The 2020 Kia Telluride crossover has been the subject of more than 20 complaints to the government agency NHTSA that its windshield cracks very easily. Likewise, dozens of people are complaining about the windshield on the 2018 and 2019 Subaru Forester.

The complaints are also common in online forums, including photos of damaged windshields.

C/D has reached out to the automakers for comment on the issue. We have put more than 3000 miles on our long-term test Telluride without incident.

UPDATE 10/10/19, 5:00 p.m.: A Kia spokesperson issued the following statement in response to C/D's request: "Kia Motors America places a priority on safety and takes reported customer concerns seriously. Warranty claims involving damage to any Kia vehicle glass are reviewed on a case-by-case basis as varying influences, such as damage from road debris and other factors beyond Kia's control, may lead to breakage of the windshield glass." The spokesperson said Kia customers can contact the automaker's Consumer Assistance Center at 800–333–4542. We will pass along comments from Subaru as well when we receive them.

Kia's all-new 2020 Telluride has only been on sale for a few months, and it is already popular with consumers, so it might be remarkable that nearly two dozen owners have filed complaints with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) about the new crossover's windshield. The complaints, detailed on NHTSA's website under the heading "Visibility/Wiper," describe windshields that seem to crack easily, and those cracks are said to have worsened so quickly and severely that they require the windshield to be replaced.



Complaints of similar kinds are found on the Subaru Forester's NHTSA page, where complaints include one from April 5, 2018, that reads: "I'm constantly getting chips . . . I've never had such a brittle windshield before," and another from July 6, 2019, that says, "Second crack in windshield in five months" and describes the road surfaces where the cracks happened as "normal" and "paved."

On Twitter, "DCCarGeek" posted screen shots from NHTSA's site:

The first complaint about the Telluride posted at NHTSA is dated July 11, 2019, and it states that when the owner had only had the vehicle eight days, a small rock kicked up from a passing car at 35 mph cracked the windshield. The complainant claims to have heard of "100s of other customers" having the same issue, although, obviously, such claims are difficult to validate.

Another complaint, posted on October 2, 2019, states that three days after purchasing a Telluride, the bottom center of the customer's windshield developed a crack although there weren't any obvious signs of a stone chip. The customer stated that it took eight weeks for Kia to ship a new windshield.

C/D has had a 2020 Kia Telluride in our long-term fleet, and we have put almost 3000 miles on its odometer. To date, we have not had any issues involving its windshield.

We reached out to Kia and Subaru for comment; Kia's response is above, and we will update the story when we receive a response from Subaru.

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