Hyundai Kona 2020

Safety complaints filed by owners in the first three years, per 1,000 sold.

0.42 per 1,000

1.3 times this nameplate’s own median · from 104 complaints filed in the first three years, of 187 ever. 95% lower bound 0.34.

Against its own model years

The model year carries far more information than the badge, so this is the comparison that matters.

Model year	Per 1,000	Complaints
2018	0.07	16
2019	0.31	80
2020	0.42	104
2021	0.32	67
2022	0.47	85
2023	0.31	61

What owners describe

Phrases over-represented in these complaints compared with the same component on every other vehicle. Counts are complaints containing the phrase.

Engine 109 complaints

recall repair	24	22%
engine however	19	18%
part recall	18	17%
however part	15	14%
parts distribution	14	13%
distribution disconnect	14	13%

When it breaks

80% of reported failures happened before 30,000 miles (median 11,000 miles, from 54 complaints that recorded one).

Failures cluster early, which is the signature of how the car was built rather than of wear. A low-mileage example has not yet passed the risk window.

What NHTSA did

2 investigations covering this model year, 1 of which list a recall campaign.

Loss of Motive Power

What owners and forums say

Not built yet. This panel is meant to carry community sentiment beside the filed-complaint data, so the two can be compared. Showing something weaker here would defeat its purpose.

Check this yourself

Example records behind this page:

11309058 · 11315963 · 11342139 · 11343979 · 11349952 · 11355579

Limits of this figure. It counts safety complaints filed with the federal government, which is a floor on failures and not a census: problems that only cost money are under-reported. Complaint rates also reflect how likely a brand’s owners are to file, which cannot be separated from how often the car fails. Sales are calendar-year and the denominator for this nameplate is automated checks only, not verified against an external source.