feels more apt for the car but this gives an unpleasant feedback from road cracks and joints and some of the interior panels rattle. This could be the reason KiA wants it to be under inflated than optimum. I fill 38 psi as a compromise for the time being. I wonder if the recommended tyre pressure is the same in other markets where the road surfaces are better.

[Shyam92]

It really takes guts and good planning for a new manufacturer to launch a vehicle of this size when people were buying the Innova in huge numbers for more than a decade. I understand the Carnival is a bigger car, but still... .

Hats off to KIA for their bold move!

[Pacifica]

This is one of my favourite threads.

I never understood why minivans - I mean the big American ones, loaded with comfort and tech, yet supremely practical - never took off in India.

I mean, there are large families that travel with vast amounts of luggage, and automatic transmission is rapidly being adopted. Minivans can carry six to eight people and their luggage easily, they drive like cars and not like trucks.

And for the kitna dehti hai mileage crowd, fuel efficiency is surprisingly good. Here’s the MID of my Pacifica, for example - 28.8mpg (12.24 kmpl) after an interstate road trip.

[jalanrishikesh]

Originally Posted by VEA

I feel KIA’s recommendation of 35 psi tyre pressure is a bit low for the vehicle. The tyre looks and feels under inflated and the sides wear off which is typical of under inflation. I can see the darker wear bands on the edges. 40 psi feels more apt for the car but this gives an unpleasant feedback from road cracks and joints and some of the interior panels rattle. This could be the reason KiA wants it to be under inflated than optimum. I fill 38 psi as a compromise for the time being. I wonder if the recommended tyre pressure is the same in other markets where the road surfaces are better.

We have Kia premium 8 seater model. We fill with 35psi in the morning time when tyre is cool. Once its running and it gets hot it goes to 40 psi in the afternoon with just 10 - 20 km driving in city. The temperatures in Mumbai average 35 - 40 degrees in afternoon in this season.

In peak summer and long driving internal pressure, may be going higher. Please check the pressure in afternoon after a drive.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by rrsteer

1) An external tyre pressure gauge. It has proved very helpful in keeping the tyre temperature around the intended values.

[/ATTACH]

Can you share details on the tyre pressure gauge like make, model and where you purchased? Thanks

[Clansman86]

Thank you rrsteer for the super useful update. Reliablity information on this car / engine transmission combination is nascent and your post certainly helps. I brought one of the last carnivals on sale in March'23. No problems so far after 6000 km. Reading posts like yours i have decided not to pay for extended warranty for the 3rd and 4th year. Separately on your observation on eco mode, i have experienced that throttle response gets a small lag and softening added to it with eco mode on. It helps with fuel economy especially within the city with multiple start stops..no other difference in the power delivery as you have said, so you're probably not noticing on the highway . Anyways I am so happy with my purchase..spent probably 3-4 lacs more than the Innova hycross..got back so much more car

[rrsteer]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Can you share details on the tyre pressure gauge like make, model and where you purchased? Thanks

I bought it from Amazon and this is the Amazon link for the product: https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B09...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[vsrikkanth]

I have clocked 73000 kms so far in my Carnival with no issues to report, fortunately. I will be returning to Bangalore on 22nd after which my dealer has called me for replacement of oil filter assembly - looks like a recall from Kia for specific VIN numbers. My ASS AGM said there is reportedly some circulation issue in some batches of Carnivals which needs this recall. Since rrsteer and others did not post about this yet, I assume that they haven't got this recall yet, may be their cars are not affected one's.

My relationship and Experience with Advaith Kia, Bangalore so far has been good - thanks to the rapport I have built with them over the years, they know my expectations and cater to them well enough.

On the ATF - I see that Kia has suggested INSPECT and REPLACE if necessary at 90000 kms. I spoke to my dealer about this and they were honest enough to say - they may not be able to seal the gearbox to it's original condition if opened once, which in itself is a risk.

Kalam Cars Chennai - I came to know about this outlet in Chennai which takes care of only automatic transmissions- service and repair. They are also licensed by Kia/Hyundai for warranty inspection of Gearboxes - when they hv to opened up for inspection. Apparently, Hyundai/Kia gearboxes don't goto Anantapur for warranty inspection.

So currently am not sure if I shud open up something that's working well, since Kalam cars agreed that opening up and servicing the gearbox does not guarantee problem free experience in future. But if problems arise in future, instead of having to replace the entire TC gearbox, Kalam cars can replace specific parts inside and put them together. BTW, they source the spares directly from the Korean vendor who makes automatics for Kia/Hyundai...