Latest safety recall notification regarding potential for vehicle movement when parked

[CDPond]

I got a recall notification in the mail yesterday, associated with my 2020 Telluride SLX... but the way it's written, I'm of the belief that it affects quite a few other models and years as well.

In essence, they state that there's the possibility that the vehicle can move when put in park, which in turn "may" damage some of the associated drivetrain gearing components. Their solution is to install some software update that will automatically apply the parking brake every time you shut off the vehicle. Then they'll inspect the vehicle, and replace any damaged drivetrain components they see are damaged.

But here's my problem with this "solution". I've always been told that in severe cold weather, and especially after highway driving in severe cold weather, you should never apply the parking brake when stopped. The reason being that it can freeze in place and won't release when you need to start driving again. This is pretty common knowledge, and is the recommendation provided by many vehicle manufacturers, as well as AAA and CAA. Toyota for example, states that you should not apply the parking brake in cold, rainy, snowy weather. In other words, winter sleet driving situations... because that slush is going to freeze.

Kudos to KIA for spotting a problem, but having a solution that involves automatically applying the parking brake every time you shut down the vehicle is not a appropriate fix. Nor does it show that they took into account the conditions in which the vehicle will be driven by North American owners. I intend to raise this issue with KIA here in Canada, and unless they come up with a better solution, I absolutely refuse to have this programming modification installed on my vehicle. For those of you who live in colder climate regions, I highly recommend you research this and make your own decision as to if you wish to accept the swap of one risk for another. If I'm traveling, the idea of getting up in the morning and finding I can't drive my vehicle a bit of a concern.

 

[1 Alibi 2]

I use a parking brake with manual transmission vehicles only, ( trans is in 1st gear or reverse ), never an automatic.
Park = no gear selected, there should be no motion forward or backward.
If I park on a hill with an automatic, I will cut the wheels in toward the curb..
.

 

[CDPond]

I use a parking brake with manual transmission vehicles only, ( trans is in 1st gear or reverse ), never an automatic.
Park = no gear selected, there should be no motion forward or backward.
If I park on a hill with an automatic, I will cut the wheels in toward the curb..
.

Agreed. Those are the proper practices and what would be considered educated driver behavior. More importantly, I don't understand why KIA has their game plan centered around a practice that's considered (by transportation experts) to be inappropriate in wet winter conditions. Summer time, having it engage automatically would be an annoyance, but nothing more than that. In the winter, unless I have the ability to disable the auto parking brake, they're actually creating a bigger risk to the vehicle and it's owner. I get the distinct feeling that this wasn't given as much thought as it should have. So is this truly a big concern with their product design or is it a preemptive strike by their legal team to protect them against some potential rare occurrence.

 

[1 Alibi 2]

" software update that will automatically apply the parking brake every time you shut off the vehicle. ".......
........the cheap fix:
Requires no parts.
May be able to be done remotely..
.

 

[RRRide]

Fixed by my local Kia Dealership in about 30 minutes. Good to go!

 

[CDPond]

" software update that will automatically apply the parking brake every time you shut off the vehicle. ".......
........the cheap fix:
Requires no parts.
May be able to be done remotely..
.

All well and good.... but... are you able to disable it in the winter. Or is the vehicle now going to automatically apply the parking brake each and every time you stop the vehicle... including when it's winter and you shouldn't be doing that.

 

[1 Alibi 2]

All well and good.... but... are you able to disable it in the winter. Or is the vehicle now going to automatically apply the parking brake each and every time you stop the vehicle... including when it's winter and you shouldn't be doing that.

.
That would be a question for Kia.
If my car is part of this recall, I will make a decision as to weather I have it done or not..
.

 

[CDPond]

.
That would be a question for Kia.
If my car is part of this recall, I will make a decision as to weather I have it done or not..
.

Sorry, sent that to you by mistake... i intended it to go to the person who posted they'd just had the work done.

 

[CDPond]

Fixed by my local Kia Dealership in about 30 minutes. Good to go!

All well and good.... but... are you able to disable it in the winter. Or is the vehicle now going to automatically apply the parking brake each and every time you stop the vehicle... including when it's winter and you shouldn't be doing that. What did the dealer tell you about how it operates after they performed the firmware update on your vehicle?

 

[RRRide]

All well and good.... but... are you able to disable it in the winter. Or is the vehicle now going to automatically apply the parking brake each and every time you stop the vehicle... including when it's winter and you shouldn't be doing that. What did the dealer tell you about how it operates after they performed the firmware update on your vehicle?

The EPB will automatically engage when you shot off the vehicle. Not too much of a concern for me being in Texas, however there is a workaround. If you press and hold down on the EPB button and then turn off the engine it won't engage. Tried this on mine and the EPB was off when restarting the vehicle.

 

[CDPond]

The EPB will automatically engage when you shot off the vehicle. Not too much of a concern for me being in Texas, however there is a workaround. If you press and hold down on the EPB button and then turn off the engine it won't engage. Tried this on mine and the EPB was off when restarting the vehicle.

Perfect, that's what I needed to know, and thank you for the details on how to override it. That's really important for those of us living in winter climates, since when you're driving on the highway you can get a lot of slush collecting under the vehicle which will freeze rock solid overnight. If you have your parking brake engaged, it can either prevent you from releasing it in the morning, or you end up creating more damage if it's only partially disengaged when you begin to drive the vehicle. Being able to disable it in those situations is paramount, and now that I know it can be done, I feel comfortable in proceeding with the recall work. Again... thank you for the info.

 

[RRRide]

Perfect, that's what I needed to know, and thank you for the details on how to override it. That's really important for those of us living in winter climates, since when you're driving on the highway you can get a lot of slush collecting under the vehicle which will freeze rock solid overnight. If you have your parking brake engaged, it can either prevent you from releasing it in the morning, or you end up creating more damage if it's only partially disengaged when you begin to drive the vehicle. Being able to disable it in those situations is paramount, and now that I know it can be done, I feel comfortable in proceeding with the recall work. Again... thank you for the info.

You're welcome! BTW, I doubt it makes a difference, but just in case, I have a 2021 SX Prestige, Nightfall edition.

 

[1 Alibi 2]

The EPB will automatically engage when you shot off the vehicle. Not too much of a concern for me being in Texas, however there is a workaround. If you press and hold down on the EPB button and then turn off the engine it won't engage. Tried this on mine and the EPB was off when restarting the vehicle.

.
Thanks for posting the workaround,.............. isn't this the reason we join websites ??
.

 

[d2s11]

If you park your Telluride after having driven it in wet (or even high humidity) conditions and then don't drive it for a couple days, the brakes will stick due to rusting. if the parking brake is engaged (which it would be of course if you have had Recall SC303). It is not just a cold weather issue. I contacted Kia about this issue and also NHTSA (Complaint # 11606453). Maybe if enough people file a complaint with NHTSA, Kia will have to address the issue. NHTSA only acts on safety complaints, and they may determine that this is not a safety issue. But I think it can be somewhat of a safety issue, depending upon how tightly the brakes are stuck, and how quickly a driver reacts when they finally break free.