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: Dec 29, 2021
My engine is burning oil risking my safety commuting to and from work. Piston rings have gone bad even with regular oil changes. This is poorly manufactured and not a result of maintenance. Only reason I knew oil I was burning oil was because I checked it and no indicator lights would have told me before blowing the engine up entirely. That to me is a scare feeling that could have been missed!
Incident date: Dec 29, 2021
My engine is burning oil risking my safety commuting to and from work. Piston rings have gone bad even with regular oil changes. This is poorly manufactured and not a result of maintenance. Only reason I knew oil I was burning oil was because I checked it and no indicator lights would have told me before blowing the engine up entirely. That to me is a scare feeling that could have been missed!
HYUNDAI
SANTA FE SPORT
(2017) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Dec 28, 2021
Incident date: Sep 18, 2021
The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. The contact stated that while driving at 45 MPH, the vehicle began to stall as an abnormal, knocking sound began to emit from the engine without warning. Due to the failure, the contact had the vehicle towed to a dealer where she was informed that the rod bearing had gone through the engine block which resulted in engine failure. The vehicle was not ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 22, 2021
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Sedona. The contact stated that after driving 70 MPH, and pulling into a parking lot, he noticed smoke coming from underneath the hood of the vehicle. The contact exited the vehicle and upon opening the hood of the vehicle, he saw that the engine compartment was on fire. The contact was able to extinguish the fire with the assistance of the fire department. A fire depar... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Oct 28, 2021
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Veracruz. The contact stated the battery light was previously flashing. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 20V705000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who confirmed that parts were not yet avail... Read more
Incident date: Dec 25, 2021
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while at a complete stop, the vehicle would intermittently fail to accelerate upon the depression of the accelerator pedal without warning. As the failure persisted, the contact checked the engine and discovered that there was no coolant in the engine. Due to the failure, the contact had the vehicle towed to a dealer where the mechanic d... Read more
HYUNDAI
SANTA FE SPORT
(2017) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Dec 27, 2021
Incident date: Dec 17, 2021
The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at 35 MPH, the vehicle began to jerk without warning as the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to pull off to the side of the road and had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic. A week later, the contact was called and was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. Upon investigatio... Read more
Incident date: Dec 27, 2021
The contact owns a 2010 Hyundai Veracruz. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V705000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair and found oil leaking on alt. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The part was not available for repair. The contact had not experienced a fa... Read more
Incident date: Dec 21, 2021
On 12/21/21 at 6:30AM my vechicle stalled out making a right hand turn off on Trap Shooters Road onto Bay Road Magnolia DE. On 12/22/21 at 3:30PM my vechicle stalled out making a right hand turn off of Walker Road on to Salsbury Road in Dover DE. I took the car to jiffy lube on the way home from work and the car was over two quarts low on oil with 2K more before oil change is due. This was the fou... Read more
Incident date: Jul 12, 2021
The contact's daughter owns a 2015 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at 30 MPH, the engine oil warning light illuminated, and she heard abnormal sounds coming from the engine. The contact stated that as the vehicle began to stall, his daughter veered to the side of the road and parked the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who diagnosed the vehicle but did ... Read more
INFINITI
QX60 HYBRID
(2014) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Dec 22, 2021
Incident date: Nov 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2014 Infiniti QX60 Hybrid. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V774000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Hybrid Propulsion System) however, the part to the recall repair was unavailable. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer and it was confirmed that the part was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amou... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would overheat with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact also stated that the vehicle would stall and independently enter safe mode as the temperature gauge would indicate that the engine was hot. The contact had initially taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic who cou... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2018
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Sonic. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle began to stall inadvertently. The engine overheating warning light illuminated. The contact stated that she veered to the side of the road and turned off the vehicle. The contact's friend came on the scene and provided her with engine coolant, and she added the coolant to the vehicle. The contact continue... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2021
The contact owns a 2010 Hyundai Veracruz. The contact stated that while driving at 30-40 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently stalled. The contact was unsure whether there were warning lights illuminated. The contact pulled into the parking lot of his workplace and parked the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the alternator needed to be replaced. The contact st... Read more
Incident date: Dec 10, 2021
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while reversing out of the garage, she noticed there was a puddle of oil on the ground. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed with an engine oil pressure switch leak. The oil pressure switch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The manufactu... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2021
The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving approximately 66 MPH, the temperature gauge started increasing as the vehicle started to shake. The contact stated that the dashboard was making an abnormal sound. The contact pulled over, turned off the vehicle for 20 minutes, and waited for the engine to cool down. The vehicle was restarted, the contact was able to drive the... Read more
Incident date: Dec 13, 2021
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle was making ticking and knocking sounds. Upon registering the vehicle on the manufacturer's website, the contact was made aware that the VIN was associated with NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling). The vehicle was taken to two independent mechanics, and both ... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
S 580
(2021) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Dec 13, 2021
Incident date: Dec 2, 2021
The contact owns a 2021 Mercedes-Benz S580. The contact received a notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V843000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The dealer had been notified about the recall; however, the contact was informed that the parts were not yet available. The manufacturer had also been notified of the recall but offered no assista... Read more
Incident date: Dec 11, 2021
I can hear the coolant sloshing around and gurgling while the vehicle is in park with the heat on. When I turn the heat off, the sloshing and gurgling goes away. It appears that I do not have a coolant leak.
Incident date: Nov 13, 2021
The contact owns a 2011 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 vehicle was taken to the local dealer who confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair.... Read more
CHEVROLET
MONTE CARLO
(2004) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Dec 10, 2021
Incident date: Nov 20, 2021
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, there was a burning odor blowing through the air vents into the cabin of the vehicle. While depressing the accelerator pedal, the oil gauge increased to high. Additionally, the engine overheated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer regarding NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V201000 (Engine and Engine ... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Dec 9, 2021
While driving on the morning of 12/9/2021, the low engine coolant warning came on. Vehicle is leaking engine coolant from undiscovered location.
Incident date: Nov 15, 2019
The contact owns a 2015 Chevrolet sonic. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 25 MPH, there was white smoke coming from under the hood of the vehicle. The contact mentioned that once the vehicle was to the side of the road, the contact noticed that there was antifreeze all over the engine. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle wobbled and hesitated to accelerate. Additionally, the vehicle was consuming excessive amounts of oil. The local dealer and Gurley Leep Kia (4028 Grape Rd, Mishawaka, IN 46545) were made aware of the failure. Both dealers informed the contact that the next available appointment was on December 20... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2007 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 available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while the vehicle was with an independent mechanic for routine mainten... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2012 BMW 550i. The contact stated after parking and exiting the vehicle, he noticed coolant leaking on the front driver’s side and saw white smoke exiting near the water pump. The contact stated the low coolant fluid and the drivetrain malfunction warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated the smoke disappeared on its own. The contact stated that he continued driving ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2021
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 available. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The contact's wife was able to restart the vehicle. The dealer and another dealer, Red McCombs Hyundai... Read more
MERCURY
GRAND MARQUIS
(2004) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Nov 29, 2021
Incident date: Nov 22, 2021
The contact owns a 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis. The contact stated that she noticed a leak underneath her vehicle with the check engine and coolant warning lights illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic where it was discovered that coolant had been leaking from a crack in the intake manifold. The dealer nor the manufacturer had been notified of the failure. The veh... Read more
Incident date: Nov 18, 2021
The contact owns a 2009 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 55 MPH, the engine was running hot and there was thick white smoke coming from the exhaust tips. In addition, the vehicle stalled and was restarted however the vehicle shut off. The contact mentioned that the check engine warning light illuminated intermittently. The vehicle was towed to the contact's res... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2019
The contact owns a 2018 Ram 1500. The contact received a notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V757000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The dealer had been notified about the recall; however, the contact was informed that the parts were on backorder. The manufacturer had been notified of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall rep... Read more
Incident date: Nov 22, 2021
The contact owns a 2017 Ram 1500. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V757000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the dealer informed the contact that the parts for the recall repair were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the issue and advi... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2018) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Nov 22, 2021
Incident date: Nov 12, 2020
The contact owns a 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V699000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact called the local dealer who stated that the parts were not available. The contact was placed on the waiting list. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amoun... Read more
Incident date: Jul 31, 2020
The contact owns a 2016 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V757000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to the recall repair was unavailable. The contact took the vehicle to HW Hunter RAM of the West (43226 10th St W, Lancaster, CA 93534: (661) 948-8411) & AutoNation Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM Valencia (23820 Creekside Rd, Valencia, CA 91355: (661) 379-77... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2021
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328i. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V044000 (Electrical System) 17V676000 (Electrical System) and 17V683000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was contacted bit did no... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
SPRINTER 2500
(2014) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Nov 18, 2021
Incident date: Nov 6, 2021
The contact owns a 2014 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500. The contact stated that while her partner was driving at an unknown speed, a stop engine warning message illuminated on the instrument panel as oil leaked out of the engine. The engine had also begun to seize as her partner pulled the vehicle off to the side of the road. Due to the failure, the contact's partner had the vehicle towed to an indep... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2020
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328I. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the radiator would overheat as the temperature gauge would indicate that the engine was hot. The contact had taken the vehicle to a dealer where it was discovered that plastic parts inside the reservoir including the head gasket had melted and entered the radiator, which caused the failure. The contact also stated... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Oct 17, 2021
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at 35 MPH, a message stating that the engine was experiencing high temperatures illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact continued to drive the vehicle since he was approaching his residence. As the contact arrived at his residence, he opened the hood of the vehicle and noticed that there was no engine coolant; howe... Read more
Incident date: Oct 15, 2021
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that her daughter had to add coolant to the vehicle. The coolant warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic contact who stated the vehicle was leaking coolant internally. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 11, 2021
The contact owns a 2008 Hyundai Veracruz. The contact received a notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V705000 (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 vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the part was not yet ava... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2021
The contact's wife owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, a warning alert would frequently chime as the low coolant warning message would illuminate on the instrument panel. The contact had to frequently replenish the coolant due to the failure. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed him that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Num... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2019
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated that since purchasing the vehicle, multiple oil and coolant repairs have been performed on the vehicle due to leakage. The contact stated that while in stop-and-go traffic, a cloud of white smoke began to emit from the vehicle as a warning message stating "turn off the heater, high engine heat" appeared on the instrument panel. The contac... Read more
Incident date: Oct 15, 2021
The contact owns a 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a knocking sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed with engine rod knock and engine failure. The engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failu... Read more
Incident date: Nov 6, 2021
The contact's niece owned a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while his niece was driving at 60-65 MPH, she saw smoke coming from underneath the hood of the vehicle. The coolant warning light illuminated. The contact stated that as his niece veered to the side of the road and exited the vehicle, she saw fire underneath the vehicle. The contact's niece was able to extinguish the fire with ... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Apr 1, 2014
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the low coolant warning light was illuminated. The message to “Pull Over Immediately” was displayed on the instrument panel before the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer three times to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that coolant was leaking into the engine. The contact was informed that the e... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2007 Hyundai Veracruz. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V705000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V-415000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that while pulling into his garage, a burning odor was detected and the check engine warning light was illuminated. Upon inspection, th... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Nov 5, 2021
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving approximately 15 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed with needing the engine replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated t... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2020
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Veracruz. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V705000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to the recall repair was unavailable. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer where it was confirmed that the part was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair... Read more
Incident date: Oct 4, 2021
The contact owns a 2007 Hyundai Veracruz. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V705000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer and it was confirmed that the part was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repai... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2020
The contact owns a 2007 Hyundai Veracruz. The contact stated that she noticed oil had started to leak from the engine without warning. She then received a recall notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V415000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) and had taken the vehicle to a dealer for service. Once the vehicle was returned, the failure persisted. The contact then took the vehicle to an independent mec... Read more
Incident date: Sep 30, 2021
My vehicle turns off like out of no where has done this three times also some oil is getting in the coolant take and when driving has a weird smell like gas or something