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: Jun 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Prius Prime. The contact stated while depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated multiple unknown warning lights had been temporarily illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer however, the cause of the failure could not be determined. Upon further investigation, the contact related the failure to NHTS... Read more
Incident date: Oct 10, 2023
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 not yet available. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufactu... Read more
Incident date: Apr 16, 2013
The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while driving 35–40 MPH, the vehicle stalled. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact noticed there were metal shavings in the oil. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but provided no assistance. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTS... Read more
Incident date: Jun 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving at approximately 35 MPH, the oil pressure warning light illuminated, and the vehicle suddenly stalled. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The vehicle was not repaired or diagnosed by an independent mechanic or local dealer. The contact related the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); ho... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
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 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 ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 24, 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 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 con... Read more
Incident date: Jun 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Cruz. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the temperature gauge indicated that the engine was hot (H). Upon checking the coolant level, the contact discovered that the coolant reservoir was empty. The contact refilled the coolant reservoir; however, the failure returned, and the coolant immediately leaked out of the vehicle. The contact refil... Read more
MITSUBISHI
MIRAGE G4
(2018) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 25, 2024
Incident date: Aug 23, 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 not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle failed to acceler... Read more
Incident date: Jun 24, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the engine temperature gauge raised and indicated that the engine was HOT. The message "Overheating - Pull Over Immediately" was displayed temporarily. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that there was a coolant leak present in cylinder #2. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufact... Read more
Incident date: Jun 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the engine was running rough, and the vehicle was shaking abnormally. The engine warmed up for approximately 4-5 minutes during warmer weather and the shaking ceased. The contact stated that the failure lasted longer during colder weather conditions. The coolant level was lower than expected. The check engine wa... Read more
Incident date: Apr 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while at a stop light, the engine started to overheat. The engine overheated warning light was illuminated. The contact had an independent mechanic check the vehicle and determine that the spark plugs were corroded. Additionally, coolant and water were added to the vehicle, but after driving for 10 to 15 minutes, the coolant level was low ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while attempting to slow the vehicle, the temperature gauge began to indicate that the engine was overheating, after which the contact observed excessive smoke coming from the exhaust. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that coolant intrusion had damaged the en... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 25, 2024
Incident date: Jun 14, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Mazda CX-9. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle started shuddering and overheating. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the failure was related to a cracked head gasket. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure wit... Read more
Incident date: Jun 19, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-150. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the vehicle was shaking, and the engine was making grinding sounds. The check engine warning light was illuminated intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N03 (Cam Phaser Replacement);... Read more
Incident date: Jun 4, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while his wife was 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 wiring harness that controlled the flaps for the coolant and the radiator needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the fail... Read more
Incident date: Jun 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The driver 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 towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the oil pump resulting in da... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2020) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 25, 2024
Incident date: May 25, 2024
The contact called on behalf of his daughter who owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, there was white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the engine. The vehicle was not repaired, and the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was towed to the dealer w... Read more
Incident date: Apr 23, 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 not yet available. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that the parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufa... Read more
Incident date: Jun 25, 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 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... Read more
Incident date: May 21, 2024
The contact owned a 2013 Audi A4. The contact stated that his grandson was driving at an undisclosed speed when he heard a loud unidentified sound coming from the engine compartment. Suddenly, white smoke and flames were emerging from the engine compartment. The vehicle was successfully pulled to the side of the road by the contact's grandson. After the grandson managed to exit the vehicle, a shor... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Jun 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, the contact's wife became aware that the engine was overheating, with the check engine warning light illuminated. That contact also stated that after inspecting the vehicle, he became aware that the coolant reservoir was empty. The vehicle was towed to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that coolant was... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2016) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 24, 2024
Incident date: Apr 24, 2024
The contact owned a 2012 Hyundai Tucson. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V651000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) and 19V063000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) and requested to be removed from the recall distribution list. The manufacturer was contacted.
Incident date: Jun 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while having a routine oil change performed, the independent mechanic stated that the head gasket was leaking. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle had been taken to the dealer where it was confirmed that the head gasket was leaking due to two detached head gaskets. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 3, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle was shuddering and making an abnormal rattling sound. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to drive the vehicle to the dealer at slow speeds. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and determined that coolant had leaked into an unknown valve and into the pistons, causing engine damage. The d... Read more
Incident date: Jun 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that heavy white smoke was coming from the exhaust pipe at start-up. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where a diagnostic test was performed. The diagnostic test determined that coolant had leaked into an engine cylinder and that metal shavings were found in the oil and air intake tube. The vehicle was ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered and lost motive power. In addition, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact drove the vehicle to the shoulder of the roadway. The vehicle was then driven to the residence. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with coolant i... Read more
Incident date: Oct 24, 2023
The contact owns a 2010 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 and confirmed that the parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufactur... Read more
Incident date: Jun 24, 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 not yet available. The local dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair.... Read more
Incident date: Jun 9, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated, and the message "Engine Overheating" was displayed. The vehicle was driven to the local dealer who diagnosed that the engine was faulty due to coolant leaking into the cylinders. The contact was advised that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was... Read more
Incident date: Jul 13, 2022
The contact owns a 2021 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the low oil pressure warning light illuminated. The contact pulled to the side of the road. The contact was able to drive to the dealer, where the brakes failed, and the vehicle stalled. The dealer diagnosed that the engine had seized due to the oil pump drive belt tensioner failure. The dealer determined that the engi... Read more
Incident date: Jun 24, 2022
The contact owns a 2012 Honda Accord. The contact stated that upon cold starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal rattling noise detected. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was leaking oil. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the solenoid switch, VTC activator, and gasket needed to be replaced. The vehicle was n... Read more
FORD
MAVERICK HYBRID
(2024) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 24, 2024
Incident date: Jun 22, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle started losing motive power with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact also noticed a brief hesitation while accelerating. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously repaired, and the engine was replaced. The contact related the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 2... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic where the mechanic discovered a coolant intrusion into cylinder #2. The mechanic replaced the high-volume injection pump and spark plugs; however, the failure persisted. The mechanic then pressurized the engine and discovered damages to the engine block. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and infor... Read more
Incident date: Apr 11, 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 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... Read more
Incident date: Jun 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated while attempting to start the vehicle, there was a misfire and the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was first diagnosed that a tune-up was needed then the vehicle was diagnosed as a failure with oil leaking into the head gasket, and the engine needed to be repaired. The final diagnostic test d... Read more
Incident date: Jun 24, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated. Also, while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle suddenly began to lose automotive power and the red oil warning light began to flash off and on. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the oil pump drive belt and oil pump ten... Read more
Incident date: Jun 24, 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 local dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufactu... Read more
Incident date: Jun 22, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine misfired while the vehicle was being driven on a hill. In addition, the check engine and low coolant warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with coolant leak into the cylinder. The contact was informed that the engine needed to... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2017) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 24, 2024
Incident date: Jun 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while her husband was driving 25-30 MPH, the vehicle started jerking. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact's husband was able to pull to the side of the road and then drove to the residence. The dealer was contacted and advised the contact to not drive the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was ... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle unexpectedly started losing motive power. The Oil Pressure warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the failure was linked to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The ve... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2021) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 21, 2024
Incident date: Jun 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated upon the depression of the accelerator pedal. In addition, the contact stated there was a cloud of heavy white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe upon starting the vehicle. The contact initially called a local dealer and ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated that at cold starts, there was an abnormal rattling sound coming from the engine with the check engine warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact stated that the vehicle intermittently shut off while idling soon after the vehicle was started. Upon investigation, the contact linked the failure to the cam phasers. Neither the... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2006 Chrysler 300. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle started losing motive power. The contact stated there was smoke coming from under the hood. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact pulled over and observed that the temperature gauge indicated that the engine was HOT. The contact turned the vehicle off and waited for a... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
JETTA
(2019) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 21, 2024
Incident date: Jun 9, 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 and confirmed that the parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufact... Read more
Incident date: Jun 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 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 contact stated while driving 55 MPH, there was air coming from under the hood of the vehicle and the RPM was fluctuating. In addition, the vehicle failed to respond, while the accelerator pedal was... Read more
Incident date: Jun 21, 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 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 too... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 2500
(2017) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 21, 2024
Incident date: Jun 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Transit Connect. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the contact became aware that the engine was overheating. The contact was not able to pull the vehicle to the side of the road and was forced to keep driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, had not yet been diagnose... Read more
Incident date: May 18, 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 not yet available. 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 ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Ram 3500. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine temperature gauge became extremely elevated. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and an independent mechanic briefly inspected the vehicle and informed the contact to refill the coolant reservoir. The contact refilled the reservoir and after driving for approximately thirteen minutes,... Read more
Incident date: Jul 7, 2020
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the engine misfired. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact used a code reader and retrieved DTC code: P201, indicating there was moisture in the cylinder. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the con... Read more