tranny cooler with tow package

[2020Telly]

That's what I would expect to see if I were adding an aftermarket HD Tranny cooler to an older radiator. If this little part is indeed the Transmission Cooler that the Palisade advertises and the Telluride may have but does not advertise, I have to believe that the transmission fluid and radiator that Kia and Hyundai are using just needs this little device to make it perform to spec.

 

[bruesjoh04]

@bruesjoh04 Since you have the ability to park your Telluride and Palisade side by side and compare, would you be able to open the hood and see if you can identify is there is something that looks like a transmission cooler under/near the battery tray of the Palisade or connected to the radiator, and if it looks like the same as the Telluride? tranny cooler with tow package

I was finally able to get under the hood and take a look. I won’t pretend I’m very mechanically inclined, but assuming that is the actual part (which I’m guessing it is because it looks like the part diagrams posted above and is connected to the radiator), it is exactly the same on the Palisade.

It’s nearly impossible to get a good picture of these due to it being placed down so far, plus it is difficult to get good lighting.

Although we’ve seen it before, here is the Telluride:


And then here is the Palisade. Please pardon the shadows from the hoses since I was shining a light in there to help a little bit.

Basically the only difference you’ll see in these pictures is the appearance of the hoses, they’re given a slightly different treatment in the Hyundai, but I would assume are functionally the same.

Anyway, hopefully that will help confirm that the Telluride has the same transmission cooling capability as the Palisade despite not calling it out in any spec sheets. It would make sense, seeing that both vehicles have the same tow rating for every model, there is no distinction for regular vs having a towing package.

 

[joelpend]

The device must access the coolant/water jacket in the engine block, hopefully where the cooler water is entering from the radiator and acts as a heat exchanger to cool the tranny fluid if it is hotter than the coolant.

 

[Palisader]

Tranny oil cooler works the same as an oil cooler. lol. Theres no radiator fluid or coolant in there. its just oil.

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[Palisader]

Someone should do a comparison of a palisade with the tow package and a telluride. Instead of a regular palisade and a telluride. Every automatic transmission has an oil cooler. Just verifying if the palisade with the tow package being a heavy duty one would be nice.

 

[bruesjoh04]

Someone should do a comparison of a palisade with the tow package and a telluride. Instead of a regular palisade and a telluride. Every automatic transmission has an oil cooler. Just verifying if the palisade with the tow package being a heavy duty one would be nice.

Every single Palisade manufactured has a “trailering package” (full pre-wiring, transmission cooler, sway control). It only has the ability to add an optional hitch. Each Palisade has the same engine/cooling setup. Higher-end models (SEL w/ Convenience package and above) come with the self-leveling rear suspension – it’s not tied to any tow package like the Telluride.

From what we’ve been able to deduce, the Telluride has the same transmission cooling setup, it just isn’t called out like it is on the Palisade. It makes sense, given that there are no differences in Palisade or Telluride tow ratings, regardless of model or package.

It doesn’t matter if you get an LX FWD and go add a hitch yourself, or have an SX AWD Prestige with the factory tow package. Your tow rating is still exactly the same. Because your drivetrain and cooling capability is exactly the same.

 

[shane2k]

Got feedback from Kia Support.

========================

Thank you for contacting Kia Canada Customer Experience.

All Tellurides are equipped with a cooler/warmer for the transmission oil.

If you have any additional questions or concerns you may wish to contact Kia Canada's Customer Experience Department directly by calling 1-877-542-2886,
from Monday – Friday, 8:30 am – 7:30 pm Eastern Standard Time.
We appreciate the time you took to communicate with us.

Respectfully,

Arthur Abranches

Customer Experience Representative
Kia Canada Inc.
========================

 

[G-Man]

I believe we have confirmed it has a transmission cooler and even have the part number but no one has put eyes on where it is.

Tranny Cooler

Has anyone added a tranny cooler to their telly? And if so which hose was was the supply and which was the return? Where did you mount it?

tellurideforum.org

Trans Oil Cooler for 2020 Kia Telluride | Kia Parts Accessories

www.kiapartsaccessories.com

The debate is whether the cooler is enough when towing or some people are suggesting that it requires a heavy duty one (or second one) because Kia doesn’t advertise the current one and only say that the vehicle is rated to tow 5,000lbs. I see this as a change in times. Maybe it use to be that trucks and smaller SUVs advertised heavier duty transmission coolers as part of the towing package to hide the fact that without the towing package they only had a radiator or put in a cooler not rated for towing. But now it’s just standard?

I think this is just some confusing marketing. If you look at older Kia models (Sedona and Sorento) that were only rated for 1,650 or 3,500 in towing, some other forums complain that those vehicles didn't have transmission coolers so they had to go and buy aftermarket ones. But maybe since Kia is advertising on all trims of the Telluride as capable of towing up to 5,000 with just the two option (Hitch and harness) that is in part because they added a transmission cooler standard and don't feel a need to mention it like the Hyundai Palisade does?

I plan to just stick to the Kia branded transmission fluid and if I were doing lots of towing, plan to flush on a somewhat regular basis. But if you are super worried and are a serious 5,000lb tower, get an oil temp gauge or OBD reader to monitor temperature and if you are really worried, consider adding something like a Flex-a-lite secondary cooler for a couple hundred $s if you simply don't trust that Kia spec'ed the engine and transmission accordingly.

Does anyone know what this part is right below the battery that appears to be connected to the radiator? I don’t know any better but it looks to me like 25620-1U500.

you are on the money, that's why I asked the question, even if I wasn't towing anything, the cooler would be a plus !!

So, Does the 2021 Telly tow package have the heavy duty tranny cooler?

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[bruesjoh04]

So, Does the 2021 Telly tow package have the heavy duty tranny cooler?

If every 2020 Telluride has one (regardless of towing package), why wouldn’t every 2021? There have been no mechanical changes.

 

[miamibeachsteve]

If every 2020 Telluride has one (regardless of towing package), why wouldn’t every 2021? There have been no mechanical changes.

I've learned to not assume. The 2007 Toyota Sienna had tranny cooler but not my 2008! why- I'm not sure!

 

[Sharnhorst]

It would appear to me from what I see under the hood of my SX with tow is it has the everyday run of the mill water to oil cooler in the radiator. But in addition to that it was water to oil manifold that is mounted on the engine block as show in the picture above. Which if I had to guess that would be the warmer they Kia said it had. The Telluride does not have a extra external air to oil cooler that everyone is asking about.

 

[Ahmad kaisi]

I have monitored the Kia Telluride 2020 automatic transmission temperature with OBD2 and it goes down to 212 ° F. Under normal operating conditions, how is it the case when towing or climbing hills? This means that the coolant is not enough. We need to know the normal temperature range

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[Georgebasha]

I would think the simplest way to measure is to find an OBD reader compatible with the Kia Telluride that monitors max coolant temperature. I imagine you can just drive and tow and see if you stay under the recommended ~220. You‘ll know then if the Kia transmission cooling system is keeping the Kia fluid within a safe range and there is no need to install an additional cooler.

as far as I learned somebody did such a test and the temp went to 300 f

 

[Bilt.K5]

Did we ever figure this thread out? Is there a larger or 2nd part to get to that 5500# number?

 

[2020Telly]

Did we ever figure this thread out? Is there a larger or 2nd part to get to that 5500# number?

I think it's a math equation that was used to hype a spec. Increase the height by an inch, change the wheels and tires and maybe reinforce the bumper a little and you could theatrically go from 5,000 to 5,500. But until someone shows a part list with a different tranny cooler, I'm not convinced they improved the spec since the tongue weight is still only 500 which is 10% of 5,000, not 550 lbs of max tongue weight. They just chose to highlight something that comes on all models. Like when they say that the AWD is combined with torque vectoring cornering control, but the Telluride's TVCC is brake based and included on all trims and both drivetrains (AWD and FWD). It might be that combined with AWD it works really well, but people interpreted it as you need to get AWD in order to get TVCC.

I love my Telluride, but if you are trying to squeeze out an extra 500 by adding OEM parts, you would be best suited by just forgetting about any warranties and going to a proper suspension shop to build something completely custom. At that point, with the money you will spend, you probably should be considering a truck based SUV or a large truck for more serious towing purpose built for 6,000+.