The Lemon Index
Transmission complaints owners filed with the U.S. government (NHTSA) for each model year, per 100,000 cars sold. A complaint counts when it's filed under the transmission, or under the power train and the owner describes the transmission (shifting, slipping, gears, CVT). It's an owner's report, not a confirmed defect, and older years have had longer to collect complaints.
What owners describe
Share of this model's transmission complaints that mention each symptom. One complaint can mention several.
Transmission and power train recalls
- 2023 2023
The electronic controller for the Idle Stop & Go oil pump assembly may contain damaged electrical components that can cause the pump controller to overheat.
Recall repairs are free at any dealer. Check a specific car's VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
In owners' words
Transmission failure. Car is 10 months old with 4000 miles on it. Extremely dangerous because this happened on the garden state parkway. This needs to be categorized as a catastrophic failure
2022 Hyundai Kona owner · NHTSA complaint
Transmission has extremely hard shifts from 1 to second when quickly accelerating. This can cause you to not be able to accelerate quickly enough to get out of traffic. I have heard this is a common issue from other Kona N-Line owners.
2022 Hyundai Kona owner · NHTSA complaint
Quick answers
Which Hyundai Kona years have transmission problems?
By transmission complaints filed with NHTSA per car sold, the worst Hyundai Kona years are 2022, 2020, 2021.
What are common Hyundai Kona transmission problems?
Owners most often describe hard or jerky shifting, lost power while driving, slipping.
Which Hyundai Kona years have the fewest transmission complaints?
Since 2010, the Hyundai Kona years with the fewest transmission complaints per car sold are 2024, 2025, 2018.
See every problem, not just the transmission: Hyundai Kona reliability by year. How we count