How Much Does It Cost to Get the Door Taken Off a Kia Carnival?

"We got this new brand car."

Photo by: _.kristen._ & NAM CZ

Steve Ecker

By: Steve Ecker

Sep 8, 2025 at 5:00pm ET

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A Kia Carnival driver ran into an unexpected issue shortly after buying her new car.

Kristen (@_.kristen._) says she’s been having issues opening the door of her new Kia Carnival.

Since purchasing the vehicle, Kristen has been continually documenting her issues with her Kia Carnival in a TikTok series called “day blank of me posting my Kia problem until they fix my car.”

Her first of many posts shows that the back door of the Carnival doesn’t work.

“The door won’t literally open,” she says.

“Since we got this new brand car, this slider door has never worked,” Kristen continues.

Kristen says she took the car into the dealership and was informed that they would have to cut off the door to fix it. She also says she’ll have to pay for it even though she bought the car new.

In the latest update, Kristen asks viewers how much they think it’ll cost to get the door cut off.

“I’m hoping everything goes well with the appointment, I will keep you updated. But I’m curious, put in the comments, how much do you think they are going to charge me,” Kristen says.

Tell us what you think!

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Comments

Her post inspired words of advice and caution alike.

“Cut it off? I have never in all my years had to ‘cut off’ a door lol,” one person commented.

“Please don’t let them cut the door off. They can get to whatever they need from the inside by taking the door panel off,” another said.

“It's a manufacturer defect. They should pay for it,” a third wrote.

“A word of advice my grandpa did for me. When I bought a car and shortly after had issues with it we went back to the dealership and he told the guy, ‘If you don’t fix this or give her the money back then I’m going to park this POS in front of the dealership with a giant sign that says we sell lemons,’ and sure enough I got my money back,” another shared.

Kristen hasn't yet revealed how much the dealership quoted her to replace or fix the door.

How Much Does It Cost?

Lemonade reports replacing a car door costs between $500 and $4,000—or more. According to CarParts, replacing a car door involves removing the old door, replacing or repairing old parts, and installing the new door.

The power sliding door system features cables, chain, rollers, and track with a complex door motor, RepairPal reports. During inspection, the technician will check the body control module (BCM) for faults, test the door with a multimeter, or manually open the door by removing the trim panel to observe door operation to diagnose why it isn’t moving.

If one of these possible faults occurs, the door may need to be replaced entirely. RepairPal reports that the following steps are required to replace a door:

Identify where the motor is in the door
Open the door and remove the interior panel
Once trims are removed, components in the way will be discounted and removed, including glass, rear seats, and rear heater fan assembly
The inner door shell mounting panel may also need to be removed. This includes the motor, window regulators, actuators, and cables
Once the door is accessible, the technician will unplug the motor from the wiring harness, detach the drive cable, and remove the fasteners holding it in place
The new door gets attached and mounted with all the components reassembled
Lastly, the tech initiates a relearning procedure and finish reassembly

What Classifies as a Lemon?

Some viewers believe that the issues with Kristen’s Kia Carnival are serious enough to classify the vehicle as a lemon.

“Lemon Law. I won my case,” one shared.

“Tell them you're getting a lawyer for Lemon Law. I bet they fix it real quick or, you get a new one fast,” another suggested.

Lemon Law requires vehicle manufacturers to repair your vehicle under warranty and if they cannot complete the issue after a reasonable number of attempts, they must replace or refund your vehicle, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) reports.

Lemon Laws differ by state. For example, some require manufacturers to have four attempts or 30 cumulative calendar days to diagnose and fix the issue. If the manufacturer cannot do so, it may be deemed a lemon.

To see what classifies as a lemon in your state, the BBB has also broken down each state's lemon laws. This information can also be found on your state’s department of motor vehicles website.

Motor1 contacted Kristen via TikTok direct message. We will update the story if she replies.