2012 Kia Sorento Exterior lighting Problems

The low-beam headlights frequently burn out, approximately every 6 months. Upon inspection by multiple repair shops, the wiring harnesses have been found to be blowing the bulb yet each shop has replaced with a variety of parts. The suspicion is the wiring and power source are causing issues. Each side of the vehicle has had the wiring harness replaced with the right side being replaced twice and currently in need of a third replacement. The initial replacement was in 2018 and most recent replacement was 2023. The headlight will flicker on and off intermittently before the bulb or wiring harness blow. There is no predicting when this will occur which leaves the driver at risk of losing one or both headlights, needing immediate repair for safety and to avoid a potential ticket from the police.

NHTSA ID

11602639

Incident

Jun 1, 2018

I experienced a Malfunction of indicators lamp, ABS warning lights, burning/ melting smell and smoke from the engine compartment.

NHTSA ID

11562574

Incident

Nov 30, 2023

My regular lights on pasenger side keeps going out. The harness keeps melting. And my sunroof rubber pieces keep coming undone hitting the glass of sunroof causing very loud noises while driving sounds like the glass is going to break.

NHTSA ID

11530234

Incident

May 16, 2023

The contact owns a 2012 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the front headlights had begun to flicker and then would turn off while driving at night. The contact stated that the failure had started as an intermittent failure, however, the low beam setting had failed and no longer worked. The contact only had high beams. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had opened the hood during daylight and saw that the headlight wiring harness and connectors had melted on the driver's side. The contact stated that she could touch the passenger side lamp harness and the light would work. However, if she attempted to tighten the harness connection the light would not work. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer where it was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 133,000.

NHTSA ID

11488862

Incident

Aug 2, 2022

Mileage

133,000 mi

My headlight are so dim at night I have to drive with my high beams on. I've cleaned and replaced bulbs and they are still very dim.

NHTSA ID

11472247

Incident

Sep 14, 2020

Replaced the headlight bulbs in my wife's car around 80k miles when 2 of the 4 bulbs went out. I noticed the lenses were discolored from the inside slightly but didn't put much thought into it. The vehicle now has a little over 144k miles and I have replaced the high beam bulbs once again, and the low beam bulbs twice more, and the low beam bulbs I have had to replace the connector due to burning on both sides, and the driver side is burnt out again. This shouldn't happen and means there is too much power going to the bulb, which is a fire hazard as well as a safety hazard as I can't keep a bulb working in that slot.

NHTSA ID

11465714

Incident

May 22, 2022

My passenger headlight went out again. I've taken to the dealer. They replaced the burnt out fog lights too. This is the 4th time in less than a year! I filed previous complaints. Had the headlights replaced repeatedly. Something keeps shorting out. There's an electrical problem. I can't keep replacing my headlights all the time. When the one side goes out, the other follows. This is becoming a real safety issue.

NHTSA ID

11465385

Incident

May 18, 2022

The passenger low beam head light keeps burning out. I have had the wiring replaced twice because it keeps melting. The brake light blow at least every 2 months

NHTSA ID

11444967

Incident

Dec 15, 2021

The contact owns a 2012 Kia Sorento. The contact noticed that the driver’s side headlamp failed to operate as needed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the wiring had melted, and the headlamp socket needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, a couple of months later the failure recurred on the passenger’s side. The vehicle was taken back to the mechanic where it was diagnosed the wiring melted and the passenger’s side headlamp socket needed to be replaced. The dealer was contacted twice. The manufacturer was notified of the failure twice. The approximate failure mileage was 147,000. Headlight has replaced once 02/22/2022.

NHTSA ID

11444803

Incident

Jul 23, 2021

Mileage

147,000 mi

Passenger side low beam headlight keeps burning out. Had bulb replaced one month ago, burnt out again. Had it replaced several times. One time recently the mechanic had to also replace the wiring connections because it melted.

NHTSA ID

11442410

Incident

Dec 2, 2021

Both of my headlights went out as I was driving down the road. I did not have any type of warning light on my dash come on.

NHTSA ID

11440965

Incident

Nov 18, 2021

Low beam headlights on passenger side burn out at a rate of 1 to 2 per year. I am the original owner and the vehicle has never been in an accident. Dealer replaced headlight wiring and high beam switch on steering column under warranty because plug at headlamp melted and switch seemed faulty. This repair was approximately 4 years ago. Headlights burning out has been a problem since new. Seems to happen most often when High beams are used and going back to low beams. Inspect at any time. Living in rural Texas with little to no street lights it can be unnerving to have the low beam on one side unexpectant burn out. I write all of this because it burned out again last night and it's getting frustrating.

NHTSA ID

11439354

Incident

Nov 3, 2021

The contact owns a 2012 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the passenger’s side front headlight had stopped working. Upon inspection, the contact noticed that the wiring harness in the headlight was melted. The vehicle was not diagnosed by an independent mechanic or dealer. The headlight assembly was replaced however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 68,000.

NHTSA ID

11431394

Incident

Nov 21, 2018

Mileage

68,000 mi

Passenger side headlight went out while driving. Went to replace bulb and found connector melted. Quick internet search shows this is not uncommon and even a YouTube tutorial on how to replace the pigtail. Question remains what caused the overheating in the first place? While it's a major inconvenience at this point as we can't drive the vehicle without fear of getting a ticket or repair order until fixed, worst case scenario this happens to both at night?

NHTSA ID

11429922

Incident

Aug 20, 2021

MY DRIVER HEADLIGHT WIRING HARNESS KEEPS OVERHEATING AND MELTS THE HARNESS CASING. I HAVE FIXED THIS ISSUE NUMEROUS TIME. MY DRIVER PASSENGER DOOR HANDLE CAME OFF IN MY HAND.

NHTSA ID

11406559

Incident

Jan 17, 2019

CAR STALLS OUT WHILE DRIVING THEN I HAVE TO PULL OVER AND RESTART IT AND IT HAS A JERKING TO IT WHEN THIS HAPPENS

NHTSA ID

11404770

Incident

Jan 22, 2020

Mileage

280,000 mi

MY ENGINE NEEDS WORKED ON AS OF 02/2021, THERE'S SOME TICKING NOISE COMING FROM MY ENGINE EVEN THOUGH I KEEP THE OIL CHANGED LIKE THE CAR REQUIRES EVERY 3-5 MONTHS SINCE I HAVE HIGH MILEAGE.I MADE THIS REQUEST TO CHECK FOR RECALLS ON MY VEHICLE(MAKE MODEL & YEAR) I BOUGHT THE CAR FEBRUARY 2019. MY LEFT PARKING LIGHT STOPPED WORKING ALMOST A YEAR AGO SO I THINK IT COULD BE ELECTRICAL.

NHTSA ID

11403525

Incident

Feb 23, 2021

WHILE DRIVING MY 2012 KIA SORENTO ON THE FWY. THE ENGINE STALLED WITH NO WARNING. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON...I WAS ABLE TO PUT CAR IN NEUTRAL AND RESTART. IT RAN FINE, BUT CHECK ENGINE LIGHT REMAINED ON. THERE WAS NO APPARENT SOUNDS OF ENGINE TROUBLE ...SO I CONTINUED MY ROUTE. THE NEXT DAY IT STARTED FINE, NO BAD NOISES, BUT CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS ON...I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE FOR APPROXIMATELY 20 MILES UNTIL IT STALLED AGAIN WHILE ON FWY. WAS ABLE TO RESTART, BUT COMPRESSION WAS LOW ON ENGINE, SO I PULLED OFF AND HAD IT TOWED TO SHOP. THEY TOLD ME THE OIL WAS DOWN 4 QTS. AND HAD CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE. MY COMPLAINT IS THE OIL LIGHT NEVER CAM ON. I'VE SEEN OTHER COMPLAINTS SIMILAR TO THIS...I'M WONDERING IF YOU ARE DOING ANYTHING TO RECTIFY THIS PROBLEM?

NHTSA ID

11387534

Incident

Dec 26, 2020

Mileage

96,000 mi

PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT WENT OUT. THE CLIP ON THE HOUSING THAT HOLDS THE HEADLIGHT WAS BROKEN. REPLACED IT. LIGHT STARTED WORKING THEN WENT OUT AGAIN. THIS TIME THE WIRES IN THE HOUSING CAME LOOSE. LIGHT OUT AGAIN. IT DOESN'T MATTER IF THE CAR IS STATIONARY, IN MOTION, IT'LL WORK WHEN IT WANTS TO. AS FOR THE BODY OF THE VEHICLE....PULLED INTO A CAR WASH TO SPRAY IT OFF. TURNED AROUND TO START AND NOTICED ON THE DRIVER SIDE MIRROR A SPOT OF PAINT MISSING ABOUT THE SIZE OF A QUARTER. DOWN TO THE PRIMER. THE PAINT IS DARK CHERRY PEARL. THERE IS NO SCRATCH, DENT, OR ANYTHING THAT CAUSED IT.

NHTSA ID

11378165

Incident

Nov 25, 2020

Mileage

101,000 mi

WENT TO CHECK MY HEADLIGHT BULB AS MY HEADLIGHT STOPPED WORKING AGAIN AFTER JUST REPLACING THE BULB A FEW WEEKS AGO. WHAT I FOUND IS THAT THE CONNECTOR TO THE BULB WAS COMPLETELY MELTED

NHTSA ID

11378133

Incident

Dec 6, 2020

Mileage

152,000 mi

MY DRIVER SIDE HEADLIGHT AND PASSENGER SIDE TURN SIGNAL KEEPS GOING OUT AND I'VE TAKEN IT TO THE AUTO SHOP TO BE FIXED MULTIPLE TIMES IT FIXES FOR A FEW DAYS AND OUT AGAIN BUT THE BUILD DOESN'T BURN OUT BECAUSE SOMETIME IF I TURN THE CAR OFF AND BACK ON IT WILL COME BACK ON OR IF I GOT A BUMP IT WILL GO OUT.

NHTSA ID

11378124

Incident

Jul 3, 2020

INTERMITTENT CONNECTION TO PASSENGERS SIDE HEADLAMP BULB, CAUSING OVERHEATED CONNECTOR AND WIRING.

NHTSA ID

11377211

Incident

Nov 23, 2020

Mileage

56,500 mi

LH LOW BEAM NOT WORKING. REPLACED BULB AND IT DIDN'T FIX. SWAPPED WITH RH BULB TO MAKE SURE IT WASN'T A BAD NEW BULB AND THAT DIDN'T FIX IT. HI BEAM AND PARK LAMP WORK FINE. RESEARCHED ONLINE AND SEEN THIS IS BECOMING A COMMON PROBLEM.

NHTSA ID

11375120

Incident

Nov 16, 2020

Mileage

90,000 mi

HEADLIGHTS INTERMITTENTLY TURN OFF WHILE DRIVING OR DON'T WORK WHEN YOU TURN THE CAR ON AND THEN WILL RANDOMLY START WORKING AGAIN. IT IS USUALLY JUST ONE HEADLIGHT, BUT DID HAVE BOTH GO OUT ONE NIGHT.

NHTSA ID

11373859

Incident

Nov 9, 2020

WHEN TURNING BLINKER ON HEADLIGHTS WILL FLASH A FEW TIMES THEN TURN OFF VERY COMPLETELY SO DANGEROUS

NHTSA ID

11362599

Incident

Jun 1, 2020

Mileage

98,000 mi