Known Transmission Issues - 2020

[hbromley]

My 2020 Telluride had its first engine light in November of 2022. At that time, the technician said my engine would need to be replaced if it happened again. Fast forward to September 2023. My Telluride was running rough; while accelerating, it was lagging, hesitant, and rough. Then, one morning, it made an awful noise while starting, and while driving to work, the engine light came on. I made an appointment, and the spark plugs and coils were replaced. This didn't solve the issue. Engine lights came on again, went back roughly 30 days later, and they replaced a fuel injector. I picked up my car, and it was running worse than it was before the fuel injector was repaired. It wanted to stall when idling, still chugging between 20 - 40 mph and less power. Upon further inspection, it was found that the torque converter was causing a shudder while driving, and my transmission had to be replaced. According to the Kia technician, this is becoming an issue in the 2020 Tellurides at about 95K miles. Another fast-forward to 12 days after picking up my car from getting the transmission replaced, we noticed an oil leak, and the oil filter housing needed to be replaced. Kia stated that the oil filter housing is plastic, and they tend to wear down and break around 100K miles. Just a heads up for you 2020 owners.

 

[PittPa]

You seem somewhat unaffected from your car's problems.

 

[G-569411]

I'm not sure what you mean by unaffected. Unaffected at about $4K out of pocket. A lot of trips back and forth to the dealership,
having to borrow a car at times. A month with a loaner that was too small for my family. Definitely was not unaffected.

 

[Tommerdoo]

2020 owner here. Failed torque converter at 94k miles. Replaced by dealer that sold it to us. Oil leak shortly after. Replaced oil plastic housing with aluminum one. Funny how exact the problems are. And yes the right CV axle throws grease. Too bad no recall. Viscount coupler was also shot. Had to pay out of pocket as we are 2nd owner. Part alone was $1100. Ouch. KIA really ought to have class actions on some of these proven and predictable fails.

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[Smolenski7]

I have a 2020 Telluride too. At 107k I had to have the transmission replaced as well. The oil filter gasket was replaced and right transaxle boot has a tear. All of the same problems.

 

[Tellthemride]

And yes the right CV axle throws grease. Too bad no recall.

My 2020 SXP also had the right front CV axle replaced at my 5 year maintenance interval due to grease leaking. I did not notice any side effects, but the technician suggested it when he performed multipoint inspection. I only have 34K miles and perform oil change every 6 months driving in new england area. Will report back how my transmission is doing in another 10 years when I finally hit 100K miles at this rate we are accumulating miles. No other powertrain related issues so far.

 

[G-609512]

2020 owner here. Failed torque converter at 94k miles. Replaced by dealer that sold it to us. Oil leak shortly after. Replaced oil plastic housing with aluminum one. Funny how exact the problems are. And yes the right CV axle throws grease. Too bad no recall. Viscount coupler was also shot. Had to pay out of pocket as we are 2nd owner. Part alone was $1100. Ouch. KIA really ought to have class actions on some of these proven and predictable fails.

Just replaced the same leaking grease axel and the leaking oil filter housing! Ironic as you say these all going out before the 100k. Oh and my transmission has started slipping a bit mainly when I speed up slow and kia of course it's all going to be out of pocket. Just trying to push the transmission replacement as long as we can.

 

[G-742842]

Our transmission's sign of failure was the torque converter would shudder the entire car and was easy to prove going up a hill between gears (i think between 2nd and 3rd but i forget). That passenger sided CV axle failure appears to be a common denominator amongst people that look under their cars and inspect the boots.

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[Toodleloo]

I’m encouraging all of you who have experienced the 2020 Telluride transmission and axle issues to report them at NHTSA.gov. This is the best way to build a case for a recall.

 

[Toodleloo]

I’m encouraging all of you who have experienced the 2020 Telluride transmission and axle issues to report them at NHTSA.gov. This is the best way to build a case for a recall.

I also drive a 2020 Telluride. My front axels are also leaking and my transmission is slipping. When I took it to the dealership, and told them the transmission was slipping, they didn’t even offer to look into it. He just asked how many miles it has (95K) and if I was the original owner (I’m not). Then the advisor said “You’re out of warranty”, and then grabbed a sheet of sticky paper, wrote down the name of a third party warranty company, and told me to purchase a warranty, drive the car for 30 days or 1,000 miles, and then the warranty would cover it. That seemed incredibly shady to me. They literally didn’t even offer to look into it or anything. I had to take it to my non-Kia mechanic.

 

[sstrack1968]

I currently drive a 2020 Telluride EX AWD. I'm having issues with the tachometer being "float" at times, by that I mean the tachometer is reading higher than usual. I pull over and shut the car off and start back up seems to fix this. I have already had the Vicious Coupler replaced under warranty. I'm also having issues with a backup sensor not working. My drivers side mirror has stop folding in when I shut off the car. I am really starting to regret buying this vehicle. Wil definitely be my only and last KIA purchase.

 

[sstrack1968]

I currently drive a 2020 Telluride EX AWD. I'm having issues with the tachometer being "float" at times, by that I mean the tachometer is reading higher than usual. I pull over and shut the car off and start back up seems to fix this. I have already had the Vicious Coupler replaced under warranty. I'm also having issues with a backup sensor not working. My drivers side mirror has stop folding in when I shut off the car. I am really starting to regret buying this vehicle. Wil definitely be my only and last KIA purchase.

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