Autoblog and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article.Kia has been hit with a class action lawsuit related to repeated failures of the Telluride SUV’s digital instrument panel. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the lawsuit states that some owners have experienced failures of the display that Kia dealers have been unable to fix. Since this screen displays critical information and warning lights, it’s a safety risk when it goes blank. Here’s what we know about the defect that’s been plaguing several Telluride owners.Kia Telluride Instrument Display Defect2023 Kia TellurideKiaThe lawsuit specifically applies to 2023-2025 Kia Telluride models, which form part of the first generation of the three-row crossover. It includes all New York and Pennsylvania “persons who purchased or leased, and currently possess” one of these vehicles. The lawsuit specifically pertains to Telluride models with the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, which is found on SX trims and above. Lower trims have a 4.2-inch color TFT-LCD full segment meter cluster that does not form part of the lawsuit.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe larger screen is an LCD display that shows up to 35 separate warnings, gauges, and indicators, all of which can’t be viewed if the display goes blank. The plaintiffs allege that the screen goes black, rendering the display useless. In one case, New York plaintiff Chris O’Connell says his 2023 Telluride “has experienced multiple recurrent failures” of the display, requiring three dealership visits. Other plaintiffs have failed to replicate the fault when visiting the dealer; when checked by the service department, they were unable to find an issue with the vehicle.2023 Kia TellurideKiaThe class action, shared by Car Complaints, alleges that Kia knew the clusters would fail before the vehicles were first sold, but did not inform customers of a potential problem. A working instrument cluster is required by law, so the vehicle isn’t compliant when the display fails. And, since there’s no analog backup, the driver can’t access vital features and warnings.We visited the NHTSA website and found multiple complaints of Telluride screens going black. More than one owner reported having to wait months for a new part, which means the vehicle can technically be driven but without visibility of speed or other key information. In April 2023, Kia recalled over 100,000 vehicles for a blank LCD display, but it appears the issue is ongoing.Related: Mom Scared To Drive Her Kia Telluride Again After Touchscreen Starts SmokingThe Price to Pay For The Latest Tech2023 Kia TellurideKiaReliance on software rather than analog displays has become a major pain point for buyers of modern vehicles. While these screens provide extensive functionality, they can completely cut the driver off from seeing information like speed, the odometer, the indicators, and warning lights. A software update can sometimes quickly remedy the situation, but that doesn’t appear to be the case here, as several owners have reported needing to order new parts.AdvertisementAdvertisementLast month, Toyota recalled over 80,000 vehicles for the same issue: digital clusters that simply go blank. That adds to a massive recall of 591,000 Toyota models last year for the same thing. Ram, Mercedes-Benz, and Ford are other manufacturers that have been hit with the same problem in recent months.As slick as these displays look on the showroom floor, we were better off with simplistic analog gauges. These rarely failed and were often more legible at a glance, but any automaker going this route would likely be perceived as having outdated tech. Ultimately, it all leaves customers with another reason to clog up dealership floors.Kia hasn’t yet responded to the lawsuit but a second recall for the faulty displays looks increasingly likely.Related: Ram Recalls 72,000 Trucks After Digital Dashboards Go Blank While DrivingAdvertisementAdvertisementThis story was originally published by Autoblog on Jun 1, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Autoblog as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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