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2002 2.5-litre Carnival Automatic...Is this head gasket or something else??
Parked outside restaurant without noticing anything. Got back in after ~1 hour and noticed a fishy sort of smell, wife thought it smelt like stinky feet. Drove a block and parked up for a couple of minutes and a passer-by pointed at the front of the car with concern. Popped the bonnet to find brown oily stuff bubbling out of the coolant tank and all over the road. Car was running completely fine and temp gauge had not moved at all from the normal operating.
Scratched my head and restarted without problems, gently drove 500m to my local Kia non-dealer mechanic for an opinion, myself completely convinced it was head gasket as I've been reading so many posts here!! Thinking that I would get ready for the fight with Kia (warranty ran out last Sept) I called them and they advised to bring it in and their engineer would inspect, then the manager might argue for warranty cover (he seemed to know what I was talking about straight away.) Called recovery and sent the car to the dealer for surgery tomorrow.
Only later wondered if it might be one of the coolers (engine oil or transmission fluid) - temp guage never lifted and the fishy smell. Any ideas?
Hi Dave
It sounds very much like you have a head gasket problem(as Kia likes to put it).Get in contact with your local Kia dealer to see if they will repair under warranty.Welcome to the most unwanted club on the net.The head gasket club.Hope it goes well with Kia.Cheers Len
Local Kia agent has advised that upon test starting this morning, the engine was knocking (it wasn't when I turned it off last night...but almost certainly head gasket if it's knocking I guess)
They advised that I have to commit to about $200 for them to open the engine to explore the damage, but that they cannot confirm coverage by Kia until they confirm the cause and extent of the problem...he was not saying that they will not cover it, but could not promise anything. I suspect if I put up a fight they will hit Kia for the repair costs, or at least the bulk of it, provided it proves to be the usual suspect.
Shame is we all really love the car...if I get it fixed I might trade up to a 3.5 later model to be on the safe side.
Shall I get some t-shirts printed for the club? Design suggestions welcome...possibly something with a Kia symbol, a puddle of oil and a lemon?
Hi Dave
You will more than likely find that the liners are the problem,meaning that they will have to replace the block.I don't think t'shirt manufacturers would be able to keep up with demand for them.we too love our car but have now outgrown it,so we will be trading up to a Grand Carnival shortly.Cheers Len
Yes it does sound very familar, that oil in the coolant. I think it is a bit rich with such a well known problem that they wish to charge you for the privelege of confirming what is already known. It would be well worth phoning KIA directly, discussing the matter with the Customer service people. You should not have to lay out a cent. Also make sure that you get a replacement vehicle. For us both times KIA has not dealt with us in an upfront manner. And has never provided what they should have by law. A replacement car. With our second engine gone, we are having a difficult time again with KIA.
The sad thing is that we too love our KIA, but have come to realise that we just cannot trust this engine. I think if you have sufficient funds you should definitely upgrade to an engine that does not have inherent design problems.
Latest word from the agent is that they will have to replace the block, which was apparently in pretty bad condition. The heads have been measured and they are fine (as I said, it never overheated)
Block replacement is expected to be FOC for me, roughly $2,200 - $2,700 cost for the dealer. Does this agree with cost elsewhere?
He is advising me I will have to pay for the labour at around $680 plus consumables at about $100 as the car is out of warranty...do you think I should try to fight for the labour to be covered as well or is this reasonable? Car is 7 months out of time warranty but still well under km warranty.
He also advised that the timing belt should be changed as it is dry and 4 years old, in his opinion better to replace now than to spend another $330 in labour to change it at scheduled time. He didn't quote me yet but how much is a new belt?
FYI, the service guy I am dealing with was asked by his manager "how does this owner know so much about this problem?" CHEERS KIA FORUMS!!
I won't celebrate anything just yet though...
Spent last night reading the '06 Sedona section and I think I'll be trading up once this is sorted. 5 year warranty sounds pretty good right now and if the 10-year drivetrain option is available here, even better!
Hi Dave
In Australia the cost of getting it replaced could be up to $7,000.I would be asking them to cover everything but consumables as this is a well known & publicised fault.There have been several cars that have been covered out of warranty,so this should not be an issue as it is a manufacturing fault not so much a warranty issue.Good luck.Cheers Len
Well, to (hopefully) close out this thread, we picked up the Carnival from the Kia dealer this afternoon and all seems to be well for 40km so far...
Kia coughed up for the short motor replacement and I elected to pay for new timing belts, tensioners, water pump, thermostat, front brake pads, and a few other bits and pieces as a major service at the same time, for $1,280 out of my pocket. I think a good result all things considered. Kia agent chap who looked after me was a seriously big help and has revised my previous poor opinion of the dealer workshop here. I will stick with Kia or Hyundai for sure.
Will probably keep the car for another year now just to get my money back! New engine warranty is only 3 months or 10,000km, which is a bit rude but still not bad for this part of the world. We've been without car for almost 2 weeks and there is no such thing as a replacement car when out of warranty here...both the dealers replacement Shumas are in bits apparently, so a warranty would not have helped much in that area!
Thanks Len and Ashley for the advice and good cheer...a couple of bright spots in an otherwise crappy couple of weeks!
Wonderful to here, though paying for the extras is a bit rich when it is a known manufacturing fault. We did the same when our first engine went, in hind sight since the engine has gone again at 75,000kms and kia does not want to know us, it was a complete waste of money.
My firm suggestion is to watch the coolant for traces of oil every week. This will be a sign that there is something wrong with the fix. Possibly even pay for a compression check before the warranty runs out.
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