Transmission need to be replaced.
2019 Hyundai Kona
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
More warning signs than most Kona years
Owner complaints for the 2019 Hyundai Kona are substantially higher than the model-year median of 74.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Kona years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
58 reports with mileage · 132 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Engine. Review the 131 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 18 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Power Train. Review the 18 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
Engine complaints
131 reportsThe contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stopped in the middle of the road. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was almost rear-ended. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with eng…
Read full complaint
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stopped in the middle of the road. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was almost rear-ended. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with engine failure. The contact was advised to take the vehicle back to the dealer. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer; however, the failure was not duplicated. The contact stated that an oil consumption test was completed; however, the contact stated that the vehicle was in worse condition. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 36,500.
I have two Hyundai vehicles one is a 2018 Tucson and a 2019 Kona. They both broke down at precisely the same time at 109,000 miles. One was the catalytic converter dealership was going to charge $5,000 for repair found a less expensive place to do it for $2,000. i was told by several of the mechanics at both places that it was a…
Read full complaint
I have two Hyundai vehicles one is a 2018 Tucson and a 2019 Kona. They both broke down at precisely the same time at 109,000 miles. One was the catalytic converter dealership was going to charge $5,000 for repair found a less expensive place to do it for $2,000. i was told by several of the mechanics at both places that it was a common problem. My point is I just paid the vehicle off it was just out of warranty then your stuck with it. Dealership just shrugged it off as maybe you should buy a new vehicle. The second vehicle Kona had some catalytic damage but not enough to replace the crankshaft positioning sensor failed caused the car to basically shut down on the roadway all of the ADAS systems failed. Again dealership was going to charge $2,000 found aftermarket place to do for $1,000. I'm sure nothing can be done for me but I feel it should be documented if people in the industry are telling me this is a familiar occurrence then maybe someone should look into it.
My check engine lights come on and then the front collision lights come on which reduces speed while on highway and then the engine turns off making it very unsafe driving on the highway. I have tried to schedule appts with dealerships to have it checked telling them how unsafe it is and I need my car to get to work. But they ne…
Read full complaint
My check engine lights come on and then the front collision lights come on which reduces speed while on highway and then the engine turns off making it very unsafe driving on the highway. I have tried to schedule appts with dealerships to have it checked telling them how unsafe it is and I need my car to get to work. But they never have any openings except months down the road. I am afraid it will cause a terrible accident. I have taken my vehicle to repair shops ... some said it was the spark plugs so I got them changed and other maintenance costing me over $800 and the problem still exists ... still trying to get an appt with the dealership which will cost me another $220 just to get it diagnosed. There need to be a recall if it's happening to alot of people. I am very afraid if this issue isn't fixed and it's gonna cost me to repair it in the thousands that I don't have. Someone is going to get into a bad accident because the engine will turn off while driving.
My car is having problems due to excessive oil consumption. I took it to the dealership to get it fixed and tested for the recall. They said the recall had nothing to do with it. Took it to another mechanic for a diagnostic, the other mechanic stated that the excessive oil consumption was caused by recall that they didn't fix, a…
Read full complaint
My car is having problems due to excessive oil consumption. I took it to the dealership to get it fixed and tested for the recall. They said the recall had nothing to do with it. Took it to another mechanic for a diagnostic, the other mechanic stated that the excessive oil consumption was caused by recall that they didn't fix, and it can be stopped by getting the recall fixed.
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH up an incline, the vehicle started losing motive power. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the cylinder #3 spark plug. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. …
Read full complaint
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH up an incline, the vehicle started losing motive power. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the cylinder #3 spark plug. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who then determined that there was a misfire in cylinder #3. 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. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 116,000.
The contact owned a 2019 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated that while stopped at an intersection, he observed smoke emanating from the engine compartment. The vehicle was steered into a parking lot where he opened the hood and he observed flames coming from the engine. A police report was filed. The fire department extinguished t…
Read full complaint
The contact owned a 2019 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated that while stopped at an intersection, he observed smoke emanating from the engine compartment. The vehicle was steered into a parking lot where he opened the hood and he observed flames coming from the engine. A police report was filed. The fire department extinguished the fire. The vehicle was taken to a salvage lot. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 46,000.
While driving the vehicle the warning light went on and suddenly there was a loss of power on the highway. The vehicle was brought to our local mechanic who ran a diagnostic test and the NTSB recommendation for engine replacement DTC P1327 came up. He advised the vehicle go to the dealer, which we did. It has been at the dealer …
Read full complaint
While driving the vehicle the warning light went on and suddenly there was a loss of power on the highway. The vehicle was brought to our local mechanic who ran a diagnostic test and the NTSB recommendation for engine replacement DTC P1327 came up. He advised the vehicle go to the dealer, which we did. It has been at the dealer for 5 weeks. When the recall 22-EM-008H was done, they did not do the recommended engine test in 2023. The recall also had them do something in the computer to give owners a warning if there was any knocking sensed in the engine. That warning system failed to work because the light came on when the engine seized. The dealer said they see a couple of these cars a week with the same issue and Hyundai refuses to take ownership of the issue that prompted the recall. They denied us saying it was out of warranty when the recall was not issued until the car was about 4 years old. Most people would be out of warranty, especially because the 100K warranty doesn't apply to secondary owners which I was never aware of until now. I bought the car in 2020 about a year after production. Everyone you speak to at Hyundai doesn't understand English and at the bottom of the recall it states to submit a prior approval if the affected part is out of warranty for a goodwill consideration but they deny all of them due to out of warranty which doesn't make any sense as to why there would be a prior approval process for out of warranty claims for good will if they are not going to ever do a goodwill repair. They also do not give you to a person that can listen to what you are trying to tell them that can understand what goodwill means and explain why they did not do the engine repair or replacement when they discovered they had engines out there with the potential to fail. This is not right what they are doing. Many other models have the same issue and the warranty was extended to 15/150k but this one has not been added to that and it should be.
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, she heard an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine compartment, after which the vehicle lost motive power. The low oil and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, w…
Read full complaint
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, she heard an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine compartment, after which the vehicle lost motive power. The low oil and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the engine. 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. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
car kept stalling and electrical system was off ..
Official recalls
121V301000 · Engine
Apr 28, 2021
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Elantra, 2019-2021 Kona and Veloster vehicles equipped with 2.0L Nu MPI engines. The piston oil rings may not have been properly heat-treated, which could result in engine damage.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A damaged engine may stall, increasing the risk of a crash. In addition, oil may leak onto hot exhaust components, increasing the risk of a fire.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the engine, free of charge. In addition, Hyundai will deploy Piston Ring Noise Sensing System (PNSS) software. Owner notification letters were mailed August 24, 2021. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
2DP22005 · Pedestrian Alert Sounds
Opened Jan 27, 2023 · Closed Aug 7, 2023
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Electrical System:propulsion System
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matter described in the petition. On June 24, 2023 and as supplemented on June 25, 2023, the petitioner notified NHTSA he was withdrawing his petition. The petitioner indicated that, based on his review of data, there is no justification for asserting potential benefits that could be derived from actions sought by my petition. Based on the petitioner's withdrawal, DP22-005 is closed. Closure of this DP does not represent a determination by NHTSA regarding the subject matter of the petition.
DP22003 · Loss Of Motive Power
Opened Sep 12, 2022 · Closed Dec 12, 2023
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Engine
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) received a letter dated July 13, 2022, petitioning the Agency to initiate a safety defect investigation into loss of motive power allegations attributed to oil drain pan assembly failures on certain Hyundai Motor America, Inc. and Kia America, Inc. vehicles spanning Model Years (MY) 2005-2021. The Petitioners cited examples of complaints indicating that the subject vehicles were experiencing rapid loss of engine oil due to oil drain plug back outs, resulting in loss of motive power and/or catastrophic engine damage. Additional complaints were provided which alleged that the oil drain pans lack sufficient structural integrity and are susceptible to cracking. The petition itself can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI number 11481745. On September 12, 2022, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Defect Petition (DP22-003) to evaluate the Petitioners’ request. The Petitioners have provided additional complaints within four supplemental letters dated January 31, 2023, March 21, 2023, May 23, 2023, and August 4, 2023. ODI’s evaluation included the review and analysis of the complaints and supporting information submitted by the Petitioners, as well as additional complaints submitted directly to NHTSA which referenced either the oil drain plug or a crack in the oil pan. After reviewing the available data, ODI has not identified evidence that would support opening a defect investigation into the oil drain pan assemblies of the subject vehicles. Based on a review of the available information, a loss of motive power resulting from an oil drain plug back out has not occurred between the initial sale of a vehicle and the completion of its first oil change. If during an oil change service, a technician fails to remove the existing drain plug gasket before installing a new gasket, it is likely that a proper seal between the drain plug and the oil pan will not be made. An improper seal between the drain plug and oil pan could lead to the backing out on the drain plug, resulting in the sudden loss of oil while driving. Additionally, the provided examples of oil pan cracks were localized to the immediate vicinity of the oil drain plug and/or appeared to be the result of direct-contact with a tool during servicing. There is no information to support that a vehicle-based defect exists relating to the oil pan assembly, and instead the documented incidents are related to the failure to follow the proper maintenance procedures during oil change service. In October 2023, Hyundai published a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) that provided detailed instructions for oil change service on its gasoline powered vehicles, specifically highlighting the need to remove and replace the existing drain plug gasket prior to reinstalling the drain plug. After a thorough review of the material submitted by the petitioner, the information already in NHTSA's possession, and the potential risks to motor vehicle safety implicated by the petitioners' allegations, NHTSA does not believe that a formal investigation is warranted. Therefore, the petition is denied. A Federal Register Notice (FRN) further detailing NHTSA’s reasons for denial of the petition will be published. The reference numbers for the complaints to NHTSA cited by the petitioner can be found in the petition submission documents in the public file for DP22-003. To review those complaints and the additional complaints ODI added to its evaluation which are cited in the Closing Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.
Illustration