2020 Hyundai Veloster: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 2020 Hyundai Veloster
On the 2020 Hyundai Veloster, the failure owners report most often is other engine problem, with 7 reports on file. Across every failure mode on this year, half the dated reports were filed before 25,000 miles. Overall it scores 68 out of 100, high risk for a 2020.
High risk for a 2020 — 212th riskiest of the 235 2020 vehicles we can rate. 29 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork.
The failures owners actually file about
Owners have reported 13 named failure modes on the 2020 Hyundai Veloster, and the three most-reported carry 41% of everything filed.
Other engine problem leads with 7 reports and about 0.4 per 1,000 vehicles.
Ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure follows with 3 reports.
Lane keep or steering assist fault follows with 2 reports.
By system, the reports fall mostly into engine (7), adas (4) and body (4).
At what mileage it happens
Too few of the reports on this year carry an odometer reading to describe the timing: 7 of them do. The mileages quoted elsewhere on this page come from the modes that have enough of them.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
Showing the 12 most-reported failure modes of 13. The full list is in the table below.
How reports accumulate
Every report with an odometer reading, cumulative, from 0 to 200,000 miles. A curve that climbs early is a car with early problems, whatever its total.
- Line share of reports filed by that mileage
How bad it is when it goes
Nothing in the reports on the 2020 Hyundai Veloster mentions a crash, a fire or an injury. That is the ordinary case and it is worth stating: most defect complaints are about a car that stopped working, not one that hurt somebody.
The average severity weight across every report on this year is 3.38, where a stalled engine or a failed airbag weighs many times more than a rattling trim panel, and a figure this high means the reports are dominated by failures with safety consequences rather than annoyances. The weighting is set out in full on the methodology page.
What the top failures cost to put right, as editorial estimates for an independent US shop rather than figures from NHTSA: other engine problem at $300–$4,000, ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure at $250–$1,500, lane keep or steering assist fault at $200–$1,600 and other powertrain problem at $400–$4,500. Dealer labour, a seized bolt or a part that is no longer made can push any of these past the top of its range.
31% of the reports on this year sit in the engine, transmission, drivetrain or cooling systems — the four where a repair bill is usually four figures.
Every reported failure mode
| Failure mode | System | Reports | With reading | 25th | Median | 75th | Per 1,000 | Typical repair | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other engine problem | engine | 7 | 2 | — | 61k | — | 0.4 | $300–$4,000 | High |
| Ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure | electrical | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.2 | $250–$1,500 | High |
| Lane keep or steering assist fault | adas | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $200–$1,600 | High |
| Other powertrain problem | transmission | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $400–$4,500 | High |
| Other body or interior problem | body | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $200–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Fuel pump failure | fuel | 1 | 1 | — | 39k | — | 0.1 | $600–$2,600 | High |
| Paint peeling or clear coat failure | body | 1 | 1 | — | 10k | — | 0.1 | $600–$6,000 | Low |
| Sunroof failure or glass breakage | body | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $700–$4,500 | High |
| Tail light, brake light or signal failure | lighting | 1 | 1 | — | 25k | — | 0.1 | $100–$900 | Moderate |
| Software fault or failed update | software | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $0–$600 | Moderate |
| Other steering problem | steering | 1 | 1 | — | 18k | — | 0.1 | $350–$2,400 | High |
| Other driver assistance problem | adas | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $250–$1,800 | High |
| Other speed control problem | adas | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $250–$2,000 | Critical |
| Unclassified problem | other | 5 | 1 | — | 300 | — | 0.3 | — | Moderate |
Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound. Repair costs are typical independent-shop ranges for the failure, not figures from these reports.
How often, against how many were built
Scaled by an estimate of how many of these cars exist, the 2020 Hyundai Veloster draws about 1.5 per 1,000 vehicles, which puts it in the 76th percentile of complaint rates among 2020 vehicles we can rate.
That denominator is the weakest number on the page and it is fair to say so plainly. Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound.
The working figure is 19,811 vehicles. If the true number is twice that, every rate on this page is half what it says; the ranking against other 2020 vehicles, which is what the risk score uses, is far more robust than the rate itself.
Recalls on the 2020 model year
NHTSA has issued 1 recall campaign covering the 2020 Hyundai Veloster, affecting an estimated 19,811 vehicles. A recall is a different kind of evidence from a complaint: it is the regulator and the manufacturer agreeing that something has to be fixed, and the fix is free for as long as the car exists.
The campaigns cover engine. Whether the work was actually done on the car in front of you is a question only the VIN can answer, and the manufacturer or NHTSA will answer it free.
One caution about reading these together: a recall usually raises the complaint count for the same part, because owners who read about it go and file. The mileages stay informative; the counts get noisy.
ENGINE
158,493 vehicles 2021-04-28- Defect
- Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Elantra, 2019-2021 Kona and Veloster vehicles equipped with 2.0L Nu MPI engines. The piston oil rings may not have been properly heat-treated, which could result in engine damage.
- Consequence
- A damaged engine may stall, increasing the risk of a crash. In addition, oil may leak onto hot exhaust components, increasing the risk of a fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the engine, free of charge. In addition, Hyundai will deploy Piston Ring Noise Sensing System (PNSS) software. Owner notification letters were mailed August 24, 2021. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460.
Recall work is free at a franchised dealer regardless of the car's age. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before assuming it was done.
How it ranks in the 2020 field
The score at the top of the page, placed among its peers. The zones are the same thresholds the scorer applies, read out of the scorer itself, so the picture and the band word cannot disagree.
Scores are ranked within the model year, never across years, because an older car has had longer to accumulate reports.
- Left fewer and less serious reports
- Right more, or worse
- Marker this vehicle
Where 2020 sits in the model line
High risk for a 2020 — 212th riskiest of the 235 2020 vehicles we can rate. The comparison is always within the same model year, so an older car is never penalised for having had longer to break.
Across the 9 model years of this car that carry enough reports to score, 2021 comes out best at 54 and 2016 worst at 78, with 2020 itself at 68.
If the model year is negotiable, 2021 and 2014 score lower than 2020 by a margin worth acting on. Same body, same engines, different luck — usually a supplier change or a mid-cycle fix, which the complaint data can show but never explain.
Within the 2019–2021 generation specifically, 2021 is the strongest year at 54 and 2019 the weakest at 75.
Scores compare each year against other cars of the same model year, so a low number on an older car is a real result and not an artefact of age.
Shorter is better. Years with too few reports to score are shown without a bar rather than as a zero, because no data is not good news.
Within the 2019-2021 generation, 2021 Hyundai Veloster scores best at 54 and 2019 Hyundai Veloster worst at 75.
Where these figures stop being useful
29 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork. Every count on this page is therefore a floor: it is the number of owners who went to the trouble of filing with a federal agency, which is a small and self-selected fraction of the owners who had the fault.
Of those 29 reports, 7 carried an odometer reading, so the mileages here describe 24% of the sample rather than all of it. Owners also round: readings pile up on multiples of ten thousand, which is why this site publishes "about 90,000 miles" and not "91,438".
The failure modes are assigned by software reading the owner's own words, which is accurate in bulk and wrong in individual cases. A mode with a handful of reports may contain a misfiled one.
And nothing here predicts what one car will do. These are other people's complaints, filed years apart, on cars maintained by strangers. Read the page as a map of where this model year has previously gone wrong, then have the specific car in front of you inspected.
Questions this page answers
What are the most common problems with the 2020 Hyundai Veloster?
The most-reported failures are other engine problem (7 reports, median 60,000 miles), ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure (3 reports) and lane keep or steering assist fault (2 reports). Counts come from owner complaints filed with NHTSA, which are voluntary, so they show what owners bothered to report rather than every fault that occurred.
Is the 2020 Hyundai Veloster reliable?
It scores 68 out of 100 on our risk index, which is high — 212th riskiest of the 235 2020 vehicles we can rate. The score is a comparison against other 2020 vehicles, not a prediction about any individual car, and it is built from complaint rates, severity and how early failures appear.
Which year of the Hyundai Veloster is best?
Within the 2019–2021 generation, 2021 scores best at 54 out of 100 and 2019 worst at 75. Same body, same engines, different luck.
Where this comes from. Every figure above is computed from NHTSA owner complaints and recall records for this exact make, model and year. Complaints are voluntary and self-selected, so treat counts as a floor. The methodology page writes out each formula, and the same numbers are available as JSON.
What breaks at my mileage Compare with another car
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed