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: May 11, 2026

The pressure sensor coming out of the transmission has failed, and it's pushed transmission fluid throughout the engine harness, transmission harness, the bull harness in the dash and the 02 sensors. All of those have been damaged. The car is now unsafe to drive due to the pressure sensor failing. This information comes directly from the Subaru dealership. There was nothing prior to this that indi... Read more

Incident date: Dec 10, 2025

I will first start with our problems/concerns. We had experienced a complete lost power in freeway speed (65 mph) when the battery is depleted, that is when the battery bar goes to zero bar instead of 2 bars usually. I attached a photo from the video I took for your reference. This experience was the engine ramp up and not getting any power while driving on freeway, escpecially obvious during uphi... Read more

Incident date: May 13, 2026

Early fuel pump failure at 55k miles. Coolant is now leaking and the fuel pump and vac system need replacement.

Incident date: Jan 12, 2026

My 2016 Lincoln MKC with a 2.0L EcoBoost engine experienced coolant intrusion into cylinder 3, leading to engine misfire and check engine light to turn on. The dealership confirmed the issue for $176.55 and recommended a full long block engine replacement, estimated at over $11,000. This failure occurred at 98,000 miles. Two weeks before this, the check engine light illuminated and we took it to a... Read more

Incident date: May 15, 2026

Windows and engines

Crash

Incident date: May 9, 2026

The vehicle engine catastrophically failed on the road due a rod bearing failure on cylinder #3. This was verified after getting towed to a dealership during a bottom engine inspection. This model year of this vehicle has an active Safety Recall as published on Honda SB 23-097 which is for rod bearing failures. Honda is stating that even though my vehicle has experienced the exact same failure a... Read more

Incident date: May 15, 2026

The contact’s daughter owns a 2015 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power with no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart. The contact also stated that the vehicle would not accelerate over 80 MPH. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the fa... Read more

Incident date: May 24, 2025

The back lighting for the controls does not work the check engine light is on the dealer said there is no fix for either one of these items at this time

Incident date: May 15, 2026

The contact owns a 2021 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle unexpectedly jerked and then lost motive power with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the low-pressure and high-pressure fuel injectors and gasket had failed and neede... Read more

Incident date: Apr 9, 2026

Parking brake violently engaging with every stop

Incident date: May 13, 2026

The contact owns a 2016 Acura MDX. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission independently shifted into neutral. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the road. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the event was scary. The contact stated that the vehicle was so hot inside. The contact crawled to the pa... Read more

Incident date: Apr 28, 2026

I own a 2018 Ford Escape equipped with the 1.5L EcoBoost engine. My vehicle experienced a known coolant intrusion defect in which coolant leaks internally into the engine cylinders. This issue appears consistent with problems reported by many other owners of similar Ford vehicles and engine configurations. The vehicle experienced symptoms including coolant loss without an external leak, engine mi... Read more

Incident date: May 15, 2026

Engine oil cooler line leaking from crimp. Same issue CSP N212326940 GM distributed but my truck was not covered for some reason.

Incident date: May 15, 2026

The vehicle involved is a 2019 Kia Sorento with approximately 111,000 miles. Over the course of ownership, the vehicle has experienced numerous unresolved mechanical and safety-related issues, including ongoing fuel leak concerns, excessive oil consumption/loss of oil, rough shifting, shift solenoid problems, rattling noises, shaking/vibration while driving, and repeated drivability issues. The p... Read more

Incident date: May 1, 2026

The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact noticed an abnormal sound and the engine seized. The check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle started. The failure reoccurred. The contact stated while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle started and the eng... Read more

Incident date: May 15, 2026

The recall is 10 months old and no remedy offered. Every time I get behind tge wheel I'm risking an injury or death of myself or someone else. I can't sell my vehicle because it would put the next owner at risk. Do I have to wait until there's an injury or death to have something done about this?

Incident date: Apr 13, 2026

Issue 1: High oil consumption in the engine due to poor engine design, according to the auto repair center. 5 quarts of oil are added to the engine once every 2-3 weeks. All oil leaks were previously repaired, but oil is still burning off. Issue 2: The engine has misfired more than once, with a puff of smoke coming out of the exhaust. Issue 3: Twice in the past 1.5-2 years, multiple spark plug... Read more

Incident date: Aug 20, 2025

I had an engine failure on my odyssey that was causing a single piston to misfire - that i then had a honda dealer repair for around $3500. A couple months later i received a letter indicating this specific type of error was now under a recall for my vehicle so i submitted all the documentation for the recall reimbursement. That was in August of 2025 and I have still not received reimbursement - e... Read more

Incident date: May 4, 2026

The vehicle experienced repeated failures involving the Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Traction Control System, and Check Engine system. Warning indicators for the ESC, traction control, and check engine illuminated while operating the vehicle. The issue has occurred on two separate occasions. The first incident occurred on May 4, 2026. The vehicle was taken to the dealership for inspection a... Read more

Incident date: May 7, 2026

While driving home from my way to work, an esc sensor alert went off on the dashboard display. My truck was sent into limp mode, could not accelerate anymore and as soon as I pulled off onto the side of the road the truck died. I was never able to start the truck again. Determined it was an engine lock up when I tried to turn the crankshaft by hand.

Incident date: May 15, 2026

The car is consuming oil under the 3,000 mile mark.

Incident date: May 1, 2026

2021 BMW X5 xDrive45e PHEV, built October 2020 by BMW AG (Germany). In-service Oct 28, 2021. Vehicle intermittently shows "Drivetrain Malfunction — you can continue driving" warning. DME scan reveals 5 fault codes, all for the conventional 12V pinion starter: 21A50A — Pinion starter: timeout occurred several times in succession 21A511 — Pinion starter: timeout 21611A — Pinion starter:... Read more

Incident date: May 14, 2026

Driving down road in early afternoon at about 35 mph. Car began to run rough (jutter) then almost immediately stalled. The car’s engine icon appeared on the screen along with verbiage indicating service engine soon. After about 3-5 minutes, I started the car and drove it directly into a parking lot approximately 100 feet from where the car stalled. I had the car towed to a repair shop in town. T... Read more

Incident date: Apr 10, 2026

I own a 2017 Ford Escape equipped with the 1.5L EcoBoost engine. The vehicle began experiencing severe coolant loss with no visible external leaks, requiring nearly a full coolant reservoir refill daily. Along with the coolant loss, the vehicle developed constant bubbling/gurgling noises from the cooling system, rough cold starts, engine shaking/misfires, intermittent failure to start, loss of acc... Read more

Incident date: May 15, 2026

oil filter/coolant housing fail at 69,00 miles. Dumped coolant and got quoted for an expensive mechanic fix $4000

Incident date: Apr 17, 2026

The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed and at a stop, the vehicle lunged forward. The RPM increased and decreased without applying the accelerator pedal. The check engine light was illuminated. A mobile mechanic reset the codes but was unable to determine the failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who referred him to th... Read more

Incident date: May 15, 2026

I was driving and slowing down for a stop sign and the engine shut off by itself while still moving at appx 10-15mph. The display had several warning lights appear, and the message "Auto Start Stop, Shift to P, Then Restart Engine". I have the Auto Start Stop disabled on my vehicle, so there was no reason for my engine to shut off while decelerating. I searched online for potential causes and d... Read more

Incident date: May 1, 2026

Lifter failure causes cylinder to misfire resulting in loss of power while towing. Defect causes catastrophic failure to the engine.

Incident date: May 1, 2026

On 05/01/26 while driving on New York State Thruway route 90 east, my check engine light came on. Almost simultaneously the vehicle began to lose speed and I could not accelerate. As I pulled over I could hear a loud clunky noise. The vehicle would not start and was dead on the side of the thruway. Eventually the vehicle was towed to the dealership I purchased it from where they told me "there is... Read more

Incident date: May 4, 2026

Lincoln MKC 2017 Engine failure due to Coolant leak. Bought new Lincoln MKC 2017. The current mileage is 52, 500. Upon Starting, engine would shake for about 10 seconds. The Engine light would come ON. Engine light would turn OFF and ON for few weeks. The Dealership diagnostic indicated code P0301. I was advised Full Engine replacement. Currently the Engine is not starting at all. I have heard... Read more

Incident date: May 14, 2026

The engine started to fail when I'm driving and on the highway it suddenly loses strength, the oil goes down and I don't know where it's going, the engine starts to make noises and burning smell, the ignition light turns on and minutes later goes out, a triangle signal also sometimes appears for 6 seconds and disappears, when this triangle appears the car starts to fail and give strong jolts, this... Read more

Crash

Incident date: Apr 27, 2026

Chevy Tahoe with 6.2 V-8 engine started making noise. Started rattling. Taken to dealership where I bought it. Oil changed found metal in the oil engine making all sorts of noise. Diagnosed to engine failure. New engine is ordered . It’s been 2 weeks and I am number 5 In order for engine replacement at the dealership

Incident date: Feb 23, 2026

I started up my car on a cold winter morning and I heard a loud popping noise. I backed up my car minutes later and discovered puddles of oil in front of me in my driveway. I asked my husband to come out and look. He got under the car and said my oil blew out of the rear seal. I was unable to drive my car as the seal was blown. After some investigating I discovered it was the PCV valve that froze ... Read more

Incident date: May 7, 2026

My GMC sierra AT4 with the 3.0L Duramax Diesel, has 1,500 miles on it, when the engine failed. I was traveling from [XXX] to [XXX] , towing a trailer, when the check engine light came, and the truck entered reduced power mode. It immediately slowed the truck without warning - which made for a very dangerous situation for all of the vehicles behind me and for my vehicle. After getting the vehicle ... Read more

Incident date: Oct 8, 2025

My engine ticks, and during the winter, I noticed white smoke coming from exhaust pipes in cold and warm weather. I believe there may be an issue with my engine. My vehicle is not on the list provided, and I’m concerned that the dealership responsible for my oil change package will not identify the problem, possibly because newly hired mechanics may lack the experience to make an accurate diagno... Read more

Incident date: Apr 29, 2026

I own a 2019 Ford Expedition with fewer than 100,000 miles equipped with the 3.5L EcoBoost engine. The vehicle began experiencing a loud cold-start rattle, engine timing issues, and check engine light illumination. The vehicle was diagnosed by a Ford dealership with internal VCT/cam phaser mechanical failure affecting engine timing and performance. The dealership diagnostic identified trouble code... Read more

Incident date: May 11, 2026

I was driving to work, when I got off the exit I stopped at Sheetz. When I got back in the car my brake pedal was stiff as a rock, and there was oil on the ground. A friend of mine does mechanic work so I called him and he said it sounds like the vacuum pump. I had the car towed to his garage, the tow costed me $400 which was very cheap considering where I was located. When I got it to the garage ... Read more

Incident date: May 15, 2026

When driving on the highway, warning lights activated on the dash with the message "Check Hybrid System. Stop Safely." Seconds later, the vehicle lost all propulsion power. The hybrid battery indicated it had a half charge and the combustion engine was running. Depressing the accelerator caused the engine to increase RPMs but little to no power was output to the wheels. I turned the car off an... Read more

Incident date: Oct 29, 2025

The contact owns a 2017 Mercedes-Benz C300. While driving at approximately 15 mph, the contact observed smoke emanating from under the hood. The vehicle was driven to her work location and parked. Upon exiting the vehicle and opening the hood, she observed orange flames coming from the engine compartment. A parking attendant extinguished the fire, and a police and/or fire report was filed. The veh... Read more

Fire

Incident date: Mar 1, 2026

Car is 6 years old less then 100k miles and losing oil and motor problems Went through entire oil change in 1 month Kia unable or willing to assist with any coats I was told by a private garage that the motor in my car should be part of a recall that was already listed for 2021 through 2026 but they’re saying it’s not covered

Incident date: Mar 12, 2026

I am reporting a safety concern with BMW vehicles equipped with the B58 Technical Update (B58TU) engine, primarily in 2019–2021 model years. These vehicles use a variable-displacement oil pump containing an internal thermoplastic adjusting component that regulates oil pressure. This plastic part is prone to fracturing, leading to sudden loss or instability of engine oil pressure. Failures most c... Read more

Incident date: May 1, 2026

bought the car the guy stated was in great shape said it had 98k miles failed to tell me the odometer was not working and false i had the ad he clearly states the milage and nothing about it being broke i had a third party deliver it to me so i didn’t find out til it arrived.

Incident date: Apr 26, 2026

Open recall called to fix fuel pump assembly due to fuel pump fuse blowing and engine shutting off, which my vehicle did, however I was charged by the dealership to replace fuel pump. Called nissan directly and still didn't get reimbursed 0

Incident date: Feb 1, 2025

The contact owns a 2022 Porsche Cayenne. The contact stated that an abnormal tapping noise was coming from the engine compartment. No warning lights were illuminated at the time of the failure. The vehicle was initially taken to an independent mechanic, who confirmed the tapping noise and referred the contact to an authorized dealer for further inspection. The vehicle was then taken to local deale... Read more

Incident date: Nov 1, 2025

The fuel tank expanded, the car was spitting out gas from where you are supposed to insert gas nozzle. my fuel tank expanded so bad from pressure my vehicle sensors malfunctioned my car did not tell me something was wrong, I heard a pop and my car was telling me I had no gas when I did. the insert area for gas to be pumped was swollen and couldn't shut my gas cap cover. I went to gas station and s... Read more

Incident date: May 12, 2026

Ok after done charging my Jaguar I Pace I put my car in reverse it made a clicking noise and then had traction battery warning pop up and high voltage battery warning then battery fault in red the car then just pushed itself forward for no reason and almost ran into the charger so I put it in park it stopped clicking. I honestly thought the car was going to start on fire this was after the softwar... Read more

Incident date: Apr 1, 2026

I recently purchased my vehicle from Big Star Dealership in Baytown Tx. At a little over 1000 miles i was towing a camper. The vehicle stalled, fuel pouring from engine. It was towed and repaired due to fuel pump failure. At a little over 3000 miles the vehicle would not start. Dealership initially said water contamination then changed it and said gasoline contamination and now they say DEF c... Read more

Incident date: Apr 1, 2026

Last July my car was overheating and breaking down as I was driving on I4 to work one morning which it overheated and broke down which was the precursor the last time My engine blew in December 2024 which the engine was already repaired January 2022 (Dumphy Ford,Pa), December 2022 (Tropical Ford, Fl) then I got notices there is a recall with the oil pump and belt since February 2023 however the ... Read more

Incident date: May 3, 2026

While out of Town driving back home Wheel lock up on my 3500hd dually 2023 gmc .. vehicle had shudder effect and from 75 to 25 mph drasticly and engine reduced power light came on and wouldn’t come out of drive and then after stopping vehicle To cement parking safety block the vehicle had multiple codes for valve body and transmission failure relating to the na242454441 issue on previous year mo... Read more

Crash

Incident date: Nov 4, 2025

From my own diagnostics, as a licensed Master Motorcycle Mechanic, in the State of [XXX] , I believe the rear cylinder cam chain guide shroud shoulder bolt backed out of the threading in the engine casing, causing the shroud to fall into the primary gears, which caused a loss of cam chain tension and the engine jumped time. This caused a loss of engine power and the motorcycle engine stalled as... 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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