Kia is recalling more than 460,000 SUVs whose seat motors can overheat and catch fire

Kia is recalling more than 460,000 of its Telluride SUVs in the United States because a power seat motor can keep running, overheat, and in some cases start a fire. The recall covers 462,869 Telluride vehicles from the 2020 through 2024 model years, and the automaker has taken the additional step of telling affected owners to park the vehicles outside and away from structures until the repair is complete.

The “park outside” instruction is the same warning manufacturers issue when a defect can cause a fire even while a vehicle is switched off and unattended. In this case the concern is a seat mechanism that can continue drawing power after the driver has stopped adjusting the seat, generating enough heat to ignite. The scale of the recall, nearly half a million SUVs, makes it one of the more significant fire-risk actions in the segment.

How the seat motor fails

The defect centers on the front power seat, the electrically adjustable seat that slides forward and back at the touch of a switch. According to the recall, if the seat’s slide cover or control knob is struck or accidentally hit, the switch behind it can be dislodged, misaligned, or damaged. A damaged switch may fail to cut power when the seat reaches the end of its travel, leaving the motor running continuously. A motor that cannot stop keeps drawing current, and that sustained load is what causes it to overheat and potentially catch fire.

The failure does not require a crash or any obvious misuse. Everyday contact with the seat’s controls, the kind that happens routinely as people get in and out of a vehicle, is enough to knock the switch out of position. That is part of why the automaker is urging owners to keep the vehicles outdoors: the fire risk is not confined to when the SUV is being driven.

A second recall after the first repair failed

This is not Kia’s first attempt to address the problem. The current action follows an earlier recall in 2024 that was meant to fix the same seat motor defect but did not fully resolve it. Reporting by Fox Business noted that the new recall was issued after that previous remedy proved inadequate, with the defect linked to seven fires and 11 reports of components melting. A recall issued because an earlier fix failed is a signal that regulators and the manufacturer concluded the first repair left owners exposed to the same hazard.

The pattern also explains the firmness of the guidance to park outside. When a defect has already produced fires and a prior remedy did not eliminate the risk, the interim precaution of keeping the vehicle away from homes, garages, and other cars is meant to limit the damage a fire could cause before the permanent repair is available.

The fix and the notification timeline

The permanent remedy involves hardware rather than a software update. Dealers will install an electronic fuse assembly designed to cut off continuous operation of the power seat motor, so that even if the switch is damaged, the motor cannot keep running long enough to overheat. Reporting by NBC News confirmed the affected model range and the scope of the campaign across the 2020 to 2024 Telluride.

Kia has said it would begin mailing owner notification letters on August 13, 2026. Those letters direct owners to schedule the free repair at a dealership. As with all safety recalls, the work is performed at no cost to the owner, and vehicle owners can confirm whether a specific SUV is covered by checking its vehicle identification number against the recall records maintained by federal safety regulators.

What owners should do in the meantime

Until the electronic fuse assembly is installed, the automaker’s central instruction is to park the Telluride outside and away from buildings and other vehicles, reducing the chance that a seat fire could spread. Owners are advised to watch for warning signs such as a seat motor that continues to run after adjustment stops, unusual heat around the seat, or a burning smell, and to have the vehicle inspected promptly if any of those occur.

The recall underscores how a component as ordinary as a power seat switch can become a fire hazard when a small mechanical failure removes the safeguard that is supposed to shut the motor off. With 462,869 vehicles involved, a defect already tied to seven fires, and a prior repair that did not hold, the current campaign is Kia’s effort to close the gap with a hardware fix that physically prevents the motor from running away. Owners who receive a notification letter are being asked to act on it, and in the meantime to keep the affected SUVs out of garages and away from anything a fire could reach.

This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.

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