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Hyundai · NHTSA safety record

2026 Hyundai Kona

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Owners have filed 9 safety complaints about the 2026 Hyundai Kona with the US government. Of those, 1 describes a crash, 2 people were injured and no death is recorded. 3 recall campaigns are open against it.

The most complained-about system is the brakes, named in 2 complaints, 22% of the total.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers October 2025 to August 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

9 complaints on file

9

Complaints

1

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

2

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 3 · 33%
SERVICE BRAKES 2 · 22%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 · 11%
ENGINE 1 · 11%
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 1 · 11%
POWER TRAIN 1 · 11%
SEAT BELTS 1 · 11%
STRUCTURE 1 · 11%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 · 11%
0 4 8

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 9.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2026 at 8.

12 9 6 3
25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2025 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2026 Hyundai KONA, and it is a separate question from what owners report going wrong later.

Test SUV N/A AWD SUV N/A FWD
Overall
Frontal crash
Frontal, driver
Frontal, passenger
Side crash
Side barrier
Side pole
Rollover
Chance of rollover 15.9% 15.1%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard

A rating belongs to a tested body style and drivetrain, not to the model as a whole, which is why more than one is listed. A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.

Recall campaigns

3 on file

SEAT BELTS: REAR/OTHER:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY

26V452000 · July 14, 2026

The defect
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2025 Kona Electric and 2026 Kona vehicles. The seat belt buckle in the rear center seat may fail to properly restrain an occupant during a crash.
The risk
A seat belt buckle that fails to properly restrain an occupant in a crash increases the risk of injury.
The remedy
Passengers are advised not to use the rear center seat until the recall remedy is performed. Dealers will replace the seat belt buckle assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed September 11, 2026. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 306. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on July 15, 2026.

Hyundai Motor America · up to 47,749 vehicles across all model years covered

STEERING:LINKAGES:KNUCKLE:SPINDLE:ARM

26V069000 · February 6, 2026

The defect
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2026 Kona vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, the front steering knuckles may crack and break, which can result in a loss of vehicle steering control.
The risk
A loss of vehicle steering control increases the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect and replace the front steering knuckles, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 5, 2026. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 295. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on February 7, 2026.

Hyundai Motor America · up to 4,555 vehicles across all model years covered

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL

26V047000 · January 27, 2026

The defect
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2025-2026 Tucson Hybrid, Tucson Plug-In Hybrid Electric (PHEV), 2026 IONIQ 5, Santa Cruz, Kona, Palisade, Palisade Hybrid, Santa Fe, Santa Fe Hybrid, Sonata, Sonata Hybrid, and Tucson vehicles. Due to a software error, the instrument panel display may fail. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 101, "Controls and Displays."
The risk
An instrument panel display that fails to show critical safety information, such as the speedometer or warning lights, increases the risk of a crash.
The remedy
The instrument panel display software will be updated over-the-air (OTA) or by a dealer, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 24, 2026. Owners may contact Hyundai's customer service at 855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 293. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on January 28, 2026.

Hyundai Motor America · up to 41,651 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

SERVICE BRAKES

2 injured · crash · towed

On April 20, 2026 I was pulling into a parking space. I began to break but something went terribly wrong. My car accelerated on it's own, went over the curb and crashed into a building. Three air bags deployed: two on the drivers side of the car (front and side air bag) and one in the back seat behind the driver (the side air bag). I had a [XXX] in the back seat behind the passenger side of the car in a car seat. I was told at the time of the incident that there was not structural damage to the building that was hit. I have asked my insurance company to inspect the car for any malfunctions but they won't. They deem it totaled and say I am at fault because it's my responsibility to control

NHTSA complaint 11733958, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SEAT BELTS
I purchased this vehicle new on July 28, 2026. NHTSA Recall 26V-452 / Hyundai Recall 306 was dated July 13, 2026, and the VIN showed the recall as incomplete when I discovered it. The dealer states that it was unaware of the recall at the time of sale. I am reporting this to document that a new vehicle was delivered to me while this safety recall was unrepaired. I intend to have the recall repair completed.

NHTSA complaint 11758247. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

770 miles

The contact owns a 2026 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and went into LIMP Mode before the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was restarted and resumed normal functionality. While depressing the accelerator, the vehicle lunged forward. The contact depressed the brake pedal and regained control of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer; however, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 770.

NHTSA complaint 11756273. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Car went into a limp mode several times, potentially could cause major accident. Towed to dealer who found nothing wrong. Would not give me loaner. I had to sell the Kona in order to have a car, car was bought new had 770 mikes on it. What can I do?

NHTSA complaint 11755720. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Coke spill in cup holders caused a leak to the wiring harness below the center console. It drained the battery, shut down all of the buttons on the steering wheel and shut the infotainment system down. It finally died and had to be towed to Vann York Hyundai in Highpoint NC. They told me that because it was cased by an outside influence it's not covered by the warranty and estimated $800 labor for repair. The leak is a defect.

NHTSA complaint 11736844. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Hyundai needs to eliminate the “CONSIDER TAKING A COFFEE BREAK “ alert! Its completely distracting, comes in way too frequently, and is loud

NHTSA complaint 11723613. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Hyundai Kona

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2024 52 3 —
2023 65 1 —
2022 99 0 —
2021 117 1 —
2020 160 2 1
2019 193 1 —
2018 75 0 —

Other 2026 Hyundai models

Palisade 119 Tucson 61 Ioniq 9 37 Santa FE 36 Tucson Hybrid 27 Ioniq 5 24 Santa FE Hybrid 13 Santa Cruz 5

Complaints on file, same model year.

Every Hyundai on this site — 205 vehicles.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst