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 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that while driving at 70 MPH, the low oil pressure message was displayed. The oil and engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle failed to accelerate and coasted to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the drive belt had fractured, causing the engine to seize. The vehicle was ... Read more
Incident date: May 6, 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 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 his wife was driv... Read more
Incident date: Feb 4, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the oil warning light appeared on the instrument panel. The contact stated that the light had appeared prior to the next scheduled oil change. A few days later while driving 60 MPH, an abnormal knocking sound was coming from the engine with an oil burning odor entering the cabin of the vehicle. The vehicle then stalled and ... Read more
FORD
BRONCO SPORT
(2021) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 6, 2024
Incident date: Feb 6, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at various speeds and accelerating, there was a loud rattling sound coming from underneath the hood of the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle had been taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the cam phaser had malfunctioned and needed to be replaced. The contact was inf... Read more
Incident date: Feb 3, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 MPH, the low coolant warning light illuminated. The vehicle was parked at the residence where coolant was added to the vehicle. On another occasion while driving at an undisclosed speed, the low coolant warning light illuminated again. The vehicle was taken to a dealer however, the failure could not be duplicate... Read more
Incident date: Jan 6, 2024
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the low oil pressure warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the engine block was cracked and the oil sending unit was damaged. The dealer informed the contact that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure a... Read more
Incident date: Feb 6, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Ridgeline. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine made abnormal clicking sounds. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who referred the contact to the dealer. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with connecting rod bearing wear and it was determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicl... Read more
FORD
FUSION ENERGI
(2019) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 6, 2024
Incident date: Jun 23, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power with the check engine warning light displayed. The vehicle was towed to the residence and later driven to the local dealer who diagnosed that coolant was present inside cylinder #2. The contact was advised that the head gasket needed to be replaced. The vehicle ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle went into LIMP Mode. The contact stated that there were metal fragments in the oil. The contact stated that the drive belt was disintegrating, and there were fibers in the engine. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was cont... Read more
Incident date: Feb 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328I. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) and 23V707000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The contact stated that the PCV heater overheated ... Read more
MAZDA
CX-90 PLUG-IN HYBRID
(2024) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 5, 2024
Incident date: Feb 4, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that there was an abnormally strong gasoline odor inside the cabin of the vehicle after refueling. Additionally, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was initially taken to a dealer where a diagnostic test was performed; however, ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 30, 2024
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328XI. 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 various speeds, the engine made an abnormal sound, and the vehicle experienced reduced motive power. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to operate as needed. ... Read more
GRAND DESIGN
MOMENTUM
(2018) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 5, 2024
Incident date: Dec 30, 2023
The contact owns a 2011 BMW X3. 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 while stopped at a traffic light, t... Read more
Incident date: Feb 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2010 BMW 128I. The contact stated that while driving at a slow speed and pulling into the driveway, the vehicle stalled. While driving on two occasions, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The check engine and other unknown warning lights were illuminated. Additionally, door and trunk failed to open. The contact's husband checked the vehicle and noticed there was power be... Read more
HONDA
ACCORD HYBRID
(2023) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 5, 2024
Incident date: Jan 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the timing belt and engine oil pump belt fractured, and the vehicle lost oil pressure and the engine failed. The oil pressure, check engine, and battery warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic and was diagnosed with engine failure. The vehicle was repaired. The contact referenced ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Acura TLX. The contact stated while the vehicle was idling, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine. The vehicle was taken the dealer, where the timing belt, unknown bolts, and parts were replaced. Additionally, the contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, several unknown warning lights were illuminated, but the engine failed to turn over. The c... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Maserati Levante S. The contact stated that while driving at slower speeds, the transmission would independently shift to neutral(N) causing the vehicle to decelerate unintendedly. During the failure the driver was able to shift to the park(P) and back to the drive(D) to correct the failure. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. ... Read more
LAND ROVER
RANGE ROVER VELAR
(2018) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 2, 2024
Incident date: Feb 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle unintendedly decelerated to 20 MPH. The contact was uncertain there were any warning lights illuminated. Despite the failure, the contact managed to pull off to the shoulder of the highway and slowly drove the vehicle to the residence. The next day, the vehicle was towed to the dealer and the failure was li... Read more
Incident date: Sep 25, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal rattling. The rattling was more evident in cold weather conditions. The failure also occurred while the vehicle was idling. The contact stated that while depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle made a loud vibrating sound coming from the front end of the vehicle. There were no warni... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made an abnormal sound and then lost motive power. The Low Engine Oil Pressure message was displayed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer; however, the vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaig... Read more
Incident date: Feb 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal rattling. The rattling was more evident in cold weather conditions. The failure also occurred while the vehicle was idling. The contact stated that while depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle made a loud vibrating sound coming from the front end of the vehicle. There were no warni... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328i. 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 however, the vehicle failed to restart. 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 fail... Read more
Incident date: Jan 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the high temperature gauge alert was red and the notification to stop and the turn off engine soon warning light was illuminated. The contact's wife parked the vehicle and turned the vehicle off. The engine had overheated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnos... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 BMW X3. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle was driving rough before stalling with the drivetrain malfunction warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed with a fault code variable camshaft timing control. The dealer made other repairs to the vehicle, and the fault codes disappeared. However, the contact st... Read more
Incident date: Jan 9, 2021
The contact owns a 2015 Mazda CX9. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle shut off. The contact stated that the engine was overheating. The contact restarted the vehicle, and the vehicle stalled again. The vehicle continued to coast into a parking lot. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed tha... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
GLA 250
(2019) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 1, 2024
Incident date: Oct 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH the vehicle started running rough and then stalled. The contact stated that the check engine warning light and the stabili-trak symbol were illuminated. The contact stated that an engine over heating warning had flashed. The contact pulled off the highway and attempted to restart the vehicle. The contact... Read more
Incident date: Jan 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that upon the start of the vehicle, the engine backfired with a cylinder misfire message displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was initially taken to an independent mechanic however, the cause of the failure was not determined. The contact was informed that the coolant level was very low. The contact frequently checked the coolant le... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 528I. 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 stopped at a traffic si... Read more
Incident date: Sep 16, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled. Occasionally the vehicle would surge forward while stopped at a stop light. The vehicle was taken to the local service center who discovered that the engine oil was extremely low. Engine oil was added to the engine however, after retrieving the vehicle the contact discovered tha... Read more
Incident date: Sep 16, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that coolant intrusion into the engine had damaged the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. After inve... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 528I. The contact stated that 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 was able to be restarted. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The check engine warning light ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 9, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 528I. The contact stated while receiving an oil change by an independent mechanic at the residence, the mechanic became aware of bolt fragments in the oil pan. The contact received a 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 sta... Read more
Incident date: Jan 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the Coolant Low message was displayed, and the vehicle then lost motive power. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact added coolant and was able to restart the vehicle; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The ... Read more
MITSUBISHI
OUTLANDER SPORT
(2015) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jan 31, 2024
Incident date: Jan 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that a message indicating that the coolant level was low was displayed. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing excessive coolant consumption because he was adding coolant to the vehicle more frequently than usual. Additionally, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diag... Read more
Incident date: Jul 18, 2023
The contact's husband owns a 2015 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact was able to continue driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion into the engine. The dealer determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the f... Read more
HONDA
ACCORD HYBRID
(2023) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jan 31, 2024
Incident date: Jan 18, 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 dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and conf... Read more
Incident date: Jan 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Murano. The contact stated that while parking the vehicle, she noticed an abnormal burning odor. The contact stated that the odor persisted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that coolant was leaking externally from the head gasket bank #1 and bank #2, and was entering the combustion chamber, causing damage to the engine and the CVT transmis... Read more
Incident date: Jan 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the "Service Engine Soon," message was displayed. The contact stated that the vehicle then inadvertently lost motive power. The low oil and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the oil pump. The vehicle was repaired. After investigating the failure... Read more
Incident date: Jan 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 528I. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH in a parking lot, the vehicle shutoff inadvertently. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that two of the VANOS bolts were fractured, causing the engine to fail. The dealer determined that the bolts needed to... Read more
Incident date: Jan 31, 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 dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufa... Read more
Incident date: Jan 31, 2024
After remote starting the vehicle, the vehicle timed out. Upon entering and starting the vehicle, a check engine light and overheating notification were received. The vehicle was undrivable and this occurred during single-digit temperatures. The vehicle was left overnight (single-digit cold weather) and upon return the following day, the vehicle was started and still had a check engine light and e... Read more
ALFA ROMEO
GIULIA
(2024) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jan 30, 2024
Incident date: Jan 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the low oil warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. After which, the vehicle lost significant motive power and was unable to accelerate above 30 MPH, prompting the contact to pull to the shoulder of the roadway to have the vehicle towed. The low-oil warning light was illuminated. The vehicle wa... Read more
Incident date: Aug 31, 2019
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Expedition. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The dealer determined that the failure was related to a Customer Satisfaction Program under NHTSA ID Number: 10201090 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact was referred to NHTSA Hotline ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 30, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Mustang. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that there was a misfire in cylinders #1 and #3, requiring the replacement of the spark plugs and ignition coil. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred.... Read more
Incident date: Jan 30, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the temperature gauge began to indicate that the engine was overheating and was unable to accelerate above 30 MPH. There was a message to “Engine Overheating - Shut off Vehicle” displayed. The contact was able to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway to contact Roadside Assistance. Roadside Assistance arrived, and... Read more
Incident date: Jan 22, 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 contact stated that the Auto START/STOP intermittently locked the vehicle. After being id... Read more
Incident date: Jan 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact stated while driving approximat... Read more
Incident date: Jan 18, 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 stated while driving at approximate... Read more
Incident date: Jan 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started, the contact noticed that the engine was misfiring. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact replaced coil pack however, a month later the failure reoccurred. The contact noticed that the coolant reservoir was empty but there were no signs of a leak. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaire... Read more
Incident date: Jan 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 Volvo VNL. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power and was unable to accelerate above 10 MPH, after which the low coolant warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. After a visual inspection of the engine compartment, the contact observed that the coolant reservoir was abnormally low on coolant. After refilling th... Read more