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: Feb 13, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to coast to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who determined that coolant intrusion into the cylinder bores had damaged the ... Read more
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2019) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 14, 2024
Incident date: Feb 14, 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 and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The m... Read more
Incident date: Sep 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, she heard an abnormal rattling sound coming from the vehicle, after which the vehicle started shaking abnormally. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the contact observed smoke coming from the engine compartment. The contact turned off the vehicle, after which the vehicle failed to r... Read more
Incident date: Jan 16, 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 contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the oil pressure pump warning l... Read more
LAND ROVER
RANGE ROVER
(2023) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 13, 2024
Incident date: Feb 7, 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 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 stated while driving at approximatel... Read more
Incident date: Nov 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that after a visual inspection of the engine compartment, he became aware that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that the engine needed to be programmed. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The vehic... Read more
Incident date: Feb 10, 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 approximately 75 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warni... Read more
Incident date: Mar 31, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Volkswagen Taos. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light and engine oil light remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed and determined that the head gasket was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage wa... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
TAOS
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 12, 2024
Incident date: Dec 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle decelerated to 30 MPH and the vehicle started to jerk. The oil light was flashing. The low oil pressure message was displayed. The contact called the local dealer and was informed about having a diagnostic test performed. The dealer informed the contact that there were no loaner vehicles available. The vehi... Read more
Incident date: Jan 3, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was inspected, and the contact became aware that the coolant reservoir was low; however, after refilling the coolant reservoir, the light remained illuminated. The contact noticed liquid coming from the tailpipes of the vehicle as well. The vehicle was taken to an independent mech... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2024
Engine warning light came on while driving. Vehicle is operable but service department has indicated coolant intrusion needs new engine short block replaced to operate the vehicle. This is our only transportation and we have been advised not to drive the vehicle as the engine could seize up at any time.
Incident date: Feb 10, 2024
Background: My 2017 Ford Escape Titanium with a 2.0L Ecoboost engine has 65k miles. Engine light started flashing recently due to Cylinder missfire code P0301 , immediately brought it into Ford and upon their assessment they shared that my engine has a coolant leak in cylinder 1 which is causing major engine issues. This is my primary car and I need it to transport myself to and from work. I have ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 3, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle and shifting into drive(D), the vehicle failed to respond while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact had the vehicle towed to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that coolant had intruded into the engine block. Ad... Read more
Incident date: Feb 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328I. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle went into Safe Mode and shut off. The vehicle stalled on three occasions. While driving at various speeds, the vehicle was running rough. The contact stated that the service and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotl... Read more
Incident date: Dec 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, there was white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The contact stated that the vehicle was vibrating and was idling roughly. The contact stated that the check engine warning was illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the coolant reservoir was refilled weekly. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a lo... Read more
Incident date: Dec 31, 2023
The contact owns a 2006 Nissan Frontier. The contact stated that the vehicle was leaking oil. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact drove the vehicle to a local dealer who diagnosed that the valve cover gasket needed to be replaced. Additionally, the spark plugs needed to be replaced. The dealer later called the contact and informed the contact that th... Read more
FORD
ESCAPE PHEV
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 12, 2024
Incident date: Feb 12, 2024
2017 Ford Edge 2.0 Ecoboost engine failed. Car is 6 years old and two shops have confirmed it needs to be totally replaced due to coolant intrusion. Currently still drivable, but is burning through Coolant and per dealership can be a fire hazard. Confirmed by Ford dealership. Check engine light turned on and car has 72,000 miles.
Incident date: Dec 28, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH, the low oil pressure warning light illuminated on the instrument panel, and the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the oil pump belt tensioner. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Camp... Read more
Incident date: Feb 5, 2024
my car randomly would not start upon shutting car off and returning to vehicle the car would not start with the keys that was given to me from the dealership that i purchased the vehicle from. it has been having coolant issues where it was reading high temperature then would go back to normal operating temperature very shortly and would happen off and on. it was serviced for this issue at Boubin A... Read more
Incident date: Dec 21, 2023
Coolant intrusion around 130,000 miles. I swapped the motor from a 2013 Escape that had 107,000 miles on it and the coolant intrusion is happening with that one after driving 15,000 more miles.
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(1996) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 9, 2024
Incident date: Jan 19, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated that occasionally there was an abnormal gasoline odor while the vehicle was idling and there was white smoke coming from the exhaust. The contact stated coolant was entering into the piston. The contact stated that the power train, ABS, the power train system, and service interval lights were illuminated. The contact stated that there severa... Read more
LAND ROVER
RANGE ROVER SPORT
(2023) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 9, 2024
Incident date: Feb 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that the engine was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was frequently topping off the engine oil between scheduled oil change service. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and a 3,000-mile oil consumption test was performed. The test concluded that the vehicle was consuming an exce... Read more
Incident date: Feb 7, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced rough starts and rough idling. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the engine had failed due to coolant leaking into the cylinders. The contact was advised that the engine needed to ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 8, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving at 55 MPH, the engine made abnormal clicking sounds and was shaking while accelerating. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The independent mechanic recommended that the contact wait to see if the vehicle was included in an upcoming recall. The vehicle was then taken... Read more
Incident date: Feb 8, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 65 MPH, the low oil pressure and oil warning light started flashing. On another occasion, while driving at various speeds, the contact observed a knocking sound coming from the engine compartment which progressed throughout the day while driving the vehicle. The oil was changed but the abnormal sound pers... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2015) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 9, 2024
Incident date: Aug 30, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving 25 MPH, the vehicle stalled. There was a rattling sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle then entered LIMP Mode. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The driver was able to drive to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the engine had ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the temperature gauge began to indicate that the engine was overheating, after which the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to coast to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken t... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The driver was able to coast to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle was able to be restarted. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that coolant intrusion into the engine had dam... Read more
Incident date: Feb 9, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH and above, the vehicle failed to accelerate as designed. The vehicle hesitated while accelerating. The contact stated the failure had occurred approximately 2 months after receiving the first diagnosis. The RPMs began increasing at the time of the second failure with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle... Read more
Incident date: Sep 9, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and accelerating, the vehicle hesitated. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic where a diagnostic test was performed. The mechanic determined that the anti-freeze level was low and leaking into the engine, causing a misfire in cylinder #1. The vehicle was ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 7, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that while driving approximatel... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2010 Audi Q5. The contacted stated while sitting in the vehicle, there was an abnormal gasoline odor inside the vehicle. There was a leak coming from the front of the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic and was diagnosed with a secondary air injection system bank 1 and 2, insufficient flow, and a possible clogged lef... Read more
Incident date: Feb 7, 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 that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illu... Read more
Incident date: Jan 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while her husband was driving at an undisclosed speed, he heard an abnormal ticking sound coming from the engine compartment, after which the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact's husband was able to coast to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The v... Read more
GRAND DESIGN
MOMENTUM
(2016) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 8, 2024
Incident date: Jan 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while his friend was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The driver was able to coast to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the engine connecting rod bearings, req... Read more
Incident date: Feb 8, 2024
The contact owned a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving approximately 35-40 MPH and approaching the red traffic light, she depressed the brake pedal to come to a complete stop. The contact noticed smoke coming out of the cowl of the vehicle. The contact then turned on the AC and smoke came through the A/C vents. The contact opened the windows. The contact stated that the smoke becam... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Feb 8, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle was losing motive power. The contact stated that there were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to stop; however, after numerous attempts to restart the vehicle, the contact had the vehicle towed to the residence. The vehicle was later ... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2020) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 8, 2024
Incident date: Feb 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated that upon approaching the vehicle, he observed a fluid leak underneath the engine compartment. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who confirmed the fluid leak from an unknown location and informed the contact that there was a misfire in cylinder #2. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the f... Read more
Incident date: Feb 5, 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 after the vehicle was idling at a stop sign, several audible alerts s... Read more
Incident date: Feb 7, 2024
We notice antifreeze was disappearing at a very fast rate without a sign of a leak found out it was leaking in the engine
LINCOLN
CONTINENTAL
(2017) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 7, 2024
Incident date: Nov 4, 2020
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the check engine warning light started flickering and the vehicle vibrated and lost motive power upon depression of the accelerator pedal. The contact inspected the engine and discovered white rust on the spark plugs. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where a diagnostic machine showed an engine misfire in ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 4, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 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 while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle sputtered, and the po... Read more
Incident date: Feb 7, 2024
The contact owns a 2012 Volvo S60. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, she smelled a burning odor in the interior of the vehicle, after which the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to coast to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. After a visual inspection of the engine compartment, the contact became aware that the ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 13, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, he heard a loud rattle sound coming from the engine compartment. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N03, but the ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while depressing the brake pedal, the pedal was firm. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, the oil pressure warning light illuminated. The contact pulled off the highway, and the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, and the contact was informed that the failure was related to t... Read more
Incident date: Feb 7, 2024
The contact owns a 2010 BMW 328I. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the bolts sheared off and entered the engine, and the vehicle began to skip and shut off. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who referred the contact to the BMW dealer. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufactur... Read more
Incident date: Feb 7, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle displayed a message reading "Low Oil Pressure," after which the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to coast 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 d... Read more
Incident date: Jan 22, 2024
I bought a brand new Ford Edge in 2017 with a warranty of 5 years and 60,000 miles. Several weeks ago, my car turned the engine light on and began having difficulty staying on during idle time and at stop signs. Immediately, I took it to the dealer and they diagnosed the problem of a leakage of coolant into the cylinders. They quoted me for an amount greater than the trade in value of the vehicle... Read more
CHEVROLET
TRAILBLAZER
(2021) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 6, 2024
Incident date: Jan 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Ecosport. The contact stated that while his wife was operating the vehicle, the low oil pressure warning light illuminated and moments later turned off. Later, after parking the vehicle, the warning light became illuminated again. The vehicle was towed to the local service center who diagnosed and determined that the oil pressure belt had failed. The vehicle was then t... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle began to drive rough and was hesitating. The vehicle was taken to the local service center who diagnosed a misfire in the cylinder #2 and that the number two spark plug was fractured. The vehicle was repaired but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was later taken to the local dealer who di... Read more