2020 Kia Telluride Interior & seats Problems

The contact owns a 2020 Kia Telluride. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V430000 (Seats); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The contact needed to add a quart of oil per week. The vehicle was taken to a certified mechanic who diagnosed that the piston in the engine was damaged from oil consumption, ultimately causing the engine failure. The engine was replaced. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and denied covering the cost of the repair. The manufacturer was not contacted about the recall. The failure mileage was 60,000.

NHTSA ID

11753074

Incident

Jul 2, 2026

Mileage

60,000 mi

Vehicle fire causing a total loss to vehicle and home

NHTSA ID

11716068

Incident

Jan 27, 2026

We have had multiple issues with this car. First the pearl white peeling off on hood and above the windshield. Second CV3 axles boots leaking on our vehicle and multiple others at the Kia dealership. Third burnin oil even with good maintenance records. 3rd sunroof won’t open or close now for no reason at all. 4th back seat now attempts to fold at random times. Even with our kids in the seat. 5th oil housing leak. 6th CEL comes on and off randomly causing it to run rough. 7th screen is now to have issues of not working right. We’ve had to pay out of pocket for multiple things. Including the paint. We’ve spoken to service department and common issue they don’t see why it’s not a recall by now. Dealership is no help. Beware

NHTSA ID

11710216

Incident

Apr 10, 2025

Our vehicle was flagged for a service campaign recall for the power seat control switch and seat slide knobs. According to the service campaign, the power seat switch back cover can be dislodged resulting in an internal misalignment of the seat motor control switch in certain conditions. When taken to the certified KIA dealership for repair on this recall, we were told the service campaign recall ONLY applied to the passenger side front power seat. The dealership therefore only made the repair to the passenger side seat. Less than 6 weeks after this repair (in Nov 2024), we discovered the driver side power seat stopped functioning in the reverse position. We could move the left driver power seat forward, but the seat would not move backward. This became a significant safety issue as once a shorter person drove the vehicle, a taller person had no means to move the seat aft to safely allow sufficient space for legs/feet on the gas/brake pedals. All other seat position functions worked normal, except for sliding the seat aft on the driver side. It simply would not move aft. The car became unsafe to drive for taller individuals and we had to take it back to our dealership to repair at our cost. The KIA dealership verified the seat failed to move in the aft position and they replaced the driver side switch assembly. The recall campaign details seemed to match the symptoms we had on the driver seat; however, our vehicle VIN only correlated the campaign to the passenger side, NOT both seats. The KIA service manager informed us to contact KIA Customer Care as he felt both seats should have been part of the recall given our issues. KIA Customer Care took note of our issue, but said there is nothing they can do since the recall was only specific to the passenger side of our vehicle. We hope this issue can be resolved for future Telluride owners who may have similar problems given KIA would only repair (as part of the recall) the passenger side & not both seats.

NHTSA ID

11630916

Incident

Nov 7, 2024

I have had been in several times to correct the recall, they noted the seat repaired under warrenty but the service advisor was stuck when retrieving my car. Headlights have need in twice and I’m being told the fix failed to correct the headlights. Wipers stop working intermittently and paint is down to bare metal along windshield and hood. This car is crap.. rear seat folds up when sitting on it and I am repiadmy told they don’t see a problem. Seats are not electric in the rear. This has a feature of an auto close from the back for loading. And it is triggered when my kids sit in it. Only the right rear captains chair.

NHTSA ID

11626442

Incident

Nov 5, 2020

Tonight I tried to open my sunroof for some fresh air while relaxing in my vehicle. My sunroof made some weird cracking noises and is jammed open. I only used my sunroof 2 to 3 times. However, it's in the stuck position and sounds like crushing glass when I try to open it. My rear right passenger folds down on its own. My grandson has been folded into the seat multiple times. I contact kia and got no resolution. This is dangerous. I went to retrieve my backpack from my backseat yesterday and when I set the sear back it made a auto sound, it slid completely forward hitting me in my face. The seat ejects by itself often and it a safety risk to my family and i. I checked kia forums only to find this is an huge issue and spoked about hundreds of times involving telluride and Sorento models. I'm afraid my sunroof glass with break.

NHTSA ID

11607880

Incident

Aug 11, 2024

I have 2 problems. The first is that my rear seats lift and move. This has been a problem since I purchased the vehicle. However I'm just reporting the issue because my grandson was injured while in his booster seat. The seat had automatically deployed and moved forward by itself 2x causing my grandson to be smashed into the passenger seat and restrained tightly by the seat belt. The back of the sear folds forward and the entire seat moves forward. Both rear seats does this. I have had incidents where my grocery would fly forward while driving because the seat had deployed. My 2nd issue is that the sensor on the steering wheel has always have issues with detecting hands on the steering wheel. I get warnings while driving to place my hands on the steering wheel. Both hands are on the wheel. However is the only certain places on the steering wheel that detects your hands?

NHTSA ID

11592255

Incident

Jun 3, 2024

The contact owns a 2020 Kia Telluride. The contact stated that the second-row rear driver’s side seat would intermittently recline and move forward independently with an occupant in the seat. The vehicle was taken to a dealer however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and opened an investigation. The contact was informed that unless the dealer replicated the failure, the vehicle could not be repaired. The failure persisted and the vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it remained. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.

NHTSA ID

11503587

Incident

Aug 1, 2021

Mileage

30,000 mi

The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Telluride. The contact stated that the front driver’s side door handle mechanism had failed and his wife was unable to open the door from inside the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the door hinge had failed due to wear and fatigue and needed to be replaced. The door handle was replaced but several months later the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 18,000.

NHTSA ID

11487931

Incident

Aug 1, 2022

Mileage

18,000 mi

My car has heated/air conditioned seats. They have started coming on by themselves. My passenger side mirror opens and closes when it wants to. The the auto off works when it wants to. I have the option of turning that feature off but it will turn off anyways. I can also hear my air condition loud and clear when I turn my car off (decompressing I am guessing) it just started when all these other problems started.

NHTSA ID

11484242

Incident

Aug 15, 2022

I dropped my phone between the seat and the console. I reached between it and got my arm caught. I tried for 15 minutes to get it out with no success. I drove myself and children to the fire station where they had to use a crowbar to push on a bar that was holding my arm. When I got my arm out, it was bloody, cut, and swollen.

NHTSA ID

11428457

Incident

Jul 27, 2021

WHILE TEST DRIVING THE VEHICLE WE ACCELERATED THE VEHICLE AND HEARD A YELL FROM MY CHILDREN IN THE BACK ROW "THE SEAT IS CRUSHING THE BABY!". OUR 5 MONTH BABY WAS STRAPPED IN THE MIDDLE SEAT CENTER ROW AND THE BACK PART OF THE SEATS FOLDED FORWARD DISLODGING THE REAR FACING CAR SEAT AND TIPPING IT UPWARD A BIT. I HAD TO EMERGENCY STOP THE VEHICLE IN MID TRAFFIC, UNBUCKLE AND CRAWL IN THE BACK SEAT TO PUSH THE SEAT BACK OFF OF MY BABY. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE FOR SURE. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE CHILDREN IN THE BACK ROW PUSHED THE SEAT RETRACT BUTTON WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS MOVING OR THE SEAT WAS NOT LOCKED BACK IN POSITION AFTER THIRD ROW ONBOARDING DUE TO MECHANICAL FAILURE OR HUMAN ERROR. PLEASE INVESTIGATE BEFORE CHILDREN ARE INJURED OR KILLED.

NHTSA ID

11183605

Incident

Mar 1, 2019

Mileage

25 mi