The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says more than 90,000 Kia and Hyundai vehicles could potentially be affected in a new recall that could cause a vehicle fire.
The vehicles have an electric oil pump that can overheat due to "damaged electrical components" according to the NHTSA. The pump has caused "localized melting" in several vehicle engines, though no vehicle has caught on fire due to the issue as of yet.
Affected vehicles include the 2023 Kia Soul, 2023 Kia Sportage, and the 2023-2024 Kia Seltos. It also includes the 2023-2024 Hyundai Palisade, 2023 Hyundai Tucson, 2023 Hyundai Sonata, 2023 Hyundai Elantra, and 2023 Hyundai Kona.
According to the NTSA, "Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will inspect and replace the electric oil pump controller, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed September 28, 2023."
The Kia recall number is SC275 and owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542.
The Hyundai recall number is 246 and owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460.
Vehicle owners can confirm if their vehicle is affected by going to carfax.com/recall/ and entering their vehicle's VIN number.
Carfax Editor-in-Chief Patrick Olsen told KENS 5 all recalls are important but this one is particularly urgent for people to address.
"Some are more urgent than others and 'park outside' is one of the most urgent. It's not even about not parking in your garage, they don't want you to park it next to your garage. Frankly, if you can park it away from any structure that would make the automaker and the federal government much happier," Olsen said.
Olsen also told KENS 5 there are other car makers with 'park outside' recalls and both Jeep and Lincoln had recalls this year. Even if your is not directly affected, Olson said checking for a recall is a good idea.
"As of May 1 of this year, Carfax estimates there are about 3.5 million vehicles under a do not drive or park outside recall. This is just the newest one that's happened. Now we are well over that 3.5 million with these recalls," Olsen said.
Olsen said all recall repairs are free and any Kia or Hyundai dealer should eventually be able to provide them. He said it often takes time for dealer to get the parts needed to make those repairs so it may not be possible to set up an appointment yet.
Kia and Hyundai issued already issued a previous fire risk recall earlier this year.