NHTSA complaint #11719838

Owner complaint summary

Purchased a brand new 2025 Kia Telluride SX-Prestige X-Line on May 19, 2025. On or about December 20, 2025, my husband was driving (I was the passenger) in stop/start traffic when the engine shut off and the panel displayed “Put vehicle in Park or Neutral and Restart the Engine.” Since traffic was stopped, he put the vehicle in Park and restarted the engine. The vehicle started right up and we went on our way. However, on Saturday, January 10, 2026, the check engine light came on. I contacted the maintenance department at Buchanan Kia (where I purchased the vehicle). He asked if the vehicle was having any other issues. It was not, so we scheduled a maintenance appointment. I was told we could drive the vehicle, so we did. On our way home, doing 40 mph down, thankfully, a back road, the engine stopped, all systems shut down including steering/braking and the panel displayed “Put vehicle in Park or Neutral and Restart the Engine.” My husband was driving, he coasted the vehicle to a stop, put it in Park and the engine restarted. We were about 10 minutes from our house. In those 10 minutes, the engine shut off and displayed the message two more times. At this point the engine was running rough and would not idle. I again called the maintenance department and the vehicle was towed into the service department. The issue could not be replicated by the service department and we retook possession on February 3, 2026. I have sent a formal notice to Customer Care Center, Kia America, Inc. via certified mail, return receipt requested. I am filing this report as a precaution in the event something happens and someone is injured due to this malfunction.