CarComplaints.com Notes: Kia really changed the design of the Sorento in the 2011 model year. Instead of a truck-like body-on-frame more capable of offroad adventures, the newest Sorento is a unibody construction and is much more crossover than sport utility. The changes brought a whole slew of problems, including a frustrating problem where the door that won’t open. Is it too late to go back?

1.5

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
112,800 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2011 Kia Sorento lights problems

lights problem

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2011 Kia Sorento Owner Comments

problem #5

Mar 012022

Sorento

  • 138,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed at night, after applying the turn signals, the headlights and instrument panel lights became inoperable. The contact related the failure to the electrical system; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 138,000.

- Thomasville, NC, USA

problem #4

Apr 152021

Sorento 4-cyl

  • 130,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving at night at an undisclosed speed, the contact was noticed while making a slight turn, the driver-??s and passenger-??s side headlights stopped functioning as designed. The failure also occurred while using the turn signals. The contact had to manually activate the headlights after the failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure or determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000. Subsequent to the initial complaint, in December 2021, the car owner, Ed Ruzicka, decided to see if replacing the turn signal/wiper control shaft would fix this problem. I did so at my own expense. The lights no longer blink off. Still this seems to be a manufacturer defect rather than mere wear. This has never happened on any vehicle which I have owned before. I am 70. The concern is that this is dangerous. I believe that it should be addressed.

- Baton Rouge, LA, USA

problem #3

Aug 012020

Sorento

  • 120,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while, driving at an undetermined speed at night and making a turn the headlights became inoperable without warning for a few seconds. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 120,000. The VIN was not available.

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

problem #2

Nov 302016

Sorento

  • 80,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the passenger side fog light failed to illuminate and was replaced. Shortly after, the driver side headlight failed to illuminate. The vehicle was inspected by an independent mechanic who diagnosed that there was an internal short within the headlight assembly unit and the vehicle needed to be taken to a dealer for repairs. The contact scheduled a diagnostic appointment with Kia fargo (3901 2nd ave S, fargo, nd 58103, 888-569-7621). The manufacturer was notified and stated that the vehicle was out of the five year/60,000 mile warranty. The contact was advised to call a dealer to diagnose and repair the vehicle. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.

- Moorhead, MN, USA

problem #1

Apr 102018

Sorento

  • 96,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. While driving 30 mph, the air bag warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer (jim ellis Kia of kennesaw, 1221 auto park drive northwest, kennesaw, ga 30144) where it was diagnosed that the clockspring needed replacement. The contact stated that the clockspring was replaced, but was concerned that the air bag inflator was not also replaced. The contact was also concerned that the vehicle might have an electrical failure because the headlights failed to illuminate and the headlight bulbs had been replaced several times. The same dealer stated that the air bag warning indicator would remain illuminated because there was also a failure with the air bag sensor in the seats. The contact stated that the air bag sensor in the seats was not repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures and informed the contact that she would be responsible for the cost of the air bag seat sensor replacement. The failure mileage was 96,000.

- Marietta, GA, USA

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