2016 Kia Sedona Lighting Problems

Rain water continually collects in both brakelight/taillight assemblies at the rear of the van. This causes the bulbs for the turn signal and brake light to burn out. This has been an issue since we purchased the vehicle in 2016. Initially, we could change the bulb(s) and they would last a while but now the passenger side bulb(s) can be replaced and burn out immediately! We have burned through dozens of bulbs since owning the van. On 6/17/25 I took the van to Valvoline in Circleville, Ohio for an oil change and replacement of the rear passenger turn signal bulb. On inspection he informed me that both brake lights were out as well as the right turn signal. He was able to replace the left brake light after dumping water out of the casing but the right side was so full of water he wouldn't even touch the bulbs because he said it would do no good. He recommended I get new casings/housing assemblies for both sides. In reading about this issue, it appears to be a problem not only for me but for many others. It was noted that several owners had holes drilled in the housing as "drain" holes and that the issue was corrected and/or improved in the later models. I believe this to be a huge safety issue due to the fact that it involves braking and turning and the increased risk of getting hit from behind.

The taillights leak, fill with water, and the bulbs short out. When this happens, the rear lights (taillights, brake lights reverse lights, turn signals) stop functioning. This occurs on a taillight for a vehicle that has never had an accident. I went to the dealer and asked them to fix this, suggesting it should be covered for free because it is a safety hazard. I mentioned that I have noticed other Kia Sedona's with the same problem of several inches of water in the taillight assembly. The service manager said, "Yeah, that happens all the time. But it isn't covered." The price to repair was several hundred dollars. I've since had to repair it three times. Here is a link to a YouTube video showing how to remove the water. The point of the video is to illustrate that this is a common problem. [XXX] Link [XXX] complaining about water in the rear light: [XXX] [XXX] This is for a Kia Forte, but showing the problem occurs across multiple Kia models. [XXX] This is for a Kia K5 [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sedona. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact became aware that the turn signal was not operating as designed. The contact stated that the turn signal was activating on the opposite side of the turn signal desired. There were no warning lights illuminated. The dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

Headlight don't turn on even with new bulbs. Break light fill with water and stop working.

The rear brake / turn signal light housing tends to fill with water. When this occurs the turn signal lights short out. This presents a risk when making turns or switching lanes if the driver is unaware the rear signal is out. There are numerous online articles and videos illustrating the issue. KIA is also aware of the issue, but do not cover it under their warranty or offer repair.

The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sedona. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed at night going downhill, the headlights to the vehicle shut off inadvertently and the contact to almost struck a pedestrian. The contact stated that the vehicle struck a curb, and he became disoriented. The air bags had not deployed. A Police report was filed by the Sacramento Police Department. The contact later sought medical attention with their primary care physician. The contact also stated that the rear driver’s side sliding door failed to lock or unlock. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who was not able to diagnose the vehicle. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 68,000.

The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sedona. The contact stated that while a State Inspection was being performed on the vehicle, it was discovered that water and condensation were present inside the driver's and passenger’s side rear brake light housing. The contact stated that the vehicle failed the safety inspection due to the failure. The water and condensation were removed from the housing and the light bulbs were replaced but the failure reoccurred during the next rainstorm. The local dealer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 97,000.

Headlights will randomly turn off and flicker on and off. Has happened multiple times and on dark roads

The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sedona. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the front driver’s side low-beam headlight failed to operate. The contact stated that the front driver's side low-beam headlight intermittently illuminated and then failed to operate as designed. The contact stated that he was unsure what repair was performed; however, the vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The contact then stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the front driver’s and passenger side low-beam headlights failed to operate. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the headlight assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000

The tail lights continue to stay on even when the car is parked and no one is pressing the brakes. The driver needs to press multiple times the brake pedal to turn them off. I constantly have to buy light bulbs for the rear-end brake lights because of this issue. The Kia Dealership Service Center check the issue and couldn't find anything other than the light bulb was out. This safety issue confuses drivers behind because it doesn't know if the person driving is braking or what.

we received notice for safety recall that the tail lights and turn signal lights could fail and they needed to change something to do with computer.we took it in and left with lights working and 3days later they stopped working again.Kia is refusing to fix it on the recall but it is the same issue.

The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sedona. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the headlights would turn off without warning. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and the headlights regained functionality however, shortly thereafter the vehicle lost headlight functionality again. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a local dealer to be inspected. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 136,758.

There are two issues I believe both are connected. Number 1. Sometimes when I put on the left blinker either nothing happens at all or the wrong blinker (right side) will go on instead of the left. Number 2. Sometimes when I put on my left blinker the headlights will turn off. It can be really scary when this happens on a dark highway at night.

The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sedona. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 55 mph and while making a left turn, the vehicle made slight contact with a second vehicle. While viewing the second vehicle's video dashcam it was discovered that the driver's side rear signal light did not illuminate. Upon inspection, the contact discovered that water had leaked into the rear light housing and the bulb was submerged in water causing the bulb to become inoperable. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The local dealer was not contacted. During the crash, no injuries were reported and a police report was taken at the scene. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 104,000.

The taillight housings accumulate standing water due to cracking of the plastic on the back of the tail light housing. This water leads to corrosion of the brake light bulb socket, which then leads to an inoperative brake light.

WHEN SIGNALING LEFT SOMETIMES THE RIGHT BLINKER COMES ON IF AT ALL. TO MAKE IT SIGNAL LEFT YOU HAVE TO PUSH THE LEVER HARD DOWN TO GO LEFT. THERE ARE TIMES WHEN THE SIGNAL WILL GO FAST THEN NORMAL. THIS ALL HAPPENS WHEN COMING TO A TURN OR STATIONARY. IN ALL WEATHER. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING SINCE OCTOBER 2020.

AT TIMES WHEN DRIVING WITH HEADLIGHTS ON THE DRIVERSIDE TAILLIGHT WILL GO OUT AND WILL CAUSE THE MIDDLE AND PASSENGER BRAKE LIGHT TO STAY ON. IF I TURN THE HEADLIGHTS OFF THE MIDDLE AND PASSENGER TAILLIGHTS WORK ONLY WHEN PRESSING THE BRAKE PEDDLE.I HAVE REMOVED THE TAIL LIGHT AND CHECKED IT FOR BEING BURNED OUT, CORROSION OR BEING LOOSE AND IT IS FINE. I PUT THE BULB BACK IN AND THE DRIVERS SIDE TAILLIGHT WORKS FINE AND THE BRAKE LIGHTS WORK AS NORMAL. THIS HAPPENED A SECOND TIME AND I CHECKED THE BULB. AGAIN NOTHING WAS WRONG WITH IT. I CHANGED THE BULB WITH A NEW ONE. THIS IS ACTUALLY THE SECOND NEW BULB IN THAT SOCKET. THIS HAPPENS WHILE DRIVING OR STANDING STILL WHILE HEADLIGHTS AND TAIL LIGHTS ARE ON. THIS STARTED HAPPENING IN DECEMBER 2020. IT IS WORRISOME AS YOU ARE DRIVING WITH NO BRAKE LIGHTS WORKING IF YOU HAVE YOUR HEADLIGHTS ON WHEN IT RAINS DURING THE DAY OR WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT AND THE ONLY WAY YOU WILL KNOW IT'S HAPPENING IS IF YOU HAPPEN TO GET OUT OF YOUR CAR WHILE THE HEADLIGHTS ARE TURNED ON.

DRIVER SIDE SLIDING DOOR DOES NOT CLOSE COMPLETELY. MUST PUSH ON BACK SIDE FOR IT TO CLOSE. BLINKERS DON'T WORK PROPERLY. PUT ON LEFT BLINKER AND RIGHT BLINKER TURNS ON. OCCASIONALLY IT WILL WORK CORRECTLY. I HAD THE DOOR RECALL FIXED AND THE SERVICE PERSON THOUGHT IT WOULD FIX ALL THE PROBLEMS BUT IT DID NOT. THEN A FEW MONTHS LATER THE BRAKE LIGHTS STOPPED WORKING. ONLY THE TOP BRAKE LIGHT WORKS ON THE WINDOW.

WHEN USING TURN SIGNAL SOME TIMES IT DOESN'T TURN ON AND YOU HAVE TO PUSH THE STALK DOWN AGAIN TO TURN IT ON. OR SOMETIMES IT FLASHES FAST THAN TURNS BACK TO NORMAL. THIS HAPPENS AT COMING TO INTERSECTION MOVING OR STANDING STILL. ALSO NOTICED WATER IS ENTERING BOTH HOUSING FOR REAR LIGHTS. BUT THAT SHOULDN'T INTERFERE WITH ACTIVATING THE BLINKERS. MAYBE JUST THE REAR NOT THE WHOLE SYSTEM.

The problem is the multi function switch. In the AUTO mode, the head lights go off randomly. This is a super dangerous at night. Also, when the left turn signal is activated, sometimes the flasher doesn't work and you have to jiggle it or turn it off and on again and sometimes the right flasher goes on. The dealer service could not confirm the problem and did nothing. These problems happen at random times and have been ongoing for about 18 months.