2012 Kia Sorento Exterior Lighting

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

MY DRIVER'S SIDE HEADLIGHT KEEPS GOING OUT. AT FIRST I THOUGHT IT WAS THE BULB AND I CHANGED THE BULB BUT IT WAS STILL OUT. I WENT TO MY MECHANIC AND THEY FIXED IT. WHILE I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY GOING ABOUT 55MPH THE LIGHT WENT OUT. I TOOK IT BACK AND THEY FIXED IT AGAIN. THE LIGHT STAYED ON FOR A DAY, THEN WENT OUT WHILE I WAS AGAIN DRIVING ABOUT 55MPH ON THE HIGHWAY. THE NEXT MORNING WHEN I TURNED THEM ON AGAIN IT CAME BACK ON SO I THOUGHT IT WAS FIXED, THEN WHILE I WAS ON THAT SAME HIGHWAY IT WENT OUT AGAIN AND IT HASN'T COME BACK ON.

THE REAR BREAK LIGHTS AND RUNNING LIGHTS FAIL CONSISTENTLY. THEY HAVE HAD TO BE REPLACED MULTIPLE TIMES IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS. ON OCCASION, THE PASSENGER SIDE LIGHT POWERS BACK ON AFTER THE REAR HOUSING HAS BEEN MOVED. IN INCIDENTS WHEN THE LIGHT HAS FAILED, THERE IS A BURN MARK ON THE OUTER CONTACT PORTION OF THE BULB. THIS AFFECTS ALL LEVELS OF DRIVING AS YOU CAN FIND YOURSELF NEARLY INVISIBLE AND GIVE ZERO INDICATION OF STOPPING TO VEHICLES AROUND YOU.

2012 KIA SORENTO, HAD ISSUE WITH THE PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT BLOWING. ASKED DEALERSHIP TO FIX IT. THEY SAID PRONGS NEEDED TO BE SPREAD. THE LIGHT BLEW AGAIN. TOOK IT BACK IN AND THEN THEY REPLACED THE HARNESS. THEY FORGOT TO MENTION THERE WAS AN ISSUE AND MADE IT SOUND LIKE THEY DID ME A FAVOR FIXING IT FOR FREE. FAST FORWARD A YEAR AND I START HAVING THE SAME ISSUE WITH THE BRAKE LIGHTS. THEY TELL ME THAT THEY WILL DIAGNOSE FOR $150 AND IF IT IS THE WIRING HARNESS IT WILL COST ME AN ADDITIONAL $300. IT WAS THE WIRING HARNESSES THEY DIDN'T CHARGE ME FOR THE DIAGNOSE BUT IT STILL COST $250. I TOLD THEM THAT IT WAS THE SAME ISSUE AS THE HEADLIGHT. THEY DIDN'T CARE BECAUSE I DIDN'T BRING IT IN EVERY TIME THE BULBS BLEW TO PAY $20 TO REPLACE THE BULBS. GOT IT REPAIRED 5/2019 NOW THE BRAKE LIGHT IS OUT AGAIN.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 KIA SORENTO. THE CONTACT STATED THAT BOTH HEADLIGHTS FAILED TO REMAIN IN THEIR HEADLIGHT SOCKETS. THE HEADLIGHTS WERE LOOSE AND HANGING OFF THE FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT'S WIFE TOOK THE VEHICLE TO BE SERVICED AT AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE ENTIRE FRONT HEADLIGHT COMPONENT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED TO REPAIR THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER AND DEALER WERE NOT NOTIFIED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 KIA SORENTO. WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED, THE HEADLIGHTS WENT OUT INTERMITTENTLY WITHOUT WARNING. THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER WERE NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 121,000. *TT THE CONSUMER STATED THE HEADLIGHT WAS REPLACED. *TR

I HAVE BEEN HAVING THIS PROBLEM FOR A LONG TIME, THE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS SOCKET KEEP BURNING OUT, I TOOK MY VEHICLE TO MANY TECHNICIAN AND THEY CHANGE THE SOCKET AND AFTER A MONTH OR 2 IT BURNS THE SOCKET AGAIN, THE TECH SAID IT SEEMS LIKE A FACTORY PROBLEM.

DRIVER SIDE HEADLIGHT CONTINUALLY BURNS OUT. WE HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT THE WIRING IN THE HEAD LAMP IS BURNT OUT AND THE ENTIRE HEAD LAMP NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. THIS SEEMS TO BE A CONTINUAL PROBLEM WITH THIS CAR.

HEADLIGHTS SO DETERIORATED THAT AT NIGHT MUST RUN HIGH BEAM JUST TO SEE ROAD.

HEADLAMP OUT AND UPON INSPECTION THE PASSENGER SIDE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHT SOCKET MELTED. SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN A FAILURE OF THE SOCKET AS THE WIRING CHECKED OUT FINE. HAD TO REPLACE WITH NEW SOCKET. THIS COULD HAVE RESULTED IN A VEHICLE FIRE.

THE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS KEEP FAILING ON MY CAR. NUMEROUS BULBS, LENS, ETC... AND THEY BLOW WITHIN 2 DAYS. SO, WE DRIVE AROUND WITH ONE BULB. MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE THAT IS WIDESPREAD ON THESE MODELS, BUT THEY WILL NOT ADMIT. WE DO NOT HAVE $600 TO $1000 TO COMPLETELY REPLACE THE ENTIRE WIRING AND ASSEMBLY. FOR WHAT I PAID, I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO FOR AN ENGINEERING/DESIGN FLAW. THE LACK OF CONCERN KIA HAS SHOWN THIS WIDESPREAD ISSUE SHOWS A DISREGARD FOR CONSUMER SAFETY. THIS WILL BE MY LAST KIA UNLESS SOMETHING IS DONE.

A LITTLE AFTER 100,000 MILES, THE LOW BEAM LIGHTS CONTINUOUSLY WENT OUT. THERE WAS NO RHYME OR REASON. I SIMPLY BOUGHT MORE LIGHTS AND REPLACED THEM UNTIL ONE DAY I FOUND THE DRIVER SIDE CONNECTOR HAD MELTED. I WAS ABLE TO BUY A NEW HARNESS AND HAVE IT WIRED IN. THEN, ABOUT A YEAR LATER, THE PASSENGER SIDE CONNECTOR LOOKS LIKE IT IS STARTING TO COME APART, WITH THE LOW BEAM LIGHT FAILING ABOUT 50% OF THE TIME NOW - SO I ASSUME THAT THIS ONE IS ALSO ON THE WAY TO MELTING AS IT IS FOLLOWING THE SAME MANNERS AS THE DRIVER SIDE HAD PRIOR TO MELTING.

HEADLIGHTS AND BRAKE LIGHTS HAVE BEEN REPLACED MULTIPLE TIMES. THE LIGHTS WILL WORK ONE MINUTE AND THEN THE NEXT THEY WON'T. OFTEN TIMES, WE'VE HAD TO PULL OVER, LIFT THE HOOD, MESS WITH THE WIRING AND THEN IT WILL WORK FOR EITHER 3 MINUTES OR 30 MINUTES. EACH TIME WE TAKE IT TO THE DEALERSHIP, THEY WANT TO RUN A DIAGNOSTIC TEST WITH A FEE AND THEN CHARGE A FEE TO REPAIR.