There’s never really a good time for a vehicle recall, but Kia has just had one before most of the affected vehicles even manage to hit the street. The decision to pull close to 15,000 2027 Telluride SUVs and 2026 K4 hatchbacks due to a seatbelt issue may be a touch embarrassing, but at least the issue was flagged before customers could be put in danger.
Kia claims the issue is a manufacturing error affecting the rear center seat belt anchor button. The buckles affected would be attached to the back seats of a K4 and to the third row of the Telluride. The problem may cause the belt to not latch properly, rendering the seatbelt ineffective in the event of a crash.
Notifications are due to be sent to customers who may be affected on May 5, but owners can contact Kia customer service at 800-333-4542 or the NHTSA vehicle safety hotline at 888-327-4236, quoting recall identifier SC364, if they have any concerns.
The fix involves driving the vehicle to a dealership, where the dealership inspects the belt buckles for defects. Any defective buckles will then be replaced at no cost to the owner. Obviously, if you believe your vehicle is affected, then you should avoid using the third row of your Telluride or the back center seat of your K4 until the inspection has taken place.
Despite the Palisade being built on the same platform as the Kia Telluride, Hyundai has not issued a similar recall. So we can assume the Palisade is not experiencing similar problems. Though Hyundai has recently had seat problems that were linked to a child’s death.
Kia has already had seat trouble in 2026
This isn’t Kia’s only recent seat-related recall. In February, the South Korean company flagged close to 85,500 vehicles because of another manufacturing error affecting power front seats and recliners. The seatback frames of both the driver and passenger seats could be prone to failure, again leading to potentially inadequate restraint during a crash.
The issue relates to the 2025 Kia Telluride, specifically those manufactured between November 1, 2024, and August 8, 2025. Owners should look out for signs like a loose front seat back or a grinding noise when reclining the seat.
As with the seatbelt issue, dealers will inspect and replace affected seats at no cost. Kia has also said it will reimburse owners who have previously paid for a repair. Despite the fact that the affected vehicles have been on the road for close to two years, Kia claims no accidents, injuries, or deaths have been linked to the faulty seat.
While Kia’s seat recalls and some of its other issues are obvious safety issues, not all recalls are that bad. Technically, something as minor as a typo in the manual or a bug in a vehicle’s audio software could require a “recall.” Recalls are also pretty common, with very few vehicles manufactured in the past five years not having at least one per model year.
