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.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11755301 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

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.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11638981 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

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.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11544600 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

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?”

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11671257 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

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.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11709308 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov