Kia Recalls 462,869 Telluride SUVs Over a Seat Motor Fire Risk

Kia is telling nearly half a million Telluride owners to park their SUVs outside and away from homes and other cars right now. A front power seat motor can overheat and start a fire, and the fix Kia issued two years ago for the same problem did not always work.

What Triggered the Recall

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration posted the recall summary on Thursday, covering 462,869 Kia Telluride SUVs from the 2020 through 2024 model years. According to the agency, the front power seat motor may overheat due to a stuck power seat slide knob or an improper repair from an earlier recall, and that overheating can result in a fire while the vehicle is parked or being driven.

Kia has asked owners of affected vehicles to park outside and away from structures and other vehicles until a dealer completes the repair. That instruction applies whether the seat has ever shown a problem or not, as the defect can develop without warning.

A Repair From 2024 That Did Not Hold

This is not the first time Kia has flagged this exact defect. In June 2024, the automaker issued recall 24V407 for the same seat motor overheating risk. Dealers were supposed to install a reinforcing bracket on the power seat switch housing and replace the seat slide knob on affected Tellurides.

Kia has now confirmed that dealers did not always install the bracket correctly, which means the switch could still fail even on vehicles that went through the 2024 repair. That gap in the original fix is what led directly to the new recall, numbered 26V430 in NHTSA’s system.

Telluride models built after May 30, 2024 already come with a reinforced power seat switch mechanism from the factory and fall outside the new recall. Everything built before that date, dating back to the 2020 model year, is included.

How the Repair Works This Time

Dealers will install an electronic fuse assembly at no cost to the owner. Unlike the 2024 fix, which relied on a physical bracket that technicians could install incorrectly, the fuse assembly is designed to cut power to the seat motor before it can overheat enough to ignite. Kia has not published an estimated repair time, but seat motor work of this kind typically takes a dealer service department under an hour once parts are in stock.

Owner notification letters are scheduled to go out by mail starting August 13. Kia owners do not need to wait for a letter to act. Anyone driving a 2020 through 2024 Telluride can check their vehicle identification number now at NHTSA’s recall lookup tool or by calling Kia directly, and dealers can begin scheduling the repair as soon as parts are available at that location.

What Telluride Owners Should Do

Owners should take three steps. First, park the vehicle outside and away from the house, a garage, or other parked cars until the repair is complete. Second, enter the vehicle’s VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to confirm whether the specific vehicle is affected, as not every Telluride from these model years carries the active defect. Third, contact a local Kia dealer to schedule the fuse assembly installation, and ask whether the seat slide knob and switch housing from the 2024 repair will be inspected at the same time.

Drivers who already completed the 2024 repair should not assume their vehicle is protected. Kia has said dealers did not always install the original bracket correctly, so a prior repair does not guarantee the current fix is unnecessary. The safest approach is to check the VIN regardless of past recall history.

Anyone who notices a burning smell, unusual heat from the front seat area, or a seat that will not slide properly should stop using that seat position and contact Kia or NHTSA immediately rather than waiting for a scheduled appointment. The NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline is 1-888-327-4236.

Owners renting a driveway spot or living in an apartment complex without dedicated outdoor parking should talk to their building management about temporary parking arrangements until the repair is complete, as the park-outside instruction applies regardless of housing situation. A vehicle parked in an attached garage carries a higher risk profile if a fire does start, as flames and smoke can spread into the living space far faster than they would from a driveway or open lot.

Why a Bracket Fix Failed in the Field

Recall repairs that involve installing a physical bracket depend entirely on a technician torquing the part correctly and seating it against the switch housing exactly as the repair procedure specifies. When Kia reviewed field data from vehicles that had already gone through the 2024 fix, the automaker found enough inconsistency in how that bracket was installed to conclude the original defect could still be present on a meaningful share of repaired vehicles. That is a different failure mode than a part simply wearing out. It points instead to a repair procedure that worked in controlled conditions but proved harder to execute consistently across thousands of dealer service bays nationwide.

Switching to an electronic fuse assembly removes that variability. A fuse either functions or it does not, and Kia’s engineering team can verify installation electronically rather than relying on a visual inspection of torque and seating. That is likely why NHTSA accepted the new remedy as a full replacement fix rather than simply asking Kia to re-inspect vehicles that already went through the 2024 repair.

Part of a Wider Pattern on Seat Fires

Seat motor and seat heater fire recalls have become a recurring theme across the industry this year, and Kia’s own recall history shows the difficulty automakers face in fully closing out these defects on the first attempt. The Telluride fire risk has now triggered two separate corrective actions in roughly two years, first with a mechanical bracket fix and now with an electronic fuse designed to prevent the failure altogether rather than contain it after the fact.

Power seat motors sit in a category of components that automakers rarely designed with fire risk as a primary consideration decades ago, as the motors simply moved a mechanical track along a rail. As seats have added heating elements, memory position sensors, massage functions, and higher-torque motors to move heavier seat structures, the electrical load running through that section of the car has grown substantially. Manufacturers across the industry have had to retrofit fire-prevention engineering onto a part of the vehicle that used to be considered low risk, and Kia’s two-recall history on the Telluride illustrates how difficult that retrofit can be to get right on the first attempt.

What This Means for Resale and Insurance

An open recall does not need to scare off a buyer considering a used Telluride from these model years, but it is worth factoring into a purchase decision. Any dealer or private seller offering a 2020 through 2024 Telluride should be able to confirm whether the recall repair has been completed, as the fix is free and permanent once installed. Buyers can independently verify recall status themselves using the VIN before finalizing a purchase, rather than relying solely on a seller’s word. Insurers generally do not adjust premiums based on an open manufacturer recall, but a documented, completed repair is worth keeping in the vehicle’s paperwork in case a fire-related claim or coverage question ever comes up down the road.

For Telluride owners, the practical lesson is that recall completion does not always mean a defect is fully resolved. Vehicle owners who want ongoing alerts on this or any other vehicle can sign up for free VIN-based notifications through NHTSA’s SaferCar app, which flags new recalls as soon as they are filed rather than waiting for a mailed letter that can take weeks to arrive.

More than 462,000 Telluride owners now have a decision to make about where they park tonight. Given that Kia itself acknowledged the original fix fell short, treating the park-outside instruction as a serious precaution rather than routine caution makes sense until a dealer confirms the new fuse assembly is installed.

Sources:

• NHTSA: Consumer Alert on Kia Telluride Park Outside Recall
• KYMA/CBS News: Kia recalls nearly 463,000 U.S. vehicles over fire risk
• NHTSA Part 573 Safety Recall Report 24V-407