*Apologies for the long post* We've also been dealing with oil consumption issues with our 2020 Telluride S. Ours has higher mileage (currently ~103k) but we started observing oil consumption issues around the 90k mile mark (could have been happening sooner though).
We've had it serviced at our local dealership since purchasing it, until our service package expired last year. When it expired, I did the next oil change in September and observed a large carbon buildup adjacent to the oil pan. I had to take the car to the dealership in November for a recall notice and they told me at the time the oil was empty in the car. We had driven about 5k miles since changing the oil in September, so I was shocked. I told them about the carbon buildup but they said they didn't see it. They recommended beginning oil consumption testing, which we proceeded to do every 1k miles.
Each time we brought the car back and tested, it was out of tolerance (1 quart per thousand miles) but the dealership said they needed to document at least 3 consecutive tests out of tolerance before they could open up a case with Kia corporate.
The dealership called me in early Jan. to ask if I'd be open to bringing the car in for a newer type of service to address the oil consumption. They said they'd heard great reviews from a dealership in Raleigh, NC that was able to fix the oil consumption issue on a couple of Tellurides. The service was performed by my local Kia dealership with guidance from a 3rd party consultant, who I spoke with. He told me that the issue is from excessive carbon buildup in the cylinders for GDI engines due to the location of the fuel injectors. The fuel injectors are, from what I understand, directly injecting gas into the cylinders and as carbon builds up in the cylinders they start to block up the heads of the injectors and build up around the piston rings.
The service performed included a chemical agent that burned off the carbon in the cylinders and then ran a couple of fuel injector cleaners. They had a before and after video using a bore scope to show the amount of carbon before the chemical was applied and afterwards. I've gotta admit it was night and day from the images I saw. Unfortunately, the dealership told me after the work was done and they changed the oil that there is now suddenly an oil leak coming from the oil filter housing, which they said will mask any further consumption testing until it's fixed. I have inspected it myself and don't see any leaks but I am planning on getting another dealership to check it. My gut tells me if there is a leak, the genius mechanic at the local dealership overtorqued the housing.
If anyone wants the contact info for the consultant I spoke with, just let me know (I've got his business card). I am cautiously optimistic this work will resolve the excessive consumption issue but I think it'll take another month or two to tell.
) My Telly runs great but I saw this thread and was like damn I need to keep up with this especially since I drive it like I stole it.
