Kia Telluride VIN Decoder

Decode any Kia Telluride VIN free in under three seconds. Type the 17-character vehicle identification number into the decoder above and pull the generation, model year, engine, trim, drivetrain, factory options, plant of origin, and open NHTSA recalls. No account, no credit card, no email gate.

This page is the dedicated Kia Telluride hub. Below you’ll find the platform codes for both generations, the single plant that has ever built one, the engine codes hidden in position 8, a position-by-position breakdown, and where the VIN is physically stamped on the vehicle.

About the Kia Telluride

The Telluride is Kia’s largest vehicle and arguably its biggest reputational win. It launched for the 2020 model year as a three-row, body-adjacent unibody SUV aimed squarely at the Honda Pilot and Toyota Highlander, and instead walked away with MotorTrend SUV of the Year, NACTOY North American Utility Vehicle of the Year, and World Car of the Year in a single season. Demand outran supply for most of its first four years on sale.

Two generations exist so far:

Generation	Years	Kia model code	Engines	Built at
1st (ON)	2020-2025 (no 2026 MY)	ON	3.8L Lambda II V6	West Point, Georgia
2nd (LQ2)	2027-present	LQ2	2.5L Theta III turbo I4, 2.5L Theta III Turbo-Hybrid	West Point, Georgia

Kia skipped the 2026 model year entirely rather than sell a lame-duck first-gen alongside the redesign; the LQ2 went into production in February 2026 and arrived at dealers as a 2027 model. Both generations sit on a stretched version of Hyundai-Kia’s N1/N2 unibody architecture, the same underpinnings used by the Hyundai Palisade, Kia’s closest corporate sibling. First-gen Telluride and first-gen Palisade (LX2) share a platform and wheelbase; the redesigned LQ2 Telluride pairs with the LX3 Palisade the same way. If you’re cross-shopping a Telluride against a Palisade, our Kia Sportage VIN decoder covers the smaller Kia SUV built at the same West Point complex, for comparison.

The generation is not spelled out as a literal string in the VIN, but it’s fully recoverable: position 10 gives the model year, and position 8 gives the engine, and together those two facts pin down ON versus LQ2 with no ambiguity, since the two generations never shared a model year or an engine.

Kia Telluride WMI codes (positions 1 to 3)

The first three characters of a VIN form the World Manufacturer Identifier, assigned by SAE on behalf of ISO. The Telluride has only ever had one:

WMI	Country	Plant	Telluride generations built here
5XY	USA	West Point, Georgia (KMMG)	ON, LQ2 (all Tellurides, 2020-present)

Unlike the Sportage or Sorento, the Telluride has never been built in South Korea or Slovakia. Every Telluride ever sold, in any market, was assembled at the same Kia Georgia plant. We confirmed this by decoding more than a dozen real, checksum-valid Telluride VINs spanning 2020 through 2027 through NHTSA’s vPIC database: every single one returned 5XY and Kia Georgia, Inc. as the manufacturer. If a VIN claiming to be a Telluride starts with anything else, it isn’t one.

How to decode a Kia Telluride VIN, position by position

Every Telluride uses the 17-character ISO 3779 standard. The string breaks into three blocks, and each character carries specific meaning.

Positions 1 to 3: World Manufacturer Identifier

See the table above. 5 identifies the USA as country of assembly, X identifies Kia, and Y narrows it to the multipurpose-vehicle class built at Kia Georgia. Because there’s only one WMI in play, this block is less useful for narrowing down a Telluride than it is on other Kia models, but it’s still the first thing any decoder checks.

Positions 4 to 8: Vehicle Descriptor Section (VDS)

This is where the two generations diverge structurally, not just in engine. On ON-generation VINs (2020-2025), position 4 is P and positions 5 to 7 carry trim, body, and restraint codes such as 64G or 5DG. On LQ2 VINs (2027-present), position 4 is still P, but positions 5 to 7 shift to a different pattern (CES, LES) reflecting the redesigned trim and restraint structure. Position 8 is the engine character, and it’s the cleanest generation signal in the whole VIN:

Char	Engine	Generation	Notes
C	3.8L Lambda II V6 GDI, 291 hp	ON (2020-2025)	Every ON-generation Telluride, every trim, FWD or AWD
1	2.5L Theta III T-GDI turbo I4, 274 hp	LQ2 (2027-present)	Standard gas engine, all non-hybrid trims
A	2.5L Theta III T-GDI Turbo-Hybrid, 329 hp combined	LQ2 (2027-present)	Telluride Hybrid, all hybrid trims

We verified all three rows by decoding real dealer-listed VINs through NHTSA’s vPIC database, including 2020 LX and S trims, 2021 and 2024 EX/SX trims, and 2027 EX, SX Prestige, and Hybrid trims. The ON generation never offered a second engine, so C at position 8 is a reliable single-character confirmation you’re looking at a first-generation Telluride. The LQ2 generation dropped the V6 entirely in favor of forced induction, gas or hybrid, which is a bigger powertrain shift than most three-row SUVs make in a full redesign.

Position 9: Check digit

The check digit is the one character in the VIN that catches typos. It’s calculated from the other 16 characters using a fixed weighting table and modulo-11 math. Mistype a single character anywhere in the VIN and the math no longer matches; any compliant decoder, every state DMV, and the NHTSA recall database will reject the entry.

Position 10: Model year

The 10th character maps to model year on a 30-year cycle shared by every manufacturer, not just Kia. Since the Telluride has only existed since 2020, here’s the slice that matters:

Char	Year	Char	Year
L	2020	R	2024
M	2021	S	2025
N	2022	(no 2026 MY)
P	2023	T	2026
		V	2027

We confirmed each of these directly: real 2020 Telluride VINs decode with L, 2021 with M, 2024 with R, 2025 with S, and 2027 with V. Kia never issued a 2026-model-year Telluride, so the T character (which the universal cycle assigns to 2026) doesn’t appear on any genuine Telluride VIN, a useful tell if you ever see one claiming otherwise. The letters I, O, and Q are always skipped across every manufacturer because they’re easy to misread as 1 and 0.

Position 11: Assembly plant

A single character identifies the specific factory. The Telluride only ever carries one:

Char	Plant	Notes
G	West Point, Georgia, USA (KMMG)	Every Telluride ever built, both generations

Positions 12 to 17: Serial number

The final six characters are the sequential production number assigned as your specific Telluride came off the line in West Point. Combined with the previous 11 characters, this makes every Telluride VIN globally unique, even between two identical SX Prestige models built the same week.

Telluride trim levels and how they appear in the VIN

A Telluride VIN doesn’t spell out the trim name in plain text; it’s reconstructed from the VDS characters plus the factory build sheet. North American trim lineups by generation:

• ON (2020-2022): LX, S, EX, SX
• ON (2023-2025): LX, S, EX, SX, SX Prestige, plus X-Line and X-Pro packages on EX/SX/SX Prestige
• LQ2 (2027-present): LX, S, EX, X-Line EX, SX, X-Line SX, SX Prestige, X-Line SX Prestige, X-Pro SX Prestige, with a parallel Hybrid lineup on EX, SX, X-Line SX, and SX Prestige trims

When you decode a Telluride VIN with the tool above, the result reconstructs equipment group, drivetrain (FWD or AWD), and, for LQ2 models, whether it’s the standard 2.5T or the Turbo-Hybrid.

Where to find the VIN on a Kia Telluride

Four locations on every Telluride, plus the paperwork:

• Lower-left corner of the windshield, visible from outside the vehicle
• Driver’s side B-pillar label (door jamb sticker)
• Stamped on the engine block, near the firewall
• Stamped on the chassis under the front passenger floor mat
• Vehicle title, registration, insurance card, Kia Connect app

The windshield and door jamb are the fastest to check on a used-car lot. The block and chassis stamps are physically tied to the car and are what to check if you suspect a cloned or swapped VIN plate.

Kia Telluride recalls and safety

The Telluride has been the subject of a dozen-plus NHTSA campaigns since 2019, confirmed directly against NHTSA’s recall API. The two largest by vehicle count both hit the ON generation:

• Front power seat motor fire risk (campaigns 24V407 and 26V430): covers 2020-2024 Tellurides with power front seats. The seat motor can overheat and, in some cases, ignite, even with the vehicle off and parked.
• Driveshaft failure (24V214): covers 2020-2024 Tellurides. The intermediate shaft and right front driveshaft can fracture, causing a loss of drive power.
• Engine valve springs (24V077): covers 2024 Tellurides. A valve spring can break while driving, leading to engine damage or stalling.

The new LQ2 generation already has two campaigns of its own barely a year into production: 26V135 (rear center seat belt anchorage) and 26V356 (driver seat belt emergency locking mechanism), both covering 2027 Telluride and Telluride Hybrid vehicles.

To check your specific Telluride:

1. Decode the VIN with the tool above to confirm the exact model, year, and engine
2. Cross-reference the 17-character VIN with Kia’s US recall lookup or NHTSA’s recall database
3. Contact your nearest Kia authorized service center for any open campaign repair

Recall repairs are free regardless of vehicle age, mileage, or ownership history.

Frequently asked questions

How do I decode a Kia Telluride VIN?

Type the 17-character VIN from the windshield, door jamb, or title into the decoder at the top of this page. Results return in under three seconds and include generation (ON or LQ2), model year, engine, trim, drivetrain, plant, and any open NHTSA recalls. No sign-up required.

Where is the VIN on a Kia Telluride?

The two fastest spots are the lower-left corner of the windshield (readable from outside the vehicle) and the driver-side B-pillar label inside the door frame. Both are federally required. The engine block and the chassis under the front passenger floor mat carry physical stamps that should match the same number.

Are all Kia Tellurides built in the same place?

Yes. Every Telluride, from the first 2020 models through the redesigned 2027 lineup, has been assembled at Kia’s West Point, Georgia plant. Unlike the Sportage or Sorento, there is no Korea-built or Slovakia-built Telluride to watch out for; a VIN not starting with 5XY is not a genuine Telluride.

How do I tell which generation my Telluride is from the VIN?

Check position 8, the engine character. C means a 3.8L V6 and the first-generation ON (2020-2025). 1 means a 2.5L turbo four and the second-generation LQ2 (2027-present). A at that position means the LQ2 Turbo-Hybrid. Position 10, the model year, confirms it: no genuine Telluride carries a T (2026), since Kia skipped that model year during the redesign.

Is the Telluride really the same platform as the Hyundai Palisade?

The two share Hyundai-Kia’s N1/N2 unibody platform and wheelbase in both generations: first-gen Telluride (ON) with first-gen Palisade (LX2), and the redesigned Telluride (LQ2) with the redesigned Palisade (LX3). They’re not identical cars, styling, tuning, and trim structure all differ, but the structural DNA and most of the mechanical parts bin are shared.

Is the Kia Telluride VIN decoder really free?

Yes. VinDecoderPlus decodes every Kia Telluride VIN free of charge with no sign-up. The basic decode covers everything the factory stamped into the VIN. A full vehicle history report (accident records, odometer history, prior ownership, salvage status) is available as a paid upgrade if you need it.

Decode any Kia Telluride VIN free

Type your 17-character Telluride VIN into the decoder at the top of this page for an instant breakdown. To go deeper into VIN structure:

• Kia VIN decoder hub for the brand-wide guide
• How to read a VIN number for the general standard
• What every character in a VIN means for a position-by-position reference
• VIN decoder vs. vehicle history report for what a decode covers vs. what it doesn’t
• How to check if a car is stolen by VIN for verifying a used Telluride before you buy