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 40,899 complaints - component: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

Incident date: Jun 26, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the vehicle made an abnormally loud rattling sound. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with camshaft phasers failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to Ford ... Read more

Incident date: Jul 18, 2023

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the engine started overheating. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the thermostat was replaced; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

Incident date: Dec 18, 2023

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving from a complete stop, the vehicle failed to exceed 5 MPH. The check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing excessive coolant consumption. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion into the short block. The dealer d... Read more

Incident date: Jul 3, 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 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... Read more

Incident date: Sep 7, 2023

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 for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had no... Read more

Incident date: Jul 9, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that during cold starts, there was a knocking sound coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the cam phasers were faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure... Read more

Incident date: Jun 24, 2024

The contact owns a 2019 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 30–40 MPH, the vehicle stalled. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who determined that coolant was leaking into the engine. The mechanic informed the contact that the engine was lifted and improperly installed. The local dealer was not contacted. Th... Read more

Incident date: Nov 20, 2023

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 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 check engine and transmis... Read more

Incident date: Jul 5, 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 contact stated while driving 70-75 MPH, the vehicle stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road. The contact was able to restart the veh... Read more

Incident date: Jul 7, 2024

The contact owns a 2020 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine ad 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 ... Read more

Incident date: Jul 3, 2024

The contact owns a 2002 Mercedes-Benz S600. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the active body control warning light illuminated, after which the front suspension lowered to the ground, preventing the vehicle from being driven. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the hydro-pneumatic suspension pump and high-pressure hose. The vehicle was not repaired. After inve... Read more

Incident date: May 9, 2024

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine over heated and the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and was diagnosed with a blown head gasket due to coolant intrusion into the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacture... Read more

Incident date: Nov 10, 2023

The contact owns a 2012 BMW 128I. 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 manuf... Read more

Incident date: Jul 6, 2024

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at various speeds, the "Engine Maintenance Required" message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the coolant bypass control value needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage... Read more

Incident date: May 28, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the vehicle was shaking abnormally with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic where an OBD Scanner retrieved code for a misfire. The contact then had the spark plugs and ignition coils replaced; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was then take... Read more

Incident date: Jan 1, 2024

The contact owns a 2011 BMW 528I. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled and lost motive power with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed as a failure with the VANOS bolts, and the contact was informed that the VANOS bolts needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure persisted... Read more

Incident date: Jun 18, 2024

The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328I. 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 manuf... Read more

Incident date: Jul 9, 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: Jun 14, 2024

Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) 1.5L EcoBoost for Ford Fusion vehicles built on or before June 10, 2019 may indicate low coolant levels, white exhaust smoke, or rough running conditions Myself and a few of my relatives and friends who have the same vehicle have experienced this and yet no recall was issued when I looked it up by vin . I have called the hotline number several times and have got ah... Read more

Incident date: Jul 4, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while the vehicle was stationary, the vehicle started shuddering and the stalled. The vehicle was able to be restarted; however, the Emission System Fault warning light started blinking. The contact was able to safely take the vehicle to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 1... Read more

Incident date: Jul 7, 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 not made aware of the issue. The contact... Read more

Incident date: Jun 25, 2024

The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Tundra. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 23V566000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) and 24V381000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The contact stated that the fuel gauge failed to displa... Read more

Incident date: May 4, 2023

The contact owns a 2020 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 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 made aware of the issue. The contact had... Read more

Incident date: Jul 8, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the spark plugs were replaced; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the independent mechanic a second time and was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the engine. The vehicle was ... Read more

Incident date: Jul 8, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Lincoln MKC. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the contact became aware of a leak underneath the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the spark plugs and coils were replaced; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the independent mechanic and was diagnosed with a cracked engine block. The vehicle was not repai... Read more

Incident date: Jul 9, 2023

The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Tundra. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V381000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the instrument panel fluttered, and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was not able to be restarted. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle ... Read more

Incident date: Jul 4, 2024

The contact owns a 2024 Kia Telluride. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V077000 (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 10, 2024

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the temperature gauge indicated that the engine was overheating. The contact pulled off the road and turned off the vehicle to allow the engine temperature to return to normal. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The c... Read more

Incident date: Jul 1, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated and temperature gauge raised to HOT, and the vehicle failed to properly accelerate. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that there was coolant intrusion into the engine, and the engine short block needed to be ... Read more

Incident date: Jul 4, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The driver was able to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the oil pump tension arm, result... Read more

Incident date: Jul 4, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated while starting with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the fuel injectors and spark plugs were replaced; however, the failure persisted. A second diagnostic test was performed, and the mechanic discovered coolant intrusion into cylinder #1. The vehicle wa... Read more

Incident date: Jul 5, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was intermittently illuminated. The vehicle had been taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that there was a misfire in cylinder #3. The spark plug was replaced. After the vehicle was repaired, while the contact's daughter was driving approximately 50 MPH, the engine began overheating, with t... Read more

Incident date: Jun 12, 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 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: Jul 5, 2024

Incident date: Jul 1, 2024

The contact owns a 2019 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle started shuddering. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to two independent mechanics, where the spark plugs and two coil packs were replaced; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to a third independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that cylinder #2 and #3 ... Read more

Incident date: May 1, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the check engine warning light illuminated while starting the vehicle, with cloud of white exhaust smoke coming from the tailpipe intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that there was coolant leaking into the engine, causing engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed t... Read more

Incident date: Jun 20, 2024

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The local dealer was made aware of the issue and an appointment was scheduled to bring the vehicle in to have the vehicle worked on for an extended period. The contact called back to plan for transportation while the vehicle was in the dealer's possession and was i... Read more

Incident date: Jun 24, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine misfired, and the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact also stated that the temperature gauge indicated that the engine was overheating. The contact checked the coolant level and discovered that the coolant level was low; however, the contact stated that there were no indications ... Read more

Incident date: Apr 19, 2024

The contact owns a 2010 BMW X3. 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 while starting the vehicle, several unknown warning lights illuminated, and the vehicle was shuddering. The contact stated that the failure persisted while driving, and the vehicle... Read more

Incident date: Jul 5, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the engine cooling pump was replaced; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where it diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion in the engine. The dealer determined that the engine short block needed to be replac... Read more

Incident date: Nov 15, 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an alarm for the coolant temperature being elevated. The contact pulled over and turned off the air conditioner and the vehicle. The engine cooled off while driving. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who informed the contact that coolant was leaking into the engine and the engine ... Read more

Incident date: Mar 12, 2024

The contact owns a 2021 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road. The vehicle was restarted after several attempts. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring increasingly. The contact stated that the vehicle made an abnormal humming sound prior to... Read more

Incident date: Jun 1, 2024

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving 40 MPH, there was white smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle, and the coolant temperature warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was steered to the side of the road and turned off for approximately 40 minutes and anti-freeze was added to the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to a mechanic where it was diagnosed with coo... Read more

Incident date: Jul 3, 2024

The contact owns a 2020 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving and attempting to depress the brake pedal, the vehicle hesitated while responding. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact related the failure to 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 co... Read more

Incident date: Jun 3, 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 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: Apr 25, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to an independent mechanic, where it diagnosed that the timing chain and cam phasers had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was no... Read more

Incident date: Jun 2, 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 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 man... Read more

Incident date: Apr 16, 2023

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle went into LIMP Mode. The contact stated that the vehicle unexpectedly shifted out of gear. Additionally, the engine was overheating. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact called the local dealer and was informed there w... Read more

Incident date: May 23, 2024

The contact owns a 2016 Jeep Compass. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle was able to be restarted; however, the failure reoccurred, after which the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaire... Read more

Incident date: Mar 6, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Acura TLX. 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 contacted, and it was confirmed that parts were on backorder. The manufacturer was... Read more

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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

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