Team France won in 1:26.53, with Great Britain second in 1:27.16.
Reid got the New Zealand team off to a strong start, completing his leg in 20min 21secs to be up with the frontrunners.
Thorpe kept them in the hunt and a typical powerhouse cycle and run from Wilde had them in position for a medal when he handed off to Roderick who was racing in her first WTCS mixed relay.
The debutante was going well only to be hit with a 10-second time penalty for a transition transgression — she racked her bike in Australia’s section — at the end of the cycle leg.
Whether that ultimately cost the Kiwis a podium placing is unknown as Norway were 15secs clear at the finish.
Wilde, third in the elite men’s individual race earlier in the weekend, was meant to sit the relay out but became a “super-sub” after Dylan McCullough was forced to withdraw due to food poisoning.
Reid placed 18th in the elite men’s individual race — a 750m swim, 21.3km cycle, 5km run — in 54 minutes 59 seconds.
He faded on the run after being in the thick of it at the front.
France did the 1-2, with Perre Le Corre from Leo Bergere in the same time of 54.06 — 15secs clear of Wilde.
Le Corre later admitted they had specially trained for the situation of coming up against Wilde and how they would go about attacking him in the run.
McCullough had a WTCS best finish of 12th and fellow New Zealander Saxon Morgan was 33rd.
Wilde’s efforts also saw him jump to the top of the overall WCTS series from Portugal’s Vasco Vilacca and Bergere.
McCullough is 24th while Reid dropped four places to 26th.
In the women’s race in Sunderland, Nicole van der Kaay was a gutsy eighth in 1hr 38secs, which meant she achieved the secondary qualifying criteria (two top 8 finishes) for the Paris Olympic Games.
Roderick was a career-best 28th (1:02.39) and Thorpe 42nd (1:04.39).
Cassandre Beaugrand (59.53) was first and Emma Lombardi (1:00.11) completed a French 1-2. Germany’s Annika Koch (1:00.17) was third.
The WTCS series finale is in Pontevedra, Spain, next month.
