Kia recalls Carnival for brake fault, chassis fix imminent

KIA Australia is nearing a solution to solve an issue that saw its new-generation Carnival people-mover underperform in its ANCAP testing regime – even as it conducts a voluntary recall to fix a brake problem.

The company has issued a recall notice for the Carnival to rectify a brake booster issue that could see the vehicle’s pedal go hard after repeated applications.

“There is a potential that during the manufacturing process that a misalignment of the brake booster centre plate and assembly jig may have occurred and caused the o-ring in the brake booster to have been deformed,” said Kia in a statement.

“This could lead to an internal leak in the brake booster, which could cause the brake pedal to become hard when applying the pedal repeatedly.

“As a result increased pedal effort may be required to achieve the expected stopping distance”.

The recall comes as Kia nears a solution to rectify the issue that saw the vehicle score poorly in ANCAP’s 64km/h frontal offset test.

The frontal offset test exposed excessive movement of the foot-operated parking and foot brake pedals and “significant footwell deformation”, according to ANCAP.

Dash components were also noted as a potential source of injury to the driver’s knees. The Carnival scored 10.48 out of a possible 16 in the frontal offset test.

A four-star result was anticipated, due to a lack of a seatbelt warning buzzer for second-row occupants, but the company was “shocked” by the poor result in the offset test.

While details have yet to be released, sources within the company have indicated that an engineering fix is very close to being signed off in Korea, with details to be released in coming weeks.

The Carnival is predominantly sold in left-hand-drive markets like the United States where it is sold as a Sedona, prompting Kia to execute several major engineering changes in order for it to be built as a right-hand-drive car.