Problems with 2013 Kia Sorento ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

On 02/04/2020 drove vehicle for about 15 minutes and when i parked the vehicle, put the automatic transmission shifter in park, turned off the engine and attempted to remove the key. the key was still in ignition and couldn't get key to release. had to restart the vehicle, took shifter out of park and then put back into park, straightened steering wheel and turn off vehicle and was able to remove ignition key. this has happened over 15 or more times since owning vehicle and i have asked local dealer who performs routine maintenance to check for problem in the past and they cannot find anything wrong.

I was driving on the interstate and at 70 mph i had sudden power failure and the the engine completely died. after about 30 minutes it started up just long enough to go a half a mile and it did the same thing. 10 hrs later it started up again and we were able to have a diagnostic reading done which showed nothing. the battery and alternator were tested and are both working completely fine. later on it ran fine for about an hour and then suddenly did the same thing again.

Lighting has went out multiple times, both headlights and now turn signals. when headlight go out, it often melts the light bulb socket and burns wires. when the turn signal went out, the bulb burning out caused the computer to short out, by design according to the service technician. lights randomly go out without warning, often flickering, especially when hitting bumps.

Vehicle has been well taken care of and is in excellent shape. only 52,000 miles when the abs light, traction control, and downhill assist light came on at the same time. won't go off as many other owners have attested to in forums all over the internet. came on when the vehicle was moving on the highway and then went off. came back on the next day several times and now is stuck on.

Initial issue-vehicle was driving perfectly and we had just gotten back from the store. no indication of issues. we were going to go somewhere and noticed key fob not working. we unlock the door manually and when we went to start it horn started going off and car would not start. we read into issues and we decided to take battery in to get checked and it was full charged. we cleaned battery cables and got car started but this time radio not working and key fob not working. car driving good for about 2 days and coming home last night, while on highway, all lights turned on -on dashboard, vehicle lost power, it sputtered all the way home. windshield wipers weak and it was raining. power windows barely works and could not push on gas! we barely made it back home and parked vehicle but gear shift would only go up to neutral gear. won't let us put into park and car is dead. vehicle is just sitting there now

My headlamps have gone out unexpectedly several times causing a safety issue. when i attempted to replace what i believed to be a blown bulb i find the bulb is fine and the socket or harness does not keep a good connection. the bulb will come on and off with vibration. i had the wiring and/or harness replaced multiple times.

We are having to replace low beam lights every 2 to 3 months which also lead to the passenger side low beam wiring harness to burn up and also led to burning up the brake lights , we replaced the burned wiring harness and replaced low beam lights to led lights with fans built into the lights after 2 weeks replacing led lights they also burned out. kia really needs to look at this issue and step up and fix and replace this safety concern.

My kia sorento turn off twice when driving and is not the alternator we don't know what it is do you know if there any new recalls ?

We have had to replace headlights, blinkers and brake lights way too frequently. the 1st time the wiring harness was melted on the passenger side headlight (electrical issue/possible fire hazard). the lights go out during city and well as interstate driving. sometimes we can adjust the connector and the lights will come back on. this wouldn't be as much of an issue if it were the bulbs needing replacing, but this is faulty wiring. we have to replace brake lights 2-3 times a year. we've had to replace both turning light harnesses. kia needs to take responsibility and have a recall on the headlight, blinker and brake light wiring. we have to replace brake lights 2-3 times a year.

My 2013 kia sorento has been frequently decreasing power while driving. rpms would drop to 0. in some cases the vehicle would continue to remain at the current speed, but with the rpm at 0. in other cases, the vehicle would rapidly decelerate and stall out forcing me to pull over and restart the vehicle. this has occurred approximately 20-30 times over the last few months and has occurred while in traffic, putting myself and my daughter at great risk for an accident. there were 2 times it was very difficult to restart the vehicle. in some of these cases the check engine light has turned on but not in all instances. it is beginning to become a more frequent occurrence and i am afraid it is going to happen at a time there is a vehicle too close to me or i am not going to be able to safely pull over. when i had a mechanic run the engine code he said it came up a crank sensor issue. he informed me my make and model vehicle has received numerous complaints about this decrease in speed issue and that it could also lead to the vehicles catching fire. this is a great concern for me as i have a 5 year old child, am an emt and also a child passenger safety technician. when i contacted a local kia dealer, they pretty much stated there was nothing they could do since there is not a recall at this time. i am very concerned as kias are typically family vehicles and countless lives of children and their parents are being put at risk. hopefully further investigations will be conducted and appropriate recalls issued so that there does not need to be any further deaths or injuries. please keep me posted as to the outcome of this and other related complaints.

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 kia sorento. while driving 5 mph, the vehicle stalled and the check engine, air bag, and battery warning indicators illuminated. the contact powered off the engine and restarted the vehicle while in traffic and was able to drive normally. the failure recurred twice. the vehicle was taken to benson kia of spartanburg (located at 1100 n pine st, spartanburg, sc 29303, (864) 585-3611), but was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 100,000. the vin was not available.

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 kia sorento. after switching into the park position and turning the vehicle off, the key became stuck in the ignition switch. the driver was eventually able to remove the key. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer and dealer were not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 80,000.

The car will stall, unexpectedly, during driving and then the car's computer erases the code, making it impossible to identify the problem.

I purchased my 2013 kia sorento in march 2013...i have always kept up maintenance. i started having issues ( exterior headlights/taillights going out constantly and having to replace, car stalling/stopping in traffic, abs//traction control & downhill assit lights coming on, air conditioner, fuel system). i have read many complaints online under nhtsa, and it appears that i am having many of the same issues as others. my vehicle is nearing 100,000 miles (98,800), and i hope that all these issues i and others have had can be resolved by kia. i have only received two recalls on my vin #- one being the headlamp low beam connector wiring harness dated 4-22-2019. when i took it in to the kia dealership, they found no problems?? the other one was dated august 14, 2019 regarding airbag clock spring assembly extending warranty coverage to 15 years/unlimited mileage. thanks for checking into my problems.

Low beam head lights melt to the wiring, causing to take to the shop for repair. car not starting, their is a short somewhere. i know 2 owners of the same make and model and the same issue/

I bought my 2013 kia serento in november of 2017. i had it for 33 days and the alternator went out. i called kia in joplin and they told me to bring up there. once i arrived, and i set for over half the day, they tell me that my kia is not under warranty and it was going to cost me $1000. after having it replaced the radio shuts off and on by it's self and now the flat tire light stays on all the time. the radio turns on and off while driving and turning. please help me with this. i am told that there is no recalls on my car.

Seat beat light remained on after repair.

Headlights burn out, replaced several times and even burns out same day, some part of headlight, lightbulb attachment also melted and was replaced several times. brought car to different mechanics regarding issue and all reply its an electrical issue with many kia sorentos, but when you call kia they say its not their problem. also, driver heated seat stopped working, mechanics unable to find issue said it was electrical short, then seat went on by itself and was unable to turn it off, seat became severely too hot to drive car. lights blew out while driving, sometimes while car was just turned off, parked in front of my house and even once right away at the mechanics. and most recently, issue with battery. replaced battery after car wouldnt start, still had issues, replaced alternator, still had problems. replaced connectors. its ridiculous. and lights still go out and melt.

I've had issues with my headlights on my 2013 kia sorento. took my truck to the dealership back in june of 2018 and was told it wold be about $650 for a new headlight assembly because it wasn't covered under warranty and it wasnt apart of kia's recall, that was for the driver headlight. now i'm having the same issue with my passenger headlight. the headlight wires are melting causing the low beams to go out. i have to buy new headlights bulbs every two weeks. i am worried this is going to catch fire eventually. the lights will go on and off. sometimes i have only my driver lights and sometimes i have both then it just goes out.last week, october 21- 27, i had driven to work and had only one light. no one could fix it. i had to drive home from my job with my emergency lights on. and i had only one headlight i was ran off the road twice. the light issue, melting wires, is an ongoing issue.

Headlights wires are melting causing the low and high beams to melt as well. i have to buy new wiring harness and headlights every two weeks. i am worried this is going to catch fire eventually. the lights will go on and off. sometimes i have only high beams, or low beams, sometimes one of each, but never all working, then they will just turn off. this past wednesday, october 17, 2018 i had driven to church and had only one light, an hour later i went to get in my car and i had no lights at all. no one could fix it. i had to drive home from my church with my emergency lights flashing. i was ran off the road numerous times and almost rammed in the rear of my vehicle. it was myself and my 10-year-old son in the vehicle. the light issue, melting wires, is an ongoing issue.

My headlamps have gone out unexpectedly several times causing a safety issue. when i attempted to replace what i believed to be a blown bulb i find the bulb is fine and the socket or harness does not keep a good connection. the bulb will come on and off with vibration. i had the wiring and/or harness replaced multiple times.

Wiring/harness for low beam headlight melted and causes the headlight to flicker or completely shut off causing a dangerous visibility condition. this condition has happened on the vehicle previously 2014/2015 and was corrected under a warranties repair and is documented in the vehicle history. this occured on both sides of the vehicle at different times

Spontaneous vehicle fire. traveling on us-27 in florida, stopped at red light and smoke started coming out from under the hood, proceeded through the light once it turned green to get to the side of the roadway when smoke started through the vents and flames came out from under the hood as well. car became disabled and 3 of us jumped out and ran down the road, away from the car. the entire car went up in flames in a matter of seconds from exiting.

My wiring for my headlight melted, the wiring was replaced and its melting again and not working.

All the odometer and all the panel light are out. you cannot track the miles, gas amount, the headlight and signal light are out and speed while the vehicle is running

Driving down the highway and car cought fire. if it wasn't for the car next to us who signaled to pull over we would have been toast.

2013 kia sorento. consumer writes in regards to engine failure. *ld the consumer stated the manufacturer and dealer were both notified but could not offer a solution.*js

I have problems with the headlight passenger side that wire always burn and i had to replace every month

My headlamps have gone out unexpectedly several times causing a safety issue. when i attempted to replace what i believed to be a blown bulb i find the bulb is fine and the socket or harness does not keep a good connection. the bulb will come on and off with vibration. i had the wiring and/or harness replaced multiple times.

I had a power train recall on my vehicle. took to a kia repair shop and they did nothing to fix the problem. the problem still exist and i'm very distraught about it. while driving my vehicle doesn't have any power to accelerate. they said it was a rea safety problem and the computer will not allow the vehicle to accelerate. im ready to take whom ever to court to resolve this problem.

My 2013 sorrento has stalled 2 times in the last 2 weekson the freeway. when bringing it to the dealer there are no ebngine codes. i see that from 2011 to 2013 there has been a pcm update for this issue sc106. and dealer states my vin is not on the list even tho it falls into the year catagory. i will continue to go to the dealer.this is unsafe when you lose brakes and steering while on the freeway.

Kia replaced my engine twice, due to oil consumption. a month after the first engine replacement, i had the same problems.. smoke coming out of exhaust, loss of power, stalling and oil consumption. i was in and out of kia's service department. they told me nothing was wrong! i moved from co to ne, my husband and i had to add oil every 100 miles, with smoke coming out of exhaust and stalling. lincoln ne kia found an oil leak at the exhaust manifold right away! kia instructs then to replace my engine again! once they replaced engine, they still saw the leak at the exhaust manifold with resulted in more guessing and parts. the day after i picked it up, my husband and i went out to dinner and my sorento died in the middle of the road. right away called and got it back in. at first they could not duplicate, however after taking it 50 miles, it died 3 times. they still can't find anything, but feel it may be the throttle body. they put a used one on and have me drive it a few weeks, it didn't die during that time, so they ordered a new one and installed. a month later i drive to co, i break down, it's towed back and kia can't find anything. i drive it and it dies 1/2 dozen more times, each time i take it right in, but the code has cleared and they can't find anything! finally, it does and the light stays on, it shows it's the map sensor. kia has a specialist come out to install that and inspect my car. they say it's fixed and safe. i drive to co on 9/22/17, 2 months later and my engine catches on fire. i loss my brakes, can't put it in park and emergency brake won't work. flames are everywhere, smoke filling my car. i jump out of my burning, moving car and seconds later the whole thing engulfs in flames! most horrific, awful thing ever! i was lucky enough to have minor injuries. my mental and emotional state are a mess! kia won't do anything!

I started my car and turned my headlights on since it was night time. my headlights would not work. all the electrical components flickered on and off. the next day, we replaced the passenger side low beam light, believing it needed to be replaced. once the replacement bulb was placed, the connector and wires began to smoke. all the electrical components would not work. we removed the bulb from the connector and all lights worked. i have not been able to replace the passenger side low beam headlight due to the connector melting. this is a fire hazard. i have seen many people complain about this problem, but cannot understand why there is not a recall.

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 kia sorento. while driving approximately 10 mph, the vehicle lost power suddenly without warning. the contact attempted to apply the brakes, but they failed to respond. the contact attempted to steer the vehicle to the shoulder, but the steering failed. the vehicle came to a stop and was able to be restarted after the second attempt. the contact took the vehicle to the dealer (kia west county), but the cause of the failure could not be determined. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 88,000.

Passenger side headlight went out, when i went to replace it the plastic plug was melted! bought a new plug and wired it in.

The electrical wire to the lights burned as well as the connector the battery will not stay charged nothing is on at the time the airbag light stays on continuously the car is unsafe and needs to be changed. the doors randomly lock battery will not hold a charge and there's a short somewhere in the electrical system is it a hazard to drive

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 kia sorento. the contact stated that the abs warning indicator and two other warning indicators randomly flashed. in addition, there was an abnormally loud knocking noise that occurred randomly. the dealer replaced the two rear wheel hub assemblies, but was unable to replicate and diagnose the engine assembly failure. the dealer kept the vehicle for a day and test drove the vehicle, but provided no solution. the dealer stated that the manufacturer was aware and there were several tsb alerts. the manufacturer had not provided a repair solution. the approximate failure mileage was 40,178.

Vehicle will not start after sitting overnight. replaced battery & after aprox 1 month issue has occurred again. no one has been able to diagnose the issue, the only answer i get is to replace the battery (which i did). the most recent occurrence was jan 2016 & i have kept battery on a slow drip charger as i cannot wait on jump/tow daily.

I bought a 2013 kia sorento last night saturday 12/19/2015 and the paperwork did not get complete until after 10:30pm. the salesman stated that all components had been checked and that all was good. i live a hour away from the dealership and when i was on 290 heading east at about 70 mph, when i noticed that my dash and radio panel lights start flickering, my motor felt like it idled down a little but then it was ok, but then it happened again and all the lights in the radio area, steering wheel and speedometer area turned off and it lost a little power but then they all came back on and i made it home, then on 12/20/15 i was driving into town and after about 10 miles at 75 mph my inside lights started flashing again, and then went totally dark. i didn't lose any power this time but i'm starting to feel pretty ripped off. i also noticed today that while driving on hwy that when you come up to a curve to the right, the vehicle jerks to far and i ended up in the other lane. thank god that no car was there. *dt

Tl* the contact owned a 2013 kia sorento. the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle caught on fire. the contact merged the vehicle to the shoulder of the road and the vehicles occupants were evacuated. a fire report was filed and there were no injuries reported. the fire was extinguished by the fire department. the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was deemed totaled. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 52,307.

Radio cuts on and off at will. mostly off. headlights go out often. both of these things happen while moving and while sitting still. it has happened while driving and sitting in the driveway.

I took t\he vehicle to a non dealer location to be inspected after having multiple issues with the headlamp assembly being faulty. upon inspection i was notified by the mechanic on duty that the wiring assembly was actually melting , a manufacturers defect. because this being a fire hazard he was unable to replace the bulbs for me and said he felt the vehicle was unsafe to drive because it would place myself, my family and others on the highway at risk. he proceeded to show me the problem. this problem has resulted in my having to replace the bulbs five times in the past on the drivers side and at least twice on the passenger side. the dealer had to replace the wiring assembly on the passenger side due to the same problem. have also provided a picture of the repair note of the problem on the opposite side of the vehicle. also providing a clip showing that according to their inspection my lights were in working order when in actuality they were not. lastly noting several electrical issues remain in addition to having to replace the battery as it is being continually drawn from due to these issues.

My 2013 kia sorrento's parking lights were on this afternoon on saturday august 22, 2015 at approximately 2:30 pm est. i went outside to place something in my vehicle when i noticed the parking lights were on. i had parked my vehicle at 1:00 am when i returned from running an errand. i parked, made sure all the lights were turned off, armed the security system and went inside. before my wife and i went to bed i went out to make sure that i turned all lights off which they were. this was at 2:00 am. the vehicle had not been touched since that time. this is not the first time that this has happened. i have had it in to the dealership twice already where they claim they cannot replicate the problem. we have had to have our vehicle jumped at least 12 times due to a dead battery caused by this problem. the vehicle falls well within it's warranty so it will be covered however the issue is serious enough that it warrants attention which i believe will be ignored if not brought to light and may result in injuries or cost to others when no cost should be incurred. i believe that this is an electrical issue that needs to be addressed immediately. i feel this could lead to problems with steering, braking system, engine malfunction as well as possible risks of fire due to a faulty electrical system.

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 kia sorento. approximately two weeks after the contact purchased the vehicle, she began smelling tar. the vehicle ws taken to the dealer, but the technician was unable to diagnose the failure. the failure recurred and the headlights burned out. the dealer replaced the headlights and stated that there was a recall; however, the contact did not receive any recall notice. approximately three weeks ago, the failure recurred and the driver seat began to burn, jamming the driver side door. the contact called 911 and the fire department extinguished the fire. there were no injuries and a police report was not filed. the vehicle was towed away by the insurance company. the vin and nhtsa campaign number were unavailable. the failure mileage was 37,000.

Tl* the contact owned a 2013 kia sorento. while driving at 35 mph, the instrument panel lighting illuminated and the vehicle stalled. while depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle accelerated, crashed into a concrete wall, and flipped over. as a result, the contact sustained lacerations and contusions that required medical attention. a police report was filed. the vehicle was destroyed. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 30,000.

We were driving down the road one day and a large metal piece hit the bottom of the car in which knock the plastic shell covering the fuel line's off i called kia they said so told kia this could cause a fire kia said so we have not been told about it kia was like who cares. another thing is the lights on the dash have been coming on even after fixing this still come on again kia wanted to charge a high price to fix one part the under pinning should be replace with a plate not plastic part

While driving at highway speed my wife with 7 year old daughter in car had all the dash lights and interior lights illuminate and the car became sluggish and was hard to drive. i advised he via mobile phone to immediately pull over and turn the car off. i told he to wait a minute and try to restart it and see what happens. all dash lights lit up again and the car made a click, click, click sound over and over again. she tried this 5 times and she had the car towed to the dealer. the dealer replaced the alternator for $946.14 on 12/23/2014 at dulles kia in leesburg, va. *tr

This "glitch" happened twice in one week. first, driving off from a stop light at about 15-20 mph the car seemed to brake itself for about a second, lunged me forward and 30 seconds later died. no check engine light. car restarted fine after 3rd try. then again i had let go of the accelerator and was cruising before braking at a light, the car did the same thing at about 25-30 mph but harder and a loud clunk came from it. even the tires screeched when it "braked" itself for a second. this second time the car died 2 seconds later when i applied the brakes. took it straight to the dealer, the car died again in front of them when they switched on the a/c to check if it was working (could be coincidence since i wasn't fooling around with the a/c the first two times). they called me back on second day and asked me to take my car back since they could not replicate the problem and the computer hadn't registered it. i've used it exclusively on highways for 2 days now and no problem. i've done less than 10 miles of city driving since i got my car back. i've heard of other people getting an upgrade for the ecu and solving the issue, but that upgrade was already applied over a year ago to mine and according to the dealer, there is no newer version. *tr

On two occasions one month a part, while driving my 2013 kia sorento lx3 the engine light went on and the car was unable to shift rpm's and could not accelerate over 15/20 mph. the car went into "limp home" or safety mode when trying to accelerate and merge onto a 40mph and 50 mph highway. the car could not speed up to flow of traffic and was nearly rear ended by rush hour commuter bus with two small children in the back seat in chicago, il. kia service said car "fixed" twice. concerned about repeat problems and potential fatal accidents as result of some malfunction. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 kia sorento. while driving low speeds, the vehicle constantly stalled without warning. the dealer (doug smith kay, 495 w main st, american fork, ut 84003, 801-692-4390) was unable to provide a permanent remedy to repair the vehicle; however, they recommended that the battery be replaced. the contact replaced the battery, but the failure continued. the vehicle was not included in nets campaign number: (engine and engine cooling) or manufacturer service campaign: sc-106, but the failure continued. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 20,000.