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: Feb 24, 2026

Vehicle exhibited a sudden loss of power, dash screen stated a restart of the vehicle was needed. I was able to coast into a neighborhood upon attempting to restart the vehicle nothing would happen and it would not even attempt to turn over, proceeded to contact onstar for roadside assistance, vehicle taken to nearest GMC dealership where it was determined to have engine failure and a new engine ... Read more

Incident date: Feb 17, 2026

Other than the Emergency brake system coming on suddenly a couple times (seat belt has hurt me, but not medically documented), there have been no other issues with this car. In the November of 2025, it overheated in gridlock traffic in Boston, MA, which had me freaking out. The engine coolant was low, so I had to find a spot to pull over and let the steam out. I drove it safely home and refilled ... Read more

Incident date: Nov 13, 2025

Truck died while traveling at 60MPH, once safely pulled over saw it shutdown due to low oil pressure. Checked the oil level and found correct level on dipstick. Attempted to start, no start. Towed to shop, they drained the oil and verified correct oil quantity cam out. Pulled the oil pan and found metal in the oil pan. Told I need a replacement engine. Engine has 95k miles with proper maintenance ... Read more

Incident date: Oct 7, 2025

While driving the vehicle, an error message (Engine Control Error) will pop up. The car will come to an immediate stop…forcing the driver to shut off car and restart it. This has happened multiple times and in one instance occurred on the highway. It almost caused a catastrophic accident as the car came to an abrupt stop in the middle lane of the highway. I’ve taken the car to the dealersh... Read more

Incident date: Feb 24, 2026

The engine seized while at highway speed in traffic during evening rush hour. The engine failure has been confirmed by a GM dealer and is set for replacement. There was no warning or indication that total engine failure was imminent.

Incident date: Feb 25, 2026

After taking my Jeep in on January 16th for the 68 C recall I’ve had multiple issues with the jeep hybrid/engine. While driving the Jeep it suddenly becomes unresponsive even when pushing the gas pedal to the floor. After a minute the engine will start up and lurch forward. I’ve almost caused an accident multiple times. This is a huge issue and needs to be addressed. I’ve taken my Jeep back ... Read more

Incident date: Nov 20, 2025

The contact owns a 2025 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that while stopped at a traffic light, the gear shifter was shifted to park(P) and the vehicle stalled. The message "START Engine" was displayed. The vehicle was restarted, and the Auto START/STOP feature was disabled by pressing the "A" inside an orange circle. The contact stated that on another occasion while reversing into the driveway... Read more

Incident date: Jan 30, 2026

Hi, I recently bought my car with a savage title, the inside of the engine in my 2013 Hyundai sonata is making a knocking noise, it has the engine light on and when I scanned it, it shows code P1326, I did some research and found out that Hyundai issued a safety recall 162 back in 2017. In the Hyundai recall webpage records it shows the recall as complete on 8/7/2020. However the engine is making ... Read more

Incident date: Feb 25, 2026

In and out of the shop for the last 3.5 years (Warranty is expired now) with multiple engin codes (CEL). Most having to do with the fuel delivery systems. Most common P026D, and P1089. It has been in the shop at least 6 or more times. GM won't stand by their product. Since the warranty ended I've put mor than $4,000 in to repairs for this and now I'm told it will cost me anouther $6000 to $7000 to... Read more

Incident date: Feb 21, 2026

1. My car began to produce white smoke after a burning smell. Then caught fire under the hood in engine area. The car is buried in snow/ice, not available to access. 2. The car caught fire. 3. The problem has not been reproduced nor confirmed by anyone (dealer/independent service center) 4. No, due to weather conditions. (Blizzard) 5. Only the burning smell and white smoke.

Fire

Incident date: Feb 13, 2020

The oil is depleting every month from the vehicle. Every 2-3 weeks I have to put oil in the vehicle because the oil is being absorbed. Is there a recall on this problem.

Incident date: Feb 25, 2026

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Transit. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a misfire coming from the engine with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to several independent mechanics, where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the engine, causing engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. ... Read more

Incident date: Feb 25, 2026

Sudden loss of acceleration. This occurred while making a left turn across traffic from a stop. At approximately 7mph the car would not accelerate any further. I was luckily able to coast the vehicle into a center turn lane. Upon coming to a stop I was unable to get any acceleration. The vehicle was turned off and turned back on again and operated normally. There were no trouble codes displayed.

Incident date: Feb 13, 2026

PHEV sometimes fails to "start". That is, vehicle will not enter "Ready" mode when brake is depressed and Start button is pressed. Instead, 'Refuel Error', 'Stop Safely Now', 'Service AdvancTrac', 'PreCollision Assist Not Available', and several other warnings appear. This only occurs on the first 'start' of the day, when the EV battery has been recharged overnight, indoors. Outdoor use/charging d... Read more

Incident date: Feb 14, 2026

The engine cylinder head cracked and is leaking engine oil. This component is available for inspection at Liberty Mazda or by an independent certified mechanic upon request. The cracked cylinder head caused significant engine oil leakage, which created the following safety risks: Sudden loss of engine power or stalling while driving Smoke emission from the engine bay Potential fire hazard if leak... Read more

Incident date: Feb 16, 2026

On February 16, 2026, my vehicle was diagnosed by Safford Brown Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram with a failed catalytic converter/manifold. While I am approximately 17 days past the 8-year calendar window for the Federal Emissions Warranty, my vehicle has only 77,337 miles. This is 2,663 miles below the 80,000-mile federal limit. The failed Bank 2 Maniverter assembly has a confirmed crack that allows raw... Read more

Incident date: Feb 17, 2026

The contact owns a 2016 Cadillac Escalade. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, there was an abnormal popping sound coming from the engine. The contact stated that the vehicle sounded like it was going to stall, and the accelerator pedal was depressed to keep the vehicle from stalling. The vehicle was driven to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with lifter failure. The ve... Read more

Incident date: Feb 24, 2026

While driving at road speed, the vehicle unexpectedly shifted itself into Neutral (N) without driver input. The engine continued running, but the vehicle lost drive power. Simultaneously, the dashboard displayed multiple warning indicators including: “Exhaust System Malfunction” warning Semi-Automated Driving Assistance warning SOS / emergency system warning The driver safely pulled to th... Read more

Incident date: Sep 1, 2023

I was driving on the highway when I proceeded to the turn lane to turn left crossing two lanes of traffic and the vehicle just shut down no warning whatsoever no check engine lights no oil lights nothing and it wouldn’t turn back on when trying it but after about 5 times it turned on and I was able to get it off the highway but couldn’t go any further as the vehicle was making a loud noise and... Read more

Incident date: Feb 10, 2026

My vehicles engine died in traffic and left me stranded in the middle of a busy road. Upon a mechanics review the issue is a siezed engine because of the oil pump pickup tube clogged with pieces of the oil pump or timing chain pulleys that had broken off.

Incident date: Sep 9, 2024

When approaching a light, the car will completely shut off and my steering wheel will lock, and the emergency break will engage. I will be unable to use any part of my car for at least 1-2 minutes before the break releases and allows me to start my car again.

Incident date: Jan 2, 2026

I took my car in for a safety recall for the bushing on the transmission. A short time after getting it back my cabin filled with smoke when I used the remote start. I had never had this problem until it came back from the dealer. so I stopped using the remote start! but after that the car's cabin began filling with acrid smoke whenever it idled for more than a minute. It now fills with smoke wh... Read more

Incident date: Jan 27, 2026

I am reporting a safety concern involving repeated engine stalling while driving my 2020 Hyundai Palisade. The vehicle has stalled a total of seven times during normal operation. Most of the incidents occurred while slowing down or stopped at intersections and traffic lights. In these situations, the engine suddenly shut off without warning. I was forced to immediately shift the vehicle into park... Read more

Incident date: Jan 12, 2026

The contact owns a 2014 Kia Forte. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V750000 (Engine); however, the recall repair was not fully performed. The contact stated that while attempting to accelerate at slower speeds, the vehicle failed to exceed 30 MPH and unexpectedly entered LIMP Mode. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken ... Read more

Incident date: Feb 13, 2026

Upon startup rough idle and check engine light came on. Mechanic confirmed cylinder head thinning causing fluid leak into first cylinder. A mechanical note verifies but Ford won't issue a recall. Apparently Ford has know this for years with Ecoboost engines. I don't want to become a victim of vehicle dying in the middle of traffic. Have seen several complaints from Ford owners with no fixes by For... Read more

Incident date: Feb 24, 2026

I only have about 45K miles on my car. I began to hear a rattling sound while vehicle is idling and more pronounced with the air conditioning on. I took it to the Ford service department at the dealership where I bought it and was told it was a cracked engine flex plate and it would be a $3000 cost to repair. I was extremely surprised at such an expensive fix for such low mileage and looking onlin... Read more

Incident date: Jan 12, 2026

The engine failed and they lied about the reason of failure. I know this because I've changed the oil myself since 5,000 miles. Every 5k the oil and filter was changed, idled for a few minutes and shut down. Followed by a 10 minute timer and a oil level check. The Jeep was around 24900 miles when I did the oil change for that interval. One week later I took it to Jeep as it had an oil leak from on... Read more

Incident date: Feb 25, 2026

The contact owns a 2024 Jeep Wrangler 4XE. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that after disconnecting and removing the battery for approximately 15 minutes, the vehicle was able to restart; however, the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The contact received ... Read more

Incident date: Feb 23, 2026

The contact owned a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact noticed flames coming from the hood of the vehicle. The vehicle was parked, and the contact and the passenger exited the vehicle. The contact stated that the contact's mother was an additional occupant in the vehicle and was seated in the rear seat. The contact and the contact's mother ... Read more

Fire

Incident date: Feb 18, 2026

I have had my car since January of 2023 and I have had no significant issues. I bought the car with roughly 30,000 miles, fast forward to February of 2026 it has about 123,000 miles and the engine is burning oil very fast. My car loses oil so fast the oil light comes on way early before my next oil change is due.

Incident date: Jan 15, 2026

The upper radiator hose on some huge percentage of these trucks fail (mine has failed at just over 37K miles). You can check the Colorado Chevy and GMC Canyon forums, youtube, Facebook, etc., et al, and find plenty of instances where this has failed. As this is the cooling system, it can cause the engine to overheat and potentially ruin the engine. The flaw seems to be an engineering issue with th... Read more

Incident date: Feb 25, 2026

1) Vehicle transmission erratic shifting ,skips gear 2 and 4 a lot and sometimes from stop to 33 mph it seems to go into neutral then bang back into gear. Grand kids in back gets knocked around hard enough to lose food/drinks. It dose to back but now the truck is less than 10MPH. 2) On start up something in the engine jingle and gaggle sound for 1-3 seconds.. This happens when truck has been s... Read more

Incident date: Nov 24, 2025

There have been systemic cylinder misfires (each cylinder), anomalous electrical architecture behavior, and transmission calibration irregularities. The check engine light indicated multiple cylinder misfires, which I understand from the dealer is a common issue with the 2025 model. As the driver, there are a few major issues: Chassis Vibration-pronounced shaking or shuddering transmitted through... Read more

Incident date: Feb 18, 2026

The engine failed while driving on the expressway putting us in a dangerous spot on the outer lane. It was towed to Etscorn’s in Louisville, KY and we were told despite everything looking ok on the outside, there was an internal engine failure of some kind and it would cost $900 to take it apart just to find out. I don’t have that kind of money.

Incident date: Oct 25, 2024

The contact owns a 2016 Honda Odyssey. While the contact's wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the DTC: P0301 (Cylinder #1 misfire) was displayed. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the road and turned off. The driver attempted to restart the vehicle, and the vehicle restarted. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the residence. The vehicle was tak... Read more

Incident date: Dec 19, 2025

The contact owns a 2015 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle started losing motive power. The check engine warning light was illuminated, and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was restarted, but was sputtering and making abnormal sounds. The contact stated that the floorboard became very hot. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer to be diagnosed, and i... Read more

Incident date: Nov 25, 2025

The contact owns a 2024 Jeep Wrangler 4XE. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V766000 (ENGINE); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienc... Read more

Incident date: Feb 22, 2026

The contact owns a 2020 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle failed to accelerate as needed. Additionally, the engine was leaking oil. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V259000 (Engine); however, the failure recurred. The contact's friend diagnose... Read more

Incident date: Feb 4, 2026

Before my vehicle reached the 100,000-mile mark, the check engine light began appearing intermittently. I brought the car to my local dealership multiple times, but they were unable to provide a diagnosis and repeatedly reset the light. Once the light remained on permanently, the dealer finally identified a known Honda recall/extended warranty issue and replaced the spark plugs at no cost. Howev... Read more

Incident date: Feb 17, 2026

I was driving my vehicle home after a nearby out of town errand. I was on US-95 between Potlatch ID and Moscow ID which is a very hilly, curvy 2-lane 60mph highway with little to no cell service. As I ascended my first big hill, my engine light came on flashing and the ride became noticeably bumpy. I could not call anyone for many miles yet, so I put on my safety hazards and continued driving, hop... Read more

Incident date: Jan 4, 2026

Recently, while my boyfriend was driving my vehicle, the engine suddenly lost power without warning. He had the accelerator pedal fully depressed, yet the vehicle would barely move. He was fortunate to safely maneuver the vehicle off the road. Upon inspection, he discovered there was no oil present in the engine. Critically, neither the low oil warning light nor the check engine light had illumina... Read more

Incident date: Aug 1, 2025

The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the vehicle with the check engine warning light illuminated. Upon inspection of the vehicle, the contact discovered that the engine oil was low, and the contact added oil to the engine. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. Upon investigati... Read more

Incident date: Feb 20, 2026

Defective "TURBO CHARGER" at 38,091 miles. The defective worn-out or damaged turbocharger was removed from the engine and a new one was installed at a cost of $1816.00. This part should not wear out at 38,000 miles. My mechanic informed me that this is common in the Buick Encore vehicles to experience a defective "TURBO CHARGER" at low vehicle mileage.

Incident date: Dec 6, 2025

On 12/06/2025, I purchased a 2023 Jeep Wrangler 4xe from a Chrysler Jeep dealership in Myrtle Beach, SC. Recall 68C (NHTSA 25V741000) had been published on 11/05/2025 — one month prior to my purchase. The recall involves high voltage battery cells with separator damage that may cause a vehicle fire while parked or driving. A Stop Sale order was active on this VIN at the time of sale. I raised th... Read more

Incident date: Jan 30, 2026

On January 30, 2026, I was driving with my daughter from Kansas City to Platte City when the vehicle experienced a sudden and catastrophic mechanical failure. As we approached our exit, the engine unexpectedly revved and the vehicle rapidly decelerated to approximately 30 mph. When I attempted to accelerate, the vehicle was unable to properly gain speed. Upon reaching the top of a hill at an inter... Read more

Incident date: Feb 20, 2026

Engine Coolant Intrusion. During normal operation coolant leaks into the engine cylinders causing power loss and eventual overheating once the coolant system runs out of coolant. This prompts an emergency shutoff of the vehicle into "limp mode"

Incident date: Feb 21, 2026

On 2/21/26, while driving approximately 60 mph, my car experienced a sudden loss of propulsion. The vehicle unexpectedly shifted into neutral and began decelerating, displaying a prompt instructing me to press the start button. I was able to coast to the shoulder and avoid a collision, but the incident occurred in active highway traffic on a Saturday afternoon and posed a significant safety risk. ... Read more

Incident date: Feb 25, 2026

The contact's daughter owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that upon taking the vehicle to an independent mechanic for an oil change, the contact was informed that there was a mixture of oil and fuel in the oil pan. The contact stated that while checking the engine compartment later, there was an abnormally strong fuel odor coming from the engine compartment. Several unknown warning lights ... Read more

Incident date: Dec 16, 2025

The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving 45 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle shut off. The driver pulled over to the side of the road and the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The mechanic related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V301000 (ENGINE); however, the vehicle was towed to... Read more

Incident date: Feb 21, 2026

My entire engine and the right bank lifters failed. Thankfully, these issues didn't fail until my truck was parked in my garage. No warning lamps did not trigger until these issues started. There was no warning. I have been having engine issues with this truck dating back to 2022. I will include all documents showing the issues I've had in the past 3 years. I was informed by the dealer that this i... Read more

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