2018 Kia Sorento
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Engine is the leading concern among 254 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 11th highest complaint count among 23 Sorento model years with reports.
Of the 2018 reports, 12 involved a crash and 11 involved a fire. 11 people were injured and 1 person died.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Trailer hitchesPark outsideSep 19, 2022
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2016-2022 Sorento, 2021-2022 Sorento Hybrid (HEV), 2022-2023 Sorento Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV), and 2017-2022 Sportage vehicles equipped with a tow hitch harness installed as original equipment, or purchased as an accessory through a Kia dealership. Debris and moisture accumulation on the tow hitch harness module printed circuit board (PCB) may cause an electrical short, which can result in a fire.
A fire while parked or driving can increase the risk of injury.
Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will inspect the vehicle, and, as necessary, replace the fuse and/or tow hitch harness module, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 11, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC249.
Campaign 22V703000 on NHTSA.gov
Steering, electric power assist systemSep 21, 2018
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2018 Kia Sorento vehicles. The cowl crossbar that connects to the Motor Driven Power Steering (MDPS) steering column may be improperly welded, allowing the steering column to separate.
If the steering column separates, it can cause a loss of steering ability, increasing the risk of a crash.
Kia will notify owners, and dealers will replace the cowl crossbar, free of charge. The recall began October 26, 2018. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC167.
Campaign 18V656000 on NHTSA.gov
Air bags, side/windowDec 8, 2017
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2018 Kia Sorento vehicles. The side curtain air bags on these vehicles have a component that may detach during deployment of the inflatable curtain air bag.
If the component detaches during deployment, it may enter the passenger compartment and be a projectile within the vehicle cabin, increasing the risk of injury.
Kia will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver and passenger side curtain air bags, free of charge. The recall began on December 18, 2017. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC159.
Campaign 17V784000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: exterior lighting
41 reports, newest first. Show all
Electrical system, Exterior lighting, Visibility/wiper, Mar 20, 2026
The vehicle’s ignition system began malfunctioning immediately after a recall-related service (Campaign CS2312 – ignition cylinder protector installation) performed on January 9, 2026. Prior to this service, the vehicle had no ignition or electrical issues. After the repair, the ignition key became difficult to turn, and the vehicle intermittently failed to start. Additionally, multiple electrical components began to fail intermittently, including the infotainment screen shutting off, the air conditioning system stopping, and windshield wipers not operating at times. These failures create a safety concern, as they may affect visibility, driver awareness, and vehicle operability while driving. The issue was reported to the dealership, and their own inspection confirmed that the ignition key cylinder is sticking. The vehicle remains available for inspection, and the condition persists.
Exterior lighting, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Mar 12, 2026
In April, 2025, my vehicle's engine power was significantly reduced while on the highway. I could not keep pace with traffic. My mechanic said there were recalls for the turbo engine but my car was not included. I paid forbthe part and repair. Less than a year later and the car began burning a lot of oil very fast. I add oil weekly. The car has again been losing power and there is still no recall for my car's engine. There is burning and smoke coming from the engine because of an engine oil leak Jiffy Lube detected yesterday, Mar h 11, 2026. The problem began at around 65k miles and now has 88k miles.
Electrical system, Exterior lighting, Vehicle speed control, Feb 17, 2026
My speedometer was jumping from 0 to 20 mph while in park. A couple weeks later it did it while I was driving, I was going 25 mph and it jumped to 55 mph. I took it to the shop that day and all 4 of my wheel speed sensors were out, which wasn’t accurately measuring my speed. The shop said it was common with this model and year. Also, my headlights do not work in auto mode. I will have shut my car off, made sure the lights were off, and hours later I have a text from my neighbors that my lights are on.
Electrical system, Exterior lighting, Visibility/wiper, Sep 22, 2025
Lighting and/ or electrical. When using the auto headlight switch, all lights will come on randomly and periodically and stay on until you notice them or they ware down your battery. This is something that could be checked out by dealer and I will ask about it. So, for now, I do not use the auto headlight switch. My other problem is a glass issue. For no apparent reason, when I shut my driver side door a few weeks ago. My entire rear window shattered into pieces. There were no signs of damage to the rear window. Happened in my drive way. But, it could have happened anywhere. Filed a insurance claim and had the rear window replaced.
Exterior lighting, Aug 27, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the headlights failed to function as intended. The contact, who was a retired certified mechanic, inspected the headlights and determined that the passenger's side headlight bulbs were blown. The contact then noticed a burning odor in the circuit board inside the headlight. The contact stated that the front passenger's side headlight bulbs were replaced twice within three months due to failure. In addition, the contact stated that an unknown manufacturer's recall was performed approximately two years prior, and the multi-function switch knob was replaced. The contact stated that the headlights were not replaced at the time. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
Exterior lighting, Aug 11, 2025
My lights are set to auto but when driving they randomly switch off. The dash shows the switch from auto to off but the control is still set to auto. I have to manually switch the control off and then back on for the lights to come back on. I’ve also noticed a few times in the morning my lights are on. My switch is set to auto and my car is completely off but the lights are on. This is very unsafe as it happens at night and I can’t see the road.
Exterior lighting, Aug 3, 2025
The headlights will randomly turn off while driving, mostly when turning on the right blinker. This has been happening a few times a month since I got the vehicle in 2017. More recently, the bottom brake lights and running lights have been shorting out.
Exterior lighting, Oct 12, 2024
file:///var/mobile/Library/SMS/Attachments/00/00/8030235A-F1B0-40D7-BDF6-CAB347299F91/MC-10235412-0001.pdf Recall on lights should be added. Mine did this. Had it fixed
Exterior lighting, Oct 10, 2024
All exterior lights and interior lights are turned off while driving. Exterior “running” lights turn on by themself.
Exterior lighting, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Aug 9, 2024
Oil leak was diagnosed as bad oil pressure switch that is under extended warranty for certain Kia Sorento models with GDI system, but not my car.
Exterior lighting, Other or unspecified, Jun 24, 2024
On multiple occasions our headlights will turn on by themselves without the car being on: for example while we are sleeping in the middle of the night we get a call from our neighbor that our car lights are on. Also while driving at night they will turn off by themselves. On all occasions the light are in AUTO mode, meaning the lights should turn on/off themselves when necessary but only when the key is in the car and the car is on
Electrical system, Exterior lighting, Mar 15, 2024
The passenger side headlight has been reinstalled 8 times. The dealership has replaced it and we have replaced it several times. The light goes out constantly and is costing me a fortune to replace as well as possible traffic tickets. The headlights turn off also when in automatic mode. Please recall this vehicle and have this safety and expensive issue fixed. This issue has been going on several months now. The dealership does not provide a permanent solution. This is a defect.
Exterior lighting, Feb 20, 2024
My lights keep going out as I`m driving at night time so i can not go any where at night time I was almost hit head on this the second time this happened when I called Kia 3 times now the dealer i purchased it at they keep giving me a run around I have the extended warranty also electrical warranty which i paid extra for they still want to tell me these things aren`t covered.My vehicale has not had any of the software updates. I have tried calling a Kia dealer closer to my home I get told i have to go were i purchased my Kia
Electrical system, Exterior lighting, Dec 11, 2023
When signaling a left turn, my right signal flashes before flashing the left signal.
Exterior lighting, Nov 15, 2023
When using my blinkers my headlights go out while the lights are in Auto mode. This is very dangerous as my headlights have gone out several times while driving in the dark.
Electrical system, Exterior lighting, Oct 23, 2023
Lights go off unexpectedly while driving at night. The rear break light has been changed 3 times and continues to work intermittently. Lights come on after the car has parked and turned off.
Exterior lighting, Oct 22, 2023
Headlights will shutoff completely when driving at night in auto mode after using the turn signal. Then turn back on a.couple of seconds later. Which has created some dangerous situations.
Exterior lighting, Oct 2, 2023
My lights turn on and off randomly while driving or while parked in my driveway hours after parking while my car is in auto lights
Electrical system, Exterior lighting, Aug 25, 2023
While driving at night, the headlights turn off by themselves randomly. The lights need to be turned to off and back on to get them to turn back on. Driving with no lights in an area with no streetlamps obviously could result in an accident. It has not yet been inspected by anyone yet, but a check is scheduled. There were no warning lamps, messages, etc. when the lights turned off. Not a safety concern, but seems related: On another occasion, the car had been parked and locked for hours with the engine off, and the parking lights turned on and remained on until manually shut to off. They did not turn off by a remote unlock and lock.
Exterior lighting, Aug 21, 2023
When the heads lights are in Auto Mode and driving at night, the head lights will just go out. This has happened 4 times now and is very dangerous. I need KIA to fix this problem. I have a 2018 KIA Sorento and I've seen where others have had the same problem with 2017 & 2018 Sorento's. The lights going out at night while my wife is driving is extremely dangerous. This just happens with no warning. Please Fix.
Exterior lighting, Jul 13, 2023
Headlight automatic sensor is failing. When lights are switched to auto mode, the headlights will randomly turn on and off while driving, regardless of outside lighting conditions. Alternatively, the lights will come on without prompting when the car is turned off & parked in a driveway at night.
Exterior lighting, Feb 21, 2023
The headlights turn off randomly when in Auto mode. There are a lot of other people reporting the same issue. https://sorentoforums.com/threads/lights-shutting-off-in-auto-mode.16/
Exterior lighting, Nov 29, 2022
While driving at night with headlights set to "auto" the car will (without moving the physical switch) change the headlights to "off" for approximately 2 seconds, after which it will change them back to "auto". This causes a momentary loss of vision to the driver. The drivers display shows the change from "auto" to "off" as though the switch had been turned. I am unaware if this also happens in lighted conditions, as It is only noticable when you are driving in the dark. It appears as though this has happened to multiple drivers of different vehicles
Exterior lighting, Oct 9, 2022
Headlights and daytime running lights turn on and off at random
Electrical system, Exterior lighting, Oct 6, 2022
10/5/2022 Driving down Texas Interstate 20 last night, just east of Willow Park, Texas the headlights turned off. I switched the lights from the auto position to the On and the lights turned back on. Wife informed me this has happened to her previously as well. Driving down the road at 70 MPH and everything goes dark is a bit frighting. From my search, this has become a common issue with our KIA model. The issue happens randomly so difficult to pinpoint the issue.