Engine And Engine Cooling Problems of Kia Motor Telluride - part 2

The engine’s serpentine belt started to fail prematurely. In cold weather, the engine’s belt would scream for 1 to 5 minutes when warming up the engine (under no load and not moving). The belt had less than 40,000 miles on it (when kia expects it to go 80,000 miles).

See all problems of the 2023 Kia Motor Telluride 🔎.

Plastic oil filter housing cracked after oil change around 100k miles.

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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.

See all problems of the 2020 Kia Motor Telluride 🔎.

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.

Description of defect: my 2020 kia Telluride experienced catastrophic engine failure and excessive oil consumption, which is a known issue for this model year (to the point that I had to sell it just 1 year after I bought it). The vehicle consumes oil at an alarming rate without any dashboard warning lights, or low oil pressure indicators, leading to sudden loss of engine power and potential stalling while in motion. This failure occurred at 93,200 miles, well before the expected service life of the powertrain. Safety risk: sudden engine stalling or power loss while driving at highway speeds creates an immediate risk of rear-end collisions and leaves the driver without power steering or braking assistance. The lack of any 'check engine' or 'low oil' light prior to the mechanical crisis meant there was zero opportunity to safely maneuver off the road before the vehicle became disabled. Furthermore, excessive oil consumption in this engine type has been linked to potential fire risks under the hood. Failure/incident details: despite following all manufacturer-recommended maintenance, the vehicle suffered a major [engine/transmission] failure. Kia America has acknowledged the failure but refuses to provide transparency or assistance, despite technical service bulletins (TSB sa428 and TSB 089) existing for these exact powertrain issues. This represents a significant safety defect that puts my family and other drivers at risk.

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.

First there are holes in the block from a rod bearing coming off. It was leaking oil and started on fire. There are many recalls and law suits regarding this matter and we shouldn’t be on the hook for putting a new engine in.

See all problems of the 2021 Kia Motor Telluride 🔎.

This is a very well known issue among all model years of the kia Telluride. The plastic filter housing is made out of plastic and over time it ends up failing causing an oil leak. I ended up having to pay out of pocket for a aftermarket housing that was metal and not plastic that won’t fail.

Oil consumption, I use full synthetic restore and protect . I change oil every 3500 miles . . After every 500 I have to check it and it’s been low have to add 2-3 quarts . Today started acting sluggish checked oil and my oil was low yet again low this is ridiculous. I’ll never own another kia Telluride.

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.

On 11/01/2025, while traveling on the highway traveling at a speed of 80mph, my vehicle suddenly would not accelerate beyond 60 mph. I managed to exit safely, but this created a dangerous situation for both me, my daughter and other motorists . The next day, firestone inspected the vehicle and informed me the engine contained zero oil—yet no oil light, check-engine light, temperature warning, or sensor alerts were triggered at any point. There were no visible oil leaks, suggesting internal oil consumption, which I had reported to kia in October of 2024. On 10/21/2024, I paid $3,300 for a flywheel/ignition repair at a kia dealership. When I dropped off the vehicle for that repair, I specifically reported abnormal oil consumption and requested it be checked. Kia did not diagnose or remedy the concern. The combination -complete oil loss -no warning indicators -sudden loss of power and inability to accelerate -occurring at highway speed constitutes a critical safety defect. Drivers cannot take preventative action if the vehicle provides no indication of catastrophic engine failure until it is already occurring. This defect exposes drivers, passengers, and surrounding motorists to severe risk of collision or injury. Additionally, the dealership later provided a carfax entry simple stating "car maintenance" on 10/22/2024. No record of what was repaired, indicating inaccurate or incomplete documentation. I am requesting that NHTSA: -review this incident as a potential engine safety defect. -investigate whether other 2021 kia Telluride owners are experiencing similar catastrophic oil -loss or lack of warning indicators. -assess whether current recalls adequately address this failure pattern. -determine whether an additional recall or investigation is warranted.

This car keeps burning excessive oil. I am on my 3rd oil consumption test each time it burns 0. 75q in 1000 miles. The dealer states that that is not enough oil. My mile 3000, there is no longer oil on the dip stick, and we start the process all over again. This car has been burning oil that doesn’t even meet a standard oil changer interval since the cars had 70,000 miles on it. It now has 94k. After reading multiple online forums, it seems like anyone who has a 2020-2021 kia Telluride has this problem, and kia refuses to acknowledge the his problem.

After 8 months of trips to the shop telling them the engine was bad, and spending thousands to do things it didn’t need trying to get warranty to cover engine, kia finally agreed it had issues. Tore it down and piston rings are bad. There was carbon build up despite regular maintenance and they are telling me warranty won’t replace.

The contact owned a 2024 kia Telluride. The contact stated that, while the vehicle was turned off in her driveway, she observed flames emanating from the interior of the vehicle on the driver's side. No warning lights were illuminated. Local emergency services arrived and were able to extinguish the flames. The contact was later informed that firefighters on scene believed that the fire originated at the driver's seat. The vehicle was towed to a storage facility and deemed a total loss by the contact's insurance provider. A fire report was filed. A police report was filed, and injuries were not reported. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 24v407000 (seats); the VIN was included, but the vehicle had been repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 50,000.

See all problems of the 2024 Kia Motor Telluride 🔎.

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.

My 2020 kia Telluride consumes oil. At an alarming rate. About 2 quarts for every 1000 - 1500 miles. It currently has 125,000 miles.

Engine burns over a quart of oil every week. Kia states it's normal.

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.

For a while now I have had to add extra oil about a quart every so often (didnt chart mileage )between oil changes and I thought its just burning some oil. Last few months it went up to adding 2 quarts and recently I had to add 3 quarts of oil and I had just checked it 2 weeks ago. There is never a light or any kind of notice on dash panel about low oil. I have a epiletic daughter that requires a safe vehicle to get her to the hospital. So this is a real safety concern. I have been reading this is problem with Tellurides. Because of the oil consumption problem Tellurides have been stalling while driving. This could be a life threatening situation with my daughter not to mention for anyone driving the vehicle. The dealer will not do an oil consumption test since I'm at 113,000 miles. I paid $40,000. 00 for a quailty vehicle. It should not have these kind of problems. Kia manufacurer said call the local dealer, so its just a run around please help us figure this out.

When I was driving in a parking lot on 10/03/25 my car displayed a warning light that my engine was off and I needed to shift to neutral or park. This occurred 2 other times. I was parked at a light on 10/10 and when we left dinner and turned at a light it also shut off. This is a huge safety concern and I have saw others reporting this same issue.

See all problems of the 2025 Kia Motor Telluride 🔎.

The engine is stalling, knocking and the check engine light will occasionally come on. You can smell carbon monoxide and hot oil. We are having to add a quart of oil weekly.

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.

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.

I am a 2nd owner of a kia Telluride and the engine failed without warning at less than 90,000 miles. No check engine light, no temp gauge, no low oil level light. No warning at all. Just failure of the "push rod bearing" NY kia was regularly maintained and when I took it to the dealership, they told me it was down about 3. 5qts of oil! again no low oil light? it holds 7qts. . . 9,000$ later out of my pocket after being denied a goodwill engine replacement from kia to put a new motor in. I have found many others on on-line forums who have experienced this. Please help.

Inspected by kia for 2nd time due to vehicle suddenly shaking, overheating and turning off. First time fluids were low and replaced, kia stated should be fine but then while driving on the highway this past week same dangerous problem happened again suddenly where my vehicle started abruptly shaking making it hard to control, alerted overheating and immediately shut off. This time kia diagnosed this issue is being caused by multiple hoses and seals failing due to degradation and leaking in multiple locations. Kia’s diagnostic repair inspection states heater core hoses(all), valve cover gaskets,radiator hoses upper & lower, and other seals or connecting components are all leaking and need replaced. Have read online and communicated with other owners of the Telluride in which many state same complaints of similar or same problem, therefore this seems to be a very common issue, a safety hazard and concern, not to mention a costly repair that seems to be a quality or manufacturing issue that may need to be evaluated further.

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.

Excessive oil consumption causing monthly oil changes. No low oil indicator causing engine to rattle.

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.

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.

The vehicle experienced catastrophic engine failure due to burning oil. At no point did warning lights or alerts appear on the dash. This failure occurred well within the terms of kia’s 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty. I was informed by the dealer that warranty coverage is being denied because I do not have every oil change or service record available. I want to emphasize that under the magnuson-moss warranty act, kia cannot deny warranty coverage solely due to lack of receipts unless kia can prove that the absence of maintenance directly caused the failure. Premature engine failure due to excessive oil consumption is a known defect and not the result of neglect. Kia is refusing to replace the engine, the vehicle has been at the dealership for 3 weeks now with no resolution.

We own a 2021 kia Telluride which we bought new, have changed the oil as expected and had the 100,000 mile check completed. It now has about 116,000 miles and has been a great and safe car, until now. On a random trip home, traveling on a busy highway, we had to pull over because we suddenly lost power. Our children were in the car and this was very dangerous on a very busy highway. We had it towed to our local garage and was told it was down 3-4 quarts of oil which wrecked the engine and we would need a new one! there were no warning lights for the engine or the oil at all. We are currently having the engine replaced at our very hefty expense as we have no other choice. I see this is quickly becoming an issue with the 21 Telluride and I hope that kia will do something about it!.

Vehicle (2021 kia Telluride) at ~94k miles received cel p000a for (camshaft position - slow response (bank 1)). Personally checked the oil before taking the vehicle to the dealership and there was very little oil, below the "l" line. Vehicle is burning oil fast, which more likley than not cause the p000a cel. Vehicle would go im amd out of not being able to accelerate. Dealership wants me to pay diagnostic fees for them doing absolutely nothing other and resetting the code and conducting an oil change. Vehicle is a cpo which has a 10y / 100k mile warranty which seems like the dealership is trying to prolong until vehicle is out of warranty to diagnose it correctly. Engine is burning oil and needs to be replaced but the dealersbip wants to play games with customers.

Rear shock failure for the second time. This time in under 9 months. Front crash detection constantly goes off in cold snowy weather or rain. Engine issue is frequent popping sound in exhaust and causing dirty oxygen sensors.

Borescope inspection of the engine shows multiple signs of internal mechanical failure involving oil control, piston ring integrity, coolant intrusion, and cylinder wall damage. Excessive oil buildup is visible above the oil control ring, far beyond what is expected at 59k miles. Cylinder walls show heavy polishing where cross-hatching should be visible, indicating loss of lubrication and abnormal wear. Carbon deposits are extremely thick; in several areas carbon has flaked off and been pulled downward into the cylinder, creating scoring. Straight vertical scoring marks cut through the normal diagonal honing pattern, confirming blow-by and damage to the cylinder sleeves. Evidence of coolant intrusion is present, including orange discoloration consistent with rust/coolant contamination, excessive moisture, and steam-cleaned areas of the combustion chamber. The intake valve and combustion surfaces appear abnormally clean, consistent with coolant steam-washing. This suggests head-gasket failure, a block or head casting defect, or ring damage (possible cracked scraper ring). Coolant in the cylinders can wash away oil from the bore, leading to rusted pistons and accelerated scoring. Multiple pictures show severe scoring and loss of lubrication. This compromises the ability of new pistons or rings to seal, meaning the cylinder walls would continue to allow blow-by, oil burning, coolant intrusion, and friction. Even attempting to polish or recondition these bores would enlarge them, causing piston flutter, noise, and long-term failure. Based on the level of damage, the engine is no longer safe or reliable. A seized piston could cause sudden loss of power at highway speeds, creating a safety risk. The observed defects indicate a potential manufacturing or casting issue that may affect other engines. The dealership and kia consumer affairs have been notified but there has been no replacement or resolution after 3 months of ongoing issues, and 8 weeks of holding my vehicle.

The vehicle began burning oil around 61,000 miles, shortly after the 5-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty period ended. The issue was confirmed by an independent mechanic, who identified leaking lower engine seals and excessive oil consumption. The mechanic advised that the engine will likely need replacement due to internal seal failure. This condition presents a potential safety risk if oil levels drop unexpectedly, leading to engine seizure or loss of power while driving. There were no dashboard warning lights or messages prior to discovering the problem; the only symptom was an oil smell and the dipstick reading consistently below normal levels between changes. The problem has been confirmed by an independent mechanic. The vehicle has been regularly maintained according to the manufacturer’s service schedule. The manufacturer has declined to offer assistance, citing warranty expiration and second-owner status, despite the failure occurring only 1,000 miles past coverage and appearing consistent with a latent manufacturing defect. The vehicle and documentation remain available for inspection upon request.