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Your vehicleHome›Kia›2017 Kia Sorento› exterior lighting problems
Owner complaints · Exterior Lighting

2017 Kia Sorento exterior lighting problems

125 of the 808 complaints owners filed with NHTSA about the 2017 Kia Sorento name the exterior lights (NHTSA’s “Exterior Lighting” heading — as ODI groups the complaints it receives). Filed under the same heading: 18 manufacturer bulletins. Every figure below is a document in a federal file, linked; none is a failure rate, and none is a verdict on any one car.

125 complaints 15% of this model year’s 1 report a crash typically at 36k miles

What owners filed about the exterior lights

Source: NHTSA complaint database
125complaints name the exterior lights

1 of the 125 reports a crash · 0 a fire · 0 injuries. Self-reported, unverified.

Filed per year: 2017: 2 · 2018: 7 · 2019: 11 · 2020: 17 · 2021: 10 · 2022: 28 · 2023: 21 · 2024: 20 · 2025: 7 · 2026: 2

36kmiles, typically

Half of the 38 owners who gave an odometer reading reported the exterior lighting problem between 30,000 and 65,000 miles. A median of reports, not the life of a part.

15%of this model year’s complaints

808 complaints in all about the 2017 Kia Sorento, 2 filed in 2026. The whole picture, every system →

Counts are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many of these were sold; nothing here is a rate. NHTSA groups complaints coarsely, so “Exterior Lighting” means the same area of the vehicle, not one fault.

Across model years: Kia Sorento exterior lighting problems, every year on file →

In owners’ own words

Source: NHTSA complaint database

Filed with NHTSA by the people who own these cars, about the exterior lights. Quoted as written, with anything identifying removed; unverified reports — what was said, not a finding that it was true.

While driving at night with the headlights in the auto mode, the headlights will periodically go off for 4 to 5 seconds before coming back on again. This has happened 10 times over the past 10 months.
Exterior Lighting at 16,257 miles Mar 4, 2019 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11184165
Driving down the road my headlights have cut off on their own 5 times. I have to turn the auto of and put it on manual for them to work
Exterior Lighting at 30,000 miles Jan 28, 2019 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11172681
While driving my headlights will randomly just shut-off sometimes they will come right back on and other times it takes a few minutes for them to come back on. This happens several times a week
Exterior Lighting Dec 20, 2018 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11162826
I always use auto headlights mode to operate my car. The headlights could go dark from 2 to 6 seconds and then they will go back on automatically. It has happened about 7-10 times in the past two months while I was driving the vehicle. I do not know if this problem exist during daytime because it is bright out there.
Exterior Lighting at 23,000 miles Dec 11, 2018 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11160729
The headlights are dangerous! There is a dark shadow line directly in the sight line of the driver through the entire windshield that I find myself ducking down to try and see out the window but that does not help. I cannot drive the vehicle at night it is very distracting and dangerous.
Exterior Lighting Nov 28, 2018 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11154503

What is on file about the exterior lights

Source: NHTSA recalls, investigations and manufacturer communications

18 manufacturer bulletins filed under this heading

The 8 newest are listed (the model year’s page has its newest of every kind). Quote the document number at a service desk — it is a diagnosis the maker has already written down.

Other systems with a record on the 2017 Kia Sorento

Source: the same files
From here
Every 2027 model on file, by price Compare two vehicles, trim vs trim See what a VIN was priced at See what owners reported

Common questions

Source: NHTSA complaint database, recalls and manufacturer communications

Are exterior lighting problems common on the 2017 Kia Sorento?

They are documented: NHTSA holds 125 owner complaints naming the exterior lights on this model year (15% of everything owners filed about it), and 18 manufacturer bulletins are filed under the same heading. Whether it is a problem on one particular car is a diagnosis, not a count, and a count says nothing about how many were sold.

Is there a recall for the exterior lights on the 2017 Kia Sorento?

No recall campaign is filed under this heading for this model year (there are 4 filed under other headings). A bulletin is not a recall: it carries no federal duty to repair for free.

When do exterior lighting problems show up on the 2017 Kia Sorento?

Owners who gave an odometer reading reported it at a median of 36,200 miles; half of them between 30,000 and 65,000. That is when reports cluster, not the life of a part.

What does NHTSA's "Exterior Lighting" heading cover?

The area of the vehicle ODI files the complaint under. Owners choose the heading when they file, so it says which area of the vehicle the complaint is about, not which part failed.