AutoUtility currently tracks 141 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2021 Hyundai Kona. Engine & Cooling issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 77 complaints (54.6% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 3 filings cite a crash, 4 cite a fire, 3 report one or more injuries.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 141 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Engine & Cooling (77 reports • 54.6% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Electrical System (21), Powertrain & Transmission (15)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 3 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 4 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 3 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2021 Hyundai Kona
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Engine & Cooling
NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #21V301000 ENGINE
Electrical System
Powertrain & Transmission
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech
Fuel & Propulsion System
Symptoms Mentioned in NHTSA Owner Reports for 2021 Hyundai Kona
Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis
AutoUtility uses deterministic phrase matching to identify recurring symptom descriptions within consumer-submitted NHTSA complaint narratives.
Loss of Motive Power While Driving
Engine Coolant Intrusion / Oil Leak
Engine Stalling / Sudden Shutdown
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2021 Hyundai Kona
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"At approximately 100,500 miles, the 2.0L Nu engine experienced a sudden, catastrophic internal failure while operating, causing a loss of power and stalling. Failed Component & Availability: The engine block assembly failed internally due to severe low compression (95 psi) across multiple cylinders..."
"2021 Hyundai Kona, VIN [XXX], 45,575 miles. Engine unexpectedly stalled while driving on 45 mph road and stopped at a light. Oil-pressure warning appeared when the engine stalled. Upon checking afterward, the oil level was below the measurable dipstick range with only droplets visible...."
"The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the horn button was depressed but was inoperable. The dealer was contacted and notified of the failure. The contact was informed that the horn needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired...."
"The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 5 MPH while making a turn, the vehicle stalled. Several warning lights illuminated but turned off after the vehicle was restarted. The contact stated that the failure occurred intermittently. The contact..."
"Low speed hesitancy and shuddering. Car has lost power when driving at 55 mph. Car does not want to move at very slow speeds as in a parking garage. It hesitates and starts to roll backwards."
Complaint History for Hyundai Kona
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2018–2026)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 Hyundai Kona | 74 | 9 | 0 | View 2018 Problems → |
| 2019 Hyundai Kona | 187 | 11 | 1 | View 2019 Problems → |
| 2020 Hyundai Kona | 154 | 8 | 2 | View 2020 Problems → |
| 2021 Hyundai Kona Current Page | 141 | 3 | 1 | Current |
| 2022 Hyundai Kona | 103 | 3 | 2 | View 2022 Problems → |
| 2023 Hyundai Kona | 67 | 4 | 2 | View 2023 Problems → |
| 2024 Hyundai Kona | 47 | 5 | 3 | View 2024 Problems → |
| 2025 Hyundai Kona | 28 | 2 | 0 | View 2025 Problems → |
| 2026 Hyundai Kona | 0 | 0 | 3 | View 2026 Problems → |
Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2021 Hyundai Kona
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 36 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE | 57 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 18 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forward Collision Avoidance NHTSA category: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Back Over Prevention / Camera NHTSA category: BACK OVER PREVENTION | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEATS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lane Departure Warning NHTSA category: LANE DEPARTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tires NHTSA category: TIRES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (1)
Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)
Pedestrian alert sounds
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight ra...
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.