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: Jun 17, 2026

Driving on highway, engine stopped while driving 70+ mph. Had to get to the side of the multilane highway. Was towed to nearest GMC dealership. Dealer said the engine was locked up, and they have many vehicles right now with similar problems. They will have to replace the engine due to complete engine failure.

Incident date: Jun 14, 2026

I brought my truck into a certified GM dealer for recall work on the ground strap. I left the dealership and multiple lights came on dash: check engine light, service ecs, traction control, service parking brake, steering assist reduced. 7 minutes later the engine began miss firing. The dealer asked me to bring it back to the shop and after some digging they discovered my L87, 6.2 engine was missi... Read more

Incident date: May 2, 2026

While driving on the freeway at approximately 65–70 mph, the engine suddenly stopped responding to all accelerator pedal inputs. The vehicle experienced an immediate, dangerous loss of motive power in active traffic. The dashboard displayed an amber check engine light alongside the central master warning light (an amber triangle with an exclamation point inside). I was forced to coast across act... Read more

Incident date: Mar 4, 2026

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission failed to properly shift gears and the vehicle failed to exceed 40 MPH while driving. The contact stated that the transmission failed to shift above third gear. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who discovered that there... Read more

Incident date: Jun 27, 2026

I was merging onto the highway and when I attempted to accelerate, the engine warning light began to flash and the car could not accelerate. The engine began to make a rattling noise. I called the dealer and they asked if I could make it there (it was about 25 miles away). I said I would try. As I got about 10 miles away the noise grew louder and the oil light came on. I immediately pulled over. T... Read more

Incident date: Aug 2, 2026

On July 13, 2026, my engine light came on and I don't understand why. My oil change was update and not sure what else can be wrong. So, I went to AutoZone so that can do a diagnostic and they gave me a printout of the problem. Took the vehicle to the shop gave him the printout from AutoZone so that he will know what the problem is. Brought the part and that didn't take the engine light off and I ... Read more

Incident date: Jul 23, 2026

My brand new vehicle continues to leave me stranded at stop lights because of the auto start stop system. Even though I have already taken it up to the dealership before and had it repaired. (There is a class action started over this)

Incident date: Jul 30, 2026

I have a coolant intrusion into the engine and blew my engine in the middle of driving down the highway. No signs, no warning. Lost control, ended up on side of road. Had husband pull it the rest of the way home.

Incident date: Jul 1, 2026

Electrical glitches, where speedometer screen will go out of focus, glitch. Also transmission is going. Loud hum, catching as it changes gears and hesitates when trying to accelerated into the highway.

Incident date: Nov 11, 2025

I purchased a 2022 Ford F150 in September 2024. I began to notice occasional sluggishness when accelerating as the weather warmed up around March 2025. I contacted my local Ford dealership sharing the issue. The service manager suggested I consistently use a high octane fuel, which I consistently do, explaining I may just have "bad gas". The problem continued primarily when I was in heavy traf... Read more

Incident date: Apr 10, 2026

My granddaughter was driving the vehicle and experienced a catastrophic engine failure while driving down the road. Warning messages and audible sounds began and said to turn off the vehicle immediately. The brakes completely stopped working at that point. She pulled over immediately and called to ask what she should do. She was approximately 1/2 mile from home and she drove approximately 10mph to... Read more

Incident date: Dec 1, 2025

I own a Silver 2024 Volkswagen Jetta. My car stopped accelerating while I was driving on the freeway on 7/18/2026 which was a huge safety issue resulting in my car needing to be towed to the dealership because it was not drivable. The warning lights came on after the car stopped accelerating on the freeway. My car needs a ECM replacement which is covered by the Federal Emissions Warranty and I re... Read more

Incident date: Jun 25, 2026

Engine caught fire , insurance denied the claim . Kia has a class action lawsuit Theta 2 . It was towed into the dealership for approximately 3 mts . During the diagnostic they discovered a crack in the number 3 cylinder wall . They rejected the claim due to what they said was a leaky valve cover gasket even though it had been replaced within the last year . The car has 66,000 miles and has been w... Read more

Fire

Incident date: Jul 18, 2026

2018 Kia Sedona lx stalled while my wife was driving on the highway. No warning lights were on until the vehicle lost all power. Luckily my wife was able to pull the car safely to the side. The vehicle only has 36960 miles. Brought vehicle to the dealer and they said engine was seized. That Kia would not attempt a repair unless I gave copies of oil/oil filters from oil changes that I performed. I ... Read more

Incident date: Jul 18, 2026

In April 2024 on a road trip to [XXX], the engine suffered a catastrophic failure without warning near [XXX]. The connecting rod or rods broke, and one of them exited the engine. State Police and Local Fire Department responded because a passer-by saw smoke from the expired engine and reported a fire - there was no fire, but the engine oil was leaking down onto the exhaust pipes, causing smoke. ... Read more

Incident date: Jul 18, 2026

TRANSMISSION MAY BRIEFLY ENGAGE IN PARK WHILE THE VEHICLE IS STILL MOVING.

Incident date: Feb 24, 2026

Complete failure on Cylinder 3 after AFM system caused lifter collapse in 5.3L V8. Lifter fell into cam shaft and scored the shaft at 55mph. Truck started surging and shaking violently. Truck shaking had me swerve to the side of the road as I was coming up on a crosswalk with golf cart about to cross the road. Vehicle was inspected at Atwater GM in Aitkin, MN and component failure was identified. ... Read more

Incident date: Jul 17, 2026

I am reporting a safety-related transmission problem I experienced with my 2021 Ford F-150 equipped with the 10R80 automatic transmission. While driving normally, the transmission suddenly shifts hard/lags on gears 3-5 and sometime higher gears 7-9 at higher speeds. I’ve also noticed a buzzing/metallic rattling coming near the engine from inside. There is also times i can tell i have no power wh... Read more

Incident date: Jun 29, 2026

Not long after I purchased my car, i noticed it was lacking power during takeoff and when driving uphill which forced my car to hit very high RPMs during normal use. There was also a P0299 code that appeared then disappeared frequently. I discovered a turbo special coverage N232395330 and took it to Williams GMC in Charlotte. After i told them very clearly what happened MULTIPLE times, confirming ... Read more

Incident date: Jul 22, 2026

Please see attached documents. I have also put them in the US mail. One to KIA: Kia Customer Care Center, Kia Motors America, Inc., P.O. Box 52410, Irvine, CA, 92619-2410 and one to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: 1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E., Washing, DC 20590.

Incident date: Aug 2, 2026

On July 31, 2026, while traveling approximately 55 mph on a Maryland highway, my 2025 Toyota RAV4 unexpectedly lost power and shut off while in motion. There was no check-engine warning before the failure. The vehicle became disabled in a travel lane. Police responded, and the lane had to be closed because the vehicle could not be safely moved. There was no crash, fire, or injury. The vehicle was... Read more

Incident date: Jul 26, 2026

The transmission fails constantly when we are accelerating - approxx 50-58 miles per hour the transmission freezes & the RMP's stay @ 4-5 thousand for 20-30 seconds - it fails to downshift. This is extremely dangerous at any time & can cause a major accident if the vehicle is stuck & you need to stop! We have have left the car several times for this issue & they keep telling us they cannot rep... Read more

Incident date: Aug 2, 2026

Vehicle stalls out at highway speeds. It will be in gear, shown on the dash, it will be redlining, but not move. It will stall out while the vehicle is in motion. The accelerator does not provide power to the transmission and acts as if it is in neutral. All I can do is coast to the side of the road and power off the car, open the door to provide a full power down, then restart the vehicle. This h... Read more

Incident date: Jun 7, 2026

I have experienced numerous instances where my car will stall at a stop light and then fail to restart, even with switching gears to park before resuming to drive.. I have had to turn on and off the engine multiple times at a si hole stoplight before the car would resume movement. This scenario has now happened at least 3 times. I am a mom driving a minivan of kids and this is concerning for our... Read more

Incident date: Jul 31, 2026

I own a 208 Honda Accord Sport 1.5L Turbo that I purchased new. At approximately 69,000 miles, the vehicle experienced a cylinder head gasket failure, allowing coolant to enter the engine. The vehicle was diagnosed by Honda dealership, which recommended replacing the cylinder head gasket, cylinder head bolts and spark plug at an estimated cost $6,500. Prior to this failure, the vehicle began overh... Read more

Incident date: Aug 1, 2026

While driving at normal and safe highway speeds, without warning (no audible or visual warning from the vehicle information display) my vehicle experienced engine lockout, loss of all non-electric power, and no control over vehicle speed. A few seconds after loss, the information display did show a "check engine light" and that the engine was in "lockout." We (my spouse, young child, and self) w... Read more

Incident date: Jul 30, 2026

The engine sputters several times in a single trip, and is available upon request. The engine sputtered and the vehicle stopped in the middle of the road as I was trying to cross 2 lanes of traffic. It has sputtered so bad, I almost rear ended the vehicle in front of me. Yes, the dealership confirmed via text on 7/13/2026. The dealership confirmed it occurred then insisted on my picking up the... Read more

Incident date: Jul 27, 2026

We bought a used car from Carvana and had a check engine light come on in the first month for P0304- cylinder 4 misfire. We got all 4 spark plugs and ignition coils replaced and drove 500 miles to North Carolina the next month and again the check engine light came on for P0304. We are being told there is a known safety issue on this model for coolant intruding into the engine that causes this recu... Read more

Incident date: May 25, 2026

Since 11/2026 I have had issues with this car. 11/2025 mis-fire on cylinder 2 replaced turbo and spark plugs due to all dash lights on and would not accelerate over 10mph. 6/2026 all dash lights lit up again and would not accelerate over 1-20 mph misfire on cylinders 1 and 3 codes P0301 and 0303. Replaced coils, spark plugs and found fuel leaking out of injectors. Replaced injectors. 07/2026 a... Read more

Incident date: Jul 31, 2026

Torque converter needs a replacing

Incident date: Aug 1, 2026

The vehicle’s radiator developed a coolant leak that was discovered and confirmed by the dealership during a routine oil change, tire rotation and state inspection. There were no warning lights, warning messages prior to the dealership discovering the leak. The radiator required replacement. The dealership also told me that they had the replacement radiator on hand because this type of radiator ... Read more

Incident date: Aug 1, 2026

November 2025 notice there was issue with engine February 24 2026 serviced for engine April 13 2026 serviced for engine May 05 2026 serviced for engine June 15,2026 serviced for engine NO remedy Problem still presist

Incident date: Jul 31, 2026

Engine failure while driving on the highway. Jeep dealership confirmed failure due to a cylinder 4 misfire. Spark plug in cylinder 4 porcelain came out of the plug and resulted in damaging the pistons and valves. My family's safety was put at risk because we were driving on a highway and suddenly the engine stopped working. Could not accelerate or keep the engine running. Issue confirmed by the... Read more

Incident date: Mar 24, 2024

Purchased brand new vehicle. At the time of incident vehicle had 168 miles. I was driving approximately 20 miles per hour on a parkway entrance ramp with no vehicle in front of me and no vehicles approaching from behind. I accelerated gradually to merge onto the parkway. The engine kicked and the dashboard lit up with several warning indicator lights including the check engine light (see attached ... Read more

Incident date: Jul 2, 2026

The water pump went Back and had to be replaced, because it was leaking coolant into the engine. Also there is coolant infusion into the cylinders. This is a known problem that Ford knew about. My car has 131000 miles and is out of warranty. The car car needs to have the engine replaced.

Incident date: Aug 1, 2017

I am reporting a safety-related defect involving the 10R80 automatic transmission in my 2022 Ford F-150 STX. While slowing to a stop during normal driving, the transmission unexpectedly performed an extremely harsh downshift. The truck jerked forward violently as it shifted into a lower gear, making it difficult to slow the vehicle in a smooth and predictable manner. This occurred without warning ... Read more

Incident date: Jan 30, 2026

The oil level in my motorcycle has continued to drop every time I take it to the dealership to get inspected, and 7 months after I was notified about the recall, there is still no repair available for my vehicle. This is unacceptable as i am unable to ride my motorcycle across long distances and am inconvenienced every 300 miles to get it inspected at my dealership. There needs to be a solution as... Read more

Incident date: Jul 24, 2026

2024 odyssey engine shut off while in drive thru at restaurant. Unshure if auto start stop override was active. Either way the van had to be re started using the start button. Van re started on second or third attempt to re start with start button. This is a repeat occurance since having starter replaced in response to a similar problem about a year ago.

Incident date: Jul 29, 2026

Two issues- 1. When pulling out into traffic the engine/gas did not catch and we slowly creeped out across lanes before the gas took. This almost caused us to become t-boned by a passing car. When the gas took the car lurched forward fast which could have been another accident. 2. When driving with adaptive cruise control the forward collision warning fault light and service adaptive cruise cont... Read more

Incident date: Jun 5, 2026

On XXX I was waiting at a light and the check engine light was blinking. When I started up, the car was very sluggish. It continued to be sluggish on my trip home - 5 miles. I brought it to Meineke [XXX] [XXX]. They ascertained that the engine was shot. They flushed out the oil in the engine and there was lots of metal in the oil. They instructed me to go to Hyundai immediately. There was a e... Read more

Incident date: Jul 14, 2025

I have a 2026 BMW X5 50E. I experienced the same malfunction twice in the same day. The first occurrence was when I was taking my husband to a doctors appointment. While parking the car and when I was almost at a stop the vehicle lurched forward and was stopped by the concrete curb. My husband asked me what happened and I said I don’t know. The second occurrence was about two hours later after ... Read more

Crash 8 injured

Incident date: Jul 31, 2026

The vehicle intermittently fails to start in two different situations. First, when the auto Stop/start system shuts the engine off while the vehicle is stopped anywhere, the engine sometimes refuses to restart, leaving the vehicle immobilized. Second, there are occasions when I park the vehicle, turn it off normally, and upon returning, the engine will refuse to start.

Incident date: Jun 5, 2025

Engine sudden loss of propulsion while driving on interstate w/out warning. Pulled to side and check engine light and hot oil warning came on prior to engine dying. Had to call tow and dealer says engine needs to be replaced but they won’t ship vehicle back after repair and it’s 4 hours from my house, that I need to pick it up

Incident date: Jun 5, 2025

Saw smoke coming from an under the hood, pulled over opened hood and there were flames all across the top of the engine. Immediately evacuated the vehicle within seconds the vehicle was engulfed in flames and exploded several times. Total loss.

Fire

Incident date: Jun 18, 2024

After the recent "important service campaign" involving the THETA II Emissions Logic Improvement my vehicle no longer safety shifts into the lower gears. It will not shift into gear. I am unable to safely get up to a normal speed and the engine and vehicle start shaking. This is isolated to the initial start of the vehicle and any low speed driving after. The issue is resolved after restarting the... Read more

Incident date: Jul 25, 2026

My Tiguan leaks and burns oil like crazy. Now it has 111k miles on it, but this has been an ongoing issue for the last five years since I've had it. I now have to put a quart of oil in every 100 miles. This is not the fault of me getting an oil change, this is a persistent problem caused by the manufacturing of the car. I have had the engine nearly seize up while driving on the freeway due to low ... Read more

Incident date: Aug 1, 2026

This vehicle is burning oil! I have stayed on top of getting the regular/required oil changes but inbetween we have had to constantly top off the oil. I also get all oil changes at the dealer. Last time when I complained about it the guy told me that it would be a lot of work to try to find out why and left it at that. My warranty expires in November and I don't want to get burned by this by n... Read more

Incident date: Jul 29, 2026

Going down the road driving the car lost power and went in limp mode with no warnings on the dash at all!

Incident date: Jul 14, 2026

Driving home on the interstate my truck started making a knocking sound and the vehicle would shake over 45 miles an hour. We took to a dealer that said the lifters were bad, and potentially caused damage to the cam shaft. There was no warranty. I asked how this happens under 60,000 miles and was told it’s just part failure. And with the 6.2 engines, it’s a known occurrence. I then see that Ch... Read more

Incident date: Jul 31, 2026

When the vehicle engages auto-off at a stoplight, the engine stalls when trying to reengage. The engine also struggles to engage from a manual start, sometimes needing to try starting the engine three or four times before it will turn on. Two Buick dealerships inspected the vehicle and confirmed GM has an open investigation on the issue and that there is currently no fix. They recommended disablin... Read more

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Vehicle Safety

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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

Read more from our blog