Hyundai Kona Complaints (2021)

115 consumer complaints on file.

#11647670March 11, 2025
ENGINE
The engine has been a problem since I got the car. It used to just stop in the middle of traffic and just not drive I would have to completely turn the car off and back on in the middle of the highway. I went to Hyundai in Texas to get it fixed and they said they did so I drove it to where I live now In north carolina it broke down again the shaft gear was broken I had to drive it back to Texas for them to fix it the whole way there I was unable to turn the car off while getting gas with the chance of it not Turing back on. got it to Texas and to the dealer they said it was their problem they would fix I got the car back and seemingly thought everything was ok. this past week I was driving to work and all of the sudden on the middle of the right lane of the highway my car just started to slow down and shake a little I had gotten it to the side to pull over and I thought if I turned it off it would turn back on. it turns on but does not drive. I am a [XXX] living [XXX] in North Carolina with a car that has so many problems for it being a 2021 car. with no recall in sight I have seen this specific car on the side of the road more times than I have seen any other car. if someone does not see this as a problem and thinks it shouldn't be recalled you are the issue I need a working car to get to work so I can pay my bills without a car I have no way to make my money this car has been a problem since the get go. Im not asking for a new car I'm asking for this one to be fixed and stay fixed for it to have so many issues is insane and just not safe with the world we live in if my car doesn't start for some reason at any point and something is going wrong its dangerous. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11645781March 2, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Rear camera is not working properly. Either I have a blurry image or a black screen when in reverse position.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11644183February 21, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The shark fin antenna came off at 55 mph going down the highway. The dealer who sold me the 2021 Kona SEL, tried to blame us for it, saying there is no way to know if you hit a bird etc. They stated it would cost me about $1,300.00 to repair this. My response was, are you serious? we have had this car for less than 3 months and this is your answer. So i went to a certified Hyundai dealer, both gave the same response, but added our tech is trained to spot defects and said the screws would not be shown, it would have ripped the entire unit from the car if it came off due to a defect. which is entirely untrue. Both dealers added that they had never even heard of this happening before, so they referred me to contact Hyundai corp to open up a registered complaint. The response I got was the dealer was the one who makes the ultimate decision. she gave me a link to buy direct from Hyundai as soon as I stated I would make a complaint here. Then I asked her the same thing I asked both dealers, why are you denying this? This is a very common issue. I also added that if the truck behind us was struck by the antenna ripping off, I would be in court to sue them. I then added it will only be a matter of time before injuries or death from this occurs and that will end up with all of the complaints being used in court to force you to comply. I ended up finding a better deal from a Hyundai dealer than the one she gave me. I performed the repair myself. the repair cost me about 300 dollars. I also want to ad that when i used AI to ask how to tell if the antenna was defective, the explanation and pics were exactly identical to the pictures I took. as this was during warmer months I felt very happy a person on a motorcycle was not hit. People need to research this on their own before purchasing this auto in my opinion.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11639227January 28, 2025
ENGINE
2021 Hyundai Kona check engine light came on while driving, within 10 minutes oil light and battery light came on and at the same time these lights came on the car stopped working. The engine stalled, leaving the car stuck in the middle of the road. The car turned off, and would not turn back on properly. The car had to be towed to a mechanic where it was discovered that the engine had no oil in it and no longer starts or runs. The car was not yet due for an oil change, there were no oil leaks found, and it seems like the engine burned the oil faster than it should have. The car was functioning properly up until the day of the event, with no issues or warning signs present. There is a recall associated with this model and year relating to engine damage, with the campaign number 21V301000, but there is no recall for this car's VIN. The car stopped driving in the middle of the road which could have easily caused a crash and now the engine needs to be completely replaced.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11637541January 22, 2025
ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
My vehicle loses power while driving
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11630183December 11, 2024
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Antenna is poorly designed and falls off. A quick internet search shows this is a common problem across thousands of Hyundais and Kias (same company). Because drivers are more and more dependent on GPS and radio based emergency notification AND vehicles more and more depend on interactive troubleshooting and reporting this is a safety issue. The manufacturer is aware of it, and it should at the very least be covered under warranty. Because it is a wide spread problem that many dealers appear to be refusing to repair even under warranty it should be a recall issue. My local dealer denied it was a warranty issue, but I have appealed their decision with Hyundai. It should be a safety recall issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11630098December 11, 2024
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle started accelerating slowly. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. There was an abnormal dinging sound coming from the vehicle. There was no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the battery needed to be replaced, and the vehicle was experiencing excessive oil consumption. The mechanic recommended additional testing. The contact declined the additional diagnostic test. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no additional assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11622271October 28, 2024
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated that upon taking the vehicle in for service, she was made aware that the engine oil was abnormally low even though the oil had recently been changed. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V301000 (Engine); but the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 94,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11620582October 18, 2024
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle downshifted unintendedly. The check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart; however, the failure recurred while driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the transmission piston ring had failed. The mechanic determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 96,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11618813October 8, 2024
ENGINE
Stalled out
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11618291October 6, 2024
ENGINE
While driving on the interstate highway the engine stopped. The circumstances surrounding the failure matched those for Kona VINs that were recalled.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11614742September 16, 2024
ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I had a 2021 Hyundai Kona limited. On Friday 09/13/2024 my engine caught fire and my car was a total loss. Minutes before the fire I noticed some smoke, all of my dash lights came on and the car shut down. Seconds after stopping the vehicle and getting out the whole engine went up in flames. There are recalls active for my make model and year, nothing for my specific vin number but will be reaching out to Hyundai corporate to see if they want to come look at the car, in case it needs to be added to the recall list.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11612002September 1, 2024
POWER TRAIN
Transmission has hard shift sometimes, and disengages in other times. It's very irratic.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11606207August 2, 2024
ENGINE, POWER TRAIN, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Unknown the vehicle stopped running and won’t start back up
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11604466July 25, 2024
ENGINE
I bought this car for my daughter we bought used low miles in May 2023. She got her first oil change in August 2023, in November on her way back to college her car seized up and stop working on the highway. Dealership said missing oil plug. Had to replace with new engine. Insurance company drops us, and new insurance is double. Second oil change July 2024. I noticed oil spots on my new driveway, she takes to dealer, again oil plug gone and hole in oil pan. This is crazy!! If I wouldn't have seen the oil spots on driveway she would have blown up anothe engine. She parks on gravel lot, can't see oil drips. Internet full of these stories. I can't afford this car. Thousands of dollars in increased insurance, driveway repair, car repair, not to mentoin the anxiety. This car has doubled insurance rates, ruined two paver driveways, and over $1000 each time in repairs. This needs to be fixed. This is dangerous. I spoke to dealership and there only advice was to bring to dealership for oil changes. This company needs to recall this defect with the oil plug/pan
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11599565July 6, 2024
ENGINE
Told previous recall on engine was not needed on this vehicle while vehicle has same stalling issue that caused previous recall on engine. On july 5 2024 engine locked up nearly creating a wreck. Previous recall clearly is wider spread than hyundai is admitting. Now my car that is 8000 miles out of warranty needs an engine they claimed was not affected by previous recall but has same issue and originally fell under previous recall.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11590642May 24, 2024
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at various speeds, he observed white smoke emanating from the rear of the vehicle. Additionally, on several occasions, while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost power and did not accelerate as intended. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that an unknown software needed to be updated. The vehicle was repaired but the failure persisted. Lastly, the contact stated that while turned off the vehicle would not turn on. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 36,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11578324March 19, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES
The braking system malfunctioned. Son was driving it, brake light came on, brakes started sinking randomly. Vehicle is very slow to get vehicle to stop and had to hit brake pedal hard to even get vehicle to slow down. Opened the hood to verify if there was brake fluid, it was low. Put brake fluid in and tested brakes, a pinhole was spraying brake fluid. Took to get a diagnostic of the vehicle. In addition to the pinhole leak, diagnostics showed that where the brake lines attach there is a leak at two of the components/areas, and told the vehicle would need new brake lines. We did not repair it at the place that performed the diagnostic. We are towing it to a Hyundai Dealership for inspection this week 3/21/2024. We have spoken to Corporate and were given a case number. No other inspections have taken place. Brake warning light came on last week. Malfunctioning brakes are a safety risk for everyone.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11573735February 24, 2024
POWER TRAIN, ENGINE
My 2021 Hyundai Kona AWD will not operate. It only has 18,000 miles on it and I bought it new. I had the oil changed at 7,000 miles. The dealership made me wait a month to take a look at it, and I believe that they know there is an issue with this model so they are trying to stall. I plan to request a buyback. The last time I tried to drive it, it died every time the car came to a brake. I had to sit with my emergency lights flashing for a few minutes to get it to start again, only to have it die at the next light. This is very dangerous.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11570221February 6, 2024
ENGINE
My vehicle was purchased in late June 2023 with Remainder of Hyundai Factory Warranty promised. A few months ago I started hearing a ticking noise from the motor and on 3 different occasions almost stalled while stopped at a traffic light. I took it to CMA's Hyundai of Lynchburg and upon inspection was told I need a new motor due to finding possible aluminum on the piston head of cylinder 4. There was a previous recall on 2021 Hyundai KONA Motors due to faulty piston rings. I am wondering if the defect in my motor may be related. I was told I could not leave/drive my vehicle for my own safety. So my vehicle has been at the dealership since mid-December, 2023. They state the warranty is void.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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