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2021 Kia Telluride

For every car sold, owners filed somewhat fewer complaints about the 2021 Telluride than about the typical Telluride year. Among the 4 Telluride years with enough complaints to compare, owners filed the fewest about the 2023 (1.48 per 1,000 sold) and the most about the 2020 (3.68).

Safety complaints filed by owners in the first three years, per 1,000 sold.

1.66 per 1,000

0.7 times this nameplate’s own median

Counted from 140 complaints filed in the first three years, of 377 ever. 95% lower bound 1.38.

Every Telluride model yearComplaints per 1,000 sold, first three years
This yearOther yearsTypical year, 2.29

Against its own model years

The model year carries far more information than the badge, so this is the comparison that matters. The bar is how many complaints each rate rests on.

Model yearPer 1,000Complaints
20203.68246
20211.66140
20222.29222
20231.48156

Issues owners of the 2021 Telluride report

Phrases over-represented in these complaints compared with the same component on every other vehicle. Counts are complaints containing the phrase.

Unknown Or Other 105 complaints

sunroof6360%
deflector1716%
track1716%
wind1413%
wind deflector1312%
stuck open1010%

Engine 68 complaints

quarts1218%
oil filter1116%
housing1015%

Visibility/Wiper 65 complaints

crack3046%
chip1929%
windshield cracked1625%
rock1422%
hit windshield1117%

When it breaks

80% of reported failures happened before 30,000 miles (median 3,200 miles, from 41 complaints that recorded one).

Failures cluster early, which is the signature of how the car was built rather than of wear. A low-mileage example has not yet passed the risk window.

What NHTSA did

No NHTSA investigation covers this model year.

That is not a clean bill of health, and not a criticism of the agency: investigations open for many reasons and complaint volume is only one of them.

Questions buyers ask about the 2021 Kia Telluride

Is 2021 a good year or a bad year for the Telluride?

For every car sold, owners filed somewhat fewer complaints about the 2021 Telluride than about the typical Telluride year. Among the 4 Telluride years with enough complaints to compare, owners filed the fewest about the 2023 (1.48 per 1,000 sold) and the most about the 2020 (3.68). The typical year is the median across its model years.

What problems does the 2021 Telluride have?

The parts owners named most often in complaints filed to date: Unknown Or Other (105), Engine (68), Visibility/Wiper (65). The phrases they used are listed above.

Is the 2021 Telluride reliable?

Complaint records cannot settle that on their own. They count safety problems owners chose to report to the federal government, not every repair. What they do show is how this year compares with the other Telluride years: for every car sold, owners filed somewhat fewer complaints about the 2021 Telluride than about the typical Telluride year.

Which Telluride year has the fewest complaints?

Among years with enough complaints to compare, the 2023, at 1.48 per 1,000 sold. Every Telluride year, ranked.

What the used-car guides say

No guide we read covers the Telluride.

Check this yourself

Example records behind this page, each on NHTSA’s own site:

Limits of this figure. It counts safety complaints filed with the federal government, which is a floor on failures and not a census: problems that only cost money are under-reported. Complaint rates also reflect how likely a brand’s owners are to file, which cannot be separated from how often the car fails. Sales are calendar-year and the denominator for this nameplate is taken year by year from published US sales figures, each one quoted from a named source.