Hyundai Kona Complaints

964 consumer complaints on file.

#11718344February 16, 2026
ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The car was burning through oil every 14 -21days. Car has been jerking and taking a while to accelerate. Went to machine to see what’s going he suggested I go to the dealership because there’s no leaks visible. But added more oil so I wouldn’t go without oil there was nothing available for me to come in right away and before my appointment my car started to speed up out of nowhere then completely slowed down then jerked until I could find a safe space to pull over. Check engine came on and the code was reading a misfire. Got a tune up still reading as a misfire now just stuck at the dealership playing guessing games with what’s wrong with the vehicle.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11718329February 16, 2026
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
While the cruise is set, traveling on I44 with no other car in front of my Kona, the adaptive cruise control will start to flash and apply brakes immediately. The speed will drop instantly. Thankfully no other vehicle has been behind me, otherwise it would have caused a massive wreck. I have taken the Kona to the shop 5 to 6 times for this situation, but they will not do anything since they can not duplicate it. I took a video recording of it happening, and they still would not do anything. The first incident was December 31, 2024. This happens every other week when I travel out of town for my daughter parenting time with her dad.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11718156February 15, 2026
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
While stopped our 2019 Kona EV at a traffic light with my foot on the brake, the car spontaneously accelerated and crashed into the car also sitting at the light about eight feet in front of us. If there wasn't a car in front of us, we would have gone through a busy intersection at very high speed. The front end of the car was destroyed and both airbags deployed. The car was towed to a collision center and is considered: "Totaled" . We tried to get it inspected for the computer system to confirm what happened, but there was no interest by any party. There was no pre-warning or issues with the vehicle before this happened. The incident happened about ten miles from our house, and we had been driving it for about 15 minutes. The temperature outside was extremely cold at about 5 degrees Fahrenheit.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
3
Deaths:
0
#11717883February 13, 2026
POWER TRAIN, ENGINE
The cars engine vibrates when accelerating and hesitates. It is always dangerous to stall after hitting the gas. This issue causes many near accidents. It began to vibrate at less than 70k. It has 90k now. These engines have had issues and mine is no exception. They should recall this engine as it's dangerous. top of the line and poop.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11717401February 11, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Screen in the car that shows the view of the backup camera. Unable to see when backing up. It is under warranty but the service center after mulitple attempts has not been able to fix it. Yes No, it just went out. Went out back in September of 2025.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11717113February 10, 2026
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a burning odor coming from the vehicle, with the low engine oil warning light illuminated. The contact stated that while checking the dipstick, the contact became aware that the engine oil level was low. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11716965February 10, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Dear Hyundai Motor America Consumer Affairs, I am formally escalating a safety defect involving my 2023 Hyundai Kona, VIN [XXX] , purchased [XXX]. Since the purchase, the vehicle’s horn has repeatedly failed. I have brought the car in for service multiple times, and the issue is thoroughly documented in service records and email correspondence. Despite these efforts, the defect has not been permanently resolved. A non-functioning horn is a serious safety issue. This defect is not isolated; identical horn failures in Hyundai Kona vehicles are widely documented across public Internet forums, consumer complaint sites, and owner reports, further underscoring the seriousness of this issue. Given the repeated repair attempts and ongoing safety risk, I am requesting immediate corporate-level review and a clear, permanent resolution. This matter requires prompt attention. [XXX] , service manager, informed me today that my horn was changed/serviced 4 times already. As of today, 2-10-2-26 he is ordering me another horn. Please respond in writing with next steps. Sincerely, [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] 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
#11716872February 9, 2026
ENGINE
Vehicle started to stall at low RPMs. While idling at red lights, engine would stall and go into limp mode. All safety features, such as forward collision would stop working. Car would need to be turned off and restarted for a temporary fix. No engine lights would come on. Car inspected by dealership and cannot figure out what the cause is. VIN comes up saying that my car is not part of the recall.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11716639February 9, 2026
ENGINE
Car idles down and dies while driving, unable to restart, no codes showing
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11716502February 7, 2026
ENGINE
Known problem of oil consumption . 1 week used 3 quarts . Wife driving down road oil light. Engine light seconds later engine seized at 55mph.lucky to drift off road.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11716278February 6, 2026
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine was shutting down while on the way to work, with a knocking sound coming from the engine. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V301000 (ENGINE); however, the dealer refused to perform the recall repair, because there were other failures with the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,902.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11715648February 4, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Attempted to sound horn when driver ahead of me crossed lanes at roundabout. Horn did not work. No warning messages appear on dashboard indicating an issue. Inspected the horn fuse in engine compartment and found it to be functional. Vehicle has not yet been taken for repair.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11715229February 3, 2026
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated, with a knocking sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that the vehicle shutoff while idling. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. Later, while idling at a stoplight, the vehicle stalled and failed to restart. The vehicle was eventually towed to the local dealer, who confirmed that the connecting rods had failed and punctured a hole in the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and the contact was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V301000 (ENGINE). The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 94,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11715307February 3, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, ENGINE
many times a year, without warning, vehicle dash lights turn off and light up like a christmas tree, followed by fca warning sound and lights going off, and a loud mechanical thud. Lose engine throttle going highway speeds. This can occur at nearly any speed without warning. Car must be powered off and back on to get normalcy. This puts me, everyone in the car and everyone on the highway at risk. Dealership was not able to reproduce or pull error codes.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11715395February 3, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
Rear latch unlocks while vehicle is running or not running up to 30 times at once. Rear latch unlocks without key being in vehicle. This has been reported to Hyundai Motor America since August 2025. The front collision warning goes off at random times, left side departure goes off at random times.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11714551January 30, 2026
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Over the last 2 1/2 months the car has shut off approximately 5 times while driving, without warning. Most instances have been while pulling into a parking lot, but one time (so far) it shut off while trying to back into my driveway. I'm fearful it will happen while on the freeway. I took it to the dealer, but there wasn't a fault code so they refused to look at it unless I left the car with them to drive, and wanted to charge me $45/day for a rental so I could get back & forth to work until it happened again while they were driving it.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11712882January 23, 2026
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
The contact owns a 2026 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and turned off, an inspector discovered a puddle of fuel on the ground underneath the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that the hood insulation was damaged, and the fuel lines were punctured. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that two other GSA fleet vehicles of the same year, make, and model, as well as a coworker who owns a 2025 Hyundai Konda had experienced the same failure. The contact related the failure to rodents chewing the organic-based fuel lines. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 900.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11712826January 22, 2026
ENGINE
I was traveling on the interstate when my car began to slow down and the RPMs kept going up. I pulled over on the side of the highway and turned the motor off. I waited 10 minutes and started the car again thinking it was just a misfire. The motor began making weird noises and shaking. My engine like came on the dashboard display reported major malfunction get help. I was told by my mechanic that I was lucky the car did not catch on fire. He determined that pistons 1 and 3 were misfiring. He said it was being flooded with fuel. I have complained about the excessive burning of oil and that there must be an issue. Several have been recalled but not specific car.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11712531January 21, 2026
ENGINE, POWER TRAIN
My vehicle started was burning oil having to add oil frequently. Then a knocking noise started coming from the engine (2.0 L MPI NU).It began to have trouble starting and was not accelerating properly and the check engine light came on . Within two days I brought my car to my mechanic and he stated that there was no sign of an oil leak and felt it was a deeper problem. I brought it to a Hyundai dealership and they stated that the engine needed to be replaced/rebuilt. I feel that the lack of acceleration could have been a safety issue on the highway as it could have prevented me from passing in a timely fashion or just lose all power in traffic. There is an active recall for this type of engine starting with model year 2019.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11712162January 20, 2026
ENGINE
The vehicle displayed a warning lamp indicating a Cooling System Performance failure. The specific defect relates to the Integrated Thermal-Management Module (ITM) and the thermostat opening prematurely, corresponding to Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) P218100. This issue requires a repair outlined in Technical Service Bulletin 25-EM-007H, involving a spring installation and ECU update. This failure creates a serious safety concern because improper thermal management can cause the engine to overheat or force the vehicle into a reduced-power 'limp mode' without warning. A sudden loss of acceleration or engine stall while driving in traffic significantly increases the risk of a crash.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

← Back to Hyundai Kona