Service Brakes Problems of Kia Motor Telluride - part 1

I am writing to bring to your attention several safety issues with my vehicle that have not been addressed despite my previous attempts to have them resolved. The first issue concerns the brake system on my vehicle, specifically the brake failure that I have been experiencing. The brakes on my vehicle are not functioning properly, and as a result, I have had multiple instances of brake failure which have put not only my safety but the safety of others at risk. Despite bringing this issue to the attention of your team, the necessary repairs have not been carried out, and the problem persists. This is extremely concerning as the continued malfunction of the brakes poses a significant threat to the safety of both myself and other road users. I urge you to take immediate action to rectify this issue and ensure that the brakes on my vehicle are functioning correctly. Furthermore, I would also like to highlight another safety issue with the seatbelt system in my vehicle. There have been instances where the seatbelt, the third row seat and passenger seat, fails to latch properly sometimes. I have personally experienced difficulties with the latching mechanism and have had to pay for the third-row seatbelt to be fixed as well. Given the critical role that seatbelts play in ensuring the safety of passengers in a vehicle, it is imperative that this issue is addressed promptly to prevent any potential accidents or injuries. I request that the seatbelt system in my vehicle be thoroughly inspected and repaired to ensure that it is functioning correctly and reliably. I trust that you will take the necessary steps to address these safety concerns promptly and effectively. Failure to do so not only compromises my safety but also places the lives of others at risk. I appreciate your prompt attention to these.

See all problems of the 2024 Kia Motor Telluride 🔎.

Driving and trying to brake and brake pushed to floor and still not stop. I pulled over and called aaa. While waiting for aaa to arrive low brake fluid light came on. Aaa driver arrived and stated bolts protecting driver side rear tire were gone and caliper on that side were left hanging. Towed to kia dealer and stated bolts were clearly removed. Last visit to kia dealer was 30 days ago only for oil change not brake work. Dealer repaired caliper bolts and pistons for over 2000. Dealer had no idea why bolts came off by themselves and why it happened. There was no warning or lights going off until after brakes failed. Luckily when it happened I was only on back roads so could slow down eventually without incident but if I had been on highway not know how I would have come to a stop before crashing. Can anyone tell me why this happened and how to prevent it from ever happening to me or anyone else owning a kia Telluride.

See all problems of the 2021 Kia Motor Telluride 🔎.

After a recall on the emergency braking system was resolved, we’ve had frequent occurrences where the rear cross traffic alert system will report traffic that does not exist. The vehicle will then stop abruptly. Once this happens, the emergency brake doesn’t always completely disengage. This almost always happens in parking lots and can increase the likelihood of accidents. I’ve taken it to the dealership, but they’ve been able to replicate the issue.

See all problems of the 2023 Kia Motor Telluride 🔎.

I am reporting a serious and ongoing electrical and transmission issue with my 2021 kia Telluride (VIN: [xxx] ). The problem began under 20,000 miles and has continued intermittently for years, progressively worsening. My vehicle is currently at ~99,600 miles and under extended warranty. The key safety concerns include: transmission lockout: the vehicle intermittently becomes stuck in park and will not shift, even with the brake depressed. No-start condition: the vehicle will randomly become completely unresponsive—no dash lights, no infotainment, and no engine start. Electrical system failure while driving: multiple safety systems fail mid-drive, including: loss of power steering and air conditioning random activation of esc, tpms, collision assist, blind spot, and parking brake warnings infotainment screen turns off while in motion component failures due to electrical shorts: both the radio and the backup camera were diagnosed with shorts and had to be replaced under warranty. Brake lockout post-shutdown: the brake pedal becomes very firm and the vehicle will not restart until hours later. Most concerning, my wife and children have been left stranded in the disabled vehicle on multiple occasions due to these issues. The car has been in the shop several times — around 50,000 and 80,000 miles — but no permanent resolution has been found. This is a clear and escalating safety hazard. The failures affect critical systems while driving and leave the vehicle unpredictably disabled. Kia has been made aware and an escalation is underway, but I am filing this report to ensure the NHTSA is aware of the pattern and potential danger these failures pose to others. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Vehicle information    •   make: kia    •   model: Telluride    •   year: 2022    •   approx. Mileage: 30k 2. System involved    •   component/system: forward collision avoidance, automatic emergency braking, brakes, or electronic stability control 3. Incident description on 6/7/25 while driving my 2022 kia Telluride on neighborhood street in windsor park austin texas at approximately 25-30 mph the vehicle suddenly and forcefully braked on its own with no warning and no visible obstacle or vehicle in front of me. This unexpected braking occurred under normal driving conditions, with clear weather and dry pavement, and almost caused a collision with the vehicle behind me. No warning lights appeared on the dashboard, and no manual braking was applied by me. I believe this may be related to known technical service bulletins sc243 and sc252 concerning faulty automatic braking logic and the hydraulic electronic control unit (hecu). This is a serious safety concern, and I am submitting this complaint in the hope that kia will address this potential defect through recall or repair. There are reports similar to mine at highway speeds which would be deadly. 4. What happened next? I have contacted my local kia dealership for inspection and plan to request that they document and diagnose the incident fully. Their online scheduler is showing next service appt not for over a week out which is not soon enough. I will call them first thing in the morning. I am also submitting this report to NHTSA to ensure that this is recorded as part of any ongoing safety investigation. Our vehicle was serviced within the last few months and we were assured there were no safety recalls on our vehicle. We would like this reevaluated.

See all problems of the 2022 Kia Motor Telluride 🔎.

When I brought my car into the dealership to fix the open recall on the sest heater and get it serviced, the dealership did their multipoint inspection and discovered that with just 37950 miles, the rear brake pads and rotors need replacing. The front pads were at 6mm and the rear pads were at 2mm. They informed me that they recommend replacing the pads at 3 mm - at 2mm it is unsafe to drive. As, it is unusual for rear pads to wear before front pads - we suspect that there may be an issue with the parking brake not fully disengaging.

See all problems of the 2020 Kia Motor Telluride 🔎.

The vehicle has now been towed three times, completely shut down while driving three times, with the latest incident being especially dangerous-the car shut off while in drive, the brakes failed, and the steering wheel locked. My [xxx] child was in the car with me, and we were nearly hit by a semi-truck. It was a terrifying experience that could have been fatal. Not to mention when I was able to get the vehicle to stop, the hazards wouldn't even turn on and continued to put us in danger. My Telluride has been at the dealership for 7 weeks, and the service department still has no clear answer as to why this is happening. Kia corporate has been unresponsive, not taking the situation seriously, and offering no resolution or accountability. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

As part of the fix to address a recall related to a a drivetrain defect and potential rolling issues, kia installed software that would automatically apply the emergency brake when the car was put into park and the door was opened, and/or turned off. The problem with this fix is that once the car is off, the driver can not disengage the parking brake, thus creating an issue related to towing or moving the vehicle out of the road after an accident. This also makes it impossible to perform a rear brake replacement as the parking brake cannot be released. This software update needs to be amended so the the driver can disengage the parking brake when needed.

After driving through snow and letting my Telluride sit in the garage for a few days before driving it again, when I put the vehicle in drive and attempted to leave my garage there was a loud clunking noise and the vehicle didn't move for several seconds. I have also noticed that the automatic emergency brake will engage if the vehicle is in neutral and the driver's side door is open. How would you be able to load the vehicle on a flatbed truck if it was in an accident? a.

While driving approximately 40mph down straight roadway without anything around, the vehicle has unexpectedly slammed on the brakes. This has happened four times to date (11/13/24 - 12/25/24). During two of the instance's lights flashed on the dashboard and indicated the front right corner sensor of vehicle. During the other two occurrences, lights flashed on the dashboard and indicated the sensor at the rear right corner of vehicle, even though the vehicle was again traveling forward at approx. 40mph. In each case the brakes were unexpectedly applied very hard for several seconds before returning to normal. There were no other vehicles around and no dirt or other obstructions to the sensors. Vehicle was brought into dealer for diagnostics and was told they could not duplicate the concern. I asked the dealership to contact kia for support and they refused. I then contacted kia directly asking for assistance in getting this resolved. They responded that they rely on diagnostics from the dealership and only if the dealership can duplicate the issue will anything be done. This is an extremely dangerous drivability issue of which the dealer agrees. But since they have not witnessed it firsthand, no further action is being taken to attempt to find and/or replace whatever part is malfunctioning. In searching the NHTSA website, I see several complaints where individuals have experienced strikingly similar complaints (NHTSA # 11538285, 11485486, 11457515, 11457281, 11589381) with this vehicle.

The brakes on this car had a failure. As the car was approaching a stop, the pedal went to the floor without any notable slowing of the vehicle. Fortunately, there was not a car immediately in front my Telluride or approaching from the side, so there was no impact. The car was then towed to the robert brogden olathe, kia and inspected. They reported that the abs light was on and that their was air in the brake line. Using a manual bleeding procedure, the air was removed, but they have not found how their air got into the line during the last mile. Obviously, root cause for the air getting into the sealed system must be identified for this car to be considered safe to drive. We took delivery of this vehicle on [xxx] with fewer than 50 miles on the odometer and it was inspected and tested for 100% of all systems fully operational. During the first 700+ miles, the brakes worked perfectly. Kia service ticket it [xxx]. Kia customer service case number [xxx]. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Received a software "fix" that engages my parking brake every time I turn off the engine. I don't want the parking brake engaged each time I stop - the potential for freezing in place due to cold or rust is too much. Not even sure what this "fix" was supposed to resolve.

I was backing out of a parking space and the automatic emergency brake kicked in. It scared the daylights out of me. I was actively using my mirrors and there was nothing behind me and nothing else moving for that to have happened.

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.

The braking system on the car is failing, the brakes are spongy and require to be pumped for the brakes to work securely, and occasionally the brakes would fail completely. The car has been taken to the dealer three times and ask for the problem to be repaired, I was told the brakes were fine it's just electronic braking system but I was feeling. I did have a mechanic check the brakes and was told the problem need to be repaired by the dealer it was a dealer's problem.

My check engine and oil lights have come on more than once around the time of needing an oil change. During that time, the engine bucks, and the rpm revs high and low. The kia service dealer, both times, stated that the light was coming on because the oil was low. The first time they replaced the spark plugs as a precaution, since the check engine light state miss-firing. That didn't fix the problem, because the light came one again right before the next oil change was needed. And this time, the car actually stalled out at a red light. They said the oil was really low the second time. I asked where the oil could be going. They said it wasn't leaking that they could tell, and that kia says its ok to lose about a quart every 1000 miles. I don't agree with that, especially with a 4 year old car. So I had another family member drive the car while I followed, and sure enough I saw black smoke coming out of the tail pipe. So, the engine is burning the oil. On top of all this, I noticed that the screen (which they just did a software update on) right side compass keeps appearing suddenly and then disappearing, without anyone touching the screen. Then I noticed yesterday, after I parked. The emergency brake turned out all by itself, without me pulling the button up. The red light indicator came on also, then turned off and on and off. Lastly, the forward movement button on the driver side button doesn't work, which I thought was supposed to be repaired as part of the last recall. All in all, I am afraid to drive this car because I think the engine or seat is going to catch fire at any moment.

Vehicle has warnings for epb and lane assist along with active recall for roll away. Cruise control does not work as well. Wheel jerks out of your hand while driving has been to appointment 7/1 in which vehicle was not repaired. Dealer claiming they had no record of a “diagnosis appointment” new appointment set 60 days out.

On Friday 5/10, my vehicle began failing to brake after being in traffic for about 45 minutes. I had to punch the brake with my foot, hitting the floor, and it would continue to roll. It was towed to courage kia in gastonia on 5/12. On 5/14, they identified an issue with the hecu. Since then, they have been “running tests” with engineering to try to identify the issue. However, I’m seeing years of these complaints online and this can’t be the first time this has happened. I do not have any paperwork yet, because nothing has been done. There were no warning lights on in my car. It is currently available for inspection at courage kia in gastonia.

I have a few issues: 1. I can be driving on an empty road and I get alerted that I am about to hit someone and it brakes on its own. With no one in sight in either direction. 2. My alarm keeps going off when I leave the vehicle due to motion being detected but no one is in the vehicle and it is locked. 3. My lane assistance has tried running me off the road multiple times. 4. When I park my car continues to rolls.

While driving and attempting to brake, the brake pedal was completely unresponsive. Slamming on brakes did nothing, and I could not stop the car. I just kept steering, with traffic all around me. About 15 seconds later the vehicle finally came to a rolling stop. It was extremely frightening and dangerous. The car had random lights that would flicker on and then off the dashboard when you started it, but then nothing. We had an appt at kia to address, even though they weren't coming anymore. Roadside assistance took to the dealer, who confirmed that it was a wheel speed/brake sensor, and so car brake would not work. It was not a recall at the time though. We paid $1500+ to repair it all, and months later the real for that exact issue came out. Submitted the reimbursement form to kia, and despite following up several times, it has been several months still not reimbursed.

There have been several times over the last couple of months when my car brakes on its own. I have not had any "extra" features on such as cruise control or lane assist. I have been driving 70 mph on the highway, my car suddenly brakes, and then I am unable to accelerate. It is absolutely terrifying. We called our nearest kia dealership after the second time and they told us to get a car wash and since it hasn't been consistently happening, they wouldn't be able to re-create it or fix it. We have been going out of our way to keep the front sensor, and it still happens. I worry that I will be driving on the highway (again) when this happens, and the semi truck behind me won't have time to adjust to my sudden, and unwanted, deceleration.

Snow mode caused the vehicles accelerator and brakes to be unresponsive after stopping to turn. Kia could not duplicate the issue through service inspection and test drive. Since no alerts or sensors were tripped they ignore the safety concern. This major safety issue is is very very common problem among Telluride owners. A simple google search will reveal hundreds of complaints. Note: a child was in the vehicle and this occurrence happened along an interstate with poor visibility and snowy road conditions.

Vehicle has 650 miles now. It was leased from kia. I noticed the brakes fading when at a long stop light or stop sign. Vehicle would start to roll/creep forward and brake pedal would drop slightly. The longer the stop light the more this would happen. When this happened as I was parking I left the vehicle and called the kia help number and had the vehicle transported to kia dealership. This was 10jan2024. The dealership notified me that the could find no problem. I picked the vehicle up and drove home. The same problem occurred and I had the vehicle transported to the dealership. They replaced the brake master cylinder and abs module. They notified me it was repaired. When I check the brakes the pedal still slowly went down. I refused to take the vehicle and left it at the dealership. The vehicle had been at the dealership for over 30 days before they notified me it was repaired.

The contact owns a 2020 kia Telluride. The contact stated that while depressing the brake pedal, the brake pedal extended to the floorboard and the vehicle failed to immediately stop. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who replaced the brake pads. After retrieving the vehicle, the failure reoccurred. During the failure, the abs warning light illuminated. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 73,000.

There were 2 lanes going in the same direction and I was on the right. The road was turning to the right and ended up hitting a car in the lane on the right. Road conditions were wet but no puddling. I depressed the brake pedal to reduce my speed for the turn, but and I kept going as if I hadn't hit it at all. By moving from the right to the left lane, the car was going up a slight bank. There was no skidding, no rumbling from the anti-lock, just a steady forward motion. I was so caught off guard with this unusual movement of the car that I thought my brakes had locked, so I didn't bother try turning the wheel.

I’ve had numerous incidents where we were driving with adaptive cruise on and the vehicle will inexplicably engage the fca system and slam on the brakes. This has occurred with no vehicles in front of me in clear conditions and had nearly caused a rear end collision.

Here are some basic facts on what has happened: on August 1st 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 5xyp6dhc4mg154150.

My car was in park and went into reverse with my two kiddos in the car in my driveway. I tried to jump in but the car door knocked me over as the car rolled faster as I was holding my sweet one year old and ended up rolling over my ankle and chest. Piper fortunately ended up with a scratch but I ended up with a broken leg and 6 broken ribs, a punctured lung and torn acl. I am lucky to be alive there is a police report I do not have right now and a ton of medical bills.

A kia dealership documented they performed the voluntary service recall sc252 hecu inspection and determined my vehicle was within the guidelines and did not need replacement. 6 months later my vehicle experienced the symptoms of the hecu issue. The epb, auto hold, and the abs lights appeared on the console. We took the vehicle in for service, we were told they didn't have someone available to look at the issue and told us to reschedule, that is a separate issue. Weeks later when we took it and asked someone to look at it, since their next appointment wasn't for almost a month. The mechanic said immediately we can't let you leave with this car it is not safe. The brake fluid had leaked into the hecu box. So either the voluntary recall is inadequate or dealerships are not properly doing the inspection. I can not find detailed information on the risk associated with this but this is similar to the fire risk kia has had in the past. In any case leaking brake fluid into the hydraulic electronic control unit can't be safe. If this is a know issue why is this still a voluntary recall. My family was put in danger and kia continues to ignore this is an issue.

Backed out of my driveway went about 100 yards down the street to make a left turn. I pushed on the brake and every possible warning went off. Abs light, traction control, collision warning, error messages kept coming on. The brake pedal went to the floor. I continued to pump the brakes. Tried to put the transmission into manual mode and downshift. That didn't slow us down. Still continued to pump the brakes. Had to make a right turn or jump the curb into a park. The steering was hard to turn. Pulled the adaptive electric parking brake. Nothing. We were going slightly down hill so had a little speed, but the car came to a rest and the brakes worked. All the other warning lights and error messages kept going off. Turned off the car and started it again. Drove home and it has set there for 3 days. The dealership is always closed on the weekends. I have lost complete trust in this vehicle and in the manufacture.

22may2023: 2022 kia Telluride had a complete brake failure while exiting an elementary school garage, leading to a collision with the closed gate. Abs warning lights came on and witnesses heard abs sounds despite dry pavement and slow speed. Driver stopped car by throwing into park. Cctv captured the incident. Can send higher res but your site won't allow large files. Inspections (22-24 may 2023): multiple abs and electronic stability control (esc) errors were detected by local repair shops and a kia dealer. Other reports: owner found other facebook with similar abs-related brake failure. They claimed they had contact with about 7 others with same issue - allegedly signed secrecy agreements with kia to receive compensation/buy back. Dealer inspection blocked (30nov2023): kia scheduled another brake inspection at dealer, but a regional kia executive intervened and canceled it last minute. No explanation given. Kia's refusal (8apr2024): kia denied abs issues could cause brake failure, despite evidence. 20may2024 recall: kia recalled a wheel sensor linked to abs malfunctions but claimed it does not affect braking ability. Settlement offer: kia offered compensation but required a secrecy agreement and other terms not acceptable to owner. I have documentation for all.

Brake pedal will sometime become a “brick” after the car sits for a little while. Could be an hour, could be overnight. Not able to press down the brake pedal easily to crank the car. Has happened at least a dozen times over the last 4 months. Have not brought up the issue to the dealership yet. No lights on the dash to indicate an issue.

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.

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.

The contact owns a 2022 kia Telluride. The contact stated while driving 3-5mph and making a left turn, the brake pedal was depressed but bounced back immediately and failed to respond. The traction control, the auto hold feature, and the forward collision avoidance warning lights were illuminated. The message "forward collision sensor" was displayed. The contact depressed the brake pedal for a second time but the failure persisted, causing the vehicle to hit the rear of another vehicle. The contact stated it was a fender-bender. The air bags did not deploy. The contact did not sustain any injuries. The contact was unsure whether the occupants of the other vehicle sustained injuries. There was no police report filed. The contact was able to drive to his nearby residence. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that no issues were found. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they would send an investigation team to investigate the failure. However, the investigation team investigated the failure remotely. The dealer later informed the contact that the rear wheel speed sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.