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: Nov 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion into cylinder #3, and that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 77,747.
Incident date: Jul 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, and at other various speeds, the check engine warning light remained constantly illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the vehicle had been leaking coolant into the engine block. The mechanic determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle had no... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
E300
(2017) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 8, 2023
Incident date: Feb 4, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, there was significant white smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe. Additionally, the message "Engine Power Reduced" was displayed. The contact pulled into a gas station and verified that the engine oil and coolant level were normal; however, the failure reoccurred while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 31, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed in 20-degree weather, the engine was smoking and then overheated. The contact checked under the hood and noticed that the coolant level was low. The contact had previously added additional coolant. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact called the dealer who informed her about a diagnosti... Read more
Incident date: Feb 7, 2023
The contact owns a 2006 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the residence of the contact's friend. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact there was no record that the vehi... Read more
Incident date: Jan 30, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the thermostat indicated that the engine was hot(H); the contact also stated that the vehicle occasionally failed to start. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed her that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V209000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). A code reader was use... Read more
Incident date: Feb 3, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V209000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, after shifting the vehicle into drive, the engine started to overheat and went into LIMP Mode. The check engine warning light and the low coolant warning light were both illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to a certified ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 23, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was shaking and vibrating and failed to properly accelerate. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the catalytic converter was faulty, and that the engine had experienced excessive oil consumption. The catalytic converter was replaced; however, the failure persisted. The ma... Read more
Incident date: Feb 3, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, there was a knocking sound coming from the engine compartment. After stopping at a red light, the engine suddenly failed. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the engine was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure,... Read more
Incident date: Feb 3, 2023
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328I. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at various speeds or while the vehicle was idling, the vehicle intermittently stalled. The contact then stated that previously, he was able to turn off and restart the vehicle however, the vehicle recently failed to restart. The check engine and service engine soon warning lights were illuminated. The cont... Read more
Incident date: Dec 26, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the coolant level, check engine, and engine temperature warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to two independent mechanics, who both diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The contact was made aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V209000 (Engine and... Read more
Incident date: Jan 30, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled at an intersection. The vehicle was able to be restarted. While the contact was driving, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. There were no warning lights illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The m... Read more
Incident date: Jun 20, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Scion FR-S. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V772000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it remained awaiting the parts for the recall repair. The contact stated that once the parts for the repair were available, the mechanic informed her that the manufacturer would not be covering the repairs on the vehic... Read more
Incident date: Jul 4, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Soul. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle hesitated. The contact also stated that while shifting into drive, the engine revved but the vehicle failed to respond. Additionally, the contact stated that on several occasions the engine overheated and was consuming excessive amounts of engine oil. The check engine war... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle was shaking and the overheat fault message was displayed. Additionally, an abnormal antifreeze odor was detected while driving, and the contact had to keep adding antifreeze occasionally. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the cylinder head cup plug was ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 13, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was experiencing excessive oil consumption and the vehicle would no longer properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the valve cover gasket was faulty and needed t... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Flex. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked in the garage, there was fluid leaking underneath. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the water pump assembly and timing chain needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated upon starting the vehicle, the engine was misfiring, and the vehicle was shuddering. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the cylinders were misfiring. The independent mechanic cleared the diagnostic tests codes. The contact stated that the check engine w... Read more
Incident date: Jun 16, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the check engine warning light would illuminate, the vehicle would drive rough and would not properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the coolant had intruded into the engine. The contact was informed that the vehicle was not ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the check warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed 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 the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign... Read more
Incident date: Jan 30, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving approximately 2 MPH, after having stopped at a traffic signal, the contact heard a clicking noise coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled with several unknown warning lights flashing. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after having a passerby jump start her vehicle. The contact was... Read more
HYUNDAI
SANTA CRUZ
(2022) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jan 30, 2023
Incident date: Nov 9, 2022
The contact leased a 2021 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated that while driving the engine, hot message was displayed. The contact looked underneath the hood but failed to determine the cause of the failure. The contact continued to drive but the vehicle lost power and she noticed smoke coming from the vehicle. The contact pulled over. While continuing to drive, the check engine warning light illum... Read more
Incident date: Jan 29, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the engine and oil warning light illuminated, and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the piston had scarred the cylinder wall, and the piston needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure was like NHTSA Ca... Read more
Incident date: Jan 27, 2023
The contact called on behalf of his son who owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the engine was constantly overheating, with the coolant and engine oil level constantly low. The coolant level warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was it was diagnosed that the engine block was cracked, and that coolant and oil was leaking into the engi... 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 jerked and hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact pulled over, called her husband, and he drove the vehicle to the residence. An independent mechanic was called to the residence and the mechanic discovered that bolts on the camshaft w... Read more
Incident date: Jan 25, 2023
The contact called on behalf of a friend who owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while his friend was driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle emitted an abnormal sound. Additionally, there was significant amount of smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The coolant temperature warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the head gasket was... Read more
Incident date: Jan 12, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact pulled over and restarted the vehicle. The contact continued to drive but the vehicle stalled again. The contact detected an abnormal sound coming from the engine. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where it was diagnosed... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 BMW 528I. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, he smelled a burning odor through the vents. An unknown warning light was intermittently illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the engine which caused the PCV valve to overheat. The contact was informed that the PCV valve needed to be replaced. The v... Read more
Incident date: Jan 16, 2023
My car stopped moving at full power while driving due to the engine overheating. My engine coolant warning came on that it was low. This has happened several times since I have owned this car. I have been given many different reasons for my engine coolant dropping over the years when I take it for service including the following: 1. Turbo line 2. Turbo unit 3. O-ring 4. couldn't find the leak, lik... Read more
FORD
BRONCO SPORT
(2021) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jan 26, 2023
Incident date: Jan 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while attempting to use the HVAC system, the heater was inoperable. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic who diagnosed and determined that the water pump needed to be replaced. The mechanic stated that the water pump had been leaking coolant into the oil pan a... Read more
Incident date: Sep 5, 2017
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle overheated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where the thermostat was replaced twice; however, the failure recurred. The contact related the failure to TSB: SC147. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by a dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and r... Read more
Incident date: Jan 24, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Volvo S60. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to warn of low oil pressure. The contact stated he would become aware that the engine oil pressure was low when the vehicle stalled or while servicing the vehicle. The contact was concerned for his safety and for the potential engine damage that could occur. The contact related the failure NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V59200... Read more
Incident date: Jan 24, 2023
The contact owns a 2001 Mercury Grand Marquis. The contact stated he noticed coolant fluid on the ground underneath the vehicle. The contact started the vehicle and noticed that the high engine temperate warning light was illuminated. The dealer was contacted but was not able to diagnose the vehicle. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was not under recall. The failure milea... Read more
Incident date: Jan 24, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that the water in fuel system message was displayed. The contact stated that the fuel gauge displayed conflicting fuel levels. While driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who cleaned the fuel tank. The contact received notificati... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2014) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jan 26, 2023
Incident date: Nov 7, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the vehicle. The check engine warning light then became illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the mechanic stated that the vehicle had experienced a failure like NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V226000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The vehicle was not repaired. T... Read more
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2016) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jan 25, 2023
Incident date: Jan 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of the 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. Th... Read more
Incident date: Jan 12, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ram 1500. The contact stated that upon driving from a complete stop, the vehicle would not exceed 3 MPH as the safety mode engaged. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact parked the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure persisted the next day; however, the contact was able to drive the vehicle to an independent mechanic. The independent mechanic ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 23, 2023
The contact owns a 2007 BMW 530I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that while driving at approximately 65 MPH, there was smoke coming from the hood. The "transmission overheating" message was displayed. The vehicle was inoperable. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the PC... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the vehicle began to overheat and there was smoke coming out from underneath the hood. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road. The vehicle then caught on fire. The contact stated that a significant amount of oil had leaked underneath the vehicle onto the ground. The contact was ab... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Dec 13, 2022
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 528XI. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. The engine temperature warning light illuminated. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure... Read more
Incident date: Dec 26, 2022
The contact owns a 2008 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 stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that the vehicle had previously been at the dealer for an unknown service, wher... Read more
Incident date: May 5, 2016
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle shuddered and stalled. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The contact restarted the vehicle after several attempts. The contact continued driving however, the failure recurred. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle restarted after several attempts. The contact stated t... Read more
Incident date: Jan 12, 2023
The contact owns a 2011 BMW Z4. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. 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 not experienced a failure. Parts distribution d... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle stated shaking. The contact stopped in a parking lot and turned off and restarted the vehicle. The contact was able to drive to a dealer. The vehicle was diagnosed, and the mechanic stated that coolant was leaking from the vehicle. The contact stated that an unkn... Read more
Incident date: Jul 10, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 528I. The contact stated while her son was driving approximately 20 MPH, there was an abnormally loud sound coming from underneath the vehicle. The contact stated that her son saw the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that her son was afraid to drive the vehicle and had the vehicle towed back to his parent's residence and then towed to a dealer.... Read more
Incident date: Dec 13, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was an odor coming from the engine compartment and that the vehicle was hesitating. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer after the contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V209000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the contact was informed t... Read more
Incident date: Jan 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328I. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, the vehicle stalled inadvertently. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact was unable to veer to the side of the road. The vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The contact stated he was able to diagnose the vehicle using an OBD reader. The contact diagnosed that the failure ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 2, 2022
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 unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer wa... Read more
Incident date: Jan 21, 2023
The contact owns a 2023 Volvo XC60. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to recognize the key fob. Due to the failure, the vehicle failed to start after multiple attempts with the key fob message displayed and a warning chime was heard. The contact also stated that the coolant warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer and the thermostat was replaced the v... Read more
KIA
SORENTO PHEV
(2022) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jan 23, 2023
Incident date: Sep 19, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle was overheating. An alarm sounded and the message “HOT” was displayed. The contact stated that the vehicle cooled down as he released the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the bolts had backed out from the intake manifold causing coolant to lea... Read more