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: Sep 9, 2022
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Soul. The contact stated that the check engine warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the mechanic stated that the catalytic converter needed to be replaced. The contact was informed that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling). The manufacturer was not notif... Read more
Incident date: Mar 2, 2022
The contact owns a 2007 BMW X3. 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 confirms... Read more
Incident date: Jun 14, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 70-75 MPH, the vehicle began to overheat. A message indicating that the engine was overheating was displayed. The contact veered to the side of the roadway until the engine cooled down. The contact then pulled into a gas station where he refilled the coolant. The contact later noticed that coolant was leaking from the vehicle. T... Read more
Incident date: Aug 27, 2022
The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Titan. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked unattended, she heard an abnormal clicking sound coming from the door locks. The contact opened the door and noticed smoke coming from the ignition switch. The contact was unsure if there were any warning lights illuminated. The contact's husband disconnected the battery. The vehicle was towed to the residen... Read more
Incident date: Sep 8, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the coolant temperature warning light was illuminated. While driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine experienced a misfire. The contact's husband changed the spark plugs and coil pack. The coolant warning light continued to flash off and on. The contact stated the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of coolant. The vehicle was ta... Read more
Incident date: Jun 28, 2021
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Coolant) 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 dealer was contacted and confirmed that the parts were not yet available. The contact stated that pr... Read more
Incident date: Aug 30, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving 15-20 MPH, the vehicle jerked and stalled inadvertently. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was unable to veer to the side of the road. The contact was able to restart the vehicle however, the failure reoccurred while driving the same day. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring increasingly and... Read more
Incident date: Oct 14, 2021
I have a 2017 Ford Edge with 37,383 miles on it. The check engine light came on one day as I was driving however the car was running fine. I thought it was a fault light as I’ve never had an issue with this veh. I took it in to the dealership and was told that it needed a new engine. Luckily it was covered under warranty HOWEVER it took 3 months to get my veh. back….3 weeks later the same thin... Read more
Incident date: Sep 9, 2022
The contact owns a 2012 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: Sep 6, 2022
Check engine light came, I took it to get a diagnostic. The diagnostic read a cylinder 1 misfire a day later it began to run hot, I checked the coolant which was almost empty but I did not see anything leaking. White smoke began to come out of the tailpipe and engine began knocking, When I tried to start the car the next day to take it into get checked out the vehicle would not start, I had to get... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while his wife was driving 65 MPH, the vehicle started jerking and stalled. The check engine warning light and the coolant temperature warning light were illuminated. The contact's wife veered to the side of the road. The contact's wife was able to restart the vehicle after several attempts however, the failure persisted and there was wh... Read more
Incident date: Sep 8, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle then started losing motive power and would not accelerate properly. Additionally, the vehicle experienced bucking, and hard shifting, and there was white smoke coming from the exhaust. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was... Read more
Incident date: Sep 9, 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 local dealer was contacted. 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 but provided no assis... Read more
Incident date: Aug 24, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the engine overheating warning message would appear on the instrument panel while driving at various speeds. The vehicle was initially taken to an independent mechanic who discovered that the coolant reservoir was empty and linked the failure to a defective water pump. The mechanic then referred her to a dealer for assistance. The deal... Read more
Incident date: Aug 31, 2022
The contact owns a 2003 Saturn L200. The contact stated that while his wife was driving 45 MPH, an abnormal whirling sound was coming from the vehicle and the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact's wife was unable to restart the vehicle and with the assistance of a police officer, she coasted the vehicle off to the shoulder of the roadway. The vehicle was then towed to an independent mecha... Read more
Incident date: Apr 15, 2022
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 528I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that while driving, she noticed that smoke was coming from the hood of the vehicle. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the PCV valve needed to be replaced; however, the part to do the r... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact noticed that the coolant level was low. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced and there was coolant in cylinder #4. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who stated there was o... 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
VOLKSWAGEN
GOLF
(2022) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 4, 2022
Incident date: Aug 6, 2022
Common problem on 2022 VW GTI models - radiator comes loose from upper clip mount on passenger side of vehicle, causing radiator to fall out of place. This causes the lower radiator to move enough so that the coolant hose rubs against a nearby serpentine belt, resulting in a hole in the hose and loss of coolant. This happened to me on Saturday, August 6. I was alerted with a LOW COOLANT warning ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2022
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle hesitated to respond and started shuddering. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that at times she would veer to the side of the road for a moment before resuming normal driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where four spark plug... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Hyundai Sonata. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V226000 (Engine and Engine Coolant). The contact stated that while his son was driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 27, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a misfire in cylinder #2 and that coolant was leaking into the engine. The dealer informed the contact that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was m... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal clapping sound detected. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an unknown local dealer in Kansas where the contact was informed that the failure was due to a friction plate issue however, the vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was ta... Read more
Incident date: Aug 30, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving approximately 10 MPH, warning message regarding the engine cooling was displayed before the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the water pump was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was not avai... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who informed the contact that the canister purge value on the fuel tank was stuck or was sticking. The contact called the local dealer and was informed that the vehicle was not covered under a recall and informed her ab... Read more
Incident date: Aug 22, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle started to hesitate and felt bumpy. The check engine warning light illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that she noticed a light grey smoke coming from the exhaust pipe but faded. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the fuel rail pressure was t... Read more
Incident date: Mar 6, 2022
The contact owns a 2008 Ford Taurus. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle stalled however, she was able to pull over and stop the vehicle. The contact stated that she noticed that the check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the engine temperature gauge was indicating that the engine was overheating. The contact observed that white smoke was coming ou... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
GOLF
(2022) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 1, 2022
Incident date: Aug 19, 2022
When driving at highway speeds, coolant sensor light stated there was a problem. Pulled off of freeway and noticed that coolant was spewing everywhere. Opened hood and radiator had come loose and damage to coolant lines when coming in contact with belts.
Incident date: Aug 31, 2022
The contact's customer owns a 2015 GMC Canyon. The contact stated that while driving at an undetermined speed, they noticed smoke emerging from the engine compartment. There was an abnormal popping noise detected and the vehicle caught fire. There were no warning indicator lights illuminated. There were no reported injuries. The fire department extinguished the fire. It was unknown if the vehicle... Read more
Fire
LINCOLN
MKZ HYBRID
(2017) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 1, 2022
Incident date: Aug 27, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the message "Engine Overheating" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine was misfiring, the coolant level was extremely low, and coolant had intruded into cylinder #4. The vehicle was not repaired. The local dea... Read more
Incident date: Aug 26, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Optima. The contact stated while her mother was driving approximately 45-50 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact's mother depressed the brake pedal and veered to the side of the road. The vehicle failed to restart after several attempts and emitted abnormal loud knocking sounds. The vehicle was towed to th... Read more
Incident date: Aug 10, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated that upon a cold start of the vehicle, a large amount of white or a dark blue colored smoke was coming from the exhaust tip. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where a diagnostic test showed that a tube that feeds the oil to the turbo was defective. Upon investigation, the contact discovered TSB#19-2188, which he linked to the failure. The co... Read more
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.