Kia has advised the owners of nearly half a million Tellurides to park their vehicles outside until further notice. Why? Well, it turns out the SUVs are at risk of bursting into flame. According to a recent announcement by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the issue relates to the vehicle’s front power seat motor, which are at risk of overheating — which could, in turn, cause the Telluride to catch fire.
Specifically, a knob used by the motor can get stuck into place, leading the motor to overhear and potentially catch fire. The NHTSA’s announcement reveals that “[d]ealers will install a bracket for the power seat switch back covers and replace the seat slide knobs, free of charge.” The automaker is set to mail letters to the owners of affected vehicles on July 30 of this year.
As the Associated Press reported, this mechanical issue has caused one fire to date, along with six cases involving what the AP dubbed “localized melting.” Kia has not yet responded to an Associated Press question on why notification letters would not be sent for nearly two months.
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The E-GMP platform continues to impress in this airy SUV, but there’s a price to pay for being the heaviest Kia everAll told, this recall affects 462,869 Tellurides made between 2020 and 2024. If you yourself drive a Kia Telluride that might be affected, the NHTSA has a tool where you can see if your Telluride is among the vehicles affected. Hopefully this recall van be addressed quickly; vehicular spontaneous combustion falls firmly in the “to be avoided” camp.
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