2021 Kia Telluride

Windshield was hit by a TINY piece of gravel or road debris - so small we didn’t even see it. It left a ding in the windshield about the size of a pencil point - maybe a couple of millimeters in diameter. Before we could even pull off the road, the grass has cracked about three inches. Within about ten minutes the crack spread another three inches. Within a couple of hours, the crack had traveled both up towards the roof and down towards the hood - approximately two inches in both directions. This is a known problem with Kia windshields since the debut of the 2020.

Driving on the highway on 11/20/22, at approximately 65-70 mph, when there was a loud bang above the driver’s head causing the driver to become startled and swerve. The wind noise became louder and there was also a noise like something was moving on top of the sunshade. Exited the highway and pulled into a parking lot. Got out and the front sunroof had exploded and shards of glass were on top of the closed sunshade. The glass that remained was blown outward as if something inside the vehicle caused it to explode. Luckily the sunshade was closed and contained the glass or it would have come into the vehicle cabin and potential caused an accident or injuries to the occupants, and one could have been my one year old daughter. There were no cars around, no debris in the road, and not near an overpass.

The windshield failed spontaneously, overnight while not being driven and not having been impacted by any object. The crack began as about 10 inches long, and has grown to more than two feet long. The windshield requires replacement for safety. The problem has been confirmed by Safelite (which will replace for $1,000, as compared to Kia's $1,600), but has not been inspected by others. There was no warning or any symptom of the problem prior to the failure.

This incident has happened twice in a short matter of time. While driving a small rock hit the windshield, and then the windshield cracked immediately. This seems to be a major complaint from many owners and I know it was an issue for 2019 and 2020. There are now two cracks spanning across the windshield that obstruct a clear view. This is a major safety issue and it is difficult to get a windshield due to supply issues.

Windshield cracked and quickly spread with no sound or impact. Inspection at dealership reveals a tiny chip along the crack that the dealership says indicates and impact. Windshield seems very fragile as I have had other cars that have suffered more serious impact and not had major cracking issues. Also windshield replacement cost is very high as the dealership claims they need to recalibrate the camera that is use for lane keep assist. The previous years also had windshield issues that were covered by warranty.

Windshield cracked while driving starting at drivers side edge under trim propagating left to right across half the windshield. There was no impact from an object; simply stress crack. This has been shown to dealer and confirmed by the glass shop they use as “no impact” crack. It affects safety because it is directly in drivers vision and is blinding when the sun reflects and refracts through the crack. No action taken by dealer to replace the windshield. Seems clear that this is a defect.

The contact owns a 2021 Kia Telluride. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, he heard an abnormal popping sound coming from the vehicle. The contact was able to drive the vehicle home and upon inspection, he discovered that the sunroof glass had exploded without incident or impact. The contact called the dealer and reported the failure. The contact was informed that a representative would call him back with more information. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 8,137.