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: Nov 25, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while her husband was driving 75 MPH and overtaking another vehicle, the engine made an abnormal clunking sound, and the check engine warning light illuminated. Additionally, the engine started making abnormal knocking sounds. The contact's husband pulled into an AutoZone parking lot, where it was diagnosed and determined th... Read more
Incident date: Nov 23, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled as the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where a diagnostic test was performed, and the diagnostic result showed that coolant was leaking from the head gasket which caused engine failure. The contact had the vehicle repaired out of pocket; however, th... Read more
Incident date: Nov 12, 2023
The contact's grandson owned a 2016 Chevrolet Camero. While the grandson was driving at approximately 40 MPH, smoke suddenly was present coming from under the front hood of the vehicle. The vehicle was immediately parked and moments later flames and smoke streamed from the engine compartment and the vehicle exploded. The fire department was called to the scene and extinguished the flames. During t... Read more
Fire
1 injured
Incident date: Nov 15, 2023
I’ve heard many complaints that the oil filter housing on the 2014 jeeps and up have had cracking problems
Incident date: Oct 20, 2023
I’ve heard many complaints that the oil filter housing on the 2014 jeeps and up have had cracking problems
Incident date: Nov 28, 2023
The contact owns a 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that there was a fuel odor coming into the cabin of the vehicle while driving at various speeds. The contact stated that while attempting to accelerate uphill, the accelerator pedal had to be depressed to the floor for the vehicle to respond as needed. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle drove as if th... Read more
Incident date: Aug 31, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Lincoln MKC. The contact stated while driving at undisclosed speeds, there was no heat being distributed throughout the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that coolant was leaking into the engine. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, and the contact was informed that there was coolant intrusion into the engine and that the engine nee... Read more
Incident date: Nov 29, 2023
The contact owns a 2010 BMW 528I. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact continued driving at an unknown speed and then parked and had the vehicle towed to the residence. The vehicle was then towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine... Read more
Incident date: Sep 19, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Acura TLX. The contact stated while driving at approximately 25 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact stated that the vehicle lost power steering and braking functionality. The contact coasted the vehicle to a stop. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle and was unable to shift the vehicle out of park(P). The contact stated no warning light was ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 21, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon inspection of the vehicle, it was discovered that the coolant reservoir was nearly empty. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed and determined that engine coolant had leaked out due to a faulty engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufactur... Read more
Incident date: Nov 29, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving with the Adaptive Cruise Control engaged and set to 70 MPH, the engine was misfiring and made abnormally loud sounds. Additionally, the vehicle started losing motive power. The message "Service DEF System - See Dealer" was displayed. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road. The contact stated that upon opening the hood... Read more
Fire
NEXEN
ROADIAN HTX
(9999) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Nov 29, 2023
Incident date: Oct 3, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 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 repair. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed spe... Read more
Incident date: Dec 15, 2022
The contact owned a 2016 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked unattended, it caught fire. There were no warning lights illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The fire department extinguished the fire. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. There were no reported injuries. A police report was filed. The air bags did not ... Read more
Fire
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS
(2021) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Nov 28, 2023
Incident date: Nov 28, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the check engine warning light and brake warning light had illuminated, and the message “Engine Powering down Mode” was activated causing the vehicle to shut off. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The contact stated that the failure... Read more
Incident date: Mar 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Acura MDX. The contact stated that occasionally while accelerating, at a stop, or while driving, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. While driving at approximately 50 MPH, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated to 80 MPH. Additionally, while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brakes activated independently. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was ta... Read more
FORD
F-150 HYBRID
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Nov 28, 2023
Incident date: Nov 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving 65-70 MPH, the low oil pressure warning light illuminated, and the vehicle started losing motive power. The contact stated that she exited the freeway and veered to the side of the road, where the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to an unknown dealer. The vehicle was then towed to the loca... Read more
Incident date: Mar 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, there was an abnormal rattling sound coming from the engine with the check engine warning light illuminated. Additionally, the vehicle experienced jerking and shuddering while shifting gear with the Power Train fault message displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the camsh... Read more
Incident date: Oct 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Acura MDX. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle started to lose motive power and stalled. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the engine rod bearings had failed and damaged the engine. The contact was informed that the engine short block needed to be replaced. The vehicle ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 16, 2023
The contact's sister owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated while her sister was driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion in cylinder #3. The dealer determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of th... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Ram 1500. The contact stated the vehicle was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V475000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). After the recall remedy was completed, the vehicle went into LIMP Mode, while driving approximately 10-15 MPH. The vehicle then started to jerk. An unknown warning light illuminated, and the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken back... Read more
FOREST RIVER
STEALTH
(2024) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Nov 27, 2023
Incident date: Nov 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while reversing into the driveway, there was smoke coming from the engine compartment. After a visual inspection of the engine compartment, the contact observed smoke coming from an unknown location. The smoke eventually dissipated independently. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 45-50 MPH, the vehicle overheated. Additionally, a message indicating a low coolant level was displayed, and the vehicle shut off. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where the coolant temperature sensor housing was replaced; however, the failure recurred while driving. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was th... Read more
Incident date: Oct 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while her niece was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power and was unable to accelerate above 60 MPH. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that there was a misfire in cylinder #2. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the con... Read more
Incident date: Nov 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328I. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle displayed the message "Do Not Drive" with the low engine oil warning light illuminated and the contact pulled over to the shoulder of the roadway. After a visual inspection of the engine compartment, the contact became aware that the engine was extremely low on engine oil. The contact added... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2017) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Nov 24, 2023
Incident date: Nov 22, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-350. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who replaced the reductant heater however, the failure reoccurred. The contact stated that the first repair was covered under Manufacturer Communication Number: 10137151 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact took the vehicle to a certified mechan... Read more
Incident date: Nov 24, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle started to overheat, and the steering wheel became firm. Additionally, the vehicle failed to accelerate above 20 MPH. The vehicle eventually became inoperable. The contact pulled over to inspect the vehicle and noticed a fluid leak and smoke coming from the muffler. The triangle master warning light was illum... Read more
Incident date: Nov 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 325I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, there was a significant amount of smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe and coming from underneath the hood of the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illu... Read more
Incident date: Jun 10, 2020
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle was not accelerating as needed with the accelerator pedal depressed. The contact stated that the check engine warning light illuminated, then flashed several times and then turned off. The contact stated that the loss of motive power failure was intermittent but had reoccurred. The contact had... Read more
Incident date: Nov 22, 2023
The contact's daughter owns a 2012 Hyundai Veloster. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that while accelerating from a complete stop, the vehicle jerked, lurched forward, and there was smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe. The contact stated that the failure also occurred while driving at various speeds. The contact stated that ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 21, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Lincoln MKC. The contact stated while driving at approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle shuddered and stalled. The contact was able to pull over. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that cylinder #4 had misfired. The contact stated that the engine block was defective, and the vehicle was... Read more
Incident date: Nov 22, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH and attempting to accelerate, she heard an abnormal clicking sound coming from the engine compartment. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that the rod and crank in cylinder #3 were damaged, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to an unknown dealer to be repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V226000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the dealer charged a fee for the diagnostic testing. The contact declined to p... Read more
Incident date: Oct 31, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Ecosport. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the brake pedal became firm, and it was difficult to depress the brake pedal. The engine oil pressure, engine, and the wrench warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The contact was informed that the failure was due to a faulty oil pump. The vehicle had not been repaired. The ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power inadvertently in the middle of the roadway. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was unable to veer to the side of the roadway. The contact stated that he shifted into park (P) and was able to restart the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure had been occur... Read more
Incident date: Nov 14, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle began to indicate that the engine was overheating, displaying a message reading "Stop Vehicle Immediately". The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway to let the vehicle cool down. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failur... Read more
Incident date: Nov 21, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, a message displayed reading "All Wheel Drive Malfunction”. The check engine warning light was 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 NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V0640... Read more
HYUNDAI
SANTA CRUZ
(2024) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Nov 20, 2023
Incident date: Nov 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle; however, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that he had been filling the coolant reservoir constantly prior to the engine stalling due to the engine overheating. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and drov... Read more
Incident date: Nov 16, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Dodge Charger. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle the warning "Engine Oil Pressure" displayed. Upon inspection, it was discovered that engine oil had leaked from the engine and while attempting to add oil to the engine the oil immediately leaked out. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the engine oil cooler hose had failed, and the ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 14, 2023
The contact's husband owns a 2019 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that while driving 45-50 MPH, the low oil pressure warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where an oil change was performed; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the oil pump had failed. The vehicle w... Read more
Incident date: Nov 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle suddenly lost automotive power and the speed was reduced to approximate 35 MPH with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that coolant was present inside the engine cylinder and the engine needed to be replaced. The manufacturer ... Read more
Incident date: May 2, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Ecosport. The contact stated while driving 35-40 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the thermostat had failed. The vehicle was then taken to another independent mechanic, who made the same assessment and informed the contact that the failure could be covered under warranty. The ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle made an abnormal sound, the vehicle lost power and the engine became inoperable. The check engine and oil warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was diagnosed by an independent mechanic. The contact was informed that the failure was due to a faulty engine. The manufa... Read more
Incident date: Nov 11, 2023
The contact owned a 2017 Honda Ridgeline. The contact stated that after parking on the side of the road and with the engine idling, a burning odor was present coming from the vehicle. Moments later smoke and flames were seen coming from the engine compartment which caused the hood to blow open. The fire department was immediately called to the scene and extinguished the flames. During the incident... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Feb 2, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked outside the residence, and she noticed that coolant was leaking onto the ground. The contact stated that she added coolant to the vehicle, but the coolant continuously leaked onto ground. The contact started driving the vehicle however, the vehicle started overheating and a message advising to pull over was display... Read more
Incident date: Oct 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Ecosport. The contact stated while his daughter was driving into a parking area, she heard an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment. After a visual inspection of the engine compartment, the contact observed that the engine oil was at sufficient levels. The low-oil pressure warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a f... Read more
TOYOTA
COROLLA CROSS
(2023) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Nov 20, 2023
Incident date: Apr 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the engine had sustained a loss of compression in cylinder #4, and oil had leaked onto the spark plugs. The contact was advised that the engine was faulty, but no repairs would be made until ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 BMW X5. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the check engine warning illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the active air flap controller. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle lost motive power. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that coolant intrusion had damaged the long block, requiring the engine to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact... Read more
Incident date: Nov 17, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while at a complete stop, the vehicle inadvertently shut off after releasing the brake pedal. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the starter was replaced twice; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where it was determined that the flywheel needed to ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 17, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle began to overheat, and the vehicle lost motive power. The contact's daughter was able to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle was able to be restarted. The overheating warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnose... Read more