No Hydraulic Lifters, Manual Valve Adjustments, Ticking?

[HardRightEdge]

I'm shopping for a mainstream 2025 3-row SUV and came across the following Car Care Nut video review of a 2024 model:

At about the 3:10 mark he discusses the "old school" absence of hydraulic value lifters with value adjustments done manually. At about the 6:40 mark he demonstrates intermittent engine ticking in this low mileage example, which he suspects is coming from somewhere in the value train. I've done some searching and didn't identify a related discussion.

Questions:

1) Has anyone encountered this ticking and at what mileage and had a diagnosis and fix if necessary?

2) Has anyone encountered an issue requiring valve adjustments and at what mileage?

3) Does anyone have a sense of how frequent these issues might be and when they tend to crop up or is this more of a one-off?

4) I'm not finding a TSB related to these issues. Anybody know of one?

I'm presuming these questions would also apply to the Palisade but if anybody doing comparisons has info on that it would be helpful.

PS: I don't see a "Transmission Discussion" section in this forum and see trans posts here in "Powertrain". Shouldn't this section be call "Drivetrain?

 

[HardRightEdge]

No responses? So, has anybody done the recommended 60k mile valve clearance inspection? Were adjustments necessary? What was the cost?

 

[MrMCar]

I decided to tackle this one over coffee this morning, and came away with what I thought was the reason for a lack of a reply.

Disclaimer: I did not watch the video. Reason; The Telluride has hydraulic valve adjusters,

The Kia/Hyundai V6 used in the Palisade/Telluride has a rather conventional setup of buckets located under the base circle of the camshafts. In the past before they made HVA's (BMW speak for hydraulic valve adjuster) they were adjustable with either; Shim under bucket, or more common; Shim over bucket.

Long ago at this point, manufacturers wanting to do away with expensive and costly maintenance utilized hydraulic buckets that automatically fill with oil and maintain a constant zero clearance to the valve stem top itself. Zero clearance equals no tappety tap noise associated with old school clearance. Much as my beloved BMW S14 & S38 engines (similar design, albeit adjusted with shims) had.

The Kia part number for the hydraulic tappet is: 22226CCA0 and can be found here:

CAMSHAFT & VALVE. 2024 Kia Telluride 3.8L AT 4WD EX | Kia USA

2024 Kia Telluride 3.8L AT 4WD EX CAMSHAFT & VALVE

parts.kia.com

Genuine Hyundai Kia Valve Lifters 22226-3CCA0 | Many Models And Years | Genuine OEM | 1 Year | L42

2024 Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy, Calligraphy Night Edition, Limited, SE, SEL 3.8L V6 - Gas. 2023 Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy, Limited, SE, SEL, XRT 3.8L V6 - Gas. 2006-2009 Kia Amanti. 2008-2012 Kia Borrego.

www.ebay.com

Ticking and/or noisy tappets are most usually a result of poor oil choices and/or extended (beyond norms) servicing intervals. Engine oil has MANY additives in the bottle. One of them deal with being able to deal with hydraulic lifters.
Tappets can also exhibit a tick noise if the vehicle is left for a very long period of time and the tappet "bleeds down". This is most usually corrected by gently driving the vehicle until the oil temperature gets fully hot (three times as long as the coolant, BTW) and a bit more. The tappets will fill with oil, purge any air pockets and once again become just about silent.
Tappets can also become noisy if the oil is badly mistreated: Too long of a service interval or overheating.
Tappets can also be just bad, it happens. Albeit not very common.

I used to have a customer; Danny Jessel (RIP Brother) of the famous Jesel Valvetrain Products. He owned and loved a high mileage BMW 7 series with a V8. He came to me, wanting me to install new tappets to solve the noise of his valve tappets. I told him to change oil to a different brand/specification (Pennzoil synthetic at the time) and drive it for a month and call me back.
He called in a couple of weeks and said that the noise was completely gone. He acknowledged that the "additive package" effectively treated the symptom.

Again, I haven't watched the video. If some guy is claiming this engine to needing valve adjustments, he must be like Scotty Kxxxx, and sensationalist, in order to get "views"??

YMMV

 

[HardRightEdge]

The Telluride has hydraulic valve adjusters,

Why does the maintenance schedule call for a valve clearance inspection at 60k miles, atypical of engines with hydraulic lifters?

I'll repeat my earlier question for anybody who had the dealer inspect and/or adjust valves per the schedule: what was the cost?

______________________________

 

[MrMCar]

Why does the maintenance schedule call for a valve clearance inspection at 60k miles, atypical of engines with hydraulic lifters?

I'll repeat my earlier question for anybody who had the dealer inspect and/or adjust valves per the schedule: what was the cost?

What would be the procedure to "adjust" a hydraulic tappet?
There's no shims and/or alternate sizes (different part numbers) to adjust.

Cut and paste from another engine?
Share the document you speak of.

 

[HardRightEdge]

What would be the procedure to "adjust" a hydraulic tappet?
There's no shims and/or alternate sizes (different part numbers) to adjust.

Cut and paste from another engine?
Share the document you speak of.

I tried to include a link to a 2025 Telluride Owners Manual download but I was blocked from posting it. Anyway, on page 8-9, at the bottom of the service intervals, the 60k mile valve clearance inspection interval is noted. I imagine every Telluride model year manual has this interval. Check yours.

There is a footnote to that interval stating, "Inspect for excessive valve noise and/or engine vibration and adjust if necessary." It has the perfunctory additional instruction to have a Kia dealer perform this service. That's what I would do if still under the powertrain warranty.

 

[KMiles]

What would be the procedure to "adjust" a hydraulic tappet?
There's no shims and/or alternate sizes (different part numbers) to adjust.

Cut and paste from another engine?
Share the document you speak of.

Here is what I see in Alldata:

Inspect:
Valve Clearance - Inspect for excessive valve noise and/or engine vibration every 56,000 miles (91,000 km) or 72 months, whichever comes first, and adjust valves clearance if necessary.

I followed the link and the only adjustment possible is to replace the tappet.

My interpretation of this is that you listen for excessive valve noise and/or observe abnormal engine vibration and if you note either one that you follow the full procedure, which in pretty invasive, and I would imagine pretty expensive.

 

[HardRightEdge]

Here is what I see in Alldata:

Inspect:
Valve Clearance - Inspect for excessive valve noise and/or engine vibration every 56,000 miles (91,000 km) or 72 months, whichever comes first, and adjust valves clearance if necessary.

I followed the link and the only adjustment possible is to replace the tappet.

My interpretation of this is that you listen for excessive valve noise and/or observe abnormal engine vibration and if you note either one that you follow the full procedure, which in pretty invasive, and I would imagine pretty expensive.

That's strange for an engine with hydraulic lifters and certainly not reassuring. I'm not convinced they are in fact hydraulic. It also begs the question of whether I'd be required to wear earplugs until 60k miles. And if perchance I forgot the plugs one day and hear the ticking it appears Kia has couched the event as "maintenance", not repair.

______________________________

 

[Jc16sanchez]

I haven’t encountered the ticking sound myself, but I’ve heard of others with similar issues, particularly in low-mileage vehicles. It seems like it could be related to the valve train, like the review mentioned, but it’s not super common. Valve adjustments aren’t something I've had to do early on, but from what I’ve read, they might crop up if the vehicle's not getting regular maintenance. As for the Palisade comparison, it should be pretty similar, but I haven’t seen any widespread issues like that either. No idea about a TSB, but if it’s not listed, maybe it’s not a widespread issue yet.

 

[KMiles]

Note that none of this conversation came from Telluride owner complaints. It is all based on the review by the CarCareNut and he mentions it along with his opinion. He is a great Toyota/Lexus mechanic and is basing his opinion without any apparent experience from working on Tellurides. I watch his YouTube videos all of the time as our other car is a Lexus and I do a lot of my own DIY work. This feels like we're looking for problems that don't seem to be big issues.

 

[Phx]

I have a 2022 with 23,000 miles so not close to the maintenance schedule's 60,000-mile valve clearance check, but when I first bought it I noticed the valvetrain noise. The dealer said the valvetrain noise is normal for the vehicle. At the time, I found a couple videos that said the engine uses solid lifters versus hydraulic. We've never had any other vehicle with a maintenance schedule item to "inspect for excessive valve noise and/or engine vibration."

 

[G-770581]

I have a 2023 Telluride and was wondering about this also, as I watched the CarCareNut video 1 year after I bought my vehicle. I now have 60K miles and hear the clicking. Is it injectors or valve train issues? Who knows. I spoke to the Kia Dealer and the uninformed service lady had no idea what a valve check/adjustment was, she kept trying to schedule me for a general 60K service appt

______________________________

 

[Deuce Man]

I decided to tackle this one over coffee this morning, and came away with what I thought was the reason for a lack of a reply.

Disclaimer: I did not watch the video. Reason; The Telluride has hydraulic valve adjusters,

The Kia/Hyundai V6 used in the Palisade/Telluride has a rather conventional setup of buckets located under the base circle of the camshafts. In the past before they made HVA's (BMW speak for hydraulic valve adjuster) they were adjustable with either; Shim under bucket, or more common; Shim over bucket.

Long ago at this point, manufacturers wanting to do away with expensive and costly maintenance utilized hydraulic buckets that automatically fill with oil and maintain a constant zero clearance to the valve stem top itself. Zero clearance equals no tappety tap noise associated with old school clearance. Much as my beloved BMW S14 & S38 engines (similar design, albeit adjusted with shims) had.

The Kia part number for the hydraulic tappet is: 22226CCA0 and can be found here:

CAMSHAFT & VALVE. 2024 Kia Telluride 3.8L AT 4WD EX | Kia USA

2024 Kia Telluride 3.8L AT 4WD EX CAMSHAFT & VALVE

parts.kia.com

Genuine Hyundai Kia Valve Lifters 22226-3CCA0 | Many Models And Years | Genuine OEM | 1 Year | L42

2024 Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy, Calligraphy Night Edition, Limited, SE, SEL 3.8L V6 - Gas. 2023 Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy, Limited, SE, SEL, XRT 3.8L V6 - Gas. 2006-2009 Kia Amanti. 2008-2012 Kia Borrego.

www.ebay.com

Ticking and/or noisy tappets are most usually a result of poor oil choices and/or extended (beyond norms) servicing intervals. Engine oil has MANY additives in the bottle. One of them deal with being able to deal with hydraulic lifters.
Tappets can also exhibit a tick noise if the vehicle is left for a very long period of time and the tappet "bleeds down". This is most usually corrected by gently driving the vehicle until the oil temperature gets fully hot (three times as long as the coolant, BTW) and a bit more. The tappets will fill with oil, purge any air pockets and once again become just about silent.
Tappets can also become noisy if the oil is badly mistreated: Too long of a service interval or overheating.
Tappets can also be just bad, it happens. Albeit not very common.

I used to have a customer; Danny Jessel (RIP Brother) of the famous Jesel Valvetrain Products. He owned and loved a high mileage BMW 7 series with a V8. He came to me, wanting me to install new tappets to solve the noise of his valve tappets. I told him to change oil to a different brand/specification (Pennzoil synthetic at the time) and drive it for a month and call me back.
He called in a couple of weeks and said that the noise was completely gone. He acknowledged that the "additive package" effectively treated the symptom.

Again, I haven't watched the video. If some guy is claiming this engine to needing valve adjustments, he must be like Scotty Kxxxx, and sensationalist, in order to get "views"??

YMMV

Telluride engine tappets are not hydraulic. Intake clearance 0.17-0.23mm. Exhaust clearance 0.27mm-0.33mm. Engine temperature 68 degrees fahrenheit
.