The U.S. Department of Transportation is following up a recall more than 275,000 Hyundai Palisades and Kia Tellurides with a warning to park the vehicles outside and away from buildings because they could catch fire.
The recalled covered 245,030 2020-2022 Palisade SUVs and 36,417 Telluride models for the same years. The incidents have been limited to 2020 model year vehicles only thus far.
A total of nine fires and 21 “melting” incidents related to a problem with a trailer hitch accessory causing an electrical short, leading to the fires have been reported in the U.S. and Canada. Six of the fires and five of the melting incidents were for 2020 model year Tellurides. There were three Palisade fires, all in Canada with eight melting incidents in the U.S. and eight in Canada, Hyundai officials confirmed.
Bad news gets worse
“An accessory tow hitch sold through dealerships may allow moisture into the harness module, causing a short circuit,” the consumer alert said. “In some cases, an electrical short can cause a vehicle fire while driving or while parked and turned off.”
Compounding the problem is that there is no remedy for the problem right now — hence the warning about parking away from buildings. There have been no injuries or deaths reported due to the problem.
Once a fix for the problem is determined, owners will be advised to go their dealer to get the problem fixed at no charge.