Problems · by component
2015 Kia Sorento exterior lighting problems
91 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2015 Kia Sorento cite exterior lighting, 12% of all 755 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
91
12% of all complaints
Crashes
1
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
What owners say about the exterior lighting
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“The headlights are so dim that I could not see at night. I am forced to drive with the fog lights on for any amount of visibility. I recently replaced the headlights with factory replacements and now the connectors going into the back have failed and power only makes it to the lights when Mercury is in retrograde. This is unacceptable and a severe safety hazard.”
“I’m tired of replacing my headlight bulbs every month!!! Both high and low beam go out all the time! It’s expensive. Also it is a safety concern. The low beams are dim to begin with and having one go out I have to drive with high beams on due to inability to see. I even upgraded bulbs in hopes of brightening but they also go out all the time.”
“Formal Complaint on Seized Headlight Sockets and Kia’s Obstruction of Essential Safety Maintenance 1. Incident & Discovery of Defect: I am the owner of a 2015 Kia Sorento. Recently, one of my headlights failed. Upon attempting a routine bulb replacement, I discovered a critical hardware defect: the bulb socket is physically seized. It cannot be rotated or removed by any standard manual force. This is not a simple wear-and-tear issue; it is a mechanical seizure of a component that must remain accessible for safety maintenance. 2. Kia’s Refusal of Technical Guidance: To resolve this without damaging the entire assembly, I contacted Kia America (Case #[XXX]) specifically requesting technical instructions or any written explanations to safely disengage the seized unit. Despite multiple attempts via phone and email, Kia explicitly refused to provide any technical guidance, flatly stating they are "not technically trained" or authorized to share such information. 3. Obstruction of "Right to Repair" & Safety Risk: I firmly believe that a vehicle owner has a fundamental "Right to Repair," especially for essential safety components like headlights. By withholding basic…”
“Yes there was a recall in a module control panel which still is messed up. It’s been replaced a couple x. Also the dim lights since I bought the car have a very low light were you can hardly see at night. And this SUV drinks gas on long/short trips. I’ve taken it in several times but they keep saying nothing’s wrong and I know there is I have driven my boyfriend vehicle which is a V6 and went the same exact distance and didn’t have to get any fuel until I was about half way back. Something has to give. I love my Kia as I have owned 2. But something is really wrong. Please help. Thanks”
“The low beam headlights do not illuminate the highway sufficiently to drive safely. I lowered the aim of my high beam to be able to drive at night and not blind approaching drivers. This is unacceptable for a modern vehicle to be permitted to be sold in this condition.”
“My problem is with the headlights, in that the condenser lens for the low beam lights has clouded so badly that driving at night has become so dangerous. I have changed the bulbs twice in an effort to correct the problem to no avail. And with the sealed unit not able to be disassembled to clean the lens, my only option is to replace the units at approximately $800 each. This condition in my opinion should not have occurred.”
Showing 6 of 91 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 3, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.