2020 Telluride AWD rear end jerking thumping and vibrating

[Mac]

Think that’s a great idea getting a Kia employee to chime in. Maybe they had a bunch of new hires on the assembly line in that mid May timeframe and their pneumatic torque wrenches were improperly set when tightening bolts, etc. I have an old 66 GTO and had a similar issue with vibration and after getting it up on the ‘rack’ at a local garage, discovered a loose bolt in the rear suspension. Tightened the bolt and the problem disappeared. I know apples to oranges but a common thread seems to be the build date. BTY we have a FWD with 2K miles almost exclusively on Interstates with no vibrations at any speed...smooth as silk.

 

[Bear]

I have an SX awd. On the Coquihalla Hwy the limit is 120Km. Drove at 4,200+feet Elevation at 160Km absolutely smooth no vibrations and Driver Assist while in cruise was excellent made a 4hr drive a lot easier and less tiresome.

 

[ucinn]

You can check and see if it's driveline problem or not. Check your RPMs when you have it vibrating.After you see that, use the paddles to downshift 1 gear and make the RPM's the same as when you felt the vibration and see if you feel it then. If so it's in the driveline, if not, it's wheels, bearings, or hubs.

 

[CincyTech]

In an earlier post, someone suggested involving someone in this forum that actually works at the plant that makes the Tellurides. So I started a conversation with that person. When I asked if he knows of any progress with our issue, he said:

"Hello. I have asked our driving guys at the plant. They review issues in the field for drive train related issues. This is the first they are hearing of this issue. The Palisade has vibration issues and the Korean team came to look at the Telluride to see if it has the same issue. The conclusion is No. We drive every Telluride on our test track up to 70MPH to test the systems and listen for wind noise. Nothing has been reported."

This answer does not make me very happy since my service manager has said that he has been in touch - yet he has nothing to tell me about progress.

I then asked our plant worker if he had any suggestions to try to get this issue fixed. He said:

"Here are my thoughts on this. The AWD has an additional drive shaft and coupler on the rear differential. I know that the coupler on the rear has to be balanced internally from the supplier. I would ask the dealer to change this part. They mostly do not want to since it is expensive and might not fix the issue."

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[ucinn]

The check I listed above should help troubleshoot if it's a drivetrain issue. I agree with the dealer on this one.. throwing parts at it without a bit of troubleshooting first isn't a good or cheap way to go about it.

 

[Ezrider]

I just received my new Telluride SXP with tow package. Only have 200 miles on it. Build date is June 24th. Arrived August 2nd. Not sure why it took so long to arrive? I am having the same vibration/pulsations as other describe which start around 65 mph but seen to diminish or go away about 75 mph. It feel vibration in gas pedal, seat and floor board. I hear a hum similar to what you get with some vehicle when opening sun roof or rear window. I don’t think it it a tire balance problem. Taking to dealer tomorrow to have them check. I’m sure they will start with tire balance but have no confidence that they will find problem based on the comments of others. It is too bad since at speeds below 65 the vehicle is super quiet and smooth. Will advise if I find out anything.

 

[Bear]

I just received my new Telluride SXP with tow package. Only have 200 miles on it. Build date is June 24th. Arrived August 2nd. Not sure why it took so long to arrive? I am having the same vibration/pulsations as other describe which start around 65 mph but seen to diminish or go away about 75 mph. It feel vibration in gas pedal, seat and floor board. I hear a hum similar to what you get with some vehicle when opening sun roof or rear window. I don’t think it it a tire balance problem. Taking to dealer tomorrow to have them check. I’m sure they will start with tire balance but have no confidence that they will find problem based on the comments of others. It is too bad since at speeds below 65 the vehicle is super quiet and smooth. Will advise if I find out anything.

I just got back from a second high speed drive with my SX AWD tried from 80km up to 165km this time on a 2hr drive paying more attention with radio off. Absolutely no vibrations or any noises for that matter. My tire pressure is at 36lbs cold. Therefore my conclusion would be bad tires or balancing required. I did notice quite a bit of weights to balance these 20 in. wheels. I question the quality of those rims as the Michelin Primacy A/S tires have a very good rating. Just a though...

 

[Bear]

Also I notice that the US rims are different than Candian rims on same model of Telluride.

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[CincyTech]

OK - I have some news.... Some time ago, I had a dealership witness the problem and they called the Kia Techline. With the Telluride, Dealers are not supposed to do any work without talking to the Techline. The Techline told the dealer to pull a couple new ones off the truck and see if they also had the vibration - and they did! Here is where it gets strange - the Techline folks looked at the evidence of all three Tellurides having the vibration, so it must be normal and closed the case. I had thought that when they knew all three had vibration, they would start working on a solution.

So today I have my Telluride at a fresh dealer. They see the problem and called Techline and learned the above status. They also saw something strange with the rear axle on one side and sent a video to Techline. Not sure where this is going to go....

 

[ColMo]

After finally figuring out and getting my whistling noise fixed at the dealer today, I noticed that my new Telluride SXP with tow package with just over 170 miles on it with a Build date of 3 June 19 is having the same vibration/pulsations as other describe which start around 65 mph but seen to diminish or go away about 75 mph. The worse being right at 70 mph. I feel vibration in gas pedal, seat and floor board. I don’t hear anything. I don’t think it it a tire balance problem. While I was at the dealer getting the whistle noise fixed on the test drive with Service Manager to ensure whistle noise was gone I mentioned the vibration. He stated he could feel it in the floor board and thought it was drive train related. I have an appointment next week to look at it. The Service Manager said he will road force balance tires before he would contact KIA Techline to establish a case. I will post after dealer visit next week.

 

[Wildcatt76]

I have an SX FWD exact same build date, 2900+ miles as of today no issues with vibration. Maybe lucky but I would have them shake down the AWD angle

 

[ucinn]

Has anybody tied my troubleshooting step above to see if it's drivetrain related? If I had one I would try it but I don't yet.

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[CincyTech]

OK - I have some news.... Some time ago, I had a dealership witness the problem and they called the Kia Techline. With the Telluride, Dealers are not supposed to do any work without talking to the Techline. The Techline told the dealer to pull a couple new ones off the truck and see if they also had the vibration - and they did! Here is where it gets strange - the Techline folks looked at the evidence of all three Tellurides having the vibration, so it must be normal and closed the case. I had thought that when they knew all three had vibration, they would start working on a solution.

So today I have my Telluride at a fresh dealer. They see the problem and called Techline and learned the above status. They also saw something strange with the rear axle on one side and sent a video to Techline. Not sure where this is going to go....

I did find out more.... Kia looked at the video the dealer sent. It showed a "slight bend" in the "passenger rear axle". Kia agreed to replace it and we are awaiting the part. The dealer said this is most likely the cause of the vibration, but we won't know until it is replaced. The dealer said they have not seen something like this and have no idea what would cause it. A part defect? Improper handling during shipping? They could not say and Kia did not offer any information.

 

[Icantelluride]

FWIW I was over on the Palisade forum and it looks like there are a number of owners over there complaining about the same thing

 

[Ezrider]

I just received my new Telluride SXP with tow package. Only have 200 miles on it. Build date is June 24th. Arrived August 2nd. Not sure why it took so long to arrive? I am having the same vibration/pulsations as other describe which start around 65 mph but seen to diminish or go away about 75 mph. It feel vibration in gas pedal, seat and floor board. I hear a hum similar to what you get with some vehicle when opening sun roof or rear window. I don’t think it it a tire balance problem. Taking to dealer tomorrow to have them check. I’m sure they will start with tire balance but have no confidence that they will find problem based on the comments of others. It is too bad since at speeds below 65 the vehicle is super quiet and smooth. Will advise if I find out anything.

 

[Ezrider]

Has been at dealer since Monday. Checked tire balance and Road force balance and they were ok. Dealer remove rear axle drive propeller shaft and then test drove it. No vibration or noise. Kia has approved replacement of shaft but dealer says no parts available. Waiting for update from dealer. They could get a shaft from assembly at plant but I’m pretty sure Kia won’t do that.

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[ColMo]

Has been at dealer since Monday. Checked tire balance and Road force balance and they were ok. Dealer remove rear axle drive propeller shaft and then test drove it. No vibration or noise. Kia has approved replacement of shaft but dealer says no parts available. Waiting for update from dealer. They could get a shaft from assembly at plant but I’m pretty sure Kia won’t do that.

Mine goes in next week - who’s your dealer?

 

[Ezrider]

Mine goes in next week - who’s your dealer?

Cornerstone Kia, Elk River, MN

 

[ColMo]

Cornerstone Kia, Elk River, MN

Thanks

 

[CincyTech]

I did find out more.... Kia looked at the video the dealer sent. It showed a "slight bend" in the "passenger rear axle". Kia agreed to replace it and we are awaiting the part. The dealer said this is most likely the cause of the vibration, but we won't know until it is replaced. The dealer said they have not seen something like this and have no idea what would cause it. A part defect? Improper handling during shipping? They could not say and Kia did not offer any information.

OK - my Kia dealer replaced the rear passenger axle that was bent and took a test drive and said he could not see any improvement. I passed along to the dealer what #Ezrider found out. - Thanks!