Last updated: 2026-10-10

Hyundai Santa Fe vs Kia Telluride: Reliability Compared

More ReliableHyundai Santa Fe reliability comparison

Hyundai Santa Fe

70
GoodReliability score: 70 out of 100, rated Good
VS
Kia Telluride reliability comparison

Kia Telluride

66
GoodReliability score: 66 out of 100, rated Good

The Hyundai Santa-FE edges out the KIA Telluride on reliability, with half the unscheduled shop visits and a lower complaint rate per car sold. The Santa-FE also costs less to repair, but it has more recalls and some serious crash-linked complaints.

How Do the Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Telluride Generations Compare?

Shoppers have a shorter menu with the Telluride, which has had a single generation, sold in the US from the 2020 model year through 2025. It was refreshed for 2023, so 2020 through 2022 are the pre-refresh cars, and 2020 and 2021 were the weakest of them. The Santa-FE offers more history. The third generation ended with 2018, the oldest year here and one of the weakest. The fourth generation ran 2019 through 2023 and was refreshed for 2021. A fifth generation began with the 2024 model year. Most used Santa-FE shoppers will be choosing among fourth-generation cars, where 2022 was another weak year, and newer ones that have had little time to collect complaints.

Verdict

The Hyundai Santa Fe is more reliable than the Kia Telluride, scoring 70/100 vs 66/100.

Reliability favors the Santa-FE, but only by a slight edge. Both sit in good standing. The deciding facts are in the repair data: the Santa-FE averages 0.2 unscheduled shop visits a year against 0.4 for the Telluride, and it draws far fewer owner complaints per car sold. The Santa-FE does carry more recalls and some serious crash-linked complaints, so the gap is narrow. Neither model is a clear winner, and the specific year you buy matters about as much as the badge.

Key Differences

  1. 1Hyundai Santa Fe costs $58 less per year to repair
  2. 2Kia Telluride has 33 fewer total recalls
  3. 3Hyundai Santa Fe has 15.3 fewer complaints per 10k sold

Category Scoreboard

4Hyundai Santa Fe
—
1Kia Telluride
Reliability ScoreTotal RecallsComplaint RateAnnual Repair CostRepair Frequency

Hyundai Santa Fe vs Kia Telluride: Which Is More Reliable?

Hyundai Santa Fe vs Kia Telluride at-a-glance reliability comparison
MetricHyundai Santa FeKia Telluride
Reliability Score70/10066/100
Years Tracked96
Total Recalls6027
Complaints per 10k Sold823.3
Annual Repair Cost$515/yr$573/yr
Repair Frequency0.2/yr0.4/yr
Year Wins51

What Are the Common Problems With the Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Telluride?

Oil burning is the shared engine risk, but it plays out differently. Santa-FE owners report a flickering low oil light and engines several quarts low, with stalling at highway speed in bad cases. Telluride owners report no low-oil warning before an engine seizes, and a cracked plastic oil filter housing. The Telluride's most common complaint is a windshield that cracks from tiny impacts, sometimes within 100 miles. Its instrument cluster also goes blank. Only the Santa-FE has crash-linked brake and sudden acceleration complaints, including cars surging while parking. The Telluride's crash-linked reports center on rollaway in Park.

Hyundai Santa Fe vs Kia Telluride common problem areas comparison
ComponentHyundai Santa FeKia Telluride
UNKNOWN OR OTHER1.2Low4.4Average
VISIBILITY/WIPER0.1Very Low4.2Average
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM0.9Very Low2.8Low
ENGINE1.5Low1.9Low
POWER TRAIN1.3Low1.7Low
EXTERIOR LIGHTING—None2.5Low
STRUCTURE0.1Very Low1.6Low
SERVICE BRAKES0.5Very Low0.3Very Low
VISIBILITY0.1Very Low0.7Very Low
SUSPENSION—None0.6Very Low
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL0.3Very Low0.2Very Low
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE0.2Very Low0.1Very Low
STEERING0.1Very Low0.1Very Low
AIR BAGS0.1Very Low0.1Very Low
SEAT BELTS0.1Very Low0.1Very Low
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM0.1Very Low—None
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING0.1Very Low—None
TIRES—None—None
BACK OVER PREVENTION—None—None
TRAILER HITCHES—None—None
SEATS—None—None

Complaints per 10,000 units sold, aggregated across all tracked model years from NHTSA owner reports.

Which Is Cheaper to Maintain: Hyundai Santa Fe or Kia Telluride?

Repair costs run lower on the Santa-FE. Independent repair-cost data puts it at $515 a year against $573 for the Telluride. That is $58 a year, or about $290 over five years. The bigger gap is in shop visits: 0.2 unscheduled visits a year for the Santa-FE, half the 0.4 for the Telluride. About 10% of Santa-FE repairs are major. No major-repair figure is available for the Telluride, so that comparison cannot be made.

How Does Hyundai Santa Fe vs Kia Telluride Reliability Compare by Year?

Hyundai Santa Fe vs Kia Telluride year-by-year reliability scores
YearHyundai Santa FeKia TellurideEdge
202575/1006R / 109C78/1002R / 32CKia Telluride
202473/1009R / 109C69/1004R / 180CHyundai Santa Fe
202370/1004R / 244C68/1005R / 161CHyundai Santa Fe
202266/10014R / 223C63/1006R / 280CHyundai Santa Fe
202169/10010R / 165C63/1004R / 280CHyundai Santa Fe
202070/1002R / 165C55/1006R / 667CHyundai Santa Fe

Best years to cross-shop: The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe scored 73/100 and the 2024 Kia Telluride scored 69/100 — the strongest shared model years that have been on the road for at least two years, where available.

Who Should Buy the Hyundai Santa Fe vs the Kia Telluride?

Pick the Santa-FE if you want fewer trips to the shop and a lower repair bill. Check the oil level and ask for service records before you buy, since heavy oil burning shows up in reports from roughly 78,788 to 110,000 miles. Skip 2018 and 2022, the weakest years. Test the brakes and low-speed throttle response on the drive, because the crash-linked complaints on this model involve braking and surging while parking. Pick the Telluride if you want the newer design and can accept a windshield that may crack early. Budget for glass, since dealers often decline warranty coverage and some owners replaced it two or three times. Avoid 2020 and 2021, the weakest years, and confirm the instrument cluster works through a full cold start. The strongest years are 2025 and 2024, but those have had less time to collect complaints, so do not treat them as proven. Insist on complete service records, because engine claims have been denied over missing paperwork.

Hyundai Santa Fe vs Kia Telluride: Common Questions

Is the Hyundai Santa-FE more reliable than the KIA Telluride?
Slightly, yes. Both have good standing, but the Santa-FE averages 0.2 unscheduled shop visits a year versus 0.4 for the Telluride, and its complaint rate per car sold is much lower. The edge is small because the Santa-FE has more recalls and some serious crash-linked complaints.
Which has more recalls, the Santa-FE or the Telluride?
The Santa-FE has more. Federal recall records show 60 recalls across 9 model years for the Santa-FE and 27 across 6 model years for the Telluride. The Santa-FE has also been on sale longer, so it has had more time to collect them.
Which costs less to repair?
The Santa-FE, at an estimated $515 a year against $573 for the Telluride. Over five years that is roughly $290 saved. The Santa-FE also makes fewer unscheduled shop visits, which matters for time as much as money.
Do Telluride windshields really crack easily?
Yes, it is the Telluride's most common complaint area. Owners report cracks from small pebbles, or with no visible impact, and some within the first 100 miles. Several replaced the glass two or three times, and dealers often decline warranty coverage.
Do the Santa-FE and Telluride have engine oil problems?
Both do. Santa-FE owners find the engine quarts low with no leak, often around 78,788 to 110,000 miles. Telluride owners report losing a quart or more between changes and no low-oil warning before stalling or seizing. Check the oil and service records on either one.

Related Reliability Comparisons

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How we score the Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Telluride

Scores weight complaint severity at 35%, repair costs at 30%, recall impact at 20%, and the spread of complaints across systems at 15%, with complaint counts adjusted for US sales. Read the full methodology.

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