Hyundai Kona Years to Avoid: No Year Stands Out

Years to avoid: No year stands out Every ranked year drew 16 to 86 complaints, under twice the 55 complaints of a typical Kona year.
Best years: 2018 Under three quarters of the 55 complaints of a typical Kona year, with no open NHTSA investigation or do-not-drive or park-outside recall.

Based on owner complaints filed with NHTSA in each model year's first three years, not adjusted for sales. The 2024 to 2026 models are too new to judge. See every year ranked

Data: US EPA and NHTSAUpdated Nov 6, 2026

Every model year since 2018 in one place: EPA fuel economy, NHTSA recalls, owner complaints and crash test ratings. The best fuel economy rating, 32 mpg combined, arrived in 2022. Includes the Kona N. Excludes the Kona Electric.

Kona problems by year, ranked by owner complaints

How the years are ranked

Model years ranked by owner complaints filed with NHTSA in their first three years (model year Y: filed by the end of Y+2), so every year is measured over the same time on the road. Years without three full years of data, and launch or final years with very few sold, are left out. Counts are not adjusted for how many were sold.

A typical Kona year drew 55 complaints in its first three years: the median of its ranked years. Years to avoid drew at least twice that, and at least 50. Best years are up to three years with the fewest complaints, each under three quarters of a typical year (55), with no open NHTSA investigation and no do-not-drive or park-outside recall that covers all versions; the 2020 is never picked, as its first three years fell in the pandemic. How the verdict works.

Model year	First 3 years	All complaints	Recalls
2020 Kona Most described: stalling or shutting off	86	162	2
2022 Kona Most described: stalling or shutting off	68	109	2
2023 Kona Most described: loss of power or limp mode and the check engine light coming on	57	70	2
2021 Kona Most described: stalling or shutting off	53	120	1
2019 Kona Most described: stalling or shutting off	45	198	1
2018 Kona Best Most described: stalling or shutting off	16	75	0

Compare other models' worst years in the worst model years guide.

Check your Kona for open recalls

Opens NHTSA's lookup in a new tab; your VIN goes to NHTSA, not to us. The VIN is on the driver's side dashboard, the door jamb and your registration. Safety recall repairs are free at Hyundai dealers.

How to check a car for recalls, step by step

Get a vehicle history report from EpicVIN (opens in a new tab): a paid report with the car's title, odometer and salvage records, from an approved NMVTIS data provider. Affiliate link: we earn a commission if you buy. If you typed a full VIN above, the link sends it to EpicVIN and opens its checkout page for that VIN. Check the price before you pay: EpicVIN's $1 trial lasts 3 days, then becomes a monthly subscription until you cancel ($49.99 to $99.99 a month on its pages as of Oct 2, 2026). Disclosure

Year by year

Model year	Best rating	Recalls	Complaints	Crash test
2026 MPG · Recalls and problems	31 mpg Gas	3	11
2025 MPG · Recalls and problems	31 mpg Gas	1	29
2024 MPG · Recalls and problems	31 mpg Gas	4	53
2023 MPG · Recalls and problems	32 mpg Gas	2	70
2022 MPG · Recalls and problems	32 mpg Gas	2	109
2021 MPG · Recalls and problems	30 mpg Gas	1	120
2020 MPG · Recalls and problems	30 mpg Gas	2	162
2019 MPG · Recalls and problems	30 mpg Gas	1	198
2018 MPG · Recalls and problems	30 mpg Gas	0	75	Not rated

Owner complaints by model year

All complaints filed so far. Counts rise with sales volume and with time on the road, so recent years look better than they may turn out. The highlighted bar is the model year with the most complaints in its first three years.

2020: 162 complaints

Show as a table

Owner complaints by model year, Hyundai Kona
Model year	Complaints
2018	75
2019	198
2020	162
2021	120
2022	109
2023	70
2024	53
2025	29
2026	11

Best combined rating by model year

The best-rated version in each model year. Gas: 30 to 32 mpg (every year from 2018 to 2026); highest in 2022.

2026: gas 31 mpg

Show as a table

Hyundai Kona best combined mpg by model year
Model year	Best gas version
2018	30
2019	30
2020	30
2021	30
2022	32
2023	32
2024	31
2025	31
2026	31

Every Kona year's ratings in one table

Comparisons

Kia Seltos vs Hyundai KonaMPG, fuel cost, recalls and crash tests

Questions

Which Hyundai Kona years should you avoid?

No Hyundai Kona year stands out enough to avoid: none drew twice the 55 owner complaints of a typical Kona year or more in its first three years. Counts ranged from 16 to 86. Complaints can't tell you whether a particular car is sound, so whatever the year, check its open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before you buy. Safety recall repairs are free at Hyundai dealers.

What are the best Hyundai Kona years?

The 2018 Kona is the best year: it drew 16 owner complaints in its first three years, under three quarters of the 55 complaints of a typical Kona year, and it has no open NHTSA investigation or recall telling owners not to drive or to park outside. The 2024, 2025, and 2026 are not ranked yet: they have had fewer than three full years on the road.

Which Hyundai Kona years have the most problems?

Counting owner complaints filed with NHTSA in each model year's first three years, the 2020 (86) drew the most, then the 2022 (68). Owners of the 2020 most often describe stalling or shutting off.

Which Hyundai Kona years have the most recalls?

The 2024 has the most safety recalls in NHTSA's file (4), then the 2026 (3). A recall can cover a problem that affects only a few cars, so open a year's page to see what each one covers. One recall tells owners not to drive the car or to park it outside until it is repaired: NHTSA 23V-526 (2023 models).

What are the most common Hyundai Kona problems?

In the 827 owner complaints NHTSA lists for 2018 to 2026 models, owners most often describe stalling or shutting off (177 complaints, most of them for the 2019, 2020, and 2021); engine failure or replacement (105 complaints, most of them for the 2019, 2020, and 2021); and loss of power or limp mode (83 complaints, most of them for the 2019, 2020, and 2021). One complaint can describe several problems. Each year's recalls and problems page lists what owners describe for that year.

Which Hyundai Kona year has the best MPG?

The best EPA fuel economy is 32 mpg combined, first reached by the 2022 gas version.

Sources and method

US EPA fuel economy data (fueleconomy.gov), file dated Nov 4, 2026.
NHTSA recall file dated Nov 12, 2026 and owner complaint file dated Nov 11, 2026; NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings.

Complaint counts are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume. How we build these pages. Spotted an error? Tell us.