2020 Kia Telluride Reliability Report

The V6 burns oil, often a quart or more every 1,000 miles and sometimes 2 to 3 quarts between checks. No low-oil or check-engine warning appears before the engine runs dry. Owners find out through loud knocking, stalling, or a seized engine. Running out of oil can also cut power steering and brakes. Inspections cite stuck piston oil control rings, heavy carbon buildup, fouled spark plugs, and misfires. Consumption usually begins between 61,000 and 94,000 miles. Several reports end with a full engine replacement.

Most reports repeat the oil consumption pattern: misfire codes, shaking, stalling at intersections, and hesitation from a stop, ending in quotes for a new engine. A second group describes vibration and humming between 60 and 80 mph, which owners link to the AWD driveline. Torque converter slipping and shudder between 2nd and 3rd gear appear around 100,000 miles. One crash with two injuries involves a parked car rolling away while the owner waited for recall parts. One fire follows engine trouble. Plastic oil filter housings also crack and leak.

Electrical faults vary widely. Common threads include no-starts with a clicking sound and a Check ESC message, stalling with no stored codes, and a driver window that drops open on startup and will not stay closed. Three reports describe fires, including one that destroyed the vehicle and a home and one that followed a wiring harness replacement. Other complaints cover a failed side mirror motor, false blind-spot alerts in rain, and inaccurate gauges. Several owners describe long waits for headlight recall parts.

Snow White Pearl paint chips and peels in sheets. It usually starts above the windshield, on the roof, or on the hood, then keeps spreading. It shows up between about 33,000 and 80,000 miles. Dealers usually refuse to cover it, and one repair quote reached $3,500. Other reports cover metal window trim that loosens and falls off, sunroof glass that pops out of alignment, a door that will not open, and repeated oil filter housing replacements.

Rear self-leveling shocks, which come with the tow package, fail early. They either leak or turn very stiff, so the SUV jolts over bumps and rear passengers get bounced around. Clunking from the rear is another common sign. Trouble can start as early as 24,000 to 30,000 miles, and some owners go through several sets. Owners point to a Kia technical bulletin on rear shock noise. Several complaints filed here actually describe the transmission slipping and shaking between 2nd and 3rd gear.

Sunroofs and windshields make up most of this small group. Sunroofs pop, jam open, or come off their tracks after cables or support arms break, sometimes after fewer than 10 uses. Two reports describe the sunroof glass shattering while driving with nothing hitting it. Windshields crack without impact, and replacement glass cracks again. Sunroof repair quotes run into the thousands. The one injury came from a rear seat that slid forward on its own and hit an occupant.

Few reports, but two involve crashes. Complaints describe sudden unintended acceleration, once with adaptive cruise control set and once while idling with the brake pressed. Another report says cruise control closed fast on a slower car ahead. Other owners describe the opposite problem: the accelerator going dead in traffic, or the SUV failing to pick up speed because of a torque converter fault. One crash left the driver with a minor concussion.