Complaint volume
315 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2021 Kia Telluride Complaints
315 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2021 Kia Telluride, grouped by component category.
315 Total complaints
7 Crash reports
4 Fire reports
6 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are unknown or other, visibility/wiper, engine. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 7 crash reports, 4 fire reports, 6 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 37 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 11,798 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to unknown or other, visibility/wiper, engine?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2021 Kia Telluride?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2021 Kia Telluride
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2021 Kia Telluride complaints?
7 Crash
4 Fire
6 Injury
0 Fatality
8 Towed
5 Medical attention
What are the most common 2021 Kia Telluride complaint categories?
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 66
VISIBILITY/WIPER 52
ENGINE 33
STRUCTURE 20
VISIBILITY 14
POWER TRAIN 13
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 9
SUSPENSION 9
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 8
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 5
315 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | What happened: The analog speedometer and digital speedometer were not working. I was driving the car and I would be moving but my speedometer and digital readout remained at 0 mph even with my RPM showing as moving. All other gages and read outs were working except for speed. Safety risk for myself and others: I was unaware of how fast I was driving Problem also happened once prior a few weeks ago I put the car into Park and put back into Drive and it fixed it. This time however when I tried that it did not fix the issue. I even tried turning the car off and back on and it did not fix the issue. The issue was fixed after waiting until the next day to drive and when I got in to drive it worked again. Unable to repeat the issue as it is happening sporadically and does not seem to have a specific cause. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to failure. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | The front windshield cracked. There was no known hit by an object and the windshield has cracked on the passenger side and continues to grow. Visibility is reduced due to this crack and it is a known issue in the 2020 model year and it appears to be continuing in the 2021 model year. The windshield will need replacement. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Two chips are in the windshield . Low speed. Then the windshield cracked. At low speed and nothing hit the windshield. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Windshield chipped very easily when driving on the highway. Only have 2000 miles on here. Reading this model has this issue commonly | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2021 | VISIBILITY | The windshield on my vehicle chips and crack easily. It is a common problem among other Kia Tellurides as well. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The sunroof exploded on us driving down the highway. We had the sunroof close, but the shade was open so glass fell down on us when driving. There was a loud pop when this happened, but we didn't see any objects flying towards our car before this happened. Looking this issue up, it appears to have happened to other owners of this car. Glass hit me in the face while driving at highway speeds, luckily I remained in control of the car. There were no other symptoms prior to this happening, and the car was taken into the dealer for inspection afterwards. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | UNKNOWN. Crack on the windshield appeared overnight. Starts at the top of the windshield and comes down the center, affecting visibility. Vehicle did not provide any warning or indication prior to the crack. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2021 | VISIBILITY | Windshield cracked while driving starting at drivers side edge under trim propagating left to right across half the windshield. There was no impact from an object; simply stress crack. This has been shown to dealer and confirmed by the glass shop they use as “no impact” crack. It affects safety because it is directly in drivers vision and is blinding when the sun reflects and refracts through the crack. No action taken by dealer to replace the windshield. Seems clear that this is a defect. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 3 cracks from separate small rock incidents in one week period on front windshield. Never had a crack on any of my cars in 10 years and in a week I got 3 different ones at different times with the Telluride. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | While driving at speed no more than 55mph a small pebble hit my windshield by the mirror and created a small chip that within minutes changed into full blown crack on my windows. It’s a SAFETY issue. There is no option of fixing the windshield it needs to be replaced. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2021 | SERVICE BRAKES | The brakes on my 2021 Kia Telluride failed while pulling into my side entry garage. The Telluride's brakes went limp, losing pressure and dropped to the floorboard. The Telluride crashed into the interior of the garage, coming to a complete stop after slamming into the foundation of the house. Once stopped, the Telluride could be put in park and braking was restored. Home surveillance captured the event and it is available for viewing at: https://youtu.be/AdJ6tXyK57k | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| Sep 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER,LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | On my wished a small object hit my windshield on the passenger side and within an hour it spread more by the best day it was almost on the driver side of the windshield. Second, the forward collision and lane departure lights came on. I took the SUV to Kia they said it was an issue with the camera and they where going to order the part and replace it for me. It seem I was not the only one with this issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2021 | VISIBILITY | The contact owns a 2021 Kia Telluride. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, he heard an abnormal popping sound coming from the vehicle. The contact was able to drive the vehicle home and upon inspection, he discovered that the sunroof glass had exploded without incident or impact. The contact called the dealer and reported the failure. The contact was informed that a representative would call him back with more information. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 8,137. | Crash: No Fire: No | 8,137 |
| Aug 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | The windshield cracked spontaneously on its own. There is no chip in the windshield and no object hit it. The crack is over twenty inches long and curved. I fear for my safety driving the car now. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Closed rear hatch door with button on dash (because button on hatch door only works if key is in hand)/walked back to rear of car to walk around/door was still closing and landed forcefully on my head, hitting it 3 times, with no ‘obstacle in path’ safety response, and knocking my feet out from under me, landing me on my butt/door hit head so hard I saw stars, became light-headed, shot pain through my neck/left three bumps on my head, and a headache that has lasted for 3 days/If this had hit a child, we’d be having a much different conversation/The hatch never did release and return to an open position/It continued to close. | Crash: No Fire: No Injuries: 1 Medical attention | Unknown |
| Aug 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | A small foreign object hit our windshield and created a small chip on our brand new 2021 Kia Telluride (bought in April). When the repair company (that was sent out by insurance) came out repair the small chip the windshield cracked even further when the technician put pressure on the chip to repair which is now resulting in a full replacement. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2021 | VISIBILITY | Car was parked in the driveway as usual. Next day, went out for evening supermarket run. Foot long crack appears. Check cameras, no one came by and nothing hit it. Awesome. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Speedometer, both analog and heads-up display failed to work while operating the vehicle. I pulled over to see if turning it off then back on would correct it, and it did not. I have a video I was unable to upload. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I was driving my car at about 35 mph when suddenly the window in the rear door behind the driver's seat exploded, crumbling into countless pieces and shards. I saw nothing hit the window. I called Murray Kia in Conshohocken, PA, today, who said he could do nothing to replace the window. He also tried to refute my statement that the glass pieces had left about a dozen scratches in the paint. He had no idea what kind of glass Kia uses in these windows, despite the fact that he is David Murray, owner of the dealership. I believe this to be a safety issue and that Kia needs to correct their manufacturing processes. Tempered glass should not shatter unless defects develop during manufacturing and/or installation. Attached below are picture of the window frame with small pieces of glass to show that the glass is missing. We wrapped the window in plastic until the glass can be replaced. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The instrument cluster failed in less than 30 days on my new 2021 Kia Telluride LX. Bought the vehicle with only 9 miles on it and I am shocked to take in for service so soon. The engine starts up and the car drives but none of the gauges light up or work in the instrument cluster. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Windshield cracked. No noticeable rock hit, but does have small pit near drivers side. Started small 4 “ or so, but now crack has grown across the whole drivers side. Directly in line of vision. Touching the windshield makes it crack more | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | WINDSHIELD GLASS ISSUEs Purchases Telluride 5/23/21 First chip on drivers side (lower area) repaired 5/25. Slightly visible. Second chips (2) on passenger side (lower area)-medium chips with some spidering: repaired 6/23 but still visible. Third chips (2) center windshield below the rear view mirror-large and spidering. Very visible and right near sight lines. To big for repair. Requesting replacement 7/24. Waiting for confirmation to replace. Safelite Auto Glass has been very responsive and do a nice job on all repairs. Did mention to Mark Kia in general conversation about glass issues. I was told not covered under warranty. I will be back to Mark Kia this week for oil change and will mention to them again. The safety concern is that this has all happened within 2 1/2 months of owning the brand new vehicle. The constant repairs and concern about driver and passenger safety is disheartening. My request it so see if this is ‘normal’ or an ongoing issue with Tellurides? The expensive replacement and interruption to driving is also a concern. I have replaced 1 windshield in my many decades of driving and find these windshields may be defective in design, angle and thickness. Please check into this safety concern. Thank you. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2021 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | I'M REPORTING A FUEL TANK FAILURE WHERE FUEL STARTED LEAKING FROM THE SEAL OF TANK (see photos). MY SAFETY & SAFETY OF MY KIDS WAS PUT AT RISK, AS THIS COULD HAVE LIKELY CAUSED A FIRE.THE VEHICLE WAS INSPECTED BY THE DEALER WHO CONFIRMED & STATED THAT THE SIDE OF GAS TANK DEVELOPED A HAIRLINE CRACK ABOUT 1-2 INCHES (see dealer photo) FROM A ROAD HAZARD CAUSING IT TO LEAK A DROP OF FUEL EVERY 10 SECONDS, THIS CREATING A POTENTIAL FIRE/EXPLOSION HAZARD. THOUGH FUEL LEAK PROBLEM IS CONFIRMED BY THE DEALER, THEY ARE TRYING TO PUT BLAME THAT AN OBJECT CAUSED A STRIKE AND CREATED THE CRACK. HOWEVER, FROM THE PHOTOS TAKEN BY ME, CLEARLY SHOWS LEAK COMING FROM THE SEAL WITH NO SURROUNDING SURFACE DAMAGE. I'M UNKNOWN OF TIMING WHEN THIS PROBLEM OCCURRED BUT NOTICED THIS ISSUE INTO 5 MONTHS AFTER PURCHASING THE VEHICLE FROM THE DEALERSHIP. THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED BRAND NEW, FIRST OWNER. I BELIEVE THIS PROBLEM OCCURRED DO TO MANUFACTURING DEFECT (POSSIBLE DUE TO EITHER POOR CONSTRUCTION OR PRESSURE OF THE SINGLE ONE BAR HOLDING THE TANK IN PLACE). THE GAS TANK ONLY HAS ONE BAR IN THE MIDDLE HOLDING THE ENTIRE UP THE TANK, THIS COULD HAVE LIKELY CAUSED THE CRACK DUE TO PRESSURE WITH CONSTANT USAGE OF VEHICLE. AS STATED PRIOR, THE VEHICLE PRESENTS WITH NO HIT OR INCIDENT, SO UNLIKELY TO HAVE THIS HAPPENED DUE TO DAMAGE. DEALER DENIES ISSUE COULD HAVE BEEN A DEFECT AND STATES DUE TO A CRACK FROM ROAD HAZARD, AGAIN THERE IS NO IMPACT/HIT MARKS ON THE SURFACE OF TANK OR NEAR CRACK. IN ADDITION, NO WARNING LAMP OR MESSAGE CAME ON TO NOTIFIED ME OF THIS POTENTIAL TREAT. THE DEALER MECHANIC & SUPERVISOR WAS MADE AWARE OF THIS. I AM CONCERN ABOUT THE SAFTEY OF THIS VEHICLE AS IT CAN BE A HAZARD & THE BEGINNING OF SERIES OF COMPLAINTS AGAINST THIS PARTICULAR MODEL OF KIA CAR, AS EVIDENT FROM OTHER KIA MODELS WHERE THE FUEL TANK WAS REPORTED LEAKING AS WELL. PLEASE MAKE AWARENESS TO THIS POTENTIAL PROBLEM FROM THE KIA TELLURIDES , AS THIS IS A NEWLY MANUFACTURED VEHICLE. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2021 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | This car is very dangerous to drive at night particularly when making turns. There is a total blackout when turning on darker roads. Obviously test drives are done during the day so you wouldn't notice this problem. After reviewing a Telluride Forum this was apparently a problem on the 2020 vehicles that has not been addressed by Kia. Some members of forum have suggested switching front headlights out to LED but that is not a good option as I live in an area where visibility can be made worse with LED when snowing. Had I been aware of this problem never would have purchased this car. Very scary to drive at night. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2021 | POWER TRAIN | I DROVE MY BRAND NEW TELLURIDE OFF THE LOT WITH APPROXIMATELY 12 MILES ON IT. ABOUT A MONTH AFTER HAVING IT I NOTICED THE FOLLOWING: WHEN ENTERING A HIGHWAY FROM ABOUT 20-25 MPH, THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT GRADUALLY ACCELERATE ALLOWING ME TO ENTER THE HIGHWAY. AS I CONTINUE TO PRESS THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL THE RPMS WOULD EVENTUALLY JUMP UP AND THE VEHICLE WOULD LAUNCH ITSELF FORWARD. REACHING 5000-6000 RPMS. WHEN I LET OFF THE ACCELERATOR THE ENGINE WOULD DOWNSHIFT SIMILAR TO A MANUAL TRANSMISSION AND WOULD JERK AS IT CHANGED GEARS AND THE RPMs DECREASE. ADDITIONALLY, WHEN CREEPING IN TRAFFIC I NOTICE JERKY AND HESITATION FROM THE ENGINE/TRANSMISSION. THIS IS QUITE DANGEROUS AS ONE TIME IT ALMOST LAUNCHED ME INTO THE BACK OF THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME. MERGING ONTO A HIGHWAY IS ALSO QUITE DANGEROUS AS I AM NOT CONFIDENT THE VEHICLE WILL ACCELERATE WHEN I ATTEMPT TO MERGE. I HAVE TAKEN IT TO A DEALERSHIP AND HAD THE TECHNICIAN DRIVE IT AND HE CONCURRED THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM. THE DEALERSHIP HAS TRIED WORKING WITH THE MANUFACTURER BUT TO NO AVAIL AFTER 3 MONTHS. NOW THE DEALERSHIP WON'T EVEN CALL ME BACK. THE DEALERSHIP, VIA THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE MANUFACTURER, HAS RESET "ADAPTIVE VALUES" AT LEAST 3 TIMES, BUT THAT DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. THERE ARE NO WARNING LIGHTS OR MESSAGES OF A PROBLEM. WHILE QUITE NOTICEABLE, THIS PROBLEM IS EVEN MORE NOTICEABLE WHEN IT IS IN SPORT MODE. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |