Exterior Lighting Problems of Kia Motor Sorento - part 1

The right headlight has stopped working as of 1 week ago. The car was returned to the kia dealership for this issue as well as a hesitation while driving and a chronic bumping sound in the car while driving. The car was kept at the dealership for 3 days sept 3,4 & 5 2025 and the headlights per the dealership were realigned. The right headlight was on at the dealership but on sept 6 2025 is back out. No warning showing on the dash and no warning on the dash when the light was first noticed being off. I have used all the light selector switch settings and nothing changes, moved wires on the back of the light housing, nothing. Tapped on the light front and back, nothing. My concern is the light is out so no night driving and the lack of the sensors warning the light is out. Major safety issue.

See all problems of the 2019 Kia Motor Sorento 🔎.

Lighting and/ or electrical. When using the auto headlight switch, all lights will come on randomly and periodically and stay on until you notice them or they ware down your battery. This is something that could be checked out by dealer and I will ask about it. So, for now, I do not use the auto headlight switch. My other problem is a glass issue. For no apparent reason, when I shut my driver side door a few weeks ago. My entire rear window shattered into pieces. There were no signs of damage to the rear window. Happened in my drive way. But, it could have happened anywhere. Filed a insurance claim and had the rear window replaced.

See all problems of the 2018 Kia Motor Sorento 🔎.

I was driving and my kia started over heating and smoking and smelled like plastic burning I got it towed to the hendricks of kia and it sat there for 2weeks and I contacted them about giving me a lender until they fix my engine problem and they told me that my engine is not under warranty but is a recall I didn’t blow my engine I recently bought it about 6 months ago.

See all problems of the 2011 Kia Motor Sorento 🔎.

Lights shut off by themselves at night in auto mode in dark environments!.

See all problems of the 2016 Kia Motor Sorento 🔎.

The headlights will randomly turn off while driving, mostly when turning on the right blinker. This has been happening a few times a month since I got the vehicle in 2017. More recently, the bottom brake lights and running lights have been shorting out.

Not recall.

My lights are set to auto but when driving they randomly switch off. The dash shows the switch from auto to off but the control is still set to auto. I have to manually switch the control off and then back on for the lights to come back on. I’ve also noticed a few times in the morning my lights are on. My switch is set to auto and my car is completely off but the lights are on. This is very unsafe as it happens at night and I can’t see the road.

I have now replaced the headlight bulbs in my 2016 kia Sorento 6 times and it's getting worse as it gets older. I believe it is a safety issue since the last time I was out of town, traveling in the middle of the night when it went out. I had to wait until morning to find an auto parts store to buy and replace the bulb. No inspections have been done by anyone. Yes, the warning lamp comes on and stays until reset.

Headlights turn off at night when set in the auto position and turn on when the car is off.

See all problems of the 2017 Kia Motor Sorento 🔎.

When I drive at night with the headlights on, sometimes the headlights will all go off until I click the button a couple of times then they will come back on, and this scares me because it can cause a wreck when I can’t see.

I have a 2019 kia Sorento that is available upon request for any inspection needed. I replaced the passenger headlight bulb for the low beams 4 times. Each time the bulb go out after a few days. Now, both headlights are out and I can only use my high beams which can cause a safety concern to other drivers as well as myself and family. Vehicle has been inspected by a licensed mechanic. The mechanic stated its a dealer issue after the replacement of the bulb 4 different times. No warning issues prior to failure just when it initially happened the dash warning light regarding low beams lights out starting with the passenger side now both passenger and drivers side. Kia dealer states my car VIN number does not have a recall. But there is a current recall for same issue for 2019 kia Sorento and I was sent a letter in the mail in febuary 2025. But when I called to confirm the dealer stated my car VIN number did not come up under the recall.

Vehicles instrument cluster goes black at times ( speedometer, tach and all exterior lights and turn signals are inoperative during this time) I took it to the dealership and they said they couldn’t duplicate the problem.

See all problems of the 2023 Kia Motor Sorento 🔎.

In the last year I have had to replace my headlight bulbs at least 3 times on each side. My yearly mileage is only around 9,000-10,500. The body shop has tried different brands of bulbs, tried not having the automatic light setting on and only turning on when needed, etc. Nothing seems to correct the issue and once I had them both go out within the same week. They go out so frequently that the shop has an extra set on hand now for when I call. I'm worried if I don't notice one out because I don't drive at night every day that I'll be without either headlight until I can get into the body shop yet again to have changed out.

See all problems of the 2015 Kia Motor Sorento 🔎.

The contact owns a 2025 kia Sorento. The contact stated that upon purchasing the vehicle brand new from the dealer and driving the vehicle to the residence, the contact became aware that the VIN was included in NHTSA campaign number: 25v006000 (electrical system, exterior lighting) after conducting a VIN search the same day. The dealer and the manufacturer were not contacted. The mileage on the vehicle was 10. The actual mileage was 530.

Low beam headlights would work and some times not work and then one day they stopped working completely. We've had everything checked out and there is no explanation as to why this is happening. Replaced headlights, relays, and checked wiring.

Front headlights are fogging up and blocking headlights. Dealership has looked at the issue and waiting for kia to approve the replacement. No action yet, but if this is happening to my SUV, I'm sure others are having the same issue.

See all problems of the 2024 Kia Motor Sorento 🔎.

The contact owns a 2015 kia Sorento. The contact stated that on several occasions the front low beam headlights failed and was no longer illuminated. The headlight bulbs were replaced but the failure eventually reoccurred. The contact stated that the failure had occurred on several occasions and the driver’s and passenger’s side headlights failed to operate as needed. The contact stated that on one occasion there was a burning odor inside the vehicle. Upon inspection, it was discovered that the front passenger’s side headlight had failed to illuminate. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the passenger’s side headlight assembly had melted. No further information was available. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 115,000.

1) the headlights went out along with the rear taillights. 2) could have caused a crash. 3) no. 4)no. 5) no. Someone had to tell me the break lights were out and then we noticed that the headlights were also out as well. We notified the kia dealership of the problems and were told that a diagnostic of the problem would cost $150 plus repairs.

See all problems of the 2020 Kia Motor Sorento 🔎.

The lights dim way too quickly. Hid basically is garbage. Major safety issue since most people can’t afford to be constantly replacing their headlight assemblies.

When my head lights are on automatic, they will cut on and off on their own while driving at night! completely off! my break lights also come and go. I have had the bulbs replaced and still have the same issue.

All exterior lights and interior lights are turned off while driving. Exterior “running” lights turn on by themself.

While I was driving at night, my headlights would turn completely off. Sometimes it would happen when I turned my blinkers on, sometimes when switching from high to low beam, and sometimes totally randomly. Lights were set to auto at the time. It’s been extremely dangerous because most of the time I’ve been driving on dark county roads. Have not taken it to a shop yet was trying to self diagnose the problem first. Found information online that this has been a common occurance with kia Sorentos. No warning lamps light up.

I went in to the burlington, wa kia dealership for this recall fix. And after waiting an hour they tell me they don't have the right part. It's now been about a month later and I'm still waiting to hear when the part will be available. I don't think this is ok for a safety issue.

See all problems of the 2007 Kia Motor Sorento 🔎.

When in "auto" mode for headlights, the lights occasionally turn off while driving. I have to switch to "on" to get them to work again. Very dangerous obviously. Also, sometime the lights do not turn off, or turn on in the middle of the night when the vehicle is parked. Again, this is while in "auto" mode.

The stalk appears to be failing, specifically when lights set to auto. The most alarming aspect of this issue is when head (and maybe tail) lights go out entirely while driving [at night]. This has happened several times, at various speeds, drive times, vehicle occupancy, etc. Additionally, the head and tail lamps will turn on randomly when the car is off and locked. This can happen both hours or days after parking and has been the cause of replacing two batteries within two years.

Over the past couple of months my headlight are shutting off while driving at night. They don’t come on when I start the car some nights. When they shut off it’s hard to get them to turn back on. I’m twisting the knob multiple times to get them back on while driving.

The contact owns a 2017 kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the interior lights and headlights turned off and turned back on without driver input. There were no warning lights illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 104,082.

This very dangerous issue has happened at least 3 times. It happens in frequently but is terrible when it happens because at night you are put into immediate darkness with no warning. Upon flashing the high beams on or using the turn signal the headlights go dark/off. Then you need to restart the car. This is particularly dangerous when driving on dark or high traffic roads because the driver cannot see anything.

The headlights and taillights are constantly going out on their own. Took car to dealership and they say it's fixed, but you don't leave the lot & the light is out again. Same issue has been happening since 2022. Driving on dark road and the lights just go out. This is definitely a safety issue that several people have complained about, but nothing is being done to rectify the situation. Car has been taken to dealership at least on 5 separate occasions. However, this last time they said there is no record of bringing the car for the lights. I even did a google review. Why would the dealership not document service problems?.

See all problems of the 2014 Kia Motor Sorento 🔎.

I was driving down the highway at night and out of nowhere my head lights turn off. Leaving me and my daughter driving blind going 60 mph. Prior to that on the same night, I picked her up from work I was turning out of the parking lot where she works and the same thing happened but very quickly corrected itself. The area was lit up so it wasn't as noticeable. This is a very dangerous problem.

My 2017 Sorento has been having issues with the headlights for the past 6 months. I keep them on auto mode and half of the time they don't turn on until I click them to "on" and switch them back to auto. There have also been a handful of times where my headlights turn off while driving. This is absolutely unacceptable and extremely unsafe. This needs to become a recall before someone is seriously injured, or dies.

I own a 2016 Sorento sxl awd and this issue just started. I work evening shift and get off at 11pm. I always have the lights set to "auto", while driving home on a rural road at night and the headlights switch off on their own. I have to manually switch the lights off and back to auto for them to come back on. Potentially dangerous situation and kia should issue a recall. Can find any recall but have done research and find it is an on going issue seems be be a multi function switch.

While in auto mode my headlights turn on and off randomly. This is very dangerous at night and has happened several times. When the head lights go off I can not see and no one can see me. There is no warning when this happens. The first occurrence was on August 4, 2024. Kia dealers say it has to be happening when I bring it in but the problem is intermittent. Many other owners have stated they have this same problem in online forums. Canada has issued a recall for this problem (kia canada: rc184).

Driving 70mph, driving lights completely shut off. I was going straight with a car in the distance nobody behind. If my wife and kids were driving that would have been scary.

The headlight setting randomly changes from “auto” to “off” without any operator input. This happens roughly every fourth drive.