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Electrical systemPart report

2012 Kia Sorento Electrical system Problems

Complaints
127about this part
Share
14%of 880 total for the year
Median mileage
71,329miles
Trend
RisingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% higher than in the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 127 complaints about the electrical system of the 2012 Kia Sorento, 14% of the 880 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 71,329 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved and 20 a fire, according to the filers.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“I have replaced the passenger side low beam light multiple times because of it burning out prematurely. I bought another bulb to have it replaced and the old bulb was still good. The new bulb was put in to verify that wasn't the issue. The auto parts store checked the fuses and all are ok.”

NHTSA complaint #11171892, filed 2019-01, 117,200 miles

“I was driving my son to school on a city street and stopped at a stop sign then tried to accelerate and all of the lights on the dash began flashing and the car just shut-off. I put my car in park and restarted it. This type of incident has happened twice before and the dealership just tells me to keep bringing it in. They can never find what the problem is.”

NHTSA complaint #10883328, filed 2016-07, 59,000 miles

“My headlight pigtail caught on fire...I had it replaced ...replaced the headlights in it and not even 2 weeks later the pig tail caught on fire again...they said it must ne a shortage in the wiring somewhere and it will start at 200$ to look at it to fix....mu car isnt that old to have this issue.”

NHTSA complaint #11128852, filed 2018-09, 90,000 miles

“I was in traffic and the engine stopped running. I noticed that engine stopped with all the indicators on including the check engine light on but my car was not running anymore and will not drive even when I pressed the gas pedal. I put it on park and turned it off and restarted. It started. This happened twice within 10 minutes of each other.”

NHTSA complaint #10596222, filed 2014-06, 34,853 miles

“The vehicle grossly lost power and came to a near stop which almost caused collision with vehicles traveling at speed limit behind me. While traveling normally at the posted 55 MPH speed the vehicle slowed immediately to nearly moving. This happened multiple times which I reported to the Kia dealer each time. The dealer did not correctly diagnose the problem until after the third report.”

NHTSA complaint #10887898, filed 2016-07, 6,000 miles

Related service bulletins

Electrical system: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2026117%
20252229%
20241126%
20233830%
20223116%
20214718%
20202014%
20196816%
20183012%
20179712%
20161078%
2015588%
201415315%
201311612%
201212714%
201124616%
20091425%
20083215%
20072114%
20065322%
20054916%
20042813%
20032910%

Other parts of the 2012 Kia Sorento

Engine
461 complaintsBrakes
103 complaintsOther or unknown
84 complaintsAir bags
81 complaintsExterior lighting
60 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
55 complaintsFuel system
39 complaintsBody and structure
35 complaintsVehicle speed control
29 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
28 complaintsSuspension
22 complaintsSteering
20 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2012 Kia Sorento

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 28, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology