Did I make the right choice?

[Karen]

I must have missed the rating - Top 10 and better than Honda - wow. I'm an old Honda owner as well - that car just ran and ran with no issues. My wife voted for the Highlander at the beginning of our new vehicle hunt but after a Telluride test ride, she was sold on Kia. I was surprised she changed her mind . We have dogs and the Highlander cargo area just fit our travel crate but was pushing right up on the rear tailgate glass. The Telluride is a bit larger and I won't have to put down the 2nd row every time I need to put in the crate.

Thanks for your feedback. Hearing directly from Telly owners helps confirm my choice.

I’m able to put two travel crates side by side when I take mine to the groomers or vet and have plenty of extra room without the 3rd row seats up.

 

[KML]

@KML I have owned two Honda's, a Cadillac, Mazda, Nissan, Mercury and a Chevy. The two most unreliable cars I have owned was my 2005 Cadillac CTS 3.6 Sport and my wife's current car - a 2011 Honda Odyssey EXL. The most reliable has been my 2015 Chevy SS and 1996 Mercury Cougar. I buy cars and tend to keep them 8-10 years - so reliability is important. But so is the warranty. Thankfully we purchased an 8-year warranty on our Odyssey. During the warranty period we had nearly $18K of work done on it. We kept it because it was paid for and we kept thinking - surely this is the last major repair we will have to cover. I say all that to point out that you can have winners and losers with any brand. The thing that sealed the deal for the Telluride SXP we have on order was looking at the competition (interior quality and overall design) and the warranty. After the experience we have had with the Odyssey - I wouldn't buy another car without an extended warranty - and I sure as heck wouldn't buy another Honda. If you look at the quality ratings - Honda keeps slipping while Hyundai/KIA/Genesis keep rising. The overall design of the Telluride is world class for the price point. And it is assembled very well.

As for the cracked windshield - that was a known issue for some early production Tellurides and KIA replaced the windows for free and changed the manufacturing/parts for the windshield and it hasn't been an issue since.

Every car will have issues - life isn't risk free. But at this point - I would rather buy a vehicle from a company that is pulling out all the stops to win new buyers than one that mails in their design effort (Honda/Toyota) and expects you to buy their product because in the 80's and 90's they had better quality than anyone else in the world. Honestly - I think Hyundai/KIA/Genesis is aiming to take the quality crown from the Japanese. Every new deign they put out is worlds better in overall design and quality than the previous effort and just about everything else in its class.

Excellent points. The Honda I referred to was an 85' Civic (the good ole days of Honda).
Thanks for your feedback.

 

[Walt1]

I already know myself and will want a new car after 4-5 years. If I can keep this car 6-7 years with out no major issues and hit 125-135k Im happy. I know its probably a low expectation but Ive set it at that knowing that it not a Toyota. I would have honestly bought a 4Runner if the safety and infotainment system wasnt so dated.

Most people don't keep vehicles up to or over 200K miles. Trucks, yes. But there are so many advances in technology that most want to take advantage of them and therefore trade their current vehicle in for the new. latest and greatest.

 

[YEH]

It's not like the Highlander hasn't had its share of recalls in the past.

The 2008 MY tops the list with 13 recalls.

N/A

toyotaproblems.com

Toyota keeps its reliability ratings up in large part by being (agonizingly) slow in upgrading its powertrains (the downside being losing sales of premium models like the GS and LS which have simply been outclassed by the competition).

The NA 3.8L is a tried and true engine and don't think the addition of the Atkinson cycle will impact reliability; along the same lines, the 8 spd AT is tried and true.

What's more likely to go wrong is one of the many advanced tech features.

As for Honda, they have been struggling with reliability due to the introduction of new engines and transmissions (among other things); even more so for Acura.

The Odyssey is widely regarded as being reliable (due to Honda's reputation), but it has been one of the most widely recalled models (spanning several generations), including the prematurely imploding 8 spd transmission.

Honda Odyssey Recalls: Is Yours on the List? » AutoGuide.com News

There have been numerous Honda Odyssey recalls over the years, and this article will help you find out if your minivan is affected.

www.autoguide.com

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[Taketime]

After owning two 4 Runners, the last one a 2005 Limited, we looked at the Highlander. We decided to purchase a 2021 Black Copper SX-P. It has been fantastic and we are enjoying it. No regrets here.

 

[PittPa]

Interesting thread. I bought my car used with 7000 miles and will most likely be into another car after 2-3 years. I think when you see articles about how the kia has great reliability and build quality you have to take in account the actual time period this car has been evaluated. I think the KIA Telluride is still a largely unknown quantity in how well it will hold up. For me 2-3 years is fine, those that are hoping to hold onto this car for 5-10 years (or any newly produced car) the story is still unfolding. I blame the large amount of technology and electronics being the biggest problem in the future. It's like buying a 2020 laptop and hoping it still works and is functional in 2030.

 

[ATL3630]

The vehicle gets a damn 97 from Consumer Reports. People need to stop acting like buying a Telluride is some big risk.

 

[PittPa]

I have burned by Consumer Reports ratings before. Just ask me about the $1300 dishwasher that topped their ratings that lasted 2 years. Interesting when you see their reviews and ratings, the feedback provided don't always coincide. I still think its the "best" way to get an unbiased opinion. I just don't think is fail proof. I have also said before that I think the KIA Telluride is one of the most over analyzed cars I have come across with forums like this very one. Having owned my car for almost a year and putting 15k miles on it, its been great. (Other than a new windshield covered by KIA!)

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[sprengBoard]

Even though this thread is 2 years old it’s still relevant. Since 2012 my wife and I have owned 1different vehicles between the two of us.

2014 Toyota Corolla
2017 Toyota Sienna
2017 Hyundai Tucson
2018 Hyundai Elantra
2017 Ford F150
2019 Ram 1500
2021 Ford Explorer
2020 Ford Escape
2021 Honda Pilot (current)
2021 VW Tiguan

Of all those vehicles, the ones we only ones we had problems with are the two Toyotas and the Honda:

* Entertainment screen on the Corolla went out at 37k miles
* LR sliding door stopped working at 8k miles and very squeaky seats since 2k miles on the Sienna
* Host of issues on the Pilot

Point is, no car is perfect. I wouldn’t put much weight on late model Toyotas and Hondas simply because they used to be reliable brands.

 

[JRebel]

I have burned by Consumer Reports ratings before. Just ask me about the $1300 dishwasher that topped their ratings that lasted 2 years. Interesting when you see their reviews and ratings, the feedback provided don't always coincide. I still think its the "best" way to get an unbiased opinion. I just don't think is fail proof. I have also said before that I think the KIA Telluride is one of the most over analyzed cars I have come across with forums like this very one. Having owned my car for almost a year and putting 15k miles on it, its been great. (Other than a new windshield covered by KIA!)

I’ve been burned by consumer reports as well… I think we both bought the same dishwasher Nothing is perfect and only time will tell. Forums like this do enhance the reliability of the product by members sharing information and perspectives.

 

[Malonejr83]

just want to say. I have owned at 2012 kia optima. Traded it in in 2018 of january for 2018 sorento. My optima had like 110k miles gave me zero problems. Had this sorento since then and still zero problems. I plan to always own a kia from here on out. They are reliable in my book, I havent tried to keep it for 10 years yet or anything but people need to stop looking at the name as even toyota, mercedes, bmw etc have problems. I had a taurus before my optima with many of problems but we know FORD stands for "Fix Or Repair Daily". Cant wait to get my Telly.

 

[ronniebell]

My final 2 picks for a new vehicle this summer came down to the 2020 Toyota Highlander Platinum and the 2021 Kia Telluride (since it was out in the market now). A few weeks back I pulled the trigger and placed my order for the 2021 Telluride, Everlasting Silver, SX, Prestige, Nighfall and Tow package (5-6 month wait just like everyone else). I believe I made the best choice based on my research at the time plus the Telly looks way better than the Highlander.

However, after scanning through this forum, I wonder if I really did make the best choice. I have several family members that have Toyota SUV's and in the last 5-8 years they have not spent a penny over oil changes and other scheduled maintenance.

This forum has lots of threads about windshields that crack so easily and even within the first month or so of getting their new Telly. Over the last 10 years I never had to replace the windshield in my Acadia. The next big thread is on the paint that easily chips in the front end and people are looking at installing protective film. My Acadia is white and even living in the Midwest, the front end paint still looks new. The other topic is on batteries that die just shortly after leaving the lot. There's other issues discussed in this forum but these are the big 3.

I make it sound like I should just go buy another Acadia but the truth is I loved the look of the Acadia but in the last 5 years I've spent a small fortune keeping the engine and drivetrain operational. I'm in the shop at least every 6 months for one thing or another - really became a piece of crap vehicle.

Are the Telly windshield, paint and battery issues just a few odd cases from the first year models or are more of you experiencing these types of issues with your new 2021 Telluride? Any Kia dealers in this forum? I would love to get your feedback. I wouldn't be happy, but I won't mind losing my $1000 deposit if it avoids me from buying a lemon .

(Sorry for a lengthy message. Was not my original intent.)

Yes, I believe you made the right choice. There are 22,670 members in this Telluride forum. (You can see the member number in the footer of every page below.) The vast majority of us (and me included) have had very positive experiences with the Telluride, and none of the issues you mention above has been experienced by almost all of us. Yes, it's true that a small percentage of owners have experienced these issues, and they naturally post on the forum. I'm glad they do, but I would say it's just a couple or three dozen out of the 22,670 members here. And yes, these posts really stand out and are probably widely read because most of us are surprised to hear about them. If my paint is not cracking, if my windshield is okay, if my tranny is fine, etc. I won't be posting about it and the thousands of other owners like me will probably not either.

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