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: Feb 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the transmission was slipping between the lower gears. Additionally, the contact stated that the trunk open warning light was intermittently illuminated while the truck was closed. The contact also stated that while driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The vehicle failed to... Read more
MERCEDES-MAYBACH
S 580
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Mar 1, 2023
Incident date: Mar 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated, and steam was coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that a fluid leak was seen underneath the vehicle while parked. The coolant reservoir was refilled. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer to be serviced under NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2019
The contact owns a 2008 BMX X3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (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 local dealer was notified of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available for the r... Read more
Incident date: Feb 25, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, she heard a knocking sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the noise was intermittent at first but had become almost constant and would occur at various speeds. The contact stated that she recently saw white smoke coming fr... Read more
Incident date: Jan 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Honda Accord. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle started losing motive power. The contact stated that the "check oil" warning light was illuminated. The contact slowed the vehicle down and drove it to the dealer. The contact stated that when she pulled into the parking lot, she heard a loud popping sound coming from the engine compartment. Th... Read more
Incident date: Nov 11, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle started losing motive power. The contact depressed accelerator and the vehicle continued to lose motive power. The contact stated that she observed a large cloud of white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was blinking off and on. The conta... Read more
Incident date: Feb 23, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V209000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact was informed by the dealer that a coolant sensor would be placed inside the vehicle to remedy the recall. Since the recall, the coolant warning light would frequently appear on the instrument panel. The contact was then informed by the dealer to freque... Read more
Incident date: Feb 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the coolant warning light illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic where the coolant was topped off; however, the failure returned soon after the repair. The contact took the vehicle to a dealer where it was discovered that coolant had leaked into an engine cylinder which led t... Read more
Incident date: Dec 5, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Juke. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle decelerated to 58 MPH unintendedly. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to continue driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the PCV valve was replaced; however, the failure persisted. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. The vehic... Read more
Incident date: Feb 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle started to stall. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic test, and the dealer stated that the catalytic converter needed to be replaced, and that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was no... Read more
Incident date: Feb 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle inside her garage, there was an abnormal smoke odor detected inside the vehicle. The contact drove out of the garage and turned off the vehicle. The contact opened the hood and the smoke dissipated. The contact restarted the vehicle and noticed that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact che... Read more
Incident date: Feb 23, 2023
The contact owns a 2010 Ford Edge. The contact stated while operating the vehicle, there was a burning odor inside the vehicle. Upon inspection, it was discovered that the coolant reservoir was empty, the engine oil dip stick read full, and the oil was discolored. The vehicle was taken to the local service center where the mechanic discovered water in the engine oil. The mechanic diagnosed the veh... Read more
Incident date: Feb 23, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The message that the engine was overheating, and that the coolant level was low was displayed. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where it was diagnosed there was an internal coolant leak, and an engine replacement was needed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was co... Read more
Incident date: Feb 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was difficult to start and remained running at restarting. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the catalytic convertor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was c... Read more
Incident date: Feb 10, 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, the dealer stated that coolant was leaking into the engine and that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that there was no recall on the VIN for the failure. The failur... Read more
Incident date: Feb 23, 2023
The contact’s son owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while his son was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated and the engine misfired. The check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that coolant had leaked into cylinder #3, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was... Read more
Incident date: Feb 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that when the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for a routine oil change, he was made aware that there was coolant intrusion into the engine, and that the water pump, head gasket, and timing belt needed to be replaced. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact was advised to have the repairs completed at a local dealer. The... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2019) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 23, 2023
Incident date: Jan 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle misfired and jerked. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who diagnosed and determined that coolant was leaking into the cylinders causing the misfire. The dealer confirmed that the failure was related to service bulletin with NHTSA ID Number: 10214126 (Engine and Engine Cooling) howeve... Read more
Incident date: Jun 22, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. Additionally, the engine misfired. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The contact related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin- 22-2229 (Coolant in Cylinders) however, the... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2021) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 23, 2023
Incident date: Feb 11, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that on various occasions while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that after taking the vehicle to an independent mechanic for a routine oil change, she was made aware of an oil leak; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle was sta... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2016) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 22, 2023
Incident date: Feb 2, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Dodge Durango. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked in the garage, the vehicle failed to start. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the frequency module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The contact stated that the vehicle failed... Read more
Incident date: Feb 7, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Soul. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing excessive oil consumption and was making abnormal knocking sounds intermittently while driving at various speeds. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the catalytic converter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The conta... Read more
Incident date: Feb 16, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 20 MPH, a loud noise was heard coming from the engine compartment, and the vehicle then lost motive power while coming to a stop at a stop signal. The vehicle was able to restart; however, the failure reoccurred shortly afterwards, and the vehicle was unable to be restarted. No warning lights were illumin... Read more
Incident date: Feb 22, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact used an ODB scanner and retrieved a fault code for a misfire in cylinder #1. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion into the cylinder. The mechanic stated that either the engine or g... Read more
Incident date: Jan 23, 2023
Coolant leaking into cylinders resulting in engine misfiring and not running correctly.
Incident date: Feb 20, 2023
Coolant leaking into cylinders resulting in engine misfiring and not running correctly.
Incident date: Aug 20, 2021
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, he heard an abnormal rattling sound before the vehicle started to lose motive power. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal, but the vehicle failed to respond. The contact then depressed the accelerator pedal with much more force and the vehicle responded. The contact stated that the check engine warni... Read more
Incident date: Jan 31, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an unknown speed, a temperature warning message appeared on the instrument panel. The vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was first towed to an independent mechanic and later to a dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that coolant had leaked into cylin... Read more
Incident date: Feb 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the vehicle started overheating and the coolant level warning light illuminated. The contact checked the coolant level and noticed that there was no coolant in the vehicle. The contact added coolant, but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was diagnosed by an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that c... Read more
Incident date: Feb 17, 2023
The contact owned a 2016 Nissan Juke. The contact stated that his wife had previously driven the vehicle and parked it. Approximately five minutes later, a coworker informed her that the vehicle had caught fire. There were no previous warning indicator lights illuminated. The fire department was able to extinguish the fire. A police report was filed. There were no reported injuries or air bag de... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Feb 17, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that that while driving at an undisclosed speed, she heard a popping sound and the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle however, the engine shut off. The contact stated that upon inspecting the vehicle, she noticed that coolant was leaking onto the ground. The oil warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 16, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was a burning odor detected. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact also stated that after starting the vehicle, the vehicle lost motive power. After several attempts, the vehicle restarted. The contact stated that upon entering the vehicle, there was an abnormal odor detected i... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2023) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 17, 2023
Incident date: Feb 12, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated became aware of engine oil on his driveway. The contact stated that while driving and coming to a stop, there was an abnormal oil burning odor inside the vehicle. The contact stated the check engine warning was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that there was an oil leak coming from the cyl... Read more
Incident date: Sep 14, 2022
The contact owns a 2019 Ram 3500. The contact stated while driving 75 MPH with the cruise control activated, the vehicle stated to decelerate without warning. The contact pulled over on the side of the road and examined under the hood and noticed oil on top of the engine. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who stated that the vehicle was experiencing a similar failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 20... Read more
Incident date: Feb 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2007 BMW X3. The contact stated that on various occasions when starting the vehicle, there was smoke coming from underneath the hood. The contact also stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the failure recurred, and the vehicle was stalling. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine a... Read more
Incident date: Feb 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the transmission warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who replaced the transmission shifter. Later while driving, there was smoke coming from under the hood. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer who diagnosed that the engine was faulty and needed to be replaced. The manuf... Read more
Incident date: Feb 11, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Soul. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the contact heard an abnormal knocking sound. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an unknown local dealer where it was diagnosed with a rod bearing knock. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling)... Read more
Incident date: Jan 13, 2016
11507580 – Consumer attempted to use the website to file the complaint. Attempt was not successful. The consumers computer battery was depleted. The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle stalled with several unknown warning lights illuminated. Additionally, there was a "Stop - Service Engine Immediately” message flashing on and off.... Read more
Incident date: Feb 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328I.The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was 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 not made aware of the issue. The contact h... Read more
Incident date: Jan 10, 2023
The contact's son owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated while her son was driving 10 MPH, the vehicle lost power and would not exceed 2 MPH. The contact's son continued driving and pulled into a repair shop, where it was diagnosed that both catalytic converters had failed and needed to replaced. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer. The contact became aware that the VIN was included in NHTS... Read more
Incident date: Jan 2, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced cold start issues, requiring numerous attempts while starting the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle idled roughly once started. The contact stated that once the vehicle reached approximately 30 MPH there would be a white smoke cloud coming from the exhaust pipe. The contact stated that the check engine ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 14, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 20 MPH, the vehicle stalled and lost motive power. The engine overheated message was displayed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who made the contact aware of TSB: 10156569. The vehicle remained with the independent mechanic awaiting the diagnostic test and repair. The manufacturer was made aw... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2021
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle overheated. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin Number: 21N12 (Coolant Intrusion). The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the co... Read more
HYUNDAI
SANTA CRUZ
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 14, 2023
Incident date: Feb 13, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the engine was misfiring. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who replaced the spark plugs. The vehicle was repaired but the failure persisted. The contact called an independent mechanic and was informed that the fuel injector was faulty. The contact added fuel injector cleaner... Read more
Incident date: Oct 22, 2021
The contact's son owns a 2014 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced an engine cooling system failure and was repaired. The contact later became aware that the VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V209000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) that he related to the failure. The contact stated while his son was was at a complete stop at the traffic light, the vehicle stalled... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
The contact's mother owns a 2013 GMC Terrain. The contact stated while she was driving at approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle shuddered and stalled. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact had the vehicle towed to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the cam shaft sensor and timing chain needed to be replaced. Additionally, the dealer... Read more
Incident date: Feb 11, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle overheated and stalled. The engine misfire warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the head gasket was blown, and that antifreeze was leaking into the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but provid... Read more
Incident date: Feb 11, 2023
The contact's mother owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while his mother driving approximately 55 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle started to lose motive power. The contact stated that his mother also noticed that the heater had stopped blowing hot air through the vents. The contact stated that his mother drove the vehicle to a local dealer, where the vehic... Read more
Incident date: Feb 11, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Kia Soul. The contact stated that after the vehicle received an oil change by an independent mechanic, his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, and the vehicle lost motive power with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that a connecting rod had gone through the engine block and fallen out underneath the vehicle. The vehicle failed to restart ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 9, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the coils needed to be replaced due to coolant intrusion into the engine. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was then taken to a ... Read more