There are 7 owner-reported air bags & restraints complaints for the 2021 Kia Telluridein NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
The seat belt buckle in the driver position is failing to latch. It has to be pushed in multiple times in a row and very hard to get the seat belt buckle firmly latched. There has also been more than 1 occasion that I have been driving and all of a sudden the seat belt unbuckles and my seat belt not buckled light and dinging goes off. So it seemed it was fully buckled, but was not. This would be horrible if it unbuckled in a crash! This issues has been ongoing for about 2 months.
After warranty work was performed on my Kia Telluride at an authorized Kia dealership, I discovered that the rear driver-side seatbelt had not been bolted back down. It was completely loose and hanging under the seat. This means my family could have been driving with no seatbelt protection at all. This is a serious safety failure and clear negligence. A seatbelt is one of the most basic, life-saving components in any vehicle. For a dealership to return a car to a customer without confirming all seatbelts are installed correctly shows a complete breakdown in safety inspection and quality control. When I contacted the dealership, I received no apology, explanation, or acknowledgment of responsibility. No one followed up or offered to inspect the vehicle. I also contacted Kia America Customer Relations, but I have not received any response. If such a fundamental safety step can be missed, I am extremely concerned about what other oversights may occur during Kia service work nationwide. This situation should be formally investigated by the NHTSA. I’m requesting a full investigation into Kia’s service procedures, technician training, and inspection protocols to ensure that no other vehicles are returned to customers in unsafe condition. Please treat this as a formal safety complaint. A loose seatbelt is not a minor error, it’s life-threatening negligence. I want this fully investigated and documented under my VIN, with confirmation of corrective action. My family’s safety, and that of other Kia owners, depends on it. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
After sunroof repair seatbelt no longer functioning. Track seemed stuck so unable to retract seatbelt. Dealer said they had to take seatbelt apart for sunroof install and they didn’t put it back correctly. Took 2 days for repairs to be completed.
On February 16th at about 6 AM, I was in a collision. I was first hit in the front by a pickup truck impacting my frontside, from right to left. I expected my Kia Telluride to engage it's safety features such as, Automatic Emergency Braking, Forward Collision Warning, and at the very least the Airbags, which none of them deployed at anytime during this collision. I was then rear-ended by an 18-wheeler; smashing my entire back window. The 18-wheelers' trailer that it was holding then slide down on the passenger side of my 2021 Kia Telluride. With that my vehicle was then pushed into the guardrail from the impact and power of the trailer falling on the passenger side. My vehicle has been inspected by my insurance company, Geico Inc. as they declared my vehicle a total loss. There was no warnings, or any indicators that my vehicles safety issues were compromised and the date of my vehicles last service by the dealer, Demontrond Automotive Group was October 4, 2023. I have pictures of my vehicle, where it will reflect; The damage the vehicle endured, The airbags intact; and The back window shattered.
The driver seatbelt screw came out from the wall at the base of the car. The seatbelt was no longer attached to the car. There was no previous damage or accidents to the seatbelt and the car has few miles on it. Kia towed it to the local dealership where they stated it “just came loose” and stated “it likely wasn’t fully tightened at the manufacturing plant.” They tightened it and said it was fine. They found no reason the bolt failed and gave no guarantee the bolt would not fail again. There was no warning or indication that the seatbelt was faulty prior to it coming out of place. It’s lucky it happened in a parked position and not in an accident. I’m deeply concerned the bolt or the where it connects to the car is indicative of a deeper issue such as faulty connective components.
The contact owned a 2021 Kia Telluride SX. The contact stated while the wife was driving 70MPH the vehicle was stuck on the rear driver's side and crashed into a tree. No warning lights were noticed. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was towed to an impound yard. The vehicle could possibly be totaled. There was a police report. The driver sustained injuries to the face, head, knee, chest, and shoulder. The passenger sustained back injuries. The spouse drove the passengers in a separate vehicle to the hospital where they received medical attention. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 21,000.
I was broadsided by a chevy cobalt traveling over 40mph. The impact was so great it spun my vehicle. No airbags deployed at all and the rear passenger door took the brunt of the impact.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026