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: Oct 21, 2023
The contact owned a 2013 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. The contact stated that while the wife was driving approximately 65 MPH, an abnormal engine noise was suddenly present coming from the engine compartment before the vehicle stalled. After parking on the side of the road and exiting the vehicle, moments later flames and smoke were present coming from the engine compartment and the fire department was ... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Aug 12, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH and towing a trailer, the contact heard a thud, after which the vehicle suddenly lost motive power. The contact was able to coast to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the crankshaf... Read more
Incident date: Aug 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle failed to accelerate and independently decelerated to 20 MPH. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the failure was due to metal shavings in the oil. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of t... Read more
Incident date: Nov 17, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while attempting to start the vehicle, several attempts were needed before the vehicle started. The contact stated that the vehicle started and idled rough. The engine malfunction warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine had failed, and coolant ha... Read more
Incident date: Nov 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Eco Sport. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the contact heard an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle lost motive power and hesitated while accelerating. The low oil pressure, Wrench, and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the failure was due to a faulty o... Read more
Incident date: Nov 16, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving approximately 10 MPH, she heard an abnormal clanking sound coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle stalled and the contact coasted to a stop. The contact stated there was warning light illuminated. The contact had the vehicle towed to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the connecting rod to the cr... Read more
Incident date: Nov 17, 2023
The contact's daughter owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine was misfiring, and the vehicle was hesitating. Additionally, the engine power was reduced. The contact was unaware if there was a warning light illuminated. The contact's daughter was able to drive to her destination. The contact's daughter then noticed that th... Read more
Incident date: Sep 22, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, he observed excessive smoke coming from the engine compartment as well as the rear exhaust. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined there was coolant intrusion into the engine cylinder that caused damage to the cylinder head. The contact was informed ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the vehicle vibrated and idled very roughly. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated while driving at approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the rough idling with the check engine warning light had become a recurring failure. The co... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
EQS 580
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Nov 17, 2023
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that upon taking the vehicle into the dealer for an oil change, the contact was informed that the engine was empty of coolant. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined coolant intrusion had caused damage to the cylinder head, requiring a replacement. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigat... Read more
Incident date: Nov 11, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at unknown speeds, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact opened the hood and became aware that the coolant reservoir was empty. The contact's brother opened the coolant cap and topped off the coolant. The contact thought there might have been an air in the unit. While her father was driving the vehicle, the eng... Read more
Incident date: Oct 31, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine had seized and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2010 BMW 328I. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact heard an abnormal rattling sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact pulled over to the shoulder of the roadway. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repai... Read more
Incident date: Apr 24, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to coast to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a general failure with the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. After inve... Read more
Incident date: Nov 14, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Ram 1500. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer and repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V475000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle started losing motive power. The contact stated that the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to respond. The check engine warning light was i... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 85,003.
Incident date: Oct 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle started shaking violently, prompting the contact to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway before coasting into a parking area. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who determined that the coolant intrusion had caused a misfire in cylinder #2. The contact was ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the Evaporative Emission Control (EVAP) system was previously replaced. The contact stated that a month later, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was shuddering abnormally. The contact stated that the failure also occurred while coming to a complete stop. Additionally... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The contact added oil to the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact called an independent mechanic who referred her to the dealer. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the ball bearing and valve cover gasket needed to... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS
(2019) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Nov 15, 2023
Incident date: Nov 15, 2023
coolant leak into engine cylinders 2018 Ford edge ecoboost engine ford dealer said vin # not under recall but know design flaw across the board with engine
Incident date: Oct 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who diagnosed that there was a leak in cylinder #3. The vehicle was included in Manufacturer Communication NHTSA ID Number: 10213732 (Engine and Engine Cooling) and had the remedy completed. After the vehicle was repaired, the check engine warning ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 8, 2019
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact drove to the residence. The vehicle was taken to the dealer the following day to be diagnosed. The dealer diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion in the cylinders, and that cylinder #1 was misfiring. The dealer determined that the engine long block needed to ... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS
(2018) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Nov 15, 2023
Incident date: Mar 29, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while driving 15 MPH, the low oil pressure warning light illuminated, and the vehicle displayed a message to turn off the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the oil pump. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The fail... Read more
Incident date: Aug 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the contact became aware that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The low oil warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was made aware that the vehicle was leaking oil. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure had recurred. The man... Read more
Incident date: Nov 14, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the message that the engine was overheating was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where a repair was performed for an unrelated safety failure. The repairs were covered by the insurance company; however, during the inspection by the insurance company, it was discovered that there was coolant intrusion... Read more
Incident date: Sep 22, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Hyundai Accent. The contact stated that the engine was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil with the oil warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.
Incident date: Nov 9, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Accent. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the oil warning light frequently blinked on the instrument panel. The contact called an independent mechanic who inspected the vehicle. The mechanic discovered that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where an oil consumption test was ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 14, 2023
Coolant intruded into the cylinders due to an engine defect
Incident date: Oct 24, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the vehicle started to sputter with white smoke coming from the exhaust. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that coolant intrusion had damaged the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaire... Read more
Incident date: Nov 3, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Ecosport. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and decelerated to below 60 MPH independently. The low oil pressure and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who determined that the oil pump had failed, causing damage to the engine, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehic... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Ecosport. The contact stated while driving approximately 25 MPH the low oil pressure warning light illuminated. The contact stated that she stopped the vehicle with the engine was still running. The contact attempted to drive the vehicle and heard an abnormal sound and the engine stalled. The contact had the vehicle towed to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and d... Read more
Incident date: Oct 29, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Ecosport. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at approximately 60–65 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. Two days prior to th... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Ecosport. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle failed to accelerate as needed. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to exceed 40 MPH. The contact stated that the engine oil pressure warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mil... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
E320
(1997) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Nov 13, 2023
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Ecosport. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle jerked and lost motive power. The contact was able to coast to the shoulder of the roadway, after which the vehicle returned to normal functionality. The contact stated that the low oil pressure warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the... Read more
Incident date: Nov 9, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Edge. The contact stated that upon coming to a complete stop, the temperature gauge indicated that the vehicle was overheating. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular failure. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who was unable to determine the cause f... Read more
CONTINENTAL
CONTIPROCONTACT
(9999) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Nov 13, 2023
Incident date: Nov 3, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving at 35 MPH, the vehicle overheated. The contact stated that the battery consistently failed, and the vehicle had stopped accelerating as needed. The vehicle became inoperable intermittently. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle had not been diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made a... Read more
Incident date: Oct 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the check engine warning illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was driven to an independent mechanic who diagnosed and determined that there was coolant intrusion into the engine block and that the engine needed to be replaced. The contact researched online and related the failure to Technical Serv... Read more
Incident date: Nov 11, 2023
About 20 months ago and at 120,000 miles my transmission blew and I filed a report with you. This time about 2 months ago my engine started shaking when being started, and according to my local Ford dealership, my engine block is either cracked or has a warped cylinder head. Either way the entire engine needs to be replaced. It now has 140,000 miles on it. In addition to this, I have had sever... Read more
HYUNDAI
SANTA FE SPORT
(2018) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Nov 9, 2023
Incident date: Nov 2, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the temperature gauge rose to the HOT zone. The contact stated that she pulled into an auto parts store and was advised to refill the coolant reservoir. The contact topped off the coolant reservoir and then drove the vehicle for less than 20 minutes before the vehicle went into LIMP Mode and lost motive pow... Read more
Incident date: Oct 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle shuddered with blue smoke coming from the exhaust. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who determined that coolant intrusion had damaged the engine, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manuf... Read more
Incident date: Oct 2, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that upon inspection of the vehicle, there was an unknown fluid was underneath the vehicle. The vehicle was examined by an independent mechanic who determined that the water pump was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offer... Read more
Incident date: Nov 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Ecosport. The contact stated while his wife was driving 40-55 MPH, the low oil pressure warning light illuminated, and the vehicle stalled inadvertently. The contact's wife was able to pull over to the side of the road. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the dealer to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact related the failure t... Read more
Incident date: Oct 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact stated there was smoke coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that a message appeared on the instrument cluster that the vehicle was overheating and to pull over. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled. The contact had the veh... Read more
Incident date: Nov 7, 2023
The contact owns a 2008 Hyundai Veracruz. The contact stated that the valve cover gasket was leaking and had been replaced several times, in addition to the manifold; however, the failure persisted. 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 vehicle was taken to the dealer, ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced rough starts, overheating and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined that there was coolant present inside the engine cylinders and that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer wer... Read more
Incident date: Oct 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact stated he received an alert on the Ford Pass to service the vehicle. The engine malfunction warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was using an excessive amount of engine oil. The low oil pressure and engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was no... Read more
Incident date: Nov 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2011 BMW X3. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who informed the contact that the failure was due to the PCV. The local dealer was not contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The contact st... Read more
FORD
BRONCO SPORT
(2023) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Nov 8, 2023
Incident date: Oct 28, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that after a visual inspection of underneath the vehicle, he observed a coolant leak originating near the engine compartment. The low coolant warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with compression in the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
Engine cooling system failure on my second engine after it being replaced ounce already still the same thing overheating millions of recalls on 2013 kia serento with cooling system failures why am I have to buy another engine with 2 years of replacing my original with the same problem my vehicle vin need to be added with the rest of the same year make an model
Fire
NISSAN
ROGUE SPORT
(2021) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Nov 7, 2023
Incident date: Sep 22, 2023
I had my vehicle serviced (oil change, tire rotation, fluid levels topped off) before we took a trip to Florida from Massachusetts. On the way home from the trip we experienced no heat in our vehicle so we had the vehicle checked out thinking maybe the thermostat needed replacing. Instead the repair shop found the coolant level down by over 1 gallon. They performed a pressure check for leaks and f... Read more