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Kia · NHTSA safety record

2023 Kia Telluride

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Owners have filed 207 safety complaints about the 2023 Kia Telluride with the US government. Of those, 5 describe a crash, 2 mention a fire, 3 people were injured and no death is recorded. 6 recall campaigns are open against it.

The most complained-about system is the electrical system, named in 49 complaints, 24% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 20,000 miles, the median across the 15 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers December 2022 to September 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

207 complaints on file

207

Complaints

5

Describe a crash

2

Mention fire

3

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 60 · 29%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 49 · 24%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 29 · 14%
POWER TRAIN 24 · 12%
ENGINE 23 · 11%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 14 · 7%
STRUCTURE 14 · 7%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 14 · 7%
VISIBILITY 12 · 6%
STEERING 10 · 5%
LANE DEPARTURE 9 · 4%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 8 · 4%
0 27 54

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 207.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2023 at 59.

64 48 32 16
22 23 24 25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2022 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2023 Kia TELLURIDE, and it is a separate question from what owners report going wrong later.

Test SUV AWD SUV FWD
Overall
Frontal crash
Frontal, driver
Frontal, passenger
Side crash
Side barrier
Side pole
Rollover
Chance of rollover 14.3% 15.5%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard

A rating belongs to a tested body style and drivetrain, not to the model as a whole, which is why more than one is listed. A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.

Recall campaigns

6 on file

SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:POWER ADJUST

26V430000 · July 2, 2026

Park outside until repaired

The defect
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2020-2024 Telluride vehicles. The front power seat motor may overheat due to a stuck power seat slide knob or an improper recall 24V407 repair, which can result in a fire while parked or driving.
The risk
A fire increases the risk of injury.
The remedy
Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will install an electronic fuse assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed August 13, 2026. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC374. This recall replaces NHTSA recall number 24V407. Vehicles already repaired under the previous recall will need to have the new remedy completed. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning July 17, 2026.

Kia America, Inc. · up to 462,869 vehicles across all model years covered

STRUCTURE:EXTERIOR TRIM

25V494000 · July 28, 2025

The defect
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023-2025 Telluride vehicles. The door belt molding trim can delaminate and detach from the vehicle.
The risk
A detached trim piece can become a road hazard for other vehicles, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect and replace the belt molding trim assemblies as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 19, 2025. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC347.

Kia America, Inc. · up to 201,149 vehicles across all model years covered

SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:POWER ADJUST

24V407000 · June 5, 2024

Park outside until repaired

The defect
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2020-2024 Telluride vehicles. The front power seat motor may overheat due to a stuck power seat slide knob, which can result in a fire while parked or driving.
The risk
A fire increases the risk of injury.
The remedy
Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will install a bracket for the power seat switch back covers and replace the seat slide knobs, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 30, 2024. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC316.

Kia America, Inc. · up to 462,869 vehicles across all model years covered

POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:DRIVESHAFT

24V214000 · March 20, 2024

The defect
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2020-2024 Telluride vehicles. The intermediate shaft and right front driveshaft may not be fully engaged, which can result in vehicle roll away while in PARK.
The risk
A vehicle roll away increases the risk of a crash or injury.
The remedy
Owners are advised to manually engage the emergency parking brake prior to exiting the vehicle until the recall remedy is performed. Dealers will update the electronic parking brake software and replace any damaged intermediate shafts as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 15, 2024. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC303.

Kia America, Inc. · up to 427,407 vehicles across all model years covered

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL

23V298000 · April 26, 2023

The defect
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Sportage, Sportage Hybrid, Sportage Plug-in Hybrid, Niro Hybrid, Niro Plug-in Hybrid, Soul, and Telluride vehicles equipped with a digital instrument cluster containing a 4.2" LCD screen.  The instrument cluster may fail to display any information when the vehicle is started.  As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard numbers 101, "Control and Displays," and 138, "Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems."
The risk
A blank instrument cluster display will not show critical information, such as tire pressure, warning messages, and warning lights, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will update the instrument cluster software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 26, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC270.

Kia America, Inc. · up to 108,936 vehicles across all model years covered

AIR BAGS:SIDE/WINDOW

23V035000 · January 29, 2023

The defect
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Telluride vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, the wire harnesses for the second row seat side air bags may become damaged, causing them not to deploy in the event of a crash.
The risk
Air bags that do not deploy as intended can increase the risk of injury in a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect and replace, or secure the air bag wire harnesses, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 28, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC262.

Kia America, Inc. · up to 31,943 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed

I was hit on driver side and no side airbags deployed. The collision cause over $16k in damage to my vehicle. There is no reason side airbags should not have delivered and if my child was in the car on the passenger side he would have slammed his head on glass.

NHTSA complaint 11609410. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE

1 injured · 6,001 miles

The contact owns a 2023 Kia Telluride. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle made an abnormal sound. The contact stated that the lane recognition sensor located on the rearview mirror had exploded. The contact sustained injuries to his face. No medical attention was received. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who stated that the windshield would be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 6,001.

NHTSA complaint 11523185. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

1 injured

Standard vehicle component- shattered window. I was driving on highway I 275 and heard a loud sound, when I investigated I realized that the window in the second row to the right simply just shattered, glass flying everywhere.

NHTSA complaint 11735747. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

fire · towed · 20,000 miles

The contact owns a 2023 Kia Telluride. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, she was flagged down by another driver who informed her that there was a fire near the rear exterior of the vehicle. The contact merged to the shoulder of the road and discovered that the fire had extinguished on its own. No warning lights were illuminated. A fire and police report was not filed. No injuries were reported. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where the inspection was being performed. The was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA complaint 11630349. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
While driving down a highway, the front sunroof glass exploded.

NHTSA complaint 11765359. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Screen go black or blanks out. Sometime when shifting from reverse to drive the reverse screen stay on.

NHTSA complaint 11762929. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VISIBILITY/WIPER
Three times over the past year minor debris or small rocks have hit the windshield causing major spidering affects that have run all across the windshield. Even when using the windshield repair kits.

NHTSA complaint 11761947. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
While driving 2023 Kia Telluride driver side over head visor detached tangling in front of driver obscuring vision.

NHTSA complaint 11761566. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
On XXX, at approximately 7:40 a.m., my 2023 Kia Telluride, VIN [XXX], experienced a sudden mechanical failure while traveling approximately 65+ mph southbound on [XXX]. The vehicle suddenly locked up, causing the driver to lose control, skid, and swerve toward the side of the freeway. The rear wheels appeared to be locked. Fortunately, no collision occurred and no one was injured. The vehicle was towed for inspection. A technician at Colton Tire advised that the axle appeared to be bent. The vehicle was then transported by flatbed to Allstar Kia in [XXX] for diagnosis. The Kia dealership initially suggested the vehicle must have been involved in an accident because of a minor exterior

NHTSA complaint 11760459, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SEATS
The contact owns a 2023 Kia Telluride. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V430000 (Seats); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available for the recall repair. The contact was concerned that the recall posed a fire risk, rendering the vehicle unsafe to drive or park. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and denied rental vehicle assistance. The contact had not experienced a failure.

NHTSA complaint 11757708. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Kia Telluride

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2027 24 2 —
2025 115 3 —
2024 218 5 —
2022 324 7 —
2021 365 5 —
2020 764 7 1

Other 2023 Kia models

Sportage 190 EV6 137 Sorento 120 K5 107 Sportage Hybrid 99 Forte 63 Soul 52 Carnival 51

Complaints on file, same model year.

Every Kia on this site — 181 vehicles.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst