The 2023 Telluride Towing Saga - Adding some data and pictures, and it's not great news

[tyger23]

Hi all! Former 2022 and and now new 2023 SX-P owner here! I wanted to add some hard data to the 2023 Towing Hitch saga. I only know this because my 2022 was totaled by an F150 about 2 weeks ago, and I managed to jump on a 2023 SX-P X-Pro. Here's what I can add for you:

1. It appears by all accounts that the 2022 aftermarket tow hitch bar itself will fit. Just this week, E-trailer has changed the '23 Telly status to reflect that the Draw-Tite/Reece/Curt tow bar (hitch) made by Horizon Global will fit the '23. This can be confirmed on E-trailer's website, along with Reece, and Draw-Tite. I will not make any personal representations as I don't own this hitch (or any right now). This hitch is sold under Draw-Tite part number 76420, Reece part number 84420, and Curt part number CQT76420.

Now - this does NOT mean that the factory 2022 hitch will be compatible with the 2023 bumper cover. It only means that it should fit. Here are some pictures of the mounting places of my '23 for you to compare to.

Left Side mounting points of the 2023 SX-P X-Pro:


Right side mounting points of the 2023 SX-P X-Pro:


2. It appears that the 2022 wiring harness will most definitely NOT fit the 2023, at least not on the SX-P X-Pro. Here are some pictures comparing the 2022 harness to my 2023 connectors. The 2020-2022 Tellurides had a dedicated connector to plug in the towing harness, whereas the 2023 does NOT have the same connector. In fact, it looks like the towing harness for 2023 will need a pass-through style design.

Picture from e-trailer video showing where to plug in the 2022 style harness (note two connectors):


2020-2022 Wiring Harness Picture (note the style of the female harness circled):


Picture from my 2023 SX-P X-Pro harness location (note there is only 1 connector now):


Pictures of the mating sides of the 2023 connector:
(Side leading towards the rear taillights, etc.):


(Side leading to the front of car):


3. I can guarantee that the 2022 tow cover will NOT fit the 2023 SX-P X-Pro. The shape is completely different.
Picture of the 2020-2022 rear bumper where the tow cover would reside:


Picture of the 2023 SX-P X-Pro:


Sadly, it seems we are going to need to go full aftermarket, or wait until the saga completes from Kia and we know how to order the factory parts.

Thanks!
Tyger23

 

[PittPa]

Aftermarket isn't the end of the world, especially when you have no other option. I would be surprised they changed the oe hitch but left that the same and came out with new facia. As far as the harness, etrailer has been good updating when they are available.

 

[SeasTheDay]

Aftermarket isn't the end of the world, especially when you have no other option. I would be surprised they changed the oe hitch but left that the same and came out with new facia. As far as the harness, etrailer has been good updating when they are available.

How does Kia sell a tow specific trim and not have the hitch? All while dealers are selling the high priced trim above MSRP.

 

[PittPa]

How does Kia sell a tow specific trim and not have the hitch? All while dealers are selling the high priced trim above MSRP.

I don't have any explanation other than there are 100's of examples of shortages.

______________________________

 

[confused.owner]

So has anyone wired in a tow harness as of yet for the 2023 Kia Telluride (EX X-line)? I just installed a hitch...no problems there...but when I looked at the connections, I cannot find anything that will fit inline with the pics provided in the main post. I certainly don't want to start splicing into the factory wiring. If anyone has figured this out, can you please post a link to what product to purchase. I now have a hitch receiver and cannot tow my trailer because there is no way to wire it...to my knowledge. This is rediculous.

 

[jpkia]

So has anyone wired in a tow harness as of yet for the 2023 Kia Telluride (EX X-line)? I just installed a hitch...no problems there...but when I looked at the connections, I cannot find anything that will fit inline with the pics provided in the main post. I certainly don't want to start splicing into the factory wiring. If anyone has figured this out, can you please post a link to what product to purchase. I now have a hitch receiver and cannot tow my trailer because there is no way to wire it...to my knowledge. This is rediculous.

 Etrailer has a FAQ that lists a wiring harness for the 2023. It mentions that there is a wiring harness located behind the driver's-side interior trim panel in the rear cargo area. Can anyone confirm if this is accurate?

 

[SeasTheDay]

I bought my 2023 Telluride SX X-Pro a few weeks ago with the assumption (based on Kia Brochures, Kia YouTube, and Kia ads) that the Telluride would tow. As it is equipped and sold by Kia it does not. The dealer did not know that Kia did not have an approved OEM tow bar/hitch receiver and they had to research what (IF any) could be installed on the Telluride.

That being said. I love the SUV. Its ride, technology, and features are impressive. And now that I have a tow hitch receiver on the SUV I can confirm it tows great. (I have a 21ft center console with total tow weight of ~ 4,200 lbs) Tow Bar: DrawTite 76420 I know the dealer had to get "creative" with the wiring harness. They did a very good job installing all wires properly (brake power pin was the only one not powered as the X-pro does not have an electric brake controller.)

My primary complaint is that the receiver sits below the bumper as I was assuming the receiver would sit within the bumper as it does with the 2022. To resolve the low receiver, I am using a 3 1/4" ball mount riser.

Due to Kia not being prepared to sell its own SUV. I would only have this installed at a dealer. I want to make sure that Kia is on the hook if there is ever an issue with this receiver and setup. I have installed every other tow bar on every prior car, truck, and van that I have owned. I would only have Kia install the Tow Bar on this SUV.

One Note: Every time you start the car, you have to deactivate all of the Parking Safety features to back up the trailer.

Good Luck

 

[confused.owner]

I bought my 2023 Telluride SX X-Pro a few weeks ago with the assumption (based on Kia Brochures, Kia YouTube, and Kia ads) that the Telluride would tow. As it is equipped and sold by Kia it does not. The dealer did not know that Kia did not have an approved OEM tow bar/hitch receiver and they had to research what (IF any) could be installed on the Telluride.

That being said. I love the SUV. Its ride, technology, and features are impressive. And now that I have a tow hitch receiver on the SUV I can confirm it tows great. (I have a 21ft center console with total tow weight of ~ 4,200 lbs) Tow Bar: DrawTite 76420 I know the dealer had to get "creative" with the wiring harness. They did a very good job installing all wires properly (brake power pin was the only one not powered as the X-pro does not have an electric brake controller.)

My primary complaint is that the receiver sits below the bumper as I was assuming the receiver would sit within the bumper as it does with the 2022. To resolve the low receiver, I am using a 3 1/4" ball mount riser.

Due to Kia not being prepared to sell its own SUV. I would only have this installed at a dealer. I want to make sure that Kia is on the hook if there is ever an issue with this receiver and setup. I have installed every other tow bar on every prior car, truck, and van that I have owned. I would only have Kia install the Tow Bar on this SUV.

One Note: Every time you start the car, you have to deactivate all of the Parking Safety features to back up the trailer.

Good Luck

______________________________

 

[confused.owner]

I bought my 2023 Telluride SX X-Pro a few weeks ago with the assumption (based on Kia Brochures, Kia YouTube, and Kia ads) that the Telluride would tow. As it is equipped and sold by Kia it does not. The dealer did not know that Kia did not have an approved OEM tow bar/hitch receiver and they had to research what (IF any) could be installed on the Telluride.

That being said. I love the SUV. Its ride, technology, and features are impressive. And now that I have a tow hitch receiver on the SUV I can confirm it tows great. (I have a 21ft center console with total tow weight of ~ 4,200 lbs) Tow Bar: DrawTite 76420 I know the dealer had to get "creative" with the wiring harness. They did a very good job installing all wires properly (brake power pin was the only one not powered as the X-pro does not have an electric brake controller.)

My primary complaint is that the receiver sits below the bumper as I was assuming the receiver would sit within the bumper as it does with the 2022. To resolve the low receiver, I am using a 3 1/4" ball mount riser.

Due to Kia not being prepared to sell its own SUV. I would only have this installed at a dealer. I want to make sure that Kia is on the hook if there is ever an issue with this receiver and setup. I have installed every other tow bar on every prior car, truck, and van that I have owned. I would only have Kia install the Tow Bar on this SUV.

One Note: Every time you start the car, you have to deactivate all of the Parking Safety features to back up the trailer.

Good Luck

I guess I have to assume the dealer spliced in some sort of aftermarket wiring harness that connects to your 7-pin. This is a real bummer. I think I'm going to wait it out for a bit in hopes that someone releases an insert / inline adapter that will connect to the current plug / connector. These connections, located in the left rear quarter panel, are nothing like the previous models. If I have to wait too long, I'll just go old school and splice something in. Ugg

 

[tyger23]

As a further update: I've paid for access to the 2023 wiring modules, and the news keeps getting more interesting (worse for standard DIY'ers).

THERE IS A TRAILER CONNECTOR!!! However - it's not in the same location as the 2022, and it's a CAN-BUS module. From what I can determine, this will require some type of CAN-BUS decoder to translate the computer signals into the appropriate turn signals/brake signals etc.

Here's the data for you. There's a connector known as "F45" which is the trailer connector. The location is supposedly on the left hand side of the car, near the left rear wheel well and the subwoofer. From the picture below, I think it is actually located under the car, as it appears to pass through the left rear wheel well from the interior of the car. I circled it in yellow in this picture.



Here's the pinout of F45. From this pinout, I can see two power connections (pins 1, 8), a ground connection (pin 4), trailer controller signals (pins 5, 7), a possible data signal labeled IPS5 (which appears to have something to do with the high mounted stop lamp), and two C-CAN bus signals (pins 2 and 3, which appear to be related to CAN BUS channel C).



If you're not familiar with the CAN bus, it's essentially networking for your cars. It allows different computers within a car to communicate with one another. The C-channel of the CAN bus inside the 2023 Telluride appears to deal with the trailer system and the automated driver assistance systems (specifically the radar, camera, and parking sensors).

My educated guess is that the trailer "harness" for the 2023 Telluride is going to require a CAN BUS decoder/translator. This isn't uncommon, and it's even used in Harley Davidsons. HOWEVER - because CAN BUS communications can be proprietary, we will likely have to wait until KIA release the official trailer harness for a clean solution.

If you don't want (or cannot) wait for an official solution, you're going to need to get VERY creative, as SeasTheDay indicated above. I'll post on that in a bit.

 

[tyger23]

I just posed an update on the trailer connector for the 23's, but because I edited it, it's awaiting moderator approval. Hopefully that shows up soon.

EDIT- This now shows up as post 10. Thanks admins!

 

[tyger23]

EDIT - Post 10 is now posted and covers the "new" trailer connector (F45).

If you desire to "splice" in your own trailer wiring system, it will require a lot of creativity and splicing in from many different locations. For 2023, there's not any one location I can find in the schematics that makes it easy to wire in a trailer system. 2022 made it easy, but this isn't an option anymore.

I may have to do this myself, so here's what I am currently thinking and might try and accomplish over the Christmas break. Note, this would NOT be for the faint of heart:
1. Purchase a Tekonsha 22551 Universal wiring harness system, which will completely bypass any pre-installed vehicle wiring connections.
2. Wire the various Power and Grounds back to the battery (from the tow bar and the interior brake controller connector).
3. Wire the trailer brake controller into the dash at the driver's kick panel. There's provisions to do this similar to the 2022 - I presume the instructions would be similar.
4. Splice into the "backup" signals at the "F31" connector, which is the connector under the car that connects to the rear bumper (the one pictured in my first post). This connector only contains rear bumper signals such as parking sensors, ADAS, and backup lights.
5. Splice into the "brake" signal at the F45 connector.
6. Splice into the "left turn" signal at the left taillight.
7. Splice into the "right turn" signal at the right taillight.
8. Splice into the "trailer brake return" signal at F45.

So, you're basically taking apart the rear interior of the car to get to F45, the left tail light and the right tail light. I'm feel like there's maybe a simpler way to do this, but I would need to study the schematics for much longer, and I only bought 3 days of access.

The one thing I can pretty much confirm at this point:
EITHER wait for the official trailer harness module to be released by Kia (because it requires a CAN BUS decoder), or prepare to splice in an aftermarket system with no real convenient (single location) place to make the splice.

______________________________

 

[tyger23]

One other tidbit of internet searching shows that the 2023 does indeed appear to be using the 2022 style tow hitch. From this photo, it seems the hitch installed shows many of the same characteristics and shapes as the hitch used on the 2022's.

So, hopefully if you decide to install a 2022 factory tow bar on your 23, then you'll eventually be able to get a bumper insert that is a factory fit.

Granted, this photo is from the 2023 car-show launch, so things could have changed.

 

[confused.owner]

This is absolutely absurd that KIA has this. I'm quite handy with wiring projects, but not even I would attempt said solution. Seems like too many touch points, which leads to too many possible faults...IMO. Why on earth has KIA done such an idiotic thing? If you spend around $50k on a vehicle, the manufacturer should bend over backwards to provide easy peasy solutions. Trailer wiring, for decades, has been just that....EASY! I'm so very curious to know what the dealership did with @SeasTheDays trailer harness. If this 8 step solution is the answer, give or take a couple steps, I would think that even a seasoned dealership mechanic might cringe at this task.

Also, to confirm your second post about a trailer hitch receiver for the 2023 KIA Telluride, this is the one I installed last night. It fits absolutely perfect without any sort of strange modification. The only thing I had to do, which didn't "feel" right, was shave a tiny bit of the area where the receiver comes out. It was very simple and you'd never know it was done.

Apparently I cannot post a link in this forum, so I'll verbally explain. I purchased the Draw-Tite Max-Frame hitch receiver from eTrailer.

So now I'm stuck with a nice trailer hitch receiver and no way to actually tow anything since I don't have a proper solution for wiring. Awesome!

 

[SeasTheDay]

This is absolutely absurd that KIA has this. I'm quite handy with wiring projects, but not even I would attempt said solution. Seems like too many touch points, which leads to too many possible faults...IMO. Why on earth has KIA done such an idiotic thing? If you spend around $50k on a vehicle, the manufacturer should bend over backwards to provide easy peasy solutions. Trailer wiring, for decades, has been just that....EASY! I'm so very curious to know what the dealership did with @SeasTheDays trailer harness. If this 8 step solution is the answer, give or take a couple steps, I would think that even a seasoned dealership mechanic might cringe at this task.

Also, to confirm your second post about a trailer hitch receiver for the 2023 KIA Telluride, this is the one I installed last night. It fits absolutely perfect without any sort of strange modification. The only thing I had to do, which didn't "feel" right, was shave a tiny bit of the area where the receiver comes out. It was very simple and you'd never know it was done.

Apparently I cannot post a link in this forum, so I'll verbally explain. I purchased the Draw-Tite Max-Frame hitch receiver from eTrailer.

So now I'm stuck with a nice trailer hitch receiver and no way to actually tow anything since I don't have a proper solution for wiring. Awesome!

The dealership was great through this process. They weren't aware of this issue until they tried to order the 2023 hitch. I put this on Kia - 100%.

The dealer is Union County Kia in North Carolina. I would definitely recommend their Service and Sales team as I was ready to return the vehicle if they didn't figure it out.

 

[confused.owner]

As a further update: I've paid for access to the 2023 wiring modules, and the news keeps getting more interesting (worse for standard DIY'ers).

THERE IS A TRAILER CONNECTOR!!! However - it's not in the same location as the 2022, and it's a CAN-BUS module. From what I can determine, this will require some type of CAN-BUS decoder to translate the computer signals into the appropriate turn signals/brake signals etc.

Here's the data for you. There's a connector known as "F45" which is the trailer connector. The location is supposedly on the left hand side of the car, near the left rear wheel well and the subwoofer. From the picture below, I think it is actually located under the car, as it appears to pass through the left rear wheel well from the interior of the car. I circled it in yellow in this picture.

View attachment 28550

Here's the pinout of F45. From this pinout, I can see two power connections (pins 1, 8), a ground connection (pin 4), trailer controller signals (pins 5, 7), a possible data signal labeled IPS5 (which appears to have something to do with the high mounted stop lamp), and two C-CAN bus signals (pins 2 and 3, which appear to be related to CAN BUS channel C).

View attachment 28551

If you're not familiar with the CAN bus, it's essentially networking for your cars. It allows different computers within a car to communicate with one another. The C-channel of the CAN bus inside the 2023 Telluride appears to deal with the trailer system and the automated driver assistance systems (specifically the radar, camera, and parking sensors).

My educated guess is that the trailer "harness" for the 2023 Telluride is going to require a CAN BUS decoder/translator. This isn't uncommon, and it's even used in Harley Davidsons. HOWEVER - because CAN BUS communications can be proprietary, we will likely have to wait until KIA release the official trailer harness for a clean solution.

If you don't want (or cannot) wait for an official solution, you're going to need to get VERY creative, as SeasTheDay indicated above. I'll post on that in a bit.

This is interesting information and I, for one, am very appreciative of your efforts so far. I may dig around this evening in the suspected area just to see if I can find something that matches the image you provided. It would be comforting if KIA was transparent about their plans for this. Given that this is proprietary, they can probably charge us as much as they think we are willing to pay. At this point I am semi-desperate because I was sold a car that I thought would be very standard. Sadly, this doesn't appear to be the case. I planned on moving my trailer from Arkansas to Colorado within about 8 weeks and now I'm not sure what my plan will be.

______________________________

 

[tyger23]

 Etrailer has a FAQ that lists a wiring harness for the 2023. It mentions that there is a wiring harness located behind the driver's-side interior trim panel in the rear cargo area. Can anyone confirm if this is accurate?

Can you post a link to this faq?

It might be true, as you can see in my other posts.

 

[jpkia]

Can you post a link to this faq?

It might be true, as you can see in my other posts.

Had trouble posting the link...

Use etrailer dot com and add /question-657684 dot html

 

[confused.owner]

I found that FAQ and at least now we know the location of this harness plug, however, looking at the recommended harness p-118784 dot html, it does not appear to fit based on these pics I took. Also, I need the 7 pin as opposed to the 4 pin. Slowly, but surely, we are getting closer.

 

[confused.owner]

The pins appear to be different between what I have on my 2023 KIA Telluride and the image from the actual product on eTrailer.