10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
311 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2021 Kia Telluride electrical problems

electrical problem

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2021 Kia Telluride Owner Comments

problem #19

Sep 102024

Telluride

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

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.

- Marion, IL, USA

problem #18

Jun 032024

Telluride

  • miles
Driver's side door will lose power while in park or while driving. This causes the locks to not work and windows (driver's and passenger's) will not go up or down. The mirrors will not fold in. Lights on the door goes out. Controls goes completely unresponsible.

- Sharpsville, PA, USA

problem #17

Aug 012023

Telluride

  • miles
Here are some basic facts on what has happened: On August [XXX] I was in my driveway, in Mt Pleasant, SC, when my car rolled down my driveway with my two kiddos inside, resulting in me reacting and getting knocked over by the driver side door and the car running over my chest. I had 5 broken ribs, 4 are now titanium, several broken bones, a punctured lung and a torn acl. There is a police report but do not have to upload right now This was reported and Kia had my car for about a month to investigate it and gave us a very brief response stating -??After the preliminary investigation results indicate that the vehicle functioned as intended, no issues found with the parking mechanism.-?? Because of the trauma this has caused me, I made my husband make the car disappear and he sold it to a local CarMax in Charleston. This safety recall came out on March 26th saying cars rolled away and they are updating software so cars do not move with car doors open. Kia is also stating there have been 16 cases not resulting in injuries. The Kia I had is a 2021 within this range and the VIN is [XXX]. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Mt. Pleasant , SC, USA

problem #16

Feb 262024

Telluride

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While driving the Kia Telluride, the forward collision avoidance warnings started flashing, then said it was failing, then the tire pressure system did the same, then the speedometer and tachometer failed as did the turn signals, gear shift, and lights. The car was becoming unsafe to drive. The car has been at the dealer for 3 weeks now, the dealer changed the Cluster Assembly-Instrument at at cost of $2600. Within 1/2 of leaving the dealership the same problem noted above began happening, again making the car unsafe to drive. In researching on line at the KiaTelluride forum there have been a large number of similar unsafe occurrences by other Kia Tellurides as reported by owners. This is a serious safety problem that has been noted numerous times. (I can't get my images of the 2 page dealer invoice for Cluster Assembly-Instrument $2600 that did not solve the problem to download on this form. )

- Bettendorf, IA, USA

problem #15

Aug 222023

Telluride

  • miles
The sun roof has only be used several times during the year. The sun roof plastic mechanism parts are broken. This causes the sun roof to be unable to close. With the sun roof slightly open and unable to close, my fear is that it may flip open in the highway and hit another car behind me. The car has been brought to the dealership to inspect and it will cost over $5,000 dollars to fix and replace the whole sun roof assembly. I feel this is a manufacturer defect as many other Telluride owners are having the same sun roof issue. There were no warnings or symptoms prior to this issue.

- Midland, NC, USA

problem #14

Nov 042023

Telluride

  • miles
Went to open sunroof and the plastic rail that Kia uses broke causing the sunroof glass to derail. Not able to retract the glass back in. In addition to the guide rail failing the wind deflector also broke.

- Conroe, TX, USA

problem #13

Aug 062023

Telluride

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Harness and wires damaged and chewed by woodchuck causing multiple warning lights and malfunctions including headlight; turning signal and temperature to suddenly stop working, resulting in front wiring harness replacement and repairs costing over $7k in damage.

- Washingtonville , NY, USA

problem #12

Jul 122023

Telluride

  • miles
As I was driving down the highway in the rain, my check engine light came on and I was unable to accelerate my vehicle over 30mph and the speedometer stopped working. I was turning onto the road I live on, so I was able to make it home. I then shut my car off and turned it back on about 5 minutes later, and that issue was no longer happening. I had an upcoming appointment for an oil change at a Kia dealership, so I told the dealership about the issue. They told me that they hooked their computer up to the car and it was showing that there weren-??t any issues showing and the only way that they would be able to see that there was an issue is if the vehicle was brought in while it was malfunctioning. Also, the mirror function on my vehicle where the side mirrors fold/unfold when locking/unlocking the vehicle, the mirror(s) don-??t fold/unfold every time I press the lock/unlock button on m key fob. Another issue, my windows don-??t roll/unroll when I try to use that function. I can sometimes roll the front window up/down while the rest of the windows won-??t roll up/down. I then have to shut my vehicle off, open the driver door, then turn the vehicle back on. Sometimes the windows will work, sometimes they won-??t. It-??s an ongoing issue.

- Grantsburg, IL, USA

problem #11

Jul 152023

Telluride

  • miles
Well, what I thought to be a solid build has succumbed to the known issues with this vehicle. The car has 17,7862 miles on it. I always follow the -??severe-?? maintenance schedule along with babying the heck out of it. I was driving the vehicle on city street, roughly 35-40mph when I got the Xmas tree of death light up on the dashboard (all the indicators went crazy), and a slight loss of power with engine and transmission. I shifted the gear shifter into manual so I could at least control the car and make it safely back home. Once I parked, I shut off the car and then turned it back on. The indicator lights turned off, however the check engine light stayed on. I swapped out the battery for a new one and that fixed the problem for a few hours until later that day the same thing happened again. At this point I know there is something more happening electronically that is not right. Hence the problem: The UB module assembly behind the dashboard needs to be replaced because it is defective (full disclosure, this is what I believe to be the issue, but will be scheduling appointment with dealer to have them look). Ah, but thank goodness for the Telluride forum that has brought to my attention many issues that I also experience with my vehicle. I too have a crack in my windshield that happened three months in (thankfully I have a film on the windshield that has kept it from spidering), I too have to hand wash or touchless wash car due to nightfall trim peeling (thankfully I have car ceramic coated so hopefully that is helping the longevity), I too feel the binding and slipping in my AWD system as I try to accelerate a turn from a stop. It would behoove Kia to address the ongoing issues with their -??top selling SUV-?? as clearly there are still many vehicles popping up with problems. I will say pay attention to the warning signs. Roughly a month ago, the forward parking sensors failed due to -??blockage-??. I should-??ve known it would lead to a larger problem. This could-??ve been bad!

- Northbrook , IL, USA

problem #10

Apr 182023

Telluride

  • miles
While at a red light after exiting the highway, the vehicle lost all power and functionality. The car was in drive, and the brake was pressed in. No buttons had been pressed to shut down the vehicle. I had no power and no ability to restart the vehicle. I placed the vehicle into park and attempted to turn on my hazard lights. Unfortunately, there was no response from the vehicle, and though I was interrupting traffic, I could not provide any visual indicators to oncoming traffic. After moving the vehicle into park, I was unable to move the car into neutral. After approximately five minutes, without the brake being pressed or any button is pressed, the vehicle turned on its own. I was able to move the car into drive and continue to function as expected. Prior to this, I had used the vehicle to drop off my kids at daycare (which required turning on the vehicle, driving, and turning off the vehicle). This event occurred roughly 40 minutes after a mix of highway and city driving. From a safety perspective, this was very concerning as I had no way to indicate to other drivers that my car was not driveable. Fortunately my children were no longer in the car. I was very concerned that not only the car lost all power and functionality, but was more concerned that the car started on its own. I was also concerned that if I had not moved the car to park and somehow it turned back on if left in drive what potential damage could have been done to me, another vehicle and potential injury 30K service and all recalls had been satisfied prior to this by an authorized Kia dealership.

- Mukwonago, WI, USA

problem #9

Apr 072023

Telluride

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My wife had placed our two children in the car in their car seats. She attempted to start the vehicle by pressing the brake and the starter button. Though all the dome lights and other normal electrical items were on at the time, as soon as she attempted to start the car, it instantly went dead. There was no power to anything, and all the interior dome lights did not work. No matter how often she attempted, she could not start the vehicle, even with accessory mode. It was almost as if the battery had been suddenly removed from the vehicle. At no point was the car moved outside of park. My wife removed our two kids from the vehicle, and shortly after, they were secured in our other vehicle; without my wife being in the Telluride, the car turned on itself. All interior lights were on, and the car was functional. She found that while the radio was on, the HVAC that had been on was now off. In addition, the fuel performance reset to zero. She turned off the vehicle, and we could not reproduce the issue. From a safety perspective, this was very unnerving as it involved our children in our car, but also that the car started on its own after five minutes. If we were not at home and the car could have been running in the garage without our involvement. All regular maintenance and satisfaction of recalls had been completed by a Kia-authorized dealership before this event.

- Mukwonago, WI, USA

problem #8

Jan 242023

Telluride

  • miles
While in drive, the battery discharge warning was displayed inconsistently, similar to what had occurred sporadically on January 21 and January 23. Without notice, multiple indicator lights started flashing, including low tire pressure, Safety features such as check forward collision assist system, and more. Power steering failed, and ultimately had to coast into a safe location. This resulted in a tow to the dealership, where after multiple days, the dealership found that the alternator failed and replaced it under warranty. This could have negatively impacted not only my safety but the safety of others as the vehicle safety features were not operational and I lost full functionality of the vehicle such as power steering loss. All regular maintenance and satisfaction of recalls had been completed by a Kia-authorized dealership before this event.

- Mukwonago, WI, USA

problem #7

Jan 212023

Telluride

  • miles
While driving, an error illuminated (inconsistently), signaling a battery discharge warning. This indicator was not consistent and would come and go at different times. The ambiguity of indicator lights and the inconsistency of how they were displayed raised concerns of safety of the vehicle and operations. All regular maintenance and satisfaction of recalls had been completed by a Kia-authorized dealership before this event.

- Mukwonago, WI, USA

problem #6

Feb 262023

Telluride

  • miles
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.

- Ocala, FL, USA

problem #5

May 312022

Telluride

  • miles
I was parked and wanted to bring window down the one in back seat made a weird noise and put the window back up but did not close completely and tried to close it from driver seat and nothing

- Los Angeles , CA, USA

problem #4

Oct 252021

Telluride

  • miles
The child safety locks will randomly start latching and unlatching until the button is disengaged. I have videos of it and the dealership has been able to reproduce the issue multiple times. If the button is not on, the issue does not occur. This is a problem since I have a 3 year old and he has had opened the door while I drive on at least 1 occasion. The issue began October 2021, I took it in for service in December and had to wait for the replacement part until almost March. At this point I have taken the car in for service 6 times for the exact same issue, they have replaced multiple components, actuator, master key lock system, etc. The issue will be fixed temporarily but will then reappear within as little as a day to a week or two. There are multiple reports of this happening on Kia forums and the issue is not model specific. This also happens with Palisades which happen to share the same frame as the Telluride. I have contacted Kia corporate, case number 14666961, to let them know and will be sending a certified letter.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #3

May 272021

Telluride

  • miles
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.

- Wesley Chapel, FL, USA

problem #2

May 092021

Telluride 6-cyl

  • 3,100 miles
DRIVER'S SIDE WINDOW REMAINED STUCK OPEN ABOUT 1 INCH WHEN DRIVER ROLLED DOWN WINDOW WITH SLIGHT TAP ON WINDOW SWITCH DRIVING MOTION AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. WINDOW WOULD NOT GO UP OR DOWN WHILE IN MOTION WHEN USING SWITCH TO OPEN OR CLOSE WINDOW EVEN AFTER COMING TO COMPLETE STOP (ON SHOULDER OF ROAD) AND SHUTTING DOWN VEHICLE. WAS ABLE TO FIX WHEN PUTTING VEHICLE IN ACCESSORY MODE (NOT RUNNING OR IN MOTION) AND PLACE HANDS GENTLY ON BOTH SIDES OF WINDOW TO GENTLY MOVE UP TO HIGHEST ALLOWED POSITION THEN CLOSE WINDOW WITH SWITCH. THIS FIXED THE PROBLEM AND WINDOW SWITCH OPERATED AS USUAL. VEHICLE MILEAGE WAS AROUND 3,100. WE BELIEVE THE CAUSE IS A SAFETY SENSOR IN THE WINDOW SWITCH COMPONENT THAT DETECTS OBSTRUCTION IN WINDOW WHICH STOPS WINDOW FROM OPERATING. READ OTHER FORUMS THAT STATED WINDOW GOT STUCK OPEN AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND WOULD NOT MOVE. THEIR FIX WAS TO OPEN SUN ROOF AND THEN SHUT DRIVERS SIDE WINDOW. THIS DID NOT WORK FOR US. HTTPS://TELLURIDEFORUM.ORG/THREADS/LESS-THAN-40-MILES-AND-THE-WINDOW-IS-BROKEN.912/ [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Fresno, CA, USA

problem #1

Oct 302020

Telluride

  • 2,800 miles
Last week the front collision warning and lane departure warning illuminated on the dash and today the windshield has a crack in it, nothing has hit the windshield it was parked in the driveway. 2021 S model 2800 miles on the clock

- Egg Harbor Township, NJ, USA

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