2024 Hyundai Kona: What to check before buying

The dashboard, headlights, taillights and infotainment screen shut off for a few seconds while driving and then come back on. The engine keeps running the whole time. Some cars do this every few weeks, including at night on highways, which leaves the car with no lights. Dealers often cannot reproduce it. Dead batteries after parking are the second pattern. Several reports blame a parasitic draw that service departments cannot find, and some batteries get replaced more than once. Other reports describe a failed backup camera screen, random warning lights and key fob faults.

AWD models have rear wheels that slip in turns and when pulling away from a stop, around 10k miles. Some owners end up with the coupler or the whole rear differential replaced. Other reports describe high idle and surging revs, a daily "Shifter System malfunction" warning early in ownership, and an Electric model stuck at about 20-25 mph even at full throttle. With the trunk open, the electronic parking brake can engage on an incline and strand the car at a stop. Dealers often struggle to diagnose these faults.

Sudden power loss on the highway is behind the crashes in this group. There are 2 crash-related reports and 3 injuries, including a car that hit a wall on an interstate. Other reports describe the steering wheel locking up mid-turn and pushing the car into another lane. In another case auto stop/start failed to restart the engine, and then the steering, brake and gas pedals locked for more than 30 minutes. Dealers say they cannot recreate the problem.

Stalling while driving is the main pattern. The car loses motive power, sometimes with an "Engine off" message, a check engine light or warning chimes. It usually restarts and runs normally afterward. Reported mileages range from 175 to about 16,000. One Electric owner also reports unwanted automatic emergency braking. Dealers generally find nothing and make no repair, so owners are left with an intermittent loss of power in traffic and no fix.

Automatic emergency braking activates with nothing ahead, slowing or stopping the car at speeds from 45 mph up to about 80 mph on the interstate. That creates a real risk of being rear-ended. Another report describes a false "front camera blocked" message that turns off the safety braking. Dealers say they cannot find or duplicate the fault, and owners who go to Hyundai customer service report no resolution.