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.

2,215,138 Total Complaints

138,663 Reported Crashes

56,255 Reported Fires

8,561 Reported 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

How to Read NHTSA Consumer Complaints › How NHTSA Investigations Work › Used Car: 7 Recall Checks to Run First › The Takata Airbag Recall: Full Story › OBD-II Codes Explained › All Articles ›

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Showing 40,517 complaints — component: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

Incident date: Sep 5, 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while her husband was driving 45 MPH, the engine overheated warning alert indicated that he should stop driving the vehicle. After a visual inspection of the engine compartment, he observed that the coolant level was abnormally low. After refilling the coolant reservoir, the vehicle seemed to return to normal functionality, but the failu... Read more

Incident date: Aug 30, 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the “Low Coolant” message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, no cause for the failure was found. The contact added coolant however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and a case was filed. The failu... Read more

Incident date: Jun 17, 2023

The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the engine overheating warning light illuminated. The contact stated that prior to the failure, the vehicle had received an oil change and the coolant reservoir was topped off. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with coolant leaking into the cylinder and that the engine needed to be replaced. The ... Read more

Incident date: Aug 8, 2023

The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who found that there was little engine oil in the vehicle an... Read more

Incident date: Sep 2, 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving 60-70 MPH, a message indicating that the vehicle was overheating and to pull over was displayed. The contact veered to the side of the road and allowed the engine to cool down. The contact continued driving, however, the vehicle was not accelerating as needed. The contact stated that the failure recurred 7-8 times within on... Read more

Incident date: Feb 5, 2023

On August 10th 2023 while traveling at highway speed on Il Rt 80, The vehicle started shaking violently. There was heavy vibration coming from the engine, & service engine light began to flash. Car was pulled off the road immediately into a gas station. This incident was abrupt, Isolated & nothing prior indicated an issue. My daughter and her friend were in the vehicle and very fortunate to have s... Read more

Incident date: Sep 1, 2023

Incident date: Jul 18, 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 repairs. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The c... Read more

Incident date: Sep 1, 2023

The contact's wife owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had persisted. The contact stated that there was white smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe while starting the vehicle. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the coolant temperature warning light illu... Read more

Incident date: Aug 21, 2023

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle hesitated, and lost motive power. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that coolant intrusion had caused damage to cylinder #1. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was no... Read more

Incident date: Sep 1, 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 not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that ... Read more

Incident date: Jul 20, 2022

The contact owns a 2008 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The message that the engine was overheated was displayed. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that coolant had leaked into the compression chamber and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufactur... Read more

Incident date: Jul 12, 2023

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the "overheat stop vehicle" warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle began to lose forward momentum and she managed to pull over and turn the vehicle off. The contact stated that she waited about 20 minutes and turned the vehicle back on. The contact stated that the "overheat" warn... Read more

Incident date: Aug 30, 2023

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the check engine and the power train warning lights illuminated, and the vehicle suddenly stalled. The vehicle was towed to the residence and was later diagnosed by an independent mechanic. The independent mechanic determined that there was coolant intrusion into the engine, causing a misfire in cylinder #1... Read more

Incident date: Aug 31, 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the message "Coolant System Temperature Above" was displayed, and the vehicle stalled. An unknown dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the engine had failed and needed to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufactur... Read more

Incident date: Jun 23, 2023

The contact owns a 2107 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle vibrated violently, and the engine seemed to misfire. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined there was coolant intrusion into the engine resulting in damage to the engine, requiring replacement of the head gasket. ... Read more

Incident date: Aug 25, 2023

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving approximately 25-28 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who determined that coolant was leaking into the engine. The dealer diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced due to a misfire in cylinder #2 and #3. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The v... Read more

Incident date: Aug 8, 2023

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving 40–50 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where the engine coils were replaced, and a coolant flush was completed. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was coolant leaking ... Read more

Incident date: Aug 28, 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started, the vehicle was idling roughly and shaking. The contact stated that he checked the fluids in the engine compartment and became aware that the coolant reservoir was empty after being recently filled. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with coolant leaking into cylinder #2. The contact wa... Read more

Incident date: Jun 28, 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V411000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) and 22V406000 (Fuel System, Diesel) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. An undisclosed dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable a... Read more

Incident date: Jun 30, 2023

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the thermostat was reading high. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed and it was determined that the failure was with the spark plug in cylinder #3. The spark plug was replaced; however, the failure recurred the following day. The vehicle was not ... Read more

Incident date: Aug 27, 2023

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at an undisclosed speed, the low coolant warning light illuminated. After a visual inspection, he observed an abnormally low coolant level. Upon refilling the coolant reservoir, he observed a coolant leak. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the water pump. The vehicle was not r... Read more

Incident date: Aug 22, 2023

The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a ratting sound coming from under the hood. The contact stated that while the accelerator pedal was depressed, the vehicle inadvertently decelerated. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to Pep Boys where it was diagnosed and determined that the catalytic converter... Read more

Incident date: Aug 28, 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V406000 (Fuel System, Diesel), 23V411000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) and 20V699000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. An undisclosed dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the m... Read more

Incident date: Aug 4, 2023

The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who stated that the catalytic converter needed to be replaced. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and stated that the catalytic converter and the engine needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the remedy for NHTSA Campaig... Read more

Incident date: Feb 17, 2021

- The car did not start and we were left stranded in an unsafe place. When I turned the car on I immediately saw and error saying "Conditions not correct for shift" and then it wouldn't turn back off - safety was at risk because it was super hot and my 5 year old with autism could not make it home in our own car - not taken to dealer however many reports on social media for the same issue. [XXX] ... Read more

Incident date: Sep 1, 2022

The contact owns a 2016 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 unavailable. The contact stated while driving approximately 10 MPH and entering a parking lot, the vehicle stalled. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact was unable t... Read more

Incident date: Jun 24, 2023

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced rough starting, an engine misfire, with the check engine warning light remaining illuminated while driving. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who determined there was a crack in cylinder #2, causing coolant intrusion into the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle... Read more

Incident date: Aug 11, 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Mazda CX-9. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, he noticed an abnormal odor inside the vehicle. Upon inspecting the vehicle, the contact found a trail of coolant. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who confirmed that coolant was leaking, and referred the contact to the dealer for a diagnostic test. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufactu... Read more

Incident date: Aug 24, 2023

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while parked with the engine idling the message "Engine Too Hot to Operate" was displayed and the engine temperature gauge indicated that the engine had overheated. The vehicle was towed to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the water pump and timing chain were faulty and needed to be replaced. The water pump and timing chain were r... Read more

Incident date: May 5, 2023

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. After a visual inspection of the engine compartment, the contact observed an excessive loss of coolant. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that the engine was damaged due to coolant intrusion. The vehicle was n... Read more

Incident date: Aug 23, 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle overheated. The message "Vehicle Running Hot” was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion in cylinder #3. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000. Th... Read more

Incident date: Aug 15, 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while her son was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle began to overheat intermittently, prompting the driver to pull to the side of the roadway, where the failure persisted. The check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who determined that the head gasket had failed. The vehicle wa... Read more

Incident date: Aug 21, 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated the check engine warning light illuminated and the vehicle hesitated while attempting to accelerate. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that coolant was leaking into the engine. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that there was n... Read more

Incident date: Aug 22, 2023

The contact owns a 2014 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, there was coolant leaking onto the ground. The vehicle was diagnosed by an independent mechanic however, the cause of the failure could not be determined. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the vehicle was not included in a recall. The fai... Read more

Incident date: Jun 20, 2023

The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, there was an abnormally loud popping or banging sound coming from the engine compartment and the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the power steering was inoperable however, the braking system was functional. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The contact coasted the vehicle off ... Read more

Incident date: Mar 15, 2023

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the engine power was reduced, and the vehicle failed to accelerate as needed. The engine power reduced, and lower engine temperature messages were displayed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The vehicle was diagnosed by the dealer and confirmed that coolant had leaked into the cylinder. The manufacturer was made aware... Read more

Incident date: Jul 27, 2023

The contact owns a 2013 GMC Terrain. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming 1 to 3 quarts of oil for every few miles. The contact stated that the cross member was covered in oil. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the timing chain had jumped and there was no compression in the engine. The contact was informed that the rod bearings were damaged. The ve... Read more

Incident date: Aug 21, 2023

The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the check engine and the check oil warning lights illuminated, and the vehicle stalled. The contact pulled over and stopped the vehicle. The contact placed the vehicle in park (P) and was able to restart the vehicle. The contact stated that she drove the vehicle to a local dealer who added oil and changed t... Read more

Incident date: Aug 22, 2023

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle started overheating. The contact pulled over on the side of the road and waited until the vehicle cool down and added coolant to the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who stated that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was c... Read more

Incident date: Aug 22, 2022

The contact owns a 2014 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic who diagnosed and determined that the catalytic converter and the up and down screen sensors needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. Additional... Read more

Incident date: Aug 20, 2023

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the check engine warning light illuminated at vehicle start-up. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic and the mechanic diagnosed a misfire in cylinder #4 due to coolant intrusion into the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact wa... Read more

Incident date: Aug 21, 2023

The contact owns a 2014 Ram 1500. The contact received notifications 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 local dealer was contacted, and the contact was informed that parts for the recall repairs were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue... Read more

Incident date: Mar 1, 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start up after several attempts, with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic where the spark plugs and ignition coil packs were replaced; however, the failure persisted. The contact stated that the vehicle would lose motive power while driving at various spe... Read more

Incident date: Jul 16, 2023

The contact owns a 2019 Kia Sportage. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the vehicle started to hesitate intermittently. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact continued driving to her destination and after parking the vehicle, the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnose... Read more

Incident date: Aug 17, 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while the vehicle was being serviced at an independent mechanic, the check engine warning light illuminated. The independent mechanic diagnosed that the spark plugs needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the spark plugs were replaced; however, while driving 55-65 MPH, the engine started misfiring and the vehicle was sputtering. The ch... Read more

Incident date: Aug 5, 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 20V406000 (Fuel System, Diesel) and 23V411000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was n... Read more

Incident date: May 17, 2023

The contact owns a 2017 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 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 notified of the failure. The contact had not e... Read more

Incident date: Jul 21, 2022

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the vehicle made an abnormal sound. Additionally, there was coolant leaking into the engine. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was diagnosed and confirmed the coolant was leaking into the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirme... Read more

Incident date: Apr 7, 2023

The contact owns a 2019 Ram 1500. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle, he became aware of a brown fluid leaking underneath the front of the vehicle onto the ground. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the head gasket, the radiator, the engine, and other unknown parts had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. Additionally, the contact... Read more

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Consumer Safety Complaints

What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?

How to interpret what you read

If you've experienced a defect

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