2018 Hyundai Kona

2018 Hyundai Kona recalls (0)

No open NHTSA recalls were found for the 2018 Hyundai Kona. Verify by VIN for the specific vehicle, as recalls can be issued at any time.

2018 Hyundai Kona safety ratings

Source: NHTSA NCAP ratings.

2018 Hyundai Kona owner complaints (15)

• ENGINE

  The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated that while driving it began to smoke, a noise was hear, put in neutral to coast down a hill and had to pull the parking break to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with defective piston oil rings, and the engine was rebuilt. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was.98,000.

• ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,ENGINE

  The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Koa. The contact stated that while the daughter was driving the vehicle began to sputter and jerk before stalling. During the failure the oil warning light flashed off and on. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the engine had failed due to carbon buildup. The contact was advised that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included in the NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V301000(ENGINE) The contact indicated that the vehicle had experienced that same failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 90,000.

• POWER TRAIN,ENGINE

  The vehicle suddenly stalled while driving on the highway at normal speed without warning. The engine lost power completely, creating a dangerous situation and a risk of collision with surrounding traffic. The vehicle had to be towed to a repair shop, where the issue was diagnosed as engine failure. There were no warning lights or prior symptoms before the incident. This appears to be a serious safety-related defect. I am aware that similar engine issues have been reported in Hyundai vehicles.

• ENGINE

  The check engine light came on while driving. Vehicle was assessed by mechanic with strange diagnostic code; full oil and filter change done. Check engine light still on and engine stalled while driving on freeway. Took to dealer and was advised the car requires CVVTS (which is essentially a new engine), serpentine belt and spark plugs (approx 3600). There is a known engine defect with the 2018 Hyundai but they refuse to do as a recall and refuse discounted repair on a vehicle that 8 years old with 92,000 miles. This vehicle is owned by my young adult child and I believe it is undriveable since stalling at full speed is quite dangerous.

• POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE

  The Kona barely wants to accelerate and stalls out while driving. Even though I recently got a oil change there’s oil consumption and the oil is black as if I never got a oil change. I took it to a hyundai dealer ship, i told them what was wrong they said it’s the timing belt. When that’s not the issue. I recently took it to a mechanic to get a third opinion and to see and fix what is wrong. He declined fixing it saying there’s more to it that is wrong and looks like there’s an engine defect and even complained that the oil was so black. I told him that doesn’t make sense because I’ve been getting my oil consistently. He couldn’t fix it. So now I’m stuck with a vehicle that barely drives and stalls out while I’m on the road and it keeps burning more oil. No one knows what is wrong with it.

• ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

  See attached document for complaint.

• UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE

  The car was burning through oil every 14 -21days. Car has been jerking and taking a while to accelerate. Went to machine to see what’s going he suggested I go to the dealership because there’s no leaks visible. But added more oil so I wouldn’t go without oil there was nothing available for me to come in right away and before my appointment my car started to speed up out of nowhere then completely slowed down then jerked until I could find a safe space to pull over. Check engine came on and the code was reading a misfire. Got a tune up still reading as a misfire now just stuck at the dealership playing guessing games with what’s wrong with the vehicle.

• POWER TRAIN,ENGINE

  My vehicle started was burning oil having to add oil frequently. Then a knocking noise started coming from the engine (2.0 L MPI NU).It began to have trouble starting and was not accelerating properly and the check engine light came on . Within two days I brought my car to my mechanic and he stated that there was no sign of an oil leak and felt it was a deeper problem. I brought it to a Hyundai dealership and they stated that the engine needed to be replaced/rebuilt. I feel that the lack of acceleration could have been a safety issue on the highway as it could have prevented me from passing in a timely fashion or just lose all power in traffic. There is an active recall for this type of engine starting with model year 2019.

• ENGINE

  Prior to 100,000 miles, I noted knocking in the engine, especially while going uphill. The knocking would appear and disappear, possibly with oil change intervals. No check engine light ever appeared. After 100,000 miles, the engine progressively began knocking, losing power, and eventually stalling on the road occasionally. I have had to put on my hazards and restart my car. One time, I was barely able to pull over to the side. Again, no check engine light ever appeared. I have several videos of the vehicle in motion with audible knocking, and almost stalling. The videos show the dashboard with NO check engine light appearing. There was no sign of oil loss. No smoke. No oil stains under the vehicle. I was due for an oil change when the knocking and stalling became severe. I visited the dealer and informed them of the engine issues. They performed an oil change. And then could not reproduce the problem I experienced. Told me to come back if it happened again. This sounded odd to me given the severity of the knocking and stalling. Or it signaled to me that an oil change including refilling the oil solved the issue. Long story short. An oil consumption test was performed. The engine is consuming oil. I am scheduled for combustion chamber cleaning per the Technical Service Bulletin, as mentioned by the service rep. I am not confident that this will fix the problem. Given that this is the same / similar engine as the recalled 2018-2021 Kona for the same / similar issue. Oil consumption.

• ENGINE

  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

• UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE

  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 servicer where they said the problem related to low compression in the engine possibly something internal in the engine. Next we towed the vehicle to our preferred hyundai dealership. Hyundai confirmed the engine missfires and connecting rod bearing failure. A claim is in process with Hyundai to assess the vehicle further. The check engine light came on when the engine miss-fired initially. An earlier check engine light came on for a missfire earlier in the 2025 and earlier in 2022 and in 2023 which led to a catalytic converter replacement. While not certain, we think that low compression and poor engine performance has plagued the vehicle since purchase. The vehicle drive jerky(poor/delayed acceleration when pressing the gas) and had early catalytic converter issues prior to 50k miles.

• UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE

  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.

• POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER

  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 years and he always told me to wait until there's a recall as it's a faulty transmission however there has not been a recall for my car yet. The car is now in possession of a Hyundai dealership however I was told since my warranty has passed they are not claiming any responsibility but that their transmission is faulty. There was no warning lamps or messages in the car just the issue of jolting while at slow paces prior to the transmission dying.

• ENGINE

  The contact’s daughter owns a 2018 Hyundai Kona. While the contact’s daughter was driving approximately 65 - 70 MPH, the vehicle started decelerating and sputtering before the vehicle coasted to the side of the road and stalled. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a certified mechanic, who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was informed and opened a case. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

• ENGINE

  Piston ring failure. No oil in car and no leaks. P0301 code and knocking sound. Unable to drive.