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ProblemsByVin Index / 2018-HYUNDAI-KONA / COMPLAINTS
Full complaint record · NHTSA

2018 Hyundai Kona owner complaints

72 complaints filed with NHTSA on this vehicle , including 3 reporting a crash, fire, injury, or fatality. Showing the 300 most recent — grouped by category for scanning.

other 9 complaints shown

12/10/2018 1,100 mi ODI #11160531.0

Tl* the contact owns a 2018 Hyundai kona. The contact stated that "blind spot has been disabled" illuminated on the instrument panel. Shortly after, the blind spot monitors turned off and failed to work. The contact had to turn the vehicle on and off for the blind spot monitors to work properly again. The vehicle was taken to kunes country Hyundai of quincy (207 n 36th st, quincy, il 62301) where it was determined that there was a glitch, but the dealer was unable to repair the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 1,100. *tt off then on. Consumer stated safety feature of blind spot technology should be on at all times but "blind-spot" feature was disabled.*jb

11/19/2025 ODI #11700360.0

The component that failed was the connecting engine rod bearing. The engine is currently in the vehicle located at a hyundai dealership. The connecting engine rod bearing failure came after 1 or 2 engine miss-fires. The vehicle suffered poor performance, I was unable to start the car and properly accelerate the vehicle. The vehicle has exhibited poor acceleration/ jerk acceleration since purchase. However, this incident occurred immediately during initial startup in a parked position. The vehicle rode roughly upon initial observance of this engine miss fire which led us to deem the engine and car unsafe to use. The vehicle was initially towed to an independent service center where they identified the engine missfire code. The vehicle was then towed to our frequently used independent servic

11/14/2018 1,317 mi ODI #11151515.0

Fca warnings come on when only northbound on the causeway in louisiana. Happens daily

11/10/2018 11,442 mi ODI #11150759.0

3rd time now concerning bcw (blind collision warning) shutting off at highway speeds , no grime/mud/snow/bad weather to be the blame. The system just shuts down automatically leaving a orange safety triangle illuminated on dash. Button was never touched even if it was there would again be no error message and triangle. This time system stayed shutdown for longer than 15 min mileage 11442 9-10-18. This has become more of nuisance and major safety concern.

11/05/2025 ODI #11697786.0

I have gotten a oil change over a month ago and my car is still running low on oil. Sometimes my car would shut off while I’m driving on the road with cars behind me. I have gotten my car oil topped off three different times since getting my oil change. It also makes a fan like noise as well. There’s no leak at all. It’s very bizarre.

11/04/2018 11,246 mi ODI #11145203.0

Bcw (blind collision warning) now for the second time about 3000 miles apart from the first time at 8960 and now at 11246 automatically shut off while driving in perfect weather, no grime or mud anywhere near or on the sensors in rear bumper. Turns off warning triangle turns on for approx 15 minutes then turns on leaving without any warning.

10/29/2024 ODI #11622442.0

with no known contact with anything, shark fin antenna cover of hyundai kona blew off at highway speed. this was unknown at the time, but upon further consideration, concern that the detachment could have damaged another car or caused to swerve. dealer, warranty refuse to replace. multiple reports of similar occurrences exist in hyundai forums.

10/11/2020 32,000 mi Crash ODI #11363820.0

When going from gas to brake, even at low speed the car lurches forward, even after the brake is compressed. I have been in two crashes now with the same car tis has happened. I see that in australia, over 4000 of the same cars were recalled for this issue. Two years ago I crashed into a tree. This morning I crashed into my garage door and demolished it.

10/07/2022 ODI #11488370.0

This Hyundai Kona SE 2018 model comes with a key start and we are not getting recalls for a free fix with an engine immobilizer. Hyundai dealership is asking me to pay more than 800 dollars in installing thier fix which they caused. Even our family 2006 Corolla has the simple engine immobilizer chip on the key. Please help us.

engine 5 complaints shown

23 total in this category · severe · avg repair $3,100 · see engine cluster analysis →
12/27/2024 ODI #11632679.0

Felt a large shudder/vibration go through the whole car while on the highway and lost some power. The check engine light came on immediately after so we took it to a mechanic. Diagnostics came back as Hall sensor and cam shaft timing errors. It was found that the timing chain had slipped a tooth. Additionally, one of the pistons was found to have significantly lower PSI than the rest (105 vs 140) which they said is indicative of a pending total engine failure. A recall was issued for the 2019 model for this exact issue and symptom but Hyundai has said it doesn’t apply to our situation. Hyundai quoted 12-17 thousand dollars for a new engine. The car has 87 thousand miles and is less than 6 years old.

12/10/2025 ODI #11704368.0

I am having issues with my oil consumption and my car is going through a quart of oil every 1-1.5 weeks. There have been similar recalls on the 2019 Kona’s which have the same 1.6L 4-cylinder engine. My car is currently a little over 126,000 miles

10/23/2024 ODI #11621568.0

Vehicle was traveling down the highway with cruise control on and suddenly proceeded to not maintain speed and lost the ability to accelerate and shake in the middle of the interstate. Check engine light came on after this and we were able to limp it off the highway onto the ramp. No warning lights, no over heating, or any signs were given prior to this incident to give the impression this vehicle would stop operating. My family's safety was put at risk as it lost speed suddenly on the interstate in the middle of traffic and could have caused other cars to hit us as we slowed and tried to get over to access the ramp. Vehicle was towed and inspected at a local mechanic and was informed there was oil burned on the spark plugs and cylinder 1 and 3 had little to no compression.

10/22/2024 104,745 mi ODI #11621176.0

The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated while her daughter was driving at undisclosed speeds, the engine warning light illuminated. There was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined there was knock in the cylinder. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was determined that the cam was overworked and both cams had overproduced. Additionally, there was a misfire in cylinders number 1, 2, and 4. There was a power imbalance test performed, which determined that cylinder #3 was the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 104,745.

10/06/2023 Fire ODI #11548762.0

Pulled into driveway and saw smoke coming from engine. Popped hood and saw engine block was on fire. Quickly closed the hood and called 911. Within a few minutes the car was completely engulfed. I just had the car serviced a few days earlier and prior to that i had the 60k mile maintenance service done. There was around 63k miles on the car.

lighting 2 complaints shown

12/23/2018 7,000 mi ODI #11163177.0

I am requesting investigation into excess glare from LED headlights on the kona limited model, year 2018 for those manufactured prior to june. Excessive glare originates from the LED lights and results in consistent "bright beam" flashes from on coming drivers, as they think you have your brights on. This results in blinding and unsafe conditions when driving on narrow roads for both drivers. Hyundai appears to have known about the issue as they redesigned the LED headlights mid year. June and later models do not have excess glare. This appears to be supported by iihs.org at the following link: https://www.iihs.org/iihs/news/desktopnews/improved-headlights-help-Hyundai-kona-earn-top-safety-pick-award when contacting Hyundai customer support to seek replacement lights, they claim

12/23/2018 ODI #11163199.0

I own a 2018 Hyundai kona sel purchased in march 2018 from kearny mesa Hyundai in san diego, california. I became aware that the initial kona se and sel's submitted to the insurance institute of highway safety (iihs) failed for insufficient headlight illumination. I further understand that Hyundai instituted corrective action and resubmitted the kona to the iihs in may 2018, which passed and received a 5-star rating. I contacted Hyundai to find out what they did to correct the deficiency, and can my car be fixed. I was told that the correction was proprietary, and they cannot tell me what was done. I asked them if they could notify poway Hyundai, so they can correct the deficiency. The answer was no. They advised me that the best course of action was to file a complaint with the a

electrical 2 complaints shown

7 total in this category · severe · avg repair $850 · see electrical cluster analysis →
11/21/2021 ODI #11441202.0

-On numerous occasions my map on display enlarges itself on the screen all on it’s own. The only way this can occur is if I touch the screen and enlarge it myself with my finger. -My volume in settings were changed within a minute. I selected all settings to level 38 and then when I returned to the screen they had been changed. (See screenshot). This occurrence has happened so much, that I’ve lost count. -Furthermore, they have bypassed my key fob and have gained access to the inside of my vehicle. One would think that they would steal my vehicle, but instead, leave white marks all over my screen, pull up the break, turn on the windshield wipers and lights. Upon entering my vehicle, I notice these have are turned on when I know I always turn them off upon exiting and turning off my vehicle

11/02/2023 Crash ODI #11553132.0

I was sold a car with 1 unprepared safety recall and 22 technical service bulletins. In addition to was previously salvaged sue to collision, hail, flood and fire. The vehicle also was a 2019 made into a 2018. When the ecm was reprogrammed the new vin was wiped clean and altered. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

steering 1 complaint shown

12/10/2020 44,894 mi ODI #11382927.0

Tl* the contact own 2018 Hyundai kona. The contact stated that after purchasing the vehicle, the vehicle experienced unstated failures with the interior lighting, headlights and rear tail lights. Additionally, there was an unknown steering failure with the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to fort mill Hyundai (805 gold hill rd, fort mill, sc 29708) to be diagnosed. The vehicle received several unknown repairs. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 44,894.

powertrain 1 complaint shown

10 total in this category · severe · avg repair $2,500 · see powertrain cluster analysis →
10/15/2025 ODI #11693601.0

The DCT(Dual Clutch Transmission) has always been an issue since I purchased the vehicle. Anytime I would be going at a slow pace in a drive-thru or traffic on the freeway the car would jolt and shake. I brought my car to a Hyundai dealership in 2021 at 36,000 miles and was told this was normal with the transmissions provided by Hyundai and there was no need to worry. Now, at 72,000 miles I was driving down CA-60 when my car transmission died. The car would not go when I was giving it gas and would make a whirring noise when trying to accelerate across the freeway until I could pull off to the shoulder. It was extremely dangerous and I could've been hit by someone especially a semi-truck as it was sudden and I was in the left hand lane. I've been bringing it to an independent mechanic for

Showing 300 of 72 total complaints. The full federal record is available at nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2018/Hyundai/Kona#complaints.
Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) owner complaint database. Last synced 2026-06-14. Complaints are owner-submitted and unverified — the existence of a complaint is not proof of a defect, but a pattern of complaints around the same component is a signal worth weighing. Verify any specific filing at nhtsa.gov.
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