The power seat motor can potentially overheat, creating the risk of a fire and forcing a recall on newer examples
Author of the article:
Jil McIntosh
Published Jun 10, 2024 • Last updated Jun 10, 2024 • 2 minute read
- Certain Kia Telluride models have a power seat switch that can potentially overheat and start a fire
- Kia is advising owners to park the vehicles outside and away from structures until a recall can be performed
- The automaker reports one fire and six “melted” motors, but no injuries or crashes
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Kia is warning owners of its Telluride SUV, model years 2020 through 2024, to park their vehicles outside due to the potential risk of a fire when the vehicle is driven or parked. That news comes through the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which said the issue affects 462,869 vehicles in the United States. So far, Transport Canada hasn’t issued a recall for it, but Canadian vehicle owners should take the same precautions.
The problem is that the slide knob for the front power seat can stick. That in turn can cause the power seat motor to overheat, which can potentially start a fire. Drivers may find that the power seat may not adjust, or notice smoke or a burning smell.
Kia’s instructions are to park the Telluride “outside and away from other vehicles and structures until the recall repair has been completed.” Under recall, dealers will install a bracket for the power-seat-switch back covers, and replace the seat slide knobs. The repair will be at no charge, and NHTSA said that owners should be receiving notification of the recall by mail starting July 30, 2024.
Learn more about the cars
editor's pick 2024 Kia Telluride 4.00out of 5 MSRP $50,645 to $63,345
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In documents provided to the NHTSA by Kia, the automaker said the affected vehicles were built between January 9, 2019 and May 29, 2024. So far, there has been one reported fire under the seat, and six reported cases of “localized melting” of the seat tilt motor. No injuries, crashes, or fatalities have been reported. There have not been any reported seat-motor issues with the Hyundai Palisade, a sibling to the Telluride.
If you own a Telluride, you can check its recall status by visiting Kia Canada’s website. You’ll need the 17-digit vehicle information number (VIN), a collection of numbers and letters that’s on your ownership, and visible on the driver’s side of the dash through the windshield.
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With any vehicle, you can check for recalls through Transport Canada’s website. Recalls cover safety-related issues – right down to seemingly minor issues like a warning label that isn’t in both French and English. They’re also VIN-specific, as they may involve a part or assembly process that was only used on certain vehicles. Recalls are done free of charge by dealers, and whenever you get a recall notice, you should get the recall done as soon as possible. If you move or buy a used vehicle, visit the automaker’s website or call its customer service number to update your address, to ensure that any recall notices mailed out actually make their way to you.
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Jil McIntosh
Jil McIntosh specializes in new-car reviews, auto technology and antique cars, including the two 1940s vehicles in her garage. She is currently a freelance Writer at Driving.ca since 2016
Summary
· Professional writer for more than 35 years, appearing in some of the top publications in Canada and the U.S.
· Specialties include new-vehicle reviews, old cars and automotive history, automotive news, and “How It Works” columns that explain vehicle features and technology
· Member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) since 2003; voting member for AJAC Canadian Car of the Year Awards; juror on the Women’s World Car of the Year Awards
Education
Jil McIntosh graduated from East York Collegiate in Toronto, and then continued her education at the School of Hard Knocks. Her early jobs including driving a taxi in Toronto; and warranty administration in a new-vehicle dealership, where she also held information classes for customers, explaining the inner mechanical workings of vehicles and their features.
Experience
Jil McIntosh is a freelance writer who has been writing for Driving.ca since 2016, but she’s been a professional writer starting when most cars still had carburetors. At the age of eleven, she had a story published in the defunct Toronto Telegram newspaper, for which she was paid $25; given the short length of the story and the dollar’s buying power at the time, that might have been the relatively best-paid piece she’s ever written.
An old-car enthusiast who owns a 1947 Cadillac and 1949 Studebaker truck, she began her writing career crafting stories for antique-car and hot-rod car club magazines. When the Ontario-based newspaper Old Autos started up in 1987, dedicated to the antique-car hobby, she became a columnist starting with its second issue; the newspaper is still around and she still writes for it. Not long after the Toronto Star launched its Wheels section in 1986 – the first Canadian newspaper to include an auto section – she became one of its regular writers. She started out writing feature stories, and then added “new-vehicle reviewer” to her resume in 1999. She stayed with Wheels, in print and later digital as well, until the publication made a cost-cutting decision to shed its freelance writers. She joined Driving.ca the very next day.
In addition to Driving.ca, she writes for industry-focused publications, including Automotive News Canada and Autosphere. Over the years, her automotive work also appeared in such publications as Cars & Parts, Street Rodder, Canadian Hot Rods, AutoTrader, Sharp, Taxi News, Maclean’s, The Chicago Tribune, Forbes Wheels, Canadian Driver, Sympatico Autos, and Reader’s Digest. Her non-automotive work, covering such topics as travel, food and drink, rural living, fountain pen collecting, and celebrity interviews, has appeared in publications including Harrowsmith, Where New Orleans, Pen World, The Book for Men, Rural Delivery, and Gambit.
Major awards won by the author
2016 AJAC Journalist of the Year; Car Care Canada / CAA Safety Journalism award winner in 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2013, runner-up in 2021; Pirelli Photography Award 2015; Environmental Journalism Award 2019; Technical Writing Award 2020; Vehicle Testing Review award 2020, runner-up in 2022; Feature Story award winner 2020; inducted into the Street Rodding Hall of Fame in 1994.
Contact info
Email: jil@ca.inter.net
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jilmcintosh/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JilMcIntosh
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