Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,215,138 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA — including 138,663 crashes, 56,255 fires, and 8,561 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 2,215,138 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 40,517 complaints — component: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Incident date: Jul 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to respond as intended with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that several days later while attempting to start the vehicle, there was a considerable amount of white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The contact inspected t... Read more
Incident date: Jul 22, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was white smoke coming from the exhaust, and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact also stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of coolant; however, there were no visual coolant leaks found. The vehicle was towed to two independent mechanics for confirmation,... Read more
Incident date: Jul 22, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine overheated with the check engine warning light remaining illuminated. Additionally, on several occasions the vehicle failed to start. Also, while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would not properly accelerate. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that coolant had ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 29, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that on several occasions when the vehicle was started, there was an abnormal amount of smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the coolant level was topped off twice within three days. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined... Read more
LAND ROVER
RANGE ROVER SPORT
(2024) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 1, 2024
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the engine was overheating, and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was leaking coolant. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the failure was related to a defective oxygen sensor. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The vehic... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2016
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that coolant intrusion had damaged the engine. The contact was inf... Read more
Incident date: Jul 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle shut off unintendedly but was able to be restarted. While at a stop light, the vehicle stalled. There was an unknown warning light illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. ... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. 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 experienced a failure. VIN tool ... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 535I. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle was losing motive power and was running rough. The contact stated that the instrument cluster went black. The contact turned into a parking lot as the vehicle stalled. The contact attempted to restart the vehicle but after several attempts failed to restart. The contact had the vehicle towed to the... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2013) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 1, 2024
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle briefly hesitated and vibrated, displaying symptoms consistent with a cylinder misfire. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that coolant intrusion had damaged the engine, resulting in a misfire in cylinder #2. The... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2020) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 1, 2024
Incident date: Jul 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that when the vehicle started, there was a large amount of white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The contact stated that the coolant reservoir was refilled every three days. In addition, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion in cylinder #4. The cont... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the spark plugs had failed and needed to be replaced. The spark plugs were replaced but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was then taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed and determin... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced rough idling and stalled while at a stop light. The contact stated that the failure had occurred after driving for more than 30 minutes. The contact replaced the fuel injectors, but the failures persisted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were contacted regarding the failure, but ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 30, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle hesitated and was slow to respond. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that there was an indication of coolant intrusion in the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and the contact was informed ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that there was an abnormal rattling sound while starting the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. Upon investigation, the contact linked the failure to the cam phasers. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a complaint was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 83,000... Read more
Incident date: Jul 24, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated there was an abnormal rattling sound coming from the vehicle while cold starting the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed with a defective cam phaser. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80... Read more
Incident date: May 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated while driving at approximately 55 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle lost motive power. In addition, the contact noticed white smoke coming from under ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced due to a coolant intrusion into cylinder #1. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approx... Read more
Incident date: Dec 12, 2023
The contact's son owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while her son was driving approximately 50 MPH, the vehicle shuddered, made an abnormal knocking sound, and stalled. No further information was provided. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the residence, where the contact drained the engine oil and noticed that there were metal shavings in the oil. The contact became awa... Read more
Incident date: Jul 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated the while driving at a moderate rate of speed, the temperature gauge indicated that the engine was hot(H). The "Engine Fault Service Now" message also appeared on the instrument panel. The contact pulled over and checked under the hood and became aware that the coolant reservoir was empty. The contact added coolant however, the failure return... Read more
Incident date: May 8, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact stated while driving approximately 65... Read more
POLESTAR
POLESTAR 2
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jul 31, 2024
Incident date: Jul 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Acura MDX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manu... Read more
KIA
SPORTAGE HYBRID
(2023) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jul 31, 2024
Incident date: Jul 28, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated and jerked, displaying symptoms consistent with a misfire. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that coolant intrusion had damaged the engine, resulting in a misfire in cylinder #1. The contact was informed that the ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic for an oil change, after the oil change was performed, the vehicle began to stall upon depression of the accelerator pedal. There was no warni... Read more
Incident date: Jul 24, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the engine was making an abnormally loud revving sound that was louder than normal. While attempting to accelerate, the vehicle was lagging and hesitated before accelerating. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle had been taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the cam phasers had f... Read more
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2018) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jul 31, 2024
Incident date: Jul 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Dodge Durango. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was driven to an independent mechanic and was diagnosed with engine failure. The contact stated that there was a recall for the failure; however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufact... Read more
Incident date: Jul 4, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that while his wife was driving approximately 15 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer however, the vehicle was not diagnosed due to parts not being available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manu... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was leaking coolant. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact added additional coolant as necessary. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that the water pump was leaking and needed to be replaced. The contact called the local dealer, who stated there was n... Read more
TOYOTA
RAV4 HYBRID
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jul 31, 2024
Incident date: Jan 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to several independent mechanics who diagnosed the vehicle with a coolant intrusion into cylinder #2. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 30, 2024
The contact owns a 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while operating the vehicle, there was water leaking into the cabin of the vehicle from underneath the instrument panel onto the accelerator pedal. Additionally, while operating the vehicle, the engine and outside the vehicle were extremely hot, and the temperature gauge had malfunctioned. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who wa... Read more
Incident date: Apr 8, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the engine was misfiring and there was coolant intrusion in cylinder #1. The dealer determined that the long block needed to be replaced, and the dealer related the failure to TSB Number: 19-2346. The vehicle was ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) 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. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive powe... Read more
Incident date: Jul 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine was overheating. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that the water jacket in the cylinder was cracked. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 94,278.
Incident date: Jul 19, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the coolant temperature warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that while driving to the nearest independent mechanic to add coolant to the vehicle, the engine was running rough as if the vehicle would stall. The contact pulled over and parked the vehicle. The contact walked to the independent mechan... Read more
Incident date: May 30, 2024
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328XI. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V707000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manu... Read more
Incident date: Jul 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving 35 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact's daughter was able to pull to the side of the road. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Numbe... Read more
Incident date: Jul 29, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle overheated and stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road and the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where the air compressor, water pump, and thermostat, and radiator were replaced; however, the failure p... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2023) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jul 30, 2024
Incident date: Jul 29, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle sputtered. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion and engine failure. The contact was informed that the eng... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
SPRINTER 2500
(2024) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jul 30, 2024
Incident date: Mar 30, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated whenever cold starting the vehicle, the vehicle idled rough. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that coolant had leaked into the engine block and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The co... Read more
Incident date: Jun 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle briefly hesitated and sputtered before returning to normal functionality. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined there was a ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the "Low Engine Coolant" message was displayed. The check engine and ABS warning lights were illuminated. The contact added coolant to the coolant reservoir, but the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the cylinders, and it was determ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 30, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle was idling very rough. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the failure was linked to Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N03 (Cam Phaser Replacement) Engine and Engine Cooling; however, the vehicle was not included. The vehicle was taken t... Read more
FORD
MAVERICK HYBRID
(2024) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jul 30, 2024
Incident date: Jul 29, 2024
The contact owns a 2011 Nissan Xterra. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, an engine oil leak was present. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the oil connector bolt and O-ring seal needed to be replaced. The local dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 8, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that while driving at slower speeds, there was a rattling sound coming from the engine compartment. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the cam phasers were faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer wa... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Tundra. The contact stated that there was a clicking sound coming from the engine compartment while in neutral. The contact stated that while idling and then attempting to accelerate, the vehicle hesitated. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact was made aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V381000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the VIN was not inc... Read more
Incident date: Jul 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contac... Read more
Incident date: Jul 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the engine overheated causing the vehicle to stall. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the engine manifold was faulty and needed to be replaced. Additionally, the transmission shifter failed to properly shift into gear. The dealer diagnosed that the shifter and shifter nob we... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2014) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jul 29, 2024
Incident date: Jun 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact stated while driving approximately 35... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 528I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V707000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) 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 not made aware of the issue. The contact had ... Read more
FORD
MUSTANG MACH E
(2021) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jul 29, 2024
Incident date: Jun 8, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that on several occasions while the vehicle was running, the vehicle shuddered with the check engine warning light illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that on each occasion, the vehicle drove rough, and while decelerating the vehicle jerked continuously until shifted into park(P). The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic whe... Read more