Consumer Safety Complaints

Search 2,245,377 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA, including 140,173 crashes, 56,794 fires, and 8,580 deaths.

2,245,377 Total Complaints

140,173 Reported Crashes

56,794 Reported Fires

8,580 Reported Deaths

What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?

A consumer complaint is a free-form report filed by a vehicle owner directly to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) describing a safety concern about their vehicle. NHTSA collects these reports through its Vehicle Owner Defect Report (VOQ) system and publishes them publicly. Each complaint includes the affected component, the date and circumstances of the incident, whether the failure caused a crash or fire, and any reported injuries or deaths. The owner's full narrative description is included verbatim, NHTSA does not edit or moderate the descriptions.

The database below contains over 2,245,377 individual complaints. NHTSA's investigators monitor it for clusters of similar reports, when enough owners describe the same failure mode on the same vehicle, NHTSA may open a Preliminary Evaluation that can lead to a recall. Many of the largest recalls in U.S. history, including the Takata airbag recall and the Hyundai/Kia engine fire recalls, started as patterns visible in this complaint database years before they became formal recalls.

How to interpret what you read

A few principles for reading consumer complaints usefully:

One complaint is anecdote; a hundred similar complaints is data. NHTSA does not investigate the truthfulness of any individual report, that's the job of the Office of Defects Investigation, which looks at the full pattern. When evaluating a vehicle, look for whether multiple owners describe the same chain of events.
Crash, fire, injury, and death flags are owner-set. They are not verified by NHTSA. They are still useful as a filter, because owners who tick those boxes are typically reporting more serious incidents than those who don't.
Component categories are NHTSA-assigned, not owner-assigned. NHTSA standardizes the component field so that complaints can be aggregated. The owner narrative often goes into more detail than the component category captures.
Complaint volume scales with sales volume. A best-selling model will accumulate more raw complaints than a niche model even at the same defect rate. To compare across vehicles, look at complaints per 100,000 units sold, not raw counts.

If you've experienced a defect

File a complaint. NHTSA's investigators rely on this database to detect emerging defects, and useful complaints, specific, concrete, with dates and mileage and clear descriptions of what happened, feed directly into the agency's pattern detection. The form takes about 10 minutes and is at nhtsa.gov/recalls under "Report a Safety Problem." Your complaint becomes part of the same public record that this page is built from. Owners filing detailed VOQs are how recalls get triggered.

Read more from our blog

How to Read NHTSA Consumer Complaints › How NHTSA Investigations Work › Used Car: 7 Recall Checks to Run First › The Takata Airbag Recall: Full Story › OBD-II Codes Explained › All Articles ›

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

Incident date: May 1, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact became aware of an unknown liquid on the ground. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed. The contact was informed that coolant was leaking into the engine. The contact was informed that the water pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacture... Read more

Incident date: May 1, 2024

The contact owns a 2019 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that upon attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start as intended. The contact also stated that previously, upon turning the vehicle off, she heard an abnormal buzzing sound coming from the engine compartment. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic.... Read more

Incident date: Dec 4, 2021

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact indicated that when she took the vehicle in for a routine service at an independent mechanic, the technician became aware that the water pump was leaking, and the timing chain needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was also taken to a local dealer where the previous diagnosis was confirmed. The contact stated that before ... Read more

Incident date: May 17, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that during cold starts, there was an abnormal shuddering sound coming from the engine. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the camshaft timing unit was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The approximate failu... Read more

Incident date: Jan 15, 2024

The contact owns a 2019 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving at approximately 10 MPH and crossing an intersection, the vehicle stalled and the check engine warning light was illuminated. As a result, the vehicle following behind in the intersection crashed into the rear corner of the passenger side bumper. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The other vehicle fled the crash scene. The... Read more

Crash

Incident date: Oct 1, 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Camry. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the failure was due to the coolant bypass valve. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

Incident date: Apr 19, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact called the dealer, and an appointment was scheduled for a diagnostic test. The dealer performed the diagnostic test and determined that coolant had leaked into the engine. Due to the failure, the mechanic diagnosed the vehicle with engine failure and provide... Read more

Incident date: Jun 28, 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started, he noticed a loud clanking noise coming from the engine. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with cam phaser failure. The contact was informed that the cam phasers needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified ... Read more

Incident date: Apr 26, 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 the parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manuf... Read more

Incident date: May 22, 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 stalled with the check engin... Read more

Incident date: May 21, 2024

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the oil pump resulting in damages to the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The veh... Read more

Incident date: May 22, 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 leaking into the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the con... Read more

Incident date: May 22, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the oil pump light illuminated. The vehicle lost motive power while driving up a hill. 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 manufactur... Read more

Incident date: Mar 16, 2024

The contact’s sister owns a 2018 Kia Optima. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The contact stated that engine oil needed to be added every 2-3 weeks. The contact stated that an unknown warning light was illuminated. The vehicle received an unknown repair; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was diagnosed with ... Read more

Incident date: May 22, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the spark plugs needed to be replaced. The spark plugs were replaced; however, the following day the check engine warning light illuminated again. The ve... Read more

Incident date: May 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 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 made aware of the issue. The contact had ... Read more

Incident date: Jan 4, 2023

The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle suddenly stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to be restarted and was taken to an independent mechanic and the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aw... Read more

Incident date: May 20, 2024

The contact owns a 2020 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, a low oil pressure message was displayed on the instrument panel. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the oil pump causing damages to the engine and the turbo charger. The contact was informed that the engine and turbo charger needed to be re... Read more

Incident date: May 7, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion Hybrid. The contact stated that coolant needed to be added to the coolant reservoir occasionally. While driving at various speeds, the engine overheated. Additionally, there was an abnormal rattling sound coming from the vehicle and the vehicle was slow to start. The traction, engine, and air bag warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an indep... Read more

Incident date: May 20, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the engine ran rough, and the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle shut off and failed to restart until after approximately five hours. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was observed that fluid was leaking from the engine block and the engine needed to be replaced. The ... Read more

Incident date: May 19, 2024

The contact owns a 2021 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The con... Read more

Incident date: May 21, 2024

The contact's wife owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle; there was heavy white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The contact then stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would hesitate upon depression of the accelerator pedal with the coolant and check engine warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was initially taken to an independent mecha... Read more

Incident date: May 21, 2024

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the temperature gauge started to indicate that the engine was overheating. The contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power, and the contact observed smoke coming from the engine compartment. The blank warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mech... Read more

Incident date: Mar 19, 2024

The contact owns a 2016 Jeep Compass. The contact stated 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 was able to be restarted. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminate... Read more

Incident date: Nov 1, 2023

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 at approximately 5 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The contact stated that upon inspecting the engine compartment, he noticed some of t... 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 vehicle stalled. No warnin... Read more

Incident date: May 21, 2024

The contact owns a 2014 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, the vehicle stalled. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V224000 (Engine and Eng... Read more

Incident date: May 1, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving 35 MPH, the engine overheating message was displayed. The vehicle failed to accelerate over 20 MPH. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were blinking, and a beeping sound was heard. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that there was coolant and oil mix in the engine... Read more

Incident date: Mar 10, 2024

The contact owns a 2019 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle started shuddering and jerking abnormally. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the spark plugs were replaced; however, the failure persisted. The contact was advised that the replaced spark plugs might be defective and that the power train... Read more

Incident date: Sep 20, 2023

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 while driving at an undisclosed speed, several unknown warning lights illuminated, and the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The vehicle ... Read more

Incident date: May 21, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated driving approximately 65 MPH, the high engine temperature warning illuminated. The contact was able to exit the highway and drive the vehicle to the residence. The contact checked the coolant level and noticed that the coolant level was low. The contact refilled the coolant reservoir. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where... Read more

Incident date: May 20, 2024

The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, he heard an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment, after which the vehicle lost motive power. The driver was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle was able to restart. The low-oil warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a fai... Read more

Incident date: May 15, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled, and the engine seized. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with engine failure due to coolant leaking into the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure... Read more

Incident date: May 21, 2024

The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, there was white smoke coming from the exhaust. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and it was determined that coolant intrusion had damaged the long block, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred at 92,000 miles. After inves... Read more

Incident date: May 19, 2024

The contact owned a 2021 Ford Bronco Sport. The contact stated that while driving approximately 10 MPH the warning message "System Default, Battery" was displayed. After stopping to inspect under the hood the contact discovered smoke and flames were present coming from inside the engine compartment. The fire department was called to the scene and extinguished the fire. During the incident, the veh... Read more

Fire

Incident date: Apr 29, 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 driving at an undisclosed speed, the low oil pressure warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was advised that the vehicle needed to be taken to a dealer. The vehicle was then towed to a ... Read more

Incident date: May 20, 2024

The contact owns a 2010 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 dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manuf... Read more

Incident date: Apr 30, 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. 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: Oct 1, 2023

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 dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirm... Read more

Incident date: May 6, 2024

The contact owns a 2016 Kia Rio. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle had an abnormal burning oil odor in the cabin of the vehicle. The contact drove the vehicle to an independent mechanic who checked the vehicle and determined that the spark plugs needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The ... Read more

Incident date: Apr 10, 2024

The contact owns a 2020 Kia Forte. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the check engine warning light, and a message that Kia had been alerted of a failure was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact was able to start the vehicle and drove back to the residence. The contact stated that while attempting to ... Read more

Incident date: Jan 7, 2022

The contact owns a 2022 Genesis G70. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V191000 (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 and a case was ope... Read more

Incident date: Apr 26, 2024

The contact owns a 2013 Dodge Avenger. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the vehicle stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after 5 minutes. The contact stated that the failure recurred several times while driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnos... Read more

Incident date: Nov 1, 2023

Incident date: Jan 15, 2019

The contact owns a 2019 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the vehicle was idling rough while driving, and the vehicle stalled. There were no warning lights illuminated. There was an abnormal antifreeze odor. The contact became aware there was no coolant in the coolant reservoir. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the engine was cracked. The vehicle was not repa... Read more

Incident date: Apr 24, 2024

The contact owned a 2015 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked outside his residence, it caught on fire. The contact stated the fire was emanating from the engine compartment. No one was injured during the fire. A volunteer fire department was notified and extinguished the fire. A fire department and police report were not filed. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by... Read more

Fire

Incident date: May 3, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle started to lose motive power with the check oil warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the vehicle was diagnosed as a failure with the fuel pump. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact received notific... Read more

Incident date: May 20, 2024

The contact owns a 2024 Hyundai Palisade The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V106000 (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 c... Read more

Incident date: May 14, 2024

The contact owns a 2019 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle started shuddering and jerking while shifting gear. The contact stated that there was a loud knocking sound coming from the engine compartment. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that the cam phaser needed to b... Read more

Incident date: May 10, 2024

The contact owns a 2020 Acura MDX. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. There were no warning lights illuminated. 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 vehicle was not diag... Read more

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Consumer Safety Complaints

What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?

How to interpret what you read

If you've experienced a defect

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