2020 Hyundai Venue Powertrain (other) Problems

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

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

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

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

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

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