2018 Hyundai Kona Engine Problems

The check engine light came on while driving. Vehicle was assessed by mechanic with strange diagnostic code; full oil and filter change done. Check engine light still on and engine stalled while driving on freeway. Took to dealer and was advised the car requires CVVTS (which is essentially a new engine), serpentine belt and spark plugs (approx 3600). There is a known engine defect with the 2018 Hyundai but they refuse to do as a recall and refuse discounted repair on a vehicle that 8 years old with 92,000 miles. This vehicle is owned by my young adult child and I believe it is undriveable since stalling at full speed is quite dangerous.

See attached document for complaint.

Prior to 100,000 miles, I noted knocking in the engine, especially while going uphill. The knocking would appear and disappear, possibly with oil change intervals. No check engine light ever appeared. After 100,000 miles, the engine progressively began knocking, losing power, and eventually stalling on the road occasionally. I have had to put on my hazards and restart my car. One time, I was barely able to pull over to the side. Again, no check engine light ever appeared. I have several videos of the vehicle in motion with audible knocking, and almost stalling. The videos show the dashboard with NO check engine light appearing. There was no sign of oil loss. No smoke. No oil stains under the vehicle. I was due for an oil change when the knocking and stalling became severe. I visited the dealer and informed them of the engine issues. They performed an oil change. And then could not reproduce the problem I experienced. Told me to come back if it happened again. This sounded odd to me given the severity of the knocking and stalling. Or it signaled to me that an oil change including refilling the oil solved the issue. Long story short. An oil consumption test was performed. The engine is consuming oil. I am scheduled for combustion chamber cleaning per the Technical Service Bulletin, as mentioned by the service rep. I am not confident that this will fix the problem. Given that this is the same / similar engine as the recalled 2018-2021 Kona for the same / similar issue. Oil consumption.

I am having issues with my oil consumption and my car is going through a quart of oil every 1-1.5 weeks. There have been similar recalls on the 2019 Kona’s which have the same 1.6L 4-cylinder engine. My car is currently a little over 126,000 miles

The contact’s daughter owns a 2018 Hyundai Kona. While the contact’s daughter was driving approximately 65 - 70 MPH, the vehicle started decelerating and sputtering before the vehicle coasted to the side of the road and stalled. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a certified mechanic, who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was informed and opened a case. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

Piston ring failure. No oil in car and no leaks. P0301 code and knocking sound. Unable to drive.

The engine burns too much oil. I have to put it a quart every 2 weeks.

Purchased in cash at Dan O'Brien KIA for 22,000. This dealership in Concord NH (Owner) was charged w/embezzlement soon thereafter & was found guilty & fined. My cash purchase was never given to Hyundai nor was the promised 10 year powertrain warranty which was told to me from the salesman on the day of purchase in 2019. My 2.0 engine is knocking (undriveable) w/74 ,000 miles. Because Hyundai received no information on my purchase, I was never notified of recalls or class action suit recently won. I spoke to Hyundai (Case #[XXX]) & was told to take it to Irwin Hyundai for a diagnostic at $189. I'm told it does not meet an engine replacement YET it's doing the same exact issue affecting this very engine. I'm told it would cost me $11000. to replace. I'm [XXX], [XXX] & have no money to pay this amount, plus the car is literally listed for the same value give & take a few thousand $$ in value. I was lied to by the salesman about the warranty & had to find out myself there was a warranty but it went no further than my sales agreement which notes there's a warranty w/no explanation as to what it is. I'm now in a crisis: no car, & i just put $600 of tires on & it was inspected a week ago, quietly running - the tech had to ask if it was running as it was that quiet. What steps do I have to resolve this nightmare for engines failing & being told sorry your loss for nothing I have done wrong? If more information is needed I can get it. Dan O'Brien did inspections oil changes & repair work if needed (brakes etc). My email is [XXX]. phone [XXX] secondary or [XXX] primary. Somehow my phone switched to the secondary # & I'm trying to get it back to primary but it's a new phone & I have to figure it out. Please help me. Should I find a lawyer? So upsetting. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

On May 5, 2025, my 2018 Hyundai Kona burst into flames in my garage and completely destroyed my Kona, Dodge Ram 1500 parked adjacent to it and my home along with its contents. Both vehicles and my home were deemed “a total loss” by the insurance company. The Kona engine compartment burst into flames after a short trip to the store. If the front door had not been locked, forcing my wife to go through the garage, we would have been unaware of the fire until it had reached the interior of the house setting off the alarms. As it was, I received smoke inhalation and a partially collapsed lung while attempting to put out the fire and while trying to put the burning Kona in neutral to push it out of the garage. The 2018 Kona is not safe as it can burst into flames under normal operation and without any warning potentially resulting in injury or death of the occupants or emergency response crews. Research indicates my 2018 KONA has no recalls; however, it has the same G4FJ engine and is manufactured at the same facility as several other Hyundai models that have been recalled for fires in the engine compartment. The Hyundai Veloster has a class-action settlement for engine failure & fires. Also, the Hyundai Tucson has an ABS module fire recall and shared electrical layout. Furthermore, Australia issued a Kona fire-related recall in 2019 due to brake tube routing near the exhaust system. Fire investigators have inspected the vehicle and determined the origin of the fire is the Kona. Hyundai inspected the Kona and failed to take any responsibility nor notify other 2018 Kona owners. There was no prior warning my 2018 Kona was having any problems. The only indication was a faint burning smell my wife noticed when she got out of the vehicle to collect the mail on the day of the fire. At the time, she contributed the burning smell to the neighbors burn pile. The insurance company has removed the Kona, and it should be available for inspection at their facility.

My 2018 Hyundai Kona has been dealership serviced since buying it and it had about 115,000 miles on it when these issues began. Vehicle started to burn oil twice as fast as every time i would bring it into the dealership for the routine oil change, they would ALWAYS tell me that I had no oil in it. Therefore, I started to carry a quart of oil in the trunk and fill it up every 3 weeks or so. This went on for a few months until I started to notice a power problem while driving it on the highway on a trip. Tried to pull over at the next stop and then the car began shaking uncontrollably and engine shut off and would not start again. Took it to the dealership and they said your engine is shot and you're going to have to either buy a new car or put a new engine in it. I have seen many complaints and reviews about people having these same issues with the 2018 models. I know that there were a lot of recalls for the 2019 with these same issues with the incorrect heat tampered pistons causing these exact issues that the many of us 2018 owners have had. Please do the right thing and look into this. There are too many people having these same issues and this was my only means of transportation at the time.

Motor started burning oil at the rate of .5 quarts per week and a few months later vehicle failed to accelerate, had major vibrations and hesitation. Piston rings had failed. Verified by dealer. No other symptoms. Numerous problems with same motor reported by others and repair services. Has been recalled in Australia for same issues.

Felt a large shudder/vibration go through the whole car while on the highway and lost some power. The check engine light came on immediately after so we took it to a mechanic. Diagnostics came back as Hall sensor and cam shaft timing errors. It was found that the timing chain had slipped a tooth. Additionally, one of the pistons was found to have significantly lower PSI than the rest (105 vs 140) which they said is indicative of a pending total engine failure. A recall was issued for the 2019 model for this exact issue and symptom but Hyundai has said it doesn’t apply to our situation. Hyundai quoted 12-17 thousand dollars for a new engine. The car has 87 thousand miles and is less than 6 years old.

Vehicle was traveling down the highway with cruise control on and suddenly proceeded to not maintain speed and lost the ability to accelerate and shake in the middle of the interstate. Check engine light came on after this and we were able to limp it off the highway onto the ramp. No warning lights, no over heating, or any signs were given prior to this incident to give the impression this vehicle would stop operating. My family's safety was put at risk as it lost speed suddenly on the interstate in the middle of traffic and could have caused other cars to hit us as we slowed and tried to get over to access the ramp. Vehicle was towed and inspected at a local mechanic and was informed there was oil burned on the spark plugs and cylinder 1 and 3 had little to no compression.

The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated while her daughter was driving at undisclosed speeds, the engine warning light illuminated. There was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined there was knock in the cylinder. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was determined that the cam was overworked and both cams had overproduced. Additionally, there was a misfire in cylinders number 1, 2, and 4. There was a power imbalance test performed, which determined that cylinder #3 was the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 104,745.

While trying to accelerate on a on ramp onto the interstate, I felt my engine begin to knock. I pulled over and was able to get the car to drive home. The next morning my car would not turn over. I had it towed to my mechanic. They said it was bone dry of oil, I have always had it regularly serviced. They diagnosed it with engine failure. I’m just above the 60000 mile warranty at 63000 and Hyundai refuses to honor the warranty or help with the engine failure.

The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated that while accelerating from a stop, the contact heard a loud knocking sound coming from the engine with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer however, a diagnostic result was not disclosed; however, the dealer stated that the oil needed to be changed. The vehicle was not repaired, and the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to another dealer where it was diagnosed with engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the vehicle would not be repaired under warranty. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

Pulled into driveway and saw smoke coming from engine. Popped hood and saw engine block was on fire. Quickly closed the hood and called 911. Within a few minutes the car was completely engulfed. I just had the car serviced a few days earlier and prior to that i had the 60k mile maintenance service done. There was around 63k miles on the car.

The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the oil and battery warning lights illuminated, and the vehicle would not accelerate as needed. The contact pulled over on the side of the road and turned off the vehicle. The vehicle was restarted but the vehicle would not accelerate as needed. The contact became aware that there was no oil in the engine. Additionally, there was oil leaking underneath the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that due to the oil leak the engine seized and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the warranty had expired. The failure mileage was 35,300.

The car stalls out and I have to now replace the entire engine. There has been recalls for this exact issue on other years of this car but not on this one.

Car just turned off while driving 4 times. Dealer service Said it was ignition coil they replaced. Drove it for 40 mins when I got car back from dealer (after one month) and car made a very loud noise and stopped working again. Couldn’t get it to start and when I did it wouldn’t go past 10 mph. Got it into a parking space and called service at dealer. Today they said they can’t find anything wrong with it. I am afraid to drive car if this has happened on highway I would’ve been smashed. The dealer still Has my car I want them to keep checking it out. I am afraid they will not find trouble unless they drive it for a time like I did. I contacted Hyundai corporate but they were of little help Please help