Kia America announced Friday it is recalling nearly 463,000 Telluride SUVs — all of which were manufactured in Georgia — due to a fire risk.
The recall includes all Tellurides from the 2020-2024 model years, which could overheat because of a potentially stuck slide knob near the front power seats, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The automaker is urging all Telluride owners to park their vehicles outside and away from structures until the flaw is addressed at a Kia dealership.
In a statement, Kia said external impacts with excessive force to the front power seat’s side cover or the seat slide knob could cause the seat motor control switch to misalign. A misaligned switch alongside a stuck knob can lead to continuous operation of the seat motor, which could overheat and combust.
“There has been one localized under-seat fire and six localized melting of a power seat motor,” the company said in a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “No vehicle crashes, injuries or fatalities related to this issue.”
Kia made the decision to recall the vehicle models on May 29, according to NHTSA documents that were made public Friday. The recall covers 462,869 Tellurides that were manufactured between Jan. 9, 2019 and May 29, 2024. Kia estimates that 1% of those vehicles have the defect.
All Tellurides sold in the U.S. are built at Kia’s factory in West Point, which has an annual production capacity of 350,000. Located about 80 miles southwest of downtown Atlanta, the Kia plant has been Georgia’s sole automaker after the closures of factories from Ford and General Motors.
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Hyundai Motor Group is currently building its Metaplant production plant near Savannah, and EV startup Rivian plans to build a factory an hour east of Atlanta, although construction has been indefinitely paused.
Starting July 30, Kia said it will mail recall instructions to all impacted Telluride owners. The company did not clarify why the mail would not be sent sooner.
Kia dealers will install a bracket to reinforce the power seat switch back covers and replace seat slide knobs with improved ones, the statement said. Customers can contact Kia at 1-800-333-4542 or their local Kia dealer.
