2021 Kia Telluride problems & reliability
343 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2021 Kia Telluride, alongside 5 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
7 complaints report injuries (9 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2021 Kia Telluride vehicles were involved in 26 fatal crashes with 10 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown OR Other | 94 | 27% |
| Visibility/wiper → | 62 | 18% |
| Engine → | 57 | 17% |
| Electrical System → | 39 | 11% |
| Structure → | 31 | 9% |
| Power Train → | 25 | 7% |
| Visibility → | 23 | 7% |
| Forward Collision Avoidance → | 20 | 6% |
| Suspension → | 18 | 5% |
| Service Brakes → | 14 | 4% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 3,950 miles (middle 50% between 1,975 and 18,500 miles), based on 34 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“While driving this vehicle in route to Philadelphia airport JFK, i experienced a total malfunction of the instrument cluster. All of the warning lights continued to go on and off and were illuminating on the cluster non stop along with a audible chiming, all of wich lasted the 3 hour trip. The car is available…”
Forward Collision Avoidance · filed Jul 31, 2026
“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…”
Unknown OR Other · filed Jul 29, 2026
“CATASTROPHIC FAILURE TIMELINE (13 DAYS) XXX: Delivery taken at 105,439 miles.XXX: My boyfriend noticed a cloud of smoke from exhaust as I pressed the accelerator pedal to leave the parking lot. I didn't notice because it was almost dark outside when leaving. He didn't notice again so he didn't stop me and told me when…”
Electrical System · filed Jul 28, 2026
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Technical service bulletins
95 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2021 Kia Telluride. The 10 most recent:
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: WARRANTY EXTENSION CAMPAIGN: OIL FILTER HOUSING GASKET REPLACEMENT (WTY045) - This bulletin provides information regarding the ‘Warranty Extension Program (WTY045)’ for the inspection and, if…
WTY045_TSB · Warranty Program/Extension · issued Jun 4, 2026
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM SOFTWARE UPDATE USING UPDATE.KIA.COM - This bulletin provides information and service procedures for updating the infotainment systems on applicable Kia vehicles using the…
TSB_ELE422 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 28, 2026
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: 4WD COUPLING NOISE/VIBRATION LOGIC IMPROVEMENT) - CLOSED & SUPERSEDED BY CHA129 - This bulletin is now closed and superseded by CHA129. This bulletin provides information to upgrade the…
TSB_CHA128_CLSD · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 23, 2026
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: AWD COUPLER NOISE/VIBRATION LOGIC IMPROVEMENT - This bulletin provides information to upgrade the 4-Wheel Drive ‘4WD’ system software on some 2020-2025MY Telluride (ON) vehicles produced from…
TSB_CHA129 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 23, 2026
WARRANTY EXTENSION CAMPAIGN: REIMBURSEMENT FORM (WTY045) - This document is a Reimbursement Request form that was mailed with the customer letter advising them to submit the form if they had paid for repairs for this…
WTY045_REIMB · Warranty Program/Extension · issued Apr 30, 2026
WARRANTY EXTENSION CAMPAIGN: OWNER NOTIFICATION (WTY045) - This document is the owner notification advising that Kia is extending the New Vehicle Limited Warranty coverage, to all owners, for certain repairs related to…
WTY045_OWNR · Warranty Program/Extension · issued Apr 30, 2026
WARRANTY EXTENSION CAMPAIGN: DEALER PARTS AND SERVICE MANAGER MEMO (WTY045) - This document is the announcement to the dealer Parts and Service managers advising that Kia is extending the New Vehicle Limited Warranty…
WTY045_DPSM · Warranty Program/Extension · issued Apr 29, 2026
WARRANTY EXTENSION CAMPAIGN: DEALER PRINCIPAL MEMO (WTY045) - This document is the announcement to the dealer principals advising that Kia is extending the New Vehicle Limited Warranty coverage to all owners for certain…
WTY045_DP · Warranty Program/Extension · issued Apr 29, 2026
WARRANTY EXTENSION CAMPAIGN: QUESTION AND ANSWER (WTY045) - This document is the Question and Answer Guide containing the most frequently asked questions regarding the Warranty Extension Campaign WTY045.
WTY045_QA · Warranty Program/Extension · issued Apr 29, 2026
VOLUNTARY EMISSIONS SERVICE CAMPAIGN: OWNER NOTIFICATION (SC357) - This document is the owner notification advising that Kia is conducting a Voluntary Emissions Service Campaign to improve the emissions software logic…
SC357_OWNR · Emissions · issued Feb 21, 2026
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2021 Kia Telluride has 5 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2021 Kia Telluride?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 3,950 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.