Owner-reported complaints naming the visibility system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming windshields, glass, wipers, defrosters and mirrors. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2020 Kia Telluride submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 151 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 151, in the owner's own words
Windshield spontaneously cracked. I know it was spontaneous because the car was parked and I was near it for the full hour, nothing hit the windshield and when I got back in the car the windshield was cracked.
1. What component or system failed or malfunctioned? The windshield wiper system failed. The design of the cowl area (under the hood) allows snow and sleet to accumulate and become compacted. This creates a physical obstruction that prevents the wiper linkage from moving, leading to total wiper failure. • Availability: The system is available for inspection upon request. 2. How was safety put at risk? Safety was compromised due to a sudden loss of visibility during inclement weather. The inability to clear snow and sleet from the windshield while driving created a blind operating environment, significantly increasing the risk of a crash or striking an unseen hazard. 3. Has the problem been confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? No. The problem has not yet been reproduced or confirmed by a dealership or independent service center. 4. Has the vehicle been inspected by the manufacturer, police, or insurance? No. The vehicle and its components have not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, or insurance representatives at this time. 5. Were there any warning lamps or symptoms prior to the failure? No. There were no warning lamps, error messages, or symptoms prior to the failure. The wipers stopped functioning only once the snow had compacted sufficiently under the hood to block the mechanism.
Failed windshield Available for inspection Unexpectedly Cracked across full length of windshield Blocking view of road causes glare There is a 2020 model class action suit and many complaints
The contact owns a 2020 Kia Telluride. The contact stated that the sunroof failed to close after being opened. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the cables for the sunroof had fractured and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer secured the sunroof using duct tape as a temporary fix. The contact found information on Technical Service Bulletin, NHTSA ID: 10239743 (Visibility, Structure), which was related to the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000.
It took 8 months to repair the Recall #SC299B HALOGEN HEADLAMP-BOTH. Repair was done 04/03/2025, which appears to have not last long as high beam is low again and I am afraid to drive in early morning, dusk, or evening due to the timid, low bearing high beams. This is very unsettling as we have made three complaints due to negligence and lack of efficiency for recall repair, being in an accident due to not seeing a deer run across and we hit it, as well as, failed state inspection due to light issues (twice) that negatively impacted financial stability and job security as one driver has to have a clear safety inspection in order to work. Kia corporate has been contacted 6 times via email and called back to discuss ongoing issues, however, there does not appear to be any resolution and/or willingness to discuss ongoing issues with our car. It would be nice to discuss this matter and find a solution that alleviates hardship this recall (and apparent lack of fix as lights continue to be an issue) and Kia dealer/company has made. We would appreciate being bought out and/or provided reimbursements and buyout. Either way, we hope others do NOT face the ongoing stress and issues telluride has given us. It is not ideal or fair to continue being fearful of the safety and reliability of our car despite company’s “attempt” of fixing it.
Windshield suddenly has crack along mid passenger side.
Continues to have issues with dealership to remedy/correct recalls. Have waited for 60+ days since recall remedy was initiated in August 2024 Headlights continue to be a hazzard and due to this we had unfortunate incident of a deer running out and inability to see in the dusk of 6am due to lack of head lights. This has caused immense hardship regarding finances and maintaining a job as we are down one car and Kia has not offered and:or received all parts for any repairs of the recall. Advised if we attempted to fix one recall (power seat) then our “ticket will be closed and you will need to pay out of pocket for the headlights”. However this is not consistent or within the regulations of Recalls and good faith attempts. I have already contacted an attorney to pursue legal counsel. I feel KIA will need to apologize and really earn trust from all consumers as Telluride has been an issue to this day, even newer models. Attached is Allstate claim of the incident on 10/18/24 AND attachments reflecting recall announcements via postal and several follow up appointments since remedy was offered, however no action nor diligence made to correct recalls or follow up as appropriately with us to keep us updated about parts etc. .
I have had been in several times to correct the recall, they noted the seat repaired under warrenty but the service advisor was stuck when retrieving my car. Headlights have need in twice and I’m being told the fix failed to correct the headlights. Wipers stop working intermittently and paint is down to bare metal along windshield and hood. This car is crap.. rear seat folds up when sitting on it and I am repiadmy told they don’t see a problem. Seats are not electric in the rear. This has a feature of an auto close from the back for loading. And it is triggered when my kids sit in it. Only the right rear captains chair.
Driving vehicle at 45 mph on secondary road. Small object impacted near the top of the windshield driver side - presumably from passing car. Within 5-10 minutes a small (4") crack appeared. Within 1 hour the crack was about 6". Within 2.5 hours the crack had extended to about 18". Forty eight hours afterwards the crack has extended to ~24" horizontally at mid-windshield on the driver's side. Weather conditions were sunny, clear with temperatures in the low 70s.
One morning when I went to get into my car I noticed a large crack approximately 12in in length across my windshield. There had been no noticeable chips in the windshield prior and there was no sign of being hit of any kind. I took the car to be looked at by a family member in glass and he said the issue is a manufacturing issue and the glass is thin and unsafe. The dealer said they won’t replace because it isn’t in the date range involved in the class action lawsuit. Since this I have had several more chips and the crack now runs all the way across the glass and extends up and down
When trying to open the sunroof, the wind deflector broke and knocked the sunroof off its track. I had to remove the sunroof and get it back on the tracks to get it to close and prevent water from entering the vehicle from rain.
Tonight I tried to open my sunroof for some fresh air while relaxing in my vehicle. My sunroof made some weird cracking noises and is jammed open. I only used my sunroof 2 to 3 times. However, it's in the stuck position and sounds like crushing glass when I try to open it. My rear right passenger folds down on its own. My grandson has been folded into the seat multiple times. I contact kia and got no resolution. This is dangerous. I went to retrieve my backpack from my backseat yesterday and when I set the sear back it made a auto sound, it slid completely forward hitting me in my face. The seat ejects by itself often and it a safety risk to my family and i. I checked kia forums only to find this is an huge issue and spoked about hundreds of times involving telluride and Sorento models. I'm afraid my sunroof glass with break.
Tried to open sunroof and it tore itself apart and tore itself off of the tracks and now I can not close the sunroof
The side mirrors don’t fully retract, when the doors are locked or unlocked via the key fob nor depressing the lock/unlock button on the driver door. The side mirrors also stopped working as the driver walks near the vehicle with the key fob. This is a safety issue because when the side mirrors don’t fully release outwards, the driver cannot see vehicles approaching or passing.
The sunroof did not closed and made a pop sound and after that it was mis aligned and failed to close, one arm was broken and the sunroof was hanging on the other one. Called the Kia Riverside dealership they said they dont have any tech for sunroof. Ended up taking to cerritos dealership and they said i have to leave it for 7 days without loaner just to inspect and it will cost 257 bucks for inspection only. Then I decided to take it to a local shop and they quoted me a total of 3740 bucks including 2800 for parts. I ended up using them to just force close the glass so that its not a safety issue anymore.
The contact owns a 2020 Kia Telluride. The contact stated that while her husband was seated in the vehicle at below 5-degree Fahrenheit, he became aware that the heater and defogger was inoperable. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer and was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 85,000.
The Wind deflector broke on one side. My sunroof won’t close. It is causing water damage and the amount to fix it over 1k. After research this problem has been reported numerous times but no recall yet. Please recall this safety feature in the telluride.
Sunroof malfunction while opening. Loud snap sound then wouldn’t shut.
Went to open the sunroof and the track mechanism cracked. Now it is stuff half open, off the track and dangerous to drive with. It is unable to open/close anymore than it is now. Looking online I see 20+ complaints in two different Kia Telluride forums about the same issue, with no apparent reason.
High beam lights do not work. It shows them on but they never turn on. We found out driving on a mountain road in NM that had no street lights. We had to slow down to 10 miles an hour because it was so dark and we couldn't see. It was scary and dangerous. We wouldn't have been able to react in time if a deer or other animal ran into the street. We looked it up and saw it was a known problem. We checked it numerous times, and it never worked. The driver's side window won't close all the way. It has a 1/2 in gap. The only way to get it to stay closed when we are not in the car is to hold the window lever up, turn off the car, and open the door. However, as soon as you start the vehicle, it drops down again. It also doesn't open all the way when you click the down level. It stops about a 1/2 inch left showing. This causes a lot of road noise that is very distracting and makes the safety features difficult to hear. The wire that holds and lowers the spare tire down won't go back up. We had to remove it because it would drag on the ground. We are unable to carry the spare, so we are at risk if we have a flat. We have not had any of these issues evaluated by the dealership. However, we do plan to.
Windshield cracks with minimal pressure. I have replaced 3 windshield within a year. The smallest rock causes chips that instantly spread.
Driving down the highway and notice a small chip in the windshield.We heard no impact noise while driving. It went from a micro chip to the attached picture in approx an hour. We are outraged because we just repaired our windshield last week from an unknown chip/crack that we came outside to one morning. It spread from the rear view mirror area to the passenger edge of the windshield in 2 days.
We came outside to a "L" shaped crack in the windshield starting in the blackened portion where the rear view mirror sits, coming down and turning toward the passenger side.
The contact owns a 2020 Kia Telluride. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the front windshield cracked without impact. The vehicle was taken to the local glass repair shop and the windshield was replaced. The contact stated that the failure recurred approximately six months later. During the failures, there was no impact to the windshield to cause the crack. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 17,000.
windshield cracked from camera mount outwards for no reason, no impact
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
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