Hyundai Palisade And Kia Telluride Recalled For Fire Risk

The recall specifically includes 245,030 Hyundai Palisade and 36,417 Kia Telluride vehicles equipped with a dealer-installed accessory tow hitch. If your vehicle doesn't have the tow hitch, it's likely unaffected by the recall, but it's worth double-checking using your 17-digit vehicle identification number on the NHTSA website.

"To identify all vehicles equipped with potentially affected tow hitch wiring harnesses, all model year 2020-2022 Palisade vehicles sold in the US are expected to be involved in this recall," Hyundai said in its recall notice.

The South Korean automakers, which are both part of the larger Hyundai Motor Group, say moisture can enter the harness module, causing a short circuit. In some cases, the electrical short can spark a vehicle fire while driving or while parked. Thus far, there are no fires, crashes, or injuries related to the issue here in the US.

"The recall population was determined by a review of vehicle production and part sales records. Kia installed the four-pin tow hitch harness as a port-installed option (PIO) for the 2020MY Telluride. The four-pin tow hitch harness was discontinued as a port-installed option at the end of the 2020MY Telluride production," the company said in its recall notice.

"Kia installed a seven-pin tow hitch harness as a PIO beginning with the 2021MY Telluride. A total of 27,744 model year 2020 Telluride vehicles are equipped with a port-installed four-pin tow hitch harness. Based on parts sales data, a total of 8,673 4-pin tow hitch harnesses were sold to Kia dealers for potential installation as a dealer-installed option (DIO). Although exact VINs are unknown, these DIOs could have been installed in a 2020-2022MY Telluride vehicle. The vehicles subject to this recall were not produced in VIN order."

Hyundai dealerships have an interim repair for the Palisade, which involves inspecting the tow hitch module and removing the fuse. This is only a temporary fix, as it will likely be impossible to link up trailer lights without the fuse. Oddly, this same quick fix is not available for the Kia Telluride.

"The recall repair is under development," the NHTSA said in a press release. "When a repair is available, all owners of vehicles potentially equipped with affected trailer hitch wiring harnesses will be notified by mail with instructions to bring their vehicles to a Hyundai or Kia dealer."