— A 2020 Kia Telluride headlight recall has closed down a federal investigation into why Kia Telluride owners reported losing the high-beam headlights without warning.
And once the headlights died, Telluride drivers couldn't reactivate the lights, leaving drivers with only the low beams in the dark.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation in January 2023 following 23 complaints which alleged the 2020 Kia Telluride high-beam headlights fail while driving at night.
Owners also claimed the only fix was to replace the headlight units.
And without a Kia Telluride headlight recall, owners complained dealers wanted as much as $3,000 to replace both headlight assemblies.
Federal investigators found one halogen bulb provided light for both the low-beam and high-beam headlight, a halogen bi-function projector beam used in Tellurides built between January 2019 and November 2019.
NHTSA learned heat generated by the halogen bulb will damage the gear mechanism and the shutter’s electric motor won't be able to move the shutter to the open position to reveal the high-beam headlights.
In March 2024, a 2020 Kia Telluride headlight recall was announced to inspect the high-beam headlight shield gear mechanism.
Kia dealers were also told to apply clips to secure the shield gears to the shafts, or replace the headlight assemblies with components resistant to heat damage from the halogen bulbs.
Safety regulators believe the 2020 Kia Telluride headlight recall will fix the problem.