Hyundai Kona Years to Avoid — and the Years to Buy
Every Hyundai Kona model year from 2018 to 2026, benchmarked against each other with 1,085 federal complaints, 9 recall campaigns, and the odometer readings owners put in their reports.
Avoid: 2019–2020. These years top the Kona's complaint rankings by volume and severity.
The method in one line: every NHTSA complaint for this model is counted, weighted for crashes, fires, injuries, and deaths, and each year is measured against the Kona's own worst year — full methodology.
The trouble strip
One cell per model year. The whole answer in one glance — click any year for the full report.
The defining problem
Engine tops the Hyundai Kona file with 410 complaints, concentrated in the 2019–2021 model years, most often reported around 70,000 miles. The year pages break down what fails and when.
Every year, ranked
| Year | Verdict | Complaints | Recalls | Top problem | Trouble index |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Few reports | 11 | 3 | — | 7 |
| 2025 | Too early to call | 51 | 0 | Electrical | 26 |
| 2024 | Too early to call | 76 | 3 | Electrical | 37 |
| 2023 | Below average | 100 | 1 | Electrical | 39 |
| 2022 | Below average | 142 | 0 | Engine | 50 |
| 2021 | Below average | 148 | 1 | Engine | 54 |
| 2020 | Avoid | 196 | 2 | Engine | 82 |
| 2019 | Avoid | 245 | 1 | Engine | 100 |
| 2018 | Below average | 116 | 0 | Engine | 79 |
Technical service bulletins
Beyond complaints and recalls, 493 manufacturer communications — service bulletins, service campaigns, warranty extensions — are on file for the Hyundai Kona. A TSB is factory repair guidance, not a recall — the repair is not automatically free.
Browse the Hyundai Kona TSB list by year →
Questions buyers ask
What Hyundai Kona years should I avoid?
Federal complaint records point to 2019–2020 as the Hyundai Kona years to avoid — they drew the highest volume of serious complaints relative to the model's other years.
What is the most common Hyundai Kona problem?
Engine tops the Hyundai Kona file with 410 complaints, concentrated in the 2019–2021 model years, most often reported around 70,000 miles.
Every number on this page is a count of records in the federal complaint, recall, and investigation files published by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. Counts cover the Hyundai Kona only, scored against this model's own worst year — not against other models. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.