709 Total complaints
8 Crash reports
7 Fire reports
7 Injury reports
Quick answer: The 2020 Kia Telluride has 709 consumer-submitted complaints in our database. The most common complaint categories are exterior lighting, visibility/wiper, unknown or other. Enriched records show 8 crash reports, 7 fire reports, and 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.

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.

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?

Enriched complaint indicators from official bulk records.

8 Crash
7 Fire
7 Injury
1 Fatality
7 Towed
6 Medical attention

Mileage at failure is available on 188 complaints ; average reported mileage is 18,754 miles.

Most common incident states: CA (3), KS (3), OH (3), FL (2), MI (2), NY (2), SC (2), TX (2).

What are the most common 2020 Kia Telluride complaint categories?

709 total complaints on record

Latest complaints

Showing 101-125 of 709 complaints.

Date Component Summary Severity Mileage
Oct 2025 UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE Oil consumption, consuming too much oil , need it recalled please it’s too much already
Incident: Jul 2025
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Oct 2025 ENGINE Oil consumption- I have had to keep oil in the car to top off my oil in between oil changes. It will get low before I can make to another appointment and start shaking or making a loud noise when driving or braking. Oil consumption test says I’m burning 2 qt /1000 miles. Checking online and different forums this is a know issue for these models of vehicles
Incident: Aug 2024
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Oct 2025 ENGINE Vehicle engine is using 1-2 quarts of oil every month or so. Vehicle only has 85k miles. Engine also has a rattle/tick when accelerating. I believe this is due to the excessive oil usage.
Incident: Oct 2025
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Oct 2025 ENGINE Kia replaced oil filter adapter and now it burns through excessive amounts of oil. 3qts over 1000 miles. KIA wanted to do an oil consumption test but by the end it would have been out of warranty. Engine replacement would then not be covered.
Incident: Aug 2025
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Oct 2025 ENGINE My 2020 Kia Telluride consumes oil.at an alarming rate. About 2 quarts for every 1000 - 1500 miles. It currently has 125,000 miles.
Incident: Oct 2025
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Oct 2025 POWER TRAIN,ENGINE High oil consumption. Oil needs added frequently or it gets low and car doesn’t run correctly. Transmission slips daily at low speed first thing in the morning. When making slow turns tires tires don’t seem to remain steady/grip. The car is hoppy like there is a traction problem. Tires have been replaced and issue remains.
Incident: Oct 2024
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Oct 2025 ENGINE Oil consumption- I have had to keep oil in the car to top off my oil in between oil changes. It will get low before I can make to another appointment and start shaking or making a loud noise when driving or braking. Oil consumption test says I’m burning 2 qt /1000 miles. Checking online and different forums this is a know issue for these models of vehicles
Incident: Jun 2025
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Oct 2025 ENGINE This car is burning oil at an outrageous amount. 2 to 3 quarts in 1000 miles. This is a hazard to drive myself and my two young children in
Incident: Jun 2025
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Oct 2025 POWER TRAIN,ENGINE Right at 100k miles both our engine began burning oil at an extremely high rate with no clear resolution for the issue. We are adding 1-2 quarts ever week. Simultaneously, we received transmission solenoid codes from a check engine light. The sealed factory transmission had burn looking transmission fluid and after replacement the light continue to show and now the transmission is slipping and hesitating and we are being told it needs replaced.
Incident: Oct 2025
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Oct 2025 ENGINE Engine burns over a quart of oil every week. Kia states it's normal.
Incident: Oct 2025
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Oct 2025 ENGINE My 2020 Kia Telluride, the oil housing unit started leaking earlier this year and was replaced it was low on oil. The oil light never came on.after that it started consuming oil. It consumes a quart of oil about every 100 to 200 miles. I’ve spoken to Kia about this and they said it’s common. They can do a consumption test, and if it fails, it’ll need a new engine but kIA will not replace it because the car is out of warranty. This has been an ongoing issue since the oil housing unit started leaking, which is also a common problem.
Incident: Feb 2025
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Oct 2025 ENGINE Oven taken my car to jiffy line for more than regular oil changes and they always end up kinda jokingly saying man he’s always low on oil. I just blew a rod thru my block due to lack of oil and how fast it was burning. I feel so cheated out of my money. I’m stuck with a vehicle that I cannot drive and Kia refuses to replace it.
Incident: Sep 2025
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Sep 2025 POWER TRAIN,STRUCTURE,ENGINE Windshield cracked from minor item being thrown up by car in front of me. Engine burns out no oil on dipstick with regular maintenance engine tick transmission slips axle boot ripped oil pan cracked due to it being faulty
Incident: Apr 2025
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Sep 2025 ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM My vehicle has an oil consumption problem that the dealership and every other Kia dealership knows about. They are Facebook groups about the Kia Telluride oil consumption problems. I’ve had my vehicle in the shop countless times and it’s cost a lot of money. It now needs a new engine along with every other Kia Telluride on the social media groups, complaining about the oil consumption and their engines going bad and needing replaced. The dealership refuses to replace my engine because there’s no recall.
Incident: Sep 2025
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Sep 2025 POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL I had the AWD coupler replaced at 66000 under warranty due to a TSB and hesitation when turning at slow speeds. I'm at 110000 and the AWD coupler is failing again and needs replacement but Kia warranty won't cover it again. Very frustrated
Incident: Sep 2025
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Sep 2025 POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE For the past year to year ½ I have brought my car in for concerns with idle, hesitation when accelerating, stalling out, etc. This has put me in compromised situations when in traffic, at stop lights and when trying to accelerate to get on the highway. I was told it was fine, until it was not. Now my engine needs to be replaced. What I discovered in my car was their worksheet on issues that they never shared with me. Identified issues on this report: Fault Code 6, PO300400 - history, cylinder misfire, PO30500 - history, cylinder misfire PO34100 When going back for a 'simple' 1000 mile oil check, I was told there was not enough oil loss to identify concern. When I checked my own oil after another 1000 miles, KIA then pursued. In researching, there is a history of these engine problems and engines needing to be replaced with KIA. This is unacceptable and has compromised safety and any value I hoped to have with my car.
Incident: Jun 2025
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Sep 2025 POWER TRAIN My torque converter is failing on my 2020 Kia Telluride. This is a known issue among other owners of this model year, and I believe Kia knows about it and is refusing to acknowledge because of how expensive it is.
Incident: Aug 2025
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Sep 2025 SUSPENSION Rear shocks failed prematurely
Incident: Sep 2025
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Sep 2025 UNKNOWN OR OTHER Paint peeling on the roof of vehicle, 5 years old, known problem to KIA. White Pearl Vehicles, KIA will do nothing to remedy this problem. It has been well known of an issue.
Incident: Jan 2025
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Sep 2025 UNKNOWN OR OTHER Sunroof plastic arms broke off and now sunroof will not close. Looking this up, it is a very common issue. I have only used my sunroof about 10 times since I bought my vehicle.
Incident: Aug 2025
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Aug 2025 STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL When starting vehicle during warm weather conditions, all dashboard alarms light up and beep. Initially, when put into drive mode, steering is extremely difficult. When accelerating, no speed is displayed. During driving there is no speedometer, no operating turn signal and the odometer does not record driving miles.
Incident: May 2025
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Aug 2025 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION 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.
Incident: Aug 2025
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Aug 2025 STRUCTURE Sunroof could not be retracted due to track breaking during normal operation. Repairs have been made and part is not available for inspection. Passenger safety put at risk due to exposure to rain and cold in the passenger compartment. Problem confirmed at an independent service center. Vehicle was inspected at the service center. This happened without warning. Other owners have experienced the same problem.
Incident: Jul 2025
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Aug 2025 ENGINE History of engine randomly lurching/ hesitation when shifting. Have brought car in when it stalled out while driving, or at light. Largest problem now is oil leaking excessively. KIA has not been forthcoming on their history with this issue on 2020 Tellurides. Have been dealing with this the past couple of months and needed to bring it in for 'checks'. Service tech said that ½ Quart of low oil after 1000 miles was not enough for KIA to flag; told me to come in at oil change time. He said I did not need to worry as it was still covered under 100,000 warrantee. After checking it myself after driving another 1000 miles, I found that it was low. I brought this in for immediate concerns. I was told to 'wait' as my Service Tech was not there that day. He called me the next day to tell me I should bring in when I can so they can write up an 'approval ticket' for KIA. I brought in the following week. Again he was off. I spoke with another tech who told me it was low 2 ½ Q of oil - this was a week later. I now have to wait for KIA to 'approve'. I was told this could take a week or longer.. I need my car. I asked for a rental and was told I may have to pay for it. This is frustrating and disturbing. I am told by other tech that I will probably need a new engine and I should not drive my car until it is addressed. This car is 4 ½ years old and has less than 70k miles.
Incident: Aug 2025
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown
Aug 2025 ENGINE Vehicle burns oil, current mileage at 169k. User manual indicates 7500-10000 miles between changes, I am original owner. Dealership service set for 5k intervals since purchase and done on time. At 99k noticed noises from engine, light rattling but couldn't replicate and couldn't pinpoint at dealership service. At 112k noticed burning oil and rattling noises when accelerating from stop. Changed to 3k oil change intervals, began using premium fuel. 1quart of oil at 0-1000 miles from oil change (had a consumption test at dealership and confirmed "normal" at 112k), sub sequential mileage burns more than 1quart between 1k intervals, can easily burn through 4-5quarts between 3k oil changes. Oil smells slightly like gasoline closer to oil change time. Outside mechanic confirmed rattling as detonation. Concerns of oil not "burning" but mixing with fuel either through oil vapors getting through PCV valve and diluting fuel octane causing rattling. Knock sensor suppresses from causing engine damage, but still happens. Fuel may be getting into the oil, not sure how, but wouldn't explain detonation. No codes, no other issues. Only check engine light since rattling noticed at 99k was failing O2 bank 2 sensor which was replaced by licensed mechanic with OEM parts. The amount of additional oil maintenance and changes were not disclosed on expected maintenance costs sheet posted on vehicles, nor is it communicated in the users manual. Personal opinion is the additional maintenance between changes is unreasonable, and oil isn't "burning" but leaking into the combustion chamber.
Incident: Jun 2023
Crash: No Fire: No Unknown

Related research