10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 3
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
13,772 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2019 Hyundai Kona engine problems

engine problem

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2019 Hyundai Kona Owner Comments (Page 1 of 4)

problem #78

Oct 302024

Kona

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

In line with NHTSA recall notice 21V301000, affecting 2019 Hyundai Kona's for piston oil ring defects, I believe the Date of Manufacture (DoM) range should be extended. Currently, the recall notice indicates vehicles manufactured between 11/2/2018 and 9/1/2020 are impacted, however my vehicle, with the indicated VIN, was manufactured 10/31/2018, two days before the indicated start date on this recall notice. My vehicle has been experiencing many of the same indicated symptoms of the faulty piston oil ring, such as abnormal knocking/rattling from the engine during acceleration, hesitation and engine dying randomly (while in motion), and significant oil consumption (half of the engine's capacity in just 2-3K miles. Given the symptom matches and the fact that my vehicle's DoM is within 2 days of the indicated recall start point, I believe it should be included in the above mentioned recall notice.

- Celina, TX, USA

problem #77

Aug 172024

Kona

  • miles
My engine seems to have failed due to bad oil piston rings and Hyundai/ the dealership refused to look at it for that and denied my claim. Almost 3 weeks ago, my check engine light came on after (solid) after getting gas. It was running fine and I had an oil change appointment that Saturday so it should be good (I had a coupon expiring, so I was taking it in like 400 miles early for it's oil change). The car started losing a little bit power throughout the week- it didn't have the get up and go it usually does. On Saturday, first thing in the morning, on my way to my 8 am oil change, my car started a little rough (it had never done that before). I drive like 5 miles, then all of a sudden my car stutters, 2 blocks later dies, it restarted fine, but made a horrible noise. I drove it the block to the oil change place and my car was completely out of oil. No oil light ever came on and I have never been less than a quart (more than acceptable) at an oil change. There was no visible oil leak in my parking spot. It was towed to the dealership and the engine is blown. There has never been any visible oil leak and I have all records on carfax imputed by the mechanics.

- Columbus, OH, USA

problem #76

May 012024

Kona

  • miles
My vehicle starting stalling when driving at low speeds. It goes completely idle, I have to put it in park and restart the car. This happens when I am turning, have to slow down for traffic, etc. No engine light came on when this first started happening a few months ago, but now an engine light has popped on. It is available for inspection.

- Nashville, TN, USA

problem #75

Aug 052024

Kona

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Transmission need to be replaced.

- Conley, GA, USA

problem #74

Aug 162023

Kona

  • 36,500 miles
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.

- Buffalo, NY, USA

problem #73

Jun 012024

Kona

  • miles
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.

- Haslet, TX, USA

problem #72

Jun 232024

Kona

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

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.

- Mililani, HI, USA

problem #71

May 282024

Kona

  • miles
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.

- Marshall , TX, USA

problem #70

May 182024

Kona

  • 116,000 miles
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.

- Williamsville, VA, USA

problem #69

May 122024

Kona 4-cyl

  • 46,000 miles
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.

- Owings Mills, MD, USA

problem #68

Mar 222024

Kona

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

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.

- Bristol, CT, USA

problem #67

Mar 222024

Kona

  • miles
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.

- Acworth, GA, USA

problem #66

Feb 062024

Kona

  • miles
car kept stalling and electrical system was off..

- Kissimmee, FL, USA

problem #65

Feb 152021

Kona

  • miles
11 days after purchasing the vehicle it began shutting completely off in the middle of me driving it, losing all power for no reason I could see and would not turn on for a considerable amount of time. I brought the vehicle back to the dealership on 6 separate occasions, one of the times my car stayed at Jenkins Hyundai for 12 weeks while they tried to find the issue. Finally, it was towed to a Hyundai dealership in Valdosta, GA who kept it for 2 weeks and found two electrical shorts under the front bumper. After this repair it stopped losing power randomly but I still experienced electrical surges, flickering, and consistently blown lightbulbs. It was brought back to my dealership I bought from after this but they claimed nothing was wrong, so I gave up trying. I don't feel like my issues were ever taken seriously and I am now stuck with this vehicle.

- Middleburg, FL, USA

problem #64

Feb 102024

Kona

  • miles
I was driving my car and then the engine light started blinking then my car made a funny noise I came home and put the scanner on it and code P1327 came up and freeze frame came

- Pocomoke , MD, USA

problem #63

Nov 012023

Kona

  • miles
Throughout the last six months the car was stalling occasionally. The car would stall when accelerating after a stop. My local dealer replaced the starter coils and changed the oil. When the problem repeated, it was discovered the engine is burning oil. In fact approximately 6 weeks since the last oil change in November 2023, the engine needed another 3 quarts of oil. My local mechanic diagnosed the problem. He said the piston rings are inferior causing the engine to burn oil prematurely. So, I monitor the oil level weekly. I spoke to Hyundai America and they refuse to acknowledge the problem. The engine started stalling at approximately 80,000 to 90,000 miles ago. Both my wife and myself were almost rear-ended.

- Riverhead, NY, USA

problem #62

Nov 152023

Kona

  • miles
While driving the car, the engine stalls and I'm no longer able to accelerate, despite pressing the gas pedal. I'm able to turn and brake. When this happens, the check engine, oil, and battery lights come on. It is sometimes accompanied by a grinding/banging sound. In order to get my car running again, I have to park it somewhere safe, turn it off, and turn it back on. This is difficult to do on a highway or when surrounded by a lot of traffic. This started occurring in November 2022 and has happened many times since then.

- Marshall, MI, USA

problem #61

Dec 252023

Kona

  • miles
We were driving on the interstate when suddenly the check engine light began flashing and the engine began to lose power. We were able to coast to a safe location to pull off, but had it not been Christmas day and there was more traffic, the situation would have been much more dangerous. Once pulled over we shut off the engine. Upon trying to restart the vehicle it would not start up again. After having it towed to a repair shop they stated the engine had pieces of metal throughout and would need to be replaced. It appeared to be a failure of the piston rings.

- Coraopolis, PA, USA

problem #60

Sep 082023

Kona

  • 0 miles
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact was able to coast off to the side of the roadway and attempted to restart the vehicle. After several attempts the contact stopped and waited for approximately 30 minutes and was able to restart the vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to drive to an unknown dealer. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the engine had seized and needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. The VIN was unavailable.

- Cidra, PR, USA

problem #59

Jul 152022

Kona

  • miles
The vehicle began making a clicking/ticking sound under acceleration and deceleration. The noise progressively worsened until The dealer diagnosed the motor as failing internally and replaced it under warranty. Several people online in forums have experienced the same issue, some cases resulted in the reduction gear catastrophically failing causing the vehicle to suddenly stop accelerating. I worry that this issue may result in more sudden drivetrain failures because of how widespread the problem is. Hyundai does not seem to have a definite solution as the noise comes back for many owners.

- Woodbridge, VA, USA

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