2025 Kia Telluride Problems: 11 Known Issues

On the 2020-2025 Kia Telluride, telluride owners report the fixed or sliding panoramic sunroof glass exploding without any impact — typically while driving, described consistently as sounding like a gunshot followed by glass raining into the cabin. The failure mode is characteristic of tempered panoramic panels: ceramic-frit edge stresses combined with the large thin panel and body flex create a stored-stress condition where a microscopic edge flaw propagates catastrophically. Kia has faced class-action litigation over exploding panoramic sunroofs across its lineup, and the complaint volume spans the Telluride's full production run including 2024 and 2025 vehicles. There is no safety recall for this condition, so warranty coverage is decided case-by-case and glass claims are frequently denied as 'road debris'.

On the 2020-2025 Kia Telluride, the Smart Power Liftgate on EX and above fails in two related but distinct ways. The gas struts on either side of the gate weaken — often within the first year or two, and much faster in cold climates — so the gate stops closing fully, reverses partway, or drops. Separately, the liftgate drive motor/spindle unit fails outright: the gate stops responding entirely, the liftgate configuration options disappear from the infotainment settings menu, and pressing the dash liftgate button produces three beeps with no motion. Because the module drops off the network when the motor unit fails, the settings menu vanishing is the tell that distinguishes a dead motor from a weak strut. Parts availability has been a recurring frustration, with replacement struts and motors reported on backorder with no ETA.

On the 2020-2025 Kia Telluride, telluride owners report unusually high rates of windshield cracking from minor road debris that would not crack windshields on other vehicles. Over 46% of NHTSA visibility complaints for the Telluride relate to windshield cracking. Cracks typically originate from the lower passenger-side corner and spread toward the center. The issue may be related to the windshield glass thickness or tempering specification. No official recall, but NHTSA has received significant complaint volume.

On the 2023-2025 Kia Telluride, nHTSA recall 25V494000 (Kia SC347) covers certain 2023-2025 Telluride vehicles. The door belt molding trim can delaminate and detach from the vehicle, creating a road hazard for other traffic.

On the 2020-2025 Kia Telluride, tellurides develop paint bubbling and peeling at body panel seams, particularly the hood leading edge, roof rail joints, and rear liftgate seams. The issue is caused by insufficient e-coat coverage at spot-welded seams, allowing moisture to penetrate under the paint. The bubbling starts small but spreads if not addressed, eventually leading to visible rust. Dark-colored vehicles show the issue sooner. Kia has acknowledged the issue but has not issued a formal recall.

On the 2025 Kia Telluride, kia recalled approximately 85,448 model-year 2025 Tellurides equipped with power front seats because a manufacturing error in the driver and passenger seat back frame assemblies may leave them unable to properly restrain occupants in a crash. This is a structural seat-frame defect and is entirely separate from the earlier front power seat motor overheating/fire recall — here the frame itself is the part at fault, meaning in a collision the seat back could deform or fail to hold the occupant in position, defeating the seat belt geometry and the occupant restraint system. NHTSA campaign number 26V105, Kia campaign SC362; owner notification letters mailed beginning April 24, 2026.

On the 2025 Kia Telluride, nHTSA recall 25V745000 (Kia SC355) covers certain 2025 Telluride vehicles equipped with an incorrect spare tire. If installed, the tire can impair anti-lock braking and traction control, and the vehicle does not comply with FMVSS 110.

On the 2020-2025 Kia Telluride, tellurides fitted with the rear self-leveling (load-leveling) shock absorbers — standard on tow-package and higher trims — develop a distinct knock, thump or pop from the rear of the vehicle over bumps and expansion joints, often accompanied by a harsh, stiff ride. Kia first addressed this with TSB CHA113 (rear shock absorber assembly noise), which replaces the rear self-leveling shock insulator and locking nut on 2020-2021 vehicles built Jan 1 2019 - Dec 1 2020. The insulator turned out to be only part of the story: owners report the self-leveling shocks themselves subsequently failing outright — losing damping, leaking oil, or losing the self-leveling function so the rear sits low or bounces after bumps. Kia later issued warranty extension WTY040 (Aug 2024) covering the rear suspension noise / firm ride condition out to 15 years / 180,000 miles, which is an unusually long extension and signals a design-level defect rather than wear.

On the 2020-2025 Kia Telluride, tellurides repeatedly go dead overnight or after a few days parked, with owners jump-starting and replacing perfectly good batteries only to have the problem return. The Telluride's always-on cellular telematics modem (Kia Access / UVO remote start and remote climate) never fully sleeps, and the Intelligent Battery Unit (IBU) — the module that manages charge state and load-shedding — is the second common culprit; a failing IBU or a module that will not enter sleep leaves a parasitic draw well above the ~30-50 mA target. Contributing triggers reported across the owner community include the key fob left within proximity range of the vehicle (which keeps the smart-key ECU and body modules awake), and heavy use of remote-start via the app. Dealers frequently fail to reproduce this because the draw only appears after the vehicle should have entered deep sleep — several owners report the dealership needing a month to catch it.

On the 2020-2025 Kia Telluride 3.8L Lambda II V6, the 3.8L Lambda II V6 in the Telluride experiences fuel dilution of the engine oil when driven primarily on short trips (under 10 miles). Fuel washes past the piston rings during cold starts and does not fully evaporate because the oil never reaches full operating temperature. The diluted oil has reduced viscosity and lubrication properties, accelerating engine wear. The issue is more pronounced in cold climates. Oil analysis shows fuel contamination levels of 3-5% in severe cases.

On the 2020-2025 Kia Telluride, the third-row seat fold-down mechanism in the Telluride jams, preventing the seats from folding flat or locking back into the upright position. The latch mechanism uses a cable-actuated release that stretches and binds over time. When the latch jams in the released position, the seat back flops freely and cannot be secured for passenger use. The issue is exacerbated by frequent folding/unfolding of the third row.