MODELYEARINDEX

Hyundai Kona

936 complaints across 4 scored model years and 6 recall campaigns.

Which years to avoid

Ownership label · Hyundai Kona Full report
C
Grade 2018–2021
2020 vs model median 1.0×
Model median3× median
Engine 70
Electrical 22
Driver Assist 15
Weakest

2019 · 2020

Best

2018 · 2021

Year by year

Severity-weighted complaints filed in each model year’s first 60 months on the road, so every year is measured over an identical window.

Year Complaint volume vs median Reports Grade
2018
0.28× 37 A
2019
1.07× 173 B
2020
1.02× 157 C
2021
0.98× 141 B
2022 P
0.94× 171 B
2023 P
0.59× 105 B
2024 P
0.63× 100 B
2025 P
0.30× 52 A

P — provisional. These years have not completed 60 months on the road, so their totals are incomplete and they are excluded from the verdict.

What it costs to run

EPA figures for the most recent model year on record.

Combined MPG28
City / Highway26.5 / 30.5
Engine2L, 4 cyl
DriveFront-Wheel Drive
Annual fuel cost$2,200

Recalls

6 campaigns on record, 1 carrying a Park It or Park Outside warning.

Campaign Component Model years Units affected
21V301000 ENGINE 2019–2021 158,493
23V526000 Park it POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:FLUID/LUBRICANT:PUMP 2023 52,109
24V308000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:EMISSION CONTROL:GAS RECIRCULATION VALVE (EGR VALVE) 2024 13,511
23V901000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V BATTERY:CABLES 2024 10,984
23V650000 SEAT BELTS:REAR/OTHER:RETRACTOR 2024 2,354
20V022000 EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS 2020 477

Others in Subcompact SUVs

Same body and size class. Each grade describes that model against its own history — these are not ranked against each other.

Model Years to avoid Grade
Alfa Romeo Stelvio
2018
C
Audi E-Tron
none flagged
C
Audi Q3
20202021
C
BMW X1
2014
C
Buick Encore
2015
C
Buick Encore GX
none flagged
B
Cadillac XT4
none flagged
B
Chevrolet Captiva
none flagged
B

How this was calculated

Every model year is scored over an identical window: complaints filed with NHTSA during the first 60 months after that model year went on sale. Without this, older cars look worse purely because they have had longer to accumulate reports.

Limitations. Complaints are unverified reports submitted voluntarily by owners; they are allegations, not findings, and reporting rates vary between models. Model years with fewer than 60 months on the road are marked provisional and excluded from verdicts. Cross-model comparison is withheld pending production-volume data.

Full methodology · Sources · Data vintage August 9, 2026

Working 2020 Kona
Complaints in window
157
Severity-weighted
250
Model median (weighted)
246
vs model median
1.02×
Recall campaigns (weighted)
2
Open investigations
0
Score 69.6 C