Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,245,377 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA, including 140,173 crashes, 56,794 fires, and 8,580 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 2,245,377 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 40,899 complaints - component: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Incident date: Apr 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon taking the vehicle for routine maintenance, she was informed by the technician that the coolant overflow bottle was low. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the low coolant warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed; however, the failure could not be duplicated. T... Read more
Incident date: Dec 12, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that engine coolant had leaked into the cylinder #3, causing severe damage to the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicl... Read more
Incident date: Mar 24, 2023
2014 FORD ESCAPE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO NHTSA SAFETY RECALL 17V-209. THE CONSUMER STATED WHILE DRIVING AN 1.5 HOURS TO THE BEACH BACK AND FORTH THE VEHICLE STOPPED ACCELERATING AND THE VEHICLE TO A FORD DEALERSHIP. THE MECHANIC STATED THE ENTIRE ENGINE HAD TO BE REPLACED DUE TO A CRACKED ENGINE AND OVERHEATING.
VOLKSWAGEN
JETTA
(2015) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 18, 2023
Incident date: Mar 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was shuddering. The message "Engine Coolant Over Temperature" was displayed. The contact veered to the side of the road. The contact stated upon turning off and restarting the vehicle, the vehicle shuddered significantly and made abnormal knocking sounds. The contact stated that after the vehicle r... Read more
Incident date: May 12, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the message "Transmission Fault - Service Now" was displayed and the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that engine coolant had leaked into the engine cylinder causing severe damage to the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be rep... Read more
Incident date: Nov 16, 2022
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that coolant was leaking into the engine. The mechanic related the failure to Ford Campaign Number: 21N12. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times, and the dealer informed the contact that the ve... Read more
Incident date: Apr 17, 2020
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that on various occasions while driving at various speeds with the automatic START/STOP function activated, the vehicle started losing motive power while the brake pedal was depressed. The contact stated that the failure recurred while driving from a complete stop. The vehicle was able to restart. No warning light was illuminated. The ve... Read more
Incident date: Apr 13, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that soon after he had the vehicle serviced at the dealer, the "engine maintenance required" message was displayed. The contact stated that the warning advisory remained displayed, which rendered the speedometer unviewable. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer and was diagnosed with a defective coolant bypass valve. The manufacturer was n... Read more
Incident date: May 5, 2021
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Ecosport. The contact stated that on various occasions, the check engine and low-pressure oil warning lights illuminated after starting the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure recurred while driving at various speeds. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced; however, the part for the repair... Read more
Incident date: Apr 3, 2021
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling) regarding the heat shield for the catalytic converter, which, was replaced under the recall. The contact stated that the vehicle began to malfunction after the repair. The vehicle would jump and shift into gear roughly while driving a... Read more
Incident date: Apr 14, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was discovered that coolant had leaked into cylinder #2, resulting in engine failure. The manufacturer was notified about the failure and a case was filed. The contact was transferred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The v... Read more
Incident date: Jan 13, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated, with smoke coming from the exhaust tip. The service engine soon warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the engine block needed to be replaced because of coolant intrusion; however, the contact was advised to... Read more
Incident date: Apr 12, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that after the dealer had completed an unknown recall on the vehicle, a message indicating that the engine was overheating was displayed. The vehicle was towed back to the dealer, where an unknown repair was completed; however, the failure reoccurred. Additionally, the message "Low Coolant" was displayed. The contact stated that she had been... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2017) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 13, 2023
Incident date: Jul 24, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the check engine and coolant level warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that she pulled off the road and heard a warning chime that alerted her that the vehicle had overheated. The contact was able to restart the vehicle; however, the vehicle overh... Read more
Incident date: Apr 11, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated that vehicle had failed to accelerate upon a cold start as the check engine light appeared on the instrument panel. The vehicle was initially taken to an independent mechanic where they diagnosed a crack in cylinder #1 which caused coolant to leak into the engine. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer and the diagnostic result was confirmed.... Read more
ALFA ROMEO
STELVIO
(2018) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 13, 2023
Incident date: Mar 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while exiting a parking lot, the vehicle started overheating with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and 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 the manufacturer stated t... Read more
Incident date: Mar 30, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle started overheating with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that after several minutes, the engine temperature returned to normal, and the vehicle operated normally. On another occasion, while driving 15 MPH, the vehicle would not properly accelerate. The contact became aware that ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 10, 2023
The contact's daughter owns a 2013 Ford Taurus. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was not able to be restarted and veered to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the contact was informed that the engine and valves needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the cause of the failure was due to the water... Read more
Incident date: Apr 7, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated to accelerate with the "Steering Assist Reduced, Drive with Care" message displayed. Additionally, the temperature gauge remained on cold. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, no failure was found. The failure recurred, and the vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where it ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 12, 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 and the mechanic stated that coolant was leaking into the engine and referred the contact to the dealer for assistance. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the dealer stated that the vehicle was experiencing a similar failure to TSB: 22-222... Read more
Incident date: Mar 16, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, a clicking noise was heard coming from the engine compartment. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the crankshaft and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle remained with the independent mechanic awaiting the repai... Read more
Incident date: Apr 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, there was a large amount of white smoke coming from the exhaust pipes. The contact stated that the vehicle was running rough. The contact stated that the failure was a recurring failure. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagn... Read more
Incident date: Nov 10, 2022
The contact leased a 2013 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, an alert appeared on the instrument panel indicating that the engine had overheated and to stop the vehicle. The contact stopped the vehicle and waited for approximately 10 minutes; however, after starting to drive, the warning light returned. The contact stated that smoke started coming from ... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
AMG C43
(2020) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 11, 2023
Incident date: Apr 11, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Bronco Sport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V922000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic), 22V191000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) and 22V859000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacture... Read more
Incident date: Aug 10, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328I. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the service engine soon warning light illuminated. The contact also stated that while idling, he heard a loud diesel sound under the hood of the vehicle. Additionally, the contact stated that upon inspecting the vehicle using a camera, he noticed that the camshaft housing bolts were fractured. The vehi... Read more
Incident date: Apr 4, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Audi Q5. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the message "Pull Over Immediately" and a chime started to sound. The contact pulled off the road and placed the vehicle into park (P) and turned off the vehicle down for approximately 20 minutes. The contact was able to restart the vehicle however, the vehicle started to overheat, and the warning lights illumi... Read more
Incident date: Mar 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated. Upon inspection, the contact determined that cylinder #3 was misfiring. The contact stated that after removing the spark plug, it was discovered that coolant had leaked into cylinder #3. The local mechanic was contacted and informed the contact that the eng... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 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 contact made several attempts to schedule the recall repair with the local dealers; however, the contact was unable to secure an appointment. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a r... Read more
Incident date: Apr 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while attempting to operate the heating system, the vent displayed cool air. The contact then stated that she noticed that every three weeks, she had to replace the coolant back into the radiator. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the vehicle had not yet been diagnosed; however, the contact was... Read more
Incident date: Aug 25, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle overheated. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer and was informed that there was no failure with the engine. The contact stated that the failure was ongoing. The contact drove the vehicle to an independent mechanic who diag... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that on various occasions, she noticed that the coolant level was low but had not seen a fluid leak. The contact then stated that after starting the vehicle, the message that the engine was overheating was displayed and the temperature gauge rose rapidly. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that there was ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 5, 2023
The contact's daughter owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the temperature gauge indicated that the engine was overheating. The vehicle was turned off and left to cool down. Additionally, the contact added water to the radiator. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the engine needed t... Read more
Incident date: Apr 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated while her daughter was driving approximately 35 MPH and ascending a slight grade in the road, the vehicle stalled. The check engine and oil pressure warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that her daughter was able to restart the vehicle. The contact stated that the oil pressure warning light had been illuminated intermittently even... Read more
Incident date: May 19, 2022
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving various speeds, the brake pedal was depressed, and depressed to the floorboard. The vehicle eventually stopped; however, the failure persisted. Additionally, the check engine warning light had remained illuminated for approximately four months. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the vehicle was diagnosed and ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the engine was faulty and needed to be replaced. After replacing the engine, the vehicle started experiencing several engine failures. The transmission also slipped while in 6th gear. Additionally... Read more
Incident date: Mar 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start as needed. While driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled with unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and an independent mechanic, and the contact was informed that anti-freeze was intruding into the engine. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The veh... Read more
Incident date: Mar 22, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact retrieved DTC code: P0420 (Low catalyst system efficiency) using a handheld diagnostic tool and drove the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the spark plugs needed to be replaced. The contact reported that he informed the dealer that ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 31, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 BMW X5. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, there was smoke coming from the engine compartment. The odor of smoke was present inside the cabin of the vehicle. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was contacted regarding the failure. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 65,000.
Incident date: Apr 3, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the contact stated he heard an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact observed white smoke coming from under the hood. The contact was able to pull over with the engine still running however, when he stopped and turned off the vehicle, he was unable to restart the vehicle. Th... Read more
Incident date: Mar 30, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Bronco Sport. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power, stalled, and then failed to restart. The loss of power train message was displayed. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the battery and control module needed to be reprogrammed. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 9, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Genesis G80. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, there was white smoke coming from underneath the vehicle. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the turbo pipe seal had failed causing oil to drip onto the exhaust manifold causing the white smoke. The contact was informed that the turbo charger oil supply pipe needed to be... Read more
Incident date: Mar 29, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving at low speeds, the vehicle was stalling and losing motive power. The vehicle was able to restart. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact then stated that while his wife was driving at approximately 30 MPH and merging onto a road, the vehicle stalled, she lost control of the steering wheel, and she crashed into a dit... Read more
Crash
1 injured
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS CROSS SPORT
(2023) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Mar 31, 2023
Incident date: Mar 28, 2023
The contact owned a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 45 mph, he noticed smoke exiting from the rear of the vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to park on the side of the road and exited the vehicle safely. The contact opened the hood and saw fire located around the engine. The contact stated a bystander attempted to extinguish the fi... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Mar 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Durango. The contact stated after attempting to start the vehicle, the engine failed to turn over. The contact then stated that after several attempts to start the vehicle she smelled a burning odor. No warning lights were illuminated. The AAA was notified of the failure and the battery was replaced; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was then towed to the dea... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2020) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Mar 31, 2023
Incident date: Mar 30, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle started overheating. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, and the mechanic stated that the vehicle was experiencing similar failure as listed in NHTSA Campaign Number: 12V551000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The dealer was contacted, and the de... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2019) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Mar 31, 2023
Incident date: Mar 31, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, or while starting the vehicle, the vehicle would shudder and shake. The contact stated the shaking was intermittent but became constant. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that coolan... Read more
Incident date: Mar 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 BMW 128I. 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 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 had... Read more
Incident date: Mar 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2010 Hyundai Veracruz. The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced an engine oil leak. The contact stated that the engine oil leaked onto the alternator and caused the alternator to fail. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V415000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken back to the d... Read more
Incident date: Mar 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ram 1500. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. The system failed to go through regeneration. The contact stated that the EGR cooler and radiator were leaking. The check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the service electronic control message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that there was a cra... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated the vehicle was repaired in 2016 for an unknown failure. The contact reported that on multiple occasions, while driving at various speeds, the vehicle began to overheat, with a beeping sound. The contact stated that the temperature gauge started to rise and that an abnormal odor was coming through the vents. The vehicle was veered to th... Read more