Consumer Safety Complaints

Search 2,245,377 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA, including 140,173 crashes, 56,794 fires, and 8,580 deaths.

2,245,377 Total Complaints

140,173 Reported Crashes

56,794 Reported Fires

8,580 Reported Deaths

What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?

A consumer complaint is a free-form report filed by a vehicle owner directly to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) describing a safety concern about their vehicle. NHTSA collects these reports through its Vehicle Owner Defect Report (VOQ) system and publishes them publicly. Each complaint includes the affected component, the date and circumstances of the incident, whether the failure caused a crash or fire, and any reported injuries or deaths. The owner's full narrative description is included verbatim, NHTSA does not edit or moderate the descriptions.

The database below contains over 2,245,377 individual complaints. NHTSA's investigators monitor it for clusters of similar reports, when enough owners describe the same failure mode on the same vehicle, NHTSA may open a Preliminary Evaluation that can lead to a recall. Many of the largest recalls in U.S. history, including the Takata airbag recall and the Hyundai/Kia engine fire recalls, started as patterns visible in this complaint database years before they became formal recalls.

How to interpret what you read

A few principles for reading consumer complaints usefully:

One complaint is anecdote; a hundred similar complaints is data. NHTSA does not investigate the truthfulness of any individual report, that's the job of the Office of Defects Investigation, which looks at the full pattern. When evaluating a vehicle, look for whether multiple owners describe the same chain of events.
Crash, fire, injury, and death flags are owner-set. They are not verified by NHTSA. They are still useful as a filter, because owners who tick those boxes are typically reporting more serious incidents than those who don't.
Component categories are NHTSA-assigned, not owner-assigned. NHTSA standardizes the component field so that complaints can be aggregated. The owner narrative often goes into more detail than the component category captures.
Complaint volume scales with sales volume. A best-selling model will accumulate more raw complaints than a niche model even at the same defect rate. To compare across vehicles, look at complaints per 100,000 units sold, not raw counts.

If you've experienced a defect

File a complaint. NHTSA's investigators rely on this database to detect emerging defects, and useful complaints, specific, concrete, with dates and mileage and clear descriptions of what happened, feed directly into the agency's pattern detection. The form takes about 10 minutes and is at nhtsa.gov/recalls under "Report a Safety Problem." Your complaint becomes part of the same public record that this page is built from. Owners filing detailed VOQs are how recalls get triggered.

Read more from our blog

How to Read NHTSA Consumer Complaints › How NHTSA Investigations Work › Used Car: 7 Recall Checks to Run First › The Takata Airbag Recall: Full Story › OBD-II Codes Explained › All Articles ›

Clear

Showing 169,480 complaints - component: ENGINE

Incident date: Dec 31, 1969

My engine lights turned on Friday, April 24th and I brought in my vehicle to a local dealership on Monday, April 27th. I was informed it was due to a faulty catalytic converter and it was replaced under warranty. The services was completed on Tuesday, April 29th and took my vehicle home. On May 7th, I turn on my engine and all the engine check lights came on. My car was jerky. I was scheduled to b... Read more

Incident date: Dec 31, 1969

The vehicle has coolant intrusion, and engine has been reported knock. Before the incident, I called the Bloomfield office to book an appointment, I was put on call waiting but no response, I booked the appointment online, no confirmation. I then booked another appointment and went to Springfield, Vauxhall Ford plant when I received the Recall paper. The agent that responded to me told me that the... Read more

Incident date: May 1, 2026

This is an extremely common issue plaguing Hyundai & Kia vehicles with the Theta III 2.5L Turbo engine, Such as Kia K5 GT, Hyundai Sante Fe, Hyundai Santa Cruz, & Hyundai Sonata N-Line. Its a failing ITM (integrated thermal management) unit or otherwise known as an ITMS unit. There is a rod within the ITM that prevents proper control of the flow of cooling the oil and engine coolant of the engine... Read more

Incident date: Feb 1, 2026

2019 Ford Fusion with 82,362 miles- just told engine coolant leaking into the cylinder walls and engine replacement is needed. Dealer said Do not drive it! This is a known problem with this model and Ford has not recalled it. Ford is aware and have sent TS Bulletins to their service departments but why NOT recall. My daughter’s safety has been at risk and now the value is worthless Or an engine ... Read more

Incident date: May 1, 2026

Engine failed while driving, Took it to dealership and the engine is seized. We were declined by Hyundai an engine replacement even though the Theta 2 engines have a lifetime replacement warranty because these engines are known to fail. They constantly deny due to 'severe owner neglect' because people do their own oil changes.

Incident date: May 13, 2026

Coolant leak into the engine. Told that Ford knows about this but refuses to do anything to help me. Said the car would need $14,000 worth of fixes when I only bought it for $12,300.

Incident date: Apr 1, 2026

Worst dealership my husband and I ever dealt with. We purchased a 2019 Nissan XD Titan Diesel with warranty. Two days after purchase, the check engine light came on. I called Spencer from the service department to let them know. They took the truck the very next day; it was some issue with the gas tank, so the part was back-ordered. After getting that fixed, the check engine light still never went... Read more

Incident date: May 14, 2026

I had been hearing a ticking or clicking sound from the engine. When I brought it to a Honda dealership that I had used about a year ago for the 100,000 mile maintenance, I was told that the truck had a rod bearing failure and that I needed a new engine. I was told that if I kept driving it as is, that I could have catastrophic engine seizure without warning at anytime. This is a disaster waiti... Read more

Incident date: May 14, 2026

I am filing a complaint regarding Consumer Portfolio Services (CPS) and the reporting and collection of a repossession deficiency balance related to my 2021 Ford EcoSport, VIN [XXX] and Ford Motor Company. The vehicle was affected by serious safety defects and recall-related issues that endangered my safety and substantially impaired the vehicle’s reliability, usability, and market value. Despi... Read more

Incident date: May 11, 2026

I Was In My Vehicle Parked Up On January 1st 2026 And The Vehicle Caught On Fire While I Was Inside Of It,The Fire Started From The Right Side Of The Car And Flamed Up Everything,The Car Had A Check Engine Light On And A Lightning System Issue Was Popping Up On The Dash Right Before This Situation Accord I Did Research And Found That The Cause Of The Fire Is Related To NHTSA Recall 24V-608 (Water ... Read more

Fire

Incident date: May 11, 2026

The contact's son owned a 2025 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while her son was driving on the parkway at approximately 40 MPH, a loud, booming sound emit from the vehicle. After the booming sound emitting from the vehicle, several warning lights appeared on the instrument panel as the vehicle caught fire. Due to the sudden failure, the vehicle caught fire and the authorities were called to ... Read more

Fire

Incident date: May 14, 2026

There are three dangerous systems in my 2025 Honda Pilot EX-L that should be permanently disabled or removed by the manufacturer or dealer. In order of danger; (1) Collision Mitigation Braking System, (2) Auto Idle Stop, and (3) Road Departure Mitigation System. All three of these systems have nearly caused wrecks for me several times. The Collision Mitigation Braking System (1) is especially dang... Read more

Incident date: Apr 13, 2026

2020 3.0 diesel duramax sucked in the antifreeze and caused a hydrolock. The dealer says that it is not covered under warranty since the engine was over 100k miles. They did offer a new engine for $30K which I declined. The truck was always well taken care of and only received the best in all products

Incident date: Apr 23, 2026

After completion of Hyundai Service Campaign 9C2, my 2016 Hyundai Sonata SE is very difficult to drive at low RPMs. Cold start its sluggish and jerks and driving uphill feels like transmission slipping but is not. An additional update to the ECM needs to be conducted ASAP.

Incident date: Apr 5, 2026

Multiple warning lights lit up after starting car and driving for a short distance (less than 5 feet). Honda mechanic diagnosed it as a misfire in cylinder likely due to carbon buildup or other unknown reason. Similar incidents have happened with other 2019 Honda Fit and an extension of warranty was issued for some vehicles but not all (SB 23-042). Unfortunately, mine was apparently not covered de... Read more

Incident date: May 8, 2026

-Thermostat -car died in traffic -not that I know of -it was diagnosed by the dealer -no warning lights or lamps -not that I’m aware if

Incident date: Apr 23, 2026

The contact owns a 2026 Honda CR-V. The stated that when driving the vehicle, it unexpectedly stalled. No warning lights illuminated. The dealer was contacted however the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 400.

Incident date: May 13, 2026

In October of 2025 my husband noticed that our car was idling roughly and checked that there was plenty of oil in the system. The dipstick was pretty much empty so my husband added approximately 3 quarts of oil to bring it up to a little over half. After a thousand miles he checked to make sure it was still holding stead just in case. When he did so the dip stick again showed nearly empty. On appr... Read more

Incident date: Sep 15, 2024

The engine seized up and hyundai refused to approve my claim al though i had the extended warranty. Reason for the denial because a recall in 2019 was not performed. I had purchased the vehicle in 2023 used from Rick case honda.

Incident date: May 8, 2026

Hard downshift caused my truck to slow suddenly and became very hesitant where the vehicle behind me had to slam on their brakes. I then pulled over when it was safe, turned the truck off and then attempted to turn back on with no success due to the shift indicator no longer lighting up. This matches up with the current recall for this particular vehicle.

Incident date: Apr 29, 2026

VERIFIED CONCERN, FOUND VEHICLE TO RUN VERY ROUGH AND DOES NOT IDLE CLEANLY. PERFORMED MISFIRE MONITOR AND NOTED NO MISFIRES AT THIS TIME. INSPECT SPARK PLUGS, COILS AND CYLINDER BORES FOR CONCERN, NOTED LOW COMPRESSION ON CYL #2 (150, 105, 145, 150). INSPECT CYL BORE WITH CAMERA, NOTED EXCESSIVE SCOURING AND DAMAGE TO CYLINDER WALLS CAUSING MISFIRE. ADVISE LONGBLOCK OR COMPLETE ASSEMBLY REPLACEME... Read more

Incident date: Oct 1, 2025

The contact owns a 2021 Jaguar E-Pace. The contact stated that while driving and coming to a stop light or stop sign, the automatic stop start caused the vehicle when stopped and light or stop sign, the vehicle stalled. The issue also occurred while driving on a roadway, the vehicle stalled when stopped. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and did a multi point inspect... Read more

Incident date: Sep 18, 2024

Head gasket failure, specifically corrosion of the engine block. One day the car just did not start at all, with no clear indication of head gasket failure until compression test was ran. Symptoms include coolant levels getting lower each week, with constant refills needed. Random misfires. Smoke randomly emitting from the exhaust when idle. Has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police or... Read more

Incident date: Apr 22, 2026

the first indication of an issue was oil consumption. It was using more oil than usual around the 70K mile mark. Then it started misfiring, and soon after a knocking noise coming from the engine. There are no check engine light on, after bringing it in for diagnostics, it read that it was a spark plug, once they got into the engine they discovered the cylinder had been stripped from the piston. ... Read more

Incident date: May 13, 2026

Our truck has been experiencing downshift to a lower gear and the powertrain warning lamp wrench symbol in the instrument panel cluster comes on. This has been happening from about 4/1/2026 and ongoing.

Incident date: Apr 1, 2026

Vehicle was parked and turned off in a residential driveway when a fire spontaneously ignited in the engine compartment. There were no warning lights, unusual sounds, or symptoms prior to the incident. The fire department responded and extinguished the fire using dry chemical suppressant and water. The vehicle was a total loss. The fire appears to have originated in the front engine compartment... Read more

Fire

Incident date: Apr 1, 2026

The contact owns a 2021 Kia K5. The contact stated that there was an abnormal odor of fuel. The check engine light was illuminated. The contact received the recall notice for NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V794000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). An unknown local dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure milea... Read more

Incident date: May 13, 2026

Cold start rattle lasting a second or more. Ford dealer diagnosed it as being bad cam phaser (TSB 23-2143). This is a very common issue with 3.5L engines from 2017-2020 - well documented on forums and youtube (even by ford technicians). I contacted Ford to see if they would assist in covering cost (my vehicle was a previous fleet vehicle and sold certified used in Dec 2020 with warranty running... Read more

Incident date: May 11, 2026

I purchased this vehicle from CarMax about 5 months ago. It had 74,XXX miles. CarMax showed no open recalls and a printed sheet from your site showing the same. Several weeks ago, while driving, the engine seized. I sent it to one of the local Hyundai dealers for repair. Hyundai said because recall Campaign #966 had not been performed, they would not replace the engine under the extended warr... Read more

Incident date: Feb 11, 2026

I had recall 23S64 repaired on 04/39/26 and now my car check engine light is on and is running hot, and shaking causing a safety hazard due to recall not being completed correctly by authorized Ford dealership

Incident date: Apr 30, 2026

While driving, transmission will randomly shift gears from a higher gear all the way down to first gear regardless of travel speed. When traveling at highway speeds, this results in a loss of traction on the rear wheels, causing fishtailing and a momentary loss of control. This problem is getting worse, and is the result of a known defect in the transmission speed sensor that has been acknowledg... Read more

Incident date: Jan 1, 2026

I was driving on the high way and my car completely stopped I towed it to a shop and the engine seized

Incident date: May 11, 2026

January 10, 2026. My battery abruptly stalled. It was charged drove a few feet in the car just stopped. The car was towed, and the battery was deemed faulty and needed replacement. May 10. The engine coolant light came on. The car would turn on and then abruptly stalled. Mid traffic. The car again was towed and it was deemed had a faulty coolant pump. I asked for the fuel injection system to b... Read more

Incident date: May 10, 2026

Driving to work on the highway and the Honda pilot suddenly slowed and stopped accelerating, started riding rough and making a loud whistling blowing noise. Check engine light was suddenly flashing. I was able to pull over into a lane split zone before being hit by all the traffic going around and bumping horns at me. I was terrified but thankful to be alive. I want in a good spot though, cars an... Read more

Incident date: May 10, 2026

catastrophic internal engine failure on my 6.2L engine. Several times vehicle was to Gm Gunn Buick GMC regarding power loss knocking noises. Received the run around that vehicle past all their initial inspection and test. They only replaced a VALVE LIFTER REPLACEMENTS BANK 2 without further assessment of the engine or components. I took my vehicle to another shop to conduct a thorough inspection a... Read more

Incident date: May 3, 2026

While my vehicle was in for the Audi piston issue, they stated my water pump needed to be replaced and isn’t covered by a recall (yet). My vehicle had less than 42,000 mile on it. I was lead to believe that this problem is coming up more often and they believe a class action lawsuit will come about. I needed to pay over $1,700 out of pocket and was told I was saving so much money because they al... Read more

Incident date: Nov 21, 2025

COMPONENT: 2.5L T-GDI engine failed completely at 102,971 miles, requiring full replacement (~$8,000). Vehicle available for inspection at [XXX] Kia, [XXX] . SAFETY RISK: Engine lost power during normal operation. Sudden, uncontrolled loss of engine power creates a direct collision risk at highway speeds for the driver, passengers, and surrounding vehicles. CONFIRMED BY DEALER: Mark Kia perform... Read more

Incident date: Apr 10, 2026

Oil drains very fast even with regular oil changes and maintenance. The vehicle began shaking and then completely stopped with very little warning. Check engine light flashed for under 60 seconds then vehicle would not move forward on the highway creating a major safety hazard. Engine smelled hot and like burning rubber.

Incident date: Feb 5, 2025

On Sunday, April 12, 2026, at approximately 5:00 PM, I experienced a sudden and complete engine failure while driving my 2019 Chevy Silverado equipped with the 6.2L V8 engine. Without warning, the vehicle lost all ability to accelerate, creating an immediate and dangerous situation for myself, my family, and surrounding drivers. I was forced to rely on the vehicle’s remaining momentum to maneuve... Read more

Incident date: May 11, 2026

I took my vehicle to the local Ford dealership for service due to a check engine light being on. They pulled the spark plug and found the cylinder full of coolant and found TSB-22-2229. I called Lincoln and was told they wouldn’t assist me because I fell outside their time and mileage limits. This issue should have been a recall due to their defective engine design. Engine replacement is very co... Read more

Incident date: Apr 12, 2026

I have had my car for almost two years. This problem has been on-going the whole time. It happens intermittently, I never know. I will be driving it and usually when I am making a turn or pulling onto a main road, you press the gas to go and the car hesitates and makes a loud brooooooooom sound like it is trying to go or figure out what to do and if you are pulling out onto a main road with on com... Read more

Incident date: May 12, 2026

While driving on the highway at 60 mph, warning on dash came on saying “engine power reduced” and drop down speed to around 25 mph and I could not accelerate more than 25 mph on the highway which could have caused an accident because of the traffic flow behind me. I put a code scanner under the dash and it read code P2138, Throttle pedal position sensor switch.

Incident date: Apr 2, 2026

Hello, My vehicle (VIN: [XXX] ) is not operational due to coolant intrusion/corrosion. I was informed this issue is not covered by the Customer Satisfaction Program, but this failure matches a known problem affecting this model/year and should be reconsidered. Two months ago I took the car to Bob Allen Ford in Overland Park for a check-engine light. They replaced a coolant-related part, but the ... Read more

Incident date: May 13, 2026

Engine failure while driving to [XXX] from [XXX] . Mobile mechanic indicated a likely spun bearing. Less than 24,000 miles. Was stranded in [XXX] and delivered vehicle to local Chevrolet dealership same day as incident. It’s been over a month with no repair eta. Incurred significant travel and accommodation costs, with receipts available, due to the disruption. GM had thus far refused to confi... Read more

Incident date: Apr 11, 2026

The vehicle experienced repeated catastrophic engine failures, including failure of a replacement engine. Approximately six months after purchase and at around 80,000 miles, the engine failed and required a complete engine replacement through Volkswagen and the MaxCare service contract. Approximately one to one and a half years later, at around 120,000 miles, the replacement engine also failed. T... Read more

Incident date: Nov 1, 2025

The auto idle stop feature will kick in at red lights, shutting the engine down. However, every approximate 1 out of 10 times the engine and electrical system fully shut down when I try to start the car moving again. The car can then not be restarted for close to a minute. This results in not being able to move when the light turns green and is dangerous is heavy traffic areas.

Incident date: May 13, 2026

The upper radiator hose on some huge percentage of these trucks fail (mine has failed at just over 35k miles). You can check the Colorado Chevy forum, youtube, etc., et al, and find plenty of instances where this has failed. As this is the cooling system, it can cause the engine to overheat and potentially ruin the engine. The flaw seems to be an engineering issue with the rubber seal they use (in... Read more

Incident date: May 13, 2026

My vehicle has a lifetime warranty that is currently not being honored. It is currently in limp mode and showing a code P1326 which is an engine failure and possible fire hazard. The dealership has had my car for three weeks and have made no attempts to repair my vehicle which they are required to do by law under the Theta II Settlement. I was lied to by both dealerships. One stated my vehicle was... Read more

Incident date: May 1, 2026

The engine in my 2015 Chevy Siverado 1500 5.3 AFM lost propulsion, began to shudder and stall on the highhway as I was pulling out of my hometown. Speed limit 60 MPH. I returned home and the flashing engine light came on before I could get home. Sputtering I pulled into the drive but was concerned about mine and my passengers safety as I turned around on the highway and headed back home! This i... Read more

Incident date: May 1, 2026

While driving down an interstate going approximately 70 mph, the engine, all of a sudden started losing power and showing a check engine light. I immediately pulled over to a safe location. Check the oil which appeared okay and called a tow truck. Bring my vehicle to a local shop. The shop did some inspections and found that there was some failures on the connecting rods. Nothing else has been don... Read more

Previous 1 2 3 4 5 ... 119 120 121 ... 3389 3390 Next

Vehicle Safety

Consumer Safety

Infrastructure

Public Health

Consumer Safety Complaints

What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?

How to interpret what you read

If you've experienced a defect

Read more from our blog