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
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS
(2018) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jul 11, 2023
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Veloster. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled, and the check engine warning light illuminated and remained illuminated. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was n... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was a coolant intrusion into the engine, and the engine needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact to tow the vehicle to another dealer for a secon... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2017) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jul 11, 2023
Incident date: Jul 10, 2023
The contact owned a 2020 Infiniti Q60. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH during a rainstorm and attempting to change lanes, the vehicle inadvertently accelerated, prompting the contact to attempt to slow the vehicle. As a result, the vehicle hydroplaned to the left, colliding with the vehicle in that lane on the driver's side door panel. The contact stated that the impact caused the ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jul 9, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the engine overheated. There were no warning lights illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 116,766.
Incident date: Jul 7, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Mercedes-Benz CLA250. The contact stated that coolant was leaking from the engine with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the mechanic replaced the coolant reservoir cap. Several months later, the warning light re-appeared, and the contact topped off the coolant level and the warning light disappeared. Recently... Read more
Incident date: Jun 30, 2023
The contact’s friend owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact who is an independent mechanic, stated that the vehicle was inspected due to an oil leak. The contact determined that the cylinder head had cracked, causing the oil leak. The contact determined that the cylinder head needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The local dealer was not notified of the failure. The contact was unsu... Read more
Incident date: Jul 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that coolant was leaking into engine. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was appr... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
E350
(2013) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jul 10, 2023
Incident date: Jul 20, 2022
The contact owns a 2008 Honda Civic. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, there was smoke coming from underneath the hood, and the vehicle was overheating. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact pulled into a gas station, where her son added coolant to the vehicle. The contact was able to drive to her destination. Additionally, the contact stated that upon parking the vehicle, she... Read more
Incident date: Jul 10, 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 contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while attempting to res... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
JETTA
(2014) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jul 10, 2023
Incident date: Jun 21, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V406000 (Fuel System, Diesel) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated while driving 64 MPH, the vehicle stalled inadvertently. An unknown warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The vehicle failed to restart after s... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS
(2023) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jul 10, 2023
Incident date: May 23, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that coolant had leaked into the engine and that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was provided a case num... Read more
Incident date: Jul 7, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Land Rover Range Rover Velar. The contact stated that coolant was leaking on the ground underneath the vehicle. The low coolant level warning light was illuminated. There was oil in the oil pan. There was smoke under the hood. The contact was adding coolant daily. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contac... Read more
Incident date: Jul 7, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Edge. The contact stated that an excessive amount of coolant was leaking from the engine. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the mechanic discovered a white, milky residue on the oil cap. A code reader was used which determined that coolant had leaked into cylinder #3. The contact was informed that the head gasket needed to be replaced. The mechanic... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the engine was misfiring. Additionally, coolant had leaked into cylinder #2, and that the long block needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the... Read more
Incident date: May 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was white smoke coming from underneath the hood of the vehicle, and the vehicle would not properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. The check engine light warning light illuminated, and the low coolant message was displayed. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The loca... Read more
Incident date: Apr 28, 2023
The contact owns a 2008 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while idling at a stop sign, the RPMs dropped extremely low, and the vehicle stalled. After a visual inspection, the contact observed white smoke coming from the engine compartment and a coolant leak underneath the vehicle. Upon restarting the vehicle, the vehicle seemed to return to normal functionality. The contact stated that the ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 28, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact became aware of an excessive amount of fluid underneath the vehicle. Additionally, the vehicle started to overheat. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who informed the contact that the HVAC system had caused the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the fai... Read more
Incident date: Jun 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Mercedes-Benz GL350. The contact stated that while inspecting the vehicle, there was oil leaking underneath the vehicle. Additionally, the check engine warning light was illuminated while operating the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the oil cooler seals were faulty and needed to be replaced. The seals were ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 3, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that coolant had leaked into the engine, caused by the eco boost system. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referre... Read more
Incident date: Jun 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Lincoln MKC. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate however, the engine overheated. Additionally, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the fail... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2021
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the engine overheated message was displayed. The contact stated that he decelerated to 45 MPH and continued driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that cylinder #2 and #3 had cracked, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the fai... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that coolant was leaking from the engine and the temperature gauge indicated that the engine was hot. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the water pump was replaced; however, the contact stated that the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and the contact was informed that the water pump had failed again. Th... Read more
Incident date: Jul 29, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle decelerated and stalled. Additionally, the check engine warning light and other unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who informed the contact that there were metal fragments inside the engine and that the failure was related to NHTSA C... Read more
Incident date: Jun 30, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and drive to her residence. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic, where the vehicle was diagnosed, and it was determined that the housing unit and the thermostat needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but continued to experience ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the message that the engine was overheating was displayed. The vehicle stalled and would not immediately restart. The vehicle was taken to the local service center who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and dete... Read more
Incident date: Jun 28, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V406000 (Fuel System, Diesel) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact then received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V411000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The conta... Read more
Incident date: Jun 30, 2022
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle overheated while driving approximately 30-35 MPH and stalled in the middle of the road. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle only restarted after cooling down for 15-30 minutes. The contact veered to the side of the road. The contact continued driving; however, the vehicle would n... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2019) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 30, 2023
Incident date: Jun 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the DTC codes indicated that cylinder #1 and #3 were misfiring. The contact stated that a week later while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine overheated with a message to turn off the vehicle displa... Read more
Incident date: Jun 13, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an unknown speed, the low coolant warning light illuminated. The contact stated that two days later while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who informed the contact that coolant was leaking into the cylinder block causing a blown head ... Read more
Incident date: May 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that on several occasions while the vehicle was parked, the contact observed condensation underneath the front of the vehicle. The engine temperature warning light remained illuminated while the check engine warning light was illuminated on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that s... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2010) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 29, 2023
Incident date: Feb 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the engine misfired, causing the vehicle to jerk while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact also stated that white colored smoke was coming from the exhaust pipe with the check engine light illuminated. The vehicle was initially taken to an independent mechanic who discovered that coolant had lea... Read more
Incident date: Mar 13, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the check engine warning light illuminated with a burning odor and a knocking sound coming from the engine compartment before the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was later driven to the local dealer who discovered metal shavings inside the engine and engine oil and informed the contact that the engine nee... Read more
Incident date: Feb 13, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was jerking while depressing the accelerator pedal with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was initially taken to an independent mechanic where spark plug #3 and engine coil were replaced. The failure recurred and the same parts were replaced a second time. The contact then disco... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2018) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 28, 2023
Incident date: May 31, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 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 and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufa... Read more
Incident date: Jun 23, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that her daughter was unable to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to a nearby independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine had s... Read more
Incident date: Jul 27, 2021
The contact owns a 2015 Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving 75 MPH and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power; however, the contact was able to safely maneuver the vehicle to the shoulder of the roadway. The battery warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer to be diagnosed. The mechanic determined there was a failure with the crank pos... Read more
Incident date: Jun 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle stalled inadvertently. The contact was unable to veer to the side of the road and turned on the hazard lights. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after several minutes; however, the failure recurred every 2 miles. The vehicle was taken... Read more
Incident date: Jun 25, 2021
The contact's partner owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while his partner was driving 40 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the temperature gauge started rising. The driver stated the vehicle started to vibrate and lost motive power while attempting to accelerate. The driver continued driving to the residence. The contact inspected the vehicle and noticed the engine sho... Read more
Incident date: Jun 22, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated, and the vehicle drove rough. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that coolant had leaked into the engine and the engine long block needed to be replaced. The vehicle was later taken to the local dealer who confirmed that coolant had leake... Read more
NISSAN
ROGUE SPORT
(2020) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 23, 2023
Incident date: Jun 19, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 5 MPH the braking system suddenly activated causing the vehicle to abruptly stop. Smoke was then seen coming from under the front end of the vehicle. After the contact exited the vehicle flames and smoke began to engulf the vehicle. The fire department was called to the scene and extinguished the flames. The v... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Jun 22, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Kia Seltos. The contact stated that while attempting to drive away from a stop light at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle was slow to accelerate. The contact stated that the failure had occurred on several occasions. No warning lights were illuminated prior to the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the mechanic was unable to determine the cause of the fai... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2017) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 23, 2023
Incident date: Jun 23, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, a message that the engine was overheating and would soon shut down was displayed. The vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact was able to pull over on the side of the road and checked under the hood and noticed that the coolant level was low. The contact added coolant, and the vehicle operated normally. The de... Read more
Incident date: Feb 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the local dealer for an alternator replacement. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle was serviced at 45,000 however, upon retrieval of the vehicle, the mileage was 29,000. While driving, the idle START/STOP became inoperable. The radio failed to shut off and caused the battery to be dr... Read more
Incident date: Jun 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while his daughter was driving approximately 60 MPH, the check engine light illuminated, and the vehicle started losing motive power and was running rough and vibrating. The contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the failure was due to coolant intrusion into the cylinders and advised the contact to take th... Read more
Incident date: Jun 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle started overheating. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to drive the vehicle to the residence. The contact checked the coolant level and noticed that the coolant level was low. The contact added coolant, but the failure continued, with the check engine warning light illuminated. The ve... Read more
CHRYSLER
TOWN AND COUNTRY
(2016) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 22, 2023
Incident date: Jun 20, 2023
The contact’s wife owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle was overheating after driving 20-25 miles. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that coolant was leaking into the cylinders, causing the vehicle to overheat. The independent mechanic diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. Th... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2020 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle made abnormal sounds. The contact stated that the vehicle started independently, and the Driver Assist function engaged independently. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle was swerving unintendedly and would vibrate while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, an abnormal knocking sound started with the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the oil level was extremely low. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to service recall NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V727000 (Engine); ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 4, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 MPH, the vehicle started shaking and vibrating abnormally. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. There was no warning light illuminated before the vehicle lost motive power and the power steering and brakes failed to operate as intended. The contact stated that the ve... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 21, 2023
Incident date: Jun 21, 2023
The contact owned a 2022 Chevrolet Silverado 3500. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH and towing a trailer, the vehicle made an abnormal popping sound as if the transmission was jumping in and out of gear, and the vehicle lunged forward. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact stated he heard a loud roaring sound coming from the engine as ... Read more
Fire