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: May 29, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated while cold starting the vehicle, the vehicle idled very rough for several minutes before operating normally. The contact stated that she became aware that the low coolant level and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and DTC codes: P0756; P1450; P0136; P0102 w... Read more
Incident date: Aug 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the spark plugs were replaced; however, the failure persisted. The contact had taken the vehicle to a dealer where it was discovered that coolant had leaked into cylinder #2. The dealer... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS
(2019) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 18, 2023
Incident date: Mar 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 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. The man... Read more
Incident date: Jun 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Jeep Compass. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle hesitated and failed to exceed 60 MPH. The RPM was fluctuating with the temperature gauge showing that the engine was overheating. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was diagnosed by the dealer however, a cause for the failure was not found. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and... Read more
Incident date: Aug 16, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle started to lose motive power with white smoke coming from the exhaust before the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that coolant had intruded into the engine cylinders causing the engine to fail. The contact was informed that the engine short block needed... Read more
Incident date: Aug 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that while driving at 75 MPH, the vehicle lost significant motive power, and he heard an abnormal knock emanating from the engine compartment. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the rod bearings. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the c... Read more
Incident date: May 7, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V411000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was 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. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2010 Hyundai Veracruz. The contact stated that his wife was unable to start the vehicle. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the alternator to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but experienced the same failure three years later. The contact took the vehicle back to the local dealer, where it was... Read more
Incident date: Aug 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Dodge 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 local dealer was contacted, and the contact was informed that parts for the recall repairs were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacture... Read more
Incident date: Jun 19, 2023
The contact's son owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated while his son was driving 50-60 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact's son veered to the side of the road. An unknown warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion in cylinder #4, and that the failure ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 16, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated the vehicle failed to start with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, she saw white smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle with an abnormal burning anti-freeze odor inside of the vehicle. The contact towed the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the engin... Read more
Incident date: Aug 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine and engine temperature warning lights illuminated; however, the contact immediately pulled over to the shoulder of the roadway and turned off the vehicle. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and safely drove to the location where the vehicle had received an oil change service ... Read more
CHEVROLET
TRAILBLAZER
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 17, 2023
Incident date: Aug 14, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 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 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 had not exper... Read more
Incident date: May 12, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 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 15 MPH, the vehicle stalled at an intersection. The contact stated that he was able to cross the intersection on momentum,... Read more
Incident date: Aug 17, 2019
The contact owns a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee. 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 dealer was made aware of the issue. The manu... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was a rattling sound present coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle failed to properly accelerate, and the vehicle stalled on several occasions. Additionally, the vehicle had experienced excessive oil consumption. The vehicle was diagnosed at the local dealer and determined that the catalytic conve... Read more
Incident date: Jun 30, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer for a recommended maintenance inspection; however, the contact stated that upon the technician inspecting the vehicle, the contact was informed that the engine short block needed to be replaced due to coolant intrusion into the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The man... Read more
Incident date: Aug 3, 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 not yet available. 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. T... Read more
Incident date: Aug 13, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 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 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. The manufacturer was m... Read more
MINI
COOPER S CLUBMAN
(2009) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 16, 2023
Incident date: Aug 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that after attempting to start the vehicle, several unknown warning lights illuminated; however, the engine failed to turn over. The contact stated that the vehicle was jumpstarted, and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, a message displayed on the instrument panel “... Read more
Incident date: Aug 2, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while the vehicle was in for maintenance, the mechanic discovered that the water pump was faulty and causing water to leak from the vehicle. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The contact also stated that on one occasion while the vehicle was idling, the message" Engine Overheating" was displayed. The cause of the failure was not yet de... Read more
Incident date: Aug 12, 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 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. The manufacturer wa... Read more
Incident date: Jul 17, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle decelerated independently without warning. The contact was able to pull over on the side of the road and examine the vehicle. The contact became aware that oil was leaking from the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and the contact was informed that the vehicle was experiencing the failure listed ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at undisclosed speeds, the contact had to remove his foot from the accelerator pedal for the vehicle to shift gear. The contact stated that while the accelerator pedal was depressed, there was a slight delay before the vehicle responded. The contact then stated that he smelled an abnormal odor from the exh... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2021
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 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. The manufacturer w... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 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 local dealer was contacted, and the contact was informed that the part for the recall repairs was not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the iss... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle started to lose motive power. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal, but the vehicle continued to lose motive power. The contact stated that there was no revving coming from the engine while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled; however, the power stee... Read more
Incident date: Aug 12, 2023
The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. Additionally, the vehicle overheated and failed to restart. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. An independent mechanic arrived to inspect the vehicle and informed the contact that the engine needed to be replaced. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Numb... Read more
Incident date: Aug 12, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that coolant had leaked into the cylinder and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was informed that the failure was referenced in TSB: 22-2229. The m... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving at approximately 35 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact also stated that the coolant reservoir needed to be constantly refilled. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic and later to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that coolant had leaked into the engine and the en... Read more
Incident date: May 16, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that he used a code reader to diagnose the vehicle and retrieved code: P0304. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was determined that coolant had leaked into cylinder #4, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not r... Read more
Incident date: Aug 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, there was a message indicating that the engine was overheating. Additionally, the contact became aware of a burning odor. The contact was able to drive to the residence and parked the vehicle in the garage. The contact then noticed that coolant was leaking onto the ground. The contact stated that coolant was added to t... Read more
Incident date: Jul 21, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Hyundai Veloster. The contact stated while her son was driving the vehicle, there was smoke coming from the engine compartment before the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The vehicle was towed back to the residence and an independent mechanic diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the engine was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. Th... Read more
Incident date: Jul 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 used to haul a 2018 Keystone Passport Ultra Lite Grand Touring. The contact stated that the thermostat in the RV failed to operate as needed. The RV was taken to the dealer, where the thermostat was replaced; however, the failure recurred. The RV was taken back to the dealer, where the thermostat was replaced a second time. Additionally, the contact stated th... Read more
Incident date: Aug 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle started to run rough. The contact stated that the vehicle was vibrating with smoke coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that the "low coolant" and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The contact stopped and had the vehicle towed to a local dealer. The dealer diagnosed... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ram 1500. The contact called and referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V475000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that while driving 60MPH, the vehicle shutoff and came to a complete stop in the passing lane. The contact was able to drive to the residence. The throttle body and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the temperature gauge indicated that the engine was overheating. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that engine was damaged due to coolant intrusion. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not r... Read more
Incident date: Aug 11, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Infiniti Q50. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 MPH, the vehicle began to overheat and smoke was present coming from under the hood. After stopping to inspect the vehicle the contact opened the hood and flames were present in the engine compartment. The contact immediately extinguished the flames using water. The vehicle was later towed to the local dea... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Jul 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the vehicle was shaking violently. The contact stated that the engine failed to turn over after several attempts while starting the vehicle. There was an abnormal rotten and sulfur odor entering the cabin of the vehicle from the front end of the vehicle. The vehicle was overheating with the check engine warning l... Read more
BOAT TRAILER
BOAT TRAILER
(9999) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 11, 2023
Incident date: Aug 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Expedition. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, and occasionally while driving at various speeds, there was a loud rattling sound coming from the front-end of the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated while responding. The contact stated there was coolant leaking from the vehicle and the check engine warning light was illuminated. Additional... Read more
Incident date: Aug 11, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle failed to properly accelerate. The contact stated that the vehicle was shuddering and vibrating. The contact stated that the engine was consuming an excessive amount of coolant. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer who diagnosed that there was coolant in cylinder #2, causing the engine block to ... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
TIGUAN
(2019) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 11, 2023
Incident date: Sep 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 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 not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacture... Read more
Incident date: Aug 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Audi Q5. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormally high whistling pitch sound coming from the vehicle. The contact had to add additional oil to the engine. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, and the contact was informed that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engin... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2015) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 10, 2023
Incident date: Aug 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle started to run rough, causing the vehicle to vibrate abnormally. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the engine failure was intermittent. The contact was unable to start the vehicle and the vehicle was towed to a dealer. The dealer diag... Read more
Incident date: Jul 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 23V411000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) and 22V406000 (Fuel System Diesel) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer... Read more
Incident date: Aug 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that when starting the vehicle, the vehicle was shaking abnormally. While driving approximately 45-50 MPH, there was a rattling sound coming from the passenger’s side rear of the vehicle. The contact stated that while turning left, there was a clicking sound coming from the passenger’s side front of the vehicle nearby the wheel. The check e... Read more
NISSAN
ROGUE SPORT
(2018) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 9, 2023
Incident date: Aug 5, 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 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 contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed s... Read more
Incident date: Aug 4, 2023
The contact owns a 2023 Maserati Grecale. The contact stated while driving at approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle started losing motive power. The coolant warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was veered to the side of the road and restarted. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 2, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle started to run rough. The contact shifted the vehicle into park(P) when she reached her destination and smelled an odor of gasoline. The contact observed that gasoline was leaking out of the fuel tank under the wheel well. The contact stated that the driveway was wet from the gaso... Read more
Incident date: Aug 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH the vehicle lost motive power and decelerated to 5 MPH. The contact depressed the accelerator and the vehicle started to vibrate but failed to respond as needed. The contact was able to drive the vehicle to her residence at 5 MPH. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred several times and the vehicle wa... Read more