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 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while parking the vehicle, the engine overheated message was displayed. The contact observed that the coolant reservoir was empty. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact discovered Technical Service Bulletin: 22-2229; however, the vehicl... Read more
Incident date: Apr 20, 2024
I bought my car in October 2009. I did not discover until years later that the pistons for the 2009 Toyota Camry Le did not fit correctly. This caused oil consumption problems, but it did not start happening until a 3-year warranty and at about 60-70 thousand miles. I did not get a notice of recall notice of Toyota's resolution to the problem, because they had the wrong apartment number and emai... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2020
I bought my car in October 2009. I did not discover until years later that the pistons for the 2009 Toyota Camry Le did not fit correctly. This caused oil consumption problems, but it did not start happening until a 3-year warranty and at about 60-70 thousand miles. I did not get a notice of recall notice of Toyota's resolution to the problem, because they had the wrong apartment number and emai... Read more
Incident date: Apr 24, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that coolant needed to added daily due to the message indicating that the engine was overheating. The contact stated that while inspecting the vehicle with a friend, it was concluded that there was an internal leak and that the engine might have experienced damages to the cylinders. The vehicle had not been taken to the dealer to be diagnosed... Read more
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2019) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 24, 2024
Incident date: Apr 4, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated while driving approximately 70 MPH. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the oil pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) after having the failure. The... Read more
EVENFLO
REVOLVE360 EXTEND
(9999) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 24, 2024
Incident date: Apr 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle came to a stop in the middle of the roadway. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle with an engine knock. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of... Read more
Incident date: Apr 24, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 15 MPH, the check engine and coolant temperature warning lights illuminated. Additionally, the message "Shut Off for Safety" was displayed. The contact also stated that there was white smoke coming from the rear and the front of the vehicle. The contact turned off the vehicle and was able to push the vehicle back to the driveway... Read more
Incident date: Apr 24, 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 not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 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 m... Read more
Incident date: Mar 8, 2018
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle started jerking and then stalled. The contact stated that the engine and coolant temperature warning lights were illuminated. The contact was able to pull the vehicle to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The vehicle was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 19, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH, there was an abnormal smoke odor inside the interior of the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that there was an oil leak in the engine compartment. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failur... Read more
Incident date: Nov 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 40 MPH, the engine overheated. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who informed the contact that there was coolant in the cylinder, which caused the head gasket to blow and that the engine needed to be replaced. The contact called the local dealer, but t... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Sonic. The contact stated that there was fluid leaking from underneath the hood. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a water pump and the thermostat housing failu... Read more
Incident date: Apr 24, 2024
The contact's daughter owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving 5 MPH in the driveway, the oil warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The contact stated that the failure was l... Read more
CHRYSLER
PACIFICA PLUG-IN HYBRID
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 24, 2024
Incident date: Apr 19, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine overheated. The contact allowed the vehicle to cool down. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The contact was informed that the engine failure was due to coolant leaking into th... Read more
Incident date: Apr 19, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated while driving at approximately 70 MPH, the check engine warning illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was losing forward momentum. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal but the vehicle was still losing forward momentum and then stalled. The contact stated that he was able to coast to the side of the road. The contact attem... Read more
Incident date: Mar 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that while his son was driving at 20 MPH, the vehicle began to jerk and was shaking. The vehicle felt as though the brake pedal was being depressed. The oil light was flashing. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was a catastrophic engine failure. The vehicle was repaired. After driving the vehicle, ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 22, 2024
The contact owns a 2010 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 at approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle was sputtering, jerking, shuddering, and stalled. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to restart the... Read more
Incident date: Dec 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 528I. The contact stated that while her son was driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact later 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 t... Read more
Incident date: Apr 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at 55 MPH, the vehicle lost all power while depressing the accelerator pedal without warning. The contact also stated that white smoke began to emit from underneath the hood of the vehicle. Upon inspection of the vehicle, the contact saw flames coming from underneath the vehicle as oil began to leak from the vehicle. The fl... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Apr 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 65 - 70 MPH, the vehicle unintendedly shut off. The high engine temperature was displayed with a message to pullover immediately. The contact became aware that there was no coolant in the reservoir. The contact added coolant. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who informed the contact that there was an internal co... Read more
Incident date: Apr 19, 2024
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 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 not... Read more
Incident date: Nov 20, 2019
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon start of the vehicle, the check engine warning light appeared on the instrument panel with heavy white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The contact also stated that vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was initially taken to an independent mechanic where the contact was informed that the high-pres... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
GOLF SPORTWAGEN
(2017) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 23, 2024
Incident date: Apr 22, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the heater failed to operate. The check engine warning light was illuminated, and the temperature gauge displayed that the engine was overheating. The contact pulled over and turned off the vehicle. The contact waited until the engine cooled down and restarted the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an indep... Read more
Incident date: Apr 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Subaru BRZ. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with maintenance failure. The contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V772000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was ... Read more
FOREST RIVER
NO BOUNDARIES
(2023) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 23, 2024
Incident date: Jun 29, 2023
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 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 that while stopped at a traffic s... Read more
Incident date: Apr 9, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 RAM 1500. The contact discovered the NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V757000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) and the contact was informed that the recall was repaired, however, the failure recurred. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle lost acceleration and there was smoke coming from the engine. The low oil pressure and service throttle control w... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Feb 29, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that while driving at approximately 30 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that on three separate occasions, the vehicle stalled after the warning light illuminated. The vehicle was restarted on all three occasi... Read more
Incident date: Apr 23, 2024
My engine started to slow down while driving down even though gas pedal was to the floor on the road at peak hour of traffic at 4pm and was barely moving then my high temperature alert came on my dash board and told me to pull over as soon as possible. Once I pulled over saw that coolant was leaking from my emergency spot on tank. Had to have car towed home and then to deal ship to heritage val... Read more
Incident date: Mar 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light was illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that coolant intrusion into the cylinders had damaged the engine, and the engine needed to be replaced. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Custom... Read more
Incident date: Apr 23, 2024
I own a 2017 Ford Escape SE with an eco boost engine. All service of the vehicle was done in the dealership except the tune up. At 100,000 miles, I had a full tune up done on the vehicle. 30 days later, the engine light turned on so I had it checked. The frequency of the light turning on increases. I notice a slight shaking at times when the vehicle was cold. The company that did the tune up told... Read more
Incident date: Apr 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle began to lose power and the vehicle entered LIMP Mode. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact drove the vehicle to an independent mechanic where it was discovered that there was a misfire in cylinder #3, and the coolant level was low. The mechanic added coolant and replaced all four spar... Read more
Incident date: Apr 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The low engine pressure message was displayed. The vehicle was slow to move, but the contact was able to continue driving. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the oil pump had failed and caused the engine to seize. The dealer ... Read more
FORD
MAVERICK HYBRID
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 22, 2024
Incident date: Apr 21, 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 contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle began making an abnormal sou... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2023) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 22, 2024
Incident date: Apr 19, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, the vehicle began to hesitate upon depression of the accelerator pedal with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact initially drove the vehicle home and was later able to drive the vehicle to a local dealer. The contact was informed by the dealer that there was a crack in the engine cylinder short block a... Read more
Incident date: Apr 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 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 stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power and... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
E320
(2004) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 22, 2024
Incident date: Dec 22, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while his son was driving approximately 30 MPH, the oil warning light illuminated, and a grinding sound was heard coming from the engine. The vehicle was pulled to the side of the road and turned off. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with engine failure. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where the ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 13, 2023
The contact owns a 2011 BMX X3. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle began to shake, with the "Drivetrain Malfunction," message displayed. The contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power and was unable to accelerate above 20 MPH. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed failures with the spark plugs an... Read more
Incident date: Apr 20, 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 at an undisclosed speed, the engine oil pressure light ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 22, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started, the vehicle was shaking and making a rattling sound. The contact stated that the failure was worsening. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with an oil pump tensioner failure. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, t... Read more
Incident date: Apr 22, 2024
Coolant intrusion into engine cylinders causing engine overheating.Due to defective ford 2.0 ecoboost engine.
Incident date: Apr 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Acura MDX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was 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: Apr 19, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the temperature and check engine warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the water pump needed to be replaced and that there was no coolant in the coolant reservoir. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a complaint was filed. Th... Read more
Incident date: Apr 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving from a complete stop, the vehicle shuddered, and the engine was misfiring. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring mostly during cold starts. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion in the cylinders. The dealer deter... Read more
Incident date: Apr 19, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced rough start-ups. Additionally, while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The contact stated that there was white smoke coming from the exhaust pipes, and it was discovered that the coolant reservoir was empty. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed and... Read more
Incident date: Apr 16, 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 contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning ligh... Read more
YAMAHA
STAR VENTURE
(2018) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 19, 2024
Incident date: Apr 19, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that the "Oil Change Required" message was displayed. The contact stated that while the vehicle was reversing, there was an abnormally loud sound heard. The contact stated that the vehicle had to be reversed slowly. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact received notification of the NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Coo... Read more
Incident date: Apr 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed failures with the camshaft position sensor and the ABS. The vehicle was not repaired. Later, the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the temperature gauge began to indicate... Read more
Incident date: Apr 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the temperature gauge began to indicate that the engine was overheating. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that coolant was leaking into the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact... Read more
Incident date: Apr 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Acura MDX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was 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... Read more