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: May 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2012 BMW 528i. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. The drivetrain malfunction warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic and diagnosed with a defective oil pump. The vehicle was repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number 14V176000 (Engine and Engine Co... Read more
Incident date: Apr 25, 2022
The contact owns a 2022 Kia Forte. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle suddenly started revving without driver input. The battery and high engine temperature warning lights illuminated before the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer and diagnosed with engine damage due to the overheating caused by a faulty engine pulley bolt. The contact wa... Read more
Incident date: Mar 5, 2022
The contact owns a 2010 BMW X3. 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 co... Read more
Incident date: Mar 31, 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 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 contact had ... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2012 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 dealer had been notified about the recall and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer had been notified of the recall. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a re... Read more
Incident date: Apr 28, 2022
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 530i. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle was smoking and came to a complete stop. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the residence and then to a local dealer. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle with engine and transmission failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 16, 2019
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Coolant) 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. P... Read more
Incident date: May 7, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 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: May 12, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 BMW 128i. 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 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. VIN tool confir... Read more
Incident date: May 15, 2021
The contact owns a 2005 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle stalled and lost motive power in the middle of the road. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure reoccurred consistently. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V2840... Read more
Incident date: May 13, 2013
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 528i. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was overheating. The check engine warning light illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road. The contact was able to restart the vehicle however, the failure recurred and the vehicle failed to start after several attempts. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where the battery and spa... Read more
Incident date: May 5, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sportage. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the rod bearings failed and the engine seized. The contact related the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V224000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, t... Read more
Incident date: Jan 28, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated upon starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred intermittently. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that it was a known failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnos... Read more
Incident date: Apr 25, 2022
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that while driving, the vehicle failed to exceed 20 MPH. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic on several occasions to be diagnosed. The contact was informed of a rod bearing and knock sensor failures. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The co... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2010 BMW 328i. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, a white color smoke would emit from the underneath the hood of the vehicle as a service warning light would appear on the instrument panel. The contact also stated that an abnormal burning plastic odor would emit from the engine compartment while driving at various speeds. The contact had taken the vehicle to seve... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2021
The contact’s niece owns a 2013 Dodge Avenger. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact called another local dealer; Phillips Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram (3440 S Pine Ave, Ocala, FL 34471; (352) 644-7... Read more
Incident date: Apr 26, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated while driving 65-70 MPH, the vehicle stalled inadvertently. Upon veering to the side of the road, several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle after several attempts. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic however, the independent mechanic was unable to replicate the failure. The vehic... Read more
Incident date: Mar 2, 2022
The contact owns a 2007 BMW 525i. 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: May 10, 2022
LOSING OIL AND LOSING SPEED OIL WAS TWO QUARTS LOW AND NOT YET TIME FOR A OIL CHANGE
Incident date: May 10, 2022
LOSING OIL AND LOSING SPEED OIL WAS TWO QUARTS LOW AND NOT YET TIME FOR A OIL CHANGE
Incident date: Feb 7, 2022
The contact's daughter owns a 2015 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving 55 MPH, the vehicle stalled with an unknown warning light illuminated. The contact's daughter was able to drive the vehicle to an independent mechanic who informed her that the catalytic converter and oxygen sensor were defective. The vehicle was repaired. The contact was informed by her daughter th... Read more
Incident date: Apr 12, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while her husband was driving approximately 55 MPH, he heard an abnormal loud sound coming from the hood before the vehicle stalled. The contact was unsure whether there were and warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that her husband was unable to restart the vehicle and might have pushed the vehicle to the side of the roadway. Upo... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle overheated and the coolant needed to be refilled daily. The vehicle was taken to two independent mechanics who related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V209000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer wa... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2021
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving up a hill at approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle overheated, lost acceleration, and lost motive power. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle with engine failure and informed the contact that the engine needed to be repai... Read more
Incident date: Apr 22, 2022
The contact's son owns a 2007 BMW 328i. The contact's son 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 contact stated while her son was driving approxima... Read more
FORD
FUSION HYBRID
(2014) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
May 6, 2022
Incident date: Apr 6, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Fusion Hybrid. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would start overheating after 15 minutes of driving. The contact stated that the engine temperature warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the transmission and water pump needed to be replaced. The vehicl... Read more
Incident date: May 6, 2021
The contact owns a 2007 BMW 328i. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle started to overheat. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact was able to continue driving and parked the vehicle at his residence. However, the vehicle failed to restart after several attempts. The contact later received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) h... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Explorer. The contact stated the water pump was leaking. While driving, the vehicle overheated and stalled. The overheating message was displayed. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 79,000.
Incident date: Jan 5, 2021
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 330XI. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle began to overheat. The check engine warning light, the coolant temperature warning light, and other unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road and waited. The contact then continued driving. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring increasingly while driv... Read more
Incident date: Apr 6, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, her husband noticed that there was a fluid leak underneath the vehicle onto the ground. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the water pump needed to be replaced and the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V537000 (Suspension) t... Read more
Incident date: Apr 3, 2022
The contact owned a 2015 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle's engine started making a loud humming sound. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact pulled into parking and observed what appeared to be steam issuing from under the hood. The contact raised the hood and saw that the engine compartment was on fire. The fire department was cal... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Jan 1, 2019
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who informed him of an unknown module that needed to be replaced. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mil... Read more
Incident date: Apr 11, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal knocking noise detected and the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that water had entered the engine and the water pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failu... Read more
Incident date: Jan 3, 2021
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 525i. The contact stated while driving 60-65 MPH, the vehicle started to overheat. The coolant temperature warning light was illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road and added coolant in the vehicle. The contact then continued to drive. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred while driving. The contact stated that he replaced the thermostat himself... Read more
Incident date: Oct 3, 2021
The contact owns a 2015 Dodge Journey. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was overheating. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the thermostat was replaced. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated and the transmission slipped... Read more
Incident date: Feb 18, 2022
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 525XI. The contact stated that the vehicle was overheating while driving. The coolant temperature warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the thermostat and radiator were replaced; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the computer needed to be repla... Read more
Incident date: Apr 28, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, she smelled smoke and that a "stop driving" warning light illuminated. The contact safely pulled off of the roadway and turned off the vehicle. There was smoke coming from under the hood. The contact raised the hood and observed that steam was coming from the radiator and the radiator hoses. The contact had... Read more
Incident date: Apr 19, 2022
The check engine light came on. I was told by my regular repair shop that there was a bulletin from Ford and I had to have it fixed by a dealer’s service department. I was then made aware by the Ford dealer’s service department that coolant had leaked into the engine and destroyed it leading to the engine needing to be replaced. My car is 5 years old with 79,000 miles. This is unacceptable. In... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
Bought vehicle with around 65K miles, started having issues with coolant level low and causing the engine warning light to come on. Then the car would go into “limp” mode to get the car to a safe place. There was no visible loss in coolant level. This happened on and off for about 3 months. Called local ford dealer about a coolant recall for 2013/2014, was told my VIN not included in that. End... Read more
Incident date: Apr 29, 2022
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 325i. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, he smelled a burning plastic odor. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact continued to drive the vehicle. The contact later 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 and ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 25, 2020
The contact owned a 2015 RAM 1500. The contact stated that she observed that oil was spotting her driveway intermittently. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact checked the engine compartment and observed that the coolant reservoir fluid was very dark-colored. The contact observed that there was engine oil in the coolant reservoir. The contact had the vehicle towed to a ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 23, 2022
The contact owned a 2006 Nissan Armada. The contact stated while driving approximately 20 MPH and approaching a stop sign, the contact became aware of smoke and then fire coming from underneath the hood. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact and passenger exited the vehicle safely. The contact stated that she had minor hip pain but did not seek medical attention. The contact stated t... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Apr 2, 2022
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 330i. The contact stated while driving at 45 MPH, the vehicle stalled inadvertently and the engine exploded. The automatic transmission gearbox warning light illuminated. The contact immediately exited the vehicle. The contact stated that there was a significant amount of dark smoke and there was fire underneath the hood of the vehicle. The fire was extinguished indepen... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Feb 27, 2022
The contact leased a 2021 Kia Seltos. The contact stated that while his son was driving in traffic, he heard an abnormal banging noise and noticed smoke emerging from the engine compartment. The driver was able to pull off the road and exit the vehicle. The vehicle spontaneously caught fire and was engulfed in flames. The fire department was on the scene to extinguish the fire. The driver did not ... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Apr 27, 2020
The contact owns a 2008 BMW X5. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, between 5-70 MPH, she smelled a plastic burning odor. The contact saw smoke coming out from underneath the hood. The check engine warning light illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road for thirty minutes. The contact then continued to drive. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who inform... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Jul 11, 2021
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 530i. The contact stated while driving at approximately 65 MPH, the contact observed an unspecified "yellow" warning light on the dash and heard a small explosion sound issue from the engine compartment. The contact stated that smoke began to come out from under the hood. The contact turned the vehicle off and set the transmission to "neutral" coasted off the roadway on... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Mar 16, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to her residence. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number 19V120000 (Engine, Engine, and Engine Cooling) for which the VIN was inclu... Read more
Incident date: Apr 16, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that while driving, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact opened the hood and noticed an abnormal burning odor. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer where it was diagnosed the oil was not entering the engine and an engine replacement was needed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate fa... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Dec 6, 2021
The contact owned a 2006 BMW 330i. The contact stated while her boyfriend was driving 65 mph, he heard an abnormal noise coming from underneath the vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The driver was able to park on the side of the road and exit before the vehicle was engulfed in flames. The driver saw the fire starting under the transmission. The driver stated no one was ... Read more
Fire
HYUNDAI
SONATA HYBRID
(2017) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 26, 2022
Incident date: Apr 26, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, a message indicating a vehicle failure was displayed and the coolant temperature warning light illuminated. The contact stated that as she was veering to the side of the road, she saw white smoke rising up in the rear of the vehicle through the rearview mirror. Another driver also notified the contact of the wh... Read more
Fire