Kia Telluride vs Hyundai Tucson: Which Years to Avoid
Kia Telluride owners should avoid 2020 and 2021, while 2025 is the Telluride's Best year. The Hyundai Tucson has no Good or Best year in this data; 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2025 are its Avoid years, with 2016 posting a complaint index of 95 and 1,619 complaints.
Head to head
Kia Telluride
- Model years
- 2020–2025 (6)
- NHTSA complaints
- 1,987
- Per model year
- 331
- Recall campaigns
- 17
- Years to avoid
- 2020, 2021
- Best years
- 2025
- Top problem area
- Electrical System
- Avg. EPA combined MPG
- 21.7
- Avg. NHTSA overall rating
- 5.0 ★
Hyundai Tucson
- Model years
- 2005–2025 (21)
- NHTSA complaints
- 6,207
- Per model year
- 296
- Recall campaigns
- 34
- Years to avoid
- 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2025
- Best years
- —
- Top problem area
- Engine
- Avg. EPA combined MPG
- 24.2
- Avg. NHTSA overall rating
- 4.7 ★
Year by year
Complaint Index is relative within each model (0 = that model’s best year, 100 = its worst). Complaints and recalls are raw counts.
| Year | Telluride | Tucson | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Complaints | Recalls | MPG | Verdict | Complaints | Recalls | MPG | |
| 2005 | — | — | — | — | Caution | 185 | 8 | 21 |
| 2006 | — | — | — | — | Good | 135 | 5 | 21 |
| 2007 | — | — | — | — | Good | 65 | 5 | 21 |
| 2008 | — | — | — | — | Good | 43 | 1 | 21 |
| 2009 | — | — | — | — | Good | 18 | 1 | 21 |
| 2010 | — | — | — | — | Caution | 59 | 4 | 24.5 |
| 2011 | — | — | — | — | Caution | 124 | 5 | 23.5 |
| 2012 | — | — | — | — | Caution | 255 | 3 | 23 |
| 2013 | — | — | — | — | Caution | 266 | 3 | 23 |
| 2014 | — | — | — | — | Caution | 201 | 2 | 22.5 |
| 2015 | — | — | — | — | Caution | 227 | 1 | 23 |
| 2016 | — | — | — | — | Avoid | 1,619 | 5 | 27 |
| 2017 | — | — | — | — | Avoid | 1,086 | 3 | 27 |
| 2018 | — | — | — | — | Avoid | 396 | 1 | 24.5 |
| 2019 | — | — | — | — | Avoid | 379 | 1 | 24 |
| 2020 | Avoid | 761 | 7 | 22 | Caution | 177 | 1 | 24 |
| 2021 | Avoid | 365 | 5 | 22 | Caution | 79 | 1 | 24 |
| 2022 | Caution | 324 | 7 | 22 | Avoid | 381 | 3 | 29 |
| 2023 | Caution | 207 | 6 | 22 | Caution | 133 | 2 | 28 |
| 2024 | Caution | 217 | 5 | 21 | Caution | 96 | 4 | 28 |
| 2025 | Best | 113 | 3 | 21 | Avoid | 283 | 6 | 28 |
Complaint Index by year
Kia Telluride
Hyundai Tucson
Frequently asked questions
- Which Telluride years should I avoid?
- NHTSA data flags 2020 and 2021 as Avoid years for the Kia Telluride, with complaint indexes of 100 and 80. The top problem area in 2020 was the Electrical System, and in 2021 it was Visibility & Wipers.
- Which Tucson years should I avoid?
- The Hyundai Tucson has six Avoid years in this data: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2025. 2016 and 2025 both carry the highest complaint index of any Tucson year, at 95 and 100 respectively.
- Does either model have a Good or Best year?
- The Telluride has a Best year, 2025, with a complaint index of 20. The Tucson has no Good or Best year at all; its lowest-risk years are 2007, 2008 and 2009, though those are capped at Good because older complaint records are less complete.
- How do the two compare on recalls and complaints?
- NHTSA lists 17 recall campaigns across 6 Telluride model years (1,987 total complaints, 331 per year) versus 34 recall campaigns across 21 Tucson model years (6,207 total complaints, 296 per year). Totals are not sales-normalized, so they cannot be compared directly per vehicle sold.
- How do fuel economy figures compare?
- EPA data shows the Telluride averaging 21.7 mpg combined across its model years versus 24.2 mpg combined for the Tucson. Annual fuel cost estimates run as high as $3,100 for some Telluride years and as low as $2,250 for the most efficient Tucson years.