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: Jul 1, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Tucson. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for an oil change where it was determined that the vehicle was almost out of oil and there was an oil consumption failure with the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was then towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that an oil consumption test, engine combustion cleaning, and an oil change was... Read more

Incident date: Jul 1, 2024

The contact owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle shuddered. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the rod bearings were knocking. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was relating the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V224000 (Engine... Read more

Incident date: Jul 2, 2024

The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated while driving an undisclosed speed, the vehicle went into Limp mode. The check engine and electric throttle control warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was determined that the crankshaft position sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NH... Read more

Incident date: Jul 2, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the engine overheated. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted, and the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that there was coolant intrusion into the engine, causing a misfire in cylinder #3. The manufacturer wa... Read more

Incident date: Jun 30, 2024

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle failed to accelerate and then stalled. The driver was able to pull over safely. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who determined that the failure was due to the thermal control valve and produced DTC codes: P2682 and P26A. The mechanic replaced the... Read more

Incident date: Jun 6, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact also stated that the vehicle shuddered abnormally at start-up. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with a misfire in cylinder #4. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the check engine warning li... Read more

Incident date: Apr 1, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal rattling sound coming from the engine compartment. Once the engine had warmed up, the rattling sound dissipated, and the vehicle returned to normal functionality; however, the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent me... Read more

Incident date: May 28, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at various speeds, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that on one occasion the "Engine Overheating" message was displayed. The contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power and failed to accelerate as intended. The vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road and turned ... Read more

Incident date: Jun 28, 2024

The contact owns a 2019 Ford Expedition. The contact stated when the vehicle was started, there was an abnormally loud rattling sound coming from the engine. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed as a failure with the cam phaser. The contact was informed ... Read more

Incident date: Jun 28, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the spark plugs were replaced; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the ignition coils were replaced; however, the failure persisted. The contact stated that upon scanning the vehicle with an OBD II s... Read more

Incident date: Apr 17, 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: Jul 2, 2024

The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Tundra. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V381000 (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: Feb 7, 2019

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 not made aware of the issue. The contact ha... Read more

Incident date: Jun 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 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 30, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assi... Read more

Incident date: Jun 22, 2024

The contact owns a 2011 BMW X3. The contact was notified 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 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. The manufacture... Read more

Incident date: Dec 1, 2023

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the vehicle experienced rough starts, shuddered, and made an abnormal sound. The contact was unsure if a warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure persisted while driving at 65 MPH. The contact pulled to the side of the road, where the contact's husband met the contact and drove the vehicle... Read more

Incident date: Jul 1, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the seat belt warning light illuminated while the seat was not occupied. While driving at various speeds, the engine overheated. The coolant reservoir was empty, but there was no indication of a leak. The fan was operational, but the vehicle continued to overheat. ... Read more

Incident date: Feb 6, 2024

The contact owns a 2011 BMW 528I. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal after a complete stop. Two days later, the contact stated that the vehicle failed to start after several attempts with the check engine warning light illuminated. Due to the failure, the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the contact was informed that the VANOS bol... Read more

Incident date: Jun 23, 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 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 1, 2024

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal ticking sound coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that the engine coolant over temperature warning light was illuminated. The contact also stated that the warning light illuminate after several attempts to add coolant to the vehicle. The contact was unaware of coolant leaking from the ... Read more

Incident date: Jun 8, 2024

The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact's wife pulled over at a gas station and had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic, who referred the contact to take the vehicle to the dealer. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer, where it was determined that the engine... Read more

Incident date: Jan 9, 2024

The contact owns a 2011 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 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 contact ha... Read more

Incident date: Jun 30, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the engine seized with a loss of oil pressure. The oil pressure warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the contact was able to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway and the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The mechanic related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine an... Read more

Incident date: Jul 1, 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 1, 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 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: Jul 1, 2020

The contact owns a 2019 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the check engine light illuminated, and a code reader was used to determine that the coolant level was low. The coolant level was topped off; however, the failure returned as the temperature gauge indicated that the engine was overheating. Additionally, there was a heavy white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe upon starting the vehicle. T... Read more

Incident date: Nov 15, 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 contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the ve... Read more

Incident date: Jun 29, 2024

The contact called on behalf of her boyfriend, who owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine was overheating. The contact was able to pull the vehicle to the side of the road and inspect the vehicle; however, there was no coolant leak found. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was made aware of coola... Read more

Incident date: Jun 27, 2024

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing excessive coolant consumption. The coolant temperature warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to several independent mechanics, where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion in the engine. The mechanics determined that the engine had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was no... Read more

Incident date: Sep 17, 2023

The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the engine made ticking and rattling sounds. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a cam phaser and camshaft timing unit failure. The dealer replaced the cam phaser and gasket. The contact related the failure to Technical S... Read more

Incident date: Jun 28, 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: Jun 27, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated became of a coolant leak on the driveway. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The vehicle was diagnosed with a misfire in cylinder #3. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but confirmed that the vehicle was not included in a recall. The failu... Read more

Incident date: Jun 28, 2024

The contact owns a 2019 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 dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not expe... Read more

Incident date: Jun 28, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment, after which the vehicle 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 not taken to the dealer or an in... Read more

Incident date: Jun 6, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Ecosport. The contact stated while driving at 10 MPH, the vehicle had experienced a loss of motor power. The check engine light had illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The ... Read more

Incident date: Mar 27, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the engine overheated. The contact stated that the messages “Engine Overheating” and “LIMP Mode” were displayed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced due to coolant leak into the engine. The contact believed that ... Read more

Incident date: Jun 24, 2024

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). The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the VANOS bolts needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of t... Read more

Incident date: Jun 26, 2024

The contact owns a 2014 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, there was a knocking sound coming from the engine compartment, after which the vehicle lost motive power. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle stalled and failed to restart. Several unknow warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic... Read more

Incident date: Jun 24, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started, there was a loud rattling sound coming from the engine compartment. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed as a failure with the cam phasers. The contact was informed that the cam phasers needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The man... Read more

Incident date: Jun 24, 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 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 17, 2024

The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328I. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the message "Service Engine Soon" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed, and the mechanic determined that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V707000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The mechanic cleared the diagnostic trouble codes; however, the failure persiste... Read more

Incident date: Jun 28, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the Oil Pressure, Check Engine and Battery warning lights illuminated, and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was not able to be restarted and was towed to a local dealer. The contact was informed that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, ... Read more

Incident date: Jun 1, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ram 1500. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 22V406000 (Fuel System, Diesel) and 23V411000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The manufacturer was ma... Read more

Incident date: Jun 7, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle briefly shuddered and vibrated before returning to normal functionality; however, the failure became a regular occurrence. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that coolant intrusion into cylinder #2 had caused the cylinder to ... Read more

Incident date: Jun 28, 2024

The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while parked and attempting to start the vehicle, the engine was noticed jerking and misfiring. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with a coolant intrusion into the engine, and it needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related to the fai... Read more

Incident date: Jun 28, 2024

The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power and was unable to accelerate as intended. The driver was able to reach her destination, where the vehicle stalled, after which the vehicle failed to restart. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who determ... Read more

Incident date: Jun 28, 2024

The contact owns a 2014 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine overheated with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to be restarted but the failure persisted. The vehicle was towed to the dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed, but it was stated by the dealer that the engine was repaired. The vehicle was repaired but ... Read more

Incident date: Feb 9, 2023

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle started shuddering and jerking abnormally. The contact also stated that the engine had overheated, and the vehicle could not be driven for more than an hour. The check engine and oil pressure warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic o... 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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