New user, potential Telluride purchaser (soon), have questions, concerns about Kia brand

[queencityyankee23]

Greetings:

I have been actively looking for a new car for the past 3 months. My family is growing and my wife's parents are moving into our house. We need a big, 3 row car for the times we need to haul 6 people.

I'll be honest with you, I'm a Toyota/Honda guy. I don't think they are perfect, but I'm into reliability, cost of ownership (repairs, parts, service, resell value) more than any other aspects of a car (looks, ride, tech, etc), and you just can't beat Toyota/Honda in that area. Again, I freely admit both companies have issues too, especially Honda with their transmissions/turbos lately.

The Honda Pilot, Toyota Highlander, CX-9 were the three cars I narrowed my choice down (before the release of the Telluride and Pallisade), and they were close to what I wanted, but something major was off on all of them. Pilot (looks, history of transmission issues, no power in 3rd row, no birds eye camera). Highlander (3rd row room, zero tech). CX-9 (CVT transmission, turbos, 3rd row room).

I've looked at the Telluride, and it has everything I want as far as looks, tech, ride, storage, etc.

My only concern is the brand, Kia. I know nothing about Kia. I know its been around for awhile and its a Korean brand and is partnered with Hyundai. Buying an "off brand" gives me hesitation. I'm concerned about reliability. I'm concerned about finding parts and non dealer repair people who will know how to maintain/fix a Kia. With Honda and Toyota parts are every where, they are cheap and everyone can fix them.

What are your thoughts, opinions, experience with Kia as far as reliability, parts availability, maintenance work, mechanics who can work on them, etc? I know with a new release there is little knowledge on potential issues with this model yet.

I thought I would ask. Any thoughts, comments, data, url links would be greatly appreciated. For those that have purchased this car, congrats, it looks like a heck of a vehicle.

 

[zhelder]

I can relate to how you’re thinking. I’ve been a Honda guy myself for many years, and thought for sure a Pilot was going to be my next car. But, similar to what you said, the car had a fatal flaw for me... an inadequately large seat belt. (And that hideous instrumentation is a near fatal flaw.) Thought about a Highlander. But it’s very dated (and the refresh isn’t likely to be a revolution) and can get expensive with all options. The CX-9 looks kind of cool and seems to be priced reasonably, but it seems to be a bit of a “big on the outside, small on the inside” car, not to mention I’m still not sold on Turbo 4s and CVTs. The ‘muricans? No way... while some of the higher-end Fords and Buicks look OK, I don’t believe they have the reliability of the foreign brands, not to mention the prices they’re asking for the decently equipped cars are bat poo crazy.

The Telluride (and likely the Palisade) is a grand slam for me... it’s beautiful, roomy, comfortable, has tons of standard equipment, and is fairly priced. And I don’t think there’s anything to worry about with the reliability of Kias/Hyundais these days. The quality has improved tremendously, and their warranty on new cars is the best in the biz.

Remember (if you’re old enough), Samsung and LG TVs and other electronics were absolute garbage in the 1980s. Those days have been long forgotten.

It looks like the same is about to happen for Kyundai. The Palluride/Tellisade (get it?) is going to be my next car and I have no qualms about it.

 

[Ovibos]

Kia and Hyundai (and the related luxury brand, Genesis) have been trading off the top couple of spots in the JD Power initial quality ratings for the last few years.

 

[ATL3630]

Kia and Hyundai have reportedly come a long way in terms of quality. There are just tons of them on the road and I don’t hear many complaints. However, they have had a lot of engine troubles, even recalling 1.2M vehicles at one point (2017). I don’t mind a recall if the company is doing the right thing to address an issue. Apparently Kia and Hyundai dealerships were not always honoring the recall and instead charging people thousands for engine repairs. After a class action lawsuit their customers were finally treated right. But that’s not where the story ends. Now people are experiencing engine fires that total their vehicles. It’s pretty bad and Kia has admitted that their dealerships weren’t repairing recalled engines correctly, which lead to the fires. Further recalls have been ordered.

I know all this because today a woman in my neighborhood who drives a 2014 Sorento had her car catch on fire and completely destroy itself. She and her kids got out ok and stood on the side of the road while the car went up in flames.

Another thing to consider is that GDI engine technology has a terrible downside, the engine valves get carbon build up and engine performance (power and mpg) suffers. This can be expensive to fix and may need maintenance work every 30k miles. There really isn’t much of a solution to this, but using top tier gas helps prolong the issue. Some carmakers use direct and port injection which completely resolves the carbon issue. The Toyota Highlander has an engine like that.

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[BanditLover]

We purchased the Telluride SX with the Prestige package on March 2nd and love it!!! We have owned Kia or Hyundai vehicles for almost 10 years with absolutely zero problems. Before that we owned Mercedes, Infiniti, Ford, Nissan and Chrysler brand vehicles that were often much more expensive and with many repair problems that were often costly. We live in Georgia and the Telluride is made in West Point Georgia. The people who manufacture this vehicle have immense pride in the quality of their work. This plant also makes the Kia Sorento, the Kia Optima and the Hyundai Santa Fe which have generally had very positive quality ratings. Good luck with your decision making....

 

[ATL3630]

We live in Georgia and the Telluride is made in West Point Georgia. The people who manufacture this vehicle have immense pride in the quality of their work. This plant also makes the Kia Sorento, the Kia Optima and the Hyundai Santa Fe which have generally had very positive quality ratings. Good luck with your decision making....

I’ve been to that West Point Kia plant a few times and completely agree, the people there take a lot of pride in their work and Kia treats them well. You could eat off the production floor, it’s really that clean!

 

[zhelder]

We purchased the Telluride SX with the Prestige package on March 2nd and love it!!! We have owned Kia or Hyundai vehicles for almost 10 years with absolutely zero problems. Before that we owned Mercedes, Infiniti, Ford, Nissan and Chrysler brand vehicles that were often much more expensive and with many repair problems that were often costly. We live in Georgia and the Telluride is made in West Point Georgia. The people who manufacture this vehicle have immense pride in the quality of their work. This plant also makes the Kia Sorento, the Kia Optima and the Hyundai Santa Fe which have generally had very positive quality ratings. Good luck with your decision making....

I’ve been to that West Point Kia plant a few times and completely agree, the people there take a lot of pride in their work and Kia treats them well. You could eat off the production floor, it’s really that clean!

I think it’s neat that the Telluride is being manufactured in America. I wonder if there’s going to be a quality difference between the Palisade,which is being manufactured in Korea, and the Telluride.

 

[Sassycakes]

I can also relate. Never thought a Kia would be parked in my garage but am picking up my Telluride SX next week. I had read and seen everything online, my only hesitation was touch/feel and ride (was it going to be a lumber wagon?). 5 miles down the pothole rutted road and I knew this was it! I got on the waiting list at our local dealership and am purchasing the first one our area has gotten, with only 3 more scheduled to be delivered...unless of course they are custom ordered and I’m not sure they can deliver on that. I’m excited to have a “4 of a kind” vehicle locally and one that looks sharp in and out and drives equally as impressive!

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[critrider]

Im really struggling with this as a potential first time KIA owner. While I appreciate the feedback from satisfied owners here, an online search for reliability can be pretty horrific. Engine failures, fires and denial of warranty repairs are well documented. This is driving poor resale value. Lets hope KIA has it together on the Telluride. Yes Ill assume there will be first year model issues and quirks, all manufactures have them but I'm still concerned.

 

[ATL3630]

Im really struggling with this as a potential first time KIA owner. While I appreciate the feedback from satisfied owners here, an online search for reliability can be pretty horrific. Engine failures, fires and denial of warranty repairs are well documented. This is driving poor resale value. Lets hope KIA has it together on the Telluride. Yes Ill assume there will be first year model issues and quirks, all manufactures have them but I'm still concerned.

Same here. I was decided on the Telluride, but these issues are very concerning. I’m not sure that I’d be mentally comfortable with the purchase given the company’s history.

 

[Sassycakes]

Same here. I was decided on the Telluride, but these issues are very concerning. I’m not sure that I’d be mentally comfortable with the purchase given the company’s history.

I decided to lease on this first go-round in the event any of these things happen.

 

[queencityyankee23]

I decided to lease on this first go-round in the event any of these things happen.

I was thinking the same, but you lose so much $$$ on a lease. What's the lease depreciation value in your contract?

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[Razorback]

I was thinking the same, but you lose so much $$$ on a lease. What's the lease depreciation value in your contract?

I have been reading and hearing that the residual on these are in the 60% - 63% range. That is BMW residual level's, which should make leasing very attractive unless Money Factors are outrageous thus offsetting the residuals.

 

[Andrea Sylvia]

Autotrader - page unavailable

All Brand have issues...Every brand from Porsche to Mitsubishi have service departments. Honda is a great brand, but your paying thousands extra for the Brand name. Additionally, also have you done a comparison with the cost of service? Also the cost for replacement of wearable items.
If you keep your vehicle for 10 years plus, resale value is negligible anyway..if you keep it short term, maybe leasing is best.
You could get a 100K upgraded comprehensive warranty (commonly referred to as bumper to bump) and still pay less than the comparable Honda.
If you plan on keeping it 100K, no matter what you purchase, get a upgraded comprehensive warranty. It'll save you money and headaches.
There are one of these threads for every manufactor. Including Mercedes, Audi, Volvo and BMW.
Honda • 790 Customer Reviews and Complaints • ConsumerAffairs

 

[cheeks80]

I totally agree. There were fire hazard related recalls even in Subaru cars. Nothing is that reliable !

Subaru Recalls 100K+ Vehicles due to Potential Fire Hazard

Subaru is recalling over 100,000 vehicles due to a potential fire risk posed by the air injection pump. Learn about vehicle recalls at Thomas J. Henry.

thomasjhenrylaw.com

 

[StevenG]

Im really struggling with this as a potential first time KIA owner. While I appreciate the feedback from satisfied owners here, an online search for reliability can be pretty horrific. Engine failures, fires and denial of warranty repairs are well documented. This is driving poor resale value. Lets hope KIA has it together on the Telluride. Yes Ill assume there will be first year model issues and quirks, all manufactures have them but I'm still concerned.

I had a 2003 Hyundai Elantra. At 99,000 miles the catalytic converter went. It was repaired at no cost to me. I now drive a 2014 Kia Sorento with 88,000 miles. No problems. I would be very confident purchasing another Hyundai or Kia. (I also drive a 2016 BMW, and I can truly say the Kia has more features, and is much more user friendly). At 25000 miles on the BMW I needed two new tires. I was told performance tires wear out quickly. (I did not replace the tires on my Kia until 80000 miles!) I don’t think I would purchase another BMW.

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[zhelder]

More food for thought... I had the transmission blow on my 2004 Accord... on a highway. The car was 10 1/2 years old, but had only 105,000 miles and I maintained it flawlessly. I miraculously managed to get the car to limp to my work, but a shyster tow truck company that scammed me ensured that was one of the worst days of my life. Came to find out that transmission problems in 2003 and 2004 Accords were well-documented.

All car manufacturers have their issues. Kyundai can’t afford to mess the Tellisade up. I’m sure things will be fine. I have no qualms buying one.

 

[KFreitag]

Greetings:

I have been actively looking for a new car for the past 3 months. My family is growing and my wife's parents are moving into our house. We need a big, 3 row car for the times we need to haul 6 people.

I'll be honest with you, I'm a Toyota/Honda guy. I don't think they are perfect, but I'm into reliability, cost of ownership (repairs, parts, service, resell value) more than any other aspects of a car (looks, ride, tech, etc), and you just can't beat Toyota/Honda in that area. Again, I freely admit both companies have issues too, especially Honda with their transmissions/turbos lately.

The Honda Pilot, Toyota Highlander, CX-9 were the three cars I narrowed my choice down (before the release of the Telluride and Pallisade), and they were close to what I wanted, but something major was off on all of them. Pilot (looks, history of transmission issues, no power in 3rd row, no birds eye camera). Highlander (3rd row room, zero tech). CX-9 (CVT transmission, turbos, 3rd row room).

I've looked at the Telluride, and it has everything I want as far as looks, tech, ride, storage, etc.

My only concern is the brand, Kia. I know nothing about Kia. I know its been around for awhile and its a Korean brand and is partnered with Hyundai. Buying an "off brand" gives me hesitation. I'm concerned about reliability. I'm concerned about finding parts and non dealer repair people who will know how to maintain/fix a Kia. With Honda and Toyota parts are every where, they are cheap and everyone can fix them.

What are your thoughts, opinions, experience with Kia as far as reliability, parts availability, maintenance work, mechanics who can work on them, etc? I know with a new release there is little knowledge on potential issues with this model yet.

I thought I would ask. Any thoughts, comments, data, url links would be greatly appreciated. For those that have purchased this car, congrats, it looks like a heck of a vehicle.

I’m on my second Honda Odyssey and thought for sure my next car would be the Pilot but after seeing the Telluride yesterday it seems to be the perfect fit for us! (Our oldest is 6’3” and even he can fit in that 3rd row if needed just like in our Odyssey) I LOVE how my Honda drives and everything about it but my husband is on his second Kia Optima and LOVES it! The Kia warranty is the best and he’s had no major problems with either car but did have an issue with paint cracking in an area and the warranty covered that. The two Kias we’ve owned have been less of a problem than both my Odyssey’s so I’m getting the Telluride SX as soon as our dealer gets the one I want in stock.

 

[Audioi]

I have been reading and hearing that the residual on these are in the 60% - 63% range. That is BMW residual level's, which should make leasing very attractive unless Money Factors are outrageous thus offsetting the residuals.

Thats really surprising, the last Korean car I had dropped like a ROCK in 2 years and it looked new when I sold it but that was 2005...

 

[Dandy]

Thats really surprising, the last Korean car I had dropped like a ROCK in 2 years and it looked new when I sold it but that was 2005...

This is why I feel that the best deal on a Telluride will be in 1-2 years when slightly used CPOs show up. I honestly don't think that the Telluride will hold its value any better than the rest of the line. It is going to take some time for people to change their mind about the Korean manufacturers and when they do, then they will hold their value. I am sure that back in the 70s and 80s, Honda, Toyota and Subaru had an uphill battle and because of that used cars plummeted in price. I think that Kia and Hyundai will be doing the same.

In addition, I think there are going to be some initial release issues. They could be major or they could be minor. We are already seeing some confusion with the "Mood Lighting" and the spare tire. The dealerships don't seem to have had much formal training both in terms of sales and service for these (based on forum info that has been shared). I am not sure being 1st in line for an new vehicle is the place to be. Plus, I won't purchase a car until Weather Tech mats are available for it , gotta protect that investment.