Kia Carens 2.0 CRDi LE

Told by kia mechanic in his opinion that wife too short to drive car = issue car

poor purchase, attractive because of the tag, but performance and look is dreadful. Unreliable

I have a 1.8 petrol which flys through the mot, starts every time, had to get starter motor fixed at 69000 £80 but far less problems than my friends have with scenics. Value for money has been fantastic, I will keep hold of the car untill its dying day it owes me nothing. If you are not a badge snob you could do far worse and I would buy another one.

I bought the Carens from new (the current version). I was pleasently suprised with the performance: More than adequate, in addition, I have obtained 63 mpg on a slow night drive (c.50mph)and regularly get up to 46 -50 mpg with a light foot.

PROBLEMS! 1.) The drivers door pull only just caught the catch to pull the door open. They replaced it under warranty. 2.) The roof rack rail stuck and was replaced, also under warranty. 3.) WORST OF ALL, The clutch is slipping under acceleration, mostly in 3rd and fourth gear. Today (15/3/10)they said that it was a 'wear & tear' item. It started to get 'iffy' at 25,000 miles and was dismissed as a glitch. However, it continues to slip, only when the engine is cold or warm. Once warmed up, it performs as normal. It appears that as this is a W&T item, I may have to pay for it to be fixed. At this mileage, the clutch SHOULD NOT WEAR OUT. All the cars I have owned for ever have had the clucthes last at least 100,000 miles, so it's not the way I drive. KIA may have a lot to answer for if this is not an FOC job at this mileage as the clutch component is clearly duff.

I have an 05 crdi carens and the gearbox no longer selects 4th and grinds into 3rd

my mechanic tells me its the synchro hub

all this at a mere 53000 mls

this will cost about £1000 with labour and parts to sort

by rebuilding the gearbox

and fitting a new clutch as that is now slipping... sigh

Enquiries for a second hand box :-

rare as hens teeth

everyone wants £550 plus vat

they all have about the same milage as the original (50-55,000miles) so its a risk

Kia Customer services told me to take to dealer for estimate then they would see if they could help

when the mechanic phoned the receptionist said

i can tell you the problem its the synchro hub,

and we have just charged another customer to diagnose it and then kia refused any help

and that was on an 06 reg

She said kias policy was only to help up to 12 months after purchase

so much for wonderful Kia

Don`t get me wrong i love the car and have been singing its praises for the 2 yrs i have had it

but am sick as a chip at the cost of repairs and the poor part exchange price offered even tho i hadn`t mentioned it had a duff box and clutch

has anyone else had this problem?

does anyone know if a different box could be fitted off another model

I have the carens 2.0litre diesel automatic 7 seat LS CRDi model. It is very reliable,comfortable and has plenty of cabin space. the only thing I don't like is the foot operated parking brake but being an automatic gearbox their is one pedal less to worry about! I would certainly buy another one and have no hesitation in recomending it to anyone. My previos car was a Nissan X-Trail and apart from the 4 wheel drive on the Nissan the Carens beats it in all areas.

I bought my carens after my daughter purchased one, (I was so impressed.)

I took it back within a short time with the engine misfiring on acceleration in second gear at 2000 revs.at first i was told it needed a comp download, after this failed to fix the fault I took it back to our local dealer and rang Kia uk. they inform me the problem is the exhaust gas recovery valve, this I am told will be put right when Kia have found a solution to the problem. it then had a leaking water hose ,another day in dock. not a great start for a new car, though I do rate the car and if Kia fix the fault I will be over the moon with it. A lot of car for the money

Sincerely, I would love to own a BMW or Jaguar but even as i plan to change my KIA Carens , i find it difficult to resist going back to pick up the new model Carens. The value for money is irresistible and like i said earlier, my experience of reliability with KIA is also a winner.

I bought this Kia Carens at six months old in 2003 from a Kia dealer, it has now done 52000 miles, it no been reliable, it had a new injector under warranty, the brakes were binding the dealer didn't want to know. It's had new disc and pads three times at £300 a time, then the injectors failed again the kia could not find the problem. It was taken to a diesel specialist. Kept there for 10 days cost of £400 18 months ago. This week it had to be towed to kia as a none starter. they did a diagnostic test said it was the injector pump. £500 now the car won't run properly they have said the injectors are leaking and sending them for testing this is five days so far. Final bill still unknown.

I have owned two Kia Carens, my first one was a 02 model, it was a very bad car had it 6 months then I bought my second one I still have, had it 6 months very noisy car, now has gearbox fault wont go into first and second gear, costs a thousand pounds to fix it, very angry Kia Carens owner, will never buy another Kia.