I turned the heated steering wheel on for approximately 10 minutes while driving. I typically drive in the 11 and 2 position. Traffic came to a compression stop. I grabbed the steering wheel in the 9 and 3 position during the 2nd abrupt stop. The steering wheel was so hot that I had to let go of it. I also smelled something burning right before it happened. I turned the seat heater off immediately and drove straight to the dealership which was only 7 minutes away.
I told them what happened, they took temperature reading on my steering wheel and said that it only registered 142. I know it was way hotter than that. It was like grabbing an extremely hot pot on the stove with your palms. The problem could not be replicated in the service lane. I took pictures in the dealership lobby of my hands (included). My hands were burning and sore to the touch for 2 days after the incident. The car is being dropped off on 11/10/2014 for Kia to investigate.
Update from Nov 10, 2014: The last sentence of the first paragraph was incorrectly stated. Should say, "I turned the steering wheel heater off immediately and drove straight to the dealership which was only 7 minutes away".
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I turned the heated steering wheel on for approximately 10 minutes while driving. I typically drive in the 11 and 2 position. Traffic came to a compression stop. I grabbed the steering wheel in the 9 and 3 position during the 2nd abrupt stop. The steering wheel was so hot that I had to let go of it. I also smelled something burning right before it happened. I turned the seat heater off immediately and drove straight to the dealership which was only 7 minutes away.
I told them what happened, they took temperature reading on my steering wheel and said that it only registered 142. I know it was way hotter than that. It was like grabbing an extremely hot pot on the stove with your palms. The problem could not be replicated in the service lane. I took pictures in the dealership lobby of my hands (included). My hands were burning and sore to the touch for 2 days after the incident. The car is being dropped off on 11/10/2014 for Kia to investigate.
Update from Nov 10, 2014: The last sentence of the first paragraph was incorrectly stated. Should say, "I turned the steering wheel heater off immediately and drove straight to the dealership which was only 7 minutes away".
- Carl H., Arlington, TX, US