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

[flatlander]

Have you considered using self-adhesive reflective heat shielding material that you can cut and apply to the areas affected by the exhaust heat? You can get sheets of the stuff fairly cheaply on Amazon.

Many thanks - this will work.

 

[tyger23]

Update from Hyundai Parts Pro - Hyundai Canada is telling them "mid-June" for the arrival. I'll believe it when I see it.

 

[corsair]

I saw a '23 Telluride last week with the old hitch (old-style Kia logo on the hitch). I had to get close and bend down before I could see how they cut the bumper plate--they just cut one single rectangle out of the bumper plate and it was a pretty rough cut too. I was surprised how close I had to get to see it and it seemed like a satisfactory enough long-term solution to me. I'll probably give it a few more months to see if there's an official plate but after seeing that in person on someone else's car and having to get so close to see it wasn't an OEM solution convinced me that for many people a rough-cut single rectangle will be an ok permanent solution to the bumper plate issue.

 

[Yossarian]

I saw a '23 Telluride last week with the old hitch (old-style Kia logo on the hitch). I had to get close and bend down before I could see how they cut the bumper plate--they just cut one single rectangle out of the bumper plate and it was a pretty rough cut too. I was surprised how close I had to get to see it and it seemed like a satisfactory enough long-term solution to me. I'll probably give it a few more months to see if there's an official plate but after seeing that in person on someone else's car and having to get so close to see it wasn't an OEM solution convinced me that for many people a rough-cut single rectangle will be an ok permanent solution to the bumper plate issue.

I'm sure it's a decent solution but it's still unfathomable to me why the Kia now sells an SUV that has only a "Tow Mode w/ Self-Leveling Rear Suspension" and can no longer provide a factory hitch. Seems like a serious shortcoming for a vehicle in the mid-size SUV sector.

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[TheDestroyer]

See the thread in Kia Telluride Talk "2023 Telluride Trailer Hitch Receiver availability". I used the template provided there and so did at least one other user. Looks great!

 

[tyger23]

See the thread in Kia Telluride Talk "2023 Telluride Trailer Hitch Receiver availability". I used the template provided there and so did at least one other user. Looks great!

Agreed, but this does not solve the WIRING issues.

 

[TheDestroyer]

Agreed, but this does not solve the WIRING issues.

Sadly, yes. But it at least serves one of my use cases: bikes. Figured this may add a bit of useful content about using the previous year OEM hitch, and either waiting for the OEM harness (I need 7 wire) or using a 3rd party 4-pin hack.

 

[corsair]

See the thread in Kia Telluride Talk "2023 Telluride Trailer Hitch Receiver availability". I used the template provided there and so did at least one other user. Looks great!

Thanks, I'm subscribed to that but I somehow missed all those posts.

2023 Telluride Trailer Hitch Receiver availability

I finally got around to trimming my bumper cover. I iterated on a cardboard template to come up with the end solution pictured. Due to the curvature, your best reference points on the piece are the corners near the body clips which I referenced for the cut dimensions. You’ll also notice that the...

tellurideforum.org

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[kijkej]

I was just told by a Salesperson that the tow hitch won't come out until the 2024s come out

 

[John Jacobsen]

Well, I finally have a hitch wiring harness installed on the 23. Towed my boat for the first time with it today. My dealership agreed to pay to have an aftermarket harness installed. I have a 7-pin installed but had them leave out the battery and brake controller wiring since I don't need these for my boat trailer with surge brakes. I still have the OEM Hyundai/Kia harness on order. Question - does anyone know if the OEM harness plugged into the can-bus will deal with the issue of having to uncheck the boxes on the rear autonomous braking safety feature every time you cycle the ignition? It's a PITA to go into settings and do this every time and it's confusing for a buddy who jumps in to back your trailer down the ramp while you wait with your boat!
If the factory harness deals with the braking issue I'll change the harness. If not I'll have one to sell. Either way, no more waiting - we're back to the lake this weekend.

 

[Sharky]

Well, I finally have a hitch wiring harness installed on the 23. Towed my boat for the first time with it today. My dealership agreed to pay to have an aftermarket harness installed. I have a 7-pin installed but had them leave out the battery and brake controller wiring since I don't need these for my boat trailer with surge brakes. I still have the OEM Hyundai/Kia harness on order. Question - does anyone know if the OEM harness plugged into the can-bus will deal with the issue of having to uncheck the boxes on the rear autonomous braking safety feature every time you cycle the ignition? It's a PITA to go into settings and do this every time and it's confusing for a buddy who jumps in to back your trailer down the ramp while you wait with your boat!
If the factory harness deals with the braking issue I'll change the harness. If not I'll have one to sell. Either way, no more waiting - we're back to the lake this weekend.

What aftermarket harness did you use?

 

[TXTelluride23]

Back to the original post of using the receiver hitch for a cargo carrier ... we have a '21 Telluride and I am still looking for a hitch cargo carrier that will successfully avoid the heat from the passenger side exhaust. A straight rack takes direct heat, a raised rack takes less heat but still too much. Melted Yeti to prove it, complete with cargo bag strands melted into the cooler (note: cooler still works, just somewhat bubbled appearance from the exhaust melt). We are still rolling with a hitch cargo carrier, when needed, we just take caution to not place anything behind the exhaust - so we use 40-45" of the 60" rack . Anybody come up with a hitch cargo carrier rack that avoids this issue?

Maybe something like this to raise it away from the exhaust?

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[alexdrums]

@JimSLewis FYI, None of the new CX-90s that are shipping have the factory tow hitch installed, as far as I can tell.

 

[John Jacobsen]

What aftermarket harness did you use?

I had to call them to ask... The shop said they used a Curt 56236 Multi-function 4-wire harness. They converted it to a 7-pin and added the reverse wire. This set up works fine for surge brakes when you don't need a 12V charging feed or a line from a brake controller.

 

[tyger23]

Finally some good news!

I JUST RECEVIED SHIPPING NOTICE FROM HYUNDAI PARTS PRO!!!!!! Hopefully I'll know soon if the Hyundai part will work for the Telluride!

 

[dtburgh]

And I just canceled my order! Chickened out, was just seeing too many issues with the telluride and crappy service department comments as well. :/

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[Garry1951]

E trailer now has a video on 2023 hitch wiring....Its involved but they do so step by step......One installer said that maybe in the future a plug an play will be available.....We can only hope its coming sooner than later.....

 

[G-223856]

E trailer now has a video on 2023 hitch wiring....Its involved but they do so step by step......One installer said that maybe in the future a plug an play will be available.....We can only hope its coming sooner than later.....

Gary, could you post the link? I couldn’t find it on YouTube.

 

[JimSLewis]

I'm going to install Tekonsha's zero contact (item 119250KIT). I think there's room below the tail lights to drop the wiring behind the rear facia, which means no need to open any panels on the car. The zero contact doesn't splice into the wires so no warrantee issues to worry about. I'll use etrailer's video to identify the right wires. This will only give me a 4-flat and I need a 7-pin, but I can connect the 4-flat to the back of the 7-pin I have to give me at least turn signals, brake, tail, and a 12v+ line I need for the trailer, and all should be hidden under the car with no need for a harness to be draped out of the rear hatch when in use. My brake controller is on the trailer side so I don't care about the blue/brake wire and I don't have back-up lights on the trailer so no need to wire that in either. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[tyger23]

I'm going to install Tekonsha's zero contact (item 119250KIT). I think there's room below the tail lights to drop the wiring behind the rear facia, which means no need to open any panels on the car. The zero contact doesn't splice into the wires so no warrantee issues to worry about. I'll use etrailer's video to identify the right wires. This will only give me a 4-flat and I need a 7-pin, but I can connect the 4-flat to the back of the 7-pin I have to give me at least turn signals, brake, tail, and a 12v+ line I need for the trailer, and all should be hidden under the car with no need for a harness to be draped out of the rear hatch when in use. My brake controller is on the trailer side so I don't care about the blue/brake wire and I don't have back-up lights on the trailer so no need to wire that in either. I'll let you know how it goes.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't believe a 4-pin connector will ever provide a +12V line, at least not one with any real current capability for running accessories or brakes. I believe the only way you can get a constant +12V from a 4-pin connector would be to 1) turn on the running lights and 2) grab the 12V off the brown wire. Note - if you turn the running lights off, the brown wire goes dead.

A steady +12V wire for running trailer brakes and accessories is only available on a 7-pole trailer connector.