3 complaints reported

2021 Hyundai Kona UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
3
Crashes
0
Fires
1
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Feb 2026

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.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI KONA, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Feb 2026
Sep 2024 Fire

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.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI KONA, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Sep 2024
Aug 2021

on 1, JULY 2021 receive notice from HYUNDAI USA about Recall of car due to bad Rings that might cause Engine failure due to engine running badly and might cause engine to lock up and throw a rod and catch fire, I am 75 years old US NAVY COMBAT VERERAN with PTSD and other serious medical problems and My wife is 74 years old her knees and hips have ben operated on but she still has problems getting in and out of the car. We take our 4 GRAND BABYS to and from school and the sitter 5 days a week. the youngest turned 1 year old on July 7th this year and the oldest is 81/2 years old. we would not able to get our self's and the Grand kids in and out of the car in a Emergency On 7 JULY , I returned to my Dealer BENTLEY HYUNDAI in Huntsville Al. they told me that there was :NO FIX: or test that they could do on My KONA SEL and to drive it until it "Catch's Fire and Breaks down." Than to have it" towed into they Dealer ship" using the HYUNDAI tow Service. This was totally out of the question as they knew about my wife and Grand kids most days of the week! At that time I didn't Remember about my 2016 SONATA SE that was brought new from BENTLEY HYUNDAI that had a software up grade to monitor the engine's operation to tell if problems were developing and Warn the operator. This was done back in 2020 ? I was under a lot of stress over this recall and they were telling me "Not to Worry" about it they showed me several other cars model of Hyundai's and I even drove one home to show my wife, which she didn't like as the color wasn't right and the trim options and safety options didn't compare to the 2021 KONA SEL. After dealing with the sales man who was really trying to help me and the General manager MR. JOHNSON ,who I felt just was just trying to get me to leave as I was really loud and very up set about they were handing the matter. they drove a 2022 KONA Se up for me to look over. It was very funny that only a few hours before there we're none.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI KONA, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Jul 2021

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 2021 Hyundai Kona has 3 UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.