2024 Kia Telluride Owner Complaints

I am submitting this complaint regarding a serious safety concern involving my Kia Telluride and the recalled front power seat motor/fire hazard. We are parents of three children, and this vehicle is used to transport our family. We are extremely concerned about the potential for a vehicle fire caused by the defective seat motor and the fact that the issue has not been adequately remedied. Kia has previously issued a recall addressing the potential for the front power seat motor to overheat, melt, and potentially cause a fire. Despite the previous recall and attempted remedy, Kia has now issued another recall concerning the same or substantially similar safety issue. This raises serious concerns regarding the effectiveness of the original remedy and whether affected vehicles were actually made safe after the initial recall repair. According to information from NHTSA, vehicles affected by this issue have experienced incidents involving melted seat motors and seat fires. NHTSA has also advised owners of affected vehicles to park outside and away from structures because of the potential fire risk. As parents of three children, we find this particularly alarming. A vehicle fire is an extremely serious safety hazard, and the possibility of a fire developing in or around the seating area presents an unacceptable risk to our family. If a fire were to occur while our children were passengers, evacuating three children from the vehicle could be extremely difficult and dangerous. Our concern is not simply that the vehicle requires a repair. Our concern is that a known safety defect has already been subject to a recall and remedy, yet the safety issue has apparently continued or required another recall. Consumers who complied with the original recall should be able to reasonably rely on the manufacturer and its authorized repair facilities to have corrected the safety defect. 2024 Telluride 5XYP3DGC6RG524189

NHTSA ID

11756277

Incident

Aug 10, 2026

our transmission not shifting to next gear on highway acceleration— RPM"s climbs but speed doesn't match—is a serious drivability and safety issue. My car was in the dealership for this problem and it has returned. my wife was entering a highway and RPM's increased and t .transmission wouldn't shit to the next gear.

NHTSA ID

11755912

Incident

Aug 8, 2026

SUBJECT: SAFETY RECALL DENIAL APPEAL: Pinched Seat Harness Fire Hazard - 2024 Kia Telluride VIN: [XXX] KIA case #:XXX TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, I am filing an urgent safety appeal regarding a refusal by my local dealership to repair a severe fire hazard on my 2024 Kia Telluride. This vehicle is experiencing the exact failure mode detailed in federal safety recalls regarding the front passenger power seat wiring. The dealership has denied coverage by claiming rodent damage. However, the official photograph provided to me by the dealership’s own service department completely disproves the claim and confirms a manufacturing/design defect: 1. CLEAR MECHANICAL FLATTENING: The first wire in the harness is severely flattened and shows distinct mechanical abrasion and rubbing marks across its surface. The insulation is pressed flat, which can only happen under the immense pressure of the moving metal seat frame or track. 2. ELONGATED CUT AND SHEARED: The second wire directly behind it features a clean, continuous one-inch cut where the rubber insulation has been completely stripped away exposing the live circuit. 3. NO BIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE: There are no jagged chew marks, frayed insulation fibers, nesting materials, or pest droppings anywhere in the area or vehicle itself. This is an undeniable case of the seat mechanism pinching, rubbing, and exposing the wiring harness during normal operation, leading to a direct short circuit and blown fuses. Leaving a live, exposed wire beneath a moving power seat presents an immediate thermal and fire risk to my family. I requested that Kia Corporate immediately override this dealership assessment and to dispatch a Field Technical Specialist if necessary, and authorize the complete replacement of the damaged wiring harness under the active safety recall and factory warranty. They also wanted to repair this wire by using liquid rubber, which is totally unacceptable and I refused. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (

NHTSA ID

11754602

Incident

Feb 1, 2026

Driving and brakes malfunctioned and would not stop causing an accident into a tree

NHTSA ID

11754431

Incident

Aug 3, 2026

On XXX, while driving my 2024 Kia Telluride (VIN: [XXX]) with approximately 34,000 miles, the vehicle suddenly experienced a complete electrical failure without warning. The instrument cluster went completely black, I lost electric power steering assist, the transmission would not shift, and the vehicle would not accelerate. The vehicle lost motive power while I was driving, creating a significant safety hazard for me and surrounding traffic. After bringing the vehicle to a stop, it would not restart. The vehicle had to be towed to Dutch Miller Kia for diagnosis and repair. The vehicle is still covered under the manufacturer's warranty. It has been at the dealership since XXX, awaiting diagnosis and repair. As of the date of this complaint, I have not been provided with a loaner vehicle or alternate transportation. I am filing this complaint because a complete loss of electrical power, steering assist, acceleration, and shifting while the vehicle is in operation presents a serious safety risk. I believe this incident should be investigated to determine whether it represents a broader safety issue affecting other vehicles. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11751721

Incident

Jul 11, 2026

Component Malfunction & Availability The component that failed is the center infotainment and entertainment touchscreen display system on a 2024 Kia Telluride. The center screen goes completely black, remains unresponsive to touch or power controls, and fails to initialize upon starting the vehicle. It does not respond to soft pinhole hardware resets. This is a recurring failure; the original factory entertainment screen suffered a total blackout defect and was replaced under manufacturer warranty, but the replacement OEM unit suffered an identical total failure just seven months later. The vehicle and the defective infotainment assembly are fully available for inspection upon request. Safety Risks Imposed Safety is actively compromised because the total failure of the entertainment screen completely disables the backup camera and the 360-degree surround-view safety monitors. When reversing, the driver is left with a dead screen, creating an immediate blind-spot hazard and significantly increasing the risk of a pedestrian backup collision or property impact. Furthermore, the blackout prevents the driver from adjusting critical cabin climate controls, defrosters, and hands-free Bluetooth communication systems, causing severe driver distraction while trying to operate the vehicle. Reproduction & Diagnosis The problem has been reproduced and confirmed by an authorized Kia dealership service center. The initial failure was verified by dealer technicians, resulting in a full warranty replacement. The current identical failure has been documented as a reoccurring, unresolvable defect with the OEM hardware. Inspection Status The system has been inspected and diagnosed exclusively by the authorized Kia dealership service center technicians during the first warranty replacement. No further inspections have been performed by Kia corporate investigators, law enforcement, or insurance representatives. Warning Signs & Symptoms There were no warning lamps, error messages, flicker

NHTSA ID

11749819

Incident

Jun 1, 2026

My vehicle has been burning at least 1 quart of oil each month. There are no leaks on the ground.

NHTSA ID

11749593

Incident

Jan 15, 2025

The vehicle has 38000 miles now. At about 34000 miles I began to notice a slight rumble from the read end of the car when starting from a stop and making a turn. It has become more noticeable recently. It is only noticeble from a stop and below about 10 mph.After doing some searches online, I have learned that this is a common problem with the Telluride and is due to the AWD coupling. I have not yet scheduled a service appointment, but will do so today. One discussion forum suggested that a report be made to this site since there are no recalls on this part at this time.

NHTSA ID

11747991

Incident

Apr 15, 2026

Safety Complaint I am submitting this complaint regarding a recurring fuel gauge malfunction on my 2024 Kia Telluride. On XXX, the vehicle unexpectedly displayed a warning indicating that the fuel tank was empty and that refueling was immediately required. At the time of the warning, there was still a substantial amount of fuel remaining in the tank, and the vehicle had not been driven long enough to reasonably consume the displayed amount of fuel. After adding approximately one gallon of gasoline, the fuel gauge immediately returned to a normal reading, indicating that the vehicle had not actually been out of fuel. This strongly suggests that the fuel level indication system or fuel level sensor is intermittently malfunctioning. Since the initial occurrence, this problem has happened three separate times under similar driving conditions. The issue appears intermittently without warning and cannot be predicted by the driver. On XXX, while the vehicle was still covered under the manufacturer's warranty, I brought the vehicle to Cerritos Kia in [XXX] for diagnosis. I provided the dealership with video recordings clearly showing the instrument cluster displaying the false empty fuel warning. Despite reviewing the video evidence, the dealership refused to perform any repair because no warning lights or diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) were present at the time of inspection. I was told to return only if the condition occurred again. No corrective action was taken while the vehicle remained under warranty. The malfunction has continued to occur after that visit. This defect creates a significant safety concern because drivers rely on the fuel gauge to accurately determine the amount of fuel remaining. A false empty fuel warning can cause drivers to unnecessarily stop in unsafe locations, alter their driving behavior, or lose confidence in the accuracy of the fuel gauge. More importantly, if the underlying defect causes INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11746818

Incident

Oct 23, 2025

The contact owns a 2024 Kia Telluride. The contact stated that while driving 5 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the engine warning light was illuminated and the message “Engine Failure – Shift to Park or Neutral” was displayed. The dealer was contacted but the vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The failure was a recurring failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 31,000.

NHTSA ID

11745611

Incident

May 26, 2026

Mileage

31,000 mi

Component - Rear Passenger Window spontaneously failed while traveling on an interstate. We suddenly heard a loud pop and then our rear passenger window shattered without warning. There was no vehicle immediately to the right of us us and nothing struck the window. We were put at risk with this sudden unexplained occurrence as we were driving on the highway at speed. Luckily, we didn't react erratically but could have. We had to pull off to the side of the road on a very busy interstate to figure out what happened. Additionally, we were fortunate that no one was in the back seat as that could have also resulted in injury if someone was sitting there. The manufacturer and dealerships have noted the incident and problem but have not claimed there is any issues. Although the dealership we had the repair done at has seen similar issues with sunroofs with this car type. In researching, we have seen that there are some class action investigations involving these types of window failure in 2020 - 2025 models (noted as rear windows and sunroofs in the investigations). We did have immediate repair of the window through a manufacturer dealership.

NHTSA ID

11744819

Incident

May 26, 2026

Cluster that shows speed/gas/safety notifications has went completely black and will not turn back on. It has now been in the shop for 2 weeks and they cannot figure out why this is happening. This is the second time the instrument cluster has went out on the 2024 Kia Telluride.

NHTSA ID

11744506

Incident

Jun 5, 2026

The dash screen has gone out at random times. Currently there is not TSB or any acknowledgement from Kia about this safety issue. Their dealers service department doesn't know what to do and aren't admitting there is a problem. The only fix from customers online was that Kia replaced the entire gauge cluster which is a massive expense to Kia. The consumers are suffering because of this and Kia is not taking responsibility. They need to start a recall campaign or at minimum introduce a TSB so that Kia service departments know what is needed to fix this issue.

NHTSA ID

11744367

Incident

May 29, 2026

The tire separated after only 20k miles. Mechanic stated that I still had half of the tires life left. Was advised not to drive more than a mile on it as it could blow out and cause harm to myself and 2 young children. I had two new tires put on the vehicle. My mechanic will be checking the two remaining at every oil change I have in the future. There was no warning, my vehicle started violently shaking and veering heavily to the right, so much I had to fight it with both hands. Kumho (tire manufacturer) has ignored my calls and emails. Kia told me they cannot help me and to reach out to Kumho.

NHTSA ID

11743078

Incident

Jun 1, 2026

Jan 2026 I was driving into my workplace that is an inclined driveway. Released pressure from gas pedal and telluride began accelerating despite release of gas pedal. I ended up going through the building and lots of damage to both vehicle and building. After it was repaired there were two more instances this happened once while in a parking lot and at a slow speed. Vehicle has been at dealership since March and is in an active case due to kia saying they found nothing wrong with it although it is unsafe to drive

NHTSA ID

11742379

Incident

Jan 9, 2026

While driving the LCD screens would go blank intermittently. Sometimes staying off for 30 secs or more. I could still hear sound and could control volume. This has happened on two different occasions while traveling to work. I have a 35 minute commute on interstate highways.

NHTSA ID

11741629

Incident

Jun 2, 2026

The car seat styrofoam has detached from car seat and was previously held down by GLUE. The styrofoam has detached from shell that was previously attached by glue. Car seat was used previously for 6 months from October 2024 to April 2025 then stored in proper areas to prevent damage.

NHTSA ID

11740811

Incident

May 29, 2026

I was operating a 2024 Kia Telluride and was fully stopped in traffic when my vehicle was rear-ended by another vehicle. Immediately after the impact, my vehicle experienced apparent unintended forward propulsion/movement despite my braking attempts. Following the collision, the vehicle continued moving/driving forward for approximately 20 seconds and did not respond normally to brake input. The behavior created a loss-of-control situation and significantly increased the risk of secondary collisions, injury to vehicle occupants, nearby motorists, and pedestrians. I was unable to immediately stop the vehicle despite attempting to do so. The exact failed component has not yet been definitively identified; however, the incident appears potentially related to malfunction or unintended operation of one or more of the following systems: * drivetrain/transmission engagement, * electronic throttle control, * braking system, * powertrain control module, * or Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). The vehicle should be inspected for: * Event Data Recorder (EDR) data, * diagnostic trouble codes, * throttle/brake command activity, * drivetrain engagement data, * and post-collision electronic system behavior. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. At this time, the issue has not yet been reproduced intentionally. The vehicle has not yet been fully evaluated or confirmed by a Kia dealer or independent repair facility for the specific unintended movement condition. The vehicle is expected to undergo inspection and diagnostic review as soon as the Progressive adjuster issues the acceptance/approval letter. The vehicle will then be observed by insurance representatives, and collision repair personnel, as part of the accident and claim process. Prior to the collision and unintended movement event, there were no known warning lamps, dashboard alerts, or noticeable drivability symptoms indicating

NHTSA ID

11739841

Incident

May 9, 2026

Multiple door belt molding trims from two doors on my 2024 Kia Telluride detached from the vehicle, which is the subject of safety recall SC347 (NHTSA 25V494). The detached trim piece falls onto the roadway while driving, creating a road hazard for other vehicles and increasing the risk of a crash. The defect was confirmed by a Kia dealership, which documented the issue and acknowledged it falls under the active safety recall. I first brought the vehicle to the dealer on February 10, 2026 to have the recall repair performed. The dealer informed me the replacement parts are on backorder and didn’t provide or recommend a temporary rental. As of today, May 11, 2026 — over three months later — the repair has not been completed and no estimated completion date has been given. I have called back to ask the parts department at my service center for an ETA but they are only able to tell me that the replacement parts are still on back order. The failed component is the exterior door belt molding face plate, which is available for inspection at the dealership. Prior to full detachment, symptoms included the trim appearing visually loose and producing rattling and wind noise. My safety concern is that I am being forced to drive an unrepaired vehicle with a known safety defect because Kia has failed to supply adequate parts to complete this federally mandated recall repair in a timely manner.

NHTSA ID

11736938

Incident

Jan 15, 2026

Dashboard display is black. Therefore, the odometer and speedometer are not visible. I cannot tell how fast I’m driving which is unsafe. I called the Naperville and Elmhurst locations and they did not deem the issue a priority to diagnose today.

NHTSA ID

11734772

Incident

Apr 30, 2026

brakes weren’t working when trying to stop. Loud noise, braking pedals vibrated, when pushing down to attempt to break the brakes got soft, the steering wheel started to shake. Emergency parking lights and ASB lights on the dashboard came on. The vehicle was towed to the dealership and was unable to find the problem. They did a brake fluid exchange. Video of my driveway was provided to the dealership from this incident. Gear corporation was also contacted letting them know of the safety concerns I had. Third row and front passenger seatbelts not buckling.

NHTSA ID

11731951

Incident

Sep 9, 2025

I was notified of a recall on my vehicle related to door trim. I contacted my authorized Kia dealership to have the recall repaired and was told the required parts are unavailable, with no estimated timeline for resolution. I have been on a waitlist for over one year with no update. The unrepaired defect causes excessive noise that makes the vehicle unsafe and unsuitable for highway travel. I have submitted a formal demand letter to Kia America requesting either expedited repair, a vehicle buyback, or compensation for damages — and have received no response after 17 days.

NHTSA ID

11730983

Incident

Jan 1, 2025

The information cluster behind the steering wheel is not turning on. Started all of a sudden. Can’t show speed, none of the advance driving features are working , and not showing gas level.

NHTSA ID

11730026

Incident

Apr 7, 2026

I have been waiting for KIA to repair this recall for over 4 weeks. The local dealership states that the part is on backorder and hasn't arrived yet.

NHTSA ID

11726722

Incident

Feb 26, 2026

The Kia has an active recall sc347a because the side pieces can fall off. Two of ours already have, one of which flew off of our car and was definitely a hazard when it happened. Kia South Atlanta , 7310 Jonesboro road Morrow Road has repeatedly refused to fix it and have made it clear they have no plans to ever fix it despite the recall.

NHTSA ID

11723771

Incident

Jan 10, 2026