2023 Kia Telluride Problems: 17 Known Issues

On the 2020-2024 Kia Telluride, nHTSA recall 26V430000 (Kia SC374) covers certain 2020-2024 Telluride vehicles. A front power-seat motor may overheat because of a stuck slide knob or an improper earlier 24V407 repair, causing a fire while parked or driving. This recall replaces 24V407.

On the 2023 Kia Telluride, on certain 2023 Tellurides the wire harnesses that feed the second-row seat-mounted side air bags can be damaged during seat travel or assembly routing. A damaged harness opens or shorts the squib circuit, so the second-row side air bag will not deploy in a side impact — the occupants who most need that bag (rear passengers, often children in boosters) lose their protection. The defect frequently announces itself as an air bag warning lamp, though the recall population was defined by build data, not by whether the lamp had come on yet. This is distinct from the front seat-back frame recall on 2025 vehicles.

On the 2022-2023 Kia Telluride, the Telluride's LCD instrument cluster has failed in three separate, separately-recalled ways across 2022 and 2023 build ranges. On 2022 vehicles, excess adhesive on a circuit board inside the cluster bridges or stresses a connection so the display stays blank after startup (22V344), and an earlier 2022 batch failed for a related display-blank cause (21V577). On 2023 vehicles the cluster may fail to display any information at all when the vehicle is started (23V298). In every version the driver loses the speedometer, fuel gauge, warning lamps, and gear-position indicator — a compliance failure, not just an annoyance, because required telltales cannot illuminate. The three campaigns together cover roughly 117,000 vehicles. The screen is usually either fully dark or dark on every restart, not intermittently flickering.

On the 2020-2025 Kia Telluride, tellurides repeatedly go dead overnight or after a few days parked, with owners jump-starting and replacing perfectly good batteries only to have the problem return. The Telluride's always-on cellular telematics modem (Kia Access / UVO remote start and remote climate) never fully sleeps, and the Intelligent Battery Unit (IBU) — the module that manages charge state and load-shedding — is the second common culprit; a failing IBU or a module that will not enter sleep leaves a parasitic draw well above the ~30-50 mA target. Contributing triggers reported across the owner community include the key fob left within proximity range of the vehicle (which keeps the smart-key ECU and body modules awake), and heavy use of remote-start via the app. Dealers frequently fail to reproduce this because the draw only appears after the vehicle should have entered deep sleep — several owners report the dealership needing a month to catch it.

On the 2020-2024 Kia Telluride 3.8L Lambda II V6 (G6DH), a large share of Telluride owners report that Idle Stop & Go essentially never works, or works for a while and then stops. The system requires a state-of-charge threshold at the 12V battery (dealers commonly quote roughly 68 percent or better), adequate brake vacuum, and settled coolant and cabin temperatures — and on this vehicle the auxiliary/AGM battery ages quickly enough that ISG is often the first casualty, a useful early warning of a battery going down. A second, separate complaint is behavioral: ISG interacting with Auto Hold produces a lurch when the engine restarts, and the engine shutting down unexpectedly while maneuvering on an incline or easing into a garage. The amber rather than green ISG indicator distinguishes 'system present but not permitted right now' from an actual fault. This is not the same fault as the telematics parasitic drain, though a weak battery from that drain will also suppress ISG.

On the 2020-2023 Kia Telluride, owners across multiple model years report the center infotainment (UVO) screen freezing, going black, showing a blue 'reset' screen, or rebooting on a loop while driving, sometimes accompanied by phantom-touch behavior and loss of the backup camera. The unit often becomes unresponsive until reset with the button by the volume knob.

On the 2020-2025 Kia Telluride, telluride owners report the fixed or sliding panoramic sunroof glass exploding without any impact — typically while driving, described consistently as sounding like a gunshot followed by glass raining into the cabin. The failure mode is characteristic of tempered panoramic panels: ceramic-frit edge stresses combined with the large thin panel and body flex create a stored-stress condition where a microscopic edge flaw propagates catastrophically. Kia has faced class-action litigation over exploding panoramic sunroofs across its lineup, and the complaint volume spans the Telluride's full production run including 2024 and 2025 vehicles. There is no safety recall for this condition, so warranty coverage is decided case-by-case and glass claims are frequently denied as 'road debris'.

On the 2020-2025 Kia Telluride, the Smart Power Liftgate on EX and above fails in two related but distinct ways. The gas struts on either side of the gate weaken — often within the first year or two, and much faster in cold climates — so the gate stops closing fully, reverses partway, or drops. Separately, the liftgate drive motor/spindle unit fails outright: the gate stops responding entirely, the liftgate configuration options disappear from the infotainment settings menu, and pressing the dash liftgate button produces three beeps with no motion. Because the module drops off the network when the motor unit fails, the settings menu vanishing is the tell that distinguishes a dead motor from a weak strut. Parts availability has been a recurring frustration, with replacement struts and motors reported on backorder with no ETA.

On the 2020-2025 Kia Telluride, telluride owners report unusually high rates of windshield cracking from minor road debris that would not crack windshields on other vehicles. Over 46% of NHTSA visibility complaints for the Telluride relate to windshield cracking. Cracks typically originate from the lower passenger-side corner and spread toward the center. The issue may be related to the windshield glass thickness or tempering specification. No official recall, but NHTSA has received significant complaint volume.

On the 2023-2025 Kia Telluride, nHTSA recall 25V494000 (Kia SC347) covers certain 2023-2025 Telluride vehicles. The door belt molding trim can delaminate and detach from the vehicle, creating a road hazard for other traffic.

On the 2020-2025 Kia Telluride, tellurides develop paint bubbling and peeling at body panel seams, particularly the hood leading edge, roof rail joints, and rear liftgate seams. The issue is caused by insufficient e-coat coverage at spot-welded seams, allowing moisture to penetrate under the paint. The bubbling starts small but spreads if not addressed, eventually leading to visible rust. Dark-colored vehicles show the issue sooner. Kia has acknowledged the issue but has not issued a formal recall.

On the 2020-2024 Kia Telluride, nHTSA recall 24V214000 (Kia SC303) covers certain 2020-2024 Telluride vehicles. The intermediate shaft and right front driveshaft may not be fully engaged, which can allow the vehicle to roll away while in Park.

On the 2020-2025 Kia Telluride, the third-row seat fold-down mechanism in the Telluride jams, preventing the seats from folding flat or locking back into the upright position. The latch mechanism uses a cable-actuated release that stretches and binds over time. When the latch jams in the released position, the seat back flops freely and cannot be secured for passenger use. The issue is exacerbated by frequent folding/unfolding of the third row.

On the 2020-2024 Kia Telluride, tellurides equipped with the panoramic sunroof develop headliner sagging and separation around the sunroof opening. The headliner adhesive fails due to heat cycling from the large glass panel above, causing the fabric to detach from the backing board. The sagging starts at the edges of the sunroof opening and progresses outward. This is both a cosmetic and functional issue, as the sagging fabric can obstruct the sunroof shade operation.

On the 2020-2025 Kia Telluride, tellurides fitted with the rear self-leveling (load-leveling) shock absorbers — standard on tow-package and higher trims — develop a distinct knock, thump or pop from the rear of the vehicle over bumps and expansion joints, often accompanied by a harsh, stiff ride. Kia first addressed this with TSB CHA113 (rear shock absorber assembly noise), which replaces the rear self-leveling shock insulator and locking nut on 2020-2021 vehicles built Jan 1 2019 - Dec 1 2020. The insulator turned out to be only part of the story: owners report the self-leveling shocks themselves subsequently failing outright — losing damping, leaking oil, or losing the self-leveling function so the rear sits low or bounces after bumps. Kia later issued warranty extension WTY040 (Aug 2024) covering the rear suspension noise / firm ride condition out to 15 years / 180,000 miles, which is an unusually long extension and signals a design-level defect rather than wear.

On the 2020-2025 Kia Telluride 3.8L Lambda II V6, the 3.8L Lambda II V6 in the Telluride experiences fuel dilution of the engine oil when driven primarily on short trips (under 10 miles). Fuel washes past the piston rings during cold starts and does not fully evaporate because the oil never reaches full operating temperature. The diluted oil has reduced viscosity and lubrication properties, accelerating engine wear. The issue is more pronounced in cold climates. Oil analysis shows fuel contamination levels of 3-5% in severe cases.

On the 2020-2024 Kia Telluride, telluride owners report the air conditioning blowing warm air due to A/C compressor failure, with some vehicles having the compressor replaced more than once (often with a remanufactured unit). Common root causes are internal compressor mechanical/electrical failure or refrigerant leaks; repeat failures within warranty are documented across owner forums.