Dang, I was worried about stuff like this.
Transmission Failure at 34,000 Miles. 2022 Carnival SX Prestige
First, a little bit of background:
So, recently I was on here talking about how great our experience has been with the Carnival so far. I had made a 33,000 miles update post, NOT realizing what was about to happen. So let me start off by saying that we are in general a Honda family. We drove an Accord up until 2004 when we had our first son, then upgraded to a pilot. We loved our Honda Pilot, it lasted us nearly 250,000 miles with basic maintenance. From then on we decided to experiment with different automakers. We tried a Dodge Durango for a while, which was nice then we had a Tahoe for a long time. We decided to switch from our Tahoe to the 2022 Kia Carnival a little over a year ago because online reviews said Kia/Hyundai made reliable cars. We loved all of the cool new tech that the Carnival had to offer but we did have to deal with a couple issues when we got it. We were some of the first adopters of the Carnival, dealing with the leaking fuel rail recall, and the power outlets not functioning. We just kind of shrugged these things off as "Oh, its a new car for Kia and they're just working the kinks out." After those things we started to notice some quality issues, like the trim on the side of the seat had come detached and the trim around the windows had started to fade. Again just little things.
Now the problem that we are faced with currently:
It all started a couple weeks ago when we were driving the car an error message popped up on the main screen where the speedometer is saying something along the lines of "Rear Cross-Traffic Safety System Error". We had just went through a carwash so we assumed maybe some dirt was blocking a parking sensor, no big deal. But after verifying that nothing was obstructing the view of any cameras or sensors, We didn't know what to do. The error message was gone the next day but would intermittently come back on while driving. Fast forward about a week, we booked an appointment at our local Kia Dealership in Springfield, MO "Youngblood Kia" to have it looked at because by this point the error message wouldn't go away and was staying on at all times. The Kia service center was book about 3 weeks out so we had no choice but to keep driving the car to and from work. I run a small used car lot and am fairly versed in Mechanical issues with vehicles, seeing as most of the time they have something wrong with them when I get them. I figured it was a sensor issue or a module that had gone bad, but it was nothing that would affect just driving the car. Maybe the sensors wouldn't work but we could still drive it.
Fast forward to a couple days ago, We dropped it off and waited about a day for them to come to us with a diagnosis. They told us the next day that they didn't really know what was wrong with it because the car wouldn't show any codes on their computer. They had to call Kia for a remote diagnosis. Great! Meanwhile, I've been driving my sons 2012 Honda Pilot that has 200,000 miles on it. They never offered a loaner car or to pay for a rental. Fast forward another 3 days and we get a call, They told us that the sensors had gone bad just out of the blue and they are somehow connected to the Transmission and caused it to pretty much burn up all of the clutch packs in the transmission. They said that they are going to have to replace the Transmission and sensors. I just got off that call and cannot be more furious with this company. I think that Me and my Family are done with the Kia brand. They finally offered us a Kia Sorento as a loaner vehicle because they don't know how long the transmission replacement is going to take as a lot of the parts are on back order. Luckily everything is covered under the warranty, but when its done we are selling the car and going back to a Honda. We paid MSRP for the car about a year ago and the value has actually gone up quite a bit. Kelly Blue Book says our Trade in Value is $52,000 and we paid $48,000. I am going to send it to my local dealer auction with a reserve of 48k and then go out and buy a slightly used Honda because I guarantee I wont have any of these issues in one of those.
IF YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT SWITCHING TO A CARNIVAL FROM A SIENNA OR ODYSSEY THINK AGAIN. Just know what you're getting yourself into with this car. I've had enough.
TLDR: The Transmission failed at 34,000 miles on our brand new car because of faulty parking sensors. Now I am switching back to Honda
So, recently I was on here talking about how great our experience has been with the Carnival so far. I had made a 33,000 miles update post, NOT realizing what was about to happen. So let me start off by saying that we are in general a Honda family. We drove an Accord up until 2004 when we had our first son, then upgraded to a pilot. We loved our Honda Pilot, it lasted us nearly 250,000 miles with basic maintenance. From then on we decided to experiment with different automakers. We tried a Dodge Durango for a while, which was nice then we had a Tahoe for a long time. We decided to switch from our Tahoe to the 2022 Kia Carnival a little over a year ago because online reviews said Kia/Hyundai made reliable cars. We loved all of the cool new tech that the Carnival had to offer but we did have to deal with a couple issues when we got it. We were some of the first adopters of the Carnival, dealing with the leaking fuel rail recall, and the power outlets not functioning. We just kind of shrugged these things off as "Oh, its a new car for Kia and they're just working the kinks out." After those things we started to notice some quality issues, like the trim on the side of the seat had come detached and the trim around the windows had started to fade. Again just little things.
Now the problem that we are faced with currently:
It all started a couple weeks ago when we were driving the car an error message popped up on the main screen where the speedometer is saying something along the lines of "Rear Cross-Traffic Safety System Error". We had just went through a carwash so we assumed maybe some dirt was blocking a parking sensor, no big deal. But after verifying that nothing was obstructing the view of any cameras or sensors, We didn't know what to do. The error message was gone the next day but would intermittently come back on while driving. Fast forward about a week, we booked an appointment at our local Kia Dealership in Springfield, MO "Youngblood Kia" to have it looked at because by this point the error message wouldn't go away and was staying on at all times. The Kia service center was book about 3 weeks out so we had no choice but to keep driving the car to and from work. I run a small used car lot and am fairly versed in Mechanical issues with vehicles, seeing as most of the time they have something wrong with them when I get them. I figured it was a sensor issue or a module that had gone bad, but it was nothing that would affect just driving the car. Maybe the sensors wouldn't work but we could still drive it.
Fast forward to a couple days ago, We dropped it off and waited about a day for them to come to us with a diagnosis. They told us the next day that they didn't really know what was wrong with it because the car wouldn't show any codes on their computer. They had to call Kia for a remote diagnosis. Great! Meanwhile, I've been driving my sons 2012 Honda Pilot that has 200,000 miles on it. They never offered a loaner car or to pay for a rental. Fast forward another 3 days and we get a call, They told us that the sensors had gone bad just out of the blue and they are somehow connected to the Transmission and caused it to pretty much burn up all of the clutch packs in the transmission. They said that they are going to have to replace the Transmission and sensors. I just got off that call and cannot be more furious with this company. I think that Me and my Family are done with the Kia brand. They finally offered us a Kia Sorento as a loaner vehicle because they don't know how long the transmission replacement is going to take as a lot of the parts are on back order. Luckily everything is covered under the warranty, but when its done we are selling the car and going back to a Honda. We paid MSRP for the car about a year ago and the value has actually gone up quite a bit. Kelly Blue Book says our Trade in Value is $52,000 and we paid $48,000. I am going to send it to my local dealer auction with a reserve of 48k and then go out and buy a slightly used Honda because I guarantee I wont have any of these issues in one of those.
IF YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT SWITCHING TO A CARNIVAL FROM A SIENNA OR ODYSSEY THINK AGAIN. Just know what you're getting yourself into with this car. I've had enough.
TLDR: The Transmission failed at 34,000 miles on our brand new car because of faulty parking sensors. Now I am switching back to Honda
1 - 20 of 24 Posts
WTF how is that even mechanically possible with parking sensors impacting transmission? I am about to pick up my 23 SXP on 9/24. Just got a pit in my stomach.
The ETA on mine is about the same. I hope I didn't make a mistake.WTF how is that even mechanically possible with parking sensors impacting transmission? I am about to pick up my 23 SXP on 9/24. Just got a pit in my stomach.
They said something along the lines of the sensors affecting the way the transmission shifts and the service people told me it burnt the clutch packs up by shifting incorrectly. I had no idea why they would interconnect these things. I guess its too mechanically complicated for its own good.WTF how is that even mechanically possible with parking sensors impacting transmission? I am about to pick up my 23 SXP on 9/24. Just got a pit in my stomach.
While this problem is a pain and that dealership did not handle it the best, every car brand has random parts failures like this. Until you hear about a bunch more, it’s not a trend of overall indictment of the brand. Also, the transmission being replaced is under warranty so it’s not costing Agarico beyond the hassle/heartache.WTF how is that even mechanically possible with parking sensors impacting transmission? I am about to pick up my 23 SXP on 9/24. Just got a pit in my stomach.
I would think if there are more cars have the same issue (assuming everyone will be getting close to the 30k miles soon), then I will back off from the car. I hope this is an isolated case but not the norm. 😂While this problem is a pain and that dealership did not handle it the best, every car brand has random parts failures like this. Until you hear about a bunch more, it’s not a trend of overall indictment of the brand. Also, the transmission being replaced is under warranty so it’s not costing Agarico beyond the hassle/heartache.
My thoughts exactly. I also think there's something fishy with this whole situation. I mean, sure the car would shift differently if it's sensing something approaching the car, (anticipating an incoming crash), but burning the clutch packs and causing an entire transmission replacement? 🤔 Didn't you ever feel the car shifting differently, or the sensors alerting you?While this problem is a pain and that dealership did not handle it the best, every car brand has random parts failures like this. Until you hear about a bunch more, it’s not a trend of overall indictment of the brand. Also, the transmission being replaced is under warranty so it’s not costing Agarico beyond the hassle/heartache.
Either way, sorry to hear about your experience Agarico.
Something to remember for everyone ordering a '23:
Agarico made an excellent point in the beginning of his post, "its a new car for Kia and they're just working the kinks out." His was a '22. From what I understand, Kia has worked out many of the problems for 2023+ from when they first released the car. Hopefully this problem never repeats itself across any year.
EDIT: I thought I had seen something like this post awhile back, the same '22 Carnival from Agarico has had issues before including fading trim and:
"A clunk noise coming from the front suspension when turning left. It would only happen once in a blue moon but happened probably 4-5 times and then never came back. We still don't know what caused the clunking noises. It never posed a drivability issue it was just strange"
Overall after some thought and investigation, it sounds like this was a lemon, or a batch of lemons, like all car brands face. Let's remember that Ford has had over 50 recalls in 2022 alone so far so it could be much worse as far as car company overall reliability goes.
Great points. FWIW, I've owned a 2003 Mazda6, 2011 Mustang GT, 2017 Mazda CX-5 and now a '22 Carnival, all of which were 1st year models, and I've never had significant issues with any. So my anecdotal opinion on the "don't buy 1st year cars" thing is that it's overblown shrug.My thoughts exactly. I also think there's something fishy with this whole situation. I mean, sure the car would shift differently if it's sensing something approaching the car, (anticipating an incoming crash), but burning the clutch packs and causing an entire transmission replacement? 🤔 Didn't you ever feel the car shifting differently, or the sensors alerting you?
Either way, sorry to hear about your experience Agarico.
Something to remember for everyone ordering a '23:
Agarico made an excellent point in the beginning of his post, "its a new car for Kia and they're just working the kinks out." His was a '22. From what I understand, Kia has worked out many of the problems for 2023+ from when they first released the car. Hopefully this problem never repeats itself across any year.
EDIT: I thought I had seen something like this post awhile back, the same '22 Carnival from Agarico has had issues before including fading trim and:
"A clunk noise coming from the front suspension when turning left. It would only happen once in a blue moon but happened probably 4-5 times and then never came back. We still don't know what caused the clunking noises. It never posed a drivability issue it was just strange"
Overall after some thought and investigation, it sounds like this was a lemon, or a batch of lemons, like all car brands face. Let's remember that Ford has had over 50 recalls in 2022 alone so far so it could be much worse as far as car company overall reliability goes.
Yeah the service advisor told that that basically the sensors for the adaptive cruise control were causing the car to shift erratically and randomly and that we probably wouldnt have noticed it. Also the clunking noise stopped randomly but we also replaced the front tires around the same time so who knows. We are just going to sell it and buy a 4Runner or a Pilot. Something thats more reliable. This whole thing has scared us away from the Kia brand itself because what would happen if this sort of thing had happened when the car was out of warranty. And we drive this car a lot. Like 30,000 miles plus a year and it would be out of warranty in 2 and 1/2 years and we just cant take the risk.My thoughts exactly. I also think there's something fishy with this whole situation. I mean, sure the car would shift differently if it's sensing something approaching the car, (anticipating an incoming crash), but burning the clutch packs and causing an entire transmission replacement? 🤔 Didn't you ever feel the car shifting differently, or the sensors alerting you?
Either way, sorry to hear about your experience Agarico.
Something to remember for everyone ordering a '23:
Agarico made an excellent point in the beginning of his post, "its a new car for Kia and they're just working the kinks out." His was a '22. From what I understand, Kia has worked out many of the problems for 2023+ from when they first released the car. Hopefully this problem never repeats itself across any year.
EDIT: I thought I had seen something like this post awhile back, the same '22 Carnival from Agarico has had issues before including fading trim and:
"A clunk noise coming from the front suspension when turning left. It would only happen once in a blue moon but happened probably 4-5 times and then never came back. We still don't know what caused the clunking noises. It never posed a drivability issue it was just strange"
Overall after some thought and investigation, it sounds like this was a lemon, or a batch of lemons, like all car brands face. Let's remember that Ford has had over 50 recalls in 2022 alone so far so it could be much worse as far as car company overall reliability goes.
Crazy story! Doesn't really make sense, but I'm glad they found the problem and it's getting fixed. Hope you have better luck going forward.
As far as we know, the carnival isn't using a brand new engine or transmission design, is it?
As far as we know, the carnival isn't using a brand new engine or transmission design, is it?
I am guessing there is something to do with the computer but not the transmission itself. When the sensor is bad, computer keep trying to stop the car (emergency break?) while driver is actually on forward gear. Depends on which action was set on priority, transmission act as what the computer told it to do. Not a car guy but just guessing…Crazy story! Doesn't really make sense, but I'm glad they found the problem and it's getting fixed. Hope you have better luck going forward.
As far as we know, the carnival isn't using a brand new engine or transmission design, is it?
The fact that the system threw up an error about the "Rear Cross-Traffic Safety System" tells me the computer knew about the problem and should have been programmed to ignore/disable any inputs from that safety system until the error could be resolved. That's why none of this makes sense to me. Additionally, rear cross traffic sensors shouldn't have any impact on forward driving. So I continue to be baffled by all of this and just hope the OP gets a speedy resolution and maybe talks directly to the technician to learn more when he picks up his ride.I am guessing there is something to do with the computer but not the transmission itself. When the sensor is bad, computer keep trying to stop the car (emergency break?) while driver is actually on forward gear. Depends on which action was set on priority, transmission act as what the computer told it to do. Not a car guy but just guessing…
We have a new '23 EX and it was having all kinds of sensor problems. The "check rear cross-traffic safety system" would come on and several others, but would go away. Took it in and it took them about a week to replace one of the sensors and since then we haven't had any issues.
I did a lot of googling and looking around this forum and it doesn't seem to be a common issue, so hopefully it was just a faulty sensor.
I did a lot of googling and looking around this forum and it doesn't seem to be a common issue, so hopefully it was just a faulty sensor.
This is sort of what happened to ours. Multiple warning for multiple different sensors. We booked an appointment at Kia and they couldnt get us in for a couple weeks so we continued to drive it and they say that is what caused our Transmission issues. Seems like a poor design that the transmission is affected by the sensors.We have a new '23 EX and it was having all kinds of sensor problems. The "check rear cross-traffic safety system" would come on and several others, but would go away. Took it in and it took them about a week to replace one of the sensors and since then we haven't had any issues.
I did a lot of googling and looking around this forum and it doesn't seem to be a common issue, so hopefully it was just a faulty sensor.
For those that experience issues like this, would love to see if there is any commentary correlation to people using automated car washes. There’s been a number of anecdotal comments about trim fading after car washes and with this occurring seemingly after a car wash as well seems strange. If water can get into those sensors and impair/short them out, and it is connected to the transmission, I could understand Kia’s response. Still no excuse for any of this mess, especially not getting an appropriate loaner. Subaru gives me a loaner if I want to bring my car in for a 2hr car inspection. 😀
Adding that this is pure speculation on my part…
Adding that this is pure speculation on my part…
UPDATE!!!For those that experience issues like this, would love to see if there is any commentary correlation to people using automated car washes. There’s been a number of anecdotal comments about trim fading after car washes and with this occurring seemingly after a car wash as well seems strange. If water can get into those sensors and impair/short them out, and it is connected to the transmission, I could understand Kia’s response. Still no excuse for any of this mess, especially not getting an appropriate loaner. Subaru gives me a loaner if I want to bring my car in for a 2hr car inspection. 😀
Adding that this is pure speculation on my part…
So getting this whole thing sorted with the dealer has been a nightmare. I just wanted to give everyone an update as to what happened. They ordered a sensor, replaced it and it fixed the issue. Regarding the transmission: The dealer originally told us that they would have to replace the transmission under warranty. It seems that is no longer the case though because just yesterday they told us the car was ready to pick up. They then told us that the transmission was fine and didn't need to be replaced. So.. Okay no huge issue then I suppose but this whole customer service experience has been treated very very poorly by my local dealer. They finally did get us a loaner car after the original diagnosis. I had to go without a car for about 4 days though. They gave us a base model 2020 Kia Sorento that had been wrecked previously and the damages were repaired poorly. The whole time we had it the plastic fender well was loose and rubbing on the wheel at speed.
Conclusion: We've owned a lot of New Off the lot vehicles and have never had this many issues with any of them from multiple different brands. Still we feel kind of left in the dust by KIA and will be selling our car in the near future. Still haven't decided on what to get as a replacement yet but have been looking at 4-Runners and a couple other SUV's. I don't really like Minivans per say as they portray a soccer mom vibe. We only got the Carnival because it is classified as an MPV lol. Our KIA experience has been quite mediocre to say the least but if any of you are interested in buying our Carnival it is an SX Prestige model in Astra Blue. It has a little over 34,000 miles on it and we are located in Southwest Missouri around Springfield. It will probably be on Facebook Marketplace so keep an eye out haha. Its been fun hanging with you guys on this forum!
Ha. Interesting logic for owning one! If you've never driven a 4Runner, they are certainly cool and reliable but man, they drive like an old truck and their technology is pretty awful, especially coming from your loaded Carnival. I would give a call to a couple of the Kia dealers around KC, perhaps, as there's huge demand for those things. I saw one dealer selling one almost identical to yours for 55k a few weeks ago, with similar mileage, so values might be higher up here.UPDATE!!!
So getting this whole thing sorted with the dealer has been a nightmare. I just wanted to give everyone an update as to what happened. They ordered a sensor, replaced it and it fixed the issue. Regarding the transmission: The dealer originally told us that they would have to replace the transmission under warranty. It seems that is no longer the case though because just yesterday they told us the car was ready to pick up. They then told us that the transmission was fine and didn't need to be replaced. So.. Okay no huge issue then I suppose but this whole customer service experience has been treated very very poorly by my local dealer. They finally did get us a loaner car after the original diagnosis. I had to go without a car for about 4 days though. They gave us a base model 2020 Kia Sorento that had been wrecked previously and the damages were repaired poorly. The whole time we had it the plastic fender well was loose and rubbing on the wheel at speed.
Conclusion: We've owned a lot of New Off the lot vehicles and have never had this many issues with any of them from multiple different brands. Still we feel kind of left in the dust by KIA and will be selling our car in the near future. Still haven't decided on what to get as a replacement yet but have been looking at 4-Runners and a couple other SUV's. I don't really like Minivans per say as they portray a soccer mom vibe. We only got the Carnival because it is classified as an MPV lol. Our KIA experience has been quite mediocre to say the least but if any of you are interested in buying our Carnival it is an SX Prestige model in Astra Blue. It has a little over 34,000 miles on it and we are located in Southwest Missouri around Springfield. It will probably be on Facebook Marketplace so keep an eye out haha. Its been fun hanging with you guys on this forum!
Yeah I understand they drive like a truck but I dont really mind as we came to the carnival from a Tahoe. As for the technology, my husband doesnt really like how much tech is in the car anyway. All we use is bluetooth calling and maybe navigation for our family trips. 4-Runners dont get the best mileage either byt they are super reliable and will probably last us a really long time. Wasnt super hyped for the GDI engine anyway as they arent the best engines.Ha. Interesting logic for owning one! If you've never driven a 4Runner, they are certainly cool and reliable but man, they drive like an old truck and their technology is pretty awful, especially coming from your loaded Carnival. I would give a call to a couple of the Kia dealers around KC, perhaps, as there's huge demand for those things. I saw one dealer selling one almost identical to yours for 55k a few weeks ago, with similar mileage, so values might be higher up here.
Yeah, at least this part makes sense. The rear traffic alert sensor should have absolutely nothing to do with the transmission. Any connection between the two would be pure coincidence. Thank you for the update!UPDATE!!!
They ordered a sensor, replaced it and it fixed the issue. Regarding the transmission: The dealer originally told us that they would have to replace the transmission under warranty. It seems that is no longer the case though because just yesterday they told us the car was ready to pick up. They then told us that the transmission was fine and didn't need to be replaced.
1 - 20 of 24 Posts
- This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Kia Carnival Forum
2022+ Kia Carnival community and owner's club - join the conversation about the new Kia Carnival
Full Forum Listing
Recommended Communities
