Consumer Safety Complaints

Search 2,192,899 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA — including 137,559 crashes, 55,854 fires, and 8,555 deaths.

2,192,899 Total Complaints

137,559 Reported Crashes

55,854 Reported Fires

8,555 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 2,192,899 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 161,337 complaints — component: ENGINE

Incident date: Sep 1, 2002

Coolant leaking into cylinder 4. Code P0304. I’ve been having this problem for months. I’ve gotten numerous repairs on the car and nothing is fixing the problem. It is currently at a Ford dealership again in Durham North Carolina. They are saying it’s an engine block problem. The car is constantly emptying coolant.

Incident date: Jan 15, 2026

According to our mechanic, our vehicle’s PCV system became clogged and it increased the pressure in our engine and caused the car’s rear main seal to rupture, leading to catastrophic oil loss, loss of power to the vehicle, and engine damage. In our case the entire engine needed to be replaced.

Incident date: Feb 19, 2026

The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Titan. The contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH and accelerating, the vehicle shut off. The contact stated that there was an abnormal pop before the vehicle lost motive power and was pulled over to the shoulder of the roadway. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed with a fractured crankshaft, rod bearings, and engine failure. The vehi... Read more

Incident date: May 8, 2025

My 2011 nissan juke has approximately 118,000 miles and I've ran out of gas several times even when it said there was 88 miles left in the tank and the traction control light won't go off it stays on constantly along with the check engine light and tire pressure warning light and its making a squealing noise and its losing power I've only had it a year I know they have been recalled for certain re... Read more

Incident date: Feb 10, 2026

Whining noise upon acceleration

Incident date: Feb 1, 2026

Why is the Crankcase Ventilation System P052E Code (PCV) covered in most Mercedes models, but not the GLA? This is an expensive repair that seems to cover other cars but penalizes GLA owners just to have a safe car to drive like the other models. I strongly believe GLA should be on the recall list for the matter, as it is dangerous to drive on the road, especially for those who cannot afford to fi... Read more

Incident date: Feb 19, 2026

My son, [XXX] is currently driving this car. The car only has 29,200 miles so far. Last week, while at the stop light on the hill, he had near fatal accident! Forester suddenly completed shut down. The only functioning part was the brake. My son had to put the car in park and restart the engine. I reported the incident to customer advocate at Subaru and taking the car in for inspection. We never s... Read more

Incident date: Feb 1, 2026

Loud engine knocking heard after starting vehicle at grocery store, vehicle was driven 25 miles to get to store so was 'warm', check engine lite on dashboard came on during knocking, was able to drive vehicle to dealership for diagnosis (approximately 3.1 miles), dealership diagnosis after engine teardown was roller lifter failure causing damaged camshaft, instead of repairing defective parts in t... Read more

Incident date: Feb 23, 2026

The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Mirai. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle started losing motive power. The accelerator pedal was depressed, and the vehicle continued to decelerate. The contact stated that while driving approximately 15-20 MPH, several warning lights were illuminated, and the stability control symbol was displayed, and a yellow flashing warning l... Read more

Incident date: Dec 27, 2025

The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that upon leaving a gas station, there was an abnormal grinding sound coming from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, and the contact was informed that the engine rod bearing might be defective and referred the contact to another independent mechanic for assistance. The vehicl... Read more

Incident date: Feb 1, 2022

My 2019 Acadia often will not turn off because it has a Shift to Park issue. Apparently it is caused by a faulty microswitch in the shifter assembly that fails to signal the Body Control Module when in park, leading to a persistent warning message, inability to turn off the vehicle and battery drain. It has been going on for at least 4 years. It appears there is a recall for this problem but wh... Read more

Incident date: Dec 15, 2025

The entire car is dead from the engine to the key function completely dead. The car broke down 3 time in the middle of the street which could've caused a serious crash putting my safety and others at risk. The problem has been addressed to two different dealers and Kia corporate without resolution. I did make a police report about the mold infestation inside the car. I did now see any warnings pri... Read more

Incident date: Apr 20, 2024

The contact owns a 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4XE. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle jerked and failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal, and occasionally the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The message "FORM" was displayed on the screen. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, no cause for the failu... Read more

Incident date: Feb 26, 2026

February 26, 2026, Concern: Ford Recall 25S76 / NHTSA 25V467 – No remedy available. My vehicle previously had an earlier Ford recall for fuel leakage and fire risk. The dealer installed a drain tube as an interim fix about 18 months ago. Ford has now issued a new recall 25S76 / NHTSA Recall 25V467 August 2025 for a similar hazard involving cracked fuel injectors that can cause fuel to accumul... Read more

Incident date: Feb 26, 2026

The car randomly gives a warning on the dashboard in red, with red turtle symbol, to pull over and stop safely. A lot of the time we will be on the highway and can't pull over safely. It happens at any speed. 25, 80, 65, etc. It's been happening since we got the vehicle in 2023 and no dealership understands what the issue is even though there are clearly recall repairs for other same make and mode... Read more

Incident date: Jan 5, 2026

Approximate date (around January 2026), location (e.g., Newburgh, NY area), and circumstances (e.g., during normal driving). No crash/injury mentioned in my case, but note if it stranded I, required towing, or felt unsafe (e.g., potential for sudden power loss). While driving, all dashboard warning lights came on suddenly. The vehicle experienced rough running/misfires. Dealer diagnosed low coolan... Read more

Incident date: Jul 14, 2025

The contact owns a 2023 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that with the stop/start feature activated and while attempting to park the vehicle, the accelerator pedal was slightly pressed in order to slowly move the vehicle forward. The vehicle suddenly experienced unintended acceleration and drove forward, over a curb, and crashed into a tree. During the crash, the front end of the vehicle sustained s... Read more

Crash

Incident date: Dec 17, 2025

Going down highway in winter conditions and vehicle had a shudder and was shifting funny and blew up total loss of power..this happend a week after getting recall done and engine oil changed..that was a very dangerous position to put me and my passenger in. Toal failure of bottom end..

Incident date: Jan 8, 2026

Symptoms appeared in January 2026. Check engine light is on-HAD P0301 & P0316. Ran misfire monitor & Relative compression and cylinder 1 is the issue with 70 PSI. Performed cylinder head leak down test- exhaust valve leaking replace cylinder head assembly. Problem confirmed and diagnosed by Ford dealership. The safety issue associated with the car are: sudden jerking or hesitation, loss of accele... Read more

Incident date: Feb 22, 2026

The first thing was the whole engine shut itself off going 40mph and slowing down thankfully after I turned the truck off and back on it started right back up then I was driving 75 on the highway a couple days later and the whole truck started to shake as check engine lights came on and flash and the engine started to tick and groan. We pulled the spark plugs and cylinder 5 had clearly not been fi... Read more

Incident date: Jan 29, 2026

I was driving on the road and all of the sudden my car went limp and would only move 45 miles per hour. I took it to the dealer which I have lifetime powertran on my car. It has been there for over a month at the dealer. They asked me to provide all oil changes,services, and registrations. I did that and then fidelity asked them to tear down the engine again to see if I had carbon build up. Then ... Read more

Incident date: May 8, 2024

On 5/8/2024, at approximately 18,969 miles, the vehicle suffered a sudden and complete loss of engine power while driving on the highway in the rain with my family inside. The engine died, the vehicle lost all propulsion creating an immediate and severe safety hazard. Dealer diagnosis revealed a catastrophic crankshaft main bearing failure, requiring a full engine replacement. Since the engine rep... Read more

Incident date: Jan 28, 2026

The check engine light came on and the engine lowered performance because the intercooler froze and cracked. Despite there being a service update to stop that from happening, we were never informed of the update from Chevy, only once it had happened did they tell us about the update and included it in the repair cost.

Incident date: Feb 26, 2026

New vehicle with 299 miles, use remote start and heard loud vibration, ticking noise coming from vehicle. Upon entering vehicle ( check engine light ) emissions system problems. power may be reduced. See your dealer.

Incident date: Feb 25, 2026

2018 Pacifica with 3.6L engine. Blown head gasket at 69k miles with coolant leaking into cylinder 5. The engine is very hesitant upon acceleration and can be dangerous when pulling out into traffic. This is an all too common issue and needs to be addressed by Chrysler. Engines should not be failing this at 69k. I change oil every 4k miles which is way ahead of the recommended schedule by Chrysler.... Read more

Incident date: Feb 17, 2026

I bought my 2015 Pilot in 2024 and since then my local mechanic has told me I am burning oil and I have had to replace several spark plugs. I have had error codes like P0304 come up in conjunction with the replacements. I now have a total engine failure. I looked online after my failure and saw the VCM Warranty Extension, but I was never notified about it. I saw where the codes could come up as "m... Read more

Crash

Incident date: Feb 26, 2026

The contact owns a 2020 Ram 3500. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 MPH, the engine overheated. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the cooling fan module had failed, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the conta... Read more

Incident date: Feb 21, 2026

Loss of engine propulsion while traveling down a highway towing a #5000 trailer at 65 mph. Less than five miles before the failure the vehicle experienced a momentary downshift of the transmission such as you would experience while climbing a hill or extreme headwind. No warning lights were present at that time or at any time prior to engine shutdown. Upon failure panel indicated "Press Engine Sta... Read more

Incident date: Dec 12, 2025

Vehicle had recall for L87 engine performed, resulting in a change to 0W-40 motor oil and a new fill cap. Approximately one week later, the engine failed completely, with evidence of significant bearing wear in the used oil analysis I had performed. The engine has since been replaced under warranty. There was no prior warning to the failure, except for unusual noises during the failure.

Incident date: Jan 6, 2026

Complaint: Catastrophic Engine Failure (Gen4 EA888 engine) - Volkswagen Golf GTI - Crank Walk Engine shut down while driving; car inoperable (couldn’t restart). No prior warning or engine noise that could have alerted driver to imminent issue. Car moved to roadside; could have been catastrophic if occurred on highway. Error messages displayed. Odometer read 51,068 miles (1,068 mi over 50,000... Read more

Incident date: Feb 26, 2026

The contact owns a 2018 Jeep Renegade. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer advised the... Read more

Incident date: Feb 24, 2026

The contact owns a 2019 Volvo XC40. The contact stated while at a stop sign or a stop light, the engine revved loudly, and the vehicle suddenly lunged forward out of control. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assi... Read more

Incident date: Feb 1, 2026

The contact owns a 2019 Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and hauling a 500 lb. trailer, the vehicle hesitated and failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. In addition, a bearing made an abnormal grinding sound. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact pulled over to the side of the road, opened the hood, and noticed dust on t... Read more

Incident date: Feb 5, 2026

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously taken to a local dealer, and the transmission was replaced; however, while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle was shaking abnormally while the accelerator pedal was depressed. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to another local dealer, where it was diagnosed and it was determined ... Read more

Incident date: Feb 26, 2026

The vehicle's lower front fascia exhibits a design flaw, creating an unsafe gap that permits road debris to impact the condenser, leading to air conditioning system damage. This compromise in the A/C system's functionality results in an inability to adequately cool the vehicle's interior, thereby creating potentially unsafe operating conditions, particularly in high-temperature environments. It ha... Read more

Incident date: Feb 24, 2026

Motor seized while driving

Incident date: Jan 29, 2026

The contact owns a 2021 Kia K5. The contact stated that the check engine warning light remained illuminated with DTC: P0471 displayed. The vehicle was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V794000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) and was taken to the dealer for the recall repair where the dealer replaced the check valve. After receiving the recall repair, the check engine warning light remained illuminated ... Read more

Incident date: Feb 23, 2026

Dear Sir or Madam, I am submitting a formal safety complaint to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration regarding my Kia Sorento. Over the past six months, this vehicle has required replacement of the engine, transmission control module (TCM), and the entire transmission. Although the engine and transmission were replaced at no cost to me, the extent of these major repairs within such ... Read more

Incident date: Feb 16, 2026

Coolant intrusion. Engine has a known problem and it happened to my car.

Incident date: Feb 26, 2026

Engine loses power while driving.

Incident date: Feb 26, 2026

The truck is jumpy during stops. I get a low voltage code but the battery is fine I had it checked out. Reduced acceleration has been activated and after I turn the truck off it is fine. The check engine light comes on and turns off on it's on sometimes same day. I know there is a recall on certain 2022 Silverados but they told me this one wasn't on the recall. It did have one for the brake system... Read more

Incident date: Nov 19, 2025

My car shut down from a new engine block recall or mandate. Has been in the shop for four months with no eta on when it will be done. This is my only way of transportation.

Incident date: Feb 26, 2026

Was driving when the car seemed to lose power and would not accelerate and started shaking. Check engine light came on and got it read, the code indicated a misfire and other errors. There was no one local to fix it as we were out of town. So we replaced the plugs that were indicated and noticed how badly damaged they were. Vehicle started to drive better before stalling out again and replacing th... Read more

Incident date: Feb 16, 2026

My 2018 Ford Escape has experienced coolant intrusion into the engine cylinders, a known issue affecting this model year. The vehicle began misfiring and consuming coolant without external leaks. This is an engine defect Ford has known about since 2010, yet they continued to put this engine into their cars. I had bought this car less then a year ago, it had been in the shop more then I have had it... Read more

Incident date: Feb 26, 2026

My gmc sierra Denali 2022 equipped with the 6.2 motor locked up while I was driving pulling me out of the road.

Incident date: Oct 20, 2024

Delayed gear change from 1st to 2nd/delayed acceleration 1-5 seconds mid-traffic because the car overheats soon after driving which causes the car to not properly accelerate causing more RPMs than necessary during longer drives with frequent stops (within urban/suburban areas).

Incident date: May 10, 2025

Engine smoke’s every now and then I go through a quart of oil every 600-1000 miles doubt it’s supposed to do that one time I went the full oil change limit I was completely out of oil the car was ticking and all this other stuff scene then I’m topping off my oil every 1000 miles till I need a oil change and it don’t stop ticking now so that’s a defect I don’t know if it’s apart of th... Read more

Incident date: Nov 21, 2025

The Catalytic Converter in the Kia. We were driving to Texas to take my kids out for mini vacation and it’s cut off right in the middle of the highway. My car was running just fine everything was fix properly. Can you check in the Catalytic Converter and see if it safely issue.

Incident date: Feb 7, 2022

Car kept misfiring and it sounded like water was running when the car was on. After multiple attempts to find a solution I took it to a Ford dealership to remedy the issue and it ended up needing a full engine replacement due to coolant leaking into the engine. The engine failed, they told me there was no way to prevent it because the seals were not fully sealing. Thankfully it did not cause fo... Read more

Incident date: Feb 12, 2026

While driving into town, the dashboard illuminated with every warning light before the vehicle suffered a total electronic and engine shutdown. This happened twice—the second time while I was mid-turn in an intersection. Several vehicles had to slam on their brakes to avoid a high-speed collision with my stalled truck. I had to get the vehicle towed as it is fundamentally unsafe to operate.

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