— A Kia Telluride class action lawsuit filed over cracked windshields has been in court five years as the plaintiffs keep trying to push forward while Kia continues to push back.
The Kia Telluride windshield class action was consolidated from Margaret Ritzler v. Kia, and Yandery Sanchez v. Kia.
The cracked windshield lawsuit says the Tellurides should have been recalled because the glass chips, cracks and breaks from defects.
And the class action alleges the windshields were defective when the Tellurides were first sold and Kia supposedly knew it.
Specifically, the windshield class action includes 2020-2023 Kia Telluride SUVs, and five years ago the class action included Tellurides nationwide. But over the years the lawsuit has been whittled down, a lot.
The windshield class action claims the original plaintiff who sued did not receive a letter from Kia which informed customers about a free cracked windshield replacement program.
According to the Kia Telluride windshield replacement letter:
"In an effort to ensure customer satisfaction, Kia will replace your Telluride’s windshield as a goodwill gesture should it chip and crack thereby preventing repair of the chip while we continue to investigate this issue” and advised that customers should contact a Kia dealer and “[b]ring this letter to the appointment and provide it to the dealer for reference."
Kia called it a “goodwill gesture” that would replace the Kia windshield, but the plaintiff claims she didn't know about the program.
The plaintiff complains a Kia dealership told her she would need to pay about $1,000 for a windshield replacement because her 2020 Telluride wasn't included in the windshield replacement program.
As for help from the 2020 Kia Telluride warranty, as with most vehicles, a limited warranty does not typically cover glass unless the windshield is defective.
“Your vehicle’s 2020 warranty specifically excludes coverage for broken, chipped, scratched or damaged glass due to outside influence.”
According to the class action lawsuit, Kia dealers often tell Telluride owners something must have hit the glass and cracked or chipped it. This is supposedly a routine response to save money on windshield replacements by dealerships.
Kia Telluride Class Action Lawsuit
A federal judge did certify the lawsuit as a class action, but only for customers in 10 states, and for these specific model year Tellurides.
- California: 2020–2022 Kia Telluride
- Georgia: 2020–2023 Kia Telluride
- Indiana: 2020–2023 Kia Telluride
- Iowa: 2020–2022 Kia Telluride
- New Mexico: 2020–2023 Kia Telluride
- North Carolina: 2020–2022 Kia Telluride
- Pennsylvania: 2020–2023 Kia Telluride
- Tennessee: 2020–2023 Kia Telluride
- Texas: 2020–2023 Kia Telluride
- Virginia: 2020–2023 Kia Telluride
In February there was talk of a settlement instead of a full-blown expensive trial. But several court actions have occurred since then and dozens of documents have been filed under seal by the court. This means only those with intimate knowledge of the case can view those documents.
Kia recently filed a motion for summary judgment which asked the judge to end the lawsuit without a trial. However, it was filed under seal by the court.
The plaintiffs have until November 14 to file their reply, then Kia has until January 2, 2026, to file its reply to the plaintiff's reply.
A court hearing on Kia's motion for summary judgment is scheduled for January 23, 2026.
The Kia Telluride windshield class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California: Sanchez, et al., v. Kia Motors America, Inc.
The plaintiffs are represented by Lemberg Law, LLC.