US recall requires a new repair for 462,869 Kia Tellurides

NHTSA and Kia continue to tell owners of Kia Tellurides included in US recall 26V430 to park outside and away from structures and other vehicles. The campaign covers 462,869 SUVs from model years 2020 through 2024, and the instruction remains in effect until a dealer installs a new electronic fuse assembly for the front power seat at no charge.¹ ²

Kia calls the campaign SC374. It supersedes recall 24V407/SC316, which opened in 2024. Owners whose vehicles received that earlier repair still need to check the VIN again and obtain the new remedy. The agency says an improperly installed prior repair can allow the seat motor to keep operating and overheat.⁴

This is a United States campaign. Its documents do not automatically extend coverage to Tellurides registered or imported in Brazil; that depends on the VIN and confirmation from Kia and the relevant local authority.

A damaged switch can keep the motor running

The problem starts at the side of the power-adjustable front seats. According to the Part 573 report Kia submitted to NHTSA, an external impact with excessive force against the side cover or slide knob may dislodge, internally misalign or otherwise damage the seat switch. A compromised control can continue commanding the motor after a person releases the knob.²

Continuous operation builds heat over time. Kia says the process can lead to a fire while the vehicle is parked or being driven. The report documents a second path to the same outcome: an improperly performed repair under the 2024 campaign may also allow continuous motor operation.²

Possible warnings may appear before a fire. The filing lists a stuck knob, a seat that cannot be adjusted or keeps moving after the control is released, a burning or melting smell, and smoke from underneath the seat.² Those symptoms describe the reported failure mode; the campaign's parking instruction applies to every included VIN even when none has appeared.

NHTSA says Kia is aware of seven localized seat fires and 11 melted seat motors.¹ The alert reports the two categories separately and does not say whether they overlap. Kia’s chronology reports no injuries, crashes or fatalities associated with the identified incidents.³

Why the 2024 repair no longer closes the recall

SC316 sought to keep the control assembly from shifting after an impact. Its dealer bulletin called for inspecting the switch and backing plate, adding a support bracket and replacing the slide knob with an improved part. If the switch operated abnormally or its backing plate had popped out, the procedure called for replacing the switch.⁵ ⁶

The current campaign adds an electrical barrier. Under SC374, dealers install an electronic fuse assembly that NHTSA says prevents continuous motor operation when the switch is dislodged, internally misaligned or otherwise damaged.¹ ² The public documents reviewed here do not specify sensors, a trip temperature or the assembly's internal logic. They do not support describing it as a thermal fuse.

That change accounts for the repeat visit. The 2024 bracket and knob addressed the physical mounting of the control. The 2026 assembly limits the electrical consequence if the switch is still compromised, including on vehicles repaired before. NHTSA explicitly says the new campaign replaces the previous recall.⁴

Kia says it introduced a reinforced switch mechanism in 2024 Tellurides built from May 30, 2024. The recall population includes vehicles made between January 9, 2019 and May 29, 2024, and their VINs are not sequential.² Model year alone therefore cannot establish whether a particular vehicle is included.

Recall population is not a count of confirmed fires

The 462,869 vehicles make up the administrative scope of the campaign. In the Part 573 filing, Kia estimates that 1% of the population contains the defect.² That is a manufacturer estimate, not a list of units known to have experienced the failure. Every included VIN is eligible for the remedy even if its seat has never overheated or moved on its own.

The consumer alert rounds the population to “462K” in its headline, while the campaign documents and electronic record give the exact 462,869 figure.¹ ² The count matches the 2024 recall because the new action supersedes that population rather than adding a second group of Tellurides.⁴ ⁵

The VIN determines the owner's next step

The official schedule called for VIN search availability on July 17 and phased owner letters from August 13 through August 19.² ⁴ Those dates had passed when this article was reported. NHTSA's recall page accepts a US VIN or license plate and displays open recalls; completed recalls are not shown in the result.⁷

Owners who completed SC316 should look specifically for 26V430/SC374, because the 2024 repair record does not close the new campaign. Kia dealers perform the repair free of charge. Until that work is complete, NHTSA's published instruction remains to keep the vehicle outside, away from buildings and other vehicles.¹ ⁴

Sources

1. Consumer Alert: Urgent Park Outside Recall Issued for 462K Kia Tellurides · NHTSA · https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/park-outside-recall-kia-tellurides · July 9, 2026
2. Part 573 Safety Recall Report 26V430 · NHTSA · https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCLRPT-26V430-6699.pdf · July 2, 2026

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3. Chronology of Defect / Noncompliance Determination · Kia America / NHTSA · https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCHRN-26V430-7964.pdf · June 30, 2026
4. Park Outside: Fire from Overheated Power Seat Motors · NHTSA · https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCAK-26V430-5428.pdf · July 8, 2026
5. Part 573 Safety Recall Report 24V407 · NHTSA · https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2024/RCLRPT-24V407-5130.PDF · June 5, 2024
6. Front Power Seat Control Switch Repair/Replacement (SC316) · Kia America / NHTSA · https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2024/RCRIT-24V407-4358.pdf · July 2024
7. Check for Recalls: Vehicle, Car Seat, Tire, Equipment · NHTSA · https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls · accessed August 26, 2026