Buyer Research

2014 Hyundai Veloster — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $5,500–$9,500. There are 3 high-severity known issues you need to know before handing over a check.

Deciding between model years? Compare the 9 Hyundai Veloster years we've written up →

Kestrel Take

Eighty-six complaints against the 2013's 423 — and the first thing to say is that the smaller file is a fact about how many people filed, not a fact about the car. It is the same generation, the same engines and the same steering coupler, and the shape of the record is identical: 42% engine, 26% electrical, 16% steering. What is different here is the electrical cluster, where the standout is a climate control switch that melts its own wiring connector behind the dash — three of these complaints involve fire. Two fire-related recalls also apply and one owner reports waiting over a year for parts. Worth buying if the VIN comes back clean on both recalls, the engine is quiet cold, and the price reflects a steering repair you will eventually pay for.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 86 owner complaints for the 2014 Hyundai Veloster, and 2 recall campaigns.

A big number here usually means a lot of these were sold, not that it is a bad vehicle — popular models collect more complaints for the same rate of trouble. So the total on its own says little. What is worth reading is the shape of it. 42% of them are about one thing — the engine. That much concentration is a genuine pattern rather than background noise, and it is the first thing to check on any example you look at.

2 recall campaigns cover this model year. Recalls are repaired free, for any owner, with no time limit on most safety campaigns — but only if someone books it in. Ask the seller to show it was done, or have any dealer check the VIN; it takes them a couple of minutes and costs nothing.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2014 Hyundai Veloster

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

Engine stalls at low speed, often with a knock firstHigh — wallet impact

Thirty-six complaints, 42% of the record, three involving a fire. The recurring account is a car that shuts off coming to a stop or rolling down an off-ramp and will not restart, sometimes preceded by weeks of knocking and hesitation under acceleration, sometimes with a cylinder that has stopped firing. One filer mentions a Hyundai service campaign for engine monitoring logic on their car — a knock-detection update rather than a mechanical fix — so it is worth asking a Hyundai dealer to pull the VIN's full campaign history, not just the NHTSA recalls. Before money changes hands, have someone listen to a cold start and drive the car long enough to reach a real stop from highway speed.

Repair cost (estimate): $4,500–$8,000 for a replacement engine; $120–$250 for the cold-start inspection that tells you whether to walk — more than this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (36).

Climate control switch melts the wiring connector behind the dashHigh — wallet impact

This is the 2014's own failure and it is the reason three of the 22 electrical complaints are fires. The manual heater control unit develops high resistance, and the heat blackens and melts the factory harness connector plugged into the back of it — owners describe smoke inside the cabin and one says the car came close to burning. It announces itself if you look for it: run the fan through every speed and every mode, feel whether the knob itself gets warm, and sniff for hot plastic around the centre stack after ten minutes with the heat on. A melted connector means new harness pigtails, not just a new switch.

Repair cost (estimate): $200–$700 for the control unit and a repaired connector

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (22).

Two open fire recalls — ABS module and reverse park sensorHigh — wallet impact

Both of this year's campaigns are about fire. 23V651 covers the ABS control module, which can short and burn in the engine bay parked or moving; Hyundai advised owners to park outside and away from buildings until a dealer fitted the free replacement fuse. 23V132 covers conductive liquid leaking into the reverse park aid sensor and shorting it, also free to fix. One 2024 filer says the remedy had not reached them a year after notification, so a seller saying the recall is 'in progress' is telling you something real. Put the VIN into NHTSA's free lookup yourself and read the status rather than taking a word for it.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (22); 2 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Steering coupler rattles and clunks, sometimes before 50,000 milesMedium

Fourteen complaints, and one owner puts it at 48,000 miles. The rubber coupler in the electric power steering column breaks down, giving a clunk when you turn, a rattle at speed, and a lag between your hands and the front wheels. Filers note repeatedly that Hyundai covered the same part on other models and never extended it to the Veloster — that is accurate, and it means the bill is yours. The labour is what costs, because the wheel assembly comes off to reach it. Rock the wheel gently with the engine off and listen at the column; you will hear it if it is going.

Repair cost (estimate): $250–$700

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under steering (14).

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗A knock or hesitation under acceleration on the test drive
✗The car dying as you come to a full stop from speed
✗Warmth or a hot-plastic smell around the climate control knob
✗A clunk through the steering column when you turn the wheel parked
✗Headlights or stereo that flicker or cut out while driving

Good Signs

✓Recalls 23V651 and 23V132 both reading closed on NHTSA's free VIN lookup
✓A printout of the VIN's Hyundai service campaign history from a dealer
✓A clean, dry, correctly coloured connector behind the climate control unit
✓Oil change receipts at 5,000-mile intervals through the car's whole life
✓Steering that stays quiet through a slow lock-to-lock turn on a smooth surface