[landcruiser123]

Originally Posted by vsrikkanth

The FWD configuration is probably putting significant stress on the front wheels/discs...

Being FWD shouldn't matter unless you're braking and accelerating at the same time(which you shouldn't be doing in normal driving.) Irrespective of FWD, AWD, 4x4 or, RWD, 80-90% of the braking happens in the front wheel due to weight transfer while stopping. That's why cheaper cars have drums at the back.

Drive safe!

[Karvel]

Originally Posted by vsrikkanth

Mod note: Back to back posts, please use Multi Quote [Quote +] instead. Thanks.

I did find one more owner reporting disc and brake pad issues almost every 1000kms. He is not a demanding driver like me but his reporting of the issue looks too bad to believe it to be a quality issue....

I did honestly confess my driving style to the service advisor who assessed my truck... What surprised both of us is that the disc was fine at 9k kms with the same driving style (recorded by the same Ass during 3rd service) and something went wrong in the next 3k. The ASS in Bangalore was very helpful and they were convinced that even with my driving style the disc should not have failed so early which is why they later reimbursed the cost of the discs 15 days after the replacement was done...

Could this have happened if handbrake / parking brake was engaged during driving and not noticed for sometime? Or does Carnival has auto release feature?

[ajaynaidu2211]

I have a Kia Carnival. It's about a year old. I have had serious issues with the brakes. It started at around 5,000kms. The steering and the entire car was shuddering badly.

The dealer checked it and found that the brake discs were uneven and they had to skim it a bit. The car was fine for sometime and then the issue started again at around 7,000kms. This time too they had to skim the discs. The discs were getting uneven because of heat.

Then I noticed that the issue keeps happening every time I have taken the vehicle for a long trip. I drive normally and maintain my speed below 120. But shuddering is evident during highway braking.

The dealer replaced the discs once under warranty at around 10,000 kms. Subsequently at around 15,000kms they said the brake pads had to be replaced and disc had to be skimmed again and this time they charged me more than Rs. 18,000. I objected and said that the brakes were an ongoing issue and the discs were of poor quality.

There was no much response from KIA. However, I paid the dealer with the condition that I won't pay again if the issue comes up again in a very short span.

Then at around 18,000 kms, hardly 3,000kms later, the discs became uneven again. This time I was firm. It is quite apparent that there is a manufacturing/quality issue.

The dealer admitted my concerns and was supportive. Even they raised the issue with the Manufacturer. However Kia has not responded at all. This attitude was shocking.

The dealer also Informed me that there are few other Kia Carnivals in Bangalore and other places who are facing a similar issue.

We are now waiting and seeing what steps Kia will take.

[CaptainBrijesh]

Just a hunch!

Can the higher torque during the installation of wheels may result in warping of discs? (Higher torque specified by manufacturer for wheel nuts may warp the brake discs).

It's very difficult (& very rare also) to believe that all the old discs which were changed in your car had same quality/manufacturing issue.

[tazmaan]

During highway runs the brakes are always at a high temperature. Especially when we stop for Toll the brakes are used just before the toll and the temperatures are higher.

As a precaution I do not keep the brakes engaged while waiting at the toll since holding the brakes at high temperature in the same position can warp the discs causing vibrations.

At tolls if there is no slope keep the car in neutral and release the brakes, else engage hand brake or keep a bigger gap and keep the car moving a little.

[vsrikkanth]

Originally Posted by ajaynaidu2211

I have a Kia Carnival. It's about a year old. I have had serious issues with the brakes. It started at around 5,000kms. The steering and the entire car was shuddering badly. .

Also the ASS in Bangalore who attended my vehicle rightly said skimming the disc won't work for long, which is what has happened in your case. Many ASS now have learnt that skimming the discs is a very short term solution. So they went ahead replacing my discs for free.

I have driven about 8k kms after my front discs were replaced - nearing 20k kms now. Since then I have become a light footed driver, avoiding sudden reduction in speeds and I have not faced the problem again.

[ruchiragrawal]

We have the limo Kia Carnival as well, and I wandered to this thread after having similar steering and car shuddering problems after applying the brakes. We are at 19k on the odometer. And the car is always extremely conservatively driven by our chauffeur and ferries my grandfather who hates speeding or quick responses while driving. The same chauffeur has been driving many other cars like the Fortuner and 520D for intercity travels for 12+ years, and we've never had the shuddering problems on them, let alone this early in the life of the car.

I am yet to take it to ASS. But prima facie I would want to blame Kia's quality over our driving style. Some blame may lie with our driving as well, but having the exact same driver do the same things on other cars and not having similar issues kinda points out something obvious, in my opinion.

Let's see what the ASS has to say. God I wish I won't have to argue too long before getting things done on goodwill!

[alphahere]

These experiences are actually good to understand the differences in quality of materials used. I currently own a BMW X1 and I do take care not to keep the pads squeezed on the rotors for long when the brakes are warm to hot. The brakes are just as good as they were when they were new. There is no unevenness to be felt at all. But I do feel the the materials used in the Bimmer are of a higher quality than those used in the not so 'premium' brands and MAY have a higher tolerance to more harsh conditions.

I guess it is what it is and all of them need to be driven with a 'scientific' and 'technical' mentality taking into account what they can handle. A chauffeur/driver may not be expected to follow this. They would know how to operate a motor vehicle but may not really understand how to preserve it in the best possible way. Hopefully the tolerance level of the parts that come under high stress will be improved as time goes by. Till then replacing with a new part will surely not solve the problem forever; unless the method of operation changes.

[vsrikkanth]

Originally Posted by ruchiragrawal

We have the limo Kia Carnival as well, and I wandered to this thread after having similar steering and car shuddering problems after applying the brakes. We are at 19k on the odometer. And the car is always extremely conservatively driven by our chauffeur and ferries my grandfather who hates speeding or quick responses while driving. The same chauffeur has been driving many other cars like the Fortuner and 520D for intercity travels for 12+ years, and we've never had the shuddering problems on them, let alone this early in the life of the car.

I am yet to take it to ASS. But prima facie I would want to blame Kia's quality over our driving style. Some blame may lie with our driving as well, but having the exact same driver do the same things on other cars and not having similar issues kinda points out something obvious, in my opinion.

Let's see what the ASS has to say. God I wish I won't have to argue too long before getting things done on goodwill!

My carnival is now 34k kms old and I now feel I have reasonable knowledge to share. Plus I have a honest, transparent and helpful ASS AGM in Hyderabad who helped me understand what is going on here. The bottom line is my ASS AGM agreed that this is a design issue where the cars heavy weight and FWD setup is taking a huge toll on the front discs. If you drive carefully you get max 20k life, which is what you have got, if you drive aggressively you get 5k to 10k max. For the weight and FWD setup, the discs are a size too small in his opinion and there were several times that he has raised the same to Kia R&D. Kia seems to be not responding to ASS presuming they know this is a design issue but they don't want to do corrective action now. The ASS request has been either increase the life (which is not possible) or reduce the discs cost to make it affordable - it's 22k for a pair for carnival vs 3k for seltos. But surely this is not a quality issue perse, this is basically that the discs aren't capable of taking the pounding of the current setup.

Given all this, my AGM did the best for me by swapping my warped discs at 30k service for a well skimmed pair of discs. This is for free, no charges for skimming nor labour nothing.. It's because of such customer oriented ASS guys that I am able to survive with my truck. But all said and done, I haven't experienced a single issue other than short disc life in Carnival and it has been very reliable so far.

[scorpian]

What about after market options? I mean ofcourse they should be available in the first place but incase yes and if of better quality wont they last longer and solve this issue once for all rather then replacing them at such high expense again and again.
I am sure Brembo etc much be of much higher standard and may also provide better braking.

Random search for the same and i got this below,
https://www.bremboparts.com/europe/e...di/000005963-1
Not sure if its the same but thought il just post it here incase anybody wants to take it further.

[ruchiragrawal]

Originally Posted by scorpian

What about after market options? I mean ofcourse they should be available in the first place but incase yes and if of better quality wont they last longer and solve this issue once for all rather then replacing them at such high expense again and again.
I am sure Brembo etc much be of much higher standard and may also provide better braking.

Random search for the same and i got this below,
https://www.bremboparts.com/europe/e...di/000005963-1
Not sure if its the same but thought il just post it here incase anybody wants to take it further.

I would be willing to explore the aftermarket options if I will have to shell the money from my end for the disc replacements.

[ruchiragrawal]

My ASS changed the warped discs of other Carnival at 12k km, but is refusing to change mine at 20k km. He's saying that he cannot put up a case for a car that has run 20k km under the goodwill gesture.

This basically means I should have been driving aggressively to have gotten mine done at 12k. It is my fault that I drove it gently, and now I should pay through the nose for this.

The mechanic says that the service adviser is not listening to this case, since the car was not bought from this showroom. I bought this car when this showroom was not even made in my town.

Kia needs to step up their game if they really want to make its image as a good reliable brand.

[CSA]

My 2007 Honda Accord clocked around 156000 Kms still has factory Discs. I resurfaced them 2 times only, never faced warping issue. I guess nowadays cost cutting is actually being done in every car or company. I am not 100% sure but this is just my opinion. I brake harder at times and all the time, apart from oxidized discs like disc changes its color never noticed warping or premature disc pad wears.

[jinojohnt]

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

Every time you come to a full bore stop from high speeds, use the hand brake / parking brake to keep the car stationary. Avoid holding down the brake pedal so that the discs cool off without being clamped on part of its surface by the brake pad as the vehicle is waiting for a signal to turn green for instance.

I am not very sure of this (I might be wrong), because disc brakes are generally designed to have the pads slightly 'touch' the disc even when the brakes are not applied. So, lifting your foot off the brake pedal when the car is stationery, may not really help in cooling.