Electric vehicles have spent years at the centre of public anxiety over vehicle fires, but a new examination of U.S. recall records complicates that picture. Gasoline and diesel vehicles account for far more vehicles covered by recent “park outside” fire recalls than EVs and hybrids, according to an analysis of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data.
The finding does not establish that combustion vehicles are inherently more likely to burn. Instead, it shows that the recent surge in recalls involving vehicles capable of catching fire while switched off extends far beyond high-voltage batteries. Electrical modules, power seats, steering systems, brake components and ordinary 12-volt circuits have all triggered warnings. For millions of owners, the unsettling instruction is the same: until the defect is repaired, keep the vehicle outdoors and away from buildings.
Gas Vehicles Account for Millions More Recalled Vehicles
A Washington Post analysis of NHTSA recall notices identified 93 “park outside” campaigns issued since 2021. Of those, 44 exclusively involved conventional internal-combustion vehicles, while 38 involved only EVs or hybrids. Looking only at the number of campaigns makes the split appear relatively close, but the number of vehicles affected tells a very different story.
Gas-only campaigns covered roughly 4.6 million vehicles over the period examined. EV- and hybrid-only campaigns covered about 662,000. Another large group consisted of recalls involving models offered with multiple powertrains, yet gasoline vehicles made up most of the vehicles in several of the biggest mixed-powertrain campaigns. That distinction matters because a recall campaign involving a handful of battery-electric cars counts the same as one involving hundreds of thousands of gasoline SUVs when campaigns alone are compared. Vehicle counts therefore reveal how broadly individual defects have spread through the existing fleet.
“Park Outside” Means the Danger Can Remain After Shutdown
A typical safety recall involves something that could fail while a vehicle is moving, such as brakes, steering or an airbag. A park-outside warning is different. It is generally issued when authorities or manufacturers believe a defect could potentially cause a fire even after the ignition has been switched off, making an attached garage or densely packed parking structure a particularly concerning location.
Modern vehicles do not become electrically inert when the engine stops. Security systems, communications modules, battery-management equipment and other circuits can remain energized. Former federal investigators sometimes describe resulting incidents as “key-off fires.” NHTSA has increasingly highlighted severe fire-related recalls with prominent park-outside instructions, telling affected owners to keep vehicles away from houses and other structures until repairs are completed. Depending on the defect, owners of electrified vehicles may also be instructed not to recharge the high-voltage battery.
The Numbers Should Not Be Mistaken for a Fire-Rate Study
The large gap between combustion and electric vehicles in recall totals comes with an important statistical limitation. Gas-powered vehicles still dominate the U.S. vehicle population, meaning there are vastly more of them available to be recalled. Counting recalled vehicles therefore cannot answer the more difficult question of whether an individual gasoline vehicle or an individual EV has the greater probability of catching fire.
Researchers have also lacked comprehensive U.S. fire data separated cleanly by powertrain. Fire experts interviewed in connection with the recent analysis said that historical reporting systems often did not identify whether a burned vehicle was gasoline, diesel, hybrid or fully electric. Newer federal fire-reporting systems are beginning to collect more detailed powertrain information, which should eventually allow stronger comparisons. Until enough data accumulate, recall totals are best viewed as evidence that severe parked-vehicle fire hazards are not an EV-specific phenomenon rather than proof that one propulsion technology is universally safer.
Hyundai and Kia Show How a Conventional Defect Can Become Huge
One of the clearest examples arrived in September 2023, when Hyundai and Kia together recalled more than 3.3 million vehicles and instructed owners to park outdoors. Hyundai’s campaign involved approximately 1.64 million vehicles, while Kia’s involved about 1.73 million. Most of the affected vehicles used conventional engines, although a relatively small number of electrified models were included.
The underlying hazard was not a large traction battery. An anti-lock braking system component could develop an internal brake-fluid leak capable of causing an electrical short. Because the circuit could remain a fire concern while the vehicle was parked, owners were advised to keep affected cars away from homes until repaired. Hyundai reported 21 related U.S. vehicle fires and another 22 thermal incidents at the time of NHTSA’s announcement. The recalls illustrate why focusing exclusively on propulsion batteries can miss mundane electrical and hydraulic components capable of producing large fire-risk campaigns.
A Power Seat Created Another Half-Million-Vehicle Warning
Fire hazards can originate in surprisingly ordinary equipment. Kia recalled 462,869 Telluride SUVs in 2024 because a front power-seat motor could overheat after damage or misalignment affected the seat-control switch. In July 2026, NHTSA announced another park-outside campaign involving the same 462,869 2020-2024 Tellurides after determining that some vehicles required a different remedy.
Kia reported seven seat fires and 11 cases involving melted seat motors in connection with the newer campaign. The planned repair involves an electronic fuse assembly designed to stop continuous seat-motor operation if the switch becomes displaced or damaged. Nothing about the problem involves gasoline ignition or an EV traction battery; it is an electrically powered comfort feature. That example captures a broader change in modern automobiles: components once operated mechanically are increasingly motorized and electronically controlled, creating more circuits that may remain connected to electrical power.
Jeep’s Million-Vehicle Recall Shows the Role of Electrified Accessories
A particularly large 2026 recall involved more than 1.07 million Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator vehicles. NHTSA said an electrical connection problem involving the electric-hydraulic power-steering pump wiring could cause combustible material to overheat, potentially producing a fire even after the vehicle had been turned off. Regulators were aware of 51 fires and one injury considered likely related to the defect when the warning was announced.
Owners were told to park affected Jeeps outside and away from other vehicles and buildings until the problem could be repaired. Again, the fire mechanism was not the classic image of gasoline leaking onto a hot exhaust component, nor was it a lithium-ion traction-battery failure. Instead, it involved electrical equipment supporting a system that drivers rarely think about after parking. Modern gasoline vehicles increasingly combine combustion engines with electric pumps, computers and electronically actuated systems, blurring the old assumption that serious electrical-fire risks primarily belong to EVs.
EV Battery Fires Remain Real Even If They Are Not Driving the Totals
The new recall figures should not be interpreted as evidence that battery-electric and plug-in hybrid fires are imaginary. Stellantis recalled 320,065 Jeep Wrangler 4xe and Grand Cherokee 4xe plug-in hybrids in late 2025 because high-voltage batteries could fail internally and start fires while parked or driving. Owners were instructed to park outdoors and stop charging until repairs were completed.
The campaign was especially significant because it replaced an earlier remedy that proved insufficient. NHTSA said Stellantis was aware of 19 battery fires, including nine involving vehicles that had already received software intended to address the previous recall. One potential injury was reported. Battery fires present specialized firefighting challenges because damaged lithium-ion cells can experience thermal runaway and may require different suppression and monitoring strategies. The important distinction is that these genuine EV-related risks coexist with a much larger universe of parked-vehicle fire recalls involving conventional cars.
Older Gas Vehicles Have Produced Serious Key-Off Fire Examples Too
Ford provided another prominent illustration in 2022 when it warned owners of certain 2021 Expeditions and Lincoln Navigators to park outdoors. At the time of the initial warning, more than 39,000 vehicles were affected and Ford had identified 16 potentially related fires. Twelve reportedly happened while the vehicles were parked and switched off, demonstrating why simply turning off the ignition could not eliminate the danger.
Fourteen of the 16 reports involved rental vehicles, which helped investigators detect an unusual pattern concentrated among vehicles built during a particular production period. The episode later expanded as Ford investigated electrical components in the underhood area. Similar recalls involving battery-monitor sensors, trailer-hitch wiring and ABS modules have reinforced the broader lesson: a parked combustion vehicle still contains energized wiring and components capable of overheating. The engine may be silent, but parts of the electrical system remain very much alive.
The Real Trend May Be More Electronics, Not One Propulsion Technology
Automobiles increasingly resemble rolling computer networks. Power seats, electronic steering, heated equipment, driver-assistance sensors, telematics, battery-management hardware and dozens of control modules operate alongside traditional mechanical systems. Safety specialists examining the growth in parked-vehicle fires point to this rising electronic complexity as one plausible explanation for why seemingly unrelated components repeatedly appear in recalls.
NHTSA’s own annual recall figures illustrate how large the category can become. Vehicles covered by park-outside advisories reached roughly 4.75 million in 2023 alone, driven heavily by the giant Hyundai and Kia campaigns. The totals were lower in 2024 and 2025, but 2026 produced another wave of major warnings. That does not mean modern cars are broadly unsafe. It does mean the list of things capable of producing a fire no longer begins and ends with fuel lines or engines. A tiny switch, connector or printed circuit board can create consequences completely disproportionate to its size.
Owners Should Treat the Warning Literally, Regardless of Powertrain
For an owner, the most useful distinction is not gasoline versus electric but recalled versus repaired. NHTSA advises consumers to search their vehicle identification number through its recall database because recalls apply to specific production ranges and configurations. When a manufacturer’s instruction says to park outside and away from structures, authorities intend that advice to remain in effect until the stated remedy has been completed.
Some recalls can be repaired quickly with a replacement fuse, module or wiring component. Others remain without an immediate remedy while manufacturers develop parts or diagnostic procedures. EV and plug-in hybrid campaigns may add instructions not to charge, while combustion-vehicle recalls can impose the same outdoor-parking inconvenience without any traction battery at all. The emerging evidence therefore challenges a familiar stereotype. EV fires can be dramatic and technically difficult, but recent U.S. recall records show that millions of conventional vehicles have faced the same unnerving instruction: do not leave this vehicle in the garage.
