2005 Kia Sorento Lighting Problems

NOTICED THAT I HAD A BRAKE LIGHT OUT ON THE PASSENGER SIDE,REPLACED IT WITH PROPER BULB 1157.A DOUBLE FILAMENT BULB. IT APPEARS THAT IS ALSO THE TAIL LIGHT? CHECKED LIGHT AND IT WORKED BUT LATER REALIZED THAT WHEN I PRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL THE BRAKE LIGHT WAS OUT.THE NEXT DAY NOTICED THE DRIVER TAIL LIGHT WAS OUT AND REPLACED IT BUT LATER REALIZED THE BRAKE LIGHT DIDNT WORK,AS WELL AS MY CRUISE CONTROL STOPPED WORKING AT THE SAME TIME.WENT TO AN AUTO CARE STORE THEY REPLACED BOTH OF THE LIGHTSAND AGAIN TAIL LIGHTS WORKED BUT WHEN I PRESSED BRAKE PEDAL NO LIGHTS. CHECKED AND REPLACED THE FUSE JUST TO BE SURE AND AT THIS POINT I GOT ON THE INTERNET AND SEEN 285 COMPLAINTS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM AND THE MAJORITY OF THEM SAID THERE CRUISE CONTROL HAD STOPPED WORKING AS WELL AS THE SPORTAGE MODEL AND THE KIA SOUL.MOST SUGGESTIONS SAID REPLACE THE BRAKE SWITCH. I ALSO CHECKED FOR FAULTY WIRING AND THAT HAS NOT APPEARED TO BE THE PROBLEM AND MECHANICS 90 % OF THE TIME WERE UNABLE TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE. WHY HAS THERE NOT BEEN A RECALL OR SOME SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM RESEARCHED BY KIA MECHANICS? IM STILL WAITING FOR THE ANSWER AND I SUSPECT MANY OTHER PEOPLE ARE TOO!!!!!!THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND IHOPE YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SOLVE THIS OR ISSUE A RECALL ON THE BRAKE SWITCH? OR THE CRUISE CONTROL SENSOR MAYBE IDK.

I WAS STOPPED BY A FHP OFFICER ON MY WAY HOME ONE FRIDAY EVENING FOR MY LEFT HEADLIGHTS BEING OUT. I DIDN'T KNOW THEY WERE OUT UNTIL HE STOPPED ME. I DIDN'T GET A TICKET, ONLY A WARNING. THE OFFICER SAID IT WAS VERY DANGEROUS TO BE DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE WITH MY LIGHTS OUT. A COUPLE YEARS BACK I WAS STOPPED IN VALDOSTA FOR THE SAME REASON. THIS HAS HAPPENED AT LEAST 50 TIMES OR MORE SINCE I HAVE HAD THIS CAR. MY LIGHTS GO OUT EVERY COUPLE OF MONTHS AND SOMETIMES I DON'T KNOW THERE OUT UNTIL SOMEONE STOPS ME OR I CAN HARDLY SEE TO DRIVE. IT IS VERY DANGEROUS AND I THINK KIA SHOULD RECALL THIS MODEL AND FIX THE PROBLEM. I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO IS HAVING THIS PROBLEM. I HAVE OVER 100+ POSTS FROM THIS SITE OF OTHERS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. ARE THEY GOING TO WAIT UNTIL SOMEONE IS KILLED IN AN ACCIDENT BEFORE KIA WILL DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. I HAVE TALKED TO A LAWYER AND I PLAN TO START A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST KIA IF THEY DON'T DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS SITUATION. THERE ARE PLENTY OF OTHERS WHO ARE READY ALSO. THE KIA DEALERS WANT DO ANYTHING TO HELP WITH THIS, AND THEY KNOW IT IS A PROBLEM THAT IS FROM THE FACTORY. ALL THEY EVER SAY IS IT'S NOT COVERED UNDER THE WARRANTY. I BOUGHT THIS CAR NEW IN 2005. I WENT DOWN TO SOUTH FLORIDA TO VISIT IN 2005 AND ON THE WAY DOWN ALL MY HEADLIGHTS WENT OUT. I COULDN'T SEE TO DRIVE AT ALL SO WE HAD TO STOP FOR THE NIGHT AND WAIT TILL MORNING TO GET IT FIXED. IT COST ME OVER $80.00 TO GET IT FIXED THE FIRST TIME. SINCE THEY GO OUT ON A MONTHLY BASIS, MY HUSBAND HAS BEEN FIXING THEM. IT IS GETTING QUITE EXPENSIVE TO KEEP REPLACING THE BULBS AND IT'S VERY ANNOYING AND DANGEROUS AS WELL!! *TR

HELP!! I AM CONSTANTLY REPLACING HEAD LIGHTS, TAIL LIGHTS, BRAKE LIGHTS, FOG LIGHTS. EVERY SINGLE MONTH IT'S ONE LIGHT OR ANOTHER IN A CONTINUOUS CYCLE. I SEE MANY COMPLAINTS FOR THIS SAME ISSUE. I LOVE MY KIA SORRENTO OTHER THAN THIS PROBLEM. I FEEL THAT THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AS MUCH AS IT IS A NUISANCE NOT TO MENTION AN EXPENSE!!! KIA, DO THE RIGHT THING!! PLEASE. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

I HAVE REPLACED ABOUT 5-7 DRIVER'S FRONT HEADLAMP BULBS AND NEED TO REPLACE IT AGAIN. THIS IS VERY ANNOYING BECAUSE EVERY COUPLE OF MONTHS IT GOES OUT, NOT TO MENTION THE COST OF THE BULBS AND TO HAVE SOMEONE PUT THEM IN. I AM READY TO GET RID OF THIS VEHICLE!!! I HAVE CHECKED WITH KIA AND OF COURSE, THEY SAY THEY HAVE NOT HAD ANY COMPLAINTS OR HAVE HAD ANY PROBLEMS WITH THE HEADLAMPS, LIARS!!! I WISH THEY WOULD FIX THIS PROBLEM. HOPEFULLY SOMEONE CAN HELP ME. *TR

NOTE: PURCHASED VEHICLE USED APPROXIMATELY 1 MONTH AND 500 MILES BEFORE PROBLEMS INITIALLY STARTED. 1) HEADLIGHT BULBS BLOW OUT REPEATEDLY EITHER DURING DRIVING OR AN ONSET OF DRIVING (COME ON MOMENTARILY JUST BEFORE BLOWING). HAVE HAD TO REPLACE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHT BULBS ON 5 OCCASIONS IN THE FIRST YEAR OF OWNERSHIP. RESEARCH ON THE MATTER INDICATES THIS IS A WIDE SPREAD ISSUE AMONG KIA SORENTO OWNERS. OBSERVED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS THAT THE BULBS BLEW OUT AFTER USING THE KEY FOB. STOPPED USING THE KEY FOB AND THE BULB BLOWOUTS STOPPED, BUT ISSUE #2 CONTINUES (SEE NEXT INCIDENT DESCRIPTION). 2) HEADLIGHTS LOW BEAMS STOP WORKING INTERMITTENTLY. HEADLIGHT LOW BEAMS STOP WORKING DURING DRIVING AT NIGHT OR WILL NOT WORK FROM ONSET OF DRIVING. INCIDENT OCCURS AT LEAST MONTHLY DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 600 MILES PER MONTH. LOW BEAMS START WORKING AGAIN ON INTERMITTENT BASIS. OBSERVED THAT IF THE HEADLIGHTS DO NOT WORK AT ONSET OF DRIVING, AFTER SWITCHING THE LOW BEAMS ON AND OFF A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF TIMES (20+) THEY WILL SOMETIMES START WORKING AGAIN (LEARNED THIS AFTER BEING STRANDED AT NIGHT WITHOUT ABILITY TO SAFELY DRIVE). *TR

I HAVE A 2005 KIA SORENTO THAT CONSTANTLY HAS HEADLIGHTS, TAIL LIGHTS, FOG LIGHTS & BRAKE LIGHTS THAT CONSTANTLY GO OUT. I NORMALLY HAVE TO REPLACE ONE OF THESE LIGHTS AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH......I'VE STARTED KEEPING MY RECEIPTS BECAUSE HOPEFULLY KIA WILL STAND BY THEIR VEHICLES AND FINALLY DO A RECALL ON THIS. I LOOK ONLINE AND SEVERAL PEOPLE ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT THE SAME ISSUE, BUT IT LOOKS AS IF KIA ISN'T STANDING BY THEIR VEHICLE. I HAVE NO INTENTION ON PURCHASING A KIA AGAIN. I HAVE CALLED THEIR SERVICE DEPARTMENT QUITE A FEW TIMES TO SEE IF THEIR HAS BEEN A RECALL ISSUED YET, BUT THE SERVICEMEN SEEM TO BLOW THE ISSUE OFF. *TR

LIGHTING (BULBS) VERY SHORT LIFE, BULBS LAST 1/5 TO 1/10TH OF THE LIFE IN OTHER VEHICLES. MOST RECENT BOTH LOW BEAM BULBS FAILED WITHIN 5 MINUTES LEAVING US WITH NO LIGHTING WHILE DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEED ON UNLIT DIVIDED HIGHWAY. WE HAVE BEEN REPLACING BULBS EVERY 2-3 MONTHS. WE ALWAYS REPLACE BOTH HEADLIGHTS WHEN ONE BURNS OUT. MY OTHER VEHICLES LAST MANY YEARS, THIS VEHICLE IS THE ONLY ONE I HAVE EVER HAD THAT HEADLIGHTS ONLY LAST MONTHS. THE VEHICLE IS ONLY DRIVEN 4 DAYS PER WEEK AND THE HEADLIGHT LIFE IS ACTUALLY LESS THAN 50 HOURS USE. WE HAVE TRIED SYLVANIA (STANDARD, SILVERSTAR AND SILVERSTAR ULTRAS, GE, HELLA AND RECENTLY PHILLIPS BULBS ALL WITH THE SAME LIFESPAN (WITHIN DAYS) SOMETHING IS WRONG. THERE IS A TSB BUT NO RECALL. *TR

HEADLIGHTS REPLACED WITH XENON HEADLIGHTS. THEY BLEW, BOTH AT THE SAME TIME, ABOUT 60 DAYS AFTER INSTALLATION. THEN I REPLACED THEM AGAIN WITH THE SAME LIGHTS, AGAIN, ONE BLEW ABOUT 3 MONTHS LATER. REPLACED THEM WITH REGULAR HEADLIGHTS. DRIVERS SIDE BLEW, REPLACED IT, BOTH BLEW AGAIN ABOUT 4 MONTHS LATER. LAST WEEK, DRIVERS SIDE WENT, REPLACED IT, AND THE PASSENGER SIDE BLEW THE VERY NEXT DAY. WITH THE AMOUNT OF COMPLAINTS I HAVE SEEN ONLINE, KIA SHOULD BE DOING SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. I HAVE ALSO HAD TO CHANGE SIDE MARKERS, TAIL LIGHTS (TWICE) AND A DIRECTIONAL (TWICE). I HAVE ONLY OWNED THE VEHICLE SINCE 10/2010. *TR

THE FRONT WINDSHIELD WIPERS START WORKING BY ITSELF WITHOUT PRESSING ANY CONTROL. SPECIALTY AT NIGHT AND THE WASHER PUMP DOES NOT WORK. SOMETIMES WHEN USING TURN SIGNALS OR HEADLIGHTS AND THE ONLY WAY TO STOP IT IS TURNING OFF THE ENGINE. IT IS SCARY BECAUSE YOU DO NOT EXPECT SUCH OCCURRENCES AND MAKES A DISTRACTION WHEN YOU ARE DRIVING IN THE SPEEDWAY, HERE IN SOUTH CAROLINA WITHOUT ANY LIGHTS IN THE ROAD AND THE I 26 IS NOT AN EASY ROAD TO DRIVE SAFETY. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 KIA SORENTO. WHILE THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH THE EXTERIOR LIGHT SYSTEM WAS ACTIVATED AND SUDDENLY BECAME NONFUNCTIONAL WITHOUT WARNING. THE FAILURE WAS DUE TO A BURNED OUT LIGHT BULB. THE FAILURE WAS A FREQUENT OCCURRENCE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER. THE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 110,000.

WE HAVE TO CHANGE THE TWICE HEADLIGHTS AND THE TWICE TAILLIGHT FOUR SETS OF PARKING LIGHTS,ON OUR 2005 KIA SORENTO EX THIS IN A 18 MONTHS. *TR

HEADLAMPS FAIL AND MUST BE REPLACED EVERY 3-6 MONTHS. *TR

I HAVE A 2005 KIA SORENTO, I HAVE CHANGED THE HEADLIGHTS A TOTAL OF THREE TIMES SINCE I HAVE HAD THIS CAR ON EACH ON BOTH SIDES, NOW BOTH ARE OUT AND I CAN ONLY USE MY HIGH BEAMS. I HAVE ALSO HAD TO CHANGE MY REAR LIGHTS ONCE. *TR

I OWN A 2005 AND A 2006 KIA SORENTO EX. IN BOTH VEHICLES I MUST REPLACE LIGHTBULBS CONTINUALLY. ON AVERAGE, I REPLACE HEADLIGHTS APPROXIMATELY ONCE EVERY 60 TO 90 DAYS. BRAKE LIGHT BULB REPLACEMENT IS LESS FREQUENT, BUT DOES OCCUR OFTEN WITHIN THE YEAR. THERE IS OBVIOUSLY A PROBLEM WITH THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM IN THESE VEHICLES BUT KIA WILL NOT ACKNOWLEDGE ANY PROBLEMS. *TR

THIS IS MY SECOND COMPLAINT ON THIS ISSUE. I CURRENTLY HAVE NO WORKING HEADLIGHTS ON MY 2005 KIA SORENTO, AGAIN. THE LIGHT BULBS GO OUT EVERY THREE TO SIX MONTHS. THE RIGHT REAR BRAKE LIGHT JUST WENT OUT AS WELL. I KEEP HAVING TO DRIVE WITH MY HIGH BEAMS ON BECAUSE I KEEP LOSING ONE OR BOTH OF MY HEADLIGHTS. THIS WILL BE THE 5TH TIME I REPLACE THE BULBS IN A YEAR'S TIME. KIA TELLS ME THERE IS NO PROBLEM AND THAT THEY WILL CHARGE ME $48 PER BULB TO CHANGE THEM AND GUARANTEE THEM FOR A 12 MONTH PERIOD. I SEE ALOT OF SIMILAR COMPLAINTS ONLINE FOR THIS SAME ISSUE. *TR

MY 05 KIA SORRENTO'S HEAD LIGHT BULBS KEEP CONSISTENTLY BURNING OUT. I HAVE BOUGHT 8 LIGHTBULBS WITHIN THE LAST 6 MONTHS. THIS WILL BE THE VERY LAST KIA THAT I OWN UNLESS THERE SERVICE GETS BETTER AND MORE RELIABLE AND THEY TAKE ACTION ON THERE DEFECTIVE VEHICLES. *TR

HEADLIGHTS AND TAILLIGHTS HAVE BEEN REPLACED AT LEAST 5 TIMES IN THE 3 YEARS I'VE HAD THE SORENTO. I KEEP MY HEADLIGHTS OFF DURING THE DAY AND IT SEEMED TO DELAY THE BULB GOING OUT AS FAST AS IT DID WHEN I KEPT THEM ON ALL DAY. I KEEP REPLACEMENT BULBS IN MY VEHICLE AT ALL TIMES DUE TO THIS. YOU CAN BUY THEM FOR $5.00 AT YOUR LOCAL AUTO PARTS STORE. KIA NEEDS TO RECALL THIS...WAY TOO MANY COMPLAINTS FOR NOTHING TO BE WRONG. *TR

BASICALLY, I AM CONSTANTLY HAVING TO CHANGE LIGHTS. (I.E. BRAKE LIGHTS, INTERIOR DOME LIGHTS, HEADLIGHTS). *TR

LIGHTING PROBLEM IN MY 2005 KIA SORENTO LX. IN 2006, MY DOME LIGHT STOPPED WORKING IN THE "DOOR" POSITION (I DIDN'T GET IT FIXED). SINCE 2006, I HAVE REPLACED MY KIA'S LEFT HEADLIGHT 3 TIMES AND THE RIGHT HEADLIGHT 2 TIMES. I NOW HAVE MY RIGHT HEADLIGHT OUT AGAIN AND THE REAR LEFT BRAKE LIGHT AS WELL. SINCE THIS HAS HAPPENED TOO MANY TIMES TO BE NORMAL, I CALLED KIA. THE KIA DEALERSHIP SAYS IT REQUIRES "KIA LIGHTBULBS" AT $50/EACH AS WELL AS A $75 DIAGNOSTIC FEE TO CHECK THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. KIA CLAIMS THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH AFTER MANUFACTURE LIGHT BULBS AND THAT ONLY "KIA LIGHTBULBS" WILL WORK. CHECKING THE INTERNET, I FOUND NUMEROUS SIMILAR COMPLAINTS FROM 2005 SORENTO OWNERS. THIS NEEDS TO BE RECALLED. I LUCKED OUT THAT ONLY ONE HEADLIGHT WENT OUT AT A TIME, OTHERWISE, I WOULD HAVE HAD NO HEADLIGHTS. NOT TO MENTION THE COST IN REPLACEMENT LIGHTBULBS. *TR

I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THE BULBS IN THIS VEHICLE EVERY FEW MONTHS. BRAKE LIGHTS, HEAD LIGHTS, FOG LIGHTS, BLINKERS ETC. THIS IS INSANE. I KEEP GETTING TICKETS, AND NOW 2 DAYS AGO THE OFFICER RECOGNIZED ME FROM PULLING ME OVER FOR THE SAME THING 6 MONTHS AGO. *TR