2023 Kia Telluride Caught on Fire
Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade are in the news again, given the rise in reported accidents involving them. A 2023 Kia Telluride owner reports the SUV caught on fire on a Facebook post. Although Kia ran a recall campaign last year to fix the problem, now it is occurring in the latest model year kind of causing alarm among potential buyers.
Problem With The 2020-2022 Kia Telluride
Last year Kia and Hyundai Motors recalled certain 2020-2022 model year Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade SUVs, due to tow-hitch related fire incidents. The recall has left multiple car owners worrying about their safety. The manufacturer has faced severe backlash. These incidents have resulted from a short circuit in one of its most used accessories.
It is a tow hitch that permits foreign material or moisture into the harness module. When the car is parked, and the engine is turned off, it might result in a fire. It is now recommended that drivers park their cars away from their homes or other buildings to reduce the devastation caused by any such fire incidents until they make a substitute repair for it. The issuance of the stop sale was also made for all the affected vehicles and those that have not been sold yet.
Cause of 2023 Kia Telluride Incident
A 2023 Kia Telluride owner reported the SUV caught on fire on a Facebook post recently, where the front portion of the SUV went on flame. This particular vehicle did not have a tow-hitch accessory. Also it is worth noting, the automaker stopped adding tow-hitch to 2023 model Kia Telluride SUVs. The driver reported just prior to the incident occurring, the SUV appeared to be missing gear when shifting, and it occurred several times within a short period. The fire incident happened when the 2023 Kia Telluride had only 400 miles on it and had been in use for only two weeks.
The cause of the incident has not been officially identified, and the automaker has not released a statement.
Accidents Reported | 2020 – 2022
The 3-row SUV Hyundai Palisade has around 40,500 vehicles with hitch accessories. Last year, China and US reported two incidents as the bumper of the SUV caught fire. Due to the heat or fire, the cars’ trailer accessories also melted. Both incidents were immediately sent to Data Review Committee for further evaluation. Soon after that, two more incidents were reported in Canada.
The inspection of the two vehicles was carried out in July when Hyundai made a deal with the third-party analysis to investigate the underlying problem. The company revealed that they would examine the external factors, too, in the module to solve the problem. This was followed by further 16 accidents confirmed by OEM, including fire and melting of accessories. The incidents were reported from US and Canada.
Reason For the Fire | 2020-2022 Model Year
Although the exact reason for this particular incident is still not identified, the Carmaker blamed the tow hitch for last year’s fire incidents. The 2022 recall had around 36,417 Tellurides equipped with the 4-pin tow hitch supply, which was not mandatory to be added to the vehicle. At the end of 2022, the company discontinued the 4-pin accessory production and produced a 7-pin harness instead at the beginning of the following year. The fire incidents still did not stop.
According to a third-party investigation firm, the chlorine and tin elements in the accessory mixed with the moisture and resulted in the SUV catching fire. However, the other contaminated materials are still not found. Out of the six accidents, five of them were caused due to the melting of the accessories.
In addition, Hyundai and Kia Motors have planned to remove the fuse on the SUV to eradicate the fire problem. According to the recent notice, the company manufactured the final repairs for both models. The owners will be further notified by email to bring their cars to the respective dealer.
Other Problems Reported
The fire incidents were not the only problem the company had to face. They also got complaints about blank screen displays, inoperative brakes, inaccurate seat belts, and blank LCDs. The company took responsibility for the failures and started manufacturing the new cars with a different strategic plan. For your and your family’s safety, it is recommended that you do not drive the vehicles that have been recalled and use an alternate instead. You can enter the 17-digital VIN (Vehicle identification number) to find out if your vehicle is one of the recalls as well.
