2017 KIA Sorento headlight problems

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

My high beams and low beams are starting to shut off randomly while driving. They are burning out weekly and having to be replaced. 1 of my tail lights is doing the same exact thing. I replace it. It works for a couple weeks and then goes out. When the headlights shut off my dash shows that i am trying to turn my headlights from auto to another setting, which is not the case. It has happened at night multiple times and that poses a danger because i cant see the road and people cant see my car. I have not had it looked at yet. I do see multiple complaints online for multiple different kia models and years. There is no recall and i do not see a TSB. Just curious with so many issues seen online why anything has not be accomplished or a recall available.

NHTSA complaint #11754259 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

The car gets stuck and will not shift out of park. I've had to use the manual override. And when the ambulance came to my house, I could not move my car out of the way fast enough and this delayed emergency response team. I thought it was a one time fluke, but it started happening again this week (4/1/26) Every time I use the car. This cannot be safe.

NHTSA complaint #11729485 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

At night when I am driving, the headlight goes off. The light switch does not work on some settings. I never know when or where this dangerous situation is going to happen. Therefore, I try to avoid driving at night, as much as possible. This problem was addressed to Kia more than a year ago. They keep saying that they don't see a problem.

NHTSA complaint #11702711 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

My headlights come on even when the car is completely off for now reason

NHTSA complaint #11697128 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

When turning left, after the turn is complete and the multi function switch returns to home position, the right turn signal activates. This could lead to confusion by surrounding drivers resulting in safety concerns. At night, the headlights will randomly turn off while in auto mode while driving. Numerous times this happens and seems to be increasing in frequency. This is a serious safety concern as the visibility is limited to the driver and others on the road. Potential for a serious accident. After the vehicle is parked at the night, the exterior lights remain on all night if the headlight setting is in “auto”.

NHTSA complaint #11694930 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

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

NHTSA complaint #11681150 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

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

NHTSA complaint #11665670 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

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

NHTSA complaint #11652519 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the front and rear exterior lights shut off unexpectedly. The contact turned off the light switch and then back on and the failure was fixed. Additionally, the vehicle had experienced excessive oil consumption, and engine oil was added shortly after having an oil change performed. The vehicle also experienced harsh driving due to the oil consumption failure. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 65,000.

NHTSA complaint #11642141 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

Shifter isn't releasing from park. They state the Body Control Module (BCM) I been reading on this and it goes out with higher mileage Kia Sorento SUV. This is a safety hazard.

NHTSA complaint #11629539 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

When the headlights are on the "auto" setting they will sometimes turn off when driving. Speed or driving conditions do not seem to be a factor. There have also been 2 separate incidents where the headlights are on in the morning. This occurred when Noone had been in the car for hours and the keys were inside my home.

NHTSA complaint #11624978 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

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).

NHTSA complaint #11621992 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

When in auto-mode, the headlights randomly just turn off while driving which is a huge safety risk. This has been happening randomly every once in a while since at least 2021. It seems to be happening more often now. Also, the taillights are randomly turning on at night when the car is off.

NHTSA complaint #11618414 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

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.

NHTSA complaint #11617970 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

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.

NHTSA complaint #11614858 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

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.

NHTSA complaint #11611556 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

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.

NHTSA complaint #11611719 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

INTERIOR LIGHTING

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's 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.

NHTSA complaint #11610792 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS

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's 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.

NHTSA complaint #11610792 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

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.

NHTSA complaint #11609167 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

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.

NHTSA complaint #11608377 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS

The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH at night, the headlights briefly became inoperable. After several attempts at turning the switch off and on, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 96,000.

NHTSA complaint #11606481 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

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.

NHTSA complaint #11606328 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

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

NHTSA complaint #11606357 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS

The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, an audible message indicated that there was engine failure, and the infotainment screen displayed the option to send an engine failure report. The vehicle then shuddered and made an abnormal sound. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle, but the abnormal sound persisted. The vehicle was shaking, and the contact detected an abnormal odor inside the vehicle. The contact parked and turned off the vehicle. Additionally, the headlights failed to illuminate while driving at night. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with multiple cylinders misfire. The dealer determined that the spark plugs and headlights needed to be replaced, as well as an induction cleaning and oil change. The dealer replaced the spark plugs and headlights but discovered that the fuel pump was leaking fuel into the engine. The contact was informed that the fuel pump needed to be replaced. The contact declined to have the induction cleaning, the oil changed, or the fuel pump replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V907000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) and Technical Service Bulletin: 073 (Ball Joint Replacement); however, the VIN was not included in the recall and the vehicle was not covered under the TSB. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 68,000.

NHTSA complaint #11603995 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

The lights go off on their own while driving. The lights go on on their own while parked and off.

NHTSA complaint #11603698 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

While driving after dark with the auto lights engaged, my headlights suddenly turned off. When I turned the knob on the light switch they came back on and I continued to drive. A short while down the road this happened again. At this point I turned the auto lights off and just ran them in manual on mode. No further incident with them in manual. This has now happened on several occasions.

NHTSA complaint #11595231 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

1) The headlights will turn off while driving when the headlight switch is "automatic." 2) The headlights and taillights will illuminate after leaving and locking the vehicle leading to a completely drained battery.

NHTSA complaint #11593520 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

The vehicle just lost power at 75mph on [XXX] heading home to Princeton, ME, started vibrating really bad misfiring then we pulled over the Kia Sorento stalled. Then would not start back up. It’s been using over a quart a week since we got it from the dealership in Bangor, Maine. We got it towed home our mechanic looked at it and noticed oil on the plugs and said we probably need a new engine. Low beam light keep coming off and on so thinking it’s something electrical. Time to time the transmission take a min to shift the engine rpms stay up n takes a few extra seconds to shift. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint #11571669 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

My headlights, when set to ‘auto’ randomly turn off. Very scary and dangerous at night! Also, illegal. I can get them to come back on by turning the lights off and on multiple times from the left stalk. But can’t believe Kia hasn’t addressed this.

NHTSA complaint #11563974 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.