Complaint volume
709 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2020 Kia Telluride Complaints
709 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2020 Kia Telluride, grouped by component category.
709 Total complaints
8 Crash reports
7 Fire reports
7 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are exterior lighting, visibility/wiper, unknown or other. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 8 crash reports, 7 fire reports, 7 injury reports, and 1 fatality report. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 188 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 18,754 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to exterior lighting, visibility/wiper, unknown or other?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2020 Kia Telluride?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2020 Kia Telluride
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2020 Kia Telluride complaints?
8 Crash
7 Fire
7 Injury
1 Fatality
7 Towed
6 Medical attention
What are the most common 2020 Kia Telluride complaint categories?
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 162
VISIBILITY/WIPER 121
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 86
ENGINE 80
STRUCTURE 34
POWER TRAIN 31
SUSPENSION 19
VISIBILITY 12
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 11
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 9
709 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2026 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1. What component or system failed or malfunctioned? The windshield wiper system failed. The design of the cowl area (under the hood) allows snow and sleet to accumulate and become compacted. This creates a physical obstruction that prevents the wiper linkage from moving, leading to total wiper failure. • Availability: The system is available for inspection upon request. 2. How was safety put at risk? Safety was compromised due to a sudden loss of visibility during inclement weather. The inability to clear snow and sleet from the windshield while driving created a blind operating environment, significantly increasing the risk of a crash or striking an unseen hazard. 3. Has the problem been confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? No. The problem has not yet been reproduced or confirmed by a dealership or independent service center. 4. Has the vehicle been inspected by the manufacturer, police, or insurance? No. The vehicle and its components have not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, or insurance representatives at this time. 5. Were there any warning lamps or symptoms prior to the failure? No. There were no warning lamps, error messages, or symptoms prior to the failure. The wipers stopped functioning only once the snow had compacted sufficiently under the hood to block the mechanism. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Paint is peeling off my pearl white Kia telluride | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | ENGINE | Issue: Oil consumption/ low oil pressure indicator or check engine light did not go on. Was driving kids to school and on my way home I heard a loud rattling sound. Pulled over and had it towed. Shop said it didn't have oil, it was dry as a bone. We do regular oil changes every 5k miles and there are no oil leak spots on driveway or in garage. No oil light came on, no check engine light. Hoping this didn't damage my engine as I am at 110,000 miles. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The sunroof malfunctioned while I was attempting to open it, producing a loud pop and causing the glass to become misaligned while the vehicle was parked. There have been numerous reports of this same issue, including incidents in which the sunroof glass has shattered. This appears to be a known defect; however, Kia has refused to acknowledge responsibility or perform the necessary repairs. Kia has quoted the cost of repair at $5,800. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | Oil filter housing assembly- Resulted in very low engine oil with no warning lights or engine lights potentially leading to engine damage. Yes the component was inspected and replaced by dealership. This was after getting the oil plan repaired for leaking oil as well | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Snow White Pearl paint is peeling like a banana. Contacted Kia and are aware of the problem but offered nothing. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | POWER TRAIN | Kia equips their 2020 Tellurides with a plastic oil filter housing unit. Over time, the heat from metal and pressure causes the plastic component to crack, become warped and this leads to oil leaks. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | POWER TRAIN,SEATS,ENGINE | We have had multiple issues with this car. First the pearl white peeling off on hood and above the windshield. Second CV3 axles boots leaking on our vehicle and multiple others at the Kia dealership. Third burnin oil even with good maintenance records. 3rd sunroof won’t open or close now for no reason at all. 4th back seat now attempts to fold at random times. Even with our kids in the seat. 5th oil housing leak. 6th CEL comes on and off randomly causing it to run rough. 7th screen is now to have issues of not working right. We’ve had to pay out of pocket for multiple things. Including the paint. We’ve spoken to service department and common issue they don’t see why it’s not a recall by now. Dealership is no help. Beware | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | POWER TRAIN | P0741 Error Codes - Torque Converter issue around 100k miles. Shuttering at low rpm between 2nd and 3rd gears. This is a known issue for owners of the 2020 model year. TCM software update and transmission oil change did not fix. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | ENGINE | My vehicle was consuming what I thought was a good bit of oil, I had an oils consumption test done, at 1000 miles it was 1 qt low, they said that is normal. So I drove away, another 1000 miles later my engine blew while I was driving, blowing metal everywhere! Left me sitting on the side of the road and Kia is saying it is not a known issue!! No lights car on indicating low oil or engine light. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | ENGINE | My 2020 Kia Telluride has been serviced repeatedly for what has been described as an oil pan leak. My car has stalled out on multiple occasions and at one point wouldn't go above 60 on the highway. This is a know issue with 2020 Kia Tellurides, but the repair solutions are not solving the problem. My car stalled again and is idling rough and will now be serviced again for the same problem. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | The headlights on this car are pointed too high. When driving on the road at night vehicles coming the other way often assume you have your bright lights on and flash you with their bright lights which can temporarily blind you - obviously a big safety problem! If this only happened once in a while I'd say no big deal but it happens EVERY SINGLE TIME YOU DRIVE THE CAR! I've spoken with other 2020 Kia Telluride owners and they report the exact same problem. I've spoken to the Kia representative at our local dealer about this and his attitude was basically "not my problem". Please, tell Kia to fix this problem. Otherwise there will be accidents that could have been avoided. Thanks. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | ENGINE | The argument for the warranty claim to be honored and the work to be completed is as follows. Kia Inc may not want to take responsibility for the engine. They may want to shy away from their duty by claim negligence on the part of the owner. Kia will ask the car owner to produce every receipt and service record you can scrape together just to prove that one was not done at an “authorized” center of some sort. Or they will argue the distance between intervals of oil change down to the smallest of detail to claim you abused the engine. An engine they know has a flaw. An engine with a ring flaw across multiple lines, years and models. That in multiple lawsuits they have in fact taken responsibility for and lost in cases so they are aware of the issue. But my argument is not necessarily these things. My argument is the oil warning light. That light is the real danger when combined with this fatal engine flaw. For a **3.8L V6 gasoline engine** (like that of the 2020 Kia Telluride) using **SAE 5W-30 motor oil**, you can theoretically determine the oil loss level that would trigger a warning indicator based on the overall oil capacity and typical safety standards. Oil Capacity and Warning Indicator Calculation Specifications of My 2020 Kia Telluride according to Anthropic AI. - **Oil Capacity**: 6.9 quarts - **Typical Safe Operating Level**: Generally, engines are designed to alert drivers when oil levels drop to about **1 quart** below the full capacity, which is critical to maintain proper lubrication. Oil Loss Threshold- - **Full Capacity**: 6.9 quarts - *Warning Threshold*: -*Safe Level*: 5.9 quarts (6.9 quarts - 1 quart)Safe Oil Level - The warning indicator would typically come on when the oil level falls to approximately **5.5 to 5.9 quarts.This range ensures the engine continues to operate safely without risking damage due to inadequate lubrication.Key Aspects of FMVSS 101 Regarding Oil Pressure Warning Lights. S5.2.3. (The light must alert the driver... | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The sunroof will not close. The closing mechanism broke. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | ENGINE | Around Dec 13 the cooling fan started running by itself while the vehicle was in the garage for a few hours with the engine shut off, so, engine is cold.. What we do in this circumstance is starting and shutting the engine, that takes car of the situation until it happens again, sometimes right away or a few hours later or next day. I can't identify a relay that controls the fan. So, at this point we don't know how to resolve this problem. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | ENGINE | Plastic oil filter housing cracked causing all oil to leak out. If not noticed would have blown engine while driving. Brought to dealership and not covered under warranty | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | ENGINE | Engine oil consumption issue. Engine is run dry due to overconsumption of oil, increasing likelihood of cracked engine block or engine fire. Secondary issue includes increased fuel consumption/ decreased MPG. First oil consumption test reflected 60% of oil used 1,000 miles after oil change. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | Several oil housing changes. I’m not the first owner, the oil housing has been changed once already and I’m going to have to do it a second time, the car is only 5 years old. I’ve only owned the vehicle 2 years. The dealership did no diligence to check it, I went to the dealership for years and due to negligence with my oil changes and recalls I stopped going, now I’m having to pay out of pocket for issues they’ve caused. I thought I messed up my car and had a part dragging at the bottom, when I took it in to the dealership they said it was previously not bolted down properly. I had a recall, I was told 3 times my lights were connected and I was “good to go” each time I got in and the car said my lights were not connected. After this I never came back! Not sure if it’s the dealership issue or on the car for my oil housing leak. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | ENGINE | I just recently purchased this vehicle used. I live in northwest Indiana and as soon as the temperature went below 40 degrees I developed an oil leak. In searching this topic this is a known issue with these vehicles but a widespread recall has not been issued. All owners of these vehicles as well as the Hyundai Pallisades have this issue due to having a plastic oil filter housing. This has been diagnosed by a non dealer certified repair facility already. The part is only around $60.00 but the labor to install is very high. Upon contacting Kia they informed me that I would have to bring it in to the dealership for diagnosis at a cost of $180.00 and then go from there for them to determine if they will "goodwill" the repair. I feel that in a situation like this either a recall should be issued, a class action should be created to reimburse all owners that have had these repairs done. It will not affect owners in states with warm climates. Can someone please research this and discover the amount of complaints online associated with this and get back with me? am already $5000.00 into repairs for known issues on these vehicle including rear suspension that is also a known issue but no recalls have been issued. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | Engine light continues to come on and the vehicle sputters a lot while driving, it seems like it doesn't want to go. I have to give it more gas like I'm pushing it and when breaking the left front wheel wobbles when I'm trying to come to a stop I have to hold the wheel extra firm | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | ENGINE | I purchased this vehicle with 109,000 miles on it. After driving for about a month, I noticed a noise and took it in for an inspection. I was told there was no oil in the vehicle and to take it to Kia. Kia told me that was a known issue the the oil consumption and wanted to start testing. I have an extended warranty but I am having to come out of pocket $5000 before a claim can even be started and I have only owned it for 5 months. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | ENGINE | I was driving down the road and the engine started suddenly making a loud knocking noise. The car was immediately pulled over and put in park and towed to mechanic shop. Mechanic shop stated there was no oil on the engine dipstick and the engine was ruined due to lack of oil. No oil leaks were found. The car is kept in the garage and there is no oil on garage floor that would indicate a leak. The car was maintained with full synthetic oil changes every 6,000 miles. There was no indicator light on dash to alert to an oil problem. I called Kia to report concern, as there is a class action lawsuit for this engine issue in other models, but was told there was no lawsuit or recall with the specific model of engine in my car. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | SERVICE BRAKES | The brakes are very spongy all of the sudden, making it very difficult to stop quickly. This is a major concern considering how many people are having this issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |