2020 Telluride SX well maintained but not at a dealership. History of mystery leak, steam cleaned engine told to drive it, no leak on next inspection, then suspected leak into coolant with codes, everything serviced oil change, coolant change, can't find leak for sure, told to look for signs. 3k mi after that service the engine seized, no leak to be found, no oil in engine, we had no signs until the day it died. The car apparently did have an extension on the Oil Filter Housing Gasket (they know), not a recall, I didn't get a letter and no light came on. Second owner. Kia Consumer Service would not even send me the denial in writing, "Not their policy." Dealership said if we had been servicing with them we would have "Loyalty Score" and they might have covered some of the $11k to replace the engine. Keeping Pay to Play alive Kia, real nice. I didn't service with Kia because I don'y trust the dealership shops. I was told it was the Kia District Manager who made the call.

While driving to work on a 2 lane road early morning, the 2020 Telluride just shut off. It was inoperable, and barely able to get the car off the road. Most of the car was in the road. The car completely locked up. It was very dangerous as this could've happened while passing another vehicle or I could have been rear-ended due to being unable to move car out of road. When it happened there were no warning lights, no low oil light, no engine light....nothing. It just shut off. When it was seen by the mechanic, it was reported there was no oil on the dipstick. Every required oil change has been done. The Kia dealership replaced the battery, and then the starter before they told me the engine was "locked up". After speaking with Kia they are aware of this issue with the year engine. There is a current recall on other Kia models demonstrating the same issues.

This is a very dangerous issue as it leaves the car inoperable and because of no warnings it leaves owners stranded. It is too late when the engine is done.

My 2020 Telluride began burning 1–2 quarts of oil every 1,000 miles around 85,000 miles. Despite this, no oil light ever came on. At around 89,000 miles, while traveling for work, the engine began rattling — the timing chain was making noise due to low oil levels. I checked the dipstick and found oil below the “L” line. The dealership (Kia of Alpharetta) had previously sealed the oil cap for a consumption test, but I had to break the seal and add oil on the road to avoid engine failure.

Kia Consumer Affairs confirmed oil consumption testing is allowed under warranty, but the dealership initially gave me false information saying the test wasn’t available for 6-cylinder engines. I later switched to Kia of Woodstock, submitted full service records as requested, and was told they would contact me to schedule the test. Despite multiple follow-ups, I’ve received no response. I’m now at 96,500 miles — dangerously close to the 100,000-mile powertrain warranty limit — and still waiting for help.

Meanwhile, the exhaust is now sputtering, likely due to carbon buildup. Kia’s delay and lack of accountability could leave me without coverage for a known issue that began well before the warranty expired. Their own dealership told me I’d still be covered if the process was initiated under 100k, but Consumer Affairs now says they can’t guarantee that.