[Ehkson]

I decided to follow the owners manual and remove one of the 2nd row seats from my EX. It came out easily enough. The problem is getting it back in. I have read and reread the limited information in the owners manual but something is missing. I tried for hours but am afraid to push it any further in fear of causing damage. I called Kia. They have no info and recommended taking it to the dealer. I took it to the dealer and he recommended the service department. I took it to the service department and instead of an easy “let me show you. It goes like this,” they wanted to do a ticket and wait in line as if there was a mechanical issue with no promise that I wouldn’t be charged.

I’ve held off for now and want to see if anyone has had success reinstalling.

 

[JayCO]

There was an SX at the dealership (on the showroom floor). It looks like someone had removed the rear captains chairs and couldn't get them back in. While waiting for my sales rep, I monkied with the seat and finally got it back in. It was not easy. You really need to lean the seat all far forward to where it hits the back of the front seat. I can't remember if I did it with the seat folded over or in the upright position.

 

[Ehkson]

Thanks for sharing that. The foldability of the 2nd row was throwing me off too. In the owners manual and in the only Kia related material about seat installation I could find,

make it look like the seat backs fold all the way down flat to the seats but I can only get mine to fold in about 45 degrees.

I welcome for anyone else to share their experience.

 

[SK77X]

I'm not sure whether this will be any help to your specific needs, but I did find this as the most detailed seating video I could find on the new Carnival. I personally don't have mine yet otherwise I'd give it a go, but maybe it'll help you in some way.

On a side note, let us know if you can indeed position any of the second row seats to face rearward.

 

[Ehkson]

Thanks for the sharing the video. The green indicator is on my seat even when it’s removed. One reason I pulled one out was to look at the track to see if it would face rearward. I never got as far as trying it that direction but I don’t think it will. The video shows two white track guides but in mine (US model) there is only one white track guide at the front of the track.

 

[Ehkson]

I finally figured my problem out. Hope this helps someone down the road. When you take your seat out the green indicator should disappear. Mine did at first but on my first attempt the rear locks caught first so I had to pull it out and try again. The rear locks didn’t revert back into a flexible position so every time I would try to push them down they were fixed and wouldn’t lock onto the track bar. After taking the seat out of the van again and using the back lever to fold up and down the seat a few times the rear latches disengaged, the green indicator went off and then I could snap the seat fairly easily back into place. I think I would have no problem doing it now but it took awhile to troubleshoot. I’m glad to avoid the Kia dealership service department for now.

as the earlie contributor said, make sure you pull the front seat all the way forward, take out the headrest in the 2nd row seat, and push the seat as far forward as possible to lock it back in on the first try.

 

[JayCO]

I finally figured my problem out. Hope this helps someone down the road. When you take your seat out the green indicator should disappear. Mine did at first but on my first attempt the rear locks caught first so I had to pull it out and try again. The rear locks didn’t revert back into a flexible position so every time I would try to push them down they were fixed and wouldn’t lock onto the track bar. After taking the seat out of the van again and using the back lever to fold up and down the seat a few times the rear latches disengaged, the green indicator went off and then I could snap the seat fairly easily back into place. I think I would have no problem doing it now but it took awhile to troubleshoot. I’m glad to avoid the Kia dealership service department for now.

as the earlie contributor said, make sure you pull the front seat all the way forward, take out the headrest in the 2nd row seat, and push the seat as far forward as possible to lock it back in on the first try.

glad you figured it out. But that said, the seats definitely fold completely over somehow. I couldn’t replicate the procedure to do it... but when I walked up on the carnival in the showroom, the unattached seat was in that position.

 

[emilylauren00]

I finally figured my problem out. Hope this helps someone down the road. When you take your seat out the green indicator should disappear. Mine did at first but on my first attempt the rear locks caught first so I had to pull it out and try again. The rear locks didn’t revert back into a flexible position so every time I would try to push them down they were fixed and wouldn’t lock onto the track bar. After taking the seat out of the van again and using the back lever to fold up and down the seat a few times the rear latches disengaged, the green indicator went off and then I could snap the seat fairly easily back into place. I think I would have no problem doing it now but it took awhile to troubleshoot. I’m glad to avoid the Kia dealership service department for now.

as the earlie contributor said, make sure you pull the front seat all the way forward, take out the headrest in the 2nd row seat, and push the seat as far forward as possible to lock it back in on the first try.

Thanks for the tips!! I have been working for over 2 hours at this. At first I was trying to get the seats to reverse and flip to face the 3rd row. But after reading on another forum thread that this is only possible in the Australia models (would’ve been nice to know BEFORE buying the vehicle😡) I am now just trying to get them back in and there is one seat that will not latch. It’s extremely frustrating!! I tried taking it out and folding it down but it still won’t latch. I’ll keep trying your method…

 

[emilylauren00]

I'm not sure whether this will be any help to your specific needs, but I did find this as the most detailed seating video I could find on the new Carnival. I personally don't have mine yet otherwise I'd give it a go, but maybe it'll help you in some way.

On a side note, let us know if you can indeed position any of the second row seats to face rearward.

To update people, this does not work on the American model, only the Australian one. I found out the hard way after watching this video several times, trying to latch the seat rear facing for hours, and then finally reading on a forum that it’s not possible.☹

 

[Phantasm22]

There is a post on the forum saying it’s a 3 minute job to manipulate the mechanism that prevents the US seats from being rearward facing.

Can 2nd Row Seats be Reversed in USA?

I've seen promotional videos showing the second row seats being reversible. Has anyone tried it to confirm that this is possible in the United states? Please remember that you have to swap the positions of the driver side and passenger side seats in order for this to work.

www.carnivalforums.com

 

[DaddyClown]

There is a post on the forum saying it’s a 3 minute job to manipulate the mechanism that prevents the US seats from being rearward facing.

Can 2nd Row Seats be Reversed in USA?

I've seen promotional videos showing the second row seats being reversible. Has anyone tried it to confirm that this is possible in the United states? Please remember that you have to swap the positions of the driver side and passenger side seats in order for this to work.

www.carnivalforums.com

Found this gem of a video showing how to actually make the north american version reverse.

 

[Bambam]

Not sure if anyone else is still struggling. I can’t get my second row seat back in. The green indicators are showing full green even with the seat out. And therefore they’re not angled correctly to re-hook the seat on the tracks. I’ve spent an hour trying and can’t figure out how to disengage those hooks. Anybody know how?

 

[Ehkson]

This is what I did:

I finally figured my problem out. Hope this helps someone down the road. When you take your seat out the green indicator should disappear. Mine did at first but on my first attempt the rear locks caught first so I had to pull it out and try again. The rear locks didn’t revert back into a flexible position so every time I would try to push them down they were fixed and wouldn’t lock onto the track bar. After taking the seat out of the van again and using the back lever to fold up and down the seat a few times the rear latches disengaged, the green indicator went off and then I could snap the seat fairly easily back into place. I think I would have no problem doing it now but it took awhile to troubleshoot. I’m glad to avoid the Kia dealership service department for now.

as the earlie contributor said, make sure you pull the front seat all the way forward, take out the headrest in the 2nd row seat, and push the seat as far forward as possible to lock it back in on the first try.

 

[Amber]

Hi all - I followed the instructions above as I had the same problem getting the 2nd row captain chair back in. The seat is in and the green indicators are good but the seat won’t slide back and forth. Any suggestions?

 

[UN-Limited]

Hi all - I followed the instructions above as I had the same problem getting the 2nd row captain chair back in. The seat is in and the green indicators are good but the seat won’t slide back and forth. Any suggestions?

Did you modify the tracks to reverse the seats or are you simply having trouble reinstalling a seat in the forward position? Either way, make sure the left and right tracks are both aligned in the same relative position to each other. If one is moved forward or back even a single "click" it will prevent your seats from snapping in. There's a lever at the front of the track you can push down (going from memory here, maybe it's push up?) on to move the tracks manually before inserting the seat.