2021 Hyundai Kona

I purchased a 2021 Hyundai Kona in 2023. I own it outright. 2 weeks later my engine seized on the CA 118 in the middle lane & I lost steering & power. I don’t know how I made it to the side w cars doing 80. I was shaking. The dealer refurbished my engine no cost , it was due to the oil consumption problem & the piston ring issues many cars in ‘20 & ‘21 had. I had a Hyundai rep call & offer me $400 to sign off on any future engine issues w this car, & I knew this car was likely to have many other future problems after that offer. I did not accept offer. The transmission is also very jerky on surface streets. Well 2 yrs later, the engine started to seize up again today as I was on my way to a dentist appt. I don’t feel safe in this car. I am a 58 y/o woman w fibromyalgia & the stress of the power just shutting down when I’m driving makes my disease flair up terribly. I’ve had many cars & this is the only 1 I’m truly scared to drive alone in , after being stuck on a mountainside road, w no power, no steering, no one w me. I avoid driving at times, because the PTSD from the first incident is always w me . I love to drive - I had a motor home I drove across this country 6 times. I really want to sell this car, but I don’t want some other person to be in danger either. If I knew Hyundais in certain yrs had these issues, I certainly never would have purchased that particular year/model. That should be disclosed w the cars stats if it is known & actually in several class action suits. No advanced warning came on to alert me either - the engine just seized on a mountainside freeway as I was doing 68 mph. I feel lucky to be here after that.

Was driving when the car seemed to lose power and would not accelerate and started shaking. Check engine light came on and got it read, the code indicated a misfire and other errors. There was no one local to fix it as we were out of town. So we replaced the plugs that were indicated and noticed how badly damaged they were. Vehicle started to drive better before stalling out again and replacing the rest of the plugs. Was able to get it home and seemed to be driving normally but then we noticed it has an oil leak now. We have to keep a religious check on the oil because of the amount leaking and the fact the car isn't giving us a low oil warning. We took it to the dealership and they said we needed a new engine and it was just outside the power train warranty. All of this occurred our 78,000-80,000 mile mark. The dealer would not even change the oil before of how bad the leak was. This car was for our teenage daughter and its not safe for anyone to drive. I believe the dealership knew this car had issues, we bought it pre-owned and have only had it 6 months.

I’ve been having issues that align with the Safety Recall 239 to repair a condition involving the Electric Power Control Unit ("EPCU"). I seem to be having by a coolant leak, my car is overheating, has stalled and has struggled to start. I started noticing something wasn’t right a couple of weeks ago but wasn’t sure what until more “symptoms” have occurred since and I found the recall information. My air conditioner also will stop blowing cool air when the over heating happens. No lights have come on my dash board alerting me of anything needing to be serviced.

The HVAC drainage system in my 2021 Hyundai Kona failed due to a clogged AC drain line, which led to water leaking into the cabin and mold growth. The dealer reported the drain was blocked by a spiderweb and that moisture had collected under the driver and passenger carpets. They unclogged the line, but did not inspect beneath the carpet or inside the HVAC system. Soon after, I experienced musty odors, asthma flare-ups, and headaches while driving. At-home mold tests under the passenger seat and footwell came back positive. White mold was also visibly growing under the carpet. A similar issue occurred in my fiancé’s Hyundai Elantra, also purchased from the same dealer. His AC drain was clogged and mold tested positive in the cabin, though his car had no smell. Our vehicles are stored in different environments, which rules out external environmental causes and points to a broader design flaw. There are Hyundai forums online confirming this same issue is not isolated to us. Even if spiderwebs were involved, a single web should not disable a critical drainage function and cause health risks. HVAC systems should be designed to resist common environmental factors like debris or insects. I am a cancer survivor (diagnosed in 2024) and must avoid environmental toxins like mold. Despite repeated outreach to Hyundai and the dealer, I was told no inspection or remediation would be provided beyond detailing, which is not sufficient for mold. Component that failed: AC evaporator drain tube Confirmed by dealer: Yes Manufacturer inspection: No – Hyundai declined to investigate Safety concern: Yes – mold has triggered respiratory symptoms and makes the vehicle unsafe for passengers

There has been a continuous popping noise on the right side of the vehicle near the tire like it’s an axle or something with the suspension. It has been checked and I was told it was normal. The horn will stop working along with the radio and other components in the car. The forward front accident component will say I’ve been in an accident when I have not even been near a vehicle. This has happened on several occasions. I don’t have all specific dates.

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.

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.

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.