Hyundai Veloster Reliability by Year
Based on 2M+ real complaints filed with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
1,754 NHTSA complaints (2012–2022).Complaint rate: 93.8 per 10,000 vehicles sold in the US.
Should I buy a Hyundai Veloster?
Quick answer from 1,754 NHTSA complaints · 2012–2022
Hyundai Veloster shows elevated crash or fire rates — buy with caution. 4.0% of reported complaints involved a crash — above the ~4% mainstream average. Most complaints relate to engine problems. Inspect carefully or consider a different model in the same class.
- 2014 Hyundai Veloster· 40.2/10K sold
- 2020 Hyundai Veloster· 42.7/10K sold
- 2022 Hyundai Veloster· 46.9/10K sold
Keep scrolling for year-by-year complaint trends, recall campaigns, and component breakdowns — or click any year above for a full report.
What Happened to 8,940 Hyundai Velosters On the Road
Complaints record what owners reported. These are the outcomes actually recorded against 8,940 Hyundai Veloster VINs built 2012–2022 — accidents, title brands and odometer flags from our vehicle-history database, not from the NHTSA complaint file.
Typical Hyundai Veloster on record: 2.2 owners on average, 68,546 average miles.
Which Years to Buy & Avoid
Years auto-clustered by complaint volume relative to this model's median.
Rankings based on complaints per 10,000 vehicles sold — normalized for production volume so low-sales years aren't falsely rated "good".
Bottom line: Avoid the 2013 Hyundai Veloster. The 2014 models had significantly fewer reported issues. Most common issue across all years: Engine.
Avoid These Years
Average
Better Years
A model's reputation is just the start.
Even within the “good” years, individual cars can have hidden accidents, title issues, or odometer rollbacks. Check the actual VIN before you buy — full history report for $8.99 (vs. Carfax $44.99).
Complaint Rate per 10,000 Vehicles Sold
Normalized by US annual sales volume — higher = more complaints relative to sales
Show raw complaint counts
Common Hyundai Veloster Problems
Most reported component complaints to NHTSA. Bar length = volume; color = crash-involvement rate.
Show full table
| Component | Complaints | Crash % |
|---|---|---|
| Engine Problems | 521 | 1.7% |
| Electrical Faults | 197 | 3.0% |
| Transmission / Drivetrain | 138 | 4.3% |
| Steering Defects | 125 | 2.4% |
| Sunroof/Moonroof | 75 | 1.3% |
| Body Structure | 68 | 5.9% |
| Fuel System | 60 | 3.3% |
| Brakes | 54 | 11.1% |
| Unintended Acceleration | 50 | 4.0% |
| Airbags | 42 | 35.7% |
When Each Problem Spiked
Year × component heatmap. Darker cells = more complaints that year. Reveals which model years a specific defect concentrated in — useful for spotting redesign-cycle quality dips.
Year-by-Year Breakdown
NHTSA complaint count per model year — click any year for full problems & recalls breakdown.
| Year | Generation | Complaints | Rate | US Sales | Crashes | Fires | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | — | 407 | 106.8 | 38,102 | 22 | 17 | View → |
| 2013AVOID | — | 575 | 186.6 | 30,811 | 11 | 40 | View → |
| 2014GOOD | — | 111 | 40.2 | 27,598 | 0 | 8 | View → |
| 2015 | — | 183 | 75.5 | 24,245 | 0 | 9 | View → |
| 2016 | — | 295 | 98.2 | 30,053 | 25 | 5 | View → |
| 2017 | — | 68 | 53.7 | 12,658 | 9 | — | View → |
| 2019 | — | 62 | 48.3 | 12,849 | 4 | — | View → |
| 2020GOOD | — | 29 | 42.7 | 6,785 | 0 | — | View → |
| 2021 | — | 15 | 77.2 | 1,942 | 0 | — | View → |
| 2022 | — | 9 | 46.9 | 1,920 | 0 | — | View → |
Year-by-Year Breakdown
Tap any year for full problems & recalls breakdown.
Data Sources & Methodology
Complaints: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation consumer complaint database (1,754 records for this model). Public domain data, updated monthly.
Sales data: US annual vehicle sales from goodcarbadcar. Coverage: 100% of model years have sales data. Total US sales: 186,963.
On-road outcomes: Accident, title-brand, theft and odometer records for 8,940 Hyundai Veloster VINs in our vehicle-history database. Independent of the NHTSA complaint file — a complaint is what an owner reported, these are what was recorded against the vehicle. Year-level figures are shown only for model years with at least 200 VINs on record.
Rate calculation: Complaints per 10,000 vehicles sold = (complaint count / US annual sales) x 10,000. This normalizes for sales volume so high-volume models like Civic or Camry aren't unfairly penalized.
Year classifications: AVOID = 1.5x+ the model's median complaint rate. GOOD = 0.6x or below. Years less than 3 years old are marked TOO NEW (insufficient data).
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