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.
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
Showing 40,899 complaints - component: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
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: Aug 8, 2022
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: Apr 18, 2022
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
Incident date: Jun 22, 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: May 29, 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: Jun 23, 2024
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: May 24, 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: Jun 9, 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 17, 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: Jan 12, 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 23, 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: Oct 24, 2023
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: May 1, 2024
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
Incident date: Jun 5, 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: May 10, 2024
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: Feb 1, 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 23, 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: Feb 4, 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
VOLKSWAGEN
TAOS
(2023) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 24, 2024
Incident date: Jun 20, 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
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2022) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 24, 2024
Incident date: Jun 20, 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
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2022) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 21, 2024
Incident date: Apr 8, 2024
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
Incident date: Feb 2, 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, 2023
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: Jun 21, 2024
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
Incident date: Jun 14, 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 21, 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: Dec 21, 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 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
Incident date: Mar 1, 2023
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: Jun 8, 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: May 13, 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
HYUNDAI
ELANTRA HYBRID
(2023) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 21, 2024
Incident date: Jun 16, 2024
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
Incident date: May 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the "Engine Coolant Overtemperature" message had flashed on the instrument panel while driving at an unknown speed. The contact added coolant to the coolant reservoir because the coolant level was low. Two days later, the vehicle started to jerk and hesitate upon the depression of the accelerator pedal with the check engine warning light... Read more
Incident date: Jun 20, 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 not made aware of the issue. The contact... Read more
Incident date: Jun 21, 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 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 30, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, white smoke was coming from the front of the vehicle. The contact inspected the vehicle and became aware that coolant was leaking into the engine compartment and evaporating, causing the white smoke. The vehicle was not repaired or diagnosed by an independent mechanic or local dealer. The contact related the f... Read more
Incident date: Jun 2, 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 not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN... Read more
Incident date: Jun 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal clicking noise coming from the engine. The engine lost oil pressure. The contact stated that the brake pedal was depressed but the vehicle was slow to respond, and the brake pedal was depressed to the floorboard. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independ... Read more
Incident date: May 15, 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 contact stated while driving 10 MPH, the vehicle stalled, and the contact heard a loud tick... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
E350
(2012) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 20, 2024
Incident date: Jun 8, 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 contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depr... Read more
Incident date: Jun 3, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle started to idle rough with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed 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 notified... Read more
Incident date: Jun 16, 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 contact stated that while starting the vehicle she noticed a loud noise coming from the ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328I. The contact stated while driving at various speeds and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle hesitated to respond. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle made an abnormal knocking sound while driving. The check engine warning light, the traction control warning light, and other unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle briefly hesitated and lost motive power. 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 diagnosed a failure with the water pump. The vehicle... Read more
Incident date: Jun 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that coolant intrusion into cylinder #3 had caused damages to the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the... Read more
Incident date: Jun 6, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escort. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine) 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. While driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle lost moti... Read more
Incident date: Jun 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed. The vehicle was diagnosed by an independent mechanic with engine oil pump failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact then received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Co... Read more
Incident date: Jun 4, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that while pulling out of a parking lot, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle did not restart. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that unknown parts needed to be replaced due to metal shavings in the oil. The vehicle was repa... Read more
Incident date: Jun 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated while starting and the engine made abnormal rattling sounds. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was determined that the cam phasers needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N03 (Cam Phaser Repl... Read more
Incident date: Jun 18, 2024
My engine light keeps coming on. I have received no notice from the dealer that there is a recall.