2011 Kia Sorento electrical system problems

Owners reported electrical system problems in 247 complaints for the 2011 Kia Sorento, 12% of the complaints on file. It is the 3rd most reported problem area for this model year.

Complaints: 247 12% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage: 88,000 miles 176 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires: 3 and 23
Injuries and deaths: 7 and 0

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When electrical system problems show up

Based on 176 complaints that include mileage. 31% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.

View the numbers

Mileage	Complaints
0k to 20k miles	26
20k to 40k miles	16
40k to 60k miles	12
60k to 80k miles	27
80k to 100k miles	24
100k to 120k miles	24
120k to 140k miles	21
140k to 160k miles	10
160k to 180k miles	8
180k to 200k miles	3
200k+ miles	5

What the data shows

Of the 176 electrical system complaints that report mileage, the median is about 88,000 miles, and 31% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 3 crashes, 23 fires, 7 injuries.

What owners wrote

Passenger low beam kept burning out. I kept replacing. This morning, on my way home from work (I work nights on an ambulance) I could smell burning, and saw that the light was out once again. Got home, and the entire connector/wiring to the bulb was completely melted and sizzling, with a small flame at the base of the plastic connector. This is outrageous. There were recalls for this EXACT issue for other Sorentos, but mine was not included.

October 2021 FireInjury

The headlights will go off at sporadic times while driving. This condition is frightening, particularly at night since we live in a rural area with no street lights on many of the roads. It is extremely dangerous to find yourself in total darkness on country roads that have deep ditches on either side.

Reported at 117,000 miles, December 2020

Electrical system problems in other years

Electrical system problems across all Kia models