[sidharthg]

Hi everyone,

So I've done almost 22K KM in my Carens Lux (O) Auto Diesel in almost 10 months now. Following are the things that have cropped up:

1. In neutral, the car RPMs are jumping from 600-800 rpms, it is a very random occurrence.

2. Car is jerking in cruise control mode b/w 65-69km/h when RPM is close to 1800.

3. Diesel Filter regeneration error Popped up yesterday, so apparently, we have to self-clean the filter, it is an automatic procedure, have to follow certain steps laid out in the manual.

4. The front piano black garnish of the windshield, on both sides is fading away and color is turning to white. Have already asked A.S.S. for warranty replacement, but they haven't got back.

What I am finding strange is that the car just got serviced at 21K with new oil and air filter. Haven't spoken to A.S.S yet, but the problem No. 1 has been happening for a while now but randomly.

Has anyone else facing the same problem?

[mkbksc]

Originally Posted by Carzy_Carz30

Respected Fellow BHPian,

Recently I got my Kia Carens 1.4 Turbo Petrol first full service done with engine oil and oil filter changed. Have driven for 150 km after full service.

Casually, I checked the engine oil today morning and found the oil level on dip is above full mark (picture attached). Oil level is measured on overnight cold engine. Earlier oil level on dipstick was at Full mark.

Requesting fellow BHPian member to guide me in this matter.

I believe that by full service, you mean 10k km or 12 months, whichever is earlier, because that is the milestone when engine oil / oil filter are first changed.

[mkbksc]

So, finally I took out my Kia Carens Turbo Petrol 1.4 MT Luxury a week ago for the first outstation family trip in this new car to Mashobra in the hills from NCR, after its delivery in first week of March '23. The round trip was of 1000 kms and end of trip odo read at 2200 kms.

Sharing some experiences under MAIN CONCERN, PROS AND CONS. We were four adults of normal weight in the car with normal luggage.

MAIN CONCERN
# The car's engine, when you shift to 2nd gear while the speed is between 10-20 kmph on the slightest of inclines on hill road, takes 04 seconds to transmit power to the car. The lag is so pronounced that if the incline increases even marginally, the car is on the verge of stalling notwithstanding your increased throttle press. To avoid that, you have to change swiftly to 1st gear. Even on the level roads of the NH, in the 2nd gear, there is always a delay, though less than 04 seconds, in transmission of power. To get over this lack of power feeling, I avoided shifting from 1st to 2nd gear below 20 kmph.

I had read a post on this forum six months ago sharing details of similar problem experienced in Petrol turbo MT 1.4.

Has anyone faced similar problem recently what was the fix?

I was wondering whether Kia upgraded to 1.5 Turbo Petrol because of the feedback (internal & external) it received on the peculiar issues with the power of 1.4 Turbo engine for a 7 seater car.

Having driven XUV 500 diesel W8 for past 10 years , this lack of power on slightest of inclines on hill road was worrisome. But, of course, one cannot compare the two cars.

Now for the PROS & CONS

PROS
# Cabin is spacious and gives a comfortable view of the outside from front and middle row.

# AC is superb with the unique top vents on middle/ last rows.

# Car's mileage (top up to top up) on 70% levelled NH and 30% hill incline was 14.7 kmpl. The mileage meter on levelled NH at 90 kmph on 6th gear generally showed 17-18 kmph with AC on. If AC is switched off, mileage increases by 1.5 kmpl on the meter.

# Boot space is ample, no worry of that count.

# Middle row seats are gripping and relaxing. In XUV, because of the large volume and large seats, one tended to slip forward with an added feeling of too much jerks and unhinged.

CONS
# The inadequacy of headlights in sharp hill turns on a pitch black night was glaring. Will certainly have to do something about it. The throw of the lights in high beam is grossly insufficient. How could Kia miss this in the testing phase?

#As a fallout of the main concern written above, I have to now try out the car with seven adults (~540 kg) and tests its pulling power. There is also that deja vu feeling that nothing much can be done about it now.

The dealer where I bought the car from (Lohia Kia Sec 63, Noida) or the Kia company itself do not generate confidence in resolution of customer problems. In Nov'22 after booking my car in Aug'22 and before its promised delivery in Dec'22 (actual delivery in 1st week of March '23), I had made an enquiry about RDE compliance in Kia Carens. While the local sales rep feigned ignorance, the Kia company perfunctorily replied that my concern has been transferred to the dealership.

When nine days after my delivery Kia announced a new 1.5 T petrol engine with RDE compliance, EB 20 compliance and iMT transmission, all for 50 k more, I shot off a DM/email to Kia on twitter/ company ID expressing my disappointment at having been kept in the dark (& possibly shortchanged) about the impending upgraded features even though the delivery was late by 2.5 months in my case and I had enquired about some of the features in the past. But KiaHQ simply replied we are forwarding your concern to local dealer.

Such indifference and that is why I am not sure how much Kia India really cares for its customers. My apprehension is that this apathetic culture also rubs off on their service centres personnel and thus going forward, customer experience will not be all that satisfying. And if these Kia cars fail to maintain sales volumes in the market, the problem worsens.

This has become a long post. But I needed to share this with all of you and I know that your feedback and experiences will very valuable. Will keep updating as I keep driving my Kia Carens.

[ptaneja]

Originally Posted by mkbksc

I had read a post on this forum six months ago sharing details of similar problem experienced in Petrol turbo MT 1.4.

Has anyone faced similar problem recently what was the fix?
.

Your main concern is a known issue since its launch , check post#52 on my ownership thread here -

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...00-kms-up.html

There is a group of affected users commonly sending emails, Twitter complaints etc.

[ImranHyd]

Originally Posted by sidharthg

Hi everyone,

So I've done almost 22K KM in my Carens Lux (O) Auto Diesel in almost 10 months now. Following are the things that have cropped up:

1. In neutral, the car RPMs are jumping from 600-800 rpms, it is a very random occurrence.

2. Car is jerking in cruise control mode b/w 65-69km/h when RPM is close to 1800.
…
Has anyone else facing the same problem?

I never observed problem #1 but now running into the problem #2 frequently. There is a very feelable jerk. Initially I thought it was due to gear change at low RPM but doesn't look like that. Someone else is also running into the same issue. See few posts before.

[sidharthg]

Originally Posted by ImranHyd

I never observed problem #1 but now running into the problem #2 frequently. There is a very feelable jerk. Initially I thought it was due to gear change at low RPM but doesn't look like that. Someone else is also running into the same issue. See few posts before.

I think it is down to the quality of diesel. But having said that, car should be able to adapt to various qualities of the fuel. Since it is a very random problem, I have started noticing a pattern, in terms of the fuel station I use. But it is just an educated guess.

Right after the Diesel Filter regeneration (2nd time in 2 days), engine check light for engine management control went off. It is apparently related to the diesel filter or emission. But after driving for few KMs, the light went away. Maybe the system got cleaned up or something! Strange things

[ImranHyd]

Originally Posted by sidharthg

I think it is down to the quality of diesel.

I too believe it's related to fuel quality. I have been usin XtraGreen for sometime. I may go back to normal diesel from a different gas station.

[ptaneja]

Originally Posted by 2bad

Now coming to the wireless android auto part. I managed to get into the engineering mode and observed that there is really no wifi module present and hence any hope of a work around to be able to enable wireless android auto seems dead.
Here is the screen shot, guess will have to buy an external adapter to enable this functionality.

Can you pls share how to get into engineering mode ?
( On a 8" unit )

[mkbksc]

Originally Posted by ptaneja

Your main concern is a known issue since its launch , check post#52 on my ownership thread here -

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...00-kms-up.html

Also, there is a group of affected users commonly sending emails, Twitter complaints etc on a WhatsApp group - ping me if you need to join that, and I'll share the joining link.

Sure, would like to join.

[btdhar]

Hi all,

A quick prelude to the drama of getting a Petrol 1.5 Turbo iMT Kia Carens - we were contemplating a bigger car since our AMT Santro 2019 model was getting smaller for our family of 5 and a cat. The travels from Bangalore to Hyderabad, Kanyakumari, Mumbai with all of us and the cat were getting tougher and the family demands for more space were getting noisier.

Tried the Scorpio-N (ruled out for waiting periods and price), almost wanted to get the Safari but the service issues and facelift being around did not help, Kia Carens DCT was a strong contender along with the diesel AT but did not proceed due to DCT and diesel long term prospects. Finally booked the Ertiga Zxi+ AT (the family wanted the Carens, so it was not a happy decision for them) in Sep 2022 and the waiting game started. In March 2023 after no response from Maruti despite multiple follow-ups and news from Kia about iMT Carens came in. Did a TD of the iMT Seltos since Carens was going to available for TD only in April and felt good with setup. Took a leap of faith and booked one with a promise that delivery will happen in April, which Kia stuck to its promise.

Around 7th April, I get confirmation about vehicle and quickly clear the payment to take delivery of an Imperial Blue Prestige Plus Kia Carens iMT 1.5 Petrol Turbo.

With an upcoming trip to Hyderabad, I decided to do as much driving in Bangalore City to run-in the engine properly and get 1st service done. Covered 700 km in the city in a week, hated the traffic but had a good running in and getting used to the size. Hyderabad drive was great too with 5 adults, a cat and a ton of luggage.

Pros so far
1. Space, AC, mileage of 11-12 in the city and 18-19 when driven at 85-90 kmph on highways.
2. Driving dynamics feel very sorted.
3. iMT keeps driver engaged which I enjoyed after a 50K km with the Santro AMT.

Cons/compromised
1. A lot of hard plastic outside and inside feels a bit cheap.
2. Speakers and headlights felt better in my Santro.

1st service experience
1. Timely response and quick service done.
2. Headlights were adjusted and felt better but still need a lot of attention from Kia. Like a lot of owners have already said, this is not fit for a big car like Carens.

Thanks for reading.

[Scorpion009]

To be honest, what you did might be one of the best decisions of your life. I an owner a 2019 Ertiga VXI AT, The
fuel economy is horrible in the AT, the NVH levels are way too much.

Buying the Carens over the Ertiga was the best choice.

Mode note: Don't put spaces before punctuations.

[Caadmara]

Congratulations on your Carens Mr BT. Sensible and practical decision based on your needs. Wishing you a great ownership experience and many memorable journeys.

PS: Looking forward to checking out your Carens in person sometime in office ��

[amadhur]

Hi - any suggestions on getting headlights changed on 1.4T luxury plus. Thats a big let down for such a beast. The throw is below average!

[inwester]

Originally Posted by shanbhag

Kia has discontinued sun-roof only Luxury Plus 7 seater Automatic Diesel and reduced the price by around 30k.

Congrats on the new car.

Looks like they also removed LED lights inside?

From Kia India website -
*Sunroof not applicable in Luxury Plus D1.5 6AT 7 Seater
*Bulb Room lamps applicable in Luxury Plus D1.5 6AT 7 Seater

Originally Posted by amadhur

Hi - any suggestions on getting headlights changed on 1.4T luxury plus. Thats a big let down for such a beast. The throw is below average!

I received an email from Kia about upgrading headlamp to LED 45W bulb. I am assuming it is for people who own the variants with halogens?

From the email
Headlamp LED (H4) | Rs.7,599
High intensity 45 W LED bulbs for your (Sonet/Carens) that enhance visibility with more brightness and longer throw so you can see further and react faster.

[ani_meher]

Has anyone tried both 1.4L turbo DCT and 1.5L turbo DCT? Is there a worthwhile difference? I am confused about whether to purchase a 1.4L turbo DCT used or plan for 1.5L turbo DCT?

My running is low, so no point in diesel AT. Besides, after the turbo drive, diesel feels lackluster.