2022 Hyundai Kona UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
The horn stopped working less than a year after I bought the car brand new. The dealer finally agreed to repair/replace it in Feb 2024. Less than a year later it is not working again. A horn is important for alerting other drivers to impending collisions. It also leaves me without a panic button, another important safety feature.
The horn is not working. On forums for this specific car it is a common problem for this make and model. This means I cannot alert other cars or pedestrians
I purchased a 2022 Hyundai Kona brand new, and since day one it has had serious performance issues — specifically, harsh jolting during acceleration and occasional stalling. These symptoms are dangerous, especially when driving in traffic, merging, or crossing intersections. I discovered that a recall existed prior to my purchase, but it was not performed until after nearly two service visits — even though I had already reported these symptoms. I was never informed of the recall by the dealership before those visits. After the recall was eventually performed, the issues continued, and the dealership began doing software resets during service visits. However, these resets have not resolved the problem, and the symptoms return shortly after. The dealership claims there’s nothing wrong and refuses to escalate the issue. I have contacted Hyundai Consumer Affairs and am working with a national case manager, but there is still no resolution. I do not feel safe driving this vehicle. I believe this may be related to a defect in the transmission control system, electronic throttle, or dual-clutch transmission. I’m requesting that NHTSA investigate this as a safety-related defect, as it has persisted since purchase and affects both the safety and drivability of the vehicle.
On February 3rd 2025, directly after putting my Kona in park, I felt it pulsing, saw the RPM dial bouncing repeatedly up and down, and the overhead lights flickering in rhythm with the vibrating/pulsing and RPM dial bounces. I recorded this incident, then turned my car off and on again at which point these observations could not be repeated - in other words, the car was acting fine. There were no other observable issues until March 1st, 2025, when these exact symptoms emerged under different circumstances. I came to an idle at a red light (with the auto-start/stop feature turned off for this drive) when the RPM bouncing, car pulsing back and forth, and lights flickering happened again. My car felt as though it was about to stall this time until, thankfully, the light turned green and I could accelerate. The issues dissipated with acceleration. I have this incident on video as well. I have a little over 63K miles on this car. I drive all day for my job, so it's used often for short trips throughout the city.
Horn stopped working for third time. Replaced by dealership twice, awaiting parts for third repair.
At Carmax in Hillside I'll about 3 weeks after I bought this used 2022 Kona the engine check light came on with code p2181. Cool system code. Possibly the thermostat is not working properly.13399 miles on August 9 2024
Horn needs replacing. No bodily damage was done.
Horn fails in very cold weather. When the horn is depressed/pushed down on, no sound is produced. The first and second incident caused it to stop working completely. During the THIRD incident, repeated pressing of the horn would eventually produce a weak sound that would eventually grow louder. This compromises safety because the horn cannot be counted on to alert others to imminent possible danger/collision. The dealer confirmed it twice and replaced the horn twice. The first incident was remedied by replacing the horn fuse. The vehicle gave absolutely no warning or symptoms that the horn was going to fail to produce any sound. Incident dates: 12/25/2022, 02/26/2023, and 01/18/2024
Transmission failed, to start with it wouldn’t go into reverse, then while trying to drive in forward it stalled and shut everything down with a code message going across the screen a possible condition with your transmission control system has been detected.a full check system is recommended to be done soon.please contact your local dealership to make appointment. Had to have car towed to dealership transmission would not operate at all.
I purchased in July 2021 todays date is Nov 22nd it has been 5 months and for the second time I get to my parked car and the power locks don’t work with the key fob and the engine simply will not start. The first time I had the tow truck guy jump start the engine and it worked up until today, I took it in for a diagnostic and they said the battery was healthy everything checked out. Today again Nov 22 I get to my car again won’t unlock and engine simply will not turn on with key entry model SE. This time I had them tow to the dealership for more evaluation. This is a road hazard what happens if the engine decides to stop working while driving the vehicle? Both times I double checked and I did not leave any lights on everything was shut off only thing blinking was the security alarm system. I believe it is a manufacturer defect in the engine since the battery tests out fine.
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Quick Summary
The 2022 Hyundai Kona has 10 UNKNOWN OR OTHER complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.