Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,215,138 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA — including 138,663 crashes, 56,255 fires, and 8,561 deaths.
What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?
A consumer complaint is a free-form report filed by a vehicle owner directly to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) describing a safety concern about their vehicle. NHTSA collects these reports through its Vehicle Owner Defect Report (VOQ) system and publishes them publicly. Each complaint includes the affected component, the date and circumstances of the incident, whether the failure caused a crash or fire, and any reported injuries or deaths. The owner's full narrative description is included verbatim — NHTSA does not edit or moderate the descriptions.
The database below contains over 2,215,138 individual complaints. NHTSA's investigators monitor it for clusters of similar reports — when enough owners describe the same failure mode on the same vehicle, NHTSA may open a Preliminary Evaluation that can lead to a recall. Many of the largest recalls in U.S. history, including the Takata airbag recall and the Hyundai/Kia engine fire recalls, started as patterns visible in this complaint database years before they became formal recalls.
How to interpret what you read
A few principles for reading consumer complaints usefully:
- One complaint is anecdote; a hundred similar complaints is data. NHTSA does not investigate the truthfulness of any individual report — that's the job of the Office of Defects Investigation, which looks at the full pattern. When evaluating a vehicle, look for whether multiple owners describe the same chain of events.
- Crash, fire, injury, and death flags are owner-set. They are not verified by NHTSA. They are still useful as a filter, because owners who tick those boxes are typically reporting more serious incidents than those who don't.
- Component categories are NHTSA-assigned, not owner-assigned. NHTSA standardizes the component field so that complaints can be aggregated. The owner narrative often goes into more detail than the component category captures.
- Complaint volume scales with sales volume. A best-selling model will accumulate more raw complaints than a niche model even at the same defect rate. To compare across vehicles, look at complaints per 100,000 units sold, not raw counts.
If you've experienced a defect
File a complaint. NHTSA's investigators rely on this database to detect emerging defects, and useful complaints — specific, concrete, with dates and mileage and clear descriptions of what happened — feed directly into the agency's pattern detection. The form takes about 10 minutes and is at nhtsa.gov/recalls under "Report a Safety Problem." Your complaint becomes part of the same public record that this page is built from. Owners filing detailed VOQs are how recalls get triggered.
Read more from our blog
Showing 40,517 complaints — component: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Incident date: 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 while driving 45 MPH, there was an abnormally loud grinding and metallic sound coming from the engine. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. Additionally, the vehicle lost m... Read more
Incident date: Apr 30, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while the vehicle was idling in the driveway, the "Engine Coolant Overtemperature" message was displayed, and the cooling fan made loud sounds. The contact stated that smoke was coming from underneath the hood and the exhaust pipe. The contact turned off the vehicle and opened the hood. The contact discovered that coolant had leaked ever... Read more
Incident date: Apr 23, 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 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 had ... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was idling rough with low compression in cylinder #2, there was a misfire, and the cylinder head needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 105,000. The VIN wa... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while the vehicle was started, there was a rattling sound coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that the rattling sound was consistently recurring. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a camshaft failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact discovered the Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N03, however, the... Read more
Incident date: May 11, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 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 contact expressed dissatisfaction with the manufacturer's inability to communicate details r... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Acura MDX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) and 23V751000 (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 m... Read more
Incident date: Sep 25, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed the oil pressure warning light illum... Read more
Incident date: Feb 8, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while attempting to start the vehicle, he noticed white smoke coming from the rear side of the vehicle with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with fluid intrusion into the cylinder. The independent mechanic stated that the head gasket needed to be replaced howev... Read more
Incident date: Apr 26, 2024
See attached document for complaint
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 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 experienced a failure. The cont... 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 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 ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 20, 2023
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: Mar 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, there was an abnormally loud clanking sound coming from the engine compartment. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact restarted the vehicle, but the loud clanking noise persisted. The dealer was contacted and diagnosed the vehicle as a failure with the cam phasers. The contact was informed that th... Read more
Incident date: Apr 30, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, he heard an abnormal rattling sound emanating from the engine compartment. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with all four cam phasers. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Customer Satisfa... Read more
Incident date: Apr 30, 2021
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: Apr 24, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Forte. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V705000 (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 warning light ill... Read more
Incident date: Apr 28, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start occasionally. In addition, the vehicle stalled while driving. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that coolant had leaked into the cylinders. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,500.
Incident date: Apr 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Optima. The contact stated while at a complete stop at the traffic light, she noticed that there was smoke coming from underneath the driver's side of the hood. Additionally, the vehicle stalled and failed to restart. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact exited the vehicle. The contact stated that there were flames coming from underneath the hood.... Read more
Fire
HONDA
CR-V HYBRID
(2020) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 30, 2024
Incident date: Apr 10, 2024
See attached document for complaint
Incident date: Apr 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that while initially accelerating, the vehicle was stalling when approaching 40 MPH. The check engine warning light was illuminated, and an unknown warning message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a turbocharger and under-boost failure. The contact stated that the failure recurred w... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Apr 30, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The vehicle was diagnosed with needing to reset the RVN. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled two more times after the repair. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was diagnosed ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 30, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle was losing motive power and was making an abnormal sound. The contact stated that numerous warning lights had been illuminated. The contact was able to coast to the side of the road. The contact attempted to restart the vehicle, but the vehicle failed to restart. The contact had the vehicle... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2019) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 30, 2024
Incident date: Jan 2, 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 that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and conf... Read more
Incident date: Apr 30, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that while driving at unknown speeds, the vehicle began to decelerate, with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the Service Engine Soon, Power Train Malfunction, Reduced Engine Power warning lights were illuminated, and 4WD fault message was displayed on the APP. The failure recurred consistently. The vehicle... Read more
Incident date: Oct 16, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 - 40 MPH, the engine started running loudly and ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 22, 2023
See attached document for complaint
Incident date: Oct 10, 2023
See attached document for complaint
Incident date: Oct 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while his wife was driving approximately 55 MPH, the "Oil" warning light illuminated, and there was a knocking sound coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was immediately parked and later towed to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the engine oil pump had failed. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer who confirmed the... Read more
Incident date: Aug 30, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle made an abnormal sound. The check engine warning light was illuminated, and the temperature gauge displayed that the engine was overheating. An unknown message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to AutoZone, where it was diagnosed with a cylinder #3 misfire, and determined that the spark plugs needed to be ... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
GLA 250
(2021) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 29, 2024
Incident date: Apr 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while his wife was driving 55 MPH, 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 determined that coolant intrusion into cylinder #2 had damaged the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the engine would shake. The contact scanned the vehicle and diagnosed that cylinders #2, #3, and #4 were misfiring and there was a coolant leak. Additionally, the vehicle started to stall on a few occasions. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that there was a leak in the engine block and... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
CL55 AMG
(2002) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 29, 2024
Incident date: Apr 29, 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 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 manu... Read more
EVENFLO
REVOLVE360
(9999) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 29, 2024
Incident date: Mar 28, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the vehicle was idling rough. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the cylinders and determined that the engine block needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the fa... Read more
Incident date: Nov 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. The low oil pressure warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the oil pump tensioner. The vehicle w... Read more
Incident date: Apr 9, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 Buick Encore. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the GMC mobile app alerted the contact of emissions failures and advised to contact the dealer for assistance. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the emission pump had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repai... Read more
TESLA
CYBERTRUCK
(2024) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 29, 2024
Incident date: Apr 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the engine and oil pressure warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was making an abnormal sound. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine and oil pump tensioner had failed, and an engine replacement was needed. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure wa... Read more
Incident date: Apr 29, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. While the contact's wife was driving at undisclosed speeds, the low oil pressure warning light illuminated. The contact's wife stopped the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with an oil pump drive belt failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Eng... Read more
Incident date: Mar 22, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while operating the vehicle the oil pressure warning light activated and a ticking noise was coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the timing belt and oil pump drive belt had failed causing severe damage to the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replace... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2023
See attached document for complaint
FORD
BRONCO SPORT
(2023) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 26, 2024
Incident date: Oct 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 2500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the low coolant warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the warning light had been reset daily; however, the warning light illuminated daily. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed with a faulty coolant reservoir container. The contact was informed that the coolant... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 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 contact stated that the check engine warning light illuminated. The dealer was made aware of... Read more
Incident date: Oct 16, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the low oil pressure warning l... Read more
CHEVROLET
TRAILBLAZER
(2023) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 26, 2024
Incident date: Sep 14, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the low oil pressure warning light illuminated, and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where the failure was diagnosed as a blown engine and that the engine needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the failure was due to a... Read more
Incident date: Oct 14, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the oil warning light illuminated and suddenly the vehicle lost motive power. The contact merged to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 13, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Buick Regal. The contact stated while driving 35-40 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle started sputtering. The contact veered to the side of the road and turned off the vehicle for 5-10 minutes. The contact stated that upon restarting the vehicle, the failure was no longer present. The contact drove to the residence. The contact stated that the... Read more
Incident date: Apr 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while the vehicle was idling, the vehicle was shaking and shuddering abnormally. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle had been taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that coolant was leaking into the #2 spark plug. The dealer suggested that the engine be replaced or purchase a new vehicle. An indep... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2020) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 25, 2024
Incident date: Apr 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 128I. The contact stated while driving at approximately 50 MPH, the vehicle was jerking and there was a hard vibration. The contact also stated that the vehicle experienced an intermittent unintended acceleration. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approxi... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal cracking sound coming from the engine compartment, after which the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was tow... Read more
Incident date: Apr 3, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, she observed an excessive amount of smoke coming from the exhaust, after which the vehicle lost motive power. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that coolant intrusion resulted in engine misfire. The vehicle w... Read more