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 ›

Clear

Showing 40,899 complaints - component: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

Incident date: Sep 23, 2022

My engine light keeps coming on. I have received no notice from the dealer that there is a recall.

Incident date: May 10, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the engine was replaced. The contact stated while driving at various speeds and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle hesitated to respond. The check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that there was a sig... Read more

Incident date: Jun 17, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that when starting the vehicle, the engine was idling rough. The contact stated that there was an engine misfire, and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced due to coolant intrusion into the cylinders. The ... Read more

Incident date: Jun 10, 2024

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while driving 60-65 MPH, the vehicle started shuddering and the engine was overheating. The message "See Dealer for Maintenance" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed, and the dealer determined that an unknown cooling system valve needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was no... Read more

Incident date: Mar 10, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Journey. The contact stated while driving various speeds, the vehicle inadvertently shut-off with the check engine and traction control warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was initially taken to a dealer however, the cause of the failure was not determined. The failure persisted and the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the spark plugs, alternator... Read more

Incident date: Jun 14, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The contact was unaware whether the vehicle was diagnosed; however, the independent mechanic made her aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The dealer... Read more

Incident date: Apr 15, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that there was a misfire in cylinder #3. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred. The contact related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin Number: 19-234... Read more

Incident date: Feb 24, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, she noticed a slight vibration in the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure persisted for over a year and recently the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the ignition coils were replaced; however, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle ... Read more

Incident date: Jun 15, 2024

The contact owns a 2024 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 65-70 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the wrench warning light illuminated and the message "Engine over-temperature. Service Now" was displayed. The contact stated that the failure recurred several times while driving and depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that the vehicle operated as needed upon rele... Read more

Incident date: Jun 17, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled while depressing the accelerator pedal, with the check engine warning light intermittently flashing on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the technician discovered that coolant had leaked into an engine cylinder. The manufacturer was notified of the failure bu... Read more

Incident date: Apr 30, 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: May 26, 2019

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that during cold starts, there was a rattling sound coming from the engine. Additionally, while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated to accelerate while changing gear and the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the cam phasers wer... Read more

Incident date: Mar 25, 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 while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. The... Read more

Incident date: Jun 17, 2024

The contact owns a 2014 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle was making an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the sound was louder whenever the accelerator pedal was depressed. The contact stated that the vehicle was towed to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed an... Read more

Incident date: Jun 17, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that 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 in cylinder #3. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure was a known issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to c... Read more

Incident date: Jun 17, 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 manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated while driving approximately ... Read more

Incident date: Jun 16, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while her mother was driving at an undisclosed speed, the temperature gauge indicated that the engine was overheating, prompting the driver to pull to the shoulder off the roadway. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that coolant intrusion had damaged the engine, and the en... Read more

Incident date: Oct 1, 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed with engine long block failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was relating the failure to Technical Service Bulletin: 22-2229. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed there... Read more

Incident date: Jun 12, 2024

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at an undisclosed speed, the temperature gauge started to indicate that the engine was overheating, prompting him to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway to allow the engine to cool down. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the water pum... Read more

Incident date: Aug 25, 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact arrived at his destination and checked the engine and noticed that the coolant level was low. The contact refilled the coolant reservoir and upon starting the vehicle noticed white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The contact drove the vehicle to an i... Read more

Incident date: Jun 13, 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 driving 55 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power with no warning ... Read more

Incident date: Sep 1, 2023

The contact owns a 2019 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The low oil pressure message was displayed. The contact detected an abnormal clicking sound coming from the engine. While driving at an undisclosed speed the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle decelerated. The contact stated that the transm... Read more

Incident date: Apr 1, 2023

The contact owns a 2015 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently went into LIMP Mode. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle was able to be restarted. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the catalytic converter. The vehicle was repaired. After in... Read more

Incident date: May 30, 2024

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at various speeds, the engine overheated. The contact stated that the water pump was leaking, and the contact replaced the water pump himself. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was scanned with an ODB scanner an engine overheating code was retrieved. The contact state... Read more

Incident date: May 15, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Expedition. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact was concerned about a fluid leak coming from the engine. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with an engine oil leak. The local dealer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufa... Read more

Incident date: May 10, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the temperature gauge indicated that the engine was overheating. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the engine block. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the fai... Read more

Incident date: Jun 13, 2024

The contact's son owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while her son was driving at 45 MPH, the check engine warning light was illuminated, and the temperature gauge increased to hot. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power and failed to accelerate above 35 MPH. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to... Read more

Incident date: Jun 14, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine and oil pump pressure warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the contact was advised to take the vehicle to a local dealer for assistance. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer where the failure was linked with NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905... Read more

Incident date: Jun 14, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle was jerking and stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be repaired. The vehicle was repaired but the failure persisted. The contact stated that on another occasion while driving 35 M... Read more

Incident date: Jun 14, 2024

The contact owns a 2011 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 local dealer was contacted and confirmed no parts were available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aw... Read more

Incident date: Jun 10, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 70–75 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and shut off. The contact pulled over, and the vehicle failed to restart. The oil pressure warning light illuminated and blinked. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated after the failure. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed a... Read more

Incident date: Dec 22, 2023

The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a loud knocking sound coming from the engine, and the contact was unable to keep driving the vehicle. The contact was able to pull the vehicle to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the residence and then to a local dealer where the failure was related to an engine malfunction and... Read more

Incident date: May 14, 2024

Incident date: Jun 14, 2024

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, a low coolant service engine soon message was displayed. The check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who advised the contact that there was a leak coming from a hose. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back... Read more

Incident date: Dec 22, 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 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 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that after a visual inspection of the engine compartment, she observed that the coolant reservoir was abnormally low. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that coolant intrusion had damaged the long block, requiring that the engine be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the fai... Read more

Incident date: Jun 13, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that while driving 5 MPH, the contact heard an abnormal grinding sound coming from the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. While driving at an undisclosed speed, the cont... Read more

Incident date: May 10, 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 on several occasions while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power. The low fuel indicator light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. ... Read more

Incident date: May 10, 2023

The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing an abnormal oil consumption. The contact was adding synthetic oil every 3,000 miles driven and the oil would be depleted soon after. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the engine was rattling after attempting to start the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an ind... Read more

Incident date: Jun 13, 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 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: Oct 13, 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the contact became aware of a loud fluttering sound coming from the engine. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed as a cam phaser failure. The contact was informed that the cam phasers needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was n... Read more

Incident date: Apr 30, 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 check engine warning light was illuminated. The local dealer was contacted and informed the contact that the repair would be an out-of-pocket expense. The vehicle was not diag... Read more

Incident date: May 31, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the spark plugs were replaced; however, the check engine warning light returned on the drive back to the residence from the mechanic. After the check engine warning light appeared, the vehicle began to hesitate upon the depression of th... Read more

Incident date: Jun 1, 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that there was a misfire in cylinder #2. The mechanic replaced the ignition coils and all four spark plugs. Additionally, the mechanic noticed that the coolant level was low a... Read more

Incident date: Jun 1, 2018

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, and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The ma... Read more

Incident date: May 23, 2024

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle briefly began to vibrate and shake before returning to normal functionality. Later, while the vehicle was parked and running, the contact observed excessive smoke emanating from the exhaust and smelled exhaust fumes on the interior of the vehicle; after which... Read more

Incident date: Jun 13, 2012

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the engine was running rough. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that coolant intrusion had damaged the engine, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related t... Read more

Incident date: Jan 14, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the message “Engine Coolant Over Temperature” was displayed and the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed and confirmed with engine coolant over temperature failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was relating the failure to an... Read more

Incident date: Jun 13, 2024

The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle unexpectedly went into LIMP Mode. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to her grandson's repair shop, where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the engine. The contact’s grandson related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin: 19-2375 (Low C... Read more

Incident date: Oct 24, 2023

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the temperature gauge indicated that the engine was overheating, prompting the contact to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway. After a visual inspection, the contact observed that the coolant reservoir was empty. The overheating warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the deal... Read more

Previous 1 2 3 4 5 ... 115 116 117 ... 817 818 Next

Vehicle Safety

Consumer Safety

Infrastructure

Public Health

Consumer Safety Complaints

What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?

How to interpret what you read

If you've experienced a defect

Read more from our blog