Kia Telluride 2027: a wrong sensor in the driver's seat belt can leave the driver unprotected
A. Krivonosov
A wrong sensor in the driver's seat belt assembly can lock the strap when pulled. NHTSA campaign 26V356 covers 4,367 Telluride Hybrids and 1,897 gasoline models.
Kia has issued a US recall for the all-new 2027 Telluride. NHTSA campaign 26V356 covers 6,264 vehicles, including both the standard Telluride and the Telluride Hybrid.
The defect involves the driver's seat belt. A wrong sensor may have been installed in the assembly, causing the inertia locking mechanism to engage when it shouldn't. As a result, the belt can jam when the driver tries to pull it across. Technically this violates federal standard FMVSS 209 on seat belts, but for the driver the issue is simpler: the belt may temporarily become unusable at exactly the moment it's needed.
The bulk of the recall is hybrids. According to Kia documents reviewed by 32CARS, the campaign affects 4,367 Telluride Hybrids built between March 24 and May 12, 2026, and 1,897 gasoline Tellurides produced between March 24 and May 10. The VINs are not sequential, so owners will need to check their specific vehicle through a dealer, Kia customer service, or the NHTSA database. VINs should become searchable starting June 16.
The story started on April 8, when Kia North America flagged a Telluride field report: the driver's belt was getting stuck when pulled and refusing to extend fully. The company later identified another 10 warranty claims with similar symptoms. The investigation revealed that the supplier may have installed an incorrect sensor in part of the driver's seat belt batch.
The fix is straightforward: dealers will replace the driver's seat belt assembly with one containing the correct sensor, free of charge. Production has already been corrected — gasoline Tellurides from May 11 and Telluride Hybrids from May 13 are leaving the line with the right part. Owner notifications are scheduled to go out on July 31, 2026; Kia's internal campaign number is SC372.
For owners, this is not the kind of defect to put off “until the next service.” If the belt won't extend, the car effectively strips the driver of basic protection before the wheels have even turned.
