While driving, the silver siding flew off of my vehicle, the piece that covers the door handle manual key entry also fell off and I found it run over, crushed in a mall parking lot.
Kia Telluride door locks problems
12 of the 2,089 owner complaints about the Kia Telluride describe doors won't lock, open or latch, most of them for the 2020 model year.
- owner complaints
- 12
- worst model year
- 2020
By model year
- 20241
- 20231
- 20224
- 20212
- 20204
Often reported together
What owners say
I am reporting a safety issue with my vehicle’s electronic door locking system. Vehicle: 2022 Kia Telluride SX Prestige with Nightfall Edition Issue: The door locks randomly unlock on their own multiple times without any input. This behavior happens specifically when the child safety lock is enabled. While driving or after locking the vehicle, the locks will unexpectedly unlock, creating a serious safety and security concern. Safety Concern: This issue poses a risk to passengers, especially children, because doors may unlock unexpectedly while the vehicle is in motion. It also creates a security risk when the vehicle is parked, as the car cannot be reliably kept locked. Additional Notes: I have seen multiple similar complaints from other Telluride owners reporting the same behavior. This appears to be a recurring defect rather than an isolated incident. I am requesting that this issue be investigated for a potential defect and safety recall.
Driver's exterior key door lock fell off. Cannot use key door lock.
The door locks will continually cycle to unlock on their own for up-to 90 seconds and then an error reads in the dashboard "child safety lock failure." Once that error occurs, the rear doors can be opened from the inside or outside of the vehicle when the child safety lock should be properly functioning. This error has been occurring for more than two years, and we have video of it occurring on many occasions. The dealership will not resolve the error unless they witness the error occurring. We've had it at service at least six times and they claim they cannot duplicate the error. The error occurs daily when the car is in our possession. I have researched this and found many Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade owners who have experienced the same problem and it is always traced to the rear door lock actuators being faulty.
The contact owns a 2022 Kia Telluride. The contact stated that after his wife had parked the vehicle and left the front driver's side door opened while there were two passengers in the rear seats. The contact stated that his wife unloaded the vehicle and walked towards the front door. The contact's mother-in-law and daughter who were in the residence noticed that the vehicle was rolling back and alerted the contact's wife, who turned around and ran after the vehicle. The vehicle crashed into the rear passenger's side of another parked unoccupied vehicle. The vehicle continued to roll back until it crashed into a palm tree. The contact stated that none of the passengers occupying the rear seats sustained injuries. The vehicle was driven back to the driveway. The contact stated that the front driver's side door which was opened at the time of the incident, became bent and damaged. Additionally, the rear of the vehicle was damaged. The contact stated that the incident was recorded by his front door camera. No police report was filed. The vehicle was then towed to an autobody repair shop to be repaired. The contact stated that the recall of the federal safety agency Campaign Number:Â 24V214000(Power Train) was previously completed on the vehicle; however, the recall remedy failed to fix the failure. The dealer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was filed. The contact sent a recording of the incident to the manufacturer, but the manufacturer denied assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 36,000.
I have it so the doors do not automatically unlock when I arrive somewhere. When I arrive at a destination and put the car in park, the people in the backseat cannot pull the handle to get out. If the child safety lock (which is a button on the door handle with the window and lock buttons) is ON, the back windows and the door latches do NOT work. If the child safety lock is OFF, the windows work but the door still cannot be opened using the latch. This seems like a safety issue to me, since most people will reach for the latch in an emergency, but they can't get out. I have to push the unlock button form the driver door. If it is pushed on the front passenger door, it will not unlock the back doors.
The contact owns a 2021 Kia Telluride. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the rear door latch was not operating properly, and the door failed to close as intended. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the wiring harness had melted. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 19,000.
This started in July/August. I went in to get into my car and noticed that although my car was making the sound of unlocking, it wasn’t unlocking. Neither the key fob or pressing the button on the door handle would unlock my car. I manually used the key to get in. Once I got in, I had a rear collision warning on my dash and was unable to shift from park. I overrode the shift mechanism and took it to a mechanic. They hooked it up to a reader and was tracking down the error when all of sudden the error code disappeared, and they were unable to progress. I left there and drove to work without issues. Two days later (Saturday) it happened again. I disconnected the negative battery cable and waited a few minutes before I hooked it back up. It was fine for about a month and then it started happening again. This time I tried the battery cable again and it worked for a while, but it started to happen more regularly. I took it to a Kia dealer but they were unable to replicate it. They said if it happens again record it and send a the video. Two days later it happened, and I sent them a video. I took my car back to the dealer and it has been there 11/9. In between visits, it happened, and I overrode the shift mechanism and I noticed my dash lights were almost out as well as the other issues. I believe I know what the issue is. I noticed this only happens when it’s cool in the early morning and then, when the sun comes up, there is an abundance of moisture on the inside windshield. I believe that heavy moisture is shorting out the electronics in my dash. I’ve never had an issue when it rains or midday. It’s probably why this has been so noticeable in the fall early winter. We have lots of mornings in the 30’s and they quickly warm up when the sun comes out. I have read some online forums that talk about the condensation issue with the Kia Telluride. I haven’t found any that talks about the electronic issue however.
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.
Dash gage cluster (tach, speedometer, fuel, and engine temp) all go to zero while driving. The digital speedometer readout is also zero. Basically the entire dash is dead minus the entertainment system which functions perfectly.This also shuts down all adaptive cruise and collision avoidance systems. Restarting the vehical will not bring dash instruments back. Ocassionally cycling to door locks and or disconnecting negative battery lead will bring dash instruments or they will begin randomly begin functioning again on their own. They always malfunction and come back as an entire cluster. I also have video of the vehical in motion with the instruments dead.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Kia Telluride door locks
Which Kia Telluride years have doors won't lock, open or latch problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2020 (4 complaints), 2022 (4 complaints) and 2021 (2 complaints).
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