Twin flagships, and both canaries fainted. If you want a 2020, buy the paperwork, not the badge.

The Telluride uses one engine: a 3.8-litre direct-injected V6 from Hyundai and Kia's Lambda family, internal code G6DN, shared with the Hyundai Palisade. Owners of 2020 cars describe the same thing in their own words. "This 2020 Telluride, like others, burns excessively through oil. I had to add 2.5 quarts recently and I had not hit 3,000 miles since my last oil change." "Car is burning over 2 quarts of oil every 1000 miles with no leaks, stalls at stop signs and lights. Engine needs to be recalled. No warning lights." "My 2020 Kia Telluride with the 3.8L V6 engine is experiencing excessive oil consumption between scheduled oil changes." A mechanic who dismantled one of these engines on camera found what it does to the bottom end: the oil control rings — the lowest piston rings, whose job is to scrape oil back down the cylinder — were, in his words, "totally plugged up", the engine had been "starved of oil", and the connecting rod bearings were wearing through the top shell "for less than 100,000 miles". An independent reliability review of this engine family says the same thing prospectively and puts the onset early: the rings are thin and prone to carbon build-up, and the problem "can appear as early as 60,000 mi".

Sources: NHTSA complaints and recalls, 2020 Kia Telluride, plus recalls/campaignNumber for 26V430000 (pulled 2026-07-30) · Mechanic teardown of a 3.8L Lambda II G6DN V6 at 92,000 miles, plus independent reliability-review and owner transcripts, 2020-2024 Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade

When you report the oil loss, the dealer runs an oil-consumption test: you come back every 1,000 miles and they check the level, usually four times. The threshold matters more than the test. Two independent owner accounts of this procedure, one on a Telluride and one on the mechanically identical Palisade, report being told the same figure — that anything between zero and one quart per 1,000 miles is not considered oil consumption at all. Do that sum against the car. The sump holds roughly six quarts and the factory service interval is far longer than 6,000 miles, so a car sitting exactly at the manufacturer's acceptable limit arrives at its next oil change close to empty. That is why the federal file is full of owners who passed the test and later lost the engine: "I had an oil consumption test done, at 1000 miles it was 1 qt low, they said that is normal. So I drove away, another 1000 miles later[…]" and "2020 KIA Telluride failed oil consumption test. A vehicle running on no oil will cause an engine to seize." Run the test anyway — it is free and it creates a paper trail — but do not treat a pass as a clean bill of health.

Sources: NHTSA complaints and recalls, 2020 Kia Telluride, plus recalls/campaignNumber for 26V430000 (pulled 2026-07-30) · Mechanic teardown of a 3.8L Lambda II G6DN V6 at 92,000 miles, plus independent reliability-review and owner transcripts, 2020-2024 Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade

This is where the 2020 file ends up, and the absence of a warning is the part that recurs. "Vehicle experienced catastrophic engine failure while traveling approximately 70 mph on a highway. I heard a loud popping noise and immediately lost power." "I was driving, no warning lights came on, and the car just stopped. Had it towed to a local mechanic and was told the engine froze." "At approximately 94,000 miles, my 2020 Kia Telluride EX experienced a significant internal engine failure. The vehicle was properly maintained." One filing describes a rod exiting the block: "a connecting rod punctured the engine block of no fault of my own. Kia has stated it was a manufacturing defect. This caused a vehicle fire under the vehicle." There is no free detection system standing behind this. Kia runs knock-sensor software on the Sorento's four-cylinder that stores an early-warning code before the bearings let go; there is no equivalent campaign for the Telluride anywhere in Kia's 213-document communication file for this model, and the mechanic tearing one down confirmed the hardware isn't there: "There's no knock sensors or anything."

Sources: NHTSA complaints and recalls, 2020 Kia Telluride, plus recalls/campaignNumber for 26V430000 (pulled 2026-07-30) · Mechanic teardown of a 3.8L Lambda II G6DN V6 at 92,000 miles, plus independent reliability-review and owner transcripts, 2020-2024 Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade

The Palisade uses one engine across every trim and every year in this range: a 3.8-litre direct-injected V6 from Hyundai and Kia's Lambda family, internal code G6DN, shared with the Kia Telluride. Roughly half the recent federal sample for the 2020 carries an engine tag, and the consumption cluster is the largest single thing in either badge's file. Owners quantify it: "The vehicle suffers from a severe manufacturing defect causing excessive engine oil consumption (burning more than 2+ quarts per 1,000 miles) with no warning lights or oil pressure indicator." "My 2020 Hyundai Palisade has an excessive and dangerous oil consumption defect. The vehicle consumes approximately 3/4 of a quart of oil every 1,000 miles." "Engine burning 6qts in less than 3k miles of driving." Then the endings, with mileages: "My properly maintained 2020 Hyundai Palisade suffered catastrophic engine failure at 77,000 miles." "Cylinder 1 and 6 rod bearing failure, plus complete destruction of piston number 6. On highway engine failed, sudden loss of power to move vehicle." "Premature engine fail. Excessive oil consumption due to piston ring failure. Maintenance has been done on car on regular basis. No check engine light." A mechanic who stripped one of these engines on camera — an engine out of a 2020 Palisade with 92,000 miles on it — found the cause: the oil control rings were "totally plugged up", the engine had been "starved of oil", and the rod bearings were wearing through their top shell at under 100,000 miles. He also notes what is missing: "There's no knock sensors or anything." Nothing on this car is listening for the failure on your behalf.

Sources: NHTSA complaints and recalls, 2020 Hyundai Palisade, plus recalls/campaignNumber for 26V034000 and the 2024 neighbour-year pull (pulled 2026-07-30) · Mechanic teardown of a 3.8L Lambda II V6 from a 2020 Palisade at 92,000 miles, Palisade owner transcripts documenting the dealer oil-consumption procedure, and reporting on the interior-odour investigation including Hyundai's statement

Report the oil loss and the dealer starts a consumption test: bring the car back every 1,000 miles, four times, and the level is checked and recorded each visit. A Palisade owner filmed his way through it. First visit: "we were told by the dealership to drive it for A Thousand Miles bring it back in and they would check the oil consumption. Well, we did that this morning and it's down about a half a quart, and a thousand miles for a vehicle with 50,000 miles is really not acceptable." By the third check he is at 57,244 miles, being told the test is a waste of his time, and he does the arithmetic out loud with the service advisor: "what's the service interval for Hyundai Palisade — 6,000 miles. How much oil does a Hyundai Palisade have — around six quarts. Okay, so if I go by the interval I'm going to be bringing you a car that's almost bone dry." That is the whole problem in one exchange. If a quart per 1,000 miles is treated as acceptable, and the sump holds about six quarts, and the service interval is 6,000 miles, then a car sitting exactly at the acceptable line arrives at its next oil change empty. He also asked for the threshold in writing and could not get it: "can you provide some sort of documentation that says that Hyundai allows this 1,000 mile quart of oil level? No, I've only heard it on the phone." One federal filer asserts that Hyundai's own bulletin sets the same threshold — that is the owner's characterisation, and no such document appears in this session's sources. Run the test for the paper trail. Do not read a pass as a clean bill of health.

Sources: NHTSA complaints and recalls, 2020 Hyundai Palisade, plus recalls/campaignNumber for 26V034000 and the 2024 neighbour-year pull (pulled 2026-07-30) · Mechanic teardown of a 3.8L Lambda II V6 from a 2020 Palisade at 92,000 miles, Palisade owner transcripts documenting the dealer oil-consumption procedure, and reporting on the interior-odour investigation including Hyundai's statement

There is exactly one piece of free engine coverage on this car and its edges are the whole game. Hyundai extended the warranty on the oil filter housing seal, in its own words, because Palisades "may exhibit engine oil leakage at the engine oil filter housing assembly due to deterioration of the housing seal", taking coverage to "15 years / 180,000 miles from the date of original retail delivery or date of first use (whichever occurs first)" and stating it is "valid for original and subsequent owners". The repair procedure is Hyundai's Technical Service Bulletin 26-EM-012H — a TSB is the fix instructions a manufacturer sends its dealers. Hyundai spells out what it overrides, and this is the sentence used-car buyers need: the extension applies "even if the vehicle is still within the New Vehicle Limited Warranty (NVLW) of 5 years / 60,000 miles or Powertrain Warranty of 10 years / 100,000 miles (for the original owner)". Read that parenthesis carefully. The famous ten-year powertrain warranty belongs to the first owner. The oil-filter-housing extension does not — it follows the car. The housing is the plastic assembly the oil filter screws into, and when the seal goes, oil leaves onto the road rather than through the exhaust: "plastic piece to oil housing assembly cracked and had 9 other palisades in for same exact issue. No warning lamps. Cost $519 to replace part." The line to hold: this covers the leak. It does not cover consumption, and it does not cover an engine that has already seized.

Sources: NHTSA complaints and recalls, 2020 Hyundai Palisade, plus recalls/campaignNumber for 26V034000 and the 2024 neighbour-year pull (pulled 2026-07-30) · NHTSA manufacturer communications, Hyundai Palisade (oil filter housing seal extension TSB 26-EM-012H, self-levelling rear shock extension TSB 26-SS-001H, white paint extension, seat belt buckle extension TSB 25-BE-010H, the 2020-2021 headrest odour bulletin, anti-theft campaigns 993/P32/9A5, and the 2020 service campaigns)