AutoUtility currently tracks 349 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2021 Kia Telluride. Visibility, Wipers & Glass issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 84 complaints (24.1% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 7 filings cite a crash, 4 cite a fire, 7 report one or more injuries.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 349 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Visibility, Wipers & Glass (84 reports • 24.1% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Engine & Cooling (58), Electrical System (39)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 7 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 4 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 7 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2021 Kia Telluride
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Visibility, Wipers & Glass
Engine & Cooling
Electrical System
Body & Structure
Powertrain & Transmission
NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #24V214000 POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:DRIVESHAFT
Symptoms Mentioned in NHTSA Owner Reports for 2021 Kia Telluride
Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis
AutoUtility uses deterministic phrase matching to identify recurring symptom descriptions within consumer-submitted NHTSA complaint narratives.
Engine Coolant Intrusion / Oil Leak
Loss of Motive Power While Driving
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2021 Kia Telluride
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"I purchased this 2021 Kia Telluride new and have had it routinely serviced and maintained by authorized Kia dealerships. At approximately 60,000–80,000 miles, the engine began consuming excessive oil. I reported the condition to the Kia dealer at approximately 80,000 miles, while the vehicle was..."
"My 2021 Kia Telluride has suffered two consecutive component failures of the rear suspension's self-leveling shock absorbers. This component is the exact subject of Kia's August 15, 2024 Extended Warranty Program (WTY040), which acknowledges a widespread engineering defect causing premature rear..."
"Sunroof broke when trying to open it. Now it’s in the open, venting, position unable to close. Dealership can’t look at it for a week so I’m risking water damage. Vehicle only has 31,000 miles on it and is just past the 5 yr warranty of course"
"Was low on oil and check oil light don't go on have to put oil very 2 week because it get low and I don't have no oil leak at all I found out because the motor start shaking and making noise tow it home and mechanical came to check it out and didn't have oil he say I was lurking I was not in the..."
"The sunroof is stuck open and is loose on the tracks, if even on the tracks at all. Very dangerous, as it could fly off while I am driving. This is a common problem with the Telluride, and I believe it should be recalled."
Complaint History for Kia Telluride
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2020–2025)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 Kia Telluride | 746 | 8 | 7 | View 2020 Problems → |
| 2021 Kia Telluride Current Page | 349 | 7 | 5 | Current |
| 2022 Kia Telluride | 318 | 10 | 7 | View 2022 Problems → |
| 2023 Kia Telluride | 202 | 5 | 6 | View 2023 Problems → |
| 2024 Kia Telluride | 214 | 6 | 5 | View 2024 Problems → |
| 2025 Kia Telluride | 97 | 3 | 3 | View 2025 Problems → |
Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2021 Kia Telluride
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 75 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 73 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER | 54 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE | 38 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forward Collision Avoidance NHTSA category: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STRUCTURE,VISIBILITY | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VISIBILITY,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| BACK OVER PREVENTION,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEATS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEATS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE,VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Equipment & Accessories NHTSA category: EQUIPMENT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lane Departure Warning NHTSA category: LANE DEPARTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doors, Latches & Locks NHTSA category: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| OTHER/I AM NOT SURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,STRUCTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SEATS,AIR BAGS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,SUSPENSION,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,WHEELS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tires NHTSA category: TIRES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VISIBILITY,STRUCTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VISIBILITY/WIPER,LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VISIBILITY/WIPER,VISIBILITY | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| WHEELS,TIRES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.