2018 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Power Train (3) · Engine (3) · Vehicle Speed Control (2)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (2)
Hybrid Propulsion System: Inverter 2022-06-28 · campaign 22V459000 · 10,575 vehicles
Defect: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Ioniq HEV and Ionic PHV vehicles previously recalled under recall number 18V-704. The Power Relay Assembly (PRA) located underneath the rear seat may overheat.
Risk: An overheated PRA increases the risk of a fire.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the main relay or PRA, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 23, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 232. This recall replaces NHTSA recall number 18V-704. Vehicles already repaired under the previous recall will need to have the new remedy completed.
Hybrid Propulsion System: Inverter 2018-10-05 · campaign 18V704000 · 10,575 vehicles
Defect: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid and 2018 Ioniq Plug-In Hybrid vehicles. The Main Relay within the Power Relay Assembly (PRA) may have inadequate connections between its contacts, causing increased electrical resistance.
Risk: The increased electrical resistance can overheat the rear seat which is above the PRA, increasing the risk of a fire.
Fix: Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the Power Relay Assembly (PRA) for damage. If no damage is found, the main relay will be replaced. If damage is found, the PRA will be replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began February 28, 2019. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 178.
Service bulletins (70)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Engine 2026-10-08 · 26-EM-016H TSB · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some vehicles equipped with internal combustion engines may exhibit higher-than-expected engine oil consumption. this bulletin outlines the combustion chamber cleaning procedure for vehicles diagnosed with this condition. all internal combustion engines consume some engine oil during normal operatio
Engine 2026-10-07 · 26-EM-015H TSB · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
certain vehicles equipped with internal combustion engines may exhibit higher-than-expected engine oil consumption. this bulletin provides the inspection and repair procedures for vehicles exhibiting this condition. all internal combustion engines consume engine oil as part of normal engine operatio
Air Bags 2026-04-10 · DTN DL · Other
the national highway traffic safety administration (nhtsa) has identified the presence of substandard and dangerous driver’s-side airbag inflators manufactured by jilin province detiannuo automobile safety system co., ltd. (dtn). these inflators were not supplied, approved, or authorized by the vehi
Air Bags 2026-04-10 · DTN DCS · Other
the national highway traffic safety administration (nhtsa) has issued an urgent safety advisory regarding dangerous, counterfeit driver‑side airbag inflators manufactured by jilin province detiannuo automobile safety system co., ltd. (dtn), that have been identified in u.s. vehicles following prior
Exterior Lighting 2025-11-06 · 25-BD-012H TSB · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information regarding condensation related to the accumulated moisture in the headlamp, rear combination lamp, daytime running lamp (drl), or fog lamp. this tsb illustrates the various causes of condensation inside the lamp assembly. lamp assembly replacement is not necessary
Electrical System 2025-05-08 · 25-01-024H-1 TSB · Service Campaign
some vehicles may exhibit a loss of connectivity or interruptions in the middle of using bluelink service functions. this may be due to an irregular disconnection on verizon’s communication network. follow the procedure in this tsb to reestablish the connection via the avn pinhole reset method.
Showing the 6 most recent of 70 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2025-11-25 · Engine“my 2018 hyundai ioniq hybrid has a safety-critical transmission defect. the vehicle slips violently from 1st to 2nd gear, loses acceleration, and causes unpredictable hesitation. this creates a danger when merging onto highways or crossing intersections. hyundai refused goodwill assistance, denied escalation, and directed me to bbb auto line, but b…”
2024-11-25 · Air Bags · 85,000 mi · 💥 crash“the contact owned a 2018 hyundai ioniq hybrid. the contact stated while driving 75 mph with her aunt in the front passenger's side seat, another vehicle suddenly merged into the contact's lane, causing the passenger's side of the vehicle to crash into the driver's side of the other vehicle. the vehicle then veered into a ditch on the right side of …”
2024-10-11 · Power Train“the clutch failed and the clutch and i believe the clutch actuator had to be replaced. it was not available for inspection upon request. my safety and the risk of others were compromised by the constant jerking and sputtering, of the gears that took place during vehicle operation. my acceleration was laggy and at some points nearly unresponsive. t…”
2024-04-08 · Engine“the car engine started to stall, the engine light came on and advised me to shut off engine then i pulled over and smoke immidiatley filled the cabin and outside the hood. my engine could have blown up. had i not pulled over so quickly my car would have caught fire and i would have died. yes the hyundai folsom inspected the car and listed issue was…”
2023-08-30 · Visibility/Wiper“my lcd screen constantly goes black. a couple times the steering wheel locked the wipers and washer fluid went off at the same time. i had to hit the brakes and power the car on and off to reset it while making a turn. when having my window motor replaced for the second time my dash where the speed is at all when black while driving on the freeway…”
2022-01-31 · Power Train“there is a defect with the transmission control module (tcm) and dual-clutch transmission (dct). this defect prevents the car from properly accelerating from a stop. the defect manifests in the following ways when pressing the accelerator: unresponsive or sluggish acceleration, jerking, shuddering, failure to shift, stalling and complete loss of po…”
2020-12-27 · Unknown Or Other · 30 mi“vehicle battery is depleted and needs servicing or replacement.…”
2019-05-17 · Power Train · 18,300 mi · 💥 crash“the car shifts from drive mode into sport mode by itself without the driver manually moving the gear shift from drive to sport. this happens randomly, but always when the car is in motion and always in a low gear( usually first gear ). it has happened both when making a turn and going straight ahead , usually when the car starts to move after bein…”
2019-01-09 · Engine · 4,300 mi“it began shortly after i purchased the car in feb 2018 with the a/c working only intermittently and the settings on the cluster having the same problem, and this electrical problem escalated into a safety issue when on dec 6 the rke failed (battery on fob strong) and a re-start on car did not work, until the spare key was tried. since dealer found …”
2018-11-24 · Unknown Or Other · 1,000 mi“many issues: 1. gets stuck in park. 2. back up camera fuzzy even after cleaned. 3. apple car play drops out. and or switches from to current phone call. 4. tire pressure system is messed up. the tires system doesn't tell you when the tires are below 30lbs. these are just a few issues.…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.