Kia announces ‘park outside’ recall for Telluride vehicles due to fire risk

Kia park outside recall overview: 

• Who: Kia America has issued a “park outside” recall for 462,869 model year 2020-2024 Telluride vehicles.
• Why: The vehicles can catch fire while parked or driving. 
• Where: The Kia recall is active in the United States.

Kia America is warning drivers of certain Telluride vehicles to park outside from now on, as there is a risk the vehicles can catch fire while parked or driving. 

Kia issued the “park outside” recall for 462,869 model year 2020-2024 Telluride vehicles on June 5 on the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website.

According to the recall, the front power seat motor on the affected vehicles can overheat because of a stuck power seat slide knob.

This can potentially cause a fire and injury to drivers, passengers, property or inhabitants of properties that catch fire. “The automaker is advising owners to park their vehicles outside and away from other vehicles and structures until the recall repair has been completed,” the Kia recall notice states.

Kia has already received multiple customer complaints of under-seat smoking and overheating, one recall report shows. In one case, a complaint involved a 2023MY Telluride in which the owner reported that the “driver seat caught on fire while driving.” No injuries were reported in that case, the company said. 

Kia providing free fix

To fix the problem, Kia dealers will install a bracket for the power seat switch back covers and replace the seat slide knobs. This work will be done at no cost to drivers, the Kia park outside recall states.

Owners can expect to be notified of the fix by mail starting July 30, the company said.

In October last year, Hyundai Motor America and Kia America initiated a recall for more than 3 million vehicles combined over concerns they contain a defect that could cause them to experience a fire in their engine compartment. 

That Kia recall involves various models of more than 1.7 million Kia Borrego, Cadenza, Forte, Forte Koup, K900, Optima, Optima Hybrid, Rio, Sorento, Soul, Sportage, and Rondo vehicles. 

Kia said it is concerned the vehicles could suffer a short circuit in the area of their Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit, which could over time result in an excessive current that would increase the risk of an engine compartment fire. 

Are you affected by this Kia “park outside” recall? Let us know in the comments!

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