Woman Gets Into Her Kia. Then Out of Nowhere, Her Screen Starts Smoking

'For anyone I’ve ever told to buy a Kia Telluride, I take it back.'

Photo by: Hyundai Motor Group/Unsplash

By: Steve Ecker

Jun 6, 2025 at 9:45am ET

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Kia makes some excellent cars, but it's also had its fair share of quality issues, as Kelley Blue Book reports. To add another jab, the South Korean auto giant recently went viral for all the wrong reasons.

In a TikTok video with more than 1.2 million views, West Virginia mom and lifestyle creator Heather (@aultheather) reveals how her Kia Telluride dashboard started smoking moments after starting her car.

So What Exactly Happened With This Kia Telluride?

In her clip, Heather showcases a shocking situation unfolding right before her eyes in the middle of her driveway. While parked, Heather rolled up her windows only to find smoke coming out of her dashboard.

Frazzled, Heather turned her car on. The smoke continued to spread. As she frantically started the Telluride, her kid walked near her vehicle. Luckily, the car didn't catch on fire, and the child was safe.

“For anyone I’ve ever told to buy a Kia Telluride, I take it back,” Heather stated.

In a follow-up TikTok, Heather provides an update after getting the car towed back to Kia. The Kia representative shared that the infotainment system shorted out, which caused the smoke.

After inspection, the Kia dealership couldn’t figure out the cause of the smoke, but informed Heather they will replace the entire infotainment system, she said. The system in her car that caught smoke is getting sent back to Kia for future diagnostics review, she added.

She mentioned how she recently learned about all the recalls Kia has issued, and is willing to be patient with her car repair now that she has an understanding of what’s going on.

Tell us what you think!

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“Infotainment screens are flashy tech that distracts consumers so they don't pay attention or notice poor quality,” one TikTok commenter shared.

Indeed, car touchscreens have come under fire lately for safety concerns such as distracted driving.

What Other Recalls Has Kia Issued?

Kia has recently issued recalls for potential fire risks, airbag malfunctions, and parking light issues in the last two years.

The most relevant recall to this Kia Telluride smoking dashboard situation was the fire risk issued in 2024. Kia issued a “park outside” recall for Kia Tellurides produced between 2020-2024 for fire risk, affecting more than 460,000 units. The cars had the potential to catch fire both while driving or parked.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the fires caused by the front power seat motor on the affected vehicles could overheat because of a stuck power seat slide knob, potentially resulting in a fire and increasing the risk of injury.

What did the viewers think about this Kia Telluride?

“Just turn the radio up higher. That's what I do for anything suspicious,” one viewer joked.

“That was the sauna feature, no worries,” one added.

“These young cars these days, picking up bad habits like smoking,” another wrote.

This TikTok has more than 23,800 likes.

Motor1 has contacted Heather (@aultheather) over Instagram messenger and TikTok messenger for more information. We’ve reached out to Kia as well. We'll be sure to update this story when we hear back.

Update June 10, 6:16pm CT: In a DM to Motor1, Heather writes that "[i]tended up being the screen infotainment system that shorted out. Luckily I was under warranty and Kia replaced it. No other issues found other than some updates my car needed. Kia worked quickly and kept me updated as they worked and replaced things. I have my Kia back and haven’t had any new issues.”