What is the oil consumption issue on early Palisades?

Some 2020-2021 Palisade owners with the 3.8L V6 reported consuming a quart of oil every 3,000-5,000 miles without visible leaks or smoke. Hyundai's official position has been that consumption within a certain threshold is within specification. Before buying a 2020-2021 example, check the dipstick during your inspection and ask the seller when the last oil change was and how much was added between changes. An owner who doesn't know how often they add oil hasn't been monitoring -- which is itself a red flag.

Is the Palisade worth the price premium over the Pilot or Highlander?

On a features-per-dollar basis, yes. The Palisade consistently offers more standard equipment at lower prices than either competitor. The tradeoff is a shorter reliability track record -- the Pilot has 20+ years of high-mileage data; the Palisade has five. For buyers planning to sell at 80,000-100,000 miles, the value proposition is clear. For buyers planning to own past 150,000 miles, the Highlander's track record justifies its premium.

How do I tell a well-maintained Palisade from a neglected one in photos?

The biggest tell is the engine bay. A clean engine bay on a 2020-2022 Palisade with 60,000+ miles means the owner maintained it carefully. Look for oil drips around the valve cover gaskets. Second tell: tire condition relative to mileage. A 70,000-mile Palisade on its original tires with even 4/32" across all four corners was driven gently; one with cupped rear tires was driven hard or never had alignment work.

Hyundai Palisade: What to Look For Before You Buy

The Hyundai Palisade launched in 2020 and immediately caused a problem for Toyota: here was a three-row SUV with more space, more features, and a lower price than the Highlander. Car reviewers gave it awards. Families bought it. And the used market is now full of low-to-mid mileage examples that represent genuine value -- but with a catch most listings don't mention. The Palisade uses the same Santa Fe platform but stretched, and the 3.8L V6 that powers it has an oil consumption issue tracked by owners that Hyundai has been slow to formally acknowledge. Early-production 2020-2021 examples show this most frequently. It doesn't disqualify the vehicle, but it changes the inspection approach.

What to Look For in Photos

Paint and Body

The Palisade's flat, upright rear liftgate is a magnet for parking structure dings and hatch clearance scrapes from garages built before SUVs reached this height. Look at the upper rear liftgate edge for paint strikes and rub marks. The front lower fascia's wide, flat skid plate trim piece picks up aggregate damage on unpaved surfaces and is frequently cracked or missing on examples used in rural areas. The 2020-2022 Palisade had a chrome grille surround that pits in salt-belt markets after two or three winters -- expect to see mild pitting on any northern-market example. The 2023 refresh toned down the chrome, so this is more of a concern on earlier models.

Tires

All Palisade trims run 245/50R20 tires. Those 20-inch low-profile tires are expensive: $220-280 each for quality all-seasons. At 50-series aspect ratio, sidewall damage and pothole impacts are visible as scuffs and gouges that photos capture reasonably well. Look for asymmetric wear on the inner front tire edges, which indicates alignment drift from the front suspension geometry under the vehicle's ~4,500-pound weight. Any Palisade AWD with uneven front wear needs alignment work before the tires are replaced -- otherwise you're just burning through a new set.

Interior

The Palisade competes directly with the Kia Telluride on interior quality, and both are genuinely impressive for the price. The second-row captain's chairs on SEL and above show wear at the seat side bolsters from occupants climbing past them to the third row. The quilted leather on Calligraphy trims looks premium but shows indentation marks from normal use by 40,000 miles. The blind-spot camera system (standard on most trims) has a secondary display in the rearview mirror that can develop condensation inside the housing in high-humidity climates -- check listings for any mention of foggy mirror display. Third-row seats fold flat but leave a load floor step on most trims.

What Dr. Vin Checks on a Palisade

Dr.Vin examines the upper rear liftgate edge for parking garage impact evidence, evaluates the front lower skid plate area for off-pavement use, and checks tire profile photos for the low-aspect-ratio sidewall damage common to 20-inch fitments. On 2020-2021 models, underhood photos are assessed for any oil residue near the valve covers that might indicate the tracked 3.8L consumption issue.

How It Compares

The Kia Telluride is the Palisade's platform twin and typically priced within $500-1,500 of the Palisade at comparable trim levels. The Telluride commands a slight premium in most markets because Consumer Reports rated it higher and it has slightly better brand perception in the three-row SUV segment. Mechanically, they are virtually identical -- choose based on styling preference and trim-level value. The Toyota Highlander is typically $3,000-5,000 more expensive used, holds value slightly better, and has a stronger multi-decade reliability track record, though it offers less space per dollar than the Palisade.