Equipment Problems of Kia Motor Telluride - part 1

On Friday, October 16, 2026, while traveling approximately 70 mph on I-94 in wisconsin, the smaller, operable sunroof above the front seats of our 2021 kia Telluride suddenly exploded without warning. The sunroof was completely closed and flush with the roof, not tilted or vented. The sunshade was open, and the outside temperature was approximately 50–55 degrees. We heard an extremely loud bang resembling a gunshot. There was no apparent impact, no vehicles close enough ahead of us to have thrown debris onto the roof, and no bridge or overpass overhead that could have dropped an object onto the vehicle. The glass appeared to blow primarily upward and outward. When we stopped to inspect the vehicle, the remaining glass around the opening was turned upward. Glass fragments were scattered throughout the passenger compartment, including across all the seats and the floor. I have filed a complaint with kia corporate but the vehicle is in our driveway at the moment. I am waiting for further instructions from kia. We were traveling with three passengers and a dog. We had to remove glass to protect everyone from injury and did not retain the fragments that fell inside the vehicle. As we slowed down and searched for a safe exit, several other motorists pulled alongside us and gestured to make sure we were all right so clearly it was visible from the outside. Fortunately, I maintained control of the vehicle. However, the sudden failure was extremely frightening and created a serious potential hazard at highway speed. A driver could easily be startled or distracted enough to lose control. I am concerned about a potential defect involving the front sunroof glass or its assembly, particularly given reports of similar incidents involving kia Tellurides. I request that NHTSA document this incident and evaluate whether it may be part of a broader safety defect affecting these vehicles.

See all problems of the 2021 Kia Motor Telluride 🔎.

Rear seats coming unlocked on there own and will not stay in locked position once pushed back into place this is the second row of seats motor of fold down button keeps running.

While driving the vehicle on the highway attempting to pass a vehicle at 75 mph the car unexpectedly shut completely off. We had to swerve between 2 vehicles narrowly avoiding an accident and the car would not turn back on. Towed to kia dealership and was told it was simply a sensor that "talks" to the key fob which caused the car to shut off without warning. Dealership claimed it was fixed but there was no warning lights or notice of the failure. Since the dealership "fixed" the issue now the car is continuously running a check engine failure code and now the dealership claims it's the catalytic converters failing and needing to be replaced. Vehicle was inspected by the kia dealership that it was purchased from.

See all problems of the 2024 Kia Motor Telluride 🔎.

Sunroof wind deflector broke which caused the track to break also.

See all problems of the 2022 Kia Motor Telluride 🔎.

I was driving down the highway and heard a loud pop. I looked at my windshield and did not see any cracks. I looked at the back windshield and could see pieces coming down. I didn't know what it was still and could hear air coming from somewhere in my car. I open the screen to my sunroof and there was a hole and shattered glass. There were no large trucks around. There were a couple of cars but they were to the right side of my car, two lanes over. Nothing hit my sunroof. The glass exploded. It was sept 22nd at 9:30am. I looked it up online and this is a common problem with kia Tellurides. I contacted gay family kia and they would not replace it. They contacted kia manufacture and they would not cover it. The maintenance person at gay family kia looked at it and took a picture when he submitted it to kia. There were no warning signals. I think the heat that is trapped between the glass and screen of the sunroof cause this. There needs to be a protective film on there. I tried to upload a photo but it would not proceed with it. It was a small file and a jpg. It is going to cost abt $900 to replace. I am getting it done Saturday so I don't have an invoice yet.

Plastic part of sunroof mechanism snapped, causing the whole sunroof to jam and not be able to close properly. Not only does this put interior damage of the car at risk, it puts a driver and passengers at risk in the case of inclement weather.

See all problems of the 2020 Kia Motor Telluride 🔎.

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

See all problems of the 2023 Kia Motor Telluride 🔎.

Nhtsa vehicle safety complaint – 2021 kia Telluride I am the original owner of a 2021 kia Telluride with approximately 78,000 miles. My vehicle has experienced recurring mechanical and drivability concerns, including an intermittent check-engine light, a previously reported camshaft-related diagnostic trouble code, and hesitation during acceleration. Of particular concern, there have been instances when I have pressed the accelerator pedal and the vehicle has hesitated before responding. This delayed acceleration creates a potential safety concern, particularly when entering traffic, merging, or navigating intersections where predictable engine response is essential. Additionally, the vehicle has exhibited rough operation while reversing and unusually harsh engine behavior when the automatic engine stop-start system engages. Despite multiple visits to a kia-authorized dealership, including a monitored 1,000-mile oil consumption test, these concerns remain unresolved. The dealership advised that the vehicle passed the oil consumption test but subsequently recommended a dynamic engine cleaning procedure. I was informed that the technician was approximately 85% confident this procedure would resolve the issue. However, no definitive explanation of the underlying mechanical problem was provided. I have requested written documentation of the diagnostic findings and the basis for the recommended procedure. I have also opened a formal case with kia America consumer affairs regarding these unresolved concerns. I am submitting this complaint because I am concerned that the recurring acceleration hesitation and related engine symptoms may indicate a safety-related defect that has not been adequately identified or resolved. I respectfully request that NHTSA document these concerns and evaluate whether similar complaints involving 2021 kia Telluride vehicles indicate a broader safety issue.

The sun roof warning light on dash suddenly came on and when I tried to open it up it broke and would no longer close. Finally got front toclise but back won't. Paeamount kua of asheville wants $7000 to fix even though I have extended warranty.

While driving 2023 kia Telluride driver side over head visor detached tangling in front of driver obscuring vision.

The left side of my screen where speed, gas and other essential safety features will not show.

The infotainment displayed information at the home screen is so close to the left side of the screen that when you are driving, the steering wheel and my hand covers it, so if you want to see it, you need to bend a little to the right, taking the eyes off the road and more important things. The infotainment screen design has a lot of room in the middle of the screen, but somebody with very low brain, had to be a designer, decided it was better to put everything stacked up to the left.

See all problems of the 2025 Kia Motor Telluride 🔎.

Sunroof / moonroof failing close. Driving on roads / high speeds exposed to the elements for a moonroof that will not close leaving me and my family in danger when its our only vehicle and means of transportation. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? - yes has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? - no were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? - no.

Component: factory forward panoramic sunroof glass, 2025 kia Telluride, VIN [xxx]. On xxx at ~8:18 a. M. Et, [xxx], ~59 mph, the glass shattered with a loud bang. No object was seen hitting the roof. Sunshade open. Vehicle/photos available. Original glass may not have been kept after dealer/insurance repair (state farm; return set xxx). Safety risk: highway-speed failure with a [xxx] in the front passenger seat. Glass entered the cabin and fell on driver [xxx] and the child. Noise like a gunshot. Risk of startle, cuts, blocked vision, and loss of control. Driver kept the lane and exited at [xxx]. No injuries. Not safe to keep driving. Confirmed: one-time shatter, documented by photos. Calavan kia west received the vehicle xxx. A kia assessor inspected it and warranty was denied, citing two lower-windshield marks I had already seen the day before when I washed the car. Those marks are on a different panel and do not explain the roof bursting. No written denial or assessor report. State farm is replacing the glass. Inspections: kia assessor at calavan kia west. State farm claim opened. Police not called. I photographed the roof at [xxx], before the tow. Warnings: none. No lamps, messages, cracks, or rattles beforehand. First sign was the sudden bang and shattered glass. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Was driving with my husband and granddaughter in the car and had just left the house. Horrible, loud explosive sound like a gunshot and glass sound and glanced to make sure all glass ok and our granddaughter was safe. Could see the glass flying behind us and a car swerving behind us to miss it. Pictures are attached showing the sunroof exploded outward. No glass hanging down, no central area point of impact. Sunroof glass is covered under kia’s 5-year/60,000-mile new vehicle limited warranty; if they deem it to be spontaneous explosion or shattering. Contacted kia corporate. Case # xxx under advice of kia corporate (crystal), we took it too the dealership I bought it from this am , [xxx], and they were very rude and dismissive; argumentative. He said it would take about 4 days to even inspect it, that they were behind. And he could rent a car to me for $40 a day. This is a new car I have had for less than 6 months! so, we took it to boomer kia. (after calling and they were so nice, they said come right in) he said he took pics, submitted our pics and description of story to the kia rep that came in this afternoon, and he just called and said they will not cover it under warranty. It is in the warranty but is up to their discretion. Everything I read said this happens and that is why people are suing kia. . . . Because they do this and dont cover and because they refuse to a recall, even though they know either the glass or the setup is faulty. I think personally the construction allows for heat to get under the glass and that is why it explodes outward. Spontaneous shattering and exploding sunroofs have been proven to occur in the 2025 kia Tellurides due to thermal and/or structural pressure. There are numerous lawsuits, currently. Photos all over the internet that look just like mine. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

I went to open my sunroof and I see a piece sticking up. My sunroof then wouldnt close. I get home and find out its the wind deflector. I tried to close the sunroof and now my sunroof if stuck open. One of the tracks is now misaligned and I can't close my sunroof.

The radiator of our 2027 kia Telluride was punctured by some unidentified road debris. The service rep at the kia dealership where the vehicle was towed noted that this debris barely missed a $3000+ sensor device. While investigating the likelihood of this incident occurring on such a new vehicle, I found that kia Telluride owners have been reporting similar incidents since at lease 2021. The problem is an extra wide grill that allows for such road debris to readily pass through the grill and strike whatever is behind the grill. There are third party solutions for this problem - installing screens behind the grill. I feel kia needs to proactively address this problem through a recall, redesigning their grill, and offering to install the third party solution. We were left with a vehicle overheated on the side of an interstate after dark in a part of northern [xxx] where we were unsure of our safety, the reputation of the tow company, the reputation of the kia dealership to which the vehicle was towed, and timeliness of repairing such an incident. We ended up having to pay insurance deductibles and rental car fees in addition to making a trip back to northern [xxx] to retrieve the repaired vehicle. The negligence on kia's behalf of this well-known issue can easily result in a disabled vehicle for others, costing the vehicle owner's insurance claims, costly repairs and alternate travel expenses, or personal safety and injury concerns. I had a claim with kia customer service (case #xxx) but the case was inexplicably closed. I'm sharing the video the repair technician recorded during the analysis phase of our vehicle's repair ([xxx] kia - [xxx]) - [xxx]. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Sunroof broke when trying to open it. Now it’s in the open, venting, position unable to close. Dealership can’t look at it for a week so I’m risking water damage. Vehicle only has 31,000 miles on it and is just past the 5 yr warranty of course.

During less than 25 mph vehicle emergency alarm stating "engine off shift to p or n then start engine". This causes loss of acceleration capabilities in active traffic and forces the car to stop to clear alarm in active traffic. At no time is the engine off during the alarm and I believe this is a false alarm caused by electronics. Video of alarm in real time available upon request.

Spontaneous shatter of sunroof. Danger to myself, passengers in the car, and others on the road. Insurance claim complete and the sunroof is now replaced/repaired no warning signs, no impacts prior or at the time of shattering. Glass puckered up as if pressure from the car caused the shatter rather than something external to the car.

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

Large chunks of paint peeling from hood and top of car. Yes, available for inspection. Safety concerns for visibility issues for driver and other drivers if paint impairs visibility. Yes, visited a collision repair shop, stated they see this being an issue a lot with kia Tellurides, especially the snow white as they didn’t put primer on vehicle first. Yes, was inspected by insurance representative. No warnings, started about a month ago and has gotten gradually worse.

The sunroof is stuck open and is loose on the tracks, if even on the tracks at all. Very dangerous, as it could fly off while I am driving. This is a common problem with the Telluride, and I believe it should be recalled.

My 2021 kia Telluride (60,500 miles) experienced failure of the panoramic sunroof wind deflector arm/mechanism. The broken component is available for inspection. The failure prevents the sunroof system from operating properly and may result in improper sealing, water intrusion, or further mechanical damage. The issue was confirmed by a kia dealership. Kia has issued technical service bulletin bod 319 addressing Telluride sunroof wind deflector arm and mechanism failures. Despite this bulletin, I was quoted approximately $4,000+ for replacement of the entire sunroof assembly instead of the component repair procedure described by kia. There were no warning lights or messages before failure. The issue occurred during normal vehicle use. I believe this known component failure presents a safety and reliability concern for Telluride owners.

Opened the sunroof wind deflector broke tracks broke will not close.

When turning the vehicle, say on to another road and not coming to a full stop, when you accelerate it doesn't want to accelerate, you press the pedal down gradually until all of a sudden it jumps to 2 or 3000 rpms and goes. Previously when we had this issue it was the awd coupler that was fixed 1 to 2 years ago. My vehicle was inspected just before my warranty was up at around 98000 miles, I waited 8 hours for them to tell me they couldn't recreate the issue, I got in the vehicle and went to leave and had the same issue, turned around had their lead technician zach ride with me and recreated the issue for him, he acknowledged that when I was accelerating the rpms were not increasing, they kept my vehicle another 5 days after stating the first day they had to open a case with the tech line and do a flight diagnostic, after very poor communication over those days and the dealership telling me that the tech line said if they couldn't recreate it there was nothing they could do, I finally called the kia customer care line to ask for the case number, the kia customer care line stated that no where in the case did it state a technician went on a ride along with me and experienced the issue and they also stated that kia tech line did not tell them there was nothing more they could do they asked them to keep trying to recreate the issue, eventually after having the vehicle for 6 days I finally had to go get my vehicle back. After 6 days of poor communication and no resolution. I have researched online regarding this issue as well and I am not the only one who has experienced this issue in this vehicle.

The sun roof came completely off the tracks and won’t close. The car is no longer weather proof and is at risk of the glass flying off at high speeds. Problem has not been reproduced or confirmed. Has not been inspected by the manufacturer or others. No warnings prior to the failure.

I opened my sunroof to let the heat out as we were getting back in after seeing a movie and the track popped and the sunroof glass was not broken, but not able to close because of the track. Kia dealership claimed not a warranty item and $7,000 to have fixed since it was the track that was faulty. Full mechanism needs replacing. Charged $250 for the diagnostic review and disabled the use of sunroof and moon roof until I pay to have the whole thing fixed. We were not driving when this happened. We were parked in a parking lot.

My 2023 kia Telluride has been subject to at least 8 separate NHTSA recalls, including sc181 (seat belt/child restraint), sc194 (trailer brake light/cruise control), sc207 (airbag OCS/ods), sc262 (side airbag wire harness), sc303 (driveshaft/rollaway risk), sc316 (power seat motor fire risk), sc347 (door trim detachment), and now sc374/NHTSA 26v430 (recurrence of the power seat motor fire risk, explicitly noted as possibly caused by an improper repair under the earlier sc316 recall). I am especially concerned that the current recall (26v430) describes the same underlying defect as an earlier recall (sc316/24v407) that was supposed to have been repaired, and that no remedy is yet available for this recurrence. This raises serious questions about the adequacy of the original repair and the vehicle’s ongoing fire risk. I am filing this complaint to document this pattern of recurring safety defects and request that NHTSA and kia treat this as evidence of an unresolved, recurring hazard — not an isolated incident.

Clear coat is coming off of 2025 white kia Telluride.

Alternator died and had to get replaced at 80,000 miles. Car died while driving on the highway. Had to pull over and get the car towed. Had to get the alternator replaced and paid out of pocket.

Children helping to unload groceries from trunk. 2 different kids have burnt their legs on exhaust pipe while leaning into car to reach.

I am reporting a spontaneous sunroof glass failure involving my 2022 kia Telluride. While driving at normal highway speed, I suddenly heard an extremely loud bang that sounded like an explosion or gunshot. I did not see or hear any object strike my vehicle before the incident. After safely pulling over, I discovered that the panoramic sunroof glass had shattered. The glass appeared to have blown upward and outward from the vehicle, and by the time I stopped, most of the glass was already gone. There was no prior damage, cracking, or warning that the sunroof was compromised. The failure occurred unexpectedly and created a significant safety hazard due to the loud noise, the potential for shattered glass to enter the passenger compartment. I had my 14 year old daughter with me. I man diagnosed with anxiety and adhd and this had severely affected me because I was the driver and it occurred while operating the vehicle. Luckily, I had the shade closed, because that could’ve been really bad. At the time of the incident, the vehicle had approximately 91,000 miles. I am requesting that this incident be documented and evaluated as a potential safety defect, as I understand other kia Telluride owners have reported similar spontaneous sunroof failures.

My 2025 kia Telluride is suddenly shutting off in traffic. It first happened 6/24/26 I was pulling away from a stop light when my vehicle shut off. I received a red dash as you would for collision warning and a message to shift into park or neutral to restart the vehicle, I tried to restart it started but without rpm's then would not restart my husband had to push the vehicle off of the roadway. I then tried to restart it again it started and shut off in less than 20 feet. I had it towed to the dealership after keeping it 1 week they say they can not recreate the problem. I picked up my vehicle yesterday and it again shut off before I made it 2 miles down the road, I had stopped at a stop light to make a left turn accelerated to make to my turn and the vehicle again shut off I coasted into a parking lot was able to restart it and drove it back to the dealership. The vehicle is currently with them. The vehicle had no warning lights prior to this happening everything was fine in fact when the vehicle shuts off the radio and air conditioner stay running like nothing happened. I have searched the internet and found many others having this issue with their dealerships also saying they can't recreate the problem.

On June 15, 2026, my check engine light came on. On June 17, 2026, I took it to auto zone, they checked the code for the check engine light, and it indicated p0016 and p0017–crankshaft issues. On June 19, 2026, while driving down the highway, my vehicle failed to accelerate. I exited the highway, and my vehicle completely decelerated and ultimately shut down. I was unable to get my engine running and had to get it towed to the dealer. It has been at the dealer for 3 weeks now. The dealer said my engine will likely need to be replaced. It is a 2023 kia Telluride with less than 66,000 miles on it.