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: Jul 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle overheated. The temperature gauge increased to the high engine temperature level. There was an abnormal beeping sound detected. The contact noticed that the coolant reservoir was empty and added coolant. The contact stated that the next day there was coolant on the garage floor. The vehicle wa... Read more
Incident date: Sep 11, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while his son was starting the vehicle, there was white smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe. Additionally, the contact stated while his son was driving at an undisclosed speed, a message indicating that the vehicle was overheating was displayed. The contact's son pulled to the side of the road, added a gallon of coolant to the vehicle a... Read more
Incident date: Mar 24, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 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 unavailable. 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 stated... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2009) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 14, 2023
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2009 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated that the coolant warning light was frequently illuminated due to low coolant. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the engine hose and other engine parts were replaced. Despite the repair, the coolant light returned soon after the initial repair. The contact then took the vehicle to a dealer where the failure was link... Read more
Incident date: Sep 12, 2023
The contact's granddaughter owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while his granddaughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently decelerated while the accelerator pedal was depressed then the vehicle overheated. An unknown warning light was illuminated. The contact then stated that his granddaughter stopped the vehicle and then turned off and parked the vehicle t... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2019
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving 55-60 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to AutoZone, where it was diagnosed that cylinder #2 was misfiring. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, where cylinder #2 spark plug and the ignition coil were replaced; however, the failure recurred while driving. The message "Low Coolant" was disp... Read more
Incident date: Aug 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V406000 (Fuel System, Diesel) and 23V411000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) 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 manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not ex... Read more
Incident date: Jul 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35–40 MPH, the engine was overheating. There was fluid leaking from the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the water pump was leaking. Additionally, antifreeze was leaking from the vehicle. The contact was informed that ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while starting the vehicle and depressing the brake pedal, the engine revved while the vehicle was idling. The contact stated that the failure recurred while at a complete stop at a traffic light, and the vehicle shuddered. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring. The vehicle wa... Read more
Incident date: Sep 13, 2023
Vehicle purchase July 20th 2023 with new oil change per Carvana. On August 7th 2023, check engine light appears. Car was taken to a local shop. No oil and some other issues found. "Issues fixed.". On September 13th oil light comes on. Again, taken to car shop, no oil. Oil topped off again. Car is not maintaining oil.
VOLKSWAGEN
BEETLE CONVERTIBLE
(2015) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 13, 2023
Incident date: Jan 5, 2023
Vehicle purchase July 20th 2023 with new oil change per Carvana. On August 7th 2023, check engine light appears. Car was taken to a local shop. No oil and some other issues found. "Issues fixed.". On September 13th oil light comes on. Again, taken to car shop, no oil. Oil topped off again. Car is not maintaining oil.
Incident date: Sep 11, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that after reversing out of the driveway and then accelerating forward at approximately 30-40 MPH, the vehicle started losing motive power. The speed was reduced to approximately 20 MPH and the vehicle failed to exceed 20 MPH. The check engine warning light started blinking. The contact stated that while on the way to the dealer, while the ve... Read more
MINI
COOPER COUNTRYMAN
(2011) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 13, 2023
Incident date: Sep 6, 2023
The contact called on behalf of his daughter-in-law who owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing abnormal oil consumption. The contact stated that the vehicle owner had been adding a quart of oil to the vehicle every week. The contact's mechanic informed the contact that the VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling). ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 6, 2023
Not to long after I purchased the car I have to put oil in the car every 4 to 5 weeks.Sometimes the motor sounds like it’s going to blow.The car slows down and sounds loud.Never once has a oil light turned on.When I checked the oil it doesn’t appear on the stick.
Incident date: Sep 6, 2023
Not to long after I purchased the car I have to put oil in the car every 4 to 5 weeks.Sometimes the motor sounds like it’s going to blow.The car slows down and sounds loud.Never once has a oil light turned on.When I checked the oil it doesn’t appear on the stick.
Incident date: Sep 11, 2023
The contact owns a 2010 Kia Forte. The contact stated while driving at approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle stalled. On two other occasions, the vehicle shut off and the driver was able to steer the vehicle off the roadway. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that there was no oil in the engine. The independent mechanic in... Read more
Incident date: Jun 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that while his wife was driving approximately 65 MPH, the oil pressure warning light illuminated. The engine reduced power warning light was also illuminated. The vehicle decelerated to 5 MPH and the contact was able to pull over. The driver allowed the vehicle to cool down. The vehicle was restated; however, the warning lights remained ill... Read more
Incident date: Jun 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to coast off the roadway. The contact unaware of any warning lights being illuminated. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after numerous attempts. The contact drove the vehicle to a dealer however, the vehicle failed to accelerate above 20 MPH. T... Read more
Incident date: Sep 11, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at unknown speeds, coolant was leaking into the engine cylinder. The vehicle was sputtering. The vehicle overheated and failed to restart. The "Engine Fault - Service Soon" message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the engine block needed to be replaced. The vehicle was no... Read more
Incident date: Aug 25, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The vehicle was diagnosed with coolant leaking into the engine cylinder. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but p... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 12, 2023
Incident date: May 17, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle started to lose motive power. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal, but the engine failed to respond as needed. The contact pulled off the roadway and stopped and could not restart the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent dealer and the ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 19, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the coolant warning light illuminated. The contact then stated that the coolant level was low. Additionally, the contact stated that within two months, she had added coolant to the vehicle twice. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic where the vehicle was given a tune-up and the cont... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle shuddered abnormally before stalling. The contact waited for a while before restarting the vehicle; however, while driving, the failure recurred with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed and it was determined that coolant was leaking i... Read more
Incident date: Aug 13, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact coasted to the side of the road and stopped the vehicle. The contact stated restarted the vehicle after several attempts. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated there was white smoke coming from the exhaust. The contact stated that the fa... Read more
Incident date: Sep 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the spark plugs, and ignition coils were replaced. After the repair, the engine started to misfire and jerk while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was discovered that coolant had leaked into t... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that there was coolant intrusion into the engine cylinders. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The dealer was contacted and stated that vehicle needed to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not r... Read more
Incident date: Jul 30, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the low coolant warning light was displayed on the instrument panel with heavy white smoke coming from the tailpipe. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was discovered that coolant had leaked into cylinder #3, causing engine failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that ther... Read more
Incident date: Sep 4, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V597000 (Air Bags, Seat Belts). Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle failed to start on two occasions. The vehicle was towed to the dealer on both occasions, and the dealer determined that rodents had consumed the electrica... Read more
Incident date: Aug 11, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 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 dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that ... Read more
FORD
FUSION HYBRID
(2018) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 11, 2023
Incident date: Sep 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle decelerated inadvertently, failed to respond upon depressing the brake pedal, and lost motive power. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact was unable to pull to the side of the road. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the dealer, where the EGR valve was... Read more
Incident date: Sep 9, 2023
Our ford escape has been leaking coolant excessively and is experiencing intermittent over-heating of the cylinder head. Ford has a recall for this matter however our local ford dealership refuses to service our vehicle, there are also two other recalls that they are refusing to acknowledge.
Incident date: Sep 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was hesitating and sputtering and was consuming an excessive amount of coolant. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who informed the contact that the vehicle was leaking coolant into the engine block. The contact stated that DTC Code:... Read more
Incident date: Sep 7, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Audi Q5. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, there was an abnormal burning odor inside the cabin of the vehicle. The contact checked the oil and coolant levels and became aware that the coolant level was very low. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that after filling the coolant reservoir the odor went away. The contact stated that... Read more
Incident date: Sep 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle as shaking and vibrating abnormally with the check engine warning light flashing on and off. The contact stated that there was swishing liquid sound coming from the dashboard. Additionally, the engine was overheating. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the engine had e... Read more
Incident date: Sep 8, 2023
Known common problem of coolant leaking into engine and ford says they will only replace up to 84,000 miles. This is clearly a dangerous manufacturing flaw.
Incident date: Sep 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 22V406000 (Fuel System, Diesel) and 23V411000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The con... Read more
Incident date: Aug 31, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle shuddered and stalled while accelerating. The transmission also shifted hard, and the vehicle shook abnormally. The vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of oil. The vehicle was overheating. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was d... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2006 Toyota Corolla Matrix. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the check engine warning light and the battery warning light illuminated, and the vehicle lost motive power. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and pull over on the side of the road safely where the vehicle shut off again and failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who state... Read more
Incident date: Aug 28, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the vehicle was idling, the vehicle started to shake and then shut off, and inadvertently manually restarted. The check engine warning light and the coolant temperature warning light was illuminated. A message displayed on the instrument panel “Please Pull Over”. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that c... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, there was smoke coming from the engine. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The vehicle was diagnosed, and it was determined that coolant was leaking into the engine. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and determine... Read more
Incident date: Aug 31, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while the vehicle was idling, the engine overheated. The temperature gauge increased to HOT. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The high-temperature indicator light was flashing, and the fan was engaged. The vehicle was running rough. There was white smoke coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 25, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the electric power steering (EPS) warning light illuminated, displaying the message "Steering assist Might be Inoperable". The contact stated that following the message being displayed, the vehicle overheated. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure had since become a re... Read more
Incident date: Feb 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while stopped at a traffic signal and accelerating to approximately 20 MPH to cross the intersection, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to shift into park(P) and restart the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent; however, several times after stalling, several ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 7, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the coolant temperature warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine had failed and needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the dealer referenced TSB: 22-22229. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the... Read more
Incident date: Sep 7, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while having an alignment performed at an independent mechanic, the contact was informed there was no oil in the engine. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The contact was checking the oil level daily. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that her husband checked the oi... Read more
Incident date: Sep 6, 2023
The contact's sister owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, that the vehicle hesitated. Due to the failure, the vehicle was towed to a dealer where the mechanic discovered that coolant had intruded into cylinder #1. Upon investigation, the contact thought that the vehicle would be covered under a Customer Satisfaction Program; however, the dealer informed him ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 22, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle hesitated while attempting to accelerate. The contact stopped at a traffic light and the vehicle became inoperable. There were several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V064000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The vehicle was d... Read more
Incident date: Sep 3, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Mustang. The contact stated that approximately 3 to 4 times while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle overheated and then stalled without warning. The failure had occurred at various speeds. The contact stated that the failure had escalated to the point where the vehicle was no longer drivable. The contact had the vehicle towed to the dealer who diagnosed with c... Read more
Incident date: May 17, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while the vehicle was idling at a stop light, the vehicle started to shake. The coolant temperature warning light was illuminated. The contact then stated that while operating the air conditioning system, hot air started to blow from the vents. The contact stated that she was concerned for her safety. The vehicle was taken to an independ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 3, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined there was coolant intrusion into the engine, causing engine damage. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure... Read more