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 ›

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Showing 169,480 complaints - component: ENGINE

Incident date: Aug 13, 2026

The vehicle suffered an abrupt, internal engine seizure while operating in active traffic at highway speeds. This sudden loss of power created an immediate crash hazard, as the vehicle decelerated rapidly in the travel lane, narrowly avoiding a rear-end collision and putting my family and other motorists at extreme risk. The vehicle was towed immediately to an authorized Hyundai dealership serv... Read more

Incident date: Jan 1, 2026

When the truck idles it randomly shuts off completely and shows a sign on dash of 'vehicle may not start/restart please service' then it will disappear. It never shows any codes when hooked to machine in repair shop. This is a huge safety concern while driving and hauling trailers with equipment since all power is lost when it happens. It has been looked at by the dealership 3 times and they were... Read more

Incident date: Aug 15, 2026

The vehicle previously received the official GM Recall Campaign 25V-274 remedy/inspection, but suffered catastrophic engine failure and sudden loss of propulsion afterwards.

Incident date: Feb 10, 2026

There is a class action lawsuit regarding the transmission on my vehicle. The transmission is shuddering. My mechanic alerted me of the lawsuit, Lincoln Mercury has not put out a recall, but is aware of the problem. There are no error codes, tried a reset on the transmission. So it is not a software problem, but mechanical. I am concerned my transmission will go out while driving. This started ... Read more

Incident date: Aug 16, 2026

After stopping the car in a left turn lane in the intersection, the car engine, dash board and infotainment system shut down. No warnings or other items appeared, the car died. After scrambling since it put traffic to a standstill, I shifter to park and returned on the car. Which worked and allowed me to continue. This happened again 1 week later while at a red light.

Incident date: Aug 3, 2026

Head Gasket failure due to coolant interference in engine

Incident date: Aug 18, 2026

The vehicle started to make some strange noises coming from the engine area. I brought the vehicle to our mechanic, who stated that the engine needs to be replaced. He described the problem as an issue with the piston that is appearing to be common with the shut off system, causing it in this vehicle. He classified as.’Engine has internal knock from wrist pin/rod bearing’. I’m looking at rec... Read more

Incident date: Jun 27, 2026

In June of 2026 I was merging onto a busy high way trying to accelerate on while in the middle of the high way my car completely starts decelerating while next to two semis and not being able to do anything as I finally get to the side of the high way I turn my car off and back on all of my lights started coming on and appearing on my dash while this was all happening I start the car again and it ... Read more

Incident date: Aug 19, 2026

Vehicle: 2026 GMC Sierra 1500 AT4 (3.0L LZ0 Duramax Diesel) Current Mileage: ~16,500 miles Check Engine Light Status: NO Check Engine Light active Description of Incident & Symptoms: •Interstate Incident: While driving at highway speeds, a severe drivetrain vibration occurred (felt like a rear wheel weight flew off). •Dashboard Warnings: Within 5 minutes, intermittent "Traction Control" and ... Read more

Incident date: Feb 27, 2025

On XXX at approximately 3:00 p.m., I was driving on the highway in [XXX], at approximately 65 mph when my truck suddenly displayed a warning stating that all oil pressure had been lost and that the engine needed to be shut off immediately. Within roughly seven seconds of seeing and comprehending the warning, I attempted to safely shut down the engine. Before I could do so, the engine seized while ... Read more

Incident date: Aug 14, 2026

The engine in my vehicle failed while putting the car into reverse to back into my garage. I thank God I wasn't on the road when this happened. I took the car into a mechanic who confirmed that the engine was locked and that the car was very low on oil(even though I had my oil changed by him a few months prior). There was an undetected oil leak that led to the engine failure. The warning indicator... Read more

Incident date: Aug 12, 2026

Component Failure I was driving on [XXX] in [XXX] at 70 miles per hour. My red oil indicator light came on, and within seconds the vehicle suffered a catastrophic power loss. I had zero control of the propulsion. I was in the right lane and managed to steer to the shoulder. I contacted Hyundai Roadside assistance/Hyundai care. They sent a wrecker in about an 45-1 hour as I sat on the side of the... Read more

Incident date: May 11, 2026

System/Component Failed & Inspection: The vehicle suffers from recurring failures across the engine, powertrain, electronic throttle control, and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) control systems (DTCs P0524, P0642, P2118, P022100). The vehicle is fully available for inspection upon request. Safety Risk: While driving, the vehicle suffered a complete, sudden loss of motive power on an active highwa... Read more

Incident date: Aug 19, 2026

Engine making noise when start, took to dealer, it was diagnose with head gasket gone. All services done from dealer since purchased and now dealer is saying gasket replacement.

Incident date: Feb 20, 2026

This 2020 Subaru Forester has experienced repeated failures involving the Auto Start/Stop system. When stopped in traffic, the system shuts the engine off as designed, but on multiple occasions the engine has failed to restart normally when the driver needed to proceed. This has left the vehicle unable to move in active traffic and created a serious risk of collision. The failures have occurred i... Read more

Incident date: Aug 17, 2002

The Ford Maverick is subject to rodent invasions which caused an engine fire. We had to file a State Farm Insurance Claim ($4016.36 of repairs done to repair the engine including electrical, emission system, cowl, fuel system, and insulation.) This was completed XXX. We have been faithfully spraying the engine with Rodent Repellent, using Natural Repeller packs, and rat snap traps. We have reg... Read more

Fire

Incident date: May 23, 2026

The contact owns a 2022 Hyundai Palisade. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled and shifted into park independently. The contact stated that there was smoke coming from the engine compartment. The check engine, battery, oil, and another unknown warning light were illuminated. The failure had occurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to a deal... Read more

Incident date: Aug 18, 2026

2018 Ford Escape vehicles equipped with a 2.0L EcoBoost engine may exhibit a low coolant level, white exhaust smoke and/or a runs rough condition with or without an illuminated malfunction indicator lamp (MIL). Diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) may include P0300, P0301-P0304, P0316, P0217, P1285 and/or P1299 stored in powertrain control module (PCM). This may be due to coolant intrusion into the cyl... Read more

Incident date: Jul 10, 2026

This complaint is being filed regarding a failed and botched remedy of two federal safety recalls: the Crankshaft Position Sensor recall and Safety Recall Z46 (High-Pressure Fuel Pump) on my Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel.The vehicle was delivered to Kendall DCJR of Soldotna, AK for the recall services. The technician performed the recalls, but the high-pressure fuel pump failed immediately, result... Read more

Incident date: Aug 16, 2026

While traveling at highway speed on the freeway, the vehicle experienced a sudden and complete loss of motive power/engine shutdown without prior warning. The instrument cluster immediately displayed a vehicle graphic outlined with red lines alongside an alert message instructing to shift the vehicle into Park and turn the engine off. > The sudden loss of propulsion in live freeway traffic created... Read more

Incident date: May 8, 2026

On XXX, the engine in my 2019 Lincoln MKZ (Mileage 58,089) with the 2.0L EcoBoost engine suffered a catastrophic, sudden failure while driving. The vehicle began to overheat & run extremely rough, triggering multiple warning lights. It is now inoperable and unsafe to drive. The vehicle was towed to a Lincoln dealership (Tasca Lincoln in [XXX]) for diagnosis. The work order number is RO #XXX. The d... Read more

Incident date: Jun 13, 2026

The wiring harness failed causing erratic and unpredictable behavior at 65 MPH on this 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 with 77,500 miles on the odometer. General Motors no longer makes the wiring harness and there are none available in the market. This otherwise flawless truck (for which I paid $40,000 at a reseller in 2024) is essentially now totaled (undrivable) and GM will not take any responsibi... Read more

Incident date: Aug 16, 2026

On July 14, 2026, the vehicle's engine was replaced by an authorized dealership under an official Kia recall. On August 16, 2026, while driving on the highway, heavy smoke suddenly began emitting from the engine compartment. When attempting to slow down, the braking system suffered a total loss of power and failed completely. To stop the vehicle, it had to be steered into the highway median to ... Read more

Fire

Incident date: Mar 11, 2026

I have had this car for a little over a year and it has given me nothing but problems they won’t let me out of my contract. It’s a 2018 Jeep compass and I’ve already had to replace the thermostat. My service transmission light is coming on all of a sudden, I’m having to put the oil in all the time it has completely shut down on the highway. Just stopped moving turned off on is own! So dang... Read more

Incident date: Jul 9, 2026

The contact owns a 2022 Hyundai Palisade. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated, and the engine seized. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle started. The vehicle was taken t... Read more

Incident date: Oct 11, 2025

When driving in fully electric mode on the highway, my 4xe lit up an error message of “electric mode temporarily unavailable” and lost all power and momentum. I went from 70mph to 50 mph in heavy traffic before the hybrid motor came back to provide power after approximately 4-5 seconds. This is a repeating occurrence when attempting to drive in fully electric mode, even at low speeds. I have n... Read more

Incident date: Aug 18, 2026

Vehicle blew upper radiator hose due to blown head gasket. Vehicle has trouble starting and releases grey blue smoke via exhaust at all times. Has not been looked at by anyone other than an odot employee and myself. Hose was replaced but issues continue. Vehicle engine light came on after low coolant warning and overheating. Vehicle is available for inspection. Google states this is an extremely c... Read more

Incident date: Aug 10, 2026

The contact owns a 2018 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was leaking engine oil, and there was white smoke coming from underneath the hood. The contact stated that upon further inspection, there was a puddle of engine oil on the ground while the vehicle was idling. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer, where it wa... Read more

Incident date: Aug 15, 2026

While driving, the vehicle experienced a sudden, catastrophic loss of engine power accompanied by severe engine shaking, reduced acceleration, and a lit Check Engine / ESC light. The vehicle was towed to a technician who diagnosed a complete dead misfire in Cylinder 4. Upon detailed inspection, the ground electrode/tip of the spark plug had broken off inside the combustion chamber while the engine... Read more

Incident date: Jul 21, 2026

When using electric mode, repeatedly and consistently, when I try to accelerate (for example to get onto a highway) despite having the acceleration fully depressed, the car does not accelerate. After some time, the gas powered engine will rev, the RPM will shoot up and then the car will start to accelerate. If I slow down the electric engine will take back over, but then if I try to accelerate a... Read more

Incident date: Jun 15, 2026

First the transmission failed on the freeway and was almost squished between a semi and car. I pay thousands to get it fixed and now the engine light is on and the transmission fluid and the coolant are leaking into each other. I can't accelerate very well and they said it can't be fixed only a NEW engine. The mechanic at your dealership said it's a known problem and that there is no recall yet. ... Read more

Incident date: Aug 12, 2026

The contact owns a 2017 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended, and the vehicle decelerated. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was driven to a nearby parking lot. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a head gasket failure. The cont... Read more

Incident date: Aug 4, 2026

The cooling system cracked, malfunctioned and caused a domino effect of multiple repair issues costing at least $5,200. My car is currently at a Volvo dealer. My Safety: The possibility of the hot engine and hot wires could have resulted in a fire. This problem HAS been reproduced and confirmed by a Volvo dealer. The vehicle overheating was witnessed by the Fire Department and local police.. As fa... Read more

Incident date: Aug 19, 2026

My vehicle is subject to NHTSA Recall 25V467 / Ford Recall 25S76 for a fuel injector that may crack and leak fuel into the engine compartment, creating a risk of fire. The recall was issued in July 2025 and remains open more than a year later. Ford has provided an interim PCM software update intended to detect a leaking injector and mitigate the fire risk, but this does not replace the defective f... Read more

Incident date: Aug 19, 2026

The engine auto idle system failed at a stoplight. The auto-idle engaged, but when I took my foot off the brake, the engine did not restart. It completely shut down, putting my car in park in a busy intersection. The engine light and an error message flashed briefly but disappeared. I was able to restart the car and drive, however, only after waving several other cars to pass by me. I've noticed r... Read more

Incident date: Apr 1, 2026

The shift to park light cuts in and the car starts to slow down The coolant constantly runs out

Incident date: Aug 19, 2026

Driving by myself with no load at 12:15 in the afternoon with outside temperature at 80 degrees. Vehicle started to make a large screeching sound coming from engine bay. I pulled over into a parking lot and shut off engine. Vehicle continued to make screeching sound from engine bay; I opened hood to a billowing smoke that smelled like an electrical fire. Noise and significant smoke continued f... Read more

Fire

Incident date: Nov 23, 2025

On November 23, 2025, I was driving approximately 60 mph in the middle lane of I-495 near Exit 62 in Marlborough, Massachusetts, with a passenger in the vehicle. I signaled to change lanes to pass a slower vehicle, selected Sport Mode, and accelerated. The engine RPM increased sharply and, almost immediately, I heard an extremely loud bang from the engine area. Multiple warning lights began flashi... Read more

Incident date: May 17, 2024

The contact owns a 2023 Lexus RX 500h. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle started shaking abnormally and stalled. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated during the failure. The failure was a recurring failure. The vehicle was towed to the dealer; however, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure, and the vehicle was not... Read more

Incident date: Dec 1, 2021

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that on various occasions upon bringing the vehicle to a stop or upon acceleration the vehicle had experienced a total loss of automotive power, and all of the warning lights would remain illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it diagnosed and the contact was advised that the battery, and thermal valve were faulty and n... Read more

Incident date: Jun 11, 2026

VIn number:[XXX] case number:XXX， My [XXX] car just 6 years old car and just run around 69000 miles，Coolant leaked into the engine, causing it to fail. Ford is demanding we pay ＄6,000 for a replacement.We cant accept we need Pay ＄6000 for replace engine，because Thats problem should don't happened on a 6 Years old car( and just 69000 miles). this issue happened on my car More Than 2 m... Read more

Incident date: Jul 14, 2026

The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormally loud sound coming from the vehicle. The contact turned off the vehicle, and while inspecting the vehicle, the contact became aware that there was a puddle of oil on the ground underneath the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a nea... Read more

Incident date: Jun 4, 2025

Loss of power or acceleration randomly, when pressing on the pedal. A recall was issued that it was a fuel pump failure June of 2025. One year and two months later there is still no solution to this recall. I am mostly submitting this covering all bases and am filing a complaint with Ford motor company as well. This is a serious safety concern as without warning the car basically dies so turning ... Read more

Incident date: Aug 10, 2026

I am reporting a safety concern involving my 2022 Kia Telluride EX with approximately 95,000 miles. The vehicle has experienced intermittent rough running, significant loss of engine power, stalling, and recurring check-engine warnings. During one incident, the vehicle started, sputtered, and shut off. The engine oil level was found to be extremely low despite the vehicle having received an oil ch... Read more

Incident date: Aug 13, 2026

Currently had my engine go into "limp mode" after checked engine light came on with code p1010. The coolant control valve is what is the problem, and GM/Chevy has issued a special coverage on this known part for my year make and model (Bulletin N252508341). However, according to the dealership, my VIN does not qualify for this known issue, regardless of my faulty part matching the special coverage... Read more

Incident date: Jul 20, 2026

One month ago while driving on Business US10, the vehicle had the sensation like the engine had stopped no acceleration, lightning bolts and engine light came on with a sound of a ding ding, ding. Pulled over to the entrance of a Shell station. Shut the vehicle off. restarted within 5 minutes and drove 1 mile to the dealership. The mechanic said it was most likely the throttle body but would have ... Read more

Incident date: Aug 8, 2026

Had the Motor replaced under recall / warranty at a certified chevy dealer. ~41k miles. 6.2L L87. GRAFF chevy of Chesterton Indiana. After long lead times and getting the run around, the truck was "done". picked it up and many things were still wrong/incorrect. They were able to take care of it. A day later, the truck died in the road. towed to another GRAFF dealer. 2 days later it was found to b... Read more

Incident date: Jul 16, 2026

While driving at about 60 mph on highway, several systems in the car failed without prior warning. The message on dashboard said Catastrophic Electric System Failure. Brakes would not work for a moment and then started working. All windows came down and went up on their own. No lights were working. No blinkers or side lights were working. With a lot of difficulty and hand signals moved to the h... Read more

Incident date: Aug 19, 2026

In the past two weeks, our 2021 Hyundai Palisade has shut off completely when driving. It has around 110,000 miles on it and was just purchased used (second owner) three months ago. At that time, the dealership had to fix a leak in the engine and did a complete oil change. Based on internet searches, we just checked the oil dipstick and it is COMPLETELY empty. We have NOT driven more than 3,000 mi... Read more

Incident date: Jan 9, 2025

This vehicle is subject to two open NHTSA fire-risk recalls. The remedies provided so far have not corrected the underlying defects. Recall 25V-741 (Safety Recall 95B/68C), high-voltage battery fire risk: On 1/9-20/2025, dealer reprogrammed BPCM and TCM software only (Invoice #52682); no parts replaced; mileage 18,680. On 1/6-7/2026 - one year later - the dealer performed a SECOND remedy for the ... 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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