Chevrolet Traverse vs Kia Telluride: which is more reliable?
The Kia Telluride is ahead of the Chevrolet Traverse on the federal record, 76/100 against 71/100 — a real but narrow gap that a bad model year on either side closes.
The record, side by side
Chevrolet Traverse
- 15 model years scored
- 4,296 owner complaints on record
- about 48 complaints per year on the road
- 53 recall campaigns, 35 safety-critical
- best year 2022 (88/100) · worst 2025 (46/100)
Kia Telluride
- 5 model years scored
- 1,624 owner complaints on record
- about 95 complaints per year on the road
- 26 recall campaigns, 5 safety-critical
- best year 2021 (82/100) · worst 2020 (66/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Traverse against Telluride
The comparison that decides the purchase. A nameplate is not one car — a redesign can move the record sixty points inside two years, and the two nameplates rarely move together.
What owners actually complain about
Chevrolet Traverse
- Air Bags — 921 complaints
- Engine — 876 complaints
- Power Train — 738 complaints
Kia Telluride
- Unknown Or Other — 376 complaints
- Engine — 273 complaints
- Visibility/Wiper — 270 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Traverse's complaints concentrate in Air Bags, the Telluride's in Unknown Or Other. That difference matters more to a buyer than the score gap, because it says which repair bill you are taking on.
Years to avoid on each
Chevrolet Traverse — avoid: 2025.
Kia Telluride: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025.
A year scores below 45 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. Every car’s years to avoid.
What each costs today
A recent used Chevrolet Traverse prices at about $63,100 and a Kia Telluride at about $63,100 — they price within $1 of each other, which at this level is the same money, and they return 21.0 against 20.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Chevrolet Traverse or the Kia Telluride more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Kia Telluride scores 76/100 against the Chevrolet Traverse's 71/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Chevrolet Traverse and Kia Telluride years should I avoid?
Chevrolet Traverse: 2025. Kia Telluride: no year scores below 45. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Chevrolet Traverse and the Kia Telluride?
The largest complaint group on the Chevrolet Traverse is Air Bags (921 complaints); on the Kia Telluride it is Unknown Or Other (376).
Is the Chevrolet Traverse or the Kia Telluride cheaper to own?
A recent used Chevrolet Traverse prices at about $63,100 and a Kia Telluride at about $63,100, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.