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.
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
Showing 40,899 complaints - component: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Incident date: Mar 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Soul. 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 diagnosed a failure with the catalytic converters. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 180,000.
Incident date: Feb 26, 2024
See attached document for complaint
Fire
Incident date: Feb 24, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while his wife was driving approximately 35-45 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle was overheating. A message advising to pull to the side of the road was displayed. The contact's wife was able to veer to the side of the road. The vehicle was taken to the nearest independent mechanic, where the water pump, the ser... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the vehicle was idling abnormally rough. The contact stated that the vehicle shuddered, and an abnormal odor was detected, and white smoke was observed coming from the exhaust. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed as coolant intrusion with coolant ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2024
See attached document for complaint
Incident date: Mar 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V406000 (Fuel System, Diesel) and 23V411000 (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 manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the RPM decreased without warning. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road. The contact opened the hood and noticed that the coolant level significantly low and water had entered the oil gasket. The contact stated that the engine had misfired. The coolant temperature warning light was illuminat... Read more
Incident date: Feb 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle overheated and was shaking abnormally. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a failed freeze plug. The contact was informed that the freeze plug needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was informed about NHTSA Campaign Numbe... Read more
Incident date: Oct 11, 2022
Coolant Leak. An Internet search revealed that this was a common problem among this model (coolant leaking into cylinder #2). I keep coolant in the car at all times in case of overheating.
Incident date: Oct 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at approximately 55 MPH, the engine almost stalled and the vehicle was losing motive power. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was blinking on and off. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal but the vehicle stalled. The contact pulled over and became aware that the coolant level was low and that the engi... Read more
Incident date: Mar 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the antifreeze was leaking and that the check engine warning light was illuminated. Additional anti-freeze was added. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who informed the contact that there was a misfire in cylinder #2. The spark plugs and coil pack were replaced. The contact added a reservoir to the vehicle. The contact st... Read more
Incident date: Mar 14, 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: Feb 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle would not properly accelerate. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who determined that coolant was present inside the cylinders of the engine and the engine needed to be replaced. The engine was replaced but the vehicle continued to experience ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while the vehicle was idling, the engine overheated. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who informed the contact that the failure was due to the coolant overheating. The vehicle was running rough and there was smoke coming from the tailpipe. The contact stated that cylinders ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 14, 2024
The contact owned a 2014 Ford Escape. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for a service appointment which included a system scan and replacement of the coolant valves. The contact stated that after the repair was completed and the mechanic was test-driving the vehicle, the engine caught on fire. A nearby Police Officer alerted the mechanic to pull the vehicle over to the shoulder of t... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Sep 19, 2023
The contact's wife owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated while his wife was driving 65 MPH, the message "Engine Hot" was displayed and the vehicle was overheating. The contact's wife pulled to the side of the road and allowed the engine to cool down. The contact stated that his wife turned on the hazard lights and drove to the nearby residence at slow speeds. The contact stated that the failur... Read more
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2017) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Mar 14, 2024
Incident date: Jan 22, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V406000 (Fuel System, Diesel) and NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V411000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the parts to do the repairs were unavailable. 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... Read more
HONDA
CR-V HYBRID
(2023) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Mar 14, 2024
Incident date: Mar 13, 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 low oil pressure oil warni... Read more
TOYOTA
FJ CRUISER
(2007) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Mar 14, 2024
Incident date: Mar 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The contact stated that the failure recurred while driving. There was no warning light illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that there was an abnormal chemical and burning odor inside the cabin. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic,... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that the vehicle was leaking oil. The contact was unaware of any warning lights being illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who informed the contact that the failure was due to the cylinder head being cracked. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was cont... Read more
Incident date: Mar 13, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH, the coolant low warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who informed the contact that cylinder #3 was misfiring. Additionally, coolant was leaking from the vehicle. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not c... Read more
Incident date: Feb 28, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle slowed down. The stop, park, and restart message were displayed. The vehicle was restarted, but the failure recurred. The contact continued to drive, and the oil, engine, and battery warning lights illuminated. The driver pulled over into a parking lot. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it wa... Read more
Incident date: Mar 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 528I. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine made a ticking sound. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was shaking and then stalled. The vehicle failed to restart immediately. The contact later received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V707000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recal... Read more
FORD
FUSION ENERGI
(2020) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Mar 12, 2024
Incident date: Dec 7, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that his wife was not aware of any warning lights being illuminated. The driver was able to coast the vehicle off the highway. The driver attempted to restart the vehicle, but the vehicle failed to start. The contact had the vehicle towed to a loc... Read more
Incident date: Dec 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while at a red light, the vehicle shut off. The contact shifted the vehicle into neutral. There was an unknown warning light illuminated. The contact called the local dealer and was informed that a diagnostic test needed to be performed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Ca... Read more
Incident date: Mar 12, 2024
The contact owned a 2019 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while stopped at a red light, smoke was present coming from the hood and a burning oil odor was present inside the cabin of the vehicle. Moments later while driving, flames were seen coming from under the hood before the vehicle stalled. After exiting the vehicle, the front of the vehicle burst into flames. The local fire department ... Read more
Fire
CONTINENTAL
TKC80
(9999) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Mar 12, 2024
Incident date: Oct 13, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that while idling at a stop light, the "Check Engine" and "Low Oil" warning lights suddenly illuminated, and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact was informed that the VIN was included in the NHTSA Camp... Read more
CHRYSLER
TOWN AND COUNTRY
(2013) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Mar 12, 2024
Incident date: Mar 9, 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 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
NISSAN
PATHFINDER
(2015) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Mar 12, 2024
Incident date: Mar 8, 2024
Went to start vehicle in morning after it had been sitting overnight. temperature gauge went all the way to red immediately and alert on dash said do not drive vehicle and turn engine off immediately. had it towed to dealer and they advised coolant was leaking which caused blown head gasket. only fix is to replace engine which will cost more than vehicle is worth
Incident date: Oct 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion Hybrid. The contact stated while her husband was driving 35-40 MPH after an oil change had been performed on the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the mechanic, where it was diagnosed that there was a coolant intrusion in the engine. The mechanic determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was n... Read more
Incident date: Oct 2, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that the check engine warning light had been illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an unknown dealer several times; however, the cause of the failure could not be determined. The contact stated that while her grandson was driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle stalled inadvertently. The low oil pressure and the check engine warning light... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while his grandson was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered. The check engine warning light intermittently illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a faulty water pump causing coolant intrusion into the engine. The dealer replaced the engine; however, the failure recurred. The vehicl... Read more
Incident date: Mar 12, 2024
Engine stopped entirely while going up a hill. Had a mechanic look at it about a month agoa nd told me that the engine has coolant intrusion issue. Making the engine misfire and makes it lose power and shuts engine off on the middle of the road!! Ford knows about this and redeigned the engine due to this issue.
Incident date: Sep 22, 2023
Widely known issue that the engine has coolant leaking into the engine. Ford issued a statement on it. Now the same thing is happening to my car. Safety of myself and others put at risk by vehicle running incorrectly and engine is now misfiring resulting in difficulty maintaining power while driving. Problem has been confirmed by independent body shop and is being confirmed but dealer now. C... Read more
Incident date: Mar 12, 2024
The heating in the car was not working. Then one morning the car started overheating and the check engine light came on. Taken to dealer to find the coolant was low and that it was leaking into cylinders 2 and 3 and now the engine needed to be replaced. This is an $8000 plus repair on a car I just bought for $20000 with under 75000 miles.
Incident date: Mar 12, 2024
Coolant began leaking into the engine causing engine failure
CHRYSLER
TOWN AND COUNTRY
(2015) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Mar 11, 2024
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
The contact owned a 2011 BMW 328i x Drive. The contact stated her son was driving home from a friend's house and refueling the vehicle. The contact stated when the son parked the vehicle at the residence, the son noticed smoke was coming from the front of the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The son attempted to open the hood of the vehicle but saw flames coming from the front hood of... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Mar 10, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was initially taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the coils and spark plugs were damaged and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then taken to a dealer where a diagnostic was performed; the diagnostic test ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the misfire in cylinder #3 was displayed. Additionally, the vehicle experienced shaking and vibrations while starting the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who determined that coolant was present inside cylinder #3 and the engine long block cracked and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
TAOS
(2022) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Mar 11, 2024
Incident date: Mar 8, 2024
See attached document for complaint
LAND ROVER
DEFENDER
(2022) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Mar 11, 2024
Incident date: Feb 15, 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 upon the start of the vehicle, an abnormal clanking noise began to emit from the engine without warning. The local dealer was made aware of the issue and informed the contact... Read more
Incident date: Mar 3, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Dodge Durango. The contact stated the engine overheated and fluids of different colors and consistencys leaked from the vehicle. The contact stated that the leaks were coming from the coolant reservoir due to engine overheating. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a P0476 small evaporator leak and t... Read more
Incident date: Feb 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2023 Ford F-250. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated upon depression of the accelerator pedal without warning. The vehicle was taken to the local Ford dealer on numerous occasions where various software updates and maintenance checks were performed on the vehicle; however, the failure persisted after each repair. Recently, the contact s... Read more
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2016) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Mar 11, 2024
Incident date: Feb 29, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while operating the vehicle, the "Coolant Low" message was displayed. Upon inspection, the contact discovered that the coolant reservoir was extremely low, but no visible evidence of a coolant leak was present. The contact added coolant to the reservoir, but the failure continued to occur. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who was u... Read more
Incident date: Feb 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Acura MDX. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle made an abnormal rattling sound. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring intermittently. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was test-driven; however, the dealer informed the contact that they could not duplicate the failure. The con... Read more
Incident date: Mar 8, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed uphill, the vehicle made an abnormal sound and stalled. The oil pressure and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The failure nearly caused a collision. The vehicle was coasted to the side of the road and then was towed to the residence. The contact's husband, an independent mechanic, diagnosed th... Read more
Incident date: Mar 7, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Lincoln MKC. The contact stated 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 had damaged the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2017) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Mar 11, 2024
Incident date: Feb 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the vehicle shuddered and experienced low idling. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed. The dealer determined that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V740000 (H... Read more
Incident date: Mar 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The message "Engine Overheating" was displayed and there was smoke coming from underneath the passenger's side of the hood. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The contact stated that she was able to restart the vehicle; however, the vehicle was sputtering. The vehicle was towed to ... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 2500
(2021) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Mar 8, 2024
Incident date: Mar 7, 2024
The detective reported that the 2022 Jeep Wrangler spontaneously caught on fire. The contact stated that after the owner parked the vehicle, approximately six hours later a fire occurred which started in the engine compartment of the vehicle. The fire department was called to the scene and extinguished the flames. During the incident the vehicle was destroyed. No injuries were reported. A police a... Read more
Fire