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: Aug 9, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving 45-55 MPH, the A/C started blowing hot air and the vehicle was jerking. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the failure could not be duplicated; however, the failure recurred. The contact stated that coolant was added to the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure recurred severa... Read more
Incident date: Aug 4, 2023
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 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
Incident date: Jun 16, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that an engine cylinder was misfiring. The mechanic replaced the cylinder; however, the failure reoccurred. Additionally, the contact stated while driving 65-70 MPH, the vehicle made abnormal beeping sounds and decelerat... Read more
Incident date: Aug 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ram 1500. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. 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. ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 2, 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 local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 16, 2020
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the engine was misfiring. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road for 20 minutes. The contact stated that he turned off and restarted the vehicle, and the vehicle responded as needed; however, the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The contact stated that the ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Forte. The contact stated while driving at slow speeds, the vehicle stalled, with the battery and oil level warning lights flashing on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic but was not yet diagnosed. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V260000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The dealer and the manufacturer we... Read more
Incident date: May 17, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that at start-up and while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated upon depression of the accelerator pedal with the check engine warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the dealer discovered that coolant had leaked into an engine cylinder. The manufacturer was notified of the failure.... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the odor of fuel was present inside the cabin of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local automotive service center who diagnosed that the coolant reservoir and engine belts were faulty and needed to be replaced. The contact was advised to contact the local service center for repairs to be performed. T... Read more
GOODYEAR
EAGLE F1 ASYMMETIRC
(9999) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 7, 2023
Incident date: Jul 19, 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 an independent mechanic, who replaced the spark plugs. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the mechanic a second time and the cooler pack was replaced. The contact was informed there was a m... Read more
Incident date: Jul 24, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle violently jerked while accelerated. No warning lights was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the tone rings delaminated and failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact referenced the NHTSA Campaign Number 20V475000 (E... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle was shaking and rumbling. The engine coolant message was displayed. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the coolant standpipe needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 138,0... Read more
Incident date: Aug 7, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Ecosport. The contact stated that there was a loud abnormal sound coming from the vehicle at start up. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was discovered that there was coolant intrusion into the engine and there were metal shavings inside the oil pan. The engine was replaced under warranty. Since the initial failure, th... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 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 not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The manufa... Read more
Incident date: Aug 7, 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 recall repairs were not yet available. The local dealer was contacted, and the contact was informed that the parts for the recall repairs were not yet available. No information on parts availability was ... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2015) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 7, 2023
Incident date: Jul 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the check engine warning light started flashing. The contact stated that smoke was coming from underneath the hood and an abnormal knocking sound was coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that he pulled over, stopped, and had the vehicle towed to the dealer. The contact had taken the vehicle... Read more
FOREST RIVER
CHEROKEE WOLF PUP
(2024) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 7, 2023
Incident date: Aug 7, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ram1500. 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. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was intermittently illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. An undisclosed dealer was contacted... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2014) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 7, 2023
Incident date: Jun 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact took the vehicle to a dealer for routine maintenance and was informed by the service technician that the water pump was leaking coolant into an engine cylinder. The contact was provided an estimate for the repair. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.
Incident date: Jul 12, 2023
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 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 and confirmed that par... Read more
GLADIATOR
X COMP M/T
(9999) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 4, 2023
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Accent. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who stated that the vehicle was in the normal specification and declined to repair the vehicle. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approx... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle started overheating and the vehicle lost motive power. The contact was able to coast to the side of the road and saw smoke coming from the engine compartment. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who determined that the vehicle had experienced engi... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2013) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 4, 2023
Incident date: Aug 3, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that when starting the vehicle, it would vibrate and shake. The starter would fail to successfully start the vehicle intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that coolant leaking into the engine causing the engine to fail. The engine needed replacement. The failure was related to Service Bulletin NHTSA ID Number: 1021... Read more
Incident date: Jul 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Sedona. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH she had observed that the temperature gauge needle was in the "red" zone. The contact pulled over and let the vehicle cool down. The contact later drove the vehicle to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and found that the "relay" switch needed to be replaced. The mechanic also observed an engin... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V406000 (Fuel System, Diesel) and NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V411000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) also however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the i... Read more
Incident date: May 31, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated and the contact smelled a odor of burning. The contact was able to pull over into a parking lot and examined under the hood and notice that coolant had leaked. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic for diagnosis and stated that cylinder two had misfired and coolant ha... Read more
Incident date: Nov 23, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the message "Engine Overheated" displayed, and the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where an engine sensor was replaced; however, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was then towed to the local dealer, who diagnosed that the engine head had cra... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2021
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated while driving 65-70 MPH, the vehicle restarted inadvertently, and the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that coolant was leaking. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure recurred while driving. ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, there was a significant amount of white smoke coming out of the exhaust. Additionally, the vehicle idled roughly and stalled. The check engine light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming coolant excessively. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring. The dealer and the man... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2009 BMW 328i. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made an abnormally loud squeaky sound. The check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the PCV valve had failed. The vehicle was repaired under NHTSA Campaign ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2018 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, who determined that coolant was leaking into the engine, requiring an engine replacement. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assi... Read more
Incident date: Sep 19, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Jeep Renegade. The contact stated that she had received a manufacturer recall notice, Recall Number: V54 - Engine Cooling Fan (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that the dealer determined that the cooling fan was working as designed and the fan was not replaced. The contact stated while driving at 30 MPH and various speeds, and while stopped at a traffic light,... Read more
Incident date: Feb 22, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light and the coolant temperature warning light illuminated. The contact’s husband inspected under the hood of the vehicle and noticed that the coolant reservoir was empty and added coolant. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that coolant ha... Read more
Incident date: Aug 2, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while his granddaughter was driving approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that his granddaughter was not aware of any warning lights being illuminated. The contact stated that he had the vehicle towed to his residence. The contact stated that the vehicle had not been diagnosed by a dealer or independent mechanic. T... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH and attempting to accelerate uphill, the vehicle lost motive power with difficulty while shifting gears. After a visual inspection, the contact observed excessive amounts of fumes coming from the exhaust. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that the engine... Read more
Incident date: Aug 2, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Accord. The contact stated after driving 35 MPH and arriving at her destination, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The mechanic determined there was a failure with the rear main seal, causing fluid to slowly leak out from the rear main seal. The vehicle was then taken to a second independent m... Read more
Incident date: Jul 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2023 Jeep Grand Wagoneer. The contact stated while driving 75 MPH on a road trip, the vehicle made an abnormal beeping sound, failed to accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal, and lost motive power. The messages "Power Steering Service Required" and "Electronic Stability Control Service Required" were displayed. Additionally, the check engine warning light was illumin... Read more
Incident date: Jul 29, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated there was an unknown fluid leaking underneath the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the internal water pump was leaking and that the water pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was ... Read more
FORD
MUSTANG MACH E
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 1, 2023
Incident date: Jul 21, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the Collision Mitigation System, Lane Keep Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control, brakes, and seat belt warning lights were illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the RPM gauge operated as needed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact relat... Read more
Incident date: Jul 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2011 BMW X3. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact initially took the vehicle to an independent mechanic and was informed that there was an unknown sensor fault with the vehicle. The contact then took the vehicle to another independent mechanic who informed him that the camshaft bolts were loosened, and the co... Read more
Incident date: Jul 2, 2023
LT245/75R16 The fist tire failure was rear driver's side which caused a code service stable trac- this caused the vehicle to lose power and engine to die. I made home at 20mph in yraffic.I spent $500 for diagnostic check and new tire. The tire is misshapen and alerts sensor that caused engine to lose power and ultimately die. With new tire the problem was solved. But then the rear passenger tire ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 14, 2022
The contact's sister owns a 2015 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle started to overheat. After stopping, the driver noticed there was coolant leaking from the vehicle. The driver added additional coolant to the reservoir. The contact removed the water pump and noticed that the housing unit had crumbled. There were no warning lights illuminat... Read more
Incident date: Sep 20, 2021
The contact owns a 2022 Kia Carnival. The contact stated that while her daughter was inside the vehicle, the door closed on her rib cage and arm, but medical attention was not provided. Additionally, the taillights were inoperable. While driving, the vehicle stalled. While accelerating and making a turn, the vehicle hesitated and stalled. The engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was t... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Jul 21, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while his daughter was driving approximately 40-45 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle went into LIMP mode. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to exceed 5 MPH. The contact's daughter pulled into a parking lot. The contact stated that he used an OBD reader to determine that cylinder #2 was misfiring. The ve... Read more
FORD
FUSION ENERGI
(2020) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jul 31, 2023
Incident date: Jul 24, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while attempting to accelerate from a stop light, the vehicle would not immediately respond. The contact stated that the vehicle also hesitated while attempting to accelerate. Additionally, after refilling the coolant reservoir, the coolant reservoir was empty after three days. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufac... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ID.4
(2021) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jul 31, 2023
Incident date: Feb 10, 2022
The contact's daughter owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the engine overheated with the check engine warning light illuminated. Upon inspection, the contact discovered that the coolant reservoir was empty. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed with a blown head gasket. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehi... Read more
Incident date: Jul 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to a certified mechanic who after 3 days diagnosed and determined there was coolant intrusion into cylinder #2. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact spoke with the dealer and was informed that ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 4, 2023
The contact’s son owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while her son was driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle decelerated while the accelerator pedal was depressed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that coolant had leaked into the engine, and the engine needed to be replaced.... Read more
Incident date: May 25, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power, prompting him to pull over to the shoulder over the roadway. The engine overheating warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact linked the ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 3, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Lincoln MKC. The contact stated that while parked with the engine idling, the engine inadvertently revved. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the low coolant warning light illuminated. The contact noticed a cloud of white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. Additionally, the contact’s husband stated that after his wife turned the vehicle around... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 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, 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 made aware of the issue. The contact had not exp... Read more