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: Jan 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the engine made an abnormally loud sound. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road and turned off the vehicle. The low oil pressure warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that upon inspecting the oil level, she noticed that there were metal shavings in the oil. The vehi... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
JETTA
(2019) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jan 16, 2024
Incident date: Jul 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while making a left turn into traffic, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle was shaking abnormally. Additionally, the contact stated that when the heat was turned on, there was an abnormal burning odor in the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that coolant had intruded... Read more
HONDA
CR-V HYBRID
(2023) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jan 16, 2024
Incident date: Dec 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 local dealer was made aware of the issue after the contact heard a rattling sound coming from the engine. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and a diagnostic test was performed. The dealer confirmed t... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Buick Encore. The contact stated while pulling out of the driveway, the vehicle made an abnormally loud sound and the engine seized. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the engine had failed due to a failure with the oil pump. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2022
Coolant leaked into one of the Cylinders which is requiring major engine block repairs. It only has 80K miles on the car and is in great condition. No warnings happened before it almost overheated and threw a error code.
Incident date: Jan 5, 2024
A repeated low coolant light continues to show up after refilling the system and having it flushed. The system message center presented a message that said "Stop Safely Now" due to low coolant. The engine temperature gauge was reading completely cold.
Incident date: Jan 1, 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 oil pressure warning light... Read more
Incident date: Feb 18, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the low oil pressure warning light illuminated on the instrument panel, after which the contact heard an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehi... Read more
Incident date: Jan 12, 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 contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact ... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2014) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jan 12, 2024
Incident date: Jan 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 GMC Yukon XL. The contact stated that while stopped at a red light and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle jerked and jumped forward. There was a loud sound coming from the engine. The accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to accelerate above 5 MPH. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road. After s... Read more
KIA
SPORTAGE HYBRID
(2023) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jan 12, 2024
Incident date: Jan 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Sportage. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine compartment and the vehicle lost motive power. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contac... Read more
HONDA
ACCORD HYBRID
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jan 12, 2024
Incident date: Sep 25, 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 contact stated that while the contact's granddaughter was driving at an undisclosed speed... Read more
Incident date: Dec 16, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V705000 (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 the contact’s father was driving at an undisclosed speed, the... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Alfa Romeo Stelvio. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle sputtered, lost motive power, and stalled. The contact stated that after coasting to the side of the roadway, the vehicle was restarted. The contact stated that after restarting the vehicle, the START/STOP light was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that the vehicle was t... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2024
The contact owned a 2019 Acura TLX. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the contact was hearing an abnormal ticking noise. The contact stated the check engine warning was illuminated and the fuel gauge showed a decrease in fuel level. The contact stated she observed that black smoke was emitted from under the hood and the rear of the vehicle. The contact pulled off of the highwa... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Jan 9, 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 approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled. There wer... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2019) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jan 11, 2024
Incident date: Nov 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the check engine warning light was flashing on and off. The contact called the local dealer and was informed that the computer system was down. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that coolant was leaking into the cylinder and the engine. The check engine warning light was... Read more
NISSAN
PATHFINDER
(2017) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jan 11, 2024
Incident date: Nov 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving approximately 75 MPH, there was an abnormally loud sound in the cabin of the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle was losing motive power. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal and the vehicle continued to lose motive power. The contact stated that the engine was not revving while depressing the accelerator pedal... Read more
Incident date: Jan 9, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Acura TLX. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 35–45 MPH, an abnormal banging sound was detected. The RPM increased, and the sound became louder. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that an engine rod was thrown, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The ma... Read more
Incident date: Dec 19, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact's daughter was able to reach her destination, but afterwards, the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who determined that coolant intrusion into the cylinders had damaged the engi... Read more
Incident date: Dec 20, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the service engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer for routine maintenance, and the contact informed the mechanic about the engine warning light. The mechanic informed the contact that the spark plug failed to release without being fractured, and it was also diagno... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Acura MDX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) and 23V751000 (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 repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The conta... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2023) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jan 10, 2024
Incident date: Jan 10, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the "High Engine Temperature - Stop Safely" message was displayed on the instrument panel with the temperature gauge indicating that the engine was hot. The contact pulled over and allowed the engine to cool down. Upon inspection, the contact discovered that the coolant reservoir was empty. The contact replenished the co... Read more
Incident date: Jan 9, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated there was oil leaking from the vehicle. The contact noticed that there was oil underneath the front end of the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure persisted after the repair was completed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the oil pan failed due to the material be... Read more
Incident date: Jan 9, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated and jerked upon the depression of the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, and it was initially discovered there was a leak in the expansion tank as well as a defective thermostat. The contact stated that both parts were replaced. Despite the repair, the contact continued... Read more
Incident date: Jun 8, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving uphill at 35–45 MPH, there was white smoke coming from the tailpipe. The vehicle went into LIMP Mode and lost motive power. The engine temperature rose to a HOT level. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact was able to veer off the roadway. The contact stated who is an independent mechanic completed a diagnostic... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2020
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the "High engine temperature, stop safely" message was displayed before the vehicle lost motive power. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was coasted to the side of the road. Upon inspection, the contact discovered that the coolant reservoir was empty. The contact had to add wate... Read more
Incident date: Jan 10, 2024
After no signs of overheating or leaks the coolant level of the car has dropped significantly after topping off several times. The heat stopped working and the coolant reservoir never stayed filled. We took it to the dealership for diagnosis. The service representative told us the coolant was leaking directly into the engine and the only solution is to replace the cracked engine block.
Incident date: Dec 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and diagnosed with catalytic converter failure. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that coolant intrusion had damaged the engine, and th... Read more
Incident date: Jan 10, 2024
The contact owns a 2010 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 dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed t... Read more
Incident date: Jan 10, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle was making a loud noise, driving rough and there was white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and repaired. The independent mechanic performed a spark plug and coil repair; however, the fail... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jan 10, 2024
Incident date: Jan 10, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Acura TLX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that after the initial start-up, there was a loud explosion coming from undern... Read more
Incident date: Jan 10, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Soul. The contact stated that after arriving to her destination and upon attempting to restart the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start immediately. After starting the vehicle and 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 restart. The check engi... Read more
Incident date: Oct 2, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 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 the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the spark plugs. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, and it was determined that there was a misfire in cyl... Read more
Incident date: Jan 9, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The check engine and oil pressure warning lights remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local service center which diagnosed that the oil pressure sending unit and engine camshaft were faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The... Read more
Incident date: Dec 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Sorento. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was contacted. The contact stated there was an abnormal burning oil odor in the cabin of t... Read more
Incident date: Sep 11, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was diagnosed with coolant intrusion 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: Jan 9, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 50 MPH, the vehicle started shaking abnormally. Additionally, the contact stated that the A/C unit was inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the air compressor and the CV joint had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired by the dealer. The ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2012 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, there was smoke coming from the tailpipe and a gurgling sound was coming from the exhaust. Additionally, the vehicle was experiencing excessive oil consumption. The vehicle was taken to the local service center who diagnosed that the engine oil was present inside the engine cylinder and the engine ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2019 Acura MDX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) and 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the parts to do the repairs were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not e... Read more
HYUNDAI
ELANTRA COUPE
(2014) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jan 9, 2024
Incident date: Sep 22, 2023
The contact owns a 2024 Jeep Wrangler 4x4E. The contact stated that his wife noticed a fire at the charger while the vehicle was plugged in and charging. The owners were able to extinguish the fire. There were no reported injuries. The vehicle had not been charged. The fire department was called to the scene. While his wife was driving the vehicle, it overheated. There were no warning lights illum... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Dec 20, 2023
On [XXX], I entered onto [XXX] from Sparks, Nevada eastbound when a check engine light and oil overheat warning came on. I limped the car to the nearest exit [(XXX)]. I had my grandson with me and he was scared. I checked my coolant level and realized that it was dry. I put coolant to the max line of the reserve tank and drove 25 miles to Carson City. When I took it into the dealership at Ca... Read more
Incident date: Jan 9, 2021
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine overheated, with the check engine warning light illuminated. Additionally, the vehicle was shaking and vibrating and there was a liquid swishing sound coming from the dashboard area. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed an engine misfire in cylinder #4, with coolant in th... Read more
Incident date: Dec 23, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving 5-10 MPH, the message "Coolant Level Low" was displayed. The contact veered to the side of the roadway and added coolant to the vehicle; however, the same message was displayed the following day while driving. Additionally, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it... Read more
Incident date: Jan 9, 2024
Coolant leaking into the cylinders. Repair is a new engine block. Nothing can be done to prevent it. Ford even has a technical service bulletin about the problem but have not recalled the vehicle for the issue. Car has only 82000 miles and is a 2018 and now having to pay for a new engine.
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2013) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jan 8, 2024
Incident date: Dec 22, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle jerked and hesitated as if the engine was misfiring. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program NHTSA ID Number: 10213732 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however after checking on Manufacturer’s website, the contact learned th... Read more
FORD
ESCAPE HYBRID
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jan 8, 2024
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the battery had failed several times and was replaced approximately 5 times. The contact also stated there was exhaust coming out of the tailpipe during the initial start-up. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V162000 ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 24, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the check engine warning light had been illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion into cylinder #2. The dealer informed the contact that the failure was related to and unknown recall campaign; however, the VIN needed to be included. The coils were replaced; however, when the ve... Read more
Incident date: Aug 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that while driving at 2-3 MPH in the driveway, the vehicle lost oil pressure. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact had her neighbor check the oil and informed her there was enough oil in the engine. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who informed her about the oil pump vacuum code. The vehicle was towed to th... Read more
Incident date: Aug 18, 2022
The contact owns a 2022 Audi Q7. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was related to Technical Service Bulletin: 10244468 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was diagnosed and determined that the failure was an EVAP leak detection from the circuit with trouble code: T240700. The failure was conf... Read more