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
FORD
MAVERICK HYBRID
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 31, 2022
Incident date: Aug 27, 2022
The contact owns a 2022 Ford Maverick. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle decelerated as if the transmission was slipping. The contact pulled into his residence driveway when he noticed smoke coming from under the hood. The contact opened the hood and a large amount of gray smoke coming from the eng... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated with a message stating "Engine Coolant Over Temperature" displayed. Additionally, the engine sputtered while the vehicle was being started and there was gray smoke coming from the exhaust pipes. The contact stated that the vehicle would not properly accelera... Read more
Incident date: Jul 29, 2022
I started experiencing a rough idle and engine misfire. The check engine codes indicated cylinder 3 misfire. Was advised several times to replace spark plugs and coils but after no success had further diagnostics that showed crack in cylinder 3 allowing coolant to leak into the engine. Required new engine at 96k miles.
Incident date: Aug 24, 2022
The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated that while driving, the vehicle failed to exceed 45 MPH. The contact stated that the check engine and traction control warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who informed him about a Special Service Campaign: 20TC01. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined th... Read more
Incident date: Oct 15, 2021
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The contact stated that the oil level warning light was illuminated. The contact also stated that upon depression of the accelerator pedal, the vehicle would independently enter Limp Mode with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact had the vehicle towed to Quirk... Read more
Incident date: Aug 29, 2022
The contact owns a 2020 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving approximately at 65 mph the brother who was in a second vehicle ahead could see flames present in the front grill of the vehicle. White smoke began to enter the cabin of the vehicle and the contact pulled over, parked and exited the vehicle. Smoke and flames were present coming from under the hood of the vehicle. The fire d... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Aug 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while her son was driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated and shook upon depression of the accelerator pedal. The contact also stated that white smoke was coming from the engine but was uncertain if any warning lights were illuminated. The contact's husband inspected the vehicle and discovered a coolant leak inside the engine; howeve... Read more
Incident date: Mar 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 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. VIN tool co... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2010 BMW 328I. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact then received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The dealer was notified of the issue and scheduled an appointment for vehicle inspection. During the repair, the contact was informe... Read more
Incident date: Oct 31, 2021
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 128i. 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 the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that while the vehicle was idle at a re... Read more
Incident date: Aug 22, 2022
The contact owns a 2008 Honda Civic. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, the vehicle started to overheat. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact pulled into the gas station and allowed the vehicle to cool down. The contact then refilled coolant in the vehicle. The contact was able to continue driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that th... Read more
Incident date: Dec 29, 2021
The contact owns a 2014 BMW 328D. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V907000 (Fuel System, Diesel) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to accelerate with th... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while his son was driving 30 MPH, the engine made an abnormal sound and the vehicle started driving rough. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing and the contact was informed that coolant was leaking into the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the VIN was not under recall for the failure. The man... Read more
Incident date: Aug 27, 2022
The contact's aunt owns a 2014 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that his aunt noticed a puddle of fluids underneath the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that coolant was leaking from the water pump. The contact was informed that the water pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified... Read more
Incident date: Jul 29, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the engine was misfiring. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to continue driving. The contact, who is an independent mechanic, diagnosed that cylinder #2 was misfiring. Upon further investigation, the contact diagnosed that coolant was leaking from the radiator into cylinder #2. An unkno... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated and the vehicle was driving rough. Additionally, the engine was misfiring. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that coolant had leaked into cylinder #2. The vehicle was then taken to the local dealer who confirmed the diagnosis and indicated that ... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
GOLF
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 28, 2022
Incident date: Aug 26, 2022
July I broke down with a "low coolant" light, I pulled tot the side of the road, opened the hood and had a low coolant level. After further inspection of why - my radiator had come loose, pushing parts of it into the serpintine belt causing coolant to splew all over the engine bay. After a month of being at VW, they "Fixed" it. I picked up my car after they had called me yelling about the rental c... Read more
Incident date: Aug 20, 2022
I was going to work, my check engine light came on as well as my track off light came on and I noticed that my engine smelled burning, it was not holding my coolant in my radiator. The dealership said I bought the car as is. I had only had the car for only 7 months. I feel like the sold a car that may have more issues.
RADIATOR SPECIALITY
RADIATOR SPECIALITY
(9999) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 27, 2022
Incident date: Aug 20, 2022
I was going to work, my check engine light came on as well as my track off light came on and I noticed that my engine smelled burning, it was not holding my coolant in my radiator. The dealership said I bought the car as is. I had only had the car for only 7 months. I feel like the sold a car that may have more issues.
Incident date: Feb 11, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 BMW 330I. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the check engine warning light and "Stop Immediately" message was displayed. The contact pulled off the highway and noticed white smoke coming from underneath the hood. The contact safely placed the vehicle in park(P), turned the vehicle off, exited the vehicle, and lifted the hood. The contact stated that a l... Read more
Incident date: Aug 22, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while attempting to start the vehicle, the engine had misfired. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine short block assembly, the evac system, front-end alignment, engine coolant, and cylinder #2 failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. T... Read more
Incident date: Mar 2, 2022
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 330I. 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 after turning off the vehicle, she noticed that the engine was extremely h... Read more
Incident date: Mar 2, 2022
The contact owns a 2010 BMW 528I. 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 manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 12, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. While attempting to shift into gear, the vehicle shuddered and jerked. The vehicle failed to exceed 5 MPH while driving. The coolant in the engine was over the temperature message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the eng... Read more
Incident date: Aug 2, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while walking up to the vehicle parked in the driveway, she noticed a trail of fluid in the driveway. The dealer was notified of the failure and advised the contact to add water to the radiator and to bring the vehicle in to the dealer to be inspected. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the water pump had leaked... Read more
Incident date: Aug 24, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, oil was leaking onto the ground. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a cracked engine oil cooler housing. The dealer replaced the engine oil cooler housing. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 154,000. The VIN was unavailable.
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 2500
(2019) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 24, 2022
Incident date: May 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 2500. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the service engine message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the Oxygen (O2) sensor needed to be reset. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the service engine message was disp... Read more
Incident date: Jul 24, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the engine would rough idle and misfire with the check engine warning light remaining illuminated. Additionally, white smoke was present coming from the tail pipe. The contact stated that it was discovered that the coolant level was very low. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the cool... Read more
Incident date: Aug 23, 2018
The contact owns a 2007 BMW 530I. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal burning odor coming from the A/C vents. The contact also noticed the burning odor whenever opening the hood. The message "Service Engine Soon" was displayed. The contact later received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). However, the parts to do the ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2006 BMW Z4. The contact received a notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer had been notified of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amou... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2022
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 528XI. The contact stated while his wife was driving approximately 55 MPH, there was a burning odor coming from the engine, and blue smoke from the exhaustion pipe. Additionally, there was oil blowing out from the engine. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer wa... Read more
Incident date: Aug 23, 2022
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 325I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) and requested to be removed from the recall distribution list. The local dealer and manufacturer were not contacted.
Incident date: Jun 4, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Audi A8. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated. Additionally, after starting the vehicle in the morning, the vehicle was shaking until the engine warmed up. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed; however, the cause of the failure was not determined.... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328I. The contact stated he detected an abnormal plastic burning odor inside the vehicle. 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 t... Read more
Incident date: May 16, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train). The contact stated that while driving approximately 10 MPH, the vehicle overheated. The contact was able to pull off the highway and after waiting approximately an hour was able to continue driving; however, the failure persisted. The temperature gauge was elevated to the hot p... Read more
Incident date: Jun 29, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while at a stop light, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact initially had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic who informed him that the engine had seized. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V226000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) which he linked to the failure. The contact then towed t... Read more
Incident date: Aug 18, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated and the engine temperature gauge indicated that the engine was overheating. The vehicle was immediately taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed the failure was due to a faulty water pump and suggested that the vehicle be taken to the local dealer for servicing.... Read more
Incident date: Mar 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 not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufa... Read more
Incident date: May 24, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 MPH, there was smoke coming from the exhaust pipe, and the steering wheel was vibrating. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact safely pulled over and exited the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to her residence. The next day the vehicle started; however, the failure reoccurred and the check engine ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 18, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while his wife was driving 10 MPH, the engine seized. The driver was unaware if any warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was unable to restart. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The mechanic diagnosed the vehicle with engine bearing wear failure. The battery and starter were also burned. The vehicle was not rep... Read more
Incident date: Aug 18, 2022
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 325I. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal smoke odor coming from the instrument panel. 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 dealer was not notified. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reas... Read more
Incident date: Jul 21, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving 20 MPH, an abnormal knocking noise was coming from the engine. The vehicle then lost motive power and stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle with engine failure. The vehicle was then towed to a dealer where she was given ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 2, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Edge. The contact stated that after refueling, the vehicle hesitated to start and stalled. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who retrieved codes P456 and P1540. The mechanic stated that the failure was caused by the purge valve assembly. The contact called the local dealer but the vehicle was not diagnosed ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2018
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was shaking and stalled. The engine warning indicator light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the starter was replaced. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage wa... Read more
Incident date: Jun 17, 2022
The contact owns a 2007 BMW X3. The contact received a recall notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine And Engine Cooling). However, the parts to do the recall repair were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time to complete the recall repair. The contact stated that the vehicle was overheating while driving and the AC wa... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2012 Hyundai Genesis. The contact stated that while driving, attempting to slow down, or making turns at approximately 10 mph, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was able to be restarted. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic but they were unable to determine the cause of the failure. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehi... Read more
Incident date: Mar 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 contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that whenever driving after a while the veh... Read more
Incident date: Aug 16, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at 65 mph, the vehicle stalled. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine seized and was not covered under the warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 138,000.
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2017) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 16, 2022
Incident date: Jun 17, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Expedition. The contact stated while accelerating the vehicle from a stop to approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle will shudder. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that when the vehicle was parked it would begin to leak coolant. The contact said that the leaking had increased and was visibly pooling under the vehicle. The contact stated... Read more
Incident date: Jun 21, 2021
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 contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the vehicle would fail to start i... Read more