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2021 Kia Telluride mirror problem

caramel_5

New member
Joined
Jul 29, 2025
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Hey everyone, hoping you can help me out with a weird issue on my aunt's car.

She's got a really nice, high optioned 2021 Kia Telluride, but it's having a super annoying quirk.

Her passenger side view mirror just won't consistently unfold when she starts the car. Sometimes it does, sometimes it just stays stubbornly folded in.

She has to manually push it out, which is obviously a pain.

Of course, this is happening just outside of warranty, because why wouldn't it? Haha

I want to help my aunt a bit, before she takes it to the dealership and they charge an arm and a leg, I figured I'd ask here

So, has anyone experienced this with a Telluride or another Kia?

Also, does anyone know of a potential DIY fix for a sticky power folding mirror, or is this usually something more serious? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
 
I've heard of similar power mirror quirks with various makes, not specifically Tellurides, and I know it can be so frustrating, especially after just going out of warranty! Sometimes it's as simple as a slightly gummed-up mechanism inside, or possibly a minor electrical issue like a loose connection or a weak actuator motor that's just starting to go.

Before the dealership visit, you could try thoroughly cleaning around the pivot point of the mirror with some compressed air and then lubricating it with a silicone spray. Don't use WD-40 because it can attract dust! Cycle the mirror a few times manually after that to work it in. If that doesn't help, it might be worth checking the fuse related to the mirrors, just in case there's an intermittent power issue. Though if it works sometimes, it's not a blown fuse.

If those don't pan out, it's likely an internal component issue. I don't know how confident you or your aunt is but some are brave enough to try disassembling the mirror housing, but it can be delicate work! Hopefully, one of the simpler fixes does the trick for her!
 
I've seen this a few times on Kias. Usually it's either a sticky pivot joint or the little folding motor starting to wear. Sometimes spraying a tiny bit of silicone lubricant into the hinge and cycling it a few times fixes it. If that doesn't help, the motor itself might be going, which is a bigger DIY job but doable if you're comfortable pulling the door panel
 
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