My Kenwood kdc-252u will shut off if I have the volume past 22. Also the sound becomes distorted at higher volumes. What's wrong and how do I fix it?

Your speakers may say 350 watts but that is the peak wattage at which they blow up and not a wattage they can sound distortion free at. Look for the RMS wattage which is probably around 40 watts. If you look at the specs on your receiver you will see it will put out a maximum of about 50 watts but the distortion on the receiver is above 1 percent at anything over 22 watts. That means they are going to start distorting at around half volume. The other thing you might check for is a impedance mismatch between the speakers and the receiver. Is the receiver set up for an impedence output of 8 ohms but your speakers are 4 ohms impedance.

it can be fixed. try to check all the connections.

Delete the DS Store files if you copied the files over from a Macintosh. How to Fix Kenwood Stereo MP3 file errors Hamell net

Have you tried hooking up a test speaker that is not installed in the vehicle to see if the outputs work correctly?

Sounds like you need to send it in for service.
Kenwood Service

speaker voice coils could be overheating as amp is too powerful for them or it could be the same thing except the amp!

a few things...your speakers may not be a perfect match for the unit. at high volume where the radio starts to distort there is an internal protection circuit that protects the radio...it's kicking in.
solution.  Buy a power amp and take the load off of the radio.

there buggers rewire the earth/ground

make sure you have 12 volts into the radio at high volumes mine shuts off when i turn it up over 25 due to power draw

Your ground is weak or your running your radio at low voltage. Good Luck