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.
Since August 2019, I have been experiencing intermittent headlights failure while driving and the headlights was set on auto. The headlights would shut off for 5-10 seconds unexpectedly and will turn on again. When it happens again this past Saturday (11/7), I noticed when the headlights went off, only the headlights symbol was lighted on the dash. Normally, when the headlights were switched on auto both the front and rear taillights and headlights symbol would be lighted on the dash. I have spoken to fairfax Kia service technician about this problem but since the problem could not be reproduced, he was unable to resolve the issue. In reviewing your site, it appears other owners of 2017 Kia Sorento have had similar issues with the headlights shutting off while using the auto headlights feature. I feel this is a serious safety concern, therefore, I am hoping your Agency will initiate an investigation on the matter to resolve the issue before someone gets seriously injured or die as a result of this issue.
My 2017 Kia Sorento headlights shut off for no reason when I am driving. When they are in auto mode they will turn off followed by a warning on my screen saying they have switched from auto to manual. I have to turn the knob to off then back on. They also shut off in manual mode. This is extremely dangerous and frightening, especially with my toddler in the back seat. I am told a tsb has been started and possibly a class action lawsuit. When will Kia do a recall? one dealership told me they have no idea what it could be because it hasnt happened to them, another dealership said they have never heard of it but are willing to take a look to see if they can fix this but I will have to pay. This is not right since this is a Kia defect with multiple complaints.
While in the auto position at random times all my exterior light will turn off. I drive a lot for my job. The last time my lights turned out was last night on the freeway in a rural area complete black out. I quickly turned the switch to the off position and then back to auto. This has happened few time with in the last few weeks. A few months after I purchased the car, I noticed the turn signal would switch to the opposite direction after I completed my turn. The turn signal switch would be in the neutral position when this occurred. This also happens intermittently, while driving city or highway. I can not turn it off. I have to wait until it stops on its own, which luckily has just been the same length of time as a lane change.
At random times, all at different speeds and different times of the day, my exterior lights will turn off on their own. I always keep my lights set to auto. This has happened quite a few times while driving at night, which has almost caused a few accidents when I find myself in the pitch black, when I wasn't around any street lamps. Sometimes the lights will come back on when I switch the lights to off and then back to auto. But not always.
I have owned the car for two years on one occasion while driving the headlights shut off I turned switch to off then back to auto and the lights came on. On two occasions the lights were on after the car was shut off, parked and locked pressing the remote lock button shut off the lights. On one occasion the parking lights turned on at 2am (neighbor's camera picked it up) pressing remote lock button shut off the lights another occasion I tried starting the car in the morning and the battery was dead, I suspect that the lights turned on at night and didn't shut off.
2017 Kia Sorento, AWD, mileage ~30K. When the headlights are set to "auto", they will randomly turn off, usually when I activate a turn signal. It happens at all speeds, on all types of road, most often when I'm turning. I've had several 'close calls' at night. Obviously, if the lights turn off unexpectedly, not only can I not see my path forward, but others can't see me either. This is serious issue, well known to Kia and should be subject to a recall before someone dies or is seriously injured. It has happened numerous times, most recently on the date shown below.
Vehicle headlight polycarbonate plastic blistering, peeling, cracking and other severely deterioration aspects are happening in a fast, exponential manner. Both headlights have continued to progress deteriorating since April, before the 3 year purchase period of the vehicle. We have owned 4 brand new Kia vehicles, and none before this one have ever displayed this headlight housing deterioration before. We researched this type of deterioration to see if it was a common issue across Kia and other vehicle manufacturers, and we did not find anything displaying anything that our headlights are producing outside of what one would consider normal wear (eventual discoloration). We are concerned for our nighttime driving safety regarding to this apparent manufacturing defect in the quality of the headlight plastic. We are concerned with the nighttime visibility eventually being compromised.
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving with the auto headlight function activated, the headlights became inoperable. The contact stated that the headlights independently activated on several occasions which caused the battery to drain while the vehicle was turned off. Air port Kia (3325 westview dr, naples, fl 34104, (239)732-8910) was contacted however, the dealer was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 34,000.
2 problems: 1. over the last several months the lights will turn off when driving at night in the auto position. It doesn't matter if it's a lighted street or dark road. This is very dangerous. It has happened at least 7 times. 2. now the the exterior lights randomly turn on minutes to hours after the car is off when lights are in the auto position. This happened three times in the last 4 days. The vehicle is now at the dealer but so far they have not found anything. The date is the most recent that the lights turned on.
Headlights are in automatic and while driving at night/evening they will randomly cut out. 5-10 seconds at a time. Always while moving. This has gotten worse over time. After some research this appears to be the same problem Kia issued a recall for on other vehicles 2015-2016 K900 vehicles. There are plenty of online forums stating this issue with other Sorentos in various years.
While driving at night the headlights will turn off and on usually last 10 to 15 seconds, does this at all speeds and and all roads. Will cause you to loose sight of road on non lit roads. This has happened about 10 times in the last few months
Headlights turned off while I was driving on the freeway twice this week. The first time it happened I got them back on by switching them off then back on. The second time they went off for a few seconds and came back on without me doing anything.
Headlights turn off and on intermittently at night. This occurs in the auto headlight mode. This while traveling. No external light sources of consequence to trigger shut off. Sometimes 30 sec others a minute or more. Scary on winding country roads.
When the headlights are in the auto setting, they will randomly turn off while driving. I most often notice this at night, but I can see it happens at times during the day if the lights are on because I notice the dashboard indicators change. This sometimes occurs after using the turn signal, but that's not always the precursor. It happens when going 65 mph on a highway, going 45 mph on exit ramps, on 25 mph on local streets. I reported the issue to Kia customer service, and they said I had to take to a dealer. I took it to a dealer in October 2018. The technician drove it 50 miles round trip to and from his home, but could not reproduce the issue. The issue continued intermittently and I took it to a different dealer in September 2019. They diagnosed the problem as a bad electronic control unit and ordered the part. I returned to the dealer on October 12, 2019, to have the part installed. While driving later that night, the headlights turned off while I was going 65 mph on interstate 270. I tried to quickly jiggle the lever, and then the lights turned back on. Many others have reported this same issue. It's obviously dangerous, and Kia should figure out the problem and issue a recall.
Discrepancies: 1. [high danger to safety that could result in vehicle damage, personal injury, or loss of life] headlights shut off randomly while vehicle is driving or stationary and can not be recovered via manually switching through "auto: On: off"; lights may recover randomly while left in "auto" position; high beams still work while this happens (this has happened on multiple occasions) 2. exterior lighting has turned on randomly in the middle of the night on 2 occasions, killing the battery by morning.
While driving, the vehicle's headlights turn off without warning. This has happened on highways and on surface streets. In all cases the light control switch was on "auto." At least twice, the lights went off after using the turn signal to indicate a lane change. At least once, the dashboard display came up after several seconds, as if the driver was manually changing the lights from auto to on or off, but the driver was not touching the controls. In all cases the headlights came back on after several seconds. Light indicators have come on during daylight hours as well, making it appear the issue happens during day and night. When returning to the vehicle after it was driven, then parked for an hour or more, we have also found the headlights and taillights all on. The lights would not go off without manually turning them off and then back to auto. The lights have also all come on in that same manner, when the car was parked and someone leaned up against it.
My high beams don't want to turn on and when they do the only way to get them off is to turn my lights all the way off and back on. If you pull the bar towards you to briefly look at something, the high beams will not come on. Also my car is in the shop, it keeps kicking back when I go to stop. They say nothing is wrong with my high beams or my brakes, they say everything is fine.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Strawplains, TN, USA