Kia Telluride Complaints (2023)

211 consumer complaints on file.

#11567514January 24, 2024
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, POWER TRAIN
The issue concerns my 2023 Telluride SX X-line (AWD) when driving in the "snow mode" setting. The issue has occurred on several occasions, approximately 2-3 times last winter when I was driving the vehicle and at least one time this winter when my wife was driving in snowy conditions. The issue is that the vehicle accelerator basically becomes unresponsive when driving in snow mode under a set of conditions that are not easily defined. The issue seems to occur fairly randomly. When this issue has occurred, the vehicle either will not accelerate at all when the accelerator is depressed or the power will severely be limited and the vehicle will slow down if moving. This has happened to me in parking lots (thankfully) but did happen to my wife on the road, which could cause a huge safety risk when trying to maneuver with traffic or making a left turn against oncoming traffic. The ways in which I have found to resolve the issue are to either switch the drive mode to another setting using the selector or turning the vehicle off and on again. Shifting from park back to drive does not resolve if snow mode remains engaged. I have not taken the vehicle to a dealership to look into this issue as I have found information on forums that have indicated Kia dealerships do not acknowledge the issue. It is also not easily reproducible. There are no warning indicators on the instrument cluster to notify the driver that anything is wrong. As I said before, the issue arose immediately after the purchase of the vehicle in Dec. 2022 and within the first few thousand miles of the vehicle life. Also, true Michelin snow tires have been equipped on the vehicle when this issue has occurred. I switch between all season tires and the snow tires in between the summer and winter months.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11567457January 24, 2024
ENGINE
I bought my car on August 28, 2023 (2023 Kia Telluride EX AWD) with 8 miles on it. I took it in in November for an oil change. That was around 7500 miles. Then i started hearing a ticking noise and immediately went to the dealership to report it on or around December 1, 2023. The initial testing of my engine was an entire week. I had to pay for a rental out of my pocket until Kia approved for a rental. I was told that my Engine had metal shavings in it and they had to check the transmission also. The engine had to be replaced. I was told it was on National Backorder and I wouldn't have my car back before February. I complained to corporate and for some reason my engine was there the following week. It was frustrating having a brand-new Kia Telluride EX AWD and the engine goes bad. This is my 5th Kia and the first incident I had with a Kia.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11567246January 23, 2024
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The main instrument display is blank as a result the driver cannot see any information such as speed, fuel level, etc. The main display seems to flash blank then dark gray. When the display goes blank the blinkers fail to operate as well despite being turned on. I did contact KIA since this sounds like a similar issue that they have a recall for (SC270) but they informed me that my vehicle was not impacted. My guess is my vehicle is impacted and the recall should cover a larger number of vehicles than previously stated. As additional information my vehicle was among the first to roll of the production line for model year 2023.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11566720January 20, 2024
POWER TRAIN, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
It had snowed in DC area. Vehicle was in snow mode, idle at stop light. When light turned green, slow acceleration turning left and then when pressing down on pedal, all acceleration stopped. Roads were cleared with no signs of snow or ice. Frightened driver and children in vehicle. Were able to coast to the side of the road, turned off vehicle and restarted and able to drive off. Clearly seems to be an issue with “snow” mode.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11566230January 18, 2024
POWER TRAIN, ENGINE
The contact owns a 2023 Kia Telluride. The contact stated that on two separate occasions while driving the vehicle in Snow Mode and attempting to accelerate while making a left turn, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact stopped and restarted the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 1,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11566105January 17, 2024
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
We had the vehicle in 'snow' mode and AWD activated. We turned from a stoplight and as we tried to accelerate and merge, all power cut out. The accelerator was down to the floor and no response for 3-5 seconds. It was potentially dangerous as we were trying to merge at an onramp onto the interstate with cars behind us and next to us. We have not had it to a dealer to try to be replicated but have heard from other Telluride owners that this is happening. There were no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11566075January 17, 2024
ENGINE, POWER TRAIN, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Telluride was in snow mode with 4 wheel lock activated due to snow covered roads. I was at a stop light, when light turned green I removed my foot from the break. My vehicle began to roll forward slightly as it always does. I gently pressed the gas to continue forward but vehicle did not gain speed, it continued to slowly roll as if my foot was not pressing the gas. I removed my foot from the gas and again pressed the gas gently, my vehicle was not advancing. I deactivated the 4 wheel lock feature but remained in snow mode, gently pressed the gas and my vehicle advanced as normal. The same incident happened with my husband the day prior. Several complete stops were made prior to the incident while in snow mode with 4 wheel lock activated and no issues occurred. After research and reading other incidents like mine it appears this is a common issue. Most people stated this was normal to prevent sliding and spinning. If this is a normal feature then KIA needs to revisit this and consider safety. It is not safe to be rolling into an intersection and having no power when pressing the gas. KIA owners should not have to switch drive modes or deactivate a feature to have the ability to advance their vehicle out of an intersection. This feature could result in serious accidents.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11566069January 17, 2024
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The problem has occurred 3 times in the last 3 weeks while driving in "Snow Mode". The accelerator doesn't respond to me pushing on it which has left me in the middle of an intersection and needing to quick change to a different driving mode to get the car to move again. All 3 times it occurred after coming to a complete stop. It allowed me to go forward for about 2-3 seconds but then the accelerator stopped responding whether I was barely pushing on it or pushing harder. The wheels were not spinning, it was a matter of the accelerator not responding. Luckily there were not cars coming in all 3 instances otherwise we would have been hit. It takes time to realize the accelerator isn't working and then think to switch it to another driving mode before you can move again. In that time we could have been hit from the sides or the back. Very scary and not safe at all. I have not brought it into the dealership to get looked at yet. No lights or warnings were on the screen. No other driving mode has this problem occur, just the Snow Mode.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11565580January 15, 2024
SEATS
The heater in the driver side seat, burnt through the seat through a jacket T-shirt, and burnt the back of my son
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11563836January 5, 2024
VISIBILITY/WIPER, VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD
Had to get the front windshield replaced with only about 2,000 miles on the car, had a crack across the entire windshield. Now with only about 6,000 miles. I have another chip on my windshild. I barely drive on the freeway and have nomal driving conditions. This shouldn't be an issue on a new car. Windshield is fragile and makes me worried glass is unsafe.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11556966November 27, 2023
POWER TRAIN
When put into Snow Mode the car won't accelerate from a stop at normal speeds. It feels like the car is stuck in neutral and I'm just coasting. It won't accelerate normally until I switch it into another driving mode like Eco. This has caused a few close calls when turning out of driveways or onto busy streets.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11556445November 22, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
There is something wrong with the electrical system that drains the battery. I keep getting. An ESC code, and then the battery goes dead. The car has been at the dealership for the past three days and they are unable to duplicate the problem. I showed them a video I took of the instrument cluster which shows the code and electrical issues. The Kia dealership says they cannot do anything about the code because they are unable to duplicate the air while the vehicle is in their possession. This has happened twice on a new 2023 car. The dealership says they are returning me my vehicle with no resolution. So essentially, I’m getting a broken car returned to me. When you online search “ESC” Kia there appears to be a lot of complaints about this exact same issue but no fix?
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11556148November 20, 2023
LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST, LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING
Since November 10th we have gotten this message at least 3 times while driving and a message showed up on the screen "Check Lane Change Assist Function". It went away after a few minutes. Dealership was unable to duplicate so nothing was done. (see photo B and C)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11556145November 20, 2023
STEERING
On October 27th we were driving down the road and all of a sudden the steering wheel snatched to the left hard enough to put us over the centerline. My son was driving, he is around 200lbs of muscle and he couldn’t keep it from crossing the centerline. There was nothing in the road that should have caused avoidance and no audible alerts. It did it a second time after we made a turn on to another road but not quite as severe. Dealership was unable to duplicate so nothing was done.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11553963November 7, 2023
VISIBILITY/WIPER, VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD
While driving on the highway, windshield was hit by a small pebble on the driver side. What was an initially a very small chip started to spread over half the windshield creating visibility issues and negating the ability to repair the chip in the windshield.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11552223October 27, 2023
VISIBILITY/WIPER
There is a dark show that comes Dow 3/4 of the windshield when driving on a dark street with no street lights. This happens when the low beam are turned on, when you switch to high beam your visibility improves.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11546957September 27, 2023
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, POWER TRAIN, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:HORN
The horn quit working on the vehicle after pushing on it. Both the low and high horn had to be replaced. The vehciles rear differential was replaced due to continued loud sounds coming from the rear and constant wheel slippage. The Rear differential replacement did not fix the issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11545695September 20, 2023
STEERING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
while driving , the power steering went out making steering very difficult and unsafe. a multitude of warning lights flashed on and off. several warning icons were subsequently sent to our home app for a period of 10 days while the car was parked and we were in hawaii. there is an obvious issue with the computers electrical systems that affect safe driving and continue to send false warnings to the app. this steering electrical issue will hurt someone if not fixed.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11545590September 20, 2023
ENGINE, STEERING, POWER TRAIN
The vehicle started displaying every single warning light stating the engine was shutting down and to pull over immediately. Power steering went out along with power brakes and the infotainment before vehicle could be pulled over safely. All occurred within 10 seconds. I was barely able to pull onto a side street without getting hit. Vehicle completely shut off as if battery was removed. I jump started vehicle but upon removing the jump starter after engine was running the vehicle shuddered and shut off again. The vehicle was towed to KIA service and they diagnosed the issue to be a faulty battery. Battery was replaced under warranty and picked up. The next day, the issue occurred and the vehicle shut off. Luckily I was able to get to a safe place before loosing all power. Shortly before the second issue the vehicle displayed a notification stating an engine control fault was detected. The vehicle is currently disabled and waiting to be towed again. I suspect the issue is the alternator as other people say this issue occurred with their alternator on the same vehicle as well. Towing took 4 hours last time and I do not believe it will be any quicker this time. I am without a vehicle until then. This issue is very dangerous and needs to be addressed immediately!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11544189September 12, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
While driving my 2023 kia telluride in 49 degree weather on our way to our vacation rental in Wyoming, we heard an extremely loud explosion. We stopped the vehicle on the side of the road where we discovered that the sunroof had spontaneously combusted throwing shards of glass everywhere. Fortunately we had the inside screen closed otherwise we all would have been pierced by the glass shards. We could have been blinded had the glass been launched into our eyes. The glass badly scratched the roof and the car. Kia is refusing to cover this obvious defect that has happened to many other kia tellurides as you can see by the many accounts posted on Google and other social boards. Kia continues to deny responsibility for this defect and, instead, wants customers to turn this in to their personal insurance companies. However, even if you would agree to turn this in to your car insurance, they would not cover it as there was no accident. Kia must be made to acknowledge and pay for this clear defect (see the recent sunroof settlement made by Hyundai for the exploding sunroof) instead of expecting their car buyers to pay for their mistake out of their own pockets.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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