2020 Hyundai Venue Owner Complaints

I bought this Hyundai Venue because it came with a manual transmission, which I prefer driving, however the transmission has been the biggest issue with this vehicle. It has a tendency to get stuck in reverse, most often when changing gear on a slight incline or decline. This has left me frantically trying to force the transmission out of reverse and into first. It's really scary when this happens in traffic (ex: reversing out of a parallel park). Sometimes you have to "rock" the car by reversing further (if you have space), clutching in and jiggling the shifter, but that doesn't always work. This started happening so frequently that I took the car to Pohanka Hyundai of Fredericksburg and they diagnosed it as acorns getting stuck in the gear linkage, but after having it cleaned out and seeing no more squirrel/rodent activity, it still gets stuck in reverse on occasion. I have owned two manual transmission cars before this and never had this issue with those.

NHTSA ID

11755301

Incident

Aug 2, 2026

The car horn stopped working. Replaced the fuse and still not working.

NHTSA ID

11736888

Incident

May 6, 2026

In a passenger-side front collision at 25mph, no front collision warning was given, and the automatic braking system did not engage. Fire broke out inside the vehicle next to the floorboard beside the front passenger seat (bottom of B-post) almost immediately upon impact. Upon inspection of the vehicle on 1/16, I believe the wiring that powers the passenger side airbags shorted (see photos), resulting in a fire which quickly engulfed the interior of the vehicle. Investigation, police report, and insurance still pending.

NHTSA ID

11711460

Incident

Jan 13, 2026

The trunk handle and latch malfunctioned, due to "internal part failure" (cited by dealership diagnostic). Each time I locked or unlocked my car, the trunk latch would repeatedly make noise as if trying to unlock/lock but it was jammed. After multiple click noises, the trunk would then sporadically pop open while driving, causing me to have to pull over and force it shut again. This created a safety concern as it would pop open while driving. There was no consistency on when this would happen either, making it unsafe to drive not knowing if it would suddenly pop. I brought it to the local Hyundai dealership who looked at it and recommended a full trunk latch and handle replacement. They cited that it was an "internal part failure," however since my model of car did not have a recall out yet for trunk latches (other Hyundai models currently do), it was not covered (costing $1,162). There were no warning lights or messages. The first trunk latch jam happened on November 30th when putting stuff in my trunk. The repeated clicking and trunk popping then occurred December 7th. After that, the clicking and jamming occurred every day, each time I locked or unlocked my car. It got progressively worse with increased trunk pops while driving. I brought it to the dealership on December 10th for diagnostic assessment.

NHTSA ID

11709308

Incident

Dec 7, 2025

I have two serious complaints about this vehicle. I am 5 ft 2 in tall. The seatbelt consistently slides across my neck causing distraction while driving. One would think that manufacturers would have figured this out by now. Almost all vehicles do this to anyone under 5ft 3in tall. Can’t tell me that when they add expensive sensors the seatbelt adjustment would be all that expensive to fix. Also- I have three grandchildren two in car seats one rear facing. It is not safe for me to travel with all three in the backseat. If I’m sideswiped the older child will have broken hips there is simply not enough room. And when we put the rear facing in the back seat the passenger in front has to push up so far their knees are in the dash. Can we say”how about I eat that airbag?”

NHTSA ID

11671257

Incident

Jul 4, 2025

I've owned this car since October 26, 2022. I noticed that my gas pedal is spongy and doesn't want to go or after I've stopped for a stop sign or a light. It was only happening every so often when I first got it but now it's happening at least once a week. My local CarX, whom I've been taking my vehicles to since 2013 and have a great relationship with, has looked at everything and can't find a cause. They told me to file a complaint to see if a recall is in the works for this transmission.

NHTSA ID

11662444

Incident

May 19, 2025

Position of accelerator and brake pedals is dangerous and potentially fatal. The brake pedal is significantly higher than the accelerator, often causing the driver's foot to slip onto the accelerator. Also, braking is difficult due to pedal placement that does not allow natural movement from the accelerator to the brake pedal because the height difference causes the driver's foot to hit the side of the brake, forcing driver to panic, lift leg high, and hope he hits the brake in time to prevent a rear-end collision. The dealer confirmed that the pedals are not adjustable, rendering the entire vehicle unsafe. Other Venue drivers have told me they have the same problem but no solution.

NHTSA ID

11638981

Incident

Jan 27, 2025

The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Venue. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The check engine warning light illuminated. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle was previously repaired under TSB #: 23-01-019H; however, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was towed back to the same local dealer where it was diagnosed with DTC code: P0301 (Transmission Failure) and the contact was informed that the failure was related to TSB #: 23-01-019H. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the local dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure by the local dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

NHTSA ID

11621745

Incident

Oct 23, 2024

Mileage

120,000 mi

The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Venue. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the crankshaft pulley detached from the engine. Additionally, the battery warning light illuminated. The vehicle was driven to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacture was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 52,000.

NHTSA ID

11621080

Incident

Oct 21, 2024

Mileage

52,000 mi

Driving on freeway on way home and all the dash lights lite up. Abs, collision waring, traction and the triangle with and exlimation mark. Car slowed down and dash flickered. Engine started making a light thud noise. 2nd time happening. First time was every similar but was on an empty road alone at 6am. When happened. First time took to dealership. Didn't happen again. Plan on taking again tomorrow. Super scary. Had car for 4 years this June. 36000miles.

NHTSA ID

11615300

Incident

Sep 18, 2024

The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Venue. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the ABS inadvertently activated. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled with several unknown warning lights activated. The contact was able to restart the vehicle; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The approximate failure mileage was 52,000. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA ID

11603237

Incident

Jul 18, 2024

Mileage

52,000 mi

I started noticing what I refer to as a "lurch" when driving. It happened a few times when I was driving around 35mph, so I thought I was imagining it. Then when I was driving on the highway on 4/14, I felt like I could not accelerate. When I looked at the tachometer, it was jumping between 2 to 3, and as it jumped, the car lurched. This past week I have noticed this same feeling of not being able to accelerate and the tachometer jumping multiple times followed by the car lurching forward. It happens almost every time I drive. It sometimes happens after I make a right turn. Yesterday it happened after a left turn and I momentarily couldn't accelerate past 11mph before it lurched. No check engine light is on. I took it to my mechanic and thinks it is my transmission. I am scared I won't be able to accelerate when merging on the highway, or in the middle of an intersection, and that I will be in an accident. I have an appointment to take my car to the dealer on Monday (4/15/24) for them to run diagnostics.

NHTSA ID

11582534

Incident

Apr 7, 2024

I was driving on the highway around 65mph. I saw my RPM gauge going up and down from 2k rpms up to 4k rps and the vehicle was jerking. The car felt like it was going to turn off. The vehicle RPMs spiked all the way to 7k RPMs and the car started to lose power. I was able to get to the shoulder lane by the grace of GOD. I turned the car off for about 5 min. Once I started the car and put it in drive, the car would not move at first even though I pushed the gas pedal all the way to the floor. I was able to get the car to drive slowly to a safe area. I took the car to a Firestone and a Transmission Shop, and both said I was having a Transmission issue and should to the vehicle to the Hyuaindai dealership. This is very unsafe.

NHTSA ID

11566658

Incident

Jan 18, 2024

There’s an audible alert to fasten the seat belt for the passenger; the passenger is already secure. The original battery also has to be replaced on February 22, 2022 at 66,326 miles. The replacement has been failing for the past three months at around 122,000 miles. The battery must be jumped every time the car is turned off, even after commuting more than 30 minutes and with chargers unplugged. The battery is hard to find on the market for replacement.

NHTSA ID

11553479

Incident

Jul 14, 2023

Wheel was slightly going back and forth and it felt like I was driving in a rut. The all of a sudden the wheel jumped over real fast and I hit my head hard on the driver window. I immediately jerk the wheel and pulled us back to our lane. The person with me asked if I went to sleep or something and I said, see the car is jumping in front of the truck, like before when just me driving. I had complained about the car and I could have a serious accident or worse, I could die after hitting the window hard enough that is took me a second to get us back in line because of my head hurting. The car usually feels like in a rut before It jumps me over and I have to come back to my lane. I was jumped into the big truck going the opposite way but was far enough away that I could get us back in our lane. It has happened to me a few days before when someone behind me was coming up just to the left and the wheel jumped over and I almost hit that car and had to fight the car back into my lane. People thought I was drinking to do the swerving like I had. The safety of others and myself is very dangerous. I don't like traveling anywhere with the car, When I drive it does this every now and again. I only drive now for 2 or 3 miles do the danger. It has happened several times even when driving with no one around. I got the vehicle according to the contract is 7-31-2023. I called Carvana to tell them to take the car back and it is a safety issue but Carvana said I am over the 7 day period and I had to take it to Silver Rock to do have maintenance. and they will try to find the issue. To make sure there is a major issue. No police, insurance or other represented except my friend has experienced it. The vehicle feels like you are stuck in a rut when it started acting it, sometimes it just stay in the lane and not send me over to the left but it has done it a few times. No other warnings were made.

NHTSA ID

11544600

Incident

Aug 29, 2023

Vehicle has extreme stuttering when driving at high speeds on the interstate.

NHTSA ID

11534427

Incident

Jul 23, 2023

The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Venue. The contact stated that when the vehicle was taken to the local dealer for an unrelated repair, the mechanic made him aware that the VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V458000 (Seat Belts); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The unrelated repairs were completed. The contact then received notification of the recall; however, when he contacted Shottenkirk Hyundai Rome (965 Veterans Memorial Hwy NE, Rome, GA 30161) he was made aware that the recall appeared to have been completed and advised to be serviced with them. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and the mechanic confirmed that the part for the repair had not been previously replaced as stated. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ID

11517511

Incident

Aug 1, 2022

After I stopped at a light or anytime I hit my breaks then the gas paddle the motor vamped up like I was racing.I was at a stop light when the car would not go. I jerked the stick and it finally like a bunny hop for an out 100 feet and then smooth sailing.there were no other warning signs but I parked my car I thought was too dangerous to drive. Looked on i internet and there were several complaints. But no recalls were issued. However when I reported it to the dealer it was a confirmed recall.I have now a brand new transmission. Don’t know if the dealer saved it for inspection. I think I drove the car for at least 3 weeks and thought I was hitting the gas paddle to hard until the car stopped on me at a very biz.intersection.

NHTSA ID

11516560

Incident

Mar 14, 2023

The horn has stopped working. Checked the fuse and it was good still. This is a safety issue.

NHTSA ID

11511286

Incident

Nov 30, 2022

Was driving at speed down the highway (70+MPH) for an extended period of time traveling around 1.5 hours and then acceleration started having issues. I wouldn’t change the pressure on the gas but the RPM gage would go up and down wildly although I hadn’t done anything and cause a jerky forward motion. This cued me that something was wrong. Then there was an accident up ahead which caused traffic to come to a stop. When I braked for the complete stop it was a hard brake although I pressed lightly on the brake. Then when I got up to speed again (70MPH) I tried to accelerate above 70 to keep up with traffic and I couldn’t get the car to go faster. I floored the gas pedal but there was nothing happening. Luckily I was able to make it to the far right lane and coast up an exit ramp to put on my hazards. Once I stopped in the shoulder on an exit ramp I was in park and tested the gas. There was nothing happening. I turned off the car and then restarted and hit the gas and the car accelerated but when I pushed the gas again it wouldn’t accelerate. Once the car was turned on you could only hit the gas once to make the car accelerate otherwise the gas pedal did nothing. This was extremely dangerous traveling on the highway and could get someone killed. I was lucky there was an accident and traffic slowed down. My car has less than 20K miles on it so I’m extremely surprised that such a serious issue occurred. I have now found out other Venue users have reported similar issues in online forums. PLEASE TAKE THIS REPORT SERIOUSLY!

NHTSA ID

11510410

Incident

Mar 5, 2023

The glass windshield of my 2020 Hyundai Venue SEL began cracking in two different locations obstructing my view while driving. I was not able to locate any chips from road debris in the cracks. They both start from the frame of the vehicle. I’ve seen other reports of 2020 models with the same windshield issue that appears to be a quality issue of the windshield.

NHTSA ID

11507777

Incident

Feb 13, 2023

I was driving my car on the way back from a trip, about an hour away. While driving about 70 MPH on the highway, my car started to feel like it was lurching forward, and the RPMs started shooting up and down uncontrollably. I tried to write it off as faulty cruise control or the shoes I was wearing, so I switched both of these things. Finally, the RPM shot up to 7000 without warning or cause. I drove 45 mph the rest of the way home as to ensure my safety. No dash lights or warnings had been given to signal that something was wrong with the car. Upon getting pretty close to home, I stopped at a red light. My car sounded as if it had shut down. The light turned green, and despite pressing the gas, the car did not move. Only at this point did the battery light and oil light come on. After restarting the car, no lights remained, and I was able to continue home. I took it to a private mechanic, who stated that he could not recreate the problem but that he believed it was a transmission issue. He advised I take it to Hyundai, which I did. They also told me they drove the car and could not recreate the issue. I was assured my car was fine. Despite this, every day I drove to work or school, I could feel my car doing the same thing. It seems as if every time I tried to maintain speed, the RPM would shoot up and down uncontrollably and gain speed on its own. Finally, as I was returning from a friend's apartment, every time I hit the brakes, I could feel my car sputtering, as if it was about to give out. When I would try to accelerate, I would have to use a lot of pressure on the acceleration to get the car to even go, and it could not gain speed. Once stopped, it was incredibly hard to get the car to move at all. Luckily, I was only a few minutes from home, as if I was much further, I do not believe I would have made it.

NHTSA ID

11506835

Incident

Feb 4, 2023

Initially experienced a strange minor revving of RPMs up and down when I had sustained pressure on the gas pedal at highway speeds. The gas pedal slowly became less responsive and, after a short time, I lost all ability to accelerate the vehicle and needed to pull over on the shoulder of the highway. The sudden loss of acceleration was a clear threat to safety. Luckily, I had the car positioned in the right lane of the highway, so getting over to the righthand should was easier than it could have been. No warning lights showed up on the dash. The vehicle underwent a "perfect" multipoint inspection at my local Hyundai dealership the day before the incident with no identified issues. The vehicle is now back at the same dealership for diagnosis. It is likely a critical failure of transmission or software. The car only had about 26,300 miles at the time of the incident. The contact stated that after several times, the dealer was able to identify the issue but not the cause of it. The dealer submitted a warranty request to Hyundai to get a new transmission.

NHTSA ID

11503635

Incident

Jan 24, 2023

My vehicle started to hesitate as I merged or turned. Then my car completely stopped but it was still cranked. The dealership stated it was transmission issues but no warning lights came on.

NHTSA ID

11501763

Incident

Jan 7, 2023

The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Venue. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, there was a grinding noise coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but no failure was found. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed that no cause for the failure was found. The failure mileage was 16,202.

NHTSA ID

11497020

Incident

Sep 13, 2022

Mileage

16,202 mi