KIA Telluride Reliability by Year
Best & Worst Years, Problems & Recalls — NHTSA Data

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I am the owner of a 2025 KIA Telluride. The engine shuts completely off with a Warming stating "Engine OFF! Shift to P or N, then restart engine". Car has no power and creates a dangerous situation in traffic. You are on a highway and you have to stop the car to restart. The traffic flow is dangerously interrupted. This issue happens randomly on it's own time and the reason is still unknown. The dealership usually cannot duplicate this Warning and several 2025 Tellurides are experiencing this dangerous condition.

A week after purchasing a New 2025 Telliride with less than 8 miles on it the Transmission stopped shifting into gear. I would have to move manuel mode and shift into each gear to keep SUV moving. Never got a check engine light and nothing showed when codes were ran on car from dealership. The first dealership where I purchased from replace throttle body thinking that would fix it but it did not. After driving a few hours back to work the same issue happened again and I had to bring to closer dealership near job for repair. They said you transmission is completely not working and needs to be replaced. They opened a case with KIA, unlike previous dealership and repaired the Transmission. Since I have had the transmission completely repair it is starting again, but seems it has something to due with the engine nothing throttling down and up and make a little jump when taking off or slowing down.

Purchased vehicle 1/18/2025; first and only owner. Occurrence = Engine Shut off, alarm sounded and warning lights flashed; Error: "Engine off, shift to N or P, Then start engine." Had to shift to Neutral and Push Start to restart engine. -During March: occurred 2 times, both times worked after shifting to Neutral. -4/1-4/3: occurred 1 time, worked after shifting to Neutral. -4/16: occurred 1 time, had to stop and shift to Park to restart engine! -Kia of LaGrange 4/23/26: could not replicate issue; no error codes found -Kia of Newnan 4/29/26: left vehicle for 2-4 days and they didn’t have time to check it, so we picked it up because we needed a vehicle. -May 5: occurred 3 times on same road; only got pics. Then occurred 1 time after stopping and different trip, got video. All occurrences worked after shifting to neutral. -May 11: occurred 1 time and got picture only, worked after shifting to neutral. -Kia of LaGrange 5/15/26: replaced low pressure fuel pump and provided 2026 Sorrento for vehicle. -May 19: occurred 1 time and got video, worked after shifting to neutral. -Kia of LaGrange 5/21-6/3: could not replicate after driving 100 miles and provided 2026 Sorrento for vehicle I have video from May 5 & May 19, but could only upload pictures.

The contact owns a 2025 Kia Telluride. The contact stated that the windshield had significantly cracked without impact. The contact stated that the crack appeared to have started from underneath the seal at the bottom of the driver's side of the windshield. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where the contact was was informed that the vehicle could be repaired a a price lower than the insurance company estimate. The contact was awaiting a response from the dealer's finance department. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 35,000.

This vehicle (VIN: [XXX] ) has suffered repeated catastrophic engine shutdowns and complete loss of propulsion power while in motion. The dashboard displayed "Engine off! Shift to P or N, then start engine." This has occurred so many times the owner lost count, requiring multiple tows to Kia of Beavercreek. Following one incident, Service Manager Brad personally assured the owner's wife, looking her directly in the eye, that the repair was successful and the vehicle was safe. Within 48 hours of pickup, the identical shutdown recurred. The vehicle was towed back a second time. The dealership now states they cannot duplicate the condition, leaving this life-threatening defect unresolved. Delivery has been officially refused due to imminent risk of collision or serious injury. Kia America case open: No. [XXX]. Ohio Attorney General case open: No. [XXX]. This vehicle is an active, unaddressed public safety hazard requiring immediate federal investigation. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

On 5/19, while driving over 60 MPH on the highway, I started applying the brakes as traffic started to back up. While braking, the entire car turned off, and experience an unexpected engine stall. The electrical almost immediately turned back on with all dash lights flashing and safety warnings beeping. My car was still moving but I was unable to accelerate and was getting the message “Engine Off! Shit to P or N, then start engine.” This has happened to my vehicle twice in the last month, and I brought it into the Kia Dealership where I purchased it and they were unable to recreate the issue.

I always turn off the engine auto stop while driving and am sure this feature was turned off at the time of the incident. I was stopped at a drive thru idling in drive when my RPM sounded like it lowered and the the vehicle started shaking. Since it sounded like it was going to stall, I instinctively put the vehicle in park and that naturally bumped up the RPM avoiding a stall. I tried to replicate it and could not in the 15 minutes I sat in idle afterwards. I would like to note that we did the software emissions recall update at the dealership recently and ever since then the vehicle is consistently idling 100-200 RPM lower than it used to, usually around 500 RPM in drive and 700 RPM in park. I'm grateful this has only happened at a drive thru so far but I'm afraid to stall in traffic as we drive in busy and dangerous areas and it could be deadly to stall in traffic. Since so far I cannot get this to replicate we have not set an appointment at the dealership as all the other complaints on this matter show the dealership is unable to replicate the problem. Please require KIA to fix this as it is incredibly scary to fear stalling in dangerous location due to traffic speeds and/or getting stuck in a crime riddled area. Thank you for your help.

Engine randomly shuts off when driving. The issues started 1 week after purchasing the vehicle. First occurrence happened when we were stopped. We pressed the gas pedal and the dash turned red, beeping, with the engine light, oil light, and battery light illuminated with a message reading “ENGINE OFF. Shift to P or N then start engine”. This happened multiple times after. The dealership had the vehicle for 1 week and couldn’t reproduce the issue and the car did not have any codes stored. 3 days after picking it up from the dealership, the engine shut off again but this time while driving and actively turning through a 4 lane intersection with my child in the car. The next occurrence happened the morning I was taking it back to the dealership. I was driving 40mph on a city street in the middle lane of 3 lane road when the engine suddenly shut off showing the same error and I had to quickly move to the shoulder to be able to stop and restart the engine. I then informed the dealership that this is a dangerous and very unsafe situation and the car needed towed back to the dealership. The engine shutting off while driving, is very dangerous. If it happened to me at 40mph, there’s a good chance it can happen at highway speeds. This can put many lives at risk having a stalled vehicle in the middle of the road that has to come to a complete stop to restart. This issue is reported by many Telluride owners on Reddit, and Facebook threads. This needs rectifying before it results in casualties.

About every 7-9 days I will get a day or two where the engine shuts off while driving. Most recently it happened on 5/26, once at lunch time, once about 5pm, and again while driving about 8pm. All of these instances where at lower speeds, 2 while braking, another after taking a turn at a lower speed. Each time, the dash lights up, an alert sound plays and it says Engine off, shift into nuetral or park to start engine. I have had some days where it has happened multiple times in a couple of miles of driving, and then it goes hours without it happening. I recently had the vehicle into the shop and they mentioned there was an ECU software update that they did, prior to that I had only had the vehicle for 14 days and hadn't had an issue.

on 5 different occasions over the last month, I have had the car go into an engine shut off and said put it into P or N and restart while I am driving on the road!! 05/10-was going to a stop sign and going 5-20 mph. 05/17-happened twice that day, both driving around town 10-30 mph. 05/26- happened driving around town going around a curve 5-20 mph. 05/27 getting off the interstate and getting ready to stop and it happened again. This last time I had 20 cars around me and my car was going into this with all my lights flashing and that popping up. It is such a hazard to be driving this vehicle. The dealership could not find an issue last time I took it in. I just bought this car a little over a month ago. SO disappointing and scary.

Multiple times while driving vehicle with shut off and light will flash on dash. Everytime take vehicle to deal to check always told that it can’t be duplicated everything is working. Started happen last summer and happen about 5 times since then. Last time it happen was in march took it to the dealer and they crash the car and still couldn’t figure out what causing it. Car been in the shop for about 3 months now.

I was driving my brand new 2025 Kia Telluride that was purchased from the dealership 3 weeks before the incident. The engine died while driving approximately 40 mph on a flat road. The engine died and then there was a loud beeping and a flashing alert on the dashboard in the circle where the righthand indicator camera view appears that said, “Engine Off-Shift to P or N then start engine.” This occurred at about 7:30 pm on May 19, 2026 with about 40% full tank of gas. The automatic engine auto-stop feature was on at the time. The car had been running for about 3 minutes before the engine died. The power steering was also affected. Once I pulled over and put the car in park the engine started again as normal and there were no alerts on the dash or when I checked the Kia app. I dropped the car at the dealership the following morning, they have had it for 6 days so far and let me know that their diagnostics and test drives did not reveal any issues or defects with the vehicle.

I rented a car from Avis on [XXX] (a Friday) for a 24-hour rental. I rented it in Manhattan, and the car (a Kia Telluride) had a New York license plate [XXX] ). I drove to Boston to pick up my daughter from college and then returned the car Saturday morning (XXX). The drive was fine. But when I returned the car, the attendant took the key and wrote on the window and windshield that the car had been recalled (I've uploaded photos). I complained to the rental staff that they rented me a car that had been recalled. The attendant said they apparently didn't know about the recall until I returned the car. I find that hard to believe. I checked NHTSA's website a day after I returned the car [XXX] ), and it said that the Kia Telluride I rented had been recalled on February 23, 2026. The reason for the recall was because "THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER SEAT BACK FRAME ASSEMBLIES MAY FAIL TO PROPERLY RESTRAIN OCCUPANTS IN A CRASH". That's a terrifying thought. According to Avis's recall policy [XXX] they're not supposed to rent the car and they are supposed to notify me about the recall. Avis did neither of these things. Luckily the trip was accident-free and my daughter and I are physically fine. But I think Avis should be held accountable for allowing me to drive a rental car that may have had a higher likelihood of killing us in a crash. At the very least they didn't notify me in any way. They weren't even going to mention anything about the recall, and I had to ask about it after I saw what they wrote on the windows. I also submitted a review afterward (Avis sent me a standard email asking about my experience), and I explained my frustration about them renting me a recalled car. Avis replied, but it was just a standard apology and they didn't say anything about the recall. All around a terrible experience. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

This has happened multiple times. When driving the engine shuts off and an error message appears to shift into neutral or park and restart the engine. Brought the car to liberty Kia in Ramsey NJ and they said found no errors in the computer and test drove and could not recreate. My odometer did not change from drop off to pick up so I can tell it was not test driven.

On at least 3 occasions in the past nine months, when the cruise control was ON, the adaptive cruise control feature suddenly applied the brakes on our 2025 Kia Telluride. The last incident happened in May when there was NO vehicle in front of or on either side of our vehicle. Another time the brakes were suddenly applied while attempting to pass a vehicle at about 70 mph. As soon as our vehicle entered the passing lane, the brakes suddenly slowed our vehicle down to 45-50 mph, almost causing a rear end collision with another vehicle approaching our vehicle in the passing lane at a high speed. This only happens when the vehicle is in the cruise control mode and we ARE NOT applying the brakes. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. The dealer was NOT able to reproduce the problem. We reported this to Kia Customer Care - Case #XXX on or about Feb. 21, 2026. Customer care orally responded to our report, denying any software or design problem. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I bought this car in August 2025 and I have already gotten three cracks in the windshield. This seems very off compared to all the other cars I’ve owned, which most have had none or maybe one small crack from debris off the road. This could cause a problem cracking so easily that I’m afraid if it hits just right, I won’t be able to see at all while driving. It is available upon request. I have not taken it to the dealership to be “reproduced” no warning signs or signals in the car

I was driving down the highway at approximately 70 mph, and a deer ran into the front driver's side corner of the car. The airbag fortunately didn’t deploy, but the hood flew up and covered the windshield, blocking my ability to see. I was somehow able to pull the vehicle over without being able to see. Within 30 seconds of pulling over—and while I was still in the driver's seat—I noticed flames coming out of the engine compartment. I screamed to my son to get out of the car, and within minutes the car was completely engulfed in flames. The car burned to the ground and is a total loss. I have no idea how this could have possibly happened. This shouldn't have happened from a deer. The vehicle was only 7 months old, was up to date on all required maintenance and recalls, and had approximately 11,000 miles on it. It was in perfect condition. We were able to escape, but for a moment I thought we might not be able to. We're lucky to be alive. I reported the issue to my insurance company and the manufacturer and have received no information on causation. A link to the video of the car burning is below: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2025 Kia Telluride. The contact stated that while driving at slower speeds, the vehicle lost motive power. The message "Place Vehicle in Park - Press Brake to Restart" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer; however, the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 6,500.

The contact owns a 2025 Kia Telluride. The contact stated that on multiple occasions while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power with an EMS warning message displayed. The vehicle was able to restart after multiple attempts. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 25,000.

I lease a 2025 Kia Telluride. This vehicle has experienced three serious safety failures around the one year mark, all with young children in the car. Incident 1: accelerator failure and inability to shift gears approaching a freeway on-ramp — transmission was replaced. Incident 2: complete loss of steering control, brakes would not fully engage, and vehicle moved without accelerator input — dealership found nothing wrong and returned the vehicle with no explanation. Incident 3: accelerator failure and failure to shift in active traffic — another vehicle nearly rear-ended us — dealership said there was a belt loose that can cause issues sometimes. Kia Financial Services, as legal owner, has refused early lease termination despite these documented safety failures. The root cause of a loss-of-steering and brake-failure event has never been identified.