Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,245,377 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA, including 140,173 crashes, 56,794 fires, and 8,580 deaths.
What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?
A consumer complaint is a free-form report filed by a vehicle owner directly to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) describing a safety concern about their vehicle. NHTSA collects these reports through its Vehicle Owner Defect Report (VOQ) system and publishes them publicly. Each complaint includes the affected component, the date and circumstances of the incident, whether the failure caused a crash or fire, and any reported injuries or deaths. The owner's full narrative description is included verbatim, NHTSA does not edit or moderate the descriptions.
The database below contains over 2,245,377 individual complaints. NHTSA's investigators monitor it for clusters of similar reports, when enough owners describe the same failure mode on the same vehicle, NHTSA may open a Preliminary Evaluation that can lead to a recall. Many of the largest recalls in U.S. history, including the Takata airbag recall and the Hyundai/Kia engine fire recalls, started as patterns visible in this complaint database years before they became formal recalls.
How to interpret what you read
A few principles for reading consumer complaints usefully:
- One complaint is anecdote; a hundred similar complaints is data. NHTSA does not investigate the truthfulness of any individual report, that's the job of the Office of Defects Investigation, which looks at the full pattern. When evaluating a vehicle, look for whether multiple owners describe the same chain of events.
- Crash, fire, injury, and death flags are owner-set. They are not verified by NHTSA. They are still useful as a filter, because owners who tick those boxes are typically reporting more serious incidents than those who don't.
- Component categories are NHTSA-assigned, not owner-assigned. NHTSA standardizes the component field so that complaints can be aggregated. The owner narrative often goes into more detail than the component category captures.
- Complaint volume scales with sales volume. A best-selling model will accumulate more raw complaints than a niche model even at the same defect rate. To compare across vehicles, look at complaints per 100,000 units sold, not raw counts.
If you've experienced a defect
File a complaint. NHTSA's investigators rely on this database to detect emerging defects, and useful complaints, specific, concrete, with dates and mileage and clear descriptions of what happened, feed directly into the agency's pattern detection. The form takes about 10 minutes and is at nhtsa.gov/recalls under "Report a Safety Problem." Your complaint becomes part of the same public record that this page is built from. Owners filing detailed VOQs are how recalls get triggered.
Read more from our blog
Showing 40,899 complaints - component: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Incident date: Dec 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started, he observed a knocking sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that the knocking lasted for approximately three to four seconds and then disappeared. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the cam phasers needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manu... Read more
Incident date: Dec 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the temperature gauge indicated that the engine was overheating, and the vehicle briefly shuddered. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed failures with the head gasket and turbo charger. The vehicle was not repaired. The manuf... Read more
Incident date: Dec 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated to accelerate while driving uphill. Additionally, the engine was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the catalytic converter had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. While driving approximately 3... Read more
Incident date: Dec 7, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Lincoln MKC. The contact stated that coolant was leaking into the engine. Additionally, the brakes were firm while being depressed. The contact stated that the battery was replaced. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The contact stated that th... Read more
Incident date: Dec 7, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the transmission and the engine had failed, and both needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included in N... Read more
Incident date: Dec 7, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that the check engine warning light illuminated while the vehicle was idling. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who stated that the pump was leaking. The mechanic stated that the engine block was running rich. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacture... Read more
Incident date: Nov 29, 2023
The contact's company owns a 2018 Ford Transit. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the tow company mechanic, where it was diagnosed that coolant intrusion in the engine had caused the engine to seize. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and info... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was driving rough and would not properly accelerate with the odor of coolant present inside the vehicle. The contact diagnosed the vehicle with a misfire due to coolant leaking into cylinder #4. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The local dealer and ... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
CLA 250
(2019) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Dec 6, 2023
Incident date: Nov 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the message "High Temperature - Stop Engine" was displayed. The contact pulled to the side of the road and turned off the vehicle temporarily. The contact stated that she restarted the vehicle and was able to continue driving. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred while driving. The vehicle was taken to the deal... Read more
Incident date: Dec 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, an unknown warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local Pep Boys, where it was diagnosed and determined that the EVAP system was leaking. The vehicle was not repaired. An unknown dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred th... Read more
Incident date: Dec 6, 2022
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Camry. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, he became aware that the heater was not working. The contact later checked under the hood and observed that the coolant reservoir was empty. The contact refilled the coolant reservoir and checked for any leaks or puddles of coolant underneath the vehicle but found no evidence of a coolant leak. The contact... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 BMW 430I. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the low coolant level warning light illuminated on the instrument panel, prompting the contact to refill the coolant reservoir. However, within two weeks, the failure reoccurred. After a visual inspection of the engine compartment, the contact observed an abnormally low coolant level. The vehicle was t... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving approximately 3 MPH, the vehicle stalled, and failed to restart. The contact stated that prior to the vehicle stalling, an unknown warning light had flashed on the instrument panel. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was of... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2014) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Dec 6, 2023
Incident date: Dec 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 40 MPH, the engine seized. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle shut off. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the engine had seized and needed to be replaced. The contact was informed that there was metal in the intake and exhaust cam shaft. There were metal shavings i... Read more
Incident date: Oct 2, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact stated that the power steering and power brake functionality were still operable. The contact pulled the vehicle over and attempted to restart the vehicle however, after several attempts he stopped. The contact stated no warning light was ill... Read more
Incident date: Dec 2, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle started to shake violently 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 long block, requiring a replacement of the engine. After investigating the failure... Read more
Incident date: Dec 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was later driven to a local mechanic who diagnosed that the failure was related to an emissions failure. No further information was provided. The contact stated that the vehicle had stalled on multiple occasions. The manufacture... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that there was an abnormal rattling sound while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was driven to the dealer however, the failure was not duplicated. The contact stated that there was an abnormal sound that was intermittent but beca... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
TIGUAN
(2017) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Dec 5, 2023
Incident date: Mar 10, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while depressing the accelerator pedal, there was a delay before the vehicle would operate as needed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who replaced the fuel pump and the sensor crank shaft tone wheel. The failure reoccurred and became a persistent failure. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 22V406000 (Fuel Syst... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the low oil pressure warning light illuminated. The contact inspected the oil level and noticed that the oil level was normal. The vehicle was towed to several independent mechanics to be diagnosed. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that an unknown belt had fractured, which led to t... Read more
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2019) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Dec 5, 2023
Incident date: Nov 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, he heard an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact observed that the temperature gauge was indicating that the engine was overheating. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was losing motive power and was able to p... Read more
Incident date: Dec 4, 2021
The contact owns a 2018 Acura MDX. The contact was notified by a relative of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (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 and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair... Read more
Incident date: Nov 29, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated, and the vehicle eventually stalled. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that coolant was present inside the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer... Read more
Incident date: Dec 2, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle was driving rough. The contact stated that the vehicle was overheating. The contact noticed white smoke coming from the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion into the short block. The ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 4, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the temperature gauge indicated that the vehicle was overheating, and the contact heard an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, and it was determined that the engine block had cracked due to coolant intrusi... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2020) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Dec 1, 2023
Incident date: Nov 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, there was a coolant odor coming into the cabin while the vehicle idling or running. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that there was coolant leaking into cylinders #1 and #3. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehi... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the low oil pressure waring light illuminated, and the vehicle lost motive power. The contact was able to coast to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed the vehicle with engine failure. The contact was info... Read more
Incident date: Mar 14, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a misfire in cylinder #2 caused by coolant intrusion into the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the fail... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2020
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced a rough start. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where DTC Code: P0301 was retrieved. The dealer determined that there was coolant intrusion into the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to Ford Campaign Number: 19-2208. The manufact... Read more
HONDA
CR-V HYBRID
(2023) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Dec 1, 2023
Incident date: Oct 21, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving from a complete stop, the low oil pressure warning light illuminated. The contact continued driving; however, the vehicle started making an abnormal knocking sound while approaching her residence. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Action ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the vehicle was idling rough. The contact stated that the vehicle was shuddering and nearly stalled. The contact stated that while depressing the accelerator pedal the vehicle hesitated before driving forward. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the f... Read more
Incident date: Jan 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the temperature gauge started to indicate that the engine was overheating. The ABS and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000 (... Read more
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 15, 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 30, 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 23, 2023
I’ve heard many complaints that the oil filter housing on the 2014 jeeps and up have had cracking problems
Incident date: Nov 23, 2023
I’ve heard many complaints that the oil filter housing on the 2014 jeeps and up have had cracking problems
Incident date: Nov 15, 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: Nov 26, 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: Jul 1, 2022
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 19, 2022
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 27, 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
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2014) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Nov 29, 2023
Incident date: Nov 19, 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: Nov 28, 2023
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
Incident date: Nov 23, 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
MITSUBISHI
OUTLANDER
(2015) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Nov 28, 2023
Incident date: Nov 11, 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
Incident date: Nov 28, 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: Nov 25, 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: Mar 28, 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