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The 2025 Kia Telluride Has an Engine Stalling Problem – And That’s Just the Start
Problem analysis of the 2025 Kia Telluride found issues including unexpected engine shutdowns, windshield cracking, and sunroof glass explosions based on NHTSA complaints and verified consumer reports.
Key Points
- Our team reviewed real consumer complaints, NHTSA data, social media reports, and internal data to identify commonly reported problems with the 2025 Kia Telluride.
- Owners most often reported engine stalling or shutdown, spontaneous windshield cracking, sunroof glass shattering, and electrical or warning light malfunctions.
- Owners with repeated or unresolved defects may have rights under state lemon laws, including a possible refund, replacement, or compensation.
The windshield cracking and sunroof explosion issues never seem to end. Here we are again with the 2025 Kia Telluride showing the same problems we have been seeing for years now.
My name is Sergei Lemberg, and I’m a lemon law attorney with over twenty years of experience representing consumers in vehicle defect cases.
As part of our ongoing series on common car problems, I dove into the top issues facing 2025 Kia Telluride owners. I reviewed NHTSA data, social media, and our own internal data. As always, it’s worth noting that not all Tellurides will experience these issues. These are simply the most commonly reported defects, likely affecting a small percentage of vehicles.
Let’s dive in.
Most Common Problems
Here’s what my research found:
- Engine Stalling and Shutdown: Sudden engine failure while driving, often accompanied by warning lights and messages instructing drivers to shift to Park or Neutral and restart the vehicle.
- Windshield Cracking: Windshields cracking or breaking spontaneously, sometimes overnight and without any impact or road debris.
- Sunroof Glass Exploding: Sudden shattering of the sunroof glass while driving or parked, creating a dangerous situation for vehicle occupants and others.
- Electrical and Warning Light Malfunctions: Multiple dashboard warnings, flashing lights, and failures of driver display screens, sometimes rendering speed and fuel gauges unreadable.
Other less frequent complaints include faulty windshield wipers, rodent damage to wiring harnesses, premature wear on suspension components, and issues with safety systems like lane assist behaving erratically.
2025 Kia Telluride Complaint Summary
| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Unknown Or Other | |
| Visibility/wiper | |
| Electrical System | |
| Engine | |
| Seats | |
| Power Train | |
| Structure:body | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Adaptive Cruise Control | |
| Steering | |
| Vehicle Speed Control |
Top Problem #1: Engine Stalling and Shutdown
The most critical problem reported involves the engine shutting off unexpectedly while driving. This defect poses a serious safety risk as it can cause loss of power steering and brakes, especially dangerous in traffic or highway conditions.
Common symptoms include:
- Screens displaying messages such as “Engine off! Shift to P or N, then start engine.”
- Loss of power assist for brakes and steering.
- Inability to restart the engine immediately or repeated stalls.
- Warning lights including brake, electronic parking brake (EPB), and multiple system alerts appearing simultaneously.
One owner stated
“While driving the instrument panel started flashing and beeping and the engine shutdown and the instrument panel read to put it in park to restart. This is not the first time this has happened with this vehicle and this last time the dealer is telling me there are no codes and they are unable to replicate the incident. This is extremely dangerous!! At the time of this report it has been at the dealer for 5 weeks and they still do not know what the cause is.”
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Top Problem #2: Windshield Cracking
Multiple owners report their 2025 Telluride windshields cracking without any impact or identifiable cause.
- Cracks commonly originate from the lower corners and quickly spread across the glass.
- Some reports describe significant cracks appearing after the vehicle was parked overnight in a garage.
- NHTSA data and consumer reports indicate this has been a known issue with Telluride models since 2020, yet problems persist in 2025 models.
- Owners express concerns about safety risks such as glare from cracks when driving at night.
- Many windshield replacements are out-of-pocket as Kia often denies warranty coverage.
Other owners stressed
“The front windshield cracked without any impact, nothing hit our windshield or vehicle. We parked our vehicle in a visible spot and can see our vehicle at all times and we walked out and our windshield was cracked down the middle all the way into the driver side. It was not drivable back home to Arizona.”
“I was driving on the freeway and the windshield spontaneously cracked. There were no cars even around me. My 2025 Telluride is brand new and has less than 5k miles on it!”
Top Problem #3: Sunroof Glass Exploding
The sudden shattering of the panoramic sunroof glass is another alarming complaint. Owners report loud explosions sounding like gunshots while driving, followed by the glass breaking outward.
- Glass shards sometimes cover the vehicle and surrounding area.
- One owner captured the entire incident on a dash camera, showing the explosion without any identifiable cause or impact.
- Some dealerships and Kia service departments have denied warranty coverage, despite existing class action lawsuits for earlier models.
- This poses a direct safety hazard to passengers and other drivers on the road.
One owner report
“I was driving on the highway my son and I and out of nowhere I hear a loud explosion and glass shattering. I was terrified, fearing for my life not knowing or understanding what happened. Trying not to wreck. My sunroof was closed but when I pulled over and looked on top of the truck, my whole sunroof had shattered. I called 911 they came and examined the incident. I was directed to contact KIA asap being that they didn’t see any thing that could’ve caused the impact.
If You Have A Lemon, Here’s What To Do
A vehicle qualifies as a lemon if it has a substantial defect that impairs its use, value, or safety and that the manufacturer or dealer has failed to fix after a reasonable number of repair attempts.
I recommend owners carefully document all problems and repair attempts. This includes keeping records of dealer visits, repair invoices, communications with the manufacturer and dealer, and any incident videos you may have.
If your Telluride has repeated issues like engine stalling, windshield cracking, or sunroof failure that hasn’t been resolved after multiple repairs, you may have grounds for lemon law protection.
Lemberg Law offers free consultations to help you understand your legal rights. We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay nothing unless we recover for you. Lemon law claims are time-sensitive, so please contact us today before it’s too late to take action.
Don’t let defects in your Telluride go unanswered. I encourage you to get a free evaluation to explore your options.
Click 877-795-3666 now to call us.
Or go ahead and fill out our Contact Form. Our services are absolutely free to you.
About the Author:
Sergei Lemberg is an attorney focusing on consumer law, class actions related to automotive issues, and personal injury litigation. With nearly two decades of experience, his areas of practice include Lemon Law (vehicle defects), Debt Collection Harassment, TCPA (illegal robocalls and texts), Fair Credit Reporting Act, Overtime claims, Personal Injury cases, and Class Actions. He has consistently been recognized as the nation's "most active consumer attorney." In 2020, Mr. Lemberg represented Noah Duguid before the United States Supreme Court in the landmark case Duguid v. Facebook. He is also the author of "Defanging Debt Collectors," a guide that empowers consumers to fight back against debt collectors and prevail, as well as "Lemon Law 101: The Laws That Lemon Dealers Don't Want You to Know."
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