Used 2023 Kia Carnival Consumer Reviews
Used Carnival for sale
We have a limited number of reviews for the 2023 Carnival, so we've included reviews for other years of the Carnival since its last redesign.
New car with recalls and Kia dropped the ball
Cac, 12/19/2021
2022 Kia Carnival SX 4dr Minivan (3.5L 6cyl 8A)
145 of 161 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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2023 Kia Carnival Issues
Irishwillow, 02/11/2025
2023 Kia Carnival EX 4dr Minivan (3.5L 6cyl 8A)
12 of 12 people found this review helpful
I have had nothing but problems with my 2023 Kia Carnival. Starting with 3 recalls, and fuel system issues. I also brought to the attention of Tobin Kia dealership the hair line crack in the panel under rear window, silver on handles bubbling off and the sliding door jerking when opened. I was told the faulty material and workmanship of the vehicle were not covered under warranty. They even suggested I might be at fault of causing the problems. WOW, and we are talking about a vehicle with only 13,500 miles with the same issue posted on the internet. In my opinion no one should ever buy a Kia.
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2023 Kia Carnival for sale near you
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- LX Passenger MinivanMSRP: $27,65568 mi away
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An okay car
Drew, 01/07/2022
2022 Kia Carnival SX Prestige 4dr Minivan (3.5L 6cyl 8A)
20 of 22 people found this review helpful
Not much leg room on the passengers side. Some of the controls are in weird locations so you actually have to look for them while you are driving, which means your head is down alot while moving. We have the rear video screens, the Kia ad says it comes with wireless headphones, it doesn't, you have to buy your own. Every time you turn the car off, you need to reconnect them to your Bluetooth, very annoying with little kids. Winter time driving is absolutely horrendous with these piece of crap Continental tires. I give them a -3 on a 1-5 scale rating. No traction at all on the tiniest amount of snow. Less than 1/8" and you are spinning. Get some freezing rain in there and you are not going anywhere. The second row cup holders are in a location where the cups hit the driver and passengers elbows, very annoying. The middle row reclining seats are a cool feature but takes up alot of room to use, not worth it if you have more than four people or are hauling stuff behind this row as the seats are not removable like the lower priced version. I love the interior coloring though. Some of the electronic temperature controls revert back to a factory setting, so once you turn the car off, you need to reselect how you want the airflow. It has some really neat exterior features though, from the driver assisted screen cameras, to how the doors will automatically unlock and open if you are standing next to that door with a key fob.
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A great family vehicle with a few shortcomings
Adam Adams, 08/15/2021
2022 Kia Carnival SX 4dr Minivan (3.5L 6cyl 8A)
33 of 38 people found this review helpful
Bought ours 3 weeks ago and took it for a 7600 miles coast-to-coast-coast family road trip. I wanted an SUV but my wife prefers a minivan, so this is a great compromise! To keep things in perspective, we've had our Sienna for 15 years with over 200,000 miles so this is a huge upgrade for us. Overall a great vehicle, many great features but there are a few annoying ones. To start with the positives - looks really nice with useful features (the many cameras, safety features etc). - Engine is decent, we got an average of about (per onboard computer: 24 mpg) with mostly highway driving. - Seats are, generally, comfortable for long trips. It fits the 4 adults + 2 teens comfortably. - wish they had an AWD version. On the negative side - They could have done a better job with the touch buttons under the media center that are too sensitive to accidental touches. The app cluster panel seems disorganized. For sure these take time to get used to, I wish it were more intuitive. - The entertainment system sucks big time unless you use Android devices. And why this system isn't made as a stand alone without requiring a wifi connection is difficult to comprehend. - No wireless Apple Carplay!??? Incomprehensible. - The second row seat mechanics are poorly engineered making getting into the 3rd row more difficult than it needs to be. I have had the backrest slammed in my face trying to adjust the seats. - The wireless access through the app (UVO) is nice but I don't understand the delay in command execution. It takes 1-2 minutes for the remote start to execute, lock/unlock etc. - I wish for more door/side storage pockets. I love the Odyssey side storage and shelves and on the sliding doors and I especially love the new Sienna's center console storage. MAJOR GRIPES!! I found these really non-logical trim decisions - No roof rails (only on the SX). And even for SXs with roof rails, no crossbars!! We had to opt for aftermarket products. - The rear bumper could have been made an inch wider to allow for safe stepping onto when we need to reach for the rooftop cargos. It's only about an inch wide when the liftgate is closed so stepping on it can be precarious. - The tow hitch is only 6-7 inches above ground, I've had a few incidents of it grazing the streets on steep bumps. In summary, the car looks good for a minivan that looks and feels like an SUV but it does have a number of shortcomings. Overall, we've been happy with the purchase.
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Best MPV Ever!
Shane, 04/23/2021
2022 Kia Carnival EX 4dr Minivan (3.5L 6cyl 8A)
19 of 22 people found this review helpful
Hands down one best purchase ever... From the luxrious ride quality. To tons safety features and tech. The 12 inch touch display in the EX trim was amazing and backup camera is high resoultion and beautiful! Easy to drive and drives like an suv and looks like an suv.. So far had an amazing stress free road trip.. The navigation is amazing on this also. What an amazing family car and this from for Toyota owner!!
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