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Active NHTSA advisory: park outside and away from structures until repaired. Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls and see the recall details below.
Kia · Large SUV

2024 Kia Telluride

Gas
Small Sport Utility Vehicle 2WD
2 EPA-rated configurations
Data refreshed 2026-10-26
F
Safety Signal
52 / 100 from the NHTSA recall record
Counts recalls, not crash safety — this vehicle earned 5 of 5 stars from NHTSA. A much-recalled best-seller scores low here; see the methodology.
Recalls3 critical 5
Complaints6 crash · 2 fire · 4 injured reported 223
Crash ratingNHTSA overall 5★
Fuel economybest combined, EPA 22 mpg
Starting MSRP14 trims · manufacturer $36,190
2027202520242023202220212020

The 2024 Kia Telluride is sold in the U.S. as a gas large SUV with 2 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the Telluride FWD, is EPA-rated at 22 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 5 recall campaigns for this model year, 3 rated critical, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of F. Owners have filed 223 complaints, most often about the electrical system. NHTSA crash-tested it at 5 stars overall. Manufacturer pricing runs from $36,190 to $53,385 across 14 trims.

Kia Telluride — photograph via Wikimedia Commons
Kia Telluride (2019 generation) · Photo: MercurySable99 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Trims & pricing

Source: manufacturer press kitWhich trim should I buy? → Compare a trim →
TrimPowertrainDriveMSRPHPTorqueMPG combSeatsCargo (2nd row)Wheels
LXGasFWD$36,190291 hp262 lb-ft22 mpg846 cu-ft18 in
LXGasAWD$38,190291 hp262 lb-ft20 mpg846 cu-ft18 in
SGasFWD$38,090291 hp262 lb-ft22 mpg746 cu-ft20 in
SGasAWD$40,090291 hp262 lb-ft20 mpg746 cu-ft20 in
EXGasFWD$41,790291 hp262 lb-ft22 mpg846 cu-ft20 in
EXGasAWD$43,790291 hp262 lb-ft20 mpg846 cu-ft20 in
EX X-LINEGasAWD$46,085291 hp262 lb-ft20 mpg746 cu-ft20 in
SXGasFWD$45,990291 hp262 lb-ft22 mpg746 cu-ft20 in
SXGasAWD$47,990291 hp262 lb-ft20 mpg746 cu-ft20 in
SX X-LINEGasAWD$49,485291 hp262 lb-ft20 mpg746 cu-ft20 in
SX X-PROGasAWD$50,485291 hp262 lb-ft20 mpg746 cu-ft18 in
SXPGasAWD$50,890291 hp262 lb-ft20 mpg746 cu-ft20 in
SXP X-LINEGasAWD$52,385291 hp262 lb-ft20 mpg746 cu-ft20 in
SXP X-PROGasAWD$53,385291 hp262 lb-ft20 mpg746 cu-ft18 in

MSRP excludes destination. Open a trim for the complete spec sheet and standard/optional equipment. Have the car in front of you? Decode its VIN to see which of these trims it is and what it was priced at.

Specs & fuel economy

Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov
ConfigurationPowertrainDriveEngine / motorCityHwyCombAnnual fuel*
Telluride FWDGasFWD3.8L 6-cyl202622$3,050
Telluride AWDGasAWD3.8L 6-cyl182420$3,350

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year at EPA reference fuel and electricity prices. fueleconomy.gov record ids: 46699, 46729.

Emissions & certification

Source: EPA emission certificates
ConfigurationSmog ratingEmission standardWhere it can be sold newSmartWay
Telluride FWD6 / 10California LEV-III ULEV50 / Federal Tier 3 Bin 50All 50 states (federal, all altitudes); California and states following California standards—
Telluride AWD6 / 10Federal Tier 3 Bin 50 / California LEV-III ULEV50All 50 states (federal, all altitudes); California and states following California standards—

Certified for all fifty states, so it can be registered new anywhere in the U.S.

The smog rating scores tailpipe pollutants other than greenhouse gases, 1 (worst) to 10 (best), and is comparable only within a model year. The standard is the federal bin or California tier the configuration was certified to. Both come from the EPA certificate behind the window sticker.

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The cheapest ownership win

Insurers price the 2024 Telluride very differently, and the gap between the best and worst quote on the same car and driver is usually larger than any option you are weighing on this page.

How to compare cover →

Affiliate disclosure: some links on this page are affiliate links. If you request a quote or buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Nothing on this page changes because of it.

Recalls (5)

Source: NHTSA recall database
!critical

Seats

SC374
Park outside 462,869 vehicles 20% reported repaired
Problem Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2020-2024 Telluride vehicles. The front power seat motor may overheat due to a stuck power seat slide knob or an improper recall 24V407 repair, which can result in a fire while parked or driving. Risk A fire increases the risk of injury. Fix Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will install an electronic fuse assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed August 13, 2026. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC374. This recall replaces NHTSA recall number 24V407. Vehicles already repaired under the previous recall will need to have the new remedy completed. Vehicle Identification
NHTSA campaign 26V430000 reported Jul 2, 2026 Kia America, Inc. the full filing, and every vehicle covered →
▲high

Structure

SC347
201,149 vehicles 68% reported repaired
Problem Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023-2025 Telluride vehicles. The door belt molding trim can delaminate and detach from the vehicle. Risk A detached trim piece can become a road hazard for other vehicles, increasing the risk of a crash. Fix Dealers will inspect and replace the belt molding trim assemblies as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 19, 2025. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC347.
NHTSA campaign 25V494000 reported Jul 28, 2025 Kia America, Inc. the full filing, and every vehicle covered →
!critical

Seats

SC316
Park outside 462,869 vehicles 85% reported repaired built Jan 9, 2019 – May 29, 2024
Problem Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2020-2024 Telluride vehicles. The front power seat motor may overheat due to a stuck power seat slide knob, which can result in a fire while parked or driving. Risk A fire increases the risk of injury. Fix Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will install a bracket for the power seat switch back covers and replace the seat slide knobs, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 30, 2024. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC316.
NHTSA campaign 24V407000 reported Jun 5, 2024 Kia America, Inc. the full filing, and every vehicle covered →
▲high

Power Train

SC303
427,407 vehicles 86% reported repaired
Problem Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2020-2024 Telluride vehicles. The intermediate shaft and right front driveshaft may not be fully engaged, which can result in vehicle roll away while in PARK. Risk A vehicle roll away increases the risk of a crash or injury. Fix Owners are advised to manually engage the emergency parking brake prior to exiting the vehicle until the recall remedy is performed. Dealers will update the electronic parking brake software and replace any damaged intermediate shafts as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 15, 2024. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC303.
NHTSA campaign 24V214000 reported Mar 20, 2024 Kia America, Inc. the full filing, and every vehicle covered →
!critical

Engine And Engine Cooling

SC296
2,872 vehicles 97% reported repaired
Problem Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2024 Telluride vehicles. The engine valve springs may break while driving, which can result in a loss of drive power and possibly create a hole in the engine block. Risk A loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash. A hole in the engine block increases the risk of a fire. Fix Dealers will replace the engine sub-assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 5, 2024. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC296.
NHTSA campaign 24V077000 reported Feb 7, 2024 Kia America, Inc. the full filing, and every vehicle covered →

These are vehicle campaigns — the ones the automaker filed against this model. NHTSA also records equipment recalls, filed by a parts maker against a component (a tyre, a child seat, an aftermarket part), and those are not listed here or counted above. nhtsa.gov/recalls shows both for a VIN.

Whether any of this applies to one specific Telluride

A campaign covers a build range, not a model year, so two identical-looking cars from 2024 can differ. Both of these check a VIN against the manufacturer’s own list, free, in about ten seconds. Kia publishes its own lookup because federal rule 49 CFR 573.15 requires it to, and to keep it current to within seven days.

Hear about a recall before the letter does

The manufacturer’s letter is the last step of a recall: it has up to 60 days after filing to mail owners, at the address on the registration. We email you the day NHTSA posts a recall on the 2024 Kia Telluride, with what to do next. Nothing else, ever — no newsletter, no marketing, one-click unsubscribe in every message.

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Parts & accessories for the 2024 Kia Telluride

Search by fitment on eBay Motors — OEM take-offs, aftermarket, and the trim pieces dealers no longer stock. The listing and the price are the seller's.

Find parts for this Telluride →

Owner complaints

Source: NHTSA complaint database
223complaints filed

6 involved a crash · 2 a fire · 4 injuries · 0 deaths reported

15 per 10,000 built · Kia reported 147,589 Telluride built (its Early Warning production report to NHTSA)

Filed per year: 2023: 16 · 2024: 86 · 2025: 71 · 2026: 50

Most-cited components

Unspecified 63
Forward Collision Avoidance 39
Visibility/Wiper 35
Structure 28
Engine 18

In depth: electrical problems →

In owners' own words

Filed with NHTSA by the people who own these cars, one per problem area. Quoted as written, with anything identifying removed.

I went into the dealership to have the air condition system looked at because on 2/27/2024, the weather was warm enough to have the ac on while driving home. The ac was not working as far as cooling, it was just blowing hot air. No indication of any issue with the coolant system at all.
Engine Mar 4, 2024 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11575394
The contact's father owns a 2024 Kia Telluride. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle while away from home, the entire instrument panel had gone blank upon the start of the engine without warning.
Electrical System at 1,600 miles Feb 26, 2024 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11574010
After owning this brand new car for less than 2 months, I've had 2 rocks hit my windshield and resulting in cracks. Those rocks were not big and I wouldn't have expected those to result in actual windshield cracks.
Visibility/Wiper Feb 16, 2024 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11572432
VEHICLE has 650 miles now. It was leased from Kia. I noticed the brakes fading when at a long stop light or stop sign. Vehicle would start to roll/creep forward and brake pedal would drop slightly. The longer the stop light the more this would happen.
Service Brakes Feb 14, 2024 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11571912
Incident 1: Seatbelt was fastened as I returned from picking a child up from school. As we turned into our driveway my seatbelt unlatched unexpectedly. In addition, none of the warnings sounded that typically notify you when someone has taken off their seatbelt prematurely.
Seat Belts Feb 8, 2024 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11570803
The contact owns a 2024 Kia Telluride. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH in snow mode, the vehicle failed to accelerate as needed. The vehicle was started but was unable to drive as needed for approximately 30 minutes.
Power Train at 1,748 miles Jan 17, 2024 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11566134

Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.

Reported by Kia itself: 15 death-or-injury claims on this model year in its quarterly Early Warning reports to NHTSA (49 CFR 579.21): 19 injured, as claimed, not verified — about 10 per 100,000 built. Every Telluride model year, by year and system → Dated and by system, they are exhibit F of the defect dossier.

When owners reported it

Reported at 8k

miles, typically

Half the 22 owner reports with an odometer reading on file fall between 4,000 and 22,000 miles. That is when problems get reported, which is not the same as when they start — and not a failure rate, because nobody knows how many of these cars never had a problem at all.

Too few readings for a curve — the 22 on file: 11 under 10k, 5 10k–20k, 3 20k–30k, 2 30k–40k, 1 50k–60k.

Odometer readings as filed by owners with NHTSA. Readings under 100 or over 400,000 miles are dropped as data entry rather than history, and a component needs at least 12 readings before a median is shown for it.

Crash ratings

Source: NHTSA NCAP
ConfigurationOverallFrontalSideRolloverRollover risk
SUV AWD★★★★★★★★★☆★★★★★★★★★☆14%
SUV FWD★★★★★★★★★☆★★★★★★★★★☆16%

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program. Standard driver-assist: forward collision warning, lane departure warning, automatic emergency braking.

Service bulletins & campaigns

Source: NHTSA manufacturer communications
Extended coverage on file 2 filings by the manufacturer with NHTSA naming this model year

The term and the vehicles it covers are the manufacturer’s, as NHTSA’s summary of each filing states them; a dealer checks one particular car by its VIN. Every Kia warranty extension (28) → · Every warranty extension on file, all makes →

Communicationsfiled with NHTSA 61
Most recentmanufacturer date 2026-09-25
Kindsas classified by NHTSA 27 service bulletins, 13 service campaigns, 13 warranty extensions

Most often about: Electrical System, Engine, Suspension, Power Train, Vehicle Speed Control.

  • TSB_ENG270 Service bulletin
    2026-09-25 · Engine
  • TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: EXCESSIVE ENGINE OIL CONSUMPTION: This bulletin provides information on diagnosing and/or repairing a 2020-2025MY Telluride (ON) vehicle's engine, which may exhibit a symptom of excessive oil consumption. Follow the flowchart on page 2 in this procedure to repair a vehicle exhibiting excessive oil consumption.
  • TSB_CHA129_R1 Service bulletin
    2026-09-23 · Power Train
  • TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: AWD COUPLER NOISE/VIBRATION LOGIC IMPROVEMENT (Revision 1) - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This bulletin provides information to upgrade the 4-Wheel Drive ‘4WD’ system software on some 2020-2025MY Telluride (ON) vehicles produced from January 08, 20
  • TSB_ELE328_R1 Service bulletin
    2026-09-16 · Electrical System
  • TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: CLUSTER SOFTWARE LOGIC IMPROVEMENT FOR LOWER THAN ACTUAL FUEL LEVEL INDICATION - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This bulletin provides information to upgrade the software on the instrument cluster ‘CLU’ on some 2023-2025MY Telluride (ON) vehicles equ
  • TSB_ELE426 Service bulletin
    2026-08-19 · Electrical System
  • TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: AVN GEN 5.0 WIDE SOFTWARE UPDATE - This bulletin provides information on the Audio Video Navigation (AVN) system software update for certain vehicles equipped with AVN5W and Navigation System listed in the table below. Affected vehicles may overestimate travel times during route calculation.
  • WTY045_TSB Warranty extension
    2026-06-04 · Engine
  • TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: WARRANTY EXTENSION CAMPAIGN: OIL FILTER HOUSING GASKET REPLACEMENT (WTY045) - This bulletin provides information regarding the ‘Warranty Extension Program (WTY045)’ for the inspection and, if necessary, replacement of the oil filter housing gasket on certain 2020–2025 MY Telluride (ON) vehicles produced from January 9, 2019, through June 12, 2025. Under this program, th
  • TSB_ELE422 Service bulletin
    2026-05-28 · Electrical System
  • TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM SOFTWARE UPDATE USING UPDATE. KIA. COM - This bulletin provides information and service procedures for updating the infotainment systems on applicable Kia vehicles using the Kia Navigation Updater available at update.kia.com. The software update may improve system performance, enhance existing features, and apply the latest operating software for sup
  • TSB_CHA129 Service bulletin
    2026-05-23 · Power Train
  • TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: AWD COUPLER NOISE/VIBRATION LOGIC IMPROVEMENT - This bulletin provides information to upgrade the 4-Wheel Drive ‘4WD’ system software on some 2020-2025MY Telluride (ON) vehicles produced from January 08, 2019 through December 17, 2025. The affected vehicles may exhibit a noise and/or a vibration, shudder, jerking, binding, or chattering sensation while turning at low sp
  • SC357_OWNR Emissions
    2026-02-21 · Engine
  • VOLUNTARY EMISSIONS SERVICE CAMPAIGN: OWNER NOTIFICATION (SC357) - This document is the owner notification advising that Kia is conducting a Voluntary Emissions Service Campaign to improve the emissions software logic in the Electronic Control Module (ECM) for 2020-2025 MY Telluride vehicles to ensure compliance with emissions regulations.

A service bulletin is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a known condition. It is not a recall, not a finding that the vehicle is defective, and the work is not automatically free — though a bulletin is often what a dealer works from when you describe a symptom, so quoting the document number can save a diagnosis. The count is every communication filed; the list shows the most recent, one entry per campaign, because a single campaign is usually filed as several documents on the same day. The summaries are NHTSA's; the full documents come from the manufacturer.

At the New York inspection station

Source: New York State DMV

In New York’s inspection lanes over the 12 months to Oct 10, 2026, the 2024 Kia Telluride failed the emissions check on 1.8% of first inspections — close to the 1.5% for every 2024 model-year vehicle inspected; and the safety inspection on 0.78% (every 2024 vehicle: 0.74%).

New York inspections 1.8%

failed emissions

5,267 initial inspections of 5,185 vehicles.

MeasureThe 2024 TellurideEvery 2024 vehicleBehind it
Failed the emissions check1.8%1.5%4,080
Failed the safety inspection0.78%0.74%5,267
Air-bag warning lamp stayed lit0.13%0.17%5,267
Miles driven a year11,2329,424odometer at inspection
Average odometer25,03521,104odometer at inspection

New York’s emissions test on these model years is an on-board diagnostics check: it fails a car whose check-engine light is on or whose self-tests have not finished. First inspections only, so a car that failed and came back is counted once; private and special plates, not taxis, livery or commercial plates. A rate appears only where at least 200 inspections stand behind it. “Every 2024 vehicle” is every 2024 model-year car, SUV and pickup inspected in the same window, all makes. This is the state’s record of test results, not a reliability score by itself. Source: New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, Vehicle Inspections (data.ny.gov, Open NY terms).

Common questions about the 2024 Telluride

Source: EPA, NHTSA and manufacturer press kits

How much does the 2024 Kia Telluride cost?

Manufacturer pricing runs from $36,190 for the LX FWD to $53,385 for the SXP X-PRO AWD, across 14 trims. Those are MSRPs from the manufacturer's own press material; they exclude destination, options, taxes and whatever the dealer adds. Every trim and price is listed above.

Does the 2024 Kia Telluride have any recalls?

NHTSA has posted 5 recall campaigns for the 2024 Kia Telluride, 3 of them rated critical. The most serious on file is 26V430000, covering Seats. There is an active park outside advisory — act on it before driving. Check your own VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls; a recall applies to specific build ranges, not every car.

How safe is the 2024 Kia Telluride?

NHTSA gave the 2024 Kia Telluride 5 stars overall in its New Car Assessment Program tests — 4-star frontal crash, 5-star side crash, 4-star rollover. WhichTrim also grades it F (52/100) on its recall record, which is a different question from crash protection.

What is the fuel economy of the 2024 Kia Telluride?

Across the 2 EPA-rated configurations of the 2024 Kia Telluride, the best EPA combined figure is 22 mpg. Figures are the EPA's own, per configuration, and every one is listed above.

What do owners complain about on the 2024 Kia Telluride?

Owners have filed 223 complaints with NHTSA about the 2024 Kia Telluride, most often about unspecified, electrical system, forward collision avoidance. Of those, 6 involved a crash, 2 a fire, 4 reported injuries. Complaints are unverified owner reports, so treat the pattern as a signal and the individual report as an anecdote.

How clean is the 2024 Kia Telluride?

The EPA smog rating for the 2024 Kia Telluride is 6 out of 10. That score covers tailpipe pollutants other than greenhouse gases, and it only compares vehicles within the same model year. It is certified for all fifty states, so it can be registered new anywhere in the U.S. Its configurations were certified to different standards — California LEV-III ULEV50, Federal Tier 3 Bin 50 — which the table above lists per configuration.

Are there service bulletins for the 2024 Kia Telluride?

The manufacturer has filed 61 service bulletins and related communications with NHTSA for the 2024 Kia Telluride, most often covering electrical system, engine, suspension. The most recent is dated 2026-09-25. A bulletin is not a recall: it is the repair procedure a manufacturer sends its dealers for a condition it knows about, and the work is not automatically paid for. It is still worth knowing — if the symptom matches, quoting the bulletin number at the service desk can save a diagnosis. The document numbers and summaries are listed above.

How does the 2024 Kia Telluride do at state inspection?

In New York’s inspection lanes over the 12 months to Oct 10, 2026, the 2024 Kia Telluride failed the emissions check on 1.8% of first inspections — close to the 1.5% for every 2024 model-year vehicle inspected; and the safety inspection on 0.78% (every 2024 vehicle: 0.74%). The figures are New York State DMV’s own inspection records, first inspections only, and the table above sets each one against every vehicle of the same model year.

Which 2024 Kia Telluride trim is the best value?

$17,195 separates the cheapest of the 14 trims from the most expensive, so the answer depends on which of the differences you would actually use. Every trim has its own page here with the manufacturer's full specification and equipment list, plus a short summary of exactly what it adds over the base trim — worth reading before a dealer frames the walk-up for you. The trim-by-trim ladder shows what every step up costs and what it makes standard.

What we hold, and what an empty row means

Paid vehicle-history reports will not tell you the difference between “nothing happened to this car” and “we never received that record” — both of the big two say as much in their own help pages. Most of what is on this page comes from complete federal registers, so we can tell you which is which, row by row.

DataHeldSourceWhat it covers — or what empty means
Fuel economy & configurations2 configurationsEPA certification recordsEvery configuration the EPA certified for sale, with its own test figures.
Emission certificates2 configurationsEPA emission certificatesSmog rating, standard and the sales area that decides where the car can be sold new.
Recalls5NHTSA recall campaignsA complete federal register: every campaign covering this model year, with severity and advisory flags.
Owner complaints223NHTSA complaint databaseAlso complete, but unverified: these are reports owners filed, not findings. Counts scale with how many were sold.
Crash ratings2 testedNHTSA NCAPOnly the configurations NHTSA chose to crash-test, which is never all of them.
Service bulletins61NHTSA manufacturer communicationsEverything the manufacturer told its dealers about a defect or malfunction, short of a recall.
InvestigationsnoneNHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationNo defect investigation has been opened.
Driver-assist crash reportsnoneNHTSA Standing General Order 2021-01No report has been filed. Only entities named in the order report, and only crashes they hear of — so this is also what an unequipped car, or a manufacturer without telematics, looks like.
Specifications filed with NHTSAnoneNHTSA vPIC, decoded from VIN patternsWe had no VIN pattern to decode for this model year, or the manufacturer filed nothing usable.
Trims, pricing & equipment14 trimsManufacturer press kitTranscribed from the manufacturer's own press material, every value carrying the document it came from.

Rebuilt nightly; this page was generated 2026-10-26. Every figure above is traceable to the source named beside it, and the JSON for this page carries the same values with their identifiers.

Sources & method

Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). The most serious recall counts in full and each further one counts 85% of the one before, because a vehicle sold in millions is recalled more often than a rare one without being more dangerous — and because a flat subtraction bottomed the scale out, scoring a vehicle with 22 recalls within a point of one with six. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Read it as what it counts: recall campaigns on the federal record, weighted by severity. The damping reduces the sales bias by roughly 40% but does not remove it: like our complaint counts, this is not normalized by how many were sold, so a best-seller still scores somewhat worse than an obscure model with the same real risk. NHTSA crash ratings, do-not-drive and park-outside advisories, and the crash, fire, injury and death counts in owner complaints are reported separately on every page and never blended into the letter — a vehicle can hold five stars and a poor letter at once, and where that happens we say so rather than leave you to notice. Because the scale subtracts from a clean sheet, a model year too new to have been recalled, complained about or bulletined scores full marks on an empty record; we label those grades provisional rather than present them as earned.

EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records. Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed nightly. Trim-level specifications and pricing are transcribed from the manufacturer's official press kit; every value carries its source in the data file.

JSON for this page · API