2006 Grand Carnival - Problems & Servicing

paulgersam · 02-02-2007, 10:21 PM

I'm considering purchasing the GC, and have been noting down the faults people have found so far. Here's the list I have

1) Fuel pump problems (I believe there's a recall on this)
2) Steering tends to pull to the left (not on all)
3) Towbar fitted too low - scrapes on speed bumps etc
4) Wind noise at high speed from wing mirrors
...others...?

So far there seems to be no reports of engine trouble. Somebody mentioned that it's a Mitsubishi built, Hyundai badged engine... anymore info on this engine - where else it is used, how long it's been in production, etc?

Also, I've heard that servicing and parts are expensive and hard to come by, and take a while to deliver (I'm in Oz). Also heard that Kia has a bad reputation for fixing faults under warranty.

I'd also love to hear from anyone who's driven both a Tarago and the GC to see how they compare...

I've test driven the GC and the Tarago GLi and I must say that I love the GC's feature set and engine power - I was very impressed (although the dash dials etc did look a little flimsy).

Any comments greatly appreciated... thanks

,
Paul

Esses · 02-02-2007, 11:28 PM

Paul, I'm not 100% on this, but as I understand it the 3.8 V6 is the Mitsubishi DESIGN, license-built by either Hyundai or Kia (much as Kia built the Rover KV6 in our '05 model) & has been around for yonks. I think it started life as the 3.0 V6 in Magnas/Pajeros etc, grew to 3.5 as used in the Hyundai Terracan/Kia Sorento & now 3.8 in the GC, soon to be added to the Sorento. If we could afford it & weren't so happy with our '05 Carnival I'd be buying either a GC or new Carnival. Bear in mind that the "short" Carnival runs the Hyundai 2.7 V6/4-speed auto/5-speed manual that has also been around for years in both Hyundais & Kias.

Also, Toyota is finally releasing a V6 Tarago "soon" - a 3.5 V6 that I'm betting is the Lexus motor as in the Aurion sedan. Might be a bit pricey, though. Good luck.