2018 Hyundai Kona Reliability Report

Fires are the main concern here. Four of seven reports involve fire, and five people were injured. One car smoked and caught fire while parked at 22,000 miles. Others describe the electrical system acting up just before a fire, though some of those cars had salvage history or aftermarket stereo wiring. Smaller complaints cover a front passenger door lock that stops working, headlights flickering after startup until the car has gone about a mile, and the touchscreen changing settings on its own.

The roof antenna breaks off at interstate speed and becomes a possible road hazard. One report describes the front passenger-side bumper area coming loose from the frame and dropping to the ground, then tearing off when the car backed out. Another describes a rear passenger door that will not open from inside. The A/C also gives off a mildew smell at startup. Only three complaints are on file, and none involve a crash or injury.

The driver airbag fails to deploy in hard frontal crashes, leaving the driver unprotected. Both reports describe crashes, one into trees and one into a car that stopped suddenly in a fast lane, and both list injuries to the head, chest, knee or neck. One owner says Hyundai declined to look into why the airbag stayed folded. With only two complaints, this is not a broad pattern, but each case is serious.

Headlight performance on early-build cars is the complaint. Owners of LED-equipped Limited models built before June say oncoming drivers flash their high beams because the low beams cause so much glare. SE and SEL owners say their headlights were too dim and that Hyundai changed the design mid-year without offering a fix for cars already sold. Neither report describes a crash, but both owners say the problem makes night driving on narrow roads unsafe.