2020 Kia Telluride

Following a recent $9,000 engine replacement performed by an authorized Kia dealership, my vehicle suffered a catastrophic, simultaneous mechanical and electronic systems failure while in operation. Without warning, the vehicle triggered the Knock Sensor Detection System (KSDS) and entered "Limp Home Mode," severely restricting vehicle power. Immediately following this, the vehicle experienced a total loss of essential safety and driving controls: Steering Failure: The power steering completely locked up, creating an imminent crash hazard. Dashboard & Gauge Failure: All dashboard warning lights illuminated simultaneously, and the speedometer completely stopped functioning, leaving me unable to monitor vehicle speed. Powertrain & Shifting Malfunction: When brought to a stop and placed into "Park," the vehicle's electronic systems failed to recognize the gear change, indicating on the dashboard that the vehicle was still in "Drive." This created a severe vehicle roll-away risk. Ignition Failure: The vehicle completely refused to shut off or power down when the ignition button was pressed. This event represents an extreme safety hazard involving sudden loss of vehicle control, steering immobilization, roll-away risk, and primary electronic communication failure immediately following a major manufacturer warranty/recall repair. The vehicle is currently un-driveable.

In February 2026 my vehicle had a front parking sensor error. When i broght it in for repair my shop found a corroded cable in the front parking sensor harness. The mechanic was able to repair the harness...$280 In May 2026 my vehicle this time had a rear parking sensor error. The shop discovered a rear parking sensor harness completely corroded & had to be replaced along with one parking sensor...$715. (The invoice does not include the cost of the sensor as it was purchased separately when diagnosing the front sensor failure) I purchased this vehicle in January 2020 & it has spent its entire life garaged in New York State or in Florida. It has only been driven one winter(2025-2026) in NY State. This is unacceptable! The cost of rear harness alone including tax was over $300!

Took my 2020 kia telluride for emission software update after being notified by the the dealership. Two days later my check engine light keeps coming on and off. I called the dealership and the said to bring it in only if the light is on. The next day my engine light once again keeps going on and off but now also my battery light keeps flickering on and off as well. My car is also slow to idle and when going slow speed my steering will shake. Also when I first start my car in the morning by RPM needle goes up and down as well as my a/c blow strong and then low matching rpm needle. My car seems to pull on hills it feels as there is not enough power to make it up the hill and my car also shakes. My car was running perfectly fine before I took my car to the dealership for this emission software update.

Vehicle manufacturers have certain basic rules and procedures that must be followed. When a vehicle manufacturer sells a vehicle, it has a duty to ensure that the vehicle functions properly and safely for its advertised use and is free from defects. When a vehicle manufacturer discovers a defect, it must explicitly disclose the defect and make it right or cease selling the vehicle. When a vehicle manufacturer provides a warranty, it must stand by that warranty. I believe Kia has breached its duties and rules as follows. Specifically, these Class Vehicles (Tellurides and Others) have malfunctions regarding their incorrectly manufactured piston oil rings which can result in engine damage and failure, and even potentially cause a fire known internally and secularly as an ("Oil Ring Defect”). Now, I purchased this car in January of 2023. Based on Kia’s active and persistent promotions touting the quality of its vehicles and my partners admiration of Kia vehicles, we considered Kia a quality company with a strong reputation for producing reliable vehicles. In addition to Kia's reputation through its marketing and promotion. We decided on the 2020 Kia Telluride because we believed it was a high-quality vehicle, after a salesman convinced us that the vehicle was highly reliable and came with great technological features. Since purchasing this vehicle it has only taken the vehicle to the certified dealership for its routine maintenance as recommended by both the vehicle alert system and the Service Department at Courtesy Kia. However, through all our consistent visits to dealerships, we had never been told of any recalls or defects related to his vehicle’s oil ring system. Since 2015, KIA has designed, manufactured, distributed, sold, and leased the Class Vehicles with this problem. As discussed earlier and in more detail below, the Class Vehicles contain a defect that causes a serious safety concern. The unresolved defect with the Telluride engine is an attack on owners.

When parked on an incline, the vehicle will not start and has to have the battery jumped. When attempting to start the vehicle, you can hear a clicking sound and an error message pops up saying "Check ESP". After this happens, the windows will roll down to about a 1/8 crack and will not roll up even after the car has been jumped and is on. Also, when driving down the road with the heat on, it will stop blowing heat and will start blowing cold air.

After a few months from purchasing (9/2022), I noticed some weird electrical issues occurring. The first thing I noticed was that sometimes the rear wiper blades would turn on automatically when shifting in reverse when the wiper blades were off. I would turn the rear wiper blades on then off repeated times until they finally stayed in off mode. As time went on, then the drivers side window would roll down automatically after starting the vehicle, and it would not shut all the way after pressing the button. I would have to hold the up button when turning the engine off, just so the window would remain completely closed when parked. Sometimes, this would continue for a week or more...then it would go back to normal for a few months. These issues would continue and others started to arise such as the check engine lights, low battery etc. appearing while starting the vehicle. Sometimes it would say that the engine is on, when it wasn't...so I would hear a warning signal when trying to leave the vehicle with my key fob. I would have to press the stop engine button and wait for it to say that the engine is off. This evolved into the car struggling to start...with a repeated clicking noise being heard. All warning and hazard notifications appear on the main screen and the driver's side window rolls down by itself and it takes 5-7 minutes for it to start, but eventually does. This has been going on now for since March of 2024...so it's not a battery issue, or a starter issue...but based on the nature of these malfunctions...it is electrical issues...which can pose a serious safety threat...especially with a potential electrical fire. What are our options for a potential manufacturer recall? As of this writing, it took roughly 20 minutes to start my vehicle, as it is very cold in Rochester, NY. I recently had my vehicle fully serviced (8/25) and it wasn’t acting up at the time so they couldn’t pinpoint any electrical issues. I took videos of the incidents.

The infotainment system which includes the backup video system has turned to a green screen intermittently on these models. We just started experiencing this issue in the past week. After searching the Kia user forums, it appears that many people are having a similar issue. When we took it to Kia they stated that car is out of warranty and the part cost alone was over $5000 to repair the head unit. It seems they know they have an issue but don't want to acknowledge it and quickly revert to the warranty. I'd like someone to investigate this as it's a safety risk when you a backing up the car.