Select owners warned to park Kia, Hyundai SUVs in open in this country

The US Department of Transportation has urged the owners of some Hyundai and Kia SUVs that were recently recalled over fire risks to park their vehicles outdoors and away from their homes until they are repaired. Last week, the South Korean automakers recalled thousands of Hyundai Palisade and Kia Telluride vehicles made between 2020 and 2022, citing a risk of fire while the vehicles are parked or being driven.

This could happen due to a trailer hitch issue, as per the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's website. So far, there have not been any fire related incident reported, neither have there been reports of crashes or injuries. However, a repair for the issue is also yet to be identified.

However, Kia informed in a statement on Tuesday that there have been six fire incidents reported in model year 2020 Telluride vehicles, five of which involved "localized melting only." While the 2021 or 2022 models had no fires and were included in the recall as a precautionary measure. Owners who have incurred repair costs will be reimbursed by the automaker.

In another statement, a Hyundai spokesperson confirmed that there have been three Palisade fire incidents in Canada, but none in the US. The automaker is aware of eight such related "melting" incidents in the US and eight in Canada, the spokesman added, however there have been no reports of crashes or injuries.

Once a repair for the issue is found, affected vehicle owners will be notified by the respective automakers to bring their SUVs to a Hyundai or Kia dealer. The recalls involve 245,030 Hyundai Palisade and 36,417 Kia Telluride vehicles, as per the consumer alert.