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: 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
Incident date: May 13, 2022
The contact owns a 2007 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: Mar 2, 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 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 conf... Read more
Incident date: May 26, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 BMW X3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V907000 (Fuel System, Diesel) 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 engine coolant warning light illuminate... Read more
Incident date: Jun 3, 2016
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was overheating. Additionally, the contact stated he smelled a burning odor and gasoline odor while driving and upon starting the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact later received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling). The vehicl... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2007 BMW X3. The contact stated that there was an abnormal odor of burning plastic inside the vehicle. The contact stated that the heater was inoperable. There were no warning lights illuminated. 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 c... Read more
Incident date: Mar 2, 2022
The contact owns a 2008 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: Apr 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2012 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 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. The contact had not ... Read more
Incident date: May 22, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 Dodge Ram 2500. The contact initially received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V635000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Fuel System, Diesel). The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and the recall was serviced. Recently, the contact stated that he noticed a fuel leak coming from the fuel heater. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was discovered... Read more
Incident date: Jun 2, 2020
The contact's brother owns a 2006 BMW 330XI. The contact stated while his mother was driving approximately 30-40 MPH, she smelled a burning plastic odor and the vehicle started to overheat. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring while driving. The coolant temperature warning light illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road. The... Read more
Incident date: Jun 27, 2021
The contact owns a 2012 Buick LaCrosse. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after a while. The contact stated that the service stabili trac warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the error code. The vehicle was not repaired. The conta... Read more
Incident date: Apr 5, 2022
The contact owns a 2010 BMW X5. 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 while driving approximately 35-40 MPH, the vehicle started overheating and an unknown warning light illuminated. The contact veered to side of the road an... Read more
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2016) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 1, 2022
Incident date: May 6, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH on the highway, the contact pulled over and heard water dripping. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact had the vehicle towed to the residence and then to the dealer where it was diagnosed as the water pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the fai... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2021) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
May 31, 2022
Incident date: May 4, 2022
The contact owned a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that approximately 35 minutes after parking and turning the vehicle off he was notified that the vehicle had caught on fire. The fire department was called to the scene and extinguished the flames. Upon inspection, it was determined that the fire originated in the engine compartment. A police and fire report was taken at the sce... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Feb 28, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Audi S7. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently stopped. Additionally, the vehicle was leaking an excessive amount of oil. There was an EPC warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer however, the mechanic was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Num... Read more
Incident date: Apr 29, 2022
FORD 04/29/22: Brought my 2016 Ford Escape Titanium to dealership in Bremerton, WA when engine light was on and engine began shuddering on a cold start. Mechanic found P034 for a #4 engine miss. Removed #4 plug & found some buildup on coil boot. Replaced plugs  coil boot. Installed SP550 spark plug, CB5Z 124402 A boot, ignition wire prot, replaced spark plugs and 2 worn coil boots. Completed ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 21, 2022
There is something that has been making my coolant go low in my vehicle I took it to the mechanics two times and they fall suggested to take it in to dealership for a recall because they have dealt with this exact same kind of car many times and that's the same problem it given other owners.
Incident date: May 27, 2022
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Optima. The vehicle was previously serviced at the dealer under NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V224000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the failure recurred. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle would not accelerate above 35 MPH. Additionally, the vehicle inadvertently shifted into limp mode. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired... Read more
Incident date: Apr 27, 2022
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 530i. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V273000 (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 manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The contact stated that air bag and seat belt warni... Read more