Kia has announced a recall (another one, yes) very serious (another one) in the United States (yes, another one) this year. This time, more than 300,000 cars will have to visit the workshop because some exterior moldings (those things that go on the doors and rear windows) can fly off while driving, wow. And that, as you can imagine, can be very dangerous.
The affected models are two of the brand’s best sellers: the Kia Telluride and the Kia K5, manufactured between 2023 and 2025. What the brand has detected is that those plastic side moldings are not as well fastened as they should be (uch), and they could come off in motion. Imagine going on the highway and a piece shoots out toward another car…
Even there have been no accidents or injuries from this failure (thanks God), they don’t want to risk it and they started a recall campaign. It is already registered with the NHTSA under number 25V494000.
What models are at the center of the problem?
The two main models are the Kia Telluride (with 201,149 units affected) and the Kia K5 (with another 100,063). In both cases, the problem is with the finishing of the moldings that, for some reason, are not held in place well. And of course, if a piece comes loose at high speed, you don’t need to be an engineer to imagine the consequences, don’t you?
When and how will the inspection be done
Kia has said that starting September 26, 2025 owners will begin to receive th notification letters, and the process will be the usual: a trip to your nearest official dealership, they will check your vehicle, and if necessary they will replace the faulty parts with others at no cost to the users, obviously!
These kinds of inspections are quite common, but the volume of cars affected makes this case stand out. Kia is acting as prevention, to avoid bigger problems, and that is always something to appreciate.
It is not Kia’s only recall
It is not the first notice of this kind for Kia, they have already spent several times visiting the NHTSA, it also had to review units of the EV9 electric due to a problem with the seat anchors (and remember Kia Boys, please…)
This new case shows how quickly an apparently small failure can end up in a massive recall. And the truth is that these things make the focus return to how cars are being assembled today.
And the drivers, what about them?
Although nothing serious has happened so far, drivers have reasons to be worried. Nobody wants to go on the highway and have a part of the car come off, nor receive a hit from something that flew off the car in front!! Also, no matter how much the repair is free, you have to book an appointment, lose time, go to the workshop…
Kia has set up its customer service number (800-333-4542) for any questions about the recall. So if you have a Telluride or a K5 from those years, the best thing is to check if you are on the list and act as soon as possible.
Everything matters
Of course, the recall wants to fix the fault, but also clean up Kia’s image after its latest headlines, so it will have to inspect more than 300,000 units to not become dangers on wheels!