460,000 Kia Tellurides Need to Return to the Service Center to Address a Flawed Fire-Risk Recall

      Adam Ismail

      The most significant automotive news and reviews, with no nonsense.

      Our free daily newsletter delivers the most important stories directly to you every weekday.

      Recalls are a frustrating but unavoidable aspect of contemporary car production and ownership, especially as vehicles become increasingly complex. Ideally, when your car experiences some kind of defect, the manufacturer addresses it quickly so you can return to the road without delay. You certainly want to avoid having to visit the shop multiple times for the same problem, particularly if it poses a fire risk. This is exactly the concern faced by Kia Telluride owners.

      Let's rewind to two years ago when Kia recalled nearly 463,000 Telluride SUVs from model years 2020 to 2024 due to a faulty front power seat switch that could overheat and ignite a fire even while parked. The problem stemmed from the switch potentially getting stuck in the "on" position, leading technicians to install brackets and revised knobs to ideally prevent this issue.

      Kia estimated that only 1% of the recalled vehicles actually had defective and dangerous seat controls; however, all required repairs for precautionary reasons.

      It seems that the recall fix may not have been performed correctly, which could result in the same problem: a stuck switch, overheating motor, and fire. These same Telluride owners are now being advised once more to park outside, as the motor could ignite even when the vehicle is turned off. To date, Kia reports 11 customer incidents of melted motors and another seven cases that led to fires underneath seats, thankfully without any injuries.

      It's important to note that this new solution is thankfully different from the previous ineffective one. Instead of merely adding a new bracket and replacing the knob, these plight-ridden, fire-prone Tellurides will now receive “an electronic fuse assembly to prevent continuous operation of a seat motor if the seat switch becomes dislodged, internally misaligned, or otherwise damaged,” as stated in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s recall report. That's more like it. Notifications are anticipated to reach owners between August 13 and 19.

      Adam Ismail

      Have a tip? Contact tips@thedrive.com