AWD not working

[MuskyHunter]

We bought a 2020 Telluride SX AWD with 3300 miles on it last week. This morning I went out in the pasture to hook up a small trailer. It was raining and when I tried to pull away with the trailer the front tires spun. I turned on AWD with the switch and it made no difference. The front tires just spin. I tried all the different modes and nothing worked. Am I doing something wrong here or should I be calling the dealer?

 

[arattle]

We bought a 2020 Telluride SX AWD with 3300 miles on it last week. This morning I went out in the pasture to hook up a small trailer. It was raining and when I tried to pull away with the trailer the front tires spun. I turned on AWD with the switch and it made no difference. The front tires just spin. I tried all the different modes and nothing worked. Am I doing something wrong here or should I be calling the dealer?

Is this trailer attached to the house? Even FWD is rated to tow 5000 lbs, so if the trailer is within weight limit you should not be spinning tires.

That being said, I would expect AWD to engage if front wheels don't get enough traction. Do you see torque being sent to rear wheels in the torque display on the instrument panel?

 

[MuskyHunter]

Is this trailer attached to the house? Even FWD is rated to tow 5000 lbs, so if the trailer is within weight limit you should not be spinning tires.

That being said, I would expect AWD to engage if front wheels don't get enough traction. Do you see torque being sent to rear wheels in the torque display on the instrument panel?

I don’t know that I looked at the display. I don’t get any errors but without a doubt the rear tires did not spin. I had to end up pulling it with the tractor. I could not back up the trailer or pull forward. Mine has the 20” rims so I did not expect the tires to do great but I would. It had issues assuming the AWD was working.

 

[ccallana]

What switch did you engage? I thought AWD was just on all the time - you can't actually disable it entirely.

Switch the display to show the 4 wheel torque picture and try and recreate - it should show where the power is going. If only 1 axel is showing any power, and they are spinning, then there is probably something wrong. Try pushing the center lock button (in the middle of the mode knob) see if that makes a difference.

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[2020Telly]

Maybe your trailer is not balanced or your load is not level and the AWD is detecting loss of traction at the wrong place and then over compensating? Since it’s not 4x4 with a locking differential you have to rely on the computer thinking it’s smarter than you. “Active On Demand” in this system appears to mean it is always looking for wheel slippage to react. It doesn’t mean that AWD mode is always on.

 

[MuskyHunter]

Maybe your trailer is not balanced or your load is not level and the AWD is detecting loss of traction at the wrong place and then over compensating? Since it’s not 4x4 with a locking differential you have to rely on the computer thinking it’s smarter than you. “Active On Demand” in this system appears to mean it is always looking for wheel slippage to react. It doesn’t mean that AWD mode is always on.

Even with the trailer unhooked and the AWD lock turned on only the front spin. This is on wet grass in my pasture. It’s easy to see what tires get power and I’ve even had my wife witching and confirmed the back tires never turn.

 

[2020Telly]

Even with the trailer unhooked and the AWD lock turned on only the front spin. This is on wet grass in my pasture. It’s easy to see what tires get power and I’ve even had my wife witching and confirmed the back tires never turn.

Other AWD owners on this forum have reported that the AWD "lock" was overridden by the system if conditions were met even below 25mph. I also think the system is a performance system and not necessarily tuned for towing.

But if you don't see anything out of the rear, then it definitely sounds like your AWD is not working properly.

How did you find a 2020 with just 3300 miles? Is there a back story that explains the mileage? Was it maybe in the shop for AWD issues?

 

[MuskyHunter]

Other AWD owners on this forum have reported that the AWD "lock" was overridden by the system if conditions were met even below 25mph. I also think the system is a performance system and not necessarily tuned for towing.

But if you don't see anything out of the rear, then it definitely sounds like your AWD is not working properly.

How did you find a 2020 with just 3300 miles? Is there a back story that explains the mileage? Was it maybe in the shop for AWD issues?

It belonged to my wife’s grandparents who are snow birds and only drove it during the summer months. They never even tried AWD I doubt.

People seem hung up on the trailer but I was having the issue without the trailer hooked up. I have a small incline in the pasture and it flat out will not go up it in the rain and only the front tires are spinning. I e made an appointment to drop it off. The dealer agrees something isn’t right.

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[Lakaiguy]

What happened with this?

Did you find that display on the dash that shows where the power is going?

 

[MuskyHunter]

It is not due into the shop until next week. I’m going to try and test it again when it rains and see if the screen shows power going to the rear. I did have a factory hitch and wiring harness installed at the dealer and noticed the trailer lights do not work. Is there anything there that could cause the awd to malfunction?

 

[2020Telly]

It is not due into the shop until next week. I’m going to try and test it again when it rains and see if the screen shows power going to the rear. I did have a factory hitch and wiring harness installed at the dealer and noticed the trailer lights do not work. Is there anything there that could cause the awd to malfunction?

How many and what kind of bulbs on your trailer? The Kia 4-wire harness has lower amperage than the aftermarket options. Not sure what the 7-pin round harness is rated for. So if you has a trailer with a lot of halogen bulbs or running lights it might not power them unless you swap out the harness or swap out all the bulbs to led. If you are certain the trailer wires work by plugging them up to another vehicle or you can use a trailer 4-pin or 7-pin tester to see if the power is making it to the socket. It could just be the converter box went bad on the harness.

I don't see how the vehicle wiring harness could be connected to AWD. I don't think the AWD system has any knowledge that you have a trailer connected. The Telluride doesn't have a tow mode so thinks like the backup camera motion sensor beep at you in reverse if you have anything on your hitch.

 

[MuskyHunter]

How many and what kind of bulbs on your trailer? The Kia 4-wire harness has lower amperage than the aftermarket options. Not sure what the 7-pin round harness is rated for. So if you has a trailer with a lot of halogen bulbs or running lights it might not power them unless you swap out the harness or swap out all the bulbs to led. If you are certain the trailer wires work by plugging them up to another vehicle or you can use a trailer 4-pin or 7-pin tester to see if the power is making it to the socket. It could just be the converter box went bad on the harness.

I don't see how the vehicle wiring harness could be connected to AWD. I don't think the AWD system has any knowledge that you have a trailer connected. The Telluride doesn't have a tow mode so thinks like the backup camera motion sensor beep at you in reverse if you have anything on your hitch.

This trailer is a 12ft utility trailer we use for hauling the side by side between our two properties. They are led lights and do work when hooks to my truck. I didn’t think it would have anything to do with the AWD system but with these new cars who knows.

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