Other electrical problem on the 2006 Kia Sorento
1 fire 1 of the 22 reports for this failure mention a crash, a fire, an injury or a death. Those are the owner's words on the complaint form, not a verified finding, and one report can mention more than one.
When other electrical problem gets reported
Owners of the 2006 Kia Sorento report other electrical problem at a median of 70,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 35,000 miles and a quarter after 100,000 miles, from 18 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 85,000 miles. It is the 5th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 5,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 110,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 104,436 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A spread this wide points at use rather than design. Towing, climate, service history and city mileage all move a failure like this, so the median is a weak guide to any individual car.
28% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5,064 miles | 34,000 miles | 72,000 miles | 97,500 miles | 109,500 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Of these reports, 1 a fire is mentioned. Owners write their own complaints and the agency does not verify them, so read this as what the reports say happened rather than as a confirmed count.
Putting it right typically runs $250–$2,000 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 21 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2023, at a median of 2,000 miles, and latest on the 2007 at 120,000 miles.
By volume the 2011 carries the most reports, with 119; the 2006 has 22. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 kia sorento. The contact stated that the interior and exterior lights would flash, the door would unlock, and the rear hatch would open automatically. The dealer replaced the computer and stated that there was a dead cell in the battery, which did not remedy the issue. A kia representative stated that the ground wire could be the issue; therefore, the dealer replaced the ground wiring. The repair stopped the lights from flashing; however, the hatch stopped opening the very same night of the repairs. In addition, the heater fan only worked on high. The vehicle has not yet been repaired. The contact is concerned that the flashing lights will distract other drivers and lead to a crash. The current mileage was 39,600 and failure mileage was 1,246.
We initially purchased a used kia sorento in 2005. We encountered problems with the electrical system (lights continually burning out) so we decided to purchase a new sorento so we would have the benefit of the full warranty. Since the purchase of the 2006 kia sorento, we have replaced nearly every light (headlights, interior lights, brakelights, tail lights, fog lamps, turn lights and license plate lamp) numerous times. The assorted replacement lights were purchased from various locations, ensuring the error was not with the replacement parts, but rather the vehicle itself. The old lights were not retained. Our full warranty is nearing expiration and we would like "some type" of action to occur before it is too late. We feel that not only is this constant source of irritation and a financial burden, but also a potential safety hazard. *tr
All my lights both internal & external are burning out every few months. And I've had to replace my battery times also. My headlights are replaced every 4-5 months now, first starting out every year has now dropped to months. The battery lasts from 10-13 months before having to be replaced. Now parking & brake lights are burning out at a rate of about every 6 months. Called my local kia service rep and he says my dash and console would have to be ripped out to repair, and of course it is no longer covered under warranty.also my interior lights on dash,console and inside on the header no longer work. Have checked all fuses and can find nothing unusual. *tr
Also reported on the 2006 Kia Sorento
Other engine problem
Headlight failure or clouding
Other lighting problem
Timing chain, belt or tensioner failure
Tail light, brake light or signal failure
Other powertrain problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 22 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does other electrical problem happen on the 2006 Kia Sorento?
Across 18 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 70,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 35,000 miles and a quarter after 100,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other electrical problem on the 2006 Kia Sorento?
22 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 1.3 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed