New owner of 2020 Telluride

[BigRio]

Hello! Mario & Lara Wiggins in Va. Beach My wife finally got her dream vehicle- Kia Telluride! We purchased a comprehensive warranty ( 5 years) especially with the mileage being low(53,000 miles)
Question: I have heard only one really “ negative “ concern…transmission issues with the 2020 models and the culprit seems to be blamed on production during COVID. I was wondering if there were any thoughts on this as a topic. Any insight would be greatly appreciated and thanks for having us!

 

[2020Telly]

Did you get a FWD or AWD?

 

[BigRio]

Did you get a FWD or AWD?

AWD- I assumed that would be the better choice being an SUV.

 

[Sal Collaziano]

Hello! Mario & Lara Wiggins in Va. Beach My wife finally got her dream vehicle- Kia Telluride! We purchased a comprehensive warranty ( 5 years) especially with the mileage being low(53,000 miles)
Question: I have heard only one really “ negative “ concern…transmission issues with the 2020 models and the culprit seems to be blamed on production during COVID. I was wondering if there were any thoughts on this as a topic. Any insight would be greatly appreciated and thanks for having us!

Welcome aboard! And thank you for signing up. I'm glad you found us. Congratulations on the new Telluride! What did the Telluride replace for your wife?

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[BigRio]

A 2024 Chevy Trax… Which she absolutely hated lol

It’s actually being shipped to us from Georgia (Atlanta?) arriving on / around March 8. We went through CARMAX, which was a pretty awesome experience and purchased the full comprehensive warranty package which basically covers everything that we could possibly be concerned with in buying a used vehicle.

 

[Sal Collaziano]

A 2024 Chevy Trax… Which she absolutely hated lol

It’s actually being shipped to us from Georgia (Atlanta?) arriving on / around March 8. We went through CARMAX, which was a pretty awesome experience and purchased the full comprehensive warranty package which basically covers everything that we could possibly be concerned with in buying a used vehicle.

Awesome! And nice upgrade! Wow, she must be super happy.

 

[Diep]

Hello! Mario & Lara Wiggins in Va. Beach My wife finally got her dream vehicle- Kia Telluride! We purchased a comprehensive warranty ( 5 years) especially with the mileage being low(53,000 miles)
Question: I have heard only one really “ negative “ concern…transmission issues with the 2020 models and the culprit seems to be blamed on production during COVID. I was wondering if there were any thoughts on this as a topic. Any insight would be greatly appreciated and thanks for having us!

I have a 2020 with about 63xxx miles. The engine was replaced at 38xxx due to damage caused by excessive oil consumption and the awd coupler was replaced at around 50xxx due to binding issues. Also, front passenger side drive shaft boot was leaking. You can search this site and find these are all somewhat common issues. No one knows failure rates on any of these. Many people will argue that they are not that common. I think they are more common than others want to believe based on the fact that I had all 3 issues. I’m not bashing the car. I think it rides nice, is stylish and well designed. But mechanically it’s not well built. Hopefully yours will be trouble free.

 

[BigRio]

Thanks for the heads up… I really appreciate it. My understanding is CARMAX does 120 point inspection and then they do the same inspection once it arrives before we pick it up. We have dealt with them in the past and they have really taken good care of us with the comprehensive Warranty. Hopefully this will continue and also address some of the issues you mentioned.

So in retrospect, how often would you recommend checking the oil level ; on a weekly schedule? Or monthly …..and thanks again.

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[Diep]

So in retrospect, how often would you recommend checking the oil level ; on a weekly schedule? Or monthly …..and thanks again.

I’ve been checking once a month. It still burns a little oil but about 1quart every 5000 miles. It was burning 1quart every 1000 miles.

 

[BigRio]

I’ve been checking once a month. It still burns a little oil but about 1quart every 5000 miles. It was burning 1quart every 1000 miles.

Thank you very much for the insight. This is extremely helpful. If you can think of anything else that would help me to avoid the “mechanic shop”
I am all ears!
Thanks again

 

[vinylhaircut]

I have a 2021 SX-P. Obviously not the same year but certainly much the same. I'm at 115k miles with hardly a peep (knock on wood). You'll certainly find unfortunate exceptions, as you would with any vehicle, but IMO it's a solid choice. I've changed the oil every 5000 miles, all the fluids at 60k (brake fluid, transmission fluid, coolant, rear axle oil, transfer case), and have otherwise followed the severe conditions schedule from the manual. The only other maintenance item I had done was a carbon service, also about 60k. I changed tires to Michelin CrossClimate 2's at 45k (and they still have lots of life left). Good luck!

 

[BigRio]

I have a 2021 SX-P. Obviously not the same year but certainly much the same. I'm at 115k miles with hardly a peep (knock on wood). You'll certainly find unfortunate exceptions, as you would with any vehicle, but IMO it's a solid choice. I've changed the oil every 5000 miles, all the fluids at 60k (brake fluid, transmission fluid, coolant, rear axle oil, transfer case), and have otherwise followed the severe conditions schedule from the manual. The only other maintenance item I had done was a carbon service, also about 60k. I changed tires to Michelin CrossClimate 2's at 45k (and they still have lots of life left). Good luck!

Thank you !! That’s very refreshing feedback! My wife just received notification that her Telluride is on its way. We are presently in “ recovery mode” here in Virginia Beach from 10 “ of snow which is a ton for us. Hopefully it will not delay delivery too much.

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[KMiles]

Thank you !! That’s very refreshing feedback! My wife just received notification that her Telluride is on its way. We are presently in “ recovery mode” here in Virginia Beach from 10 “ of snow which is a ton for us. Hopefully it will not delay delivery too much.

We love our Telluride and have had it for nearly a year. I got to test it in some heavy snow a couple of weeks ago and it did great. I bought my prior car from Carmax and they were good to deal with. I'm a little OCD when it comes to taking care of cars and when I got home with my car from Carmax, I did the following:

• Replaced the oil, oil filter, air filter, cabin filter and brake fluid after testing it
• I checked all of the other fluids, and if anything wasn't up to par, I took care of those, too
• Mine had lower level interior lighting, so I replaced all of the interior bulbs, reverse bulbs and license plate bulbs with VLED replacement LED bulbs

After doing all of that, I was more comfortable with the current state of the vehicle. I check my oil, other fluid levels and tire pressure weekly. Telluride's are kind of strange when you check the oil. You have to pull the dipstick, wipe it, put it back in and then pull it and read the level. If you don't, you'll think that you've run out of oil.

 

[BigRio]

We love our Telluride and have had it for nearly a year. I got to test it in some heavy snow a couple of weeks ago and it did great. I bought my prior car from Carmax and they were good to deal with. I'm a little OCD when it comes to taking care of cars and when I got home with my car from Carmax, I did the following:

• Replaced the oil, oil filter, air filter, cabin filter and brake fluid after testing it
• I checked all of the other fluids, and if anything wasn't up to par, I took care of those, too
• Mine had lower level interior lighting, so I replaced all of the interior bulbs, reverse bulbs and license plate bulbs with VLED replacement LED bulbs

After doing all of that, I was more comfortable with the current state of the vehicle. I check my oil, other fluid levels and tire pressure weekly. Telluride's are kind of strange when you check the oil. You have to pull the dipstick, wipe it, put it back in and then pull it and read the level. If you don't, you'll think that you've run out of oil.

I really like your approach. I am overly cautious as well. I constantly think they may have missed something or “overlooked it” …all the follow up/check up you did is definitely within reason. Thanks for sharing. I appreciate it. All great suggestions.

 

[Sean66]

I love my 2020 SX.
It's been a great SUV since I bought it new.
But, after 100k miles it had some issues. Never any Transmission issues though, yet,
Prepare for GDI oil issues. If I knew, I'd have gotten ahead of them.
I solved them now, and she's running great again.
Oil pan was leaking after cold weather. Tightened the bolts.
Oil Filter housing fixture was leaking. Tightened and changing gasket soon.
There's an aluminum upgrade kit out there.
Changed bunged-up PCV valve. Cleaned intake, throttle. Put in K&N intake filter,
I'm considering adding an oil catch can in the PCV line to limit further crapping up the valves and intake.
Best to you=

 

[BigRio]

I love my 2020 SX.
It's been a great SUV since I bought it new.
But, after 100k miles it had some issues. Never any Transmission issues though, yet,
Prepare for GDI oil issues. If I knew, I'd have gotten ahead of them.
I solved them now, and she's running great again.
Oil pan was leaking after cold weather. Tightened the bolts.
Oil Filter housing fixture was leaking. Tightened and changing gasket soon.
There's an aluminum upgrade kit out there.
Changed bunged-up PCV valve. Cleaned intake, throttle. Put in K&N intake filter,
I'm considering adding an oil catch can in the PCV line to limit further crapping up the valves and intake.
Best to you=

Those are all excellent preventative measures that I can easily incorporate. Thank you for the heads up on those issues and the resolution to keep them from worsening or even happening at all .

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[observed100]

congrat and welcome.

 

[BigRio]

Sorry I have been M.I.A but we received our Telluride and it is fantastic. Though it is a 2020 S model it’s pretty loaded. I can’t imagine what a
2025 must be like!! My wife absolutely loves it.

 

[Sal Collaziano]

Sorry I have been M.I.A but we received our Telluride and it is fantastic. Though it is a 2020 S model it’s pretty loaded. I can’t imagine what a
2025 must be like!! My wife absolutely loves it.

The 2020 was a huge hit and it still relatively new in the grand scheme of things. Congratulations!

 

[ohsonise]

I actually picking up a 2021 sx-p with 80k on it on Monday and i am just hoping to GOD that i have non of the issues that I've been seeing on these forums and just hope that i am 1 of the lucky ones especially with the fact that my wife & kids are mostly going to be driving it..I'll be driving it from Tennessee to Georgia so we will see how it goes *fingers crossed*