The pictures of Palisade hitches in the Hyundia brochure I saw showed the trailer hitch hanging below the bumper. I've noticed that some of the Palisade rear bumpers appear not to have the removable plastic panel for the trailer hitch install like the Kia does. This was one of the primary reasons we only shopped for the Telluride.
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2023 Telluride Trailer Hitch Receiver availability
- Thread author LarryJordan
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Pigdog
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Pigdog
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Ordered the S9F61-AU002 today. the S9F61-AU000 was listed on a half dozen sites but no one really had it. It was 427.00 shipped from Smithtown Kia somewhere in New York. I will be installing the factory hitch and harness upon its arrival. I will share the experience when I finish.
There looks to be pictures of a fully complete OEM install available in another forum post. I'm still waiting on a part number of the trim but I have copied the pictures to this post as well. Thanks to user CoastMalone for the uploads!
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G-907809
8/28/23
Recently purchased (today) a 2024 Telluride with the tow mode. I assumed it would come with a hitch and wiring for towing a trailer. Was I wrong. It came with the Tow mode which included self leveling rear suspension and tow mode with no hitch. When I asked where the hitch was they said there weren't any. If I wanted an actual hitch I would have to pay an additional $850. for the hitch and wiring harness. I complained to the dealership to no avail. When I ordered my previous Chrysler Touring L with a tow package it came with the wiring and hitch, as well cooling and transmission upgrades as well as self leveling rear suspension. I feel like this is false advertising to get you to order the Kia with the towing package which you cannot tow anything with it unless you pony up an additional $850.00. The parts department said they could get an after market hitch to install for the same price. This is our first Kia and may be our last with this experience having just purchased our Kia today. Tom
Recently purchased (today) a 2024 Telluride with the tow mode. I assumed it would come with a hitch and wiring for towing a trailer. Was I wrong. It came with the Tow mode which included self leveling rear suspension and tow mode with no hitch. When I asked where the hitch was they said there weren't any. If I wanted an actual hitch I would have to pay an additional $850. for the hitch and wiring harness. I complained to the dealership to no avail. When I ordered my previous Chrysler Touring L with a tow package it came with the wiring and hitch, as well cooling and transmission upgrades as well as self leveling rear suspension. I feel like this is false advertising to get you to order the Kia with the towing package which you cannot tow anything with it unless you pony up an additional $850.00. The parts department said they could get an after market hitch to install for the same price. This is our first Kia and may be our last with this experience having just purchased our Kia today. Tom
Spartan1
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I believe the part number for the tow hitch bumper cover for ‘23/‘24 is S9F61-AU660. I found the attached picture in another thread.
S9F61-AU060 is the trailer hitch number cover for 2019-2022.
I searched S9F61-AU660 and found on a fe Kia auto part sites that stated the part was for the ‘23 and ‘24, but shipping was high.
I talked to my dealership today and they did not know it was available. Because I called they ordered a bunch today. but they stated it looked like a 5 week back-order. Hence, I went ahead and ordered from Mykiaparts.com.
Tow Hitch Bumper Cover $43.40 |
Estimated Shipping to 45458 via StandardShipping: $28.21 |
Handling: $1.74 |
Total: $73.35 |
Estimated delivery was 1 or 2 Sept.
I’ll post pictures once I receive/install.
Attachments
I picked up S9F61-AU002 from the dealer yesterday. For those waiting, it included the hitch with 7-way round carrier welded to the frame, hardware, hitch insert, and plastic insert plug (stamped Kia). No bumper cover, wiring harness (20-22) or anything else. Still waiting for my Hyundai harness, then the Kia goes on the lift!
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I don't think that's correct. A quick search of "S9F61-AU660" reveals mentions of it on forums from years ago for the prior generaiton.
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It sucks, but if you wanted the hitch and wiring harness that bad, why didn’t you do more research on whether or not they come with these products? It took me all of 10 seconds to do a google just now to see this stuff does not come with the Telluride. Maybe this should be your last Telluride. It doesn’t sound like it’s for you.
Kia is bringing a whole new group of buyers to their brand. Kia in the US, other than the Borrego from years ago, has not sold anything that can seriously tow for a while. They really should rethink and revisit how they market towing capability. I don't find it intuitive at all. They have accessories, options, packages, modes with nice-to-haves and must-haves all blurry. If they market the option to tow, then the required components to accomplish that spec should be very clearly identified. What is missing that Kia does not sell should also be clearly identified. I still have many questions as to why you would want to brand softer and more expensive mechanically self-leveling shocks as a towing package.
If you bought a "package" of anything the most basic assumption is that you get everything you need packaged up in one thing. If it came with stuff you didn't need and was missing stuff to accomplish what it's goal is, you would question who put the package together.
In this case, I don't blame the buyer for making some basic assumptions. I'm frustrated that Kia is clear as mud and dealers who don't have experience with many vehicles that can tow are ill-informed. The value add of the dealership is to help the buyer not mislead them.
Compare the Nissan Pathfinder specs website to the Kia Telluride specs. Towing is broken out as a separate category and Nissan, who happens to also sell trucks that can do more towing, also offers a towing guide website and PDF that educates the buyer very clearly on what they can do and what they need. By comparison Kia makes it a mystery before you buy and sometimes impossible to order everything you need, then you look in the manual and you see a couple pages that appear to be copy and pasted from a Sorento of a couple years ago.
Specs of the 2025 Kia Telluride SUV: Dimensions, Weight, MPG, Horsepower, Cargo Space | Kia
See specs by trim level for the 2025 Kia Telluride SUV. Learn about the size, MPG, engine, safety features, technology and more!
Here's the Nissan Towing Guide as an example.
All Nissan Owners Vehicle Manuals & Guides | Nissan USA
Visit site to download your Nissan vehicle's manuals and guides and access important details regarding the use and care of your vehicle.
www.nissanusa.com
I'm very happy with my 2020 Telluride, but I had to do a ton of research and posted the information on this very forum because it was lacking. Often times I got the right answer here before Kia even corrected it in the owners manual.
I know I sound harsh on Kia, but people buy midsized SUVs for families and in the US that sometimes means hauling. More often that includes people who are new to larger SUVs who aren't truck owners have never towed cargo/utility trailers, boats, campers, etc. Not providing enough information on safe towing for a novice user just makes me wonder if they are confident it is up to the task, but more importantly it makes our roads less safe.
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TellmeyourWHAT?
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I can say that I went into this with my eyes wide open. I've owned three 4Runners in the past - all with factory OEM hitches AND wiring harnesses - as I have pulled my sailboat all over the country. I never before gave the wiring harness a thought as I assumed it was the simplest of wiring hookups -- that is until I started looking at Tellurides. Luckily, I haven't needed towing capacity for a couple of years, but I will again soon. I think (hope) this will coincide with KIA's release of hitches and wiring harnesses to outfit 2023s and 2024s (going to be the same package).Kia is bringing a whole new group of buyers to their brand. Kia in the US, other than the Borrego from years ago, has not sold anything that can seriously tow for a while. They really should rethink and revisit how they market towing capability. I don't find it intuitive at all. They have accessories, options, packages, modes with nice-to-haves and must-haves all blurry. If they market the option to tow, then the required components to accomplish that spec should be very clearly identified. What is missing that Kia does not sell should also be clearly identified. I still have many questions as to why you would want to brand softer and more expensive mechanically self-leveling shocks as a towing package.
If you bought a "package" of anything the most basic assumption is that you get everything you need packaged up in one thing. If it came with stuff you didn't need and was missing stuff to accomplish what it's goal is, you would question who put the package together.
In this case, I don't blame the buyer for making some basic assumptions. I'm frustrated that Kia is clear as mud and dealers who don't have experience with many vehicles that can tow are ill-informed. The value add of the dealership is to help the buyer not mislead them.
Compare the Nissan Pathfinder specs website to the Kia Telluride specs. Towing is broken out as a separate category and Nissan, who happens to also sell trucks that can do more towing, also offers a towing guide website and PDF that educates the buyer very clearly on what they can do and what they need. By comparison Kia makes it a mystery before you buy and sometimes impossible to order everything you need, then you look in the manual and you see a couple pages that appear to be copy and pasted from a Sorento of a couple years ago.
Specs of the 2025 Kia Telluride SUV: Dimensions, Weight, MPG, Horsepower, Cargo Space | Kia
See specs by trim level for the 2025 Kia Telluride SUV. Learn about the size, MPG, engine, safety features, technology and more!www.kia.com
Here's the Nissan Towing Guide as an example.
I would also expect something similar from any brands that have SUVs and trucks in their lineup.All Nissan Owners Vehicle Manuals & Guides | Nissan USA
Visit site to download your Nissan vehicle's manuals and guides and access important details regarding the use and care of your vehicle.
I'm very happy with my 2020 Telluride, but I had to do a ton of research and posted the information on this very forum because it was lacking. Often times I got the right answer here before Kia even corrected it in the owners manual.
I know I sound harsh on Kia, but people buy midsized SUVs for families and in the US that sometimes means hauling. More often that includes people who are new to larger SUVs who aren't truck owners have never towed cargo/utility trailers, boats, campers, etc. Not providing enough information on safe towing for a novice user just makes me wonder if they are confident it is up to the task, but more importantly it makes our roads less safe.
There has been so much written about this problem here on the forums, a lot of it misleading, that it has to be incredibly confusing to the folks just stepping up to towing for the first time. And not a bloody word from KIA as to what is transpiring. The least they could do is to keep their dealers informed, but no, they can't even do that. None of this is rocket science, instead just the opposite, it really is the simplest of wiring hookups, so what in blazes is taking so long? Trailer hitches have been installed - with lights - on vehicles since at least the 1950s. That is coming up on 75 years! Heads should roll over this, but I am sure won't.
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I wonder what that new bumper cover would look like with the Curt hitch that many of us already have installed. Might be able to pieces together a pseudo-OEM look using the new OEM bumper cover, OEM harness and Curt hitch...
I just wonder what it looks like and if there's a part number!
Have you seen post #344 if you scroll up on this thread?
I did, sorry, I meant that part as a joke. What I think we all really want is the part number. The numbers that have been posted so far have all been for the 2020-22. What's interesting is the hitch instructions say '2022+'.
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If you have or are going to put on a 7 pin it will probably work OK. The curt receiver is about a inch lower than the oem so the space will show. My thinking is your better off with the original. If it was cut wrong, a new one is available from a dealer for 35 to 40 bucks. My application is only for a 4 pin so I'm waiting for curt to come up with a plug and play. My sxp x-pro looks fine with the curt, but it was cut perfectly.
You've probably already found out, the curt dimensions to cut are off a bit.
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From Kia Today. Officially available
I wonder how difficult that tailgate latch assembly is to install? I don't really want to pay my dealer to install the hitch but I feel like it should be their responsibility to install the latch even if I don't have them install the hitch.
The letter said the total labor for the latch, hitch and wiring was only 1.8 hours, so it can't be too hard. Will they sell the package without the install is the question.
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