Complaint volume
332 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
332 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2021 Kia Telluride, grouped by component category.
332 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 40 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 17,163 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 68
VISIBILITY/WIPER 53
ENGINE 37
STRUCTURE 21
VISIBILITY 15
POWER TRAIN 13
SUSPENSION 11
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 9
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 8
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 5
332 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2024 | POWER TRAIN | Vehicle surges when at a stop. Normally RPM run about 500, when the vehicle surges the RPM's jump without notice to 1000 or more and the car acts like a race horse wanting to get out of the gate. Heavy pressure on the brake is needed at all times when stopped at a light, for a turn, at a stop sign. This started around 82K miles and was reported to the dealership. Dealership could duplicate issue and no codes were thrown. Again reported at 89.5K, 91.6K, 99.6K, 103.5K with same response from dealership. Contacted KIA and received a case number in case the issue is a warranted situation and is uncovered after 100K mile warranty expires. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The pearl white paint on my vehicle started to delaminate (confirmed by Wallace Kia Collision center). It started at approximately 24,000 miles, approximately 9 months past Kia's 3 year paint warranty. This is a known issue with the paint - pearl white, with many manufacturers affected. Kia, thus far, has refused to cover the repair. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2024 | STRUCTURE | Vehicle sunroof has become stuck in it’s tilted open position. The spoiler at the front has detached. Since the sunroof cannot close, if there is a wind, hitting the car, the sunroof can’t detach from the car at this point, and fly into another car. This issue has been reported with the numerous Kia telluride’s as seen on the Internet. It is not nearly anesthetic problem. It is a safety issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2024 | ENGINE | I am the original owner of our 2021 Kia Telluride and we follow the manufacturers recommendations and ensure our oil is changed every ~10K miles. Our Kia was recently serviced at Nationwide Kia in Timonium Maryland in April 2024 and had the oil changed. As I was driving today, [XXX] the Oil Pressure Warning Light came on. When I pulled over, I checked the dipstick and it was below the low level. I immediately put in 5 quarts of oil and the light remains on. I contacted Kia and will be taking the car in for them to assess; however, I am urging that a recall for this issue is addressed. This is a common problem that others are having as well. This could have caused significant issues as I work in the inner city of Baltimore and breaking down would not be a good thing for a [XXX] Please ensure Kia does the right thing and issues a recall for this issue. Thank you INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | While driving, opened sunroof and it got off track and exploded the sunroof. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Sunroof Deflecter broke. The small side arms plastic snapped on both sides. Sunroof won’t close flush. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2024 | VISIBILITY,STRUCTURE | Sunroof/moonroof will no longer close. It is stuck in the open position and this will cause water to enter the cabin if it rains. The vehicle was examined by the dealer and they confirmed that a component is fault and will need to be replaced. No warning lamps or additional symptoms were noticed prior to the sunroof malfunctioning. The vehicle only has 44,100 miles. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2024 | STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Was opening the sunroof and heard a popping sound. Wind deflector arm broke and now the sunroof will not close all the way leaving the risk of interior of car getting wet and creating mold since I live in an already humid climate. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I have it so the doors do not automatically unlock when I arrive somewhere. When I arrive at a destination and put the car in park, the people in the backseat cannot pull the handle to get out. If the child safety lock (which is a button on the door handle with the window and lock buttons) is ON, the back windows and the door latches do NOT work. If the child safety lock is OFF, the windows work but the door still cannot be opened using the latch. This seems like a safety issue to me, since most people will reach for the latch in an emergency, but they can't get out. I have to push the unlock button form the driver door. If it is pushed on the front passenger door, it will not unlock the back doors. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2024 | POWER TRAIN | I was driving and stopped in the center lane and the SUV would not move. I was left in an unsafe position. I was there about 10-15 min and got pushed out of the road. I turned the suv off and on a few times with no difference in response. I let the suv sit there about another 5 min and was able to move the suv and the problem has not occured today but it does seem to be shifting a little hard and have noted that recently. I saw something online about NHTSA ID numbers 11425571 and 11354498. that might be relivent but I was trying to to find more information on those. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2024 | SEAT BELTS | After sunroof repair seatbelt no longer functioning. Track seemed stuck so unable to retract seatbelt. Dealer said they had to take seatbelt apart for sunroof install and they didn’t put it back correctly. Took 2 days for repairs to be completed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2024 | VISIBILITY | Sunroof track broken, causing it unable to be closed. Dealer covered with tape until parts able to be ordered approx. 5 days later. Tape flew off while driving on highway with potential for an accident. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Sunroof is stuck open. Some plastic has broken off inside the track while simply opening the sunroof. It cannot be closed. The dealer said 'sorry we can't close it. For $4,000 we can replace the entire sunroof". This is a safety issue. I have seen on other forums this happening a lot with this model. The glass can shatter, it can fly off the tracks. This is clearly a mfg issue and not an user issue. It should be recalled or at the very least warrantied. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Track for sunroof broke and will not properly open or close. I was able to close it back but will not touch until the part can be repaired/replaced. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The sunroof will not close. Kia published a technical service bulletin (#319) in July 2023 related to this issue. The plastic wind deflector and track appear to have broken. We are unable to drive the vehicle due to inability to close (electronically or mechanically) the sunroof during any inclement weather. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The barely used sunroof made a clicking noise, and now will not open or close. It looks askew and now cannot drive in inclement weather. There seem to be many people with this issue when you google it online and deserves a recall. Thanks. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | SUSPENSION | In the summer of 2023 I started hearing a clunking noise from the rear of the vehicle that became louder when going over bumps. Took the car to the dealer and I was told the rear shocks were bad and needed to be replaced. Aug of 2023 the original shocks on the car were replaced which was premature for the average life of shocks. Then months later the same things started and I had a puddle of fluid on my garage floor. I took my vehicle back into the same dealership in June of 2024 only to find the rear shocks had failed again. This time in less than a year. Now in September, I can feel the back end getting loose when I go over bumps, which is what happened previously before the shock completely failed. The ride is continuing to regress. Up until this I thought I would go into another Telluride but the lack of longevity in the ride comfort has changed my mind. Something has to be wrong for brand new shocks to fail so shortly after installation | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I closed the sunroof and heard a noise. The sunroof would not close and looks to have came out of the track. Now it is stuck partially open. I am not able to drive in the rain. I have tried to self diagnose and it looks like the bug deflector broke and caused the sunroof to misalign. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE | Sunroof started to open and came off track and bent the tracking system beyond repair. Sunroof stuck in half open position and tilted or wedged in open position. Concern that it would fly off when driving and could not shut it to protect the interior in case of rain. There has already been a recall on the Kia Sorento sunroof moving tracking system in the recent past. This should be taken into consideration to have this be a recall on the Kia Telluride. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | POWER TRAIN | There is an ongoing problem with the AWD coupler on every model year of this vehicle and other KIA/Hyundai AWD vehicles. The problem occurs at lower speeds (35mph or less) while turning, and/or when starting from a stop turning either left or right. The vehicle produces a binding or slipping feel in the rear wheels along with a clunking noise from the rear of the vehicle. This is dangerous because the vehicle loses traction/power when its needed most during slit second decisions. Many of these couplers are failing early in the life of the vehicle. Mine is at 27K miles, however I believe the problem started long ago, closer to 15K miles. Kia knows about this issue but has failed to come up with a reliable solution. This is four model years now with the same issue. Kia has released TSB after TSB on this, and even recalled it early in the life of their debut model, the 2020. However, there are still reports of replacement parts failing again around the same amount of milage. It would be great if a wider recall can be issued to address this ongoing problem that seems to affect every model year so hopefully Kia can find a more reliable, quality part to replace the consistently failing part. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | SUSPENSION | There is an ongoing problem with the NIVOMAT self-leveling shocks on every model year of this vehicle. The problem occurs at nearly every speed but is more noticeable at lower speeds (35mph or less) while going over uneven terrain or hitting small bumps. The vehicle produces a clunking noise from the rear of the vehicle and there is no cushioning or rebounding from going over the bump or uneven terrain. Instead, there is more of a jolting knock when hitting small bumps and a constant bouncing around/floating feeling while driving over uneven terrain. This is dangerous because passengers and cargo in the vehicle gets bounced around and the vehicle gets harder to control especially at higher speeds. Many of these shocks are failing early in the life of the vehicle. Mine is at 27K miles, however I believe the problem started before and probably closer to 18-20K miles. Kia knows about this issue but has failed to come up with a reliable solution. This is four model years now with the same issue. Kia has released TSB after TSB on this, only replacing certain parts of the shock (isolators, etc.). However, there are still reports of replacement parts and even new full shock assemblies failing around the same amount of milage. It would be great if a wider recall can be issued to address this ongoing problem that seems to affect every model year so hopefully Kia can find a more reliable, quality part to replace the consistently failing part. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | My dealer installed new software that sets the parking brake when the shifter is put in the park position. When I'm driving the car and stopped at a red light and open my door to let an insect out or spit or to make sure the door was closed completely or whatever the reason, the parking brake is set even though the car is still in drive and my foot is on the brake. This is fine. However, when I close the door, release my foot from the brake pedal and press the accelerator, the parking brake remains engaged. I feel that this can lead to safety issues if a driver is not aware of why their car will not move. They can become a traffic hazard or attempt to drive their car with the parking brake still engaged. My Kia dealer said that's the way it is and they cannot do anything to change it. I also reported this issue to Kia directly but have not yet received a reply. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | STRUCTURE | The sunroof came off the track on the passenger side as I was trying to open it fully. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | BACK OVER PREVENTION,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The front bumper sensor has stopped working. This is preventing proper function of the forward collision warning and the parking collision warning. I took this to be fixed to Executive Kia of Wallinford, CT and they identified corrosion of the component as the cause of the failure. My car has had no accidents or damage to bumper so any corrosion is due to improper sealing of part, or weather proofing of bumper. An online search identified many other Kia owners dealing with this same issue. My extended warranty through Fidelity Inc sent out an inspector to review this and they are refusing to cover the cost of the fix since it is due to "corrosion." Including photos my Kia dealer mechanic sent me of the corrosion. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | ENGINE | Car was being driven when it began to slow down. Pulled over and smoke was coming from under the car. Car would not start again. Once at dealership, found there was catastrophic engine failure due to a rod that put 7 holes in the engine. Also, car was low on oil despite an oil change less than 60 days prior to this incident. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |