2024 Hyundai Kona Problems

What owners report

Owners of the 2024 Hyundai Kona most often describe brief electrical blackouts, where the dashboard, headlights and screens go dark for a few seconds, often while the engine keeps running. Sudden engine shutoffs and loss of drive power, dead batteries and steering lockups also appear, and most reports were filed in 2024 through 2026. Mileage is listed in only some reports, and all of those are 35,000 miles or less.

1. 1
   Electrical system

   Brief electrical blackouts while driving

   • 26 complaints (49%)
   • median 11,000 mi at 1.0 yrs old (5 state mileage, few)
   • 1 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2023–2026

   Owners describe the dashboard, infotainment screen, headlights and exterior lights going dark for a few seconds while driving, and sometimes while stopped at a light. In many of these reports the engine keeps running, and some say the blackout happened at night and reduced their view of the road. Owners say the dealer or manufacturer found nothing wrong or could not reproduce the problem. Mileage is not listed in these reports, which were filed between late 2023 and 2026, and some happened at night.

   What to check: Ask the dealer to scan for stored electrical fault codes and to say whether any software updates for the instrument cluster or infotainment have been applied. On a test drive, check whether the dashboard and headlights stay steady, and ask the seller about any past blackout reports.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “I was driving at night and my passenger was trying to pull up the maps on the touchscreen dash and the headlights shut off and the whole dash including the speedometer and rpm Guage shut off for less than 10 seconds it all went off and came back on on its own.”

   NHTSA complaint #11559337, filed 2023-12

   “While I was driving, my car turned off and on again while the car was in motion. I wasn't in an accident, but I did notice the headlights turn off, my dashboard turn off, and a red light appear on the dashboard before the car turned itself back on.”

   NHTSA complaint #11752258, filed 2026-07
2. 2
   Engine

   Engine cutting out or losing drive power

   • 16 complaints (30%)
   • median 12,100 mi at 1.4 yrs old (6 state mileage, few)
   • 3 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2023–2026

   Owners describe the engine cutting out or losing drive power while driving, sometimes after a message about the engine being turned off or needing a restart appears. Some say the car stalled, would not respond to the accelerator, or coasted to a stop. Some reports describe a crash after the car lost power, and in some cases the problem returned later. Where mileage is listed, these reports range from 175 to 16,000 miles, and most were filed in 2024 through 2026.

   Recall 24V308000

   What to check: Ask whether the EGR valve recall 24V308000 has been completed, since that recall describes a short circuit that can lead to a loss of drive power. Ask for any stored engine or power-train fault codes, and check that the engine restarts normally on a test drive.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “the car loss power and shut completely off and ran into the wall with my sister and my child in there on the interstate can I please get help about this matter it could've been worse where i could've lost them forever. I don't want this to happen to nobody else they cars know about these malfunctions and still but these cars on the market for accidents to happen. Please something needs to be done about this.”

   NHTSA complaint #11681842, filed 2025-08

   “On two separate occasions while in drive and accelerating, the car display indicated an “engine has been turned off, move to park” error. The car automatically went into neutral and I lost all control of acceleration until I came to a full stop, put it in park, and turned off the car.”

   NHTSA complaint #11731640, filed 2026-04
3. 3
   Electrical system

   Dead battery or no-start after sitting

   • 9 complaints (17%)
   • median 7,698 mi at 0.9 yrs old (4 state mileage, few)
   • filed 2024–2026

   Owners describe a dead battery after the car has been parked, so it will not start or allow entry, often with no battery warning shown beforehand. Some say the dealer replaced the battery along with terminals or wiring, and some cars needed a jump start or a tow to the dealer. According to complaints, a dealer described a dead battery as normal, and some owners say online reports show the same problem in newer Konas. Where mileage is listed, these reports range from 941 to 13,200 miles, and some cars were about a year old or less.

   3 related service bulletins

   What to check: Ask whether the software update in the bulletin for a dead battery linked to the multimedia keyboard has been applied. Ask the dealer to test the battery and check for battery drain with the car switched off.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Twice my car wouldn't come on at all. The first time they put a new battery in even though I had it only 2 weeks and it's a 2024. The second time was today. The engine would not come on. My inside lights were blinking but the car wouldn't start. The lights went out on the inside but when I went outside the car, my outside light were blinking real fast. This lasted for about 15 minutes and then they went dead. The whole car was dead and had to be towed to the dealership.”

   NHTSA complaint #11628654, filed 2024-12

   “7 months old Kona with 700 miles on it. Woke up one morning with a Totally dead battery. The internet is full of incidents such as mine--new Konas with dead batteries. The dealer could not give me a service date until one month later. Car is still at the dealer...”

   NHTSA complaint #11620301, filed 2024-10
4. 4
   Steering

   Steering locking or turning on its own

   • 5 complaints (9%)
   • median 28,791 mi at 2.6 yrs old (3 state mileage, few)
   • 2 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2025–2026

   Owners describe the steering wheel turning on its own or locking, sometimes leading to a loss of control at low speed or while pulling out of a parking space. A report describes steering that turned left and right before power and steering were lost and the car hit a pole. Another says the steering locked after an auto stop at a light, leaving the driver unable to use the pedals, and a further report says the steering locks up while the car shuts down. Mileage is listed in only some of these reports, at 28,791 and 35,000 miles, and all were filed in 2025 or 2026.

   What to check: Ask whether the steering system has been checked for stored fault codes and whether any steering software update has been applied. On a test drive, check that the steering responds smoothly at low speed and when reversing out of a parking space.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “While at a light, the auto stop/start kicked on but when it was time to start driving again and I pressed the gas pedal, the car would not move. There was a long beep and then the check battery icon and an alert came on my dash board stating “Auto Stop is Off. Shift to P or N and start engine manually.” When I turned off the ignition and restarted the car, the alert went off but two additional icons showed up on my dash board- check engine and check oil. Then my steering wheel locked up and I could not press on the breaks or gas pedal. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11684082, filed 2025-08

   “The car shuts off at random times during me driving . Its like the car locks up steering and shuts completely down . Have to pull over and give the car time . And it shuts back on in and drives with poor accelerate after each issuse. The car is now shaking and making popping sounds while driving .”

   NHTSA complaint #11752393, filed 2026-07
5. 5
   Forward collision avoidance

   Unexpected forward collision braking

   • 8 complaints (15%)
   • typically at 2.2 yrs old
   • filed 2024–2026

   Owners describe forward collision warnings or automatic braking that activated when nothing was ahead, at times at highway speed and at times on a curve. A report says the car displayed a front camera blocked message, though the owner found nothing blocking the camera. Another says the dealer could not find a fault, and the car was towed to a dealer. Mileage is not listed in these reports, which were filed from 2024 through 2026, and most describe highway driving.

   1 related service bulletin

   What to check: Ask whether the front camera calibration bulletin 11029906 for the forward collision and lane systems has been checked, and ask for any stored camera fault codes. On a test drive, watch for forward collision warnings with a clear road ahead, and ask the seller about any history of sudden braking.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “This mainly concerns the forward collision detection sensor, if that’s even what it’s actually called. My vehicle is available for testing and inspection. I was driving on an interstate, with my adaptive cruise control set to 75 mph. I was in the left of 3 lanes when got to a curve that went to the right. As I came to the beginning of the curve, all of a sudden my dash is warning me of a forward collision and the car started braking hard on its own. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11762027, filed 2026-09

   “while traveling from MN to KY on the interstate on two separate occasions the vehicle suddenly applied the brakes at Highway speeds around of 80mph. There was nothing Infront of me on either occasion. Then the next day it did it again at highway speed. Then I was driving on a mountain road in the smokies and it gave me a message that the front camera was blocked, and it was turning off the safety braking etc, I stopped when I could and took pictures there was nothing blocking the camera. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11592725, filed 2024-06

Buying note. For a 2024 Kona, ask the dealer whether the battery-related software update in the bulletins has been applied, and check for any electrical or engine fault codes before buying. On a test drive, check the dashboard lights, steering response and forward collision braking, and ask the seller about any past loss of power.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 49 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.