2022 Kia Carnival Consumer Reviews
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Pretty Sweet Ride
Kayla , 04/17/2021
2022 Kia Carnival SX 4dr Minivan (3.5L 6cyl 8A)
52 of 54 people found this review helpful
I said I would never drive a minivan but really needed the space of a van and then boom Kia comes out with this MPV Carnival. If you ask why they decided to call it that its because the kids are the circus thats my thought anyways. This Carnival has lots of leg room for all passengers in the second and third row. The seats will actually slide up and back for more or less room as well. It can hold 8 passengers but the middle second row seat can be removed to have captain seats and make easy access to the 3rd row. All the tech in the front is great. The front could have more storage space but over all I still love it. I am very unpleased with the entertainment system in the second row. The car itself does not have wifi so you can't use it unless you have a Hotspot. I am also currently having some issues with it randomly wanting to turn off while using it and the screen sometimes gives off a fuzzy resolution. There is only YouTube and Netflix on the system which I believe there should be more streaming options or I should be able to stream anything I want from my phone but unfortunately that is not an option. I would have been fine with a DVD player in the back so kids could watch what they want whenever and not hace to worry about connecting the system to wifi. The ride is great and very smooth. Overall great vehicle but there are definitely some things I would change or could have been better from a moms perspective and at the price point its at. I would definitely recommend this vehicle to other moms.
Attractive Junk
brig, 05/04/2021
2022 Kia Carnival SX 4dr Minivan (3.5L 6cyl 8A)
87 of 94 people found this review helpful
This vehicle has some issues, but it's biggest issue is Kia Customer Care. It's brand new and already subject to two recalls. The outlets don't work (minor issue) and there's a faulty fuel pump which makes it a safety hazard to drive. It could have been a simple fix but there are no parts available. Kia blames the dealership. The dealership blames Kia. No one from Kia will call back after NINE days, and there has been no progress made whatsoever. No rental car or loaner vehicle is being provided. Buyer beware! If you do buy it, choose a local dealership you know and trust. Also, there's no Kia tow hitch currently available.
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New car with recalls and Kia dropped the ball
Cac, 12/19/2021
2022 Kia Carnival SX 4dr Minivan (3.5L 6cyl 8A)
73 of 79 people found this review helpful
In July, I put down a deposit for a new 2022 Kia Carnival. 4 months later on October 27, I picked it up at Safford Kia of Fredericksburg. On November 16, I dropped off our daughter at school, and as I drove out of the parking lot, the side door slid open by itself. It took 2 hours before I could actually get the door to shut and latch. I drove it to Kia of Woodbridge (the closest Kia) so they could look at it. A couple of hours later a service tech says “we were able to replicate what happened and see that the door doesn’t latch. We put in a part order and see that there is a nation wide back order for the part.” I called the dealership I bought it from - left multiple messages. Got a call back from the sales man telling me it wasn’t his fault and he wanted to be sure I knew. I called and emailed Kia headquarters and executives - nothing. Kept calling and emailing- finally heard from Kia that because it was a safety issue, “we’ve escalated it to Jeff”. Not sure who Jeff is because we haven’t heard a word from Jeff and it certainly wasn’t escalated. After another week of reaching out, I got a call from someone who kept telling me she “understood” my concern about the safety of a brand new car that I drove with our 7 year old in, with a door that didn’t secure And could just open. She just kept saying I understand but nothing has really happened. We checked our lemon law and told Kia we wanted them to buy the car back. Safety didn’t seem to be a priority, communication was horrible, and the entire experience has been beyond disappointing. “I understand” is all we have heard for weeks. The lemon law essentially says if a car sits for 30 days unusable that is a reason a car can be bought back by the company. Well surprise - on December 15 (29 days after the door slid open) it’s now a safety recall for the Carnival and fixed. What a miracle - that it can be fixed - 1 day shy of the 30 days. How so very convenient for Kia. We joke now that our problems will just be escalated to Jeff. They won’t get solved but they are escalated so - we’re good. I write this sitting in Kia of Woodbridge as they prepare a check to buy my car for a few hundred dollars less than I paid for it. I know they will flip it today and sell it for $5000 more at least. It’s a rare SX version with a tow hitch - I order exactly what I wanted. This entire process has me tired, sad, and disappointed. Kia didn’t care about safety - if they did they would have owned up right away. Kia didn’t care about us - if they did they would have returned an email or voicemail message. At the least - “Jeff” would have called since it was “escalated to him”. They got their money at one dealership and will manage to get even more at another one. I’m not done with Kia - they still owe me money, but the car is back in their hands and I don’t have to worry about whether a door will open or not when it shouldn’t. The only good out of this was the service department at Kia of Woodbridge who was handed a lemon and did the best they could to make things right - it wasn’t their problem. I will never set foot in a Kia again and I’m still waiting for Kia and “Jeff” to do what is right. I’m sure it will happen soon, it was after all escalated to Jeff.
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Mostly looks, not convincing in other areas
TurnuptheBass, 06/03/2021
2022 Kia Carnival EX 4dr Minivan (3.5L 6cyl 8A)
67 of 80 people found this review helpful
Overall a nice car, but a number of annoying details that make us regret our choice To start with the positives - looks good, some nice gadgets (like the camera / microphones to talk with the rear passengers). - Engine is decent from a power perspective but not very fuel efficient. On the negative side - Seats (front) are not great for long trips. - Relatively noisy - not the engine but the wheels - The touch buttons under the media center are misplaced and way too sensitive. More than once you will accidentally touch one of these buttons which will take you to a place in the Interface you didn’t want to get to and then you have to use the clumsy interface on the screen itself to get back to where you were / wanted to go. - No wireless Apple Carplay (only the cheapest edition (LX) with the smaller screen has that for some mysterious reason). That is ridiculous in a 2022 car - The second row seat mechanics are poorly engineered. Getting to the third row is not easy. As we use this daily with our family of 7, this is a major frustration. It is easy to have the rails for the seating misaligned if you want to take them out. I have had the back rest slam my face trying to adjust the seat with it being stuck in a certain position. - Iffy electronics. As one example: More than once I have had that the car doesn’t want to lock with a non-comprehensible accessory warning. The only thing that helps is to restart the car and turn it off again. Very annoying. - The wireless access through the app (UVO) is essentially useless. It takes minutes to process a command (e.g remote start). By the time you get to the car, it is still waiting and when you then open the door, it concludes a minute later that it couldn’t do it. In addition to that if you try minutes later something else, it will randomly complain that the “previous command is still being executed”. Compared to my other car (a BMW), this is not ready for prime time Non-logical trim decisions - No roofrails (only on the SX and up). Need to opt for aftermarket solutions as Kia is not willing to help. Weird decision. The rest just need to glue the roofbox to the car? . SX prestige only as 7 seater configuration. Another weird choice as a lot of useful features are only available in the SX Prestige and you can’t get those options in the SX or lower. - Wireless charger is hit and miss - with a standard iPhone it works 50% of the time. It has to be aligned perfectly. - ‘Ceiling panel’ non-illuminated - if you are parked in a dark spot and would like to use the dome light, it is easy to trigger the Uvo service through that same panel instead. Poor choice. As a summary, the car looks good for a van but it does have a number of shortcomings that are really annoying (at least for us) in day to day use and there are better alternatives out there. Not recommended after a month of intense usage.
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Big enough for everyone and turns on a dime!
JW, 06/10/2021
2022 Kia Carnival SX Prestige 4dr Minivan (3.5L 6cyl 8A)
11 of 12 people found this review helpful
Spacious and elegant.Too many features to list. I love the huge screen especially for navigation. Plenty of stow areas in rear and every seat has its own USB port. There is a 110 outlet in the very back and on the dash. I wish the center console had a few more pockets on the sides as there's only one big tray on driver and passenger doors. Drives really well. Picks up speed in a snap and very tight turning radius. All the rear doors can be opened and closed from driver's seat. The top view camera is very helpful in parallel parking and in tight parking lots. Overall my wife is very pleased, and I enjoy driving it as well. She refuses to call it a "mini van" and refers to it as a "sports van"
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