Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,215,138 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA — including 138,663 crashes, 56,255 fires, and 8,561 deaths.
What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?
A consumer complaint is a free-form report filed by a vehicle owner directly to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) describing a safety concern about their vehicle. NHTSA collects these reports through its Vehicle Owner Defect Report (VOQ) system and publishes them publicly. Each complaint includes the affected component, the date and circumstances of the incident, whether the failure caused a crash or fire, and any reported injuries or deaths. The owner's full narrative description is included verbatim — NHTSA does not edit or moderate the descriptions.
The database below contains over 2,215,138 individual complaints. NHTSA's investigators monitor it for clusters of similar reports — when enough owners describe the same failure mode on the same vehicle, NHTSA may open a Preliminary Evaluation that can lead to a recall. Many of the largest recalls in U.S. history, including the Takata airbag recall and the Hyundai/Kia engine fire recalls, started as patterns visible in this complaint database years before they became formal recalls.
How to interpret what you read
A few principles for reading consumer complaints usefully:
- One complaint is anecdote; a hundred similar complaints is data. NHTSA does not investigate the truthfulness of any individual report — that's the job of the Office of Defects Investigation, which looks at the full pattern. When evaluating a vehicle, look for whether multiple owners describe the same chain of events.
- Crash, fire, injury, and death flags are owner-set. They are not verified by NHTSA. They are still useful as a filter, because owners who tick those boxes are typically reporting more serious incidents than those who don't.
- Component categories are NHTSA-assigned, not owner-assigned. NHTSA standardizes the component field so that complaints can be aggregated. The owner narrative often goes into more detail than the component category captures.
- Complaint volume scales with sales volume. A best-selling model will accumulate more raw complaints than a niche model even at the same defect rate. To compare across vehicles, look at complaints per 100,000 units sold, not raw counts.
If you've experienced a defect
File a complaint. NHTSA's investigators rely on this database to detect emerging defects, and useful complaints — specific, concrete, with dates and mileage and clear descriptions of what happened — feed directly into the agency's pattern detection. The form takes about 10 minutes and is at nhtsa.gov/recalls under "Report a Safety Problem." Your complaint becomes part of the same public record that this page is built from. Owners filing detailed VOQs are how recalls get triggered.
Read more from our blog
Showing 40,517 complaints — component: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Incident date: Jun 11, 2022
The contact owns a 2002 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power with the traction control warning light illuminated. The vehicle hesitated to restart. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 03V455000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the VIN was not included in the rec... Read more
Incident date: Jun 4, 2022
The contact owns a 2010 BMW 328XI. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 MPH, the vehicle was overheating and the gauge was notifying the contact of the engine temperature moving from high to extremely high. The contact also stated there was black smoke coming from the engine and tailpipe. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact re... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2022
The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the coolant valve bypass had malfunctioned. The contact was informed that the parts were back-ordered. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 14, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power and stalled. The contact stated there was a piston failure in the engine allowing oil to leak onto the ground. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer but was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufactu... Read more
Incident date: Jun 9, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal however, the vehicle failed to respond; instead, the vehicle gradually lost forward momentum and decelerated. The contact pulled off the highway. The contact turned off the vehicle and attempted to restart the vehicle however, the vehicle fail... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2022
The contact's wife owns a 2008 BMW 328I. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, a burning rubber odor was coming from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. Additionally, light gray smoke was intermittently coming from the passenger’s side hood. The contact then received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2008 Hyundai Vera Cruz. The contact stated that oil was leaking onto the alternator causing the vehicle to shut off. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The check engine and battery warning indicator lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the valve cover gasket and alternator were discovered to need replacement. The contact recei... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2012 Hyundai Tucson. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V063000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact took the vehicle to a local dealer and had a recall remedy completed. The contact stated that three days later while driving 70 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to accelerate as needed. The contact stated that the low oil... Read more
Incident date: Mar 2, 2022
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 325XI. 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 had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confi... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
TAOS
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 15, 2022
Incident date: May 26, 2022
The contact owned a 2022 Volkswagen Taos. The contact stated while driving in the parking lot at work, the engine stalled, she turned the vehicle off, waited to restart the vehicle, and drove the vehicle but could not stop. The contact crashed into the fence. There was no warning light illuminated. The air bag did deploy. The contact suffered some injuries that required medical attention. The cont... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Mar 2, 2022
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 325I. 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 had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confir... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated and the vehicle started to shake abnormally. The contact pulled over because the vehicle failed to exceed 40 MPH. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that coolant was leaking into the spark plug cylinders. The vehicle was no... 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 made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confir... Read more
Incident date: Jun 5, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Lincoln MKC. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH and accelerating to switch lanes, several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact was concerned that a major failure might occur and pulled off of the road. The contact turned the vehicle off and had the vehicle towed to a dealer. The dealer diagnosed that the vehicle had a cracked gasket and stated ... 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 made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confir... Read more
Incident date: Jul 10, 2018
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving 45 MPH uphill the vehicle started overheating and fluid started leaking onto the exhaust manifold. The contact stated that the coolant temperature warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was restarted but was towed to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 BMW 528i. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated. Additionally, the odor of burning plastic was present inside the vehicle. The contact stated that smoke was coming from the engine compartment. The contact attached a diagnostic device to the vehicle and the reading indicated a heater malfunction. No further i... Read more
Incident date: Mar 6, 2020
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Veracruz. The contact initially received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V415000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact called the dealer and was informed that the parts for the repair were not available. The contact then stated that an abnormal knocking noise started coming from the vehicle while driving. The dealer was called back and an appointment was... Read more
Incident date: Jul 14, 2021
The contact's cousin owns a 2013 Audi A5. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle began to overheat. The warning message "Pull Over and Check Coolant" was displayed. The contact veered to the side of the road and upon checking the coolant reservoir, the contact noticed that the coolant was leaking. The contact added coolant and was able to continue driving. However, t... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2008
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 530i. The contact stated that while driving, the engine temperature was extremely hot. While the vehicle was parked inside the garage, the cooling fan continued to run. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the heat pump and thermostat were placed. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V1... Read more
Incident date: May 13, 2022
2018 Honda Accord 1.5Turbo LX - Fuel Injector Failure at 58,600 - diagnosed at Honda Superstore of Lisle, IL. As a result car has low power, all safety features are deactivated, and emission system is malfunctioning. Submitting this issue as HONDA has had several other models with early fuel injector failure which it has recalled in the past. Please contact me if a fuel injector recall is issued f... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact called the local dealer but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer informed the contact he failed to have an unknown software update completed. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approxi... Read more
Incident date: Jun 14, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and hauling a travel trailer, the vehicle lost motive power with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a non-reading crankshaft sensor tone wheel that had delaminated. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufactur... Read more
Incident date: Jun 10, 2022
The contact owned a 2015 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that after she made a right turn into a parking lot, the vehicle shut off while driving up an incline(speed unknown) without warning. The contact placed that vehicle into neutral and attempted to restart the vehicle but each attempt failed. White smoke began to emit from the hood of the vehicle and an off-duty firefighter came to her assistan... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Jun 13, 2020
The contact owns a 2007 BMW 328i. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle began to overheat and started shuddering. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact was able to continue to drive the vehicle however, the failure recurred several times while driving. The contact later received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) h... Read more
Incident date: Nov 22, 2021
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving, the vehicle started vibrating. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle and the vehicle overheated. The contact stated that the failure had recurred several times. The contact added coolant and drove to an independent mechanic. The contact was informed that coolant had intruded into the engine cylinders and the engin... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2018 Kia Forte. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, an unknown strong fume odor would emit from the vehicle without warning. The contact took the vehicle to Kia at Huffines McKinney (1201 N Central Expy, McKinney, TX 75069) where she was informed that oil in the engine had become sludge due to a lack of oil changes. The contact was informed that the repair for th... Read more
Incident date: Jan 10, 2020
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated while driving 40-45 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated and the vehicle stalled. The contact veered to the side of the road. The contact was able to restart the vehicle; however, the vehicle started overheating while driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the knock control system,... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2008 Hyundai Veracruz. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V705000 (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 cont... Read more
Incident date: Jun 9, 2022
The contact's girlfriend owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle began to hesitate upon the depression of the accelerator pedal with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a defective catalytic converter. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V1200... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 35-45 MPH with her granddaughter in the front passenger’s seat, the vehicle began to stall. The warning "Low Coolant Level; Service Vehicle Immediately" message was displayed. The contact veered to the side of the road. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and drove back to her residence. The contact's son refilled cool... Read more
Incident date: May 9, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that she and her husband noticed that the coolant in the radiator was low. The contact added coolant to the reservoir and noticed two days later that the coolant level was low again. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where they diagnosed the vehicle and stated that the water pump was failing and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not re... Read more
Incident date: Jun 8, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at a low rate of speed, the temperature gauge indicated that the engine was hot. A message on the instrument panel to turn off the vehicle was displayed. The contact shut off the vehicle and waited for a few minutes before restarting the vehicle. Once the vehicle was restarted, the contact was able to resume normal drivin... Read more
Incident date: Jun 8, 2022
The contact's daughter owns a 2012 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle was leaking oil. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and the dealer performed an unknown repair; however, the vehicle later lost motive power. The vehicle was then taken to Community Kia of Bloomington (2200 S Walnut St, Bloomington, IN 47401) where the vehicle ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 2, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that after stopping at the service station and running inside; upon returning to the vehicle, the vehicle failed to restart. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact called her dad for assistance in getting the vehicle to the dealer. While at the dealer, the vehicle was diagnosed and the contact was informed that coolant had leaked i... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2018) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 8, 2022
Incident date: Apr 24, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Expedition. The contact stated while starting the vehicle to pull out of a parking lot, he heard an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to drive home safely. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the cam-phaser needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaire... Read more
Incident date: Jun 8, 2022
UNKNOWN: However, the engine is using 2 quarts of oil in less than 100 miles of traveling. It has been taken to the dealer several times for this problem of. Using oil through the engine with no leaks in the oil pan.
Incident date: Jun 8, 2022
UNKNOWN: However, the engine is using 2 quarts of oil in less than 100 miles of traveling. It has been taken to the dealer several times for this problem of. Using oil through the engine with no leaks in the oil pan.
Incident date: May 28, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 MPH and making a right turn, there was a squealing rattling sound coming from the engine compartment and the vehicle would not properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. The message check oil pressure was displayed. Upon inspection, the contact noticed an odor of fuel was present in the engi... Read more
Incident date: Jun 8, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328XI. 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 while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle overheated while the H... Read more
Incident date: May 17, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Tucson. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V063000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The vehicle was taken to the local dealer for a software update. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the same local dealer where it wa... Read more
Incident date: May 31, 2022
The contact owns a 2009 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 while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would overheat. An unknown warning light was illuminated and a warning message that the vehicle was overheating and to slow down and stop t... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328i. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V683000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) and 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The contact stated that the engine was overheating. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufa... Read more
Incident date: Mar 2, 2022
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 325XIT. 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 manu... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2020
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was an internal coolant system burning. In addition, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was diagnosed and repaired; however, the failure reoccurred. The VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 12V551000 (Engine and Engine Cooling).... Read more
Incident date: Jun 6, 2022
The contact owns a 2012 BMW X3. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle was shaking and hesitating during acceleration. An unknown warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V176000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not re... Read more
Incident date: May 20, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the vehicle would momentary drive rough. The check engine warning light illuminated and remained illuminated while driving the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the coolant reservoir was low and coolant had leaked into cylinder #2. The contact was informed that the engi... Read more
Incident date: Sep 18, 2021
The contact owns a 2008 Hyundai Veracruz. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V705000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts d... 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 manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 14, 2022
The contact owns a 2010 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at 45 MPH, a semi-truck entered her lane of traffic which forced her vehicle onto the shoulder of the highway. The contact stated that the truck did not hit her vehicle; however, the vehicle shut off with the check engine, ABS, and brake warning lights illuminated. The contact attempted to restart the vehicle but the vehicle f... Read more