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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2023 | SEAT BELTS | The driver seatbelt screw came out from the wall at the base of the car. The seatbelt was no longer attached to the car. There was no previous damage or accidents to the seatbelt and the car has few miles on it. Kia towed it to the local dealership where they stated it “just came loose” and stated “it likely wasn’t fully tightened at the manufacturing plant.” They tightened it and said it was fine. They found no reason the bolt failed and gave no guarantee the bolt would not fail again. There was no warning or indication that the seatbelt was faulty prior to it coming out of place. It’s lucky it happened in a parked position and not in an accident. I’m deeply concerned the bolt or the where it connects to the car is indicative of a deeper issue such as faulty connective components. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | TIRES | The rear driver side tire blew out when the vehicle was going approximately 70 mph. I attached photos of the damage. The low tire pressure light turned on about 5 minutes before the tire blew out. I took my vehicle to NTB to replace the tire. They determined because of the tread depth that all four tires needed to be replaced. The tread depth was 4mm and all their new tires were 10mm (even though the vehicle only has 25,000 miles). They did replace all four tires and said the insides of all the tires were cracked and had "dry rot" and it was only a matter of time before all the tires did the same thing (blew out). | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While driving in a parking garage and going down a ramp to the next level, all of the lights on my dashboard popped on and the brakes stopped working. The emergency brakes failed to work, and we crashed into a wall/air conditioning unit. Luckily, we were going slow since we were in a parking garage and did not hit another car, but if we were on a highway and/ my entire family were in the car, someone could have died not only in my car but in other cars. The vehicle has been inspected by the dealership, but only after 3 weeks, and I've had to call to get any sort of communication from Kia. They have been horrible with communication. They also have not offered guaranteed reimbursement for a rental car nor have they offered a loaner. Insurance has inspected the car from a collision perspective and gave a quote on the damages. There were warning lights on as we were going down the ramp when the brakes went out. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Moonroof exploded while driving down freeway. No external sources caused this. Sunny, safe conditions. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | POWER TRAIN | At around 40,000 miles my Telluride start to have issues shifting at low speeds and when cold. By the time I hit 50,000 miles it was happening all the time. It began sputtering almost everyone I accelerated causing it to hesitate on highways. After two trips to the dealership they said I need a whole new transmission. My car is only at 56,000 miles and is no longer considered driveable until it is replaced which of course, the part is on back order. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES | My 2021 Kia Telluride has exhibited a brake vacuum leak. Initially, the leak prevents the vehicle to be started because the brake pedal becomes "hard" after the vehicle sits overnight, and thus the pedal position switch can not signal the vehicle's starting system that the pedal has been pushed (before using the start/stop button) unless MUCH pressure is generated on the pedal. I took mine to the dealership and it took DAYS to diagnose because they didn't accept my description. They DID find a component that was leaking and have SAID it is resolved. This is actually a "known issue" within the Telluride community. ANY leak in a brake system is a safety issue as small leaks can become large, and that could lead to accidents. In my case, it became apparent after about a year of ownership and I finally took it to a dealership to be addressed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | VISIBILITY | Returning from a trip, driving through the mountains, I heard a noise on the passenger side window. The next day I noticed a chip spidering. This should not be. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The alternator fails causing the battery to drain and die while driving and permanently kills the battery. When this occurs all power is lost to the vehicle and in rapid succession multiple warning lights illuminate and a cascading series of messages related to the vehicle saftey features appear one after another. While the engine remains on power steering, headlights, and all other saftey features shut off in rapid succession causing unsafe driving conditions and leaves the vehicle inoperable. The vehicle was towed to a local kia dealer that refused to diagnose the alternator problem until I agreed to pay $350 for a new battery and a $150 diagnostic fee. Once I agreed (would require paying more to two to another local mechanic and two back to have Kia cover the alternator) they immediately diagnosed the alternator problem, but again refused to cover the battery which was less than two years old, but was 3,000 out of warranty. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | Both high beam headlights failed while driving at night. One keeps failing, but this was the first time both failed. Headlight failure alert does appear on the dash. Mechanic said that it is a wiring issue, as LED bulbs do not fail so frequently. Interior lights also stop working randomly. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | VISIBILITY | Windshield was hit by a TINY piece of gravel or road debris - so small we didn’t even see it. It left a ding in the windshield about the size of a pencil point - maybe a couple of millimeters in diameter. Before we could even pull off the road, the grass has cracked about three inches. Within about ten minutes the crack spread another three inches. Within a couple of hours, the crack had traveled both up towards the roof and down towards the hood - approximately two inches in both directions. This is a known problem with Kia windshields since the debut of the 2020. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | STRUCTURE | While driving, the fuel door body panel detached from the vehicle. Uncertain when or how it occurred. The component was there when the journey started, but upon arriving at the destination it was missing(12/08/2022). At the previous fuel stop almost 1 week prior(12/02/2022), there was no indication that the body panel attachment was compromised. This component failing and detaching at highway speeds could put the safety of others at risk. The panel was unable to be recovered after it fell off of the vehicle. No damage to the remaining components were found by the dealership. They claim it was stolen and not covered under warranty. Attached image does show a residue on the swing arm. Uncertain if that was an adhesive that failed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Three windshields in a row have cracked seemingly without cause. My windshields never chip, they have only cracked or shattered. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | VISIBILITY | Driving on the highway on 11/20/22, at approximately 65-70 mph, when there was a loud bang above the driver’s head causing the driver to become startled and swerve. The wind noise became louder and there was also a noise like something was moving on top of the sunshade. Exited the highway and pulled into a parking lot. Got out and the front sunroof had exploded and shards of glass were on top of the closed sunshade. The glass that remained was blown outward as if something inside the vehicle caused it to explode. Luckily the sunshade was closed and contained the glass or it would have come into the vehicle cabin and potential caused an accident or injuries to the occupants, and one could have been my one year old daughter. There were no cars around, no debris in the road, and not near an overpass. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES | While applying the brake at an approaching Stop sign the brake pedal was completely depress and the vehicle continued to roll forward into the intersection. This happened twice in a week. Kia dealer assessed the vehicle on two occasions and was unable to find a fault. This could very well cause a major crash and impact the Safety of myself, my family and others on the roadway. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | The contact owns a 2021 Kia Telluride. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH there was a loud rattling sound that came from under the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact then pulled over safety. The contact stated there were parts of the vehicle that fell onto the highway. When the contact was on the side of the vehicle they checked under the hood, and located smoke and fire from the engine. The contact exhausted the flames with liquid from a nearby driver. The CHP and fire arrived on the scene; however, the fire was extinguished by the time of their arrival. There was no CHP report filed that the contact was aware of. There were no injuries or medical treatments needed. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer and diagnosed two pistons came from the engine, and it was a catalytic failure. The vehicle currently was being repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 15,000. | Crash: No Fire: Yes Towed | 15,000 |
| Aug 2022 | VISIBILITY | The windshield failed spontaneously, overnight while not being driven and not having been impacted by any object. The crack began as about 10 inches long, and has grown to more than two feet long. The windshield requires replacement for safety. The problem has been confirmed by Safelite (which will replace for $1,000, as compared to Kia's $1,600), but has not been inspected by others. There was no warning or any symptom of the problem prior to the failure. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES | Part number 97279-S9010 fell on my feet while I was driving from under dash. Part block access to the brake as it fell on my feet between my foot and the brake/gas making it impossible to apply the brake. Fortunately, was a rural road so I put in neutral and coasted to the side of the road. Very confusing until I saw the part blocking the brake and gas pedal. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Safety and security bypass via USB port in steering column making vulnerable to theft with only a USB cord | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | WHEELS,TIRES | These tires ball super quick and are a danger to the road. Others have complained as well on review sites. Since they wear fast they also pop easily. Have popped 3 tires in 1.5 years all different tires. 1st tire popped at 12K miles 2nd tire popped at 20k miles 3rd tire popped at 26k miles SCORPION ZERO ALL SEASON - SIZE: 245/50R20 These need recalled. They are pour quality and are a road hazard if anyone pops their tire at higher speeds. Thankfully all three of mine were lower speeds. I have now replaced the latest tire with a different brand as these tires put me at risk. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Upon driving my new vehicle for approximately 5 months, the windshield got chipped. I took this to an individual and had this sealed. Last week, after driving my Telluride for about a year, the windshield began to crack in a different spot. The crack has grown and grown and now encompasses most of the windshield. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | The windshield cracked without getting hit by a foreign object. It happened overnight while parked in a garage. It wasn't there the day before or I would have noticed it because it was so visible. It cracked from the very top and spread down around the rearview mirror and spread across and you can't feel the crack either from inside or outside, it is very smooth and you can only see a line. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I was driving over the Harbor Bridge in Corpus Christi, Texas with my kids and nephew when suddenly my front sunroof exploded. It blew from inside out based on the way the glass is pointing outward. Luckily I didn’t wreck into another car, or even have my sunroof headliner open. Kia said theirs no recall under my vin, but there are several other people I’ve found online with the same car and issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Tiny rock, not visible to me but heard a soft tink sound, hit the windshield causing tiny chip and a huge crack from near the top of the drivers side to the bottom near the wipers. No reason for a tiny pebble to completely crack a windshield. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Windshield cracked about 7 inches in diameter with no point of impact. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Windshield appeared to have 6 inch crack in windshield, even though no rock or chip were noticed. Crack grew to an 18inch crack within 1 day. Crack will likely spread across entire windshield and inhibit visibility. This was 1 year to the day of purchasing the vehicle. Brought it to the dealers attention, and they are aware of the issue with 2020 models, but didn't have guidance from KIA on 2021 models. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |