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Transmission and drivetrainPart report

2021 Hyundai Kona Transmission and drivetrain Problems

Complaints
14about this part
Share
12%of 120 total for the year
Median mileage
96,000miles
Trend
Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.

NHTSA recorded 14 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2021 Hyundai Kona, 12% of the 120 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 96,000 miles.

Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“When you press on the gas, many times there is a very delayed reaction for power. This resulted in my safety put at risk. I have mentioned this to mechanic, they say it is the transmission. I see where there was a recall for 'automatic transmission that may disengage when the car is being driven'. This is NHTSA campaign number 22V746000. and Hyundai's number for this recall is 236. I would like to know if my car should be included in the 236.”

NHTSA complaint #11512082, filed 2023-03

“* The 7 speed DCT transmission (automatic) jerks and down shifts hard and lunges forward when braking and coming to a stop. Upon acceleration the transmission also is jerky in first gear. It's like driving a manual transmission for the first time. * If not properly controlled by braking, I could hit the car in front of me. * I have had the vehicle in twice to the Hyundai dealership, but they say the judder not bad enough to replace the transmission. They also did a software update that did not change anything. …”

NHTSA complaint #11539241, filed 2023-08

“My 2021 Hyundai Kona AWD will not operate. It only has 18,000 miles on it and I bought it new. I had the oil changed at 7,000 miles. The dealership made me wait a month to take a look at it, and I believe that they know there is an issue with this model so they are trying to stall. I plan to request a buyback. The last time I tried to drive it, it died every time the car came to a brake. I had to sit with my emergency lights flashing for a few minutes to get it to start again, only to have it die at the next light. This is very dangerous.”

NHTSA complaint #11573735, filed 2024-02

“The car has never been good on gas or changing gears when drive mode was changed to sport from the beginning. It would say 200 miles to drive I will drive 30 miles and it will go down to 130. Recently the engine light has come on the car stalls when going a very low speeds and appears to have problems changing gears. Now I am receiving a crankshaft position camshaft powertrain system code P0017. Not even a year old 28k miles. I understand there are recalls on this make model and year yet my VIN is not registered.”

NHTSA complaint #11499629, filed 2022-12

“When slowing down to a stop and im not completely stopped and then step on the gas the vehicle makes a winding noise and has no transmission engagement for several seconds so if im in s turning lane or even going forward when a street light turn green, there's been dozens of times where this happened and i need to let off the gas pedal slowing me down while e everyone else is gaining speed making them to jam on their breaks. I let the dealership know and their answer was just come to a complete stop, i was like during a green light? …”

NHTSA complaint #11540924, filed 2023-08

Related service bulletins

Transmission and drivetrain: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2026110%
2025414%
202436%
20231015%
20221818%
20211412%
20202012%
20191910%
20181115%

Other parts of the 2021 Hyundai Kona

Engine
80 complaints
Other or unknown
19 complaints
Electrical system
11 complaints
Forward collision avoidance
5 complaints
Fuel system
5 complaints
Brakes
4 complaints
Vehicle speed control
4 complaints
Lane departure
3 complaints
Engine cooling
2 complaints
Steering
2 complaints
Wheels
2 complaints
Exterior lighting
1 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2021 Hyundai Kona

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology