Kia America is recalling nearly 463,000 Telluride SUVs and urging owners to park their cars outdoors and away from other buildings until the issue, which poses a fireplace hazard, is resolved.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the front seat motor on affected 2020-2024 model 12 months Tellurides may overheat attributable to a stuck slide button. This could potentially result in a fireplace while the automobile is parked or driven.
Kia made the choice to recall the vehicles on May 29, in response to NHTSA documents released Friday, after receiving reports of an under-seat fire and 6 cases of local melting within the seat tilt motor between August 2022 and March 2024. No related injuries, crashes or deaths were reported on the time.
The recall report notes that strong external impacts on the side panel or slide button of the front power seat of the recalled Telluride could cause an internal misadjustment – and with continuous use, this will result in overheating. Drivers of vehicles with this problem may find that they can’t adjust the ability seat, smell a burning or melting smell, or see smoke rising from under the seat.
To fix this, dealers will install a bracket for the rear covers of the ability seat switch and replace the seat slide buttons at no charge. Until the vehicles are repaired, owners are instructed to park their cars outside and away from buildings.
Owner notification letters are expected to start being sent out on July 30, with dealers notified a couple of days earlier. Irvine, Calif.-based Kia America didn’t immediately reply to The Associated Press’ request for comment on why those notifications wouldn’t begin until late next month.
In the meantime, drivers may check if their specific vehicle is affected by this recall and for more information visit NHTSA website and/or Kias Callback search platform.
The recall affects 462,869 2020-2024 model 12 months Tellurides manufactured between January 9, 2019, and May 29, 2024. Kia America estimates that 1% have the defect.
This isn’t the one recall affecting Kia Telluride owners. In March, Kia America announced that it could recall greater than 427,000 Telluride SUVs from 2020 to 2024 attributable to a Defect that could cause vehicles to roll away while they’re parked.
Just last fall, Kia and Hyundai announced earlier “outdoor parking” recalls for 3.4 million additional automobile and SUV models due to risk of engine compartment fires. Due to lengthy repairs, a lot of these vehicles remained on the road months laterwhich raises serious concerns amongst motorists and consumer advocates.
Hyundai owns a part of Kia, however the two firms operate independently.
