Consumer Safety Complaints

Search 2,215,138 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA — including 138,663 crashes, 56,255 fires, and 8,561 deaths.

2,215,138 Total Complaints

138,663 Reported Crashes

56,255 Reported Fires

8,561 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 2,215,138 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 ›

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Showing 164,804 complaints — component: ENGINE

Incident date: Aug 4, 2025

I am filing a safety complaint regarding a 2015 Kia Sorento equipped with the 2.4L Theta II engine. The vehicle developed progressive engine knock, reduced power, and check engine warnings while driving. Diagnostic trouble codes include P0017, P0014, and P0340 relating to crankshaft/camshaft timing correlation and camshaft position faults. A Kia dealership performed diagnostic testing using Kia ... Read more

Incident date: May 1, 2026

The contact owns a 2022 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at 70 MPH, the reduced power mode message was displayed. The contact linked the failure to TSB 22-NA-224. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, who confirmed there was no coverage. The failure mileage was approximately 76,000.

Incident date: May 11, 2026

While operating my Kia vehicle, the vehicle experienced a sudden loss of braking capability and loss of acceleration/power while traveling downhill. Multiple warning lights reportedly illuminated during the event, including the battery light, oil light, and check engine light. The incident created a serious safety concern due to inability to properly control vehicle speed and operation. The vehic... Read more

Incident date: May 1, 2026

P0128 code produced when scanned. Cooling fans on high. No ac. Steering Assist Warning. Had to replace the thermostat. ECM also replaced and caused the tire pressure sensors to fail and had to replace the tire sensors. There is a recall on models 2021 to 2025 but none on the 2020 for the thermostat. I have paid $3500.00 to have my vehicle fixed.

Incident date: May 17, 2026

Blown head gasket after multiple spark plug replacements for misfires.

Incident date: May 6, 2026

Purchased truck in May of 2026 from Chevy dealer. Truck had around 1500 miles on it. Within 1 week the truck was shifting, very roughly, for no apparent reason making it lurch. I brought it to a local Chevy dealer, who ran it, showing a fault. I got the truck back from the dealer, who said tech had looked at it, and cleared the "fault" that was showing up. less than 1 week after that, the truck st... Read more

Incident date: May 9, 2026

The Coolant Bypass Valve on my vehicle failed, leading to a risk of sudden engine overheating and potential coolant leaks into the electrical harness. This is a documented defect (CSP 23TE03) that Toyota has failed to address for vehicles over 100,000 miles, creating a safety hazard for high-mileage owners. This is a major concern on a known issue and those that don't have funds to pay for this kn... Read more

Incident date: May 18, 2026

COMPONENT FAILED: Left transmission mount bracket and its fasteners on a 2017 RAM ProMaster with 3.6L V6 Pentastar (sales code ERB) and 62TE 6-speed automatic (sales code DG2). At least one bracket-to-transaxle bolt sheared. The bracket separated from the transmission, the powertrain dropped on the driver side, the left front CV axle pulled out of the transaxle, and transmission fluid loss occurre... Read more

Incident date: May 1, 2021

Knocking in engine led to a replacement of the engine by dealer

Incident date: May 13, 2026

Complete engine failure in my 2017 Ford Escape 1.5L caused by coolant intrusion. I only have 67,000.

Incident date: May 7, 2026

Sitting at a red light and when the light turned green, the engine made a noise and lost power while trying to cross the intersection. The check engine light came on along with some other lights. It was then towed to a mechanic and the engine had to be replaced due to failure of the lifters. The mechanic said it is a common issue with the GM 5.3 engine but unfortunately their has not been a re... Read more

Incident date: May 14, 2026

I was slowing down coming to a stop in a left turn lane. I went to give the car gas to make the turn and for 4 seconds I had no power. My car was stuck in The middle of the intersection. When the vehicle regained power it slammed forward really hard.

Incident date: Mar 18, 2026

The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, several warning lights illuminated. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle was shaking. The vehicle was driven to the contact's residence. The vehicle was later taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a lifter and a failed cylinder 6. The contact was informed t... Read more

Incident date: Feb 1, 2026

I own a 2018 Honda Accord equipped with the 1.5L turbo engine. The vehicle is experiencing a head gasket failure consistent with numerous complaints reported by other Honda owners online and through NHTSA. My vehicle began showing symptoms including rough cold starts, engine misfires, loss of coolant without visible leaks, and reduced engine performance. Diagnostic testing indicated head gasket f... Read more

Incident date: May 8, 2026

I was driving vehicle on interstate when sudden loss of power took place. I immediately pulled off the road and we smelled smoke. Fire was coming out of engine compartment near passenger wheel. We immediately exited the vehicle and assisted our young children out of the back seat. Within seconds the vehicle was fully engulfed in flames. If we were not able to immediately pull off the road and assi... Read more

Incident date: Aug 16, 2025

This vehicle was sold to me by Front Royal Ford on August 16, 2025 with an UNDISCLOSED active safety recall. This vehicle recall still shows as active and the car remains in an "unsold" status within the Ford system, since they legally were not permitted to sell me the vehicle. I only discovered this after the car's engine light went off in September 2025, and a dealership in Indiana refused to ... Read more

Incident date: May 18, 2026

I was driving on I-35 in Norman, Oklahoma, shortly after 7 am, when my 2020 Chevy Trail Boss with the 6.2 engine stopped running. I was in moderate traffic and shifted the gear shifter to neutral, and the motor would not restart, leaving me in traffic. I was able to slowly get on teh shoulder to avoid a collision, and the engine would not restart. I had teh vehicle towed to Ammco in Norman, Oklaho... Read more

Incident date: May 14, 2026

Vehicle has an issue with the transmission control, it will not reliably shift into the appropriate gears as it gains speed, often slipping & shuddering, sometimes even slamming into a higher gear. A few times it has stayed in first or second gear as I was pulling onto a busy street into oncoming traffic, I was unable to gain speed without taking my foot off the gas entirely and trying again. Th... Read more

Incident date: May 10, 2026

Car had recall and new engine was put in April 2024. I’ve had the new engine for 25 months. It started doing the exact same thing as before when engine went out. No power, limp mode, engine violently shaking, rods knocking. Engine light came on. I parked it immediately and called dealership. They said it’s a refurbished engine not new so it does not have the full warranty. This new engine wasn... Read more

Incident date: May 1, 2025

Transmission and fuel injector malfunction: Vehicle shutters upon acceleration. Particularly noticeable driving up hill or when maintaining speeds. Vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Jeep acknowledges the issue, noted a malfunction with PICO data and a fuel injector repair was done under warranty. Stellantis deems the shuttering "acceptable." Safety is at risk as there is a hesitati... Read more

Incident date: Feb 3, 2026

[XXX] Fire occurred while driving [XXX] my Ram 2021 and it was like a mini blast with a lot of sparks as I saw in a rear-view mirror. Everything went out on the dashboard and the car stopped at the Top of Wolf Creek Pass [XXX] . I got out of the car and saw a small fire burning under the car. The fire under the car went out on its own. The very shape of the hole (perfectly round) in my muffler ... Read more

Fire

Incident date: May 17, 2026

I was driving down the interstate when all of a sudden, I hear a bang, and my power went crazy, couldn't push the gas at all, my car was suddenly shut off. We coasted to the side of the interstate and got out to see a pile of oil underneath my car. Called a tow truck to help us and he found a massive hole in the engine block / oil pan - catastrophic engine failure. I have 117k miles on my car BUT ... Read more

Incident date: May 18, 2026

Description of Incident: While stopped at a red light at a busy intersection near a shopping district, the vehicle's Auto Idle Stop (AIS) system engaged and shut off the engine. When I attempted to restart by pressing the brake pedal — as instructed — the vehicle failed to restart. The dashboard displayed an error message reading "Idle Stop Function: Press Brake to Restart." My foot was on th... Read more

Incident date: Apr 20, 2026

Coolentnos leaking into plug cylinder 2, not getting into oil yet, but burning white sweet smelling smoke mostly at start-up. Had lead mechanic at Valenti SAAB Volvo, check things out, head gasket seems fine, told me that this particular engine was know for a class action suit for engine coolent Intrusion. Said to file with you immediately

Incident date: May 18, 2026

I am reporting a safety concern involving BMW vehicles equipped with the B58 Technical Update (B58TU) engine, commonly found in model years 2019–2021. These vehicles utilize a variable-displacement engine oil pump containing an internal thermoplastic adjusting component responsible for regulating oil pressure. Field failures are increasingly being reported in which this internal component fractu... Read more

Incident date: May 7, 2026

While stopped at a red light at a busy intersection near an airport, the vehicle's Auto Idle Stop (AIS) system engaged and shut off the engine. When I attempted to restart by pressing the brake pedal — as instructed — the vehicle failed to restart. The dashboard displayed an error message reading "Idle Stop Function: Press Brake to Restart." My foot was on the brake pedal at the time; pressing... Read more

Incident date: May 1, 2026

Thermostat stuck open radiator broke. Told by 4 GM Dealerships, this is a very common problem in a GM 3.6L V6. GM even claims it's common in its Tech Advisements. The "Stuck Open" Glitch (P0128 Code)

Incident date: Sep 10, 2024

I purchased my 2023 Tundra new and from the beginning it stalled or jerked. This happens especially at low speeds. This has gotten worse and the only answer I get is you'll get a new engine at some point. Around 25000 miles the fuel pump went out on the truck and was replaced. I was initially told I would have a new engine installed by April, then May and still waiting. My problem is I paid h... Read more

Incident date: May 3, 2026

I was driving my 2019 GMC and all of a sudden I pulled into a subdivision the vehicle shut off and would not start again. I wasn't given an y warning or heard any sounds it shut off and would not start up again. I checked the battery and it was fine. I had it towed to a mechanic shop. They replaced the starter, and the battery module. after that they ran codes and the codes were P00C6 and P0340. I... Read more

Incident date: Apr 22, 2026

I have a 2022 Blazer with a 3.6 engine. The thermostat has failed and dealer says only certain blazer vehicles are covered under aspecial warrnty exstesion. I know several people having the same problem.I have a check engine light, with a scan shows code P0128(thermostat0. I also have a display of power steering assist reduced and tempature gauge stays much lower than normal.. When you turn vehicl... Read more

Incident date: Apr 3, 2026

Engine failure occurred while driving with two children in the vehicle, creating a serious safety hazard. The vehicle experienced a sudden loss of power and stalled completely while in motion, with no prior warning lights, alerts, or messages. Prior to this failure, the vehicle had already failed the GM PICO test related to the known L87 engine issue, and the recommended corrective action was chan... Read more

Incident date: May 18, 2026

Car did it’s normal automatic shut off while stopped at red light but then did not automatically restart when I took my foot off the brake. I couldn’t get it to start or turn off. I was just sitting with a dead car in the middle of traffic. It was still on but totally unresponsive! I called 911 but before they arrived I managed to get the car to turn off and then restart. ??

Incident date: May 18, 2026

While driving about 60 mph on the highway, all warning lights on the dash suddenly came on and the truck immediately lost power/shut down. The wheels sputtered or somethting like that, not sure how to describe it. I was able to safely get off the road and restart the truck. After restarting, it drove normally again with no obvious issues. I recently received a recall notice describing very similar... Read more

Incident date: Apr 23, 2026

NHTSA Safety Complaint Draft Vehicle: 2025 Ram 1500 VIN: [XXX] Mileage at First Incident: 3920 Mileage at Most Recent Incident: 13,000 (approx.) Complaint Summary: My 2025 Ram 1500 has a recurring safety critical defect that causes the truck to suddenly and unpredictably decelerate from highway speeds (around 70 mph to 55 mph) down to approximately 5 mph, even though the engine RPMs r... Read more

Incident date: May 14, 2026

I was crossing two lanes of a 4-lane highway from a stop. I floored the accelerator to cross traffic and the truck hesitated for approximately 1-2 seconds in the middle of the highway before finally accelerating. During this time I was completely exposed to oncoming traffic with no ability to move the vehicle. This is not the first time I have experienced throttle hesitation on this vehicle bu... Read more

Incident date: Apr 17, 2026

The contact owns a 2025 Genesis GV70. The contact stated that while on the highway driving at 55 MPH, the vehicle suddenly stopped. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was restarted. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, but they were unable to determine the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact was provided a loaner vehicle. The manufacturer was co... Read more

Incident date: May 4, 2026

There is a problem with the purge valve causing my vehicle to rough idle and even cut off on me in the middle of traffic and even on the interstate. This issue is going on with a plethora of people with the same year make and model as me yet no recall has been issued. When I put gas in the car it won’t start for some time. If I’m not constantly pressing the accelerator the car will turn off by... Read more

Incident date: Mar 12, 2026

The motor mounts broke when it hit a pothole and that snapped the wiring harness which caused the transmission to shift. Toyota dealership says it needs a new CVT transmission replacement. The engine has shifting issues. My insurance adjusters believe that the transmission failure is due to wear and tear, but the car did not have issues before the pothole. There were and are no warning lights or m... Read more

Incident date: Dec 31, 1969

every time I get into my vehicle, I have a new malfunction that pops up and when I take it to the dealership they can never find what’s wrong. I have had multiple instances where my screen will turn black and there’s nothing I can do or the screen will freeze, and I can’t figure out how to get it back on. I can’t figure out how to get CarPlay to automatically connect to my phone because th... Read more

Crash

Incident date: Mar 22, 2026

Engine - The vehicle is available but the engine was replaced. I was able to get home however there was a potential for significant engine failure. Yes it was inspected by an independent service center. Yes it was inspected by an independent service center. A check engine light came on. Upon further inspection it was a Cylinder 6 misfire P0306. When the engine was inspected further by a mechanic ... Read more

Incident date: Apr 2, 2026

I have owned the car for years, and have always taken good care of vehicle with scheduled oil changes, tune ups, etc. and now I am being told I need a new head gasket because there is a leak. Being a 2017 with just over 100,000 miles and regular care this should not be happening. It caused issues with a fuse and now a new starter needs to be put in too. An awful smell was coming from the vehicl... Read more

Incident date: Jan 15, 2025

Component/system: High-voltage (HV) battery system and power electronics. 2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo, VIN [XXX] . Vehicle available for inspection. Safety risk: Since January 2025, the vehicle has repeatedly displayed a "pull over and park safely" emergency warning and shut off unexpectedly while driving at highway and surface road speeds. Sudden loss of propulsion at speed created serious collisi... Read more

Incident date: May 13, 2026

The car overheated due to coolant leaking. Found out vehicle has a coolant intrusion requiring a new engine now.

Incident date: May 16, 2026

I am submitting this complaint regarding ongoing and potentially dangerous mechanical failures involving my vehicle that have repeatedly occurred despite numerous repair attempts by the dealership. Over the past year, I have taken my vehicle to the dealership more than 10 times for serious recurring issues. The problems have included: Drivetrain malfunction warnings Engine warning lights Oil leaks... Read more

Incident date: Jan 1, 2026

The vehicle made a scraping sound and hesitated. Attempts to accelerate were not immediately successful. The car seemed to loose power.

Incident date: May 1, 2026

The transmission needs to be rebuilt/repaired with 162k miles. A member of my family also has a 2017 Ford F150 with the 10r80 transmission and theirs just went out at 92k miles. Also, the cam phaser issue on the 3.5 eco boost happened to this vehicle as well. Now I need a new transmission and theirs cam phasers, timing chain, etc replaced on the motor on an 8 year old truck. These are kno... Read more

Incident date: Jun 23, 2025

The connecting rod bearing went out in the engine of our 2017 Honda Pilot. The car stalled and then died. It cost us $10,000 to fix it and it only had around 130,000 miles on it. Our Honda dealer told us to hold onto our receipt because this is happening a lot with Honda Pilots and there will eventually be a recall on this. This was so unsafe and we were fortunate that our teen son was only going ... Read more

Incident date: May 8, 2026

The engine failed due to complete and sudden oil loss. The vehicle is currently at Fremont Hyundai and available for inspection. Safety risk: the engine failed while driving on the highway with children in the vehicle. A check engine light appeared with no prior warning, the vehicle immediately lost power and stalled, requiring an emergency exit and tow. This is a direct collision risk at highway ... Read more

Incident date: May 13, 2026

Like many other complaints. My 2018 Mazda cx5 GT is having the same issue with the cracked cylinder head. I only have about 36-38k mileage on it ( I forgot the exact). Mazda dealership will not cover the cost. NEVER had an accident to the front and only one accident to the back when I got rear ended in 2019. If this is a wide spread issue, why is this not a recall? and why is it only the turbo eng... Read more

Incident date: Jul 25, 2025

Multiple mechanics have told me it’s spark plugs and piston ring and issues. I constantly get my oils changed when I’m at 10% and never let it run out of gas. Constantly babied this thing. It only has 145k miles on it. Had 111k when I bought it in 2022! I barely put miles on this and the fuel consumption and engine are now causing issues. Even been told possible catalytic converter issues.... Read more

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Consumer Safety Complaints

What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?

How to interpret what you read

If you've experienced a defect

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