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: 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
MERCEDES-BENZ
AMG GLE53
(2022) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 22, 2023
Incident date: Jan 3, 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 21, 2019
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: Sep 13, 2017
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
Incident date: Jul 1, 2020
I believe the engine could possibly be failing. My engine light will come on & flash, when it does this it is slowing down at speed ranges of 60 mph. Another thing, the GDi engine that is in this vehicle burns oil EXTREMELY fast. It is quite aggravating having to constantly get oil changes every 2-4 weeks & have only driven 0-1500 miles. This is not normal. The engine has this crackling noise as i... Read more
Incident date: Feb 6, 2023
I believe the engine could possibly be failing. My engine light will come on & flash, when it does this it is slowing down at speed ranges of 60 mph. Another thing, the GDi engine that is in this vehicle burns oil EXTREMELY fast. It is quite aggravating having to constantly get oil changes every 2-4 weeks & have only driven 0-1500 miles. This is not normal. The engine has this crackling noise as i... Read more
CHRYSLER
PACIFICA PLUG-IN HYBRID
(2019) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 10, 2023
Incident date: Feb 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving 35-50 MPH, the vehicle began overheating. Additionally, the coolant temperature warning light and the check engine warning light were illuminated. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The contact then added coolant in the vehicle. The contact was able to continue driving; however, the failure reoccurred while dr... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Land Rover Range Rover Sport. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle started to decelerate unintendedly. Additionally, there was a rattling sound present under the vehicle. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was briefly illuminated. After pulling over to the side roadway and parking the vehicle, the vehicle was towed to t... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the engine overheating warning light illuminated. The contact checked the coolant level, and the coolant reservoir was full. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed and the contact was informed that coolant was leaking into the engine and that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repair... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
CL55
(2003) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 10, 2023
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2010 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 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. Parts distributi... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
The contact's son owns a 2011 BMW 328I. The contact stated that while her son was driving approximately 25 MPH, the vehicle stalled in the middle of the road. The contact's son attempted to restart the vehicle numerous times, but the vehicle would not start. The contact stated that her son was not aware of any warning lights being illuminated. The contact had the vehicle towed to a local dealer, w... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2020) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 10, 2023
Incident date: Feb 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 BMW X3. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, an abnormal burning odor was detected while the heater was activated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. Th... Read more
Incident date: Feb 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle started overheating. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a faulty water pump. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 131,000.
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2017) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 10, 2023
Incident date: Feb 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated when she started the vehicle, the "engine fault service now" message was displayed. The contact stated that later the "high-temperature stop now" warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that she pulled over and turned the vehicle off. Once she felt that the temperature was normal, she restarted the vehicle. The contact stated that t... Read more
Incident date: Feb 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the temperature gauge began to rise rapidly. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that after he parked the vehicle, he noticed coolant leaking underneath the vehicle. The contact was able to continue driving to his destination and added coolant to the vehicle. The veh... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2012) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 9, 2023
Incident date: Feb 9, 2023
The contact owns a 2007 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, the ABS and TPMS warning lights illuminated and the vehicle started to stall. The contact saw smoke coming out from underneath the hood. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. An independent mechanic towed the vehicle to the contact’s residence. The independent mechanic then diagnosed that the transmi... Read more
Incident date: Jan 3, 2023
The contact owns a 2007 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that there was an abnormal burning plastic odor after starting the vehicle. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manuf... Read more
Incident date: Jan 16, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle nearly to stalled. The contact stated that the vehicle was losing motive power. The driver pulled over and the vehicle stalled. The driver was able to restart the vehicle. The contact stated that his wife noticed the "Service Engine Soon" light was illuminated. The vehicle w... Read more
Incident date: Jan 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328I. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was losing motive power with the check engine warning light and three other unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was able to restart after multiple attempts. The contact also stated that the vehicle felt hot inside despite not using the heater. The contact recei... Read more
Incident date: Jan 25, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle started vibrating, and the engine was running roughly. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the temperature gauge needle had gone into the red zone. The contact pulled over and opened the hood to allow the engine to cool down. The contact ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 4, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Chevrolet Silverado1500. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds the vehicle would hesitate, stall and shut off at random times. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who replaced an engine gasket but the failures continued to occur. The vehicle was later taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the engine was faulty and needed to be replaced.... Read more
Incident date: Feb 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Optima. The contact stated while his wife was driving at approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that his wife steered the vehicle to the side of the road and parked the vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine nee... Read more