Kia America has announced a recall of approximately 463,000 Telluride SUVs, urging owners to park their vehicles outside and away from structures until the issue, which poses a fire hazard, is addressed. The recall is in response to a potential overheating problem related to the front power seat motor on the affected Tellurides from the 2020-2024 model years.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the issue arises from a stuck slide knob in the front power seat motor, which can cause the motor to overheat. This overheating can potentially lead to a fire when the vehicle is parked or being driven. The decision to recall the vehicles was made by Kia on May 29, following reports of one under-seat fire and six incidents of localized melting in the seat tilt motor between August 2022 and March 2024. Fortunately, no injuries, crashes, or fatalities have been reported thus far.

The recall report highlights that significant external impact to the front power seat side cover or seat slide knob can result in internal misalignment, leading to continuous operation and subsequent overheating. Signs that a vehicle may be affected include an inability to adjust the power seat, a burning or melting smell, or smoke emanating from underneath the seat.

To address the issue, Kia dealers will install a bracket for the power seat switch back covers and replace the seat slide knobs at no cost to the owners. In the meantime, owners are being instructed to park their vehicles outside and away from buildings until the necessary repairs can be made.

Owner notification letters are scheduled to be mailed out starting on July 30, with dealer notification occurring a few days prior. However, Kia America, based in Irvine, California, has yet to provide a response to inquiries regarding the delay in notifications until the end of next month.

In order to check if their specific vehicle is included in the recall, owners can visit the NHTSA website or use Kia's recall lookup platform for more information. The recall encompasses 462,869 Tellurides manufactured between January 9, 2019, and May 29, 2024, with Kia America estimating that approximately 1% of these vehicles may have the defect.

This is not the first recall affecting Kia Telluride owners, as in March, Kia America announced a recall of more than 427,000 2020-2024 Telluride SUVs due to a defect that could cause the vehicles to roll away while parked. Furthermore, Kia and Hyundai issued previous "park outside" recalls last fall, affecting 3.4 million other car and SUV models due to the risk of engine compartment fires. However, concerns have emerged as delayed repairs have allowed many of these vehicles to remain on the road for months, prompting worries from drivers and consumer safety advocates.