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.
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
Showing 169,480 complaints - component: ENGINE
Incident date: Jul 17, 2026
My odometer flashes since buying. Bluetooth connection causing screen to glitch and jump between settings. Screen turns blue and back up camera doesn’t work randomly. Overheating issue came out of nowhere. No check engine lights. The jerking is a hazard while driving. The vehicle has been inspected and repaired by multiple shops. All these issues have been hazardous to me and my family.
Incident date: Mar 1, 2021
The engine is showing signs of coolant intrusion. Symptoms began by experiencing intermittent low power while driving, particularly when moving from complete stop. First discovered when we were at an intersection and the engine provided enough power to pull into the intersection, but not enough to complete the turn forcing traffic to swerve around us. There is a pending class action suit.
Incident date: Aug 10, 2026
When I accelerate from a complete stop. It makes a roaring noise that dies down once the car is in full swing. Toyota dealership is saying that it is a common problem for Toyota CHR and needs to be replaced. Replacement cost from my pocket is $12k
HYUNDAI
ELANTRA GT
(2017) - ENGINE
Aug 10, 2026
Incident date: Jul 22, 2026
My Hyundai Sonata engine stalled out while driving on the highway. I had it towed to a dealership with the hope they would fix the issue because it was supposed to be covered under warranty from a recall. The dealership said the engine replacement would be covered as long as they got approval from Hyundai. Hyundai apparently only asked that specific dealership for the service records that they had... Read more
Incident date: May 16, 2026
2025 Honda Odyssey with 21.5k miles on it. Pulled up to a stoplight after a 3 hour drive. Auto stop turned the van off. When the light turned green the van failed to restart. Put the vehicle in park, turned it off, waited a few seconds and attempted to re-start it. Van restarted but very sluggish, like the battery was dead. Pulled in and parked. Van started normal the rest of the day. Took... Read more
Incident date: Apr 10, 2026
2023 BMW X5 had a defective water pump replaced under warranty at 27,585 miles on 9/12/2024. Today 8/10/2026 at 52,907 miles the water pump again needs to be replaced. BMW has had water pump recalls in the past for similar years of x5 SUV, but our VIN is not included in the current recalls. Photographs of the recalled water pumps look exactly like our pictures. I believe the recall should be... Read more
Incident date: Jul 7, 2026
While stopped at red light, waiting for the green light, the vehicle suddenly gave the park signal, once in park the vehicle shut down. It had to be restarted. My child was in the back seat.This occurred today 10 August 2026
Incident date: Aug 10, 2026
The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. The contact stated that after a routine oil change, while driving back to the residence, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that there were metal shavings inside the engine. The vehicle was diagnosed with engine failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of th... Read more
Incident date: Jul 31, 2026
My vehicle was stopped at a busy intersection, idling in the automatic stop mode. When my husband moved his foot from the brake to the accelerator, the car stalled, orange alarm alerts went off, and the car was completely dead and stalled without power. The car needed to be restarted, and it took a few attempts to accomplish that task. I have had the same problem before with this car and have had... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2026
My truck has routinely been very hard shifting in 3rd to 4th gear. Recently it downshifted from 8th to 4th without warning and made a loud clunking noise. It still runs, but the transmission seems to be getting worse.
HYUNDAI
SANTA FE SPORT
(2013) - ENGINE
Aug 10, 2026
Incident date: Jul 31, 2022
The car started having engine issues. Car wouldn’t start. Had it towed to the dealership which replaced the engine after the dealership had it for a month. Then one week after the the engine was replaced the vehicle was having issues again. Replaced PCM
Incident date: Aug 10, 2026
The contact owned a 2016 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH and turning into a parking lot, the vehicle lost power and there was black smoke coming from the right side of the engine compartment. The contact then parked the vehicle and opened the hood, and there were flames coming from the engine compartment. The Fire Department arrived on the scene and ext... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Jul 30, 2026
My car sat overnight and the next afternoon I drove approx. 3 miles and got a warning to at the engine “coolant temperature too high: let engine run while vehicle is stationary”. I took the car to the local dealership who diagnosed it as “coolant migration” and quoted a repair cost of nearly $5200. The vehicle is 2022 with not even 26k miles and well maintained at the same dealership. I ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 7, 2026
Honda Part #80872-SN7-003 failed at 3years and 40,000 miles which Honda will not cover under warranty. This is a simple O-Ring for the AC line which has a life span of 10-15 years. Apparently this has been common on 2023-2025 Pilots and passports and thus should be a recall issue.
Incident date: Aug 8, 2026
I just purchased this vehicle on XXX and on XXX, with less than 300 miles on it, we were in a parking garage at the Galleria Mall in [XXX]. While driving slowly uphill in the garage looking for a parking space, the vehicle suddenly went into neutral and the engine shutoff. After verifying all was well, I restarted the truck and continued to drive. It happened two more times with the same situation... Read more
Incident date: Aug 10, 2025
10r80 transmission CDF Failure. Had repair completed though still has issues with 4/5th gear. Truck will lose power while accelerating until it finds the gear it wants to go. Multiple re-learning processes completed with no solution. V6 ecoboost - cam phasers repaired twice. 1st time by initial owner but that was not relayed to me. 2nd time by me after multiple trips to the dealership where they c... Read more
Incident date: Aug 8, 2026
My 2021 Kia Soul has stalled unexpectedly while being driven on multiple occasions. When the vehicle stalls, the engine shuts off and the vehicle loses propulsion, creating a risk of a collision, particularly if it occurs in moving traffic. There have been no warning lights or messages before the vehicle stalls or when the stalling occurs. The vehicle has severe engine oil consumption. After appr... Read more
Incident date: Dec 5, 2023
When GM announced the recall involving the potential for catastrophic engine failure, I immediately contacted Bridgewater Chevrolet in NJ to schedule the required recall inspection. I was told the dealership could not perform the inspection because it had not yet received the required 'diagnostic tool' from GM. Once they received the equipment, they contacted me and on Oct 1, 2025, they completed... Read more
Incident date: Aug 6, 2026
Per VW TSB 15-23-01, Volkswagen explicitly admits that the original engine production head gasket design is defective. A leaking head gasket can cause sudden engine overheating, power loss, or catastrophic engine failure while driving. This seems like a major , dangerous issue that should be covered under a recall
Incident date: Aug 10, 2026
engine transmission motor mount backup camera fuel pump headlights dash cluster radio mirrors inside mirrors tailgate latch seat belt climate control engine light transmission shifter
Incident date: Aug 5, 2026
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 MPH and attempting to accelerate to 55 MPH, the engine started choking, and the vehicle lunged back and forth, and slowly lost drive power. The vehicle was driven to a local certified mechanic while driving at slower speeds. The certified mechanic diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the A... Read more
Incident date: Jun 24, 2026
While driving on a family road trip, our vehicle check engine light came in and put the vehicle in limp mode. This happened a couple of times but luckily we were close enough to our home we were able to make it home safely. The code received was indicative of a Coolant Control Valve Failure. In discussions with the dealer, there is currently a special coverage out for this component failing but th... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2019) - ENGINE
Aug 10, 2026
Incident date: Aug 10, 2026
2021 Cadillac Escalade ESV equipped with L87 6.2L V8, subject to NHTSA Recall 25V-274 / GM N252494000. The recall inspection was completed and the vehicle passed, so GM performed the 0W-40 higher-viscosity-oil remedy rather than engine replacement. The vehicle has a history of unexplained oil loss with no obvious external leak, including a prior low-oil warning. At a recent oil change after approx... Read more
Incident date: Jul 24, 2026
On XXX, my wife, who is [XXX] pregnant, was driving our brand new 2026 Toyota RAV4 Plug-In Hybrid (approximately 20 miles on the odometer) at 45 mph on a highway when the vehicle experienced a sudden loss of propulsion. What failed: The hybrid powertrain system shut down while the vehicle was in motion. The instrument cluster displayed "Hybrid System Malfunction Do Not Tow This Vehicle" along wit... Read more
Incident date: Mar 4, 2026
This has happened for the last 2.5 years and has happened between 5 and 10 times. While stopped at a traffic light the Auto-Stop feature activates. When the light changes and I attempt to move, the vehicle enters "cuts off" and the dash board directs me to shift to Park or to step on the brake to restart the engine. It take multiple attempts but then it switches to Accessory Mode after which ... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2025) - ENGINE
Aug 10, 2026
Incident date: Jul 18, 2026
The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated and the messages "Engine Power Reduced" and "Speed Limited to 65 MPH" were displayed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine coolant flow control valve and related components needed to be replac... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
Parked car and engaged the push button keyless ignition system to shut the car down, SUV would not shut down, no recourse available to power down vehicle. We immediately drove to the local Honda dealership, Braham Honda 7000 Coral Way, Miami Florida for assistance with the issue. Was advised that even disengaging the battery would have still left the alternator engaged which eventually may have ca... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2021) - ENGINE
Aug 10, 2026
Incident date: Mar 10, 2026
In June 2026 I took my vehicle to Hyundai for a recall to the ECM module. After that my vehicle would lose power and hesitate to shift gears, and overall does not feel safe. Took vehicle back to dealer and they have told me that I have to wait for them to issue a recall fix for this now .
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2021) - ENGINE
Aug 10, 2026
Incident date: Mar 10, 2026
The contact owns a 2027 Honda HR-V. The contact stated that, on several occasions while driving at speeds above 65 MPH, an abnormal humming sound came from the engine compartment. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 70.
Incident date: Aug 8, 2026
This is an update to my original NHTSA complaint (ID 11755209) regarding an intermittent no-start/no-crank defect on my 2023 Kia Telluride (VIN [XXX]). Since my original filing, the identical defect has recurred twice more, on XXX — once at approximately 1:01–1:30 PM EST and again at approximately 5:03–5:17 PM EST, the same day. In both incidents, the dashboard and infotainment system powere... Read more
HYUNDAI
SANTA FE SPORT
(2017) - ENGINE
Aug 10, 2026
Incident date: Jun 14, 2026
While driving my 2018 GMC Terrain, the vehicle suddenly displayed an “Engine Power Reduced” warning and the brakes became extremely hard to press. The vehicle experienced a sudden loss of normal power-brake assist while it was in motion, creating a serious safety risk because significantly greater pedal force was required to stop the vehicle. I was able to pull over safely. After stopping, the... Read more
Incident date: Jul 29, 2026
My 2016 Kia Forte had a recall that was never performed and I was never told anything about the car fax or any recalls from where I got the car from, it needs a engine repair.
Incident date: Dec 9, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55-65 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The check engine and battery warning lights were illuminated. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V455000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, and the failure was associated with the recall and a diagnostic troubl... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2026
The vehicle engine is dying at intersections and going into “neutral” on its own when stopped. This has been ongoing for over a year, Honda denies any issues. It is becoming more of a safety problem more recently as the vehicle “downshifted” on its own while driving on the highway. (On that instance, the vehicle went from approx 45 mph to a slow crawl - just enough to pull off the road to ... Read more
MITSUBISHI
OUTLANDER
(2024) - ENGINE
Aug 10, 2026
Incident date: Aug 10, 2026
While driving 65mph on the highway the engine locked up and shut down. There was a loss of propulsion and steering making it difficult to safely maneuver off the highway.
Incident date: Jul 13, 2026
The car has a blown head gasket at 72k miles the odometer. This seems to be a major problem with 2018-2022 honda accords with the 1.5 turbo engine. it also has a bad fuel pump.
Incident date: Aug 8, 2026
PCV value/oil leak is a known issue with this specific model of car. The repair I was quited was over $2700 when the car is just out of warranty. There was no oil light indication showing that the oil was low! I only checked everything out because I saw oil in the drive way. The car read zero oil on the dip stick. I added 4 quarts and finallt started to get into operating range. My wife drives thi... Read more
Incident date: Aug 5, 2026
The contact owns a 2022 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving approximately 20 MPH, the vehicle shut off unexpectedly and the electronic parking brake unintendedly engaged. The parking brake warning light was illuminated. The driver was able to pull over to the side of the road. The driver was unable to disengage the parking brake, and the vehicle failed to restart immed... Read more
Incident date: Aug 10, 2026
While driving the vehicle, the accelerator pedal was pressed but the vehicle failed to respond and did not accelerate, it simply rolled slowly as the engine continued to idle. The driver increased throttle input in an attempt to get the vehicle to accelerate. The vehicle continued to show no response to the additional throttle. After a delay, the vehicle suddenly resumed normal operation while th... Read more
Incident date: Aug 10, 2026
Was traveling home and started losing power going up a hill on XXX. The truck was surging, the check engine light came on and an audible warning of no (low?) oil pressure. The truck shut off on a busy interstate highway and barely got onto the shoulder. The tow truck driver had to lay on the ground with part of his body in the lane of travel to place "skids" under the rear tires because there is n... Read more
Incident date: Aug 10, 2026
The contact owns a 2015 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while driving on several occasions at various speeds, the vehicle lost power, and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred within a year. The vehicle was taken back ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 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: Sep 22, 2023
The vehicle was parked stationary in the driveway with the engine running for 3-5 minutes with the A/C on. The vehicle then accelerated forward into my garage causing damage. Once I entered the vehicle, both the dash and shifter displayed park. Current TCU system internal failures have been reported from the pulling of data from Mazda.
Crash
Incident date: Aug 9, 2026
The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. While driving 50 MPH, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted into first gear and the rear wheels locked up. The contact stated that while in third gear, the vehicle shifted to fourth gear unexpectedly. The transmission failed to shift above fifth gear. The contact stated that the transmission failed to shift out of first gear. After turning off the vehicle, t... Read more
Incident date: Aug 10, 2026
The contact owns a 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that while driving 70 MPH, there was an engine failure, and internal parts fell apart and started grinding into the oil pan. The message "LIMP Mode” and the vehicle failed to exceed 4,000 RPM. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The dealer stated that the engine needed to be disassembled to be fully diagnosed. The vehicle was not rep... Read more
Incident date: Aug 9, 2026
I was on the freeway in the fast lane approaching a tunnel and vehicle came with warning vehicle shutting down. Code DL_a063. Vehicle stopped in fast lane would not move to shoulder. No prior warning there was any issue. State police came and had vehicle towed. Lucky the car behind me was able to stop in time.
Incident date: Aug 7, 2026
i was exiting HWY 45 at highway speed. the car began to stutter, i lost control of the propulsion of the vehicle, the breaks did not seem to work, the EPC light came on after rolling to a stop. i had to put the car in park and upon turning the car off and back on the cars EPC light went off and i was able to drive it home. it now sits in my driveway and has not been moved since.
FORD
BRONCO SPORT
(2022) - ENGINE
Aug 10, 2026
Incident date: Aug 1, 2026
On April 7, 2026 I was driving my daughter to school when my 2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ Frunk (Front Trunk) opening while driving. This renders the EV completely inoperable and disables the vehicle. I pulled over and contacted Road Side assistance and had my vehicle towed to Cadillac of Beverly Hills. It was repaired over the course of 3 days and I was assured it was fixed. Today, on August 9, ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2025
On XXX, my 2010 Hyundai Elantra Touring experienced a severe fire in the engine compartment. I observed burning material/flames dripping from underneath the engine compartment before the fire spread upward. The fire caused extensive damage to the engine compartment and the vehicle is no longer drivable. After the incident, I checked the vehicle's VIN ([XXX]) on Hyundai's recall website and found t... Read more
Fire
HONDA
CLARITY PLUG-IN HYBRID
(2018) - ENGINE
Aug 10, 2026
Incident date: Jul 3, 2026
GMC should be haulted from selling trucks with the 6.2L engine. My brand new 2026 GMC Yukon Denali engine imploded on the Interstate going 75mph that nearly killed my entire family. No warning, just out of no where died on the highway, with 4K miles on it. This is sadly going to get someone critically injured and when is enough going to be enough? GMC has some explaining to do, when they charge... Read more