A Modern Car Risk: Millions Told to Park Outside

If your car's recall notice tells you to park it on the street, you're not alone. Federal data analyzed by Carfax suggests roughly 3.2 million vehicles in the US are currently under "park outside" recalls—warnings that the car can catch fire even when turned off and sitting still. The designation, created by federal regulators in 2015 and highlighted more prominently since 2022, has surged as modern vehicles pack in more electronics, hotter-running engines, and high-voltage batteries, reports the Washington Post.

Recent campaigns have hit models including plug-in hybrid Jeep Wranglers and Grand Cherokees, with owners told to keep them away from buildings and avoid charging until repairs are done. (Consumer Reports has a list of those here.) Kia issued such a recall in July affecting some 460,000 2020-2024 Tellurides over a front-seat motor that could overheat, notes WGN-TV. Safety experts say these "key-off fires" can ignite at any time, turning garages and parking structures into risk zones while automakers take months to roll out fixes. The result, says one analyst, is a no-win scenario for some drivers—like Hyundai owners whose vehicles are both under fire-risk recalls and known to be easy theft targets: "I don't want my house to burn down," says one Hyundai owner. "But I don't want my car to get stolen."