2020 Hyundai Kona: What to check before buying

Oil disappears between changes, often with no oil warning light. Owners find the dipstick dry, then hear knocking, tapping, or rapping and feel hesitation. Some cars stall in traffic or on the freeway, and several need a new short block or engine. Most reports come from cars with roughly 4,600 to 22,000 miles. Many complaints are about the repair process: long waits for a recall fix, repeated oil consumption tests, and dealers declining engine replacement after a software vibration check passes.

Heavy oil use with no warning light shows up again here. Owners report knocking, tapping, or pinging, and dealers find the oil extremely low. Two reports involve a turbocharger diagnosed as faulty, including one at about 65,000 miles, and in one case the knocking continued after the turbo was replaced. Most of these cars were not repaired at the time of filing, and owners describe being sent away to run oil consumption tests.

Recall repair delays drive many of these reports. Kona Electric owners describe waiting months for a traction battery fix, with dealers saying parts are unavailable. Other complaints cover a 12-volt battery that keeps going dead, an instrument panel that goes black on the highway, and dash lights flashing followed by a sudden loss of throttle at speed. Dealers often cannot reproduce these faults. Scattered reports also mention a backup camera that never worked and headlight bulbs that keep burning out.

Hesitation from a stop is the main complaint. The dual-clutch transmission stutters, slips, or shifts hard between first and second gear, sometimes with a loud bang or grinding, and the car may fail to accelerate into traffic. Several drivers report near misses. Dealers often cannot duplicate the problem and offer a software update instead. Some cars also stall at stops. One report describes a fire odor after a replaced transmission failed again. One Kona Electric lost propulsion at highway speed after a "Check EV System" warning.

The car wanders between lanes at highway speed and needs constant correction, according to several reports. Others describe the car pulling unexpectedly during a lane change. An electric power steering warning light can flash intermittently, and dealers have been unable to duplicate it or pull a trouble code. A growling noise when turning the wheel led to a steering column replacement under warranty in one case. One crash report and one stalling complaint are also filed under this category.

Unwanted hard braking in freeway traffic is the most serious pattern. Automatic emergency braking or brake support locks the wheels when the driver is already slowing, and following vehicles have had to swerve onto the shoulder. One Kona Electric lost braking at 45 mph after a regenerative brake failure warning. Another report describes the brakes releasing below 10 mph, letting the car lurch forward, which a dealer technician confirmed. A constant scraping noise when braking also appears.

False collision warnings trigger braking with nothing ahead, sometimes at highway speed, up to 70 mph. In some cases the car also gets stuck in 4th gear or goes into a fail-safe mode with a sharp loss of power, and the driver must pull over and restart. The problem recurs, in one case weekly, and repeat dealer visits have not fixed it. Some drivers turn the system off every time they start the car.

Sudden acceleration while pulling into a parking spot caused two crashes, with 4 people injured. In one, the car struck a house even though the driver braked. In the other, it jumped a curb and hit a store wall. A third report describes a loss of power that left the driver unable to accelerate and forced them off the road. The number of reports is small, but the outcomes are severe.

Airbags did not deploy in two side-impact crashes, and 4 people were injured. In one, the side curtain airbags stayed stowed and a passenger was severely hurt. In the other, the car was broadsided at an intersection by a driver who ran a red light. The driver's airbag deployed but the passenger airbag did not, and the passenger suffered head injuries including a brain bleed. Only two complaints exist, but both involve hospital-level injuries.