2019 Hyundai Kona: What to check before buying

Burning oil is the dominant complaint, often a quart every 1,000 miles or worse, sometimes with no low-oil warning before the level runs dry. Knocking, ticking, smoke, lost power and sudden stalls follow, including at highway speed. Several reports end in a failed engine with little or no compression. Three filings involve fire, including flames from the engine bay. Dealers often order oil consumption tests or call the loss within spec. Some owners say parts for a pending repair were not available.

Low oil between changes is the common thread, often with no warning light until the level is already down. Owners describe knocking and clicking, hesitation, burning smells, and stalls while idling or at 45 mph. One engine suffered failed connecting rods that punched a hole in the block. Dealers sometimes find nothing wrong after a test drive. Several cars needed oil added monthly with no visible leak.

Most of these filings come from Kona EV owners waiting for a high-voltage battery replacement. Dealers told them to cap charging at 80% and then said parts were not available, sometimes for months. Separate reports describe sudden acceleration while stopped at a light that ended in a crash with 3 injuries, a burning-wire smell, a driver's door that would not open from inside or outside, and stalls with the electrical system cutting out.

Sudden power loss and engine seizure lead this group. Owners describe the car slowing to a stop in traffic, warning lights, code P1327, low compression, and one sheared camshaft pin with severe engine damage. Gas models with the dual-clutch transmission show hesitation or slipping when pulling away from a stop, plus abrupt downshifts at highway speed. Software updates often fail to cure it. EV owners report a failed gear drive and long waits for a replacement battery.

Delayed acceleration is the main driving complaint. The car pauses for up to about 3 seconds or revs as if in neutral when pulling out, merging or passing, and dealer adjustments do not fix it. Two reports describe gasoline leaks, one from a cracked fuel pump mounting flange that left a puddle under the car. One engine lost compression and would not restart. EV owners describe long waits for a replacement battery with no parts date.

All 5 reports involve crashes. Two describe air bags that did not deploy in serious wrecks. In another, the plastic A-pillar trim broke apart on deployment and struck the driver's eye. One frontal collision at about 35 mph ended in a fire that burned until firefighters arrived, with a possible seat belt problem. Another owner found an air bag fault after a minor rear-end impact.

Brakes that intermittently fail to apply, including one crash where forward collision avoidance also did nothing, are the most serious reports. The opposite problem appears too: automatic emergency braking stops the car hard on the highway with room to spare, forcing traffic behind to swerve. Other filings describe a stiff steering wheel and no braking before hitting a pole, a surge forward while braking, and the engine dying with a shudder through the pedal.

Unintended acceleration from a stop is the most severe report here. The car sped through an intersection with the brake pressed and crashed, injuring the driver, and was totaled. Other filings describe stalls with every warning light on and a frozen tachometer at around 62000 miles, speed loss going uphill, and a broken cruise control button that required removing the steering wheel and driver's air bag to replace.

Theft drives one report: a car stolen after a broken rear window and disabled ignition, then crashed, with repairs stuck behind high claim volume. Another describes a rear spoiler that squeaks on warm days because its retaining nuts had come loose or fallen out, leaving it at risk of detaching. Peeling paint is the third complaint.