2012 KIA Sorento Exterior Lighting Problems
Owners have filed 60 complaints with NHTSA about exterior lighting problems on the 2012 KIA Sorento, 7% of all complaints for this model year. Half of the reports with a mileage happened before 95,500 miles. The words owners use most often: “low beam” (30% of reports).
- 60exterior lighting complaints
- 95,500median miles at failure
- 1mention a crash
- 0mention an injury
- 0related recalls
- 44%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Low beam: mentioned in 18 of 60 complaints (30%)
- Side headlight: mentioned in 9 of 60 complaints (15%)
- Wiring harness: mentioned in 8 of 60 complaints (13%)
At what mileage do exterior lighting problems happen?
Based on 32 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 60 complaints, 1 mention a crash, 5 a fire.
KIA Sorento exterior lighting complaints by model year
| Model year | Exterior Lighting complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 Sorento | 2 | 3% | 530 |
| 2024 Sorento | 2 | 5% | — |
| 2023 Sorento | 2 | 2% | — |
| 2022 Sorento | 2 | 1% | — |
| 2021 Sorento | 3 | 1% | 55,839 |
| 2020 Sorento | 5 | 4% | — |
| 2019 Sorento | 22 | 5% | 8,500 |
| 2018 Sorento | 41 | 16% | 43,450 |
| 2017 Sorento | 125 | 16% | 37,100 |
| 2016 Sorento | 67 | 5% | 43,594 |
| 2015 Sorento | 91 | 12% | 76,000 |
| 2014 Sorento | 86 | 9% | 74,459 |
| 2013 Sorento | 70 | 7% | 94,187 |
| 2012 Sorento | 60 | 7% | 95,500 |
| 2011 Sorento | 102 | 7% | 98,000 |
| 2009 Sorento | 1 | 2% | — |
| 2008 Sorento | 13 | 6% | 72,000 |
| 2007 Sorento | 12 | 8% | 98,432 |
| 2006 Sorento | 56 | 23% | 50,000 |
| 2005 Sorento | 53 | 17% | 45,400 |
| 2004 Sorento | 14 | 6% | 55,500 |
| 2003 Sorento | 16 | 5% | 36,000 |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (0)
No safety recall lists exterior lighting for the 2012 KIA Sorento. A pattern of complaints does not always lead to a recall.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
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…
I experienced a Malfunction of indicators lamp, ABS warning lights, burning/ melting smell and smoke from the engine compartment.
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.
Frequently asked questions
Do all 2012 KIA Sorentos have exterior lighting problems?
No. NHTSA has 60 owner complaints about exterior lighting for the 2012 KIA Sorento (7% of the 880 complaints for this model year). Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the 2012 KIA Sorento exterior lighting?
No recall currently lists exterior lighting for this vehicle.
At what mileage do exterior lighting problems start?
The median reported mileage is 95,500 miles: half of the reports with a mileage came before that.
What do owners say about exterior lighting problems on the 2012 KIA Sorento?
The most frequent phrase is “low beam”, in 18 of 60 complaints, followed by “side headlight” (9).
Other 2012 KIA Sorento problems
See all 2012 KIA Sorento problems or exterior lighting problems across all Sorento years.