Research›Vehicle Guides›Kia›Telluride

Kia Telluride Reliability by Year

Every Telluride model year from 2020 to 2025, scored on reported failures weighted against how many were sold — and ranked against every other Mid-Size SUV of the same year.

The short answer

Best model year
2025
#20 of 66 that year
Year to avoid
2020
#49 of 49 that year
Latest scored
2025
#20 of 66

Across 6 scored model years the Telluride needs fixing less often than its class, and repairs cost about what you would expect. The spread between years is what matters: 2025 is its strongest, 2020 its weakest.

Every model year, scored

Longer bar is better. Rank is against every Mid-Size SUV sold that same model year.

YearRelative standingClass rankPctl
2020#49 /490thAvoid
2021#42 /5321th
2022#44 /5926th
2023#42 /6738th
2024#58 /7220th
2025#20 /6671thBest year

The line held a weak position through 2023, then moved to middling from 2024 on. The recent trend is upward. This 2025 car falls in a middling stretch.

What tends to break

All 12 systems, measured against the class average for each model year.

Every Telluride model year is scored across 12 separate systems — engine, transmission, brakes, electrical, steering and suspension, structure, interior, and five more. Each system is compared against how often that same system fails on the average Mid-Size SUV of the same year, so a common failure is judged against how common it is everywhere else.

Across the last three model years (2023–2025), the trouble concentrates in one place: structure & body. That system draws issue reports more often than the same system on the average Mid-Size SUV of its year — which changes what you should be inspecting before you buy.

Full Dashboard Preview

Real charts, sample vehicle. Open the lookup to see these for your Telluride.

Reliability Matrix Sample Chart

2018 Mid-Size SUVs

Your Telluride is plotted against 66 rivals from 2025.

Look up your Telluride →
better than classtypicalworsebubble = units sold

System Breakdown Sample Chart

2018 Mitsubishi Outlander

Your Telluride is scored the same way, for every model year.

Look up your Telluride →
below class averageabove class average

Common questions

What is the best year for a used Kia Telluride?

2025 is the strongest Telluride model year on record, ranking #20 of 66 Mid-Size SUVs that year.

Which Kia Telluride years should I avoid?

2020 is the weakest year in the model's history, ranking #49 of 49.

Is the latest Telluride reliable?

The 2025 Telluride ranks #20 of 66 Mid-Size SUVs — the upper half of its class.

Where does this data come from?

Failure reports filed with NHTSA — submitted by vehicle owners and repair shops alike — weighted against US sales volumes so a high-volume model is not penalised for selling well, then benchmarked within segment and model year.

See the full picture for your Telluride

All 12 systems scored, the whole class plotted, and a downloadable Full Model Report for any year — 6,000+ vehicles in the dashboard.

Start 7-Day Free Trial
How this was built. Scores derive from failure reports filed with NHTSA — submitted by vehicle owners and repair shops alike — weighted against US sales volumes and benchmarked within segment and model year. We measure two separate things: Fix Frequency — how often a vehicle needs fixing — and Fix Severity — how costly those fixes are. These figures describe a model line, not the specific vehicle in front of you; trim, mileage and service history still decide an individual car.