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: Aug 9, 2021
The contact owns a 2009 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving approximately 15 mph when smoke coming from the engine compartment was noticed. The contact continued to drive until they heard a popping noise from the engine compartment then pulled over. The fire department was called and the fire was extinguished. A police report was filed and the contact sought medical care and sustained sm... Read more
Fire
1 injured
Incident date: Aug 31, 2021
The contact owned a 2012 Kia Optima. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V224000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that while driving at 30 - 35 mph, the vehicle loss motive power without warning. The oil warning light was first illuminated then all of the warning lights were illuminated. The contact was able to pull over on the side of the road. The contact... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Aug 16, 2021
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact was able to pull over and restart the vehicle after waiting approximately 5-10 minutes. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V701000 (Engine... Read more
Incident date: Aug 25, 2021
The contact owns a 2008 Hyundai Veracruz. The contact stated that the battery was draining due to the radio not turning off internally. The radio knob was turned off along with the ignition and the key removed however, the battery was still being drained. The contact stated that the door remote failed to lock and unlock the doors. The contact stated that the battery needed to be charged for severa... Read more
Incident date: Aug 16, 2021
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to accelerate above 40 MPH. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed but not repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the VIN was not included. The m... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2020
The contact owns a 2015 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V475000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and the vehicle was repaired under the recall. Upon return of the vehicle, the contact stated that the vehicle immediately began to stall without warning while driving at various speeds. The vehicle was taken back to the dea... Read more
Incident date: Jul 24, 2021
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at 55 mph, a abnormal noise and odor appeared from the rear both driver and passenger side of the vehicle. The contact managed to veer to the shoulder of the road, turn the vehicle off, wait for about 15 minutes, attempted to turn the vehicle back on when the noise became louder and the check engine warning illuminated. The ve... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Aug 3, 2021
The engine in the 2017 Ford Explorer has a history of seizing, catching fire and failure without notice. This could cause serious injury or death. This is a very well known problem at Ford Motor Company and they are doing nothing to fix it. In fact they are hiding from it. The internet is loaded with information on this. The coolant leaks into the engine and destroys it. This has happened... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2021
The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated while driving the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the independent mechanic where the oil was drained, and the contact was informed that the connecting rod bearing was faulty. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact mentioned that when he drove away from the independent mechanic, the engine seized. The... Read more
Incident date: Aug 18, 2021
The contact owns a 2021 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated that while driving in local traffic, the RPM abruptly increased without warning. The contact turned off the vehicle and waited a few minutes. The contact restarted the vehicle and immediately the RPM increased independently. The failure was experienced three times. The contact had the vehicle towed to the dealer. The dealer performed a diagn... Read more
Incident date: Jul 31, 2021
The contact owns a 2021 Porsche Taycan. The contact stated that while driving 20 MPH, the vehicle began to shudder and then stalled as the "electrical system error, park vehicle in a safe place" warning message illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle failed again soon after restart. The contact was able to drive the vehicle to his home. The contact then called the local dealer and the veh... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2014) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 19, 2021
Incident date: Aug 19, 2021
The contact owns a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V699000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The part was not available for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. Part... Read more
NISSAN
ROGUE SPORT
(2018) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 17, 2021
Incident date: Jul 19, 2021
The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Rogue Sport. The contact stated that the air conditioning started to fail, and the vehicle started overheating and shut-off. The coolant fan had failed. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and was informed that the fan was on backorder. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 85,000.
Incident date: Aug 1, 2021
2013 Ford Escape 1.6 ecoboost engine started to show signs of coolant loss at around 32,000 miles. No visible leaks but coolant level in reservoir was low. Reported this to Ford Dealer service department. They pressure tested system but found no leaks so they just added more coolant. Coolant loss persisted but was very slow. Now at aproximately 53,000 miles, vehicle has been diagnosed by Ford serv... Read more
Incident date: Aug 16, 2021
The overheating temp light keeps coming on for no reason. Vehicle has been to Rob Smith Ford seven times and still has not been fixed.
Incident date: Aug 16, 2021
2012 KIA FORTE. CONSUMER WRITES SEEKING REIMBURSEMENT FOR VEHICLE REPAIRS. THE CONSUMER STATED THE MANUFACTURER APPROVED REIMBURSEMENT, BUT MAILED THE CHECK TO THE WRONG ADDRESS. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THEY WOULD CHANGE THE ADDRESS, CANCEL THE OLD CHECK AND MAIL ANOTHER. THE CONSUMER STATED MANUFACTURER HAD NOT CHANGED THE ADDRESS NOR ADMINISTERED ANOTHER CHECK.
Incident date: Aug 13, 2021
The contact owns a 2009 Mercedes-Benz Smart ForTwo. The contact stated while attempting to have the vehicle repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V273000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) but was denied repair due to the vehicle being a smart car. The manufacturer was informed of failure and told the contact that since the vehicle was not a Mercedes-Benz vehicle, they would not honor the recall repair... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2020
The contact owns a 2016 Ram 1500. The contact had received a recall notice for NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V475000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The dealer was contacted and informed the him that the parts were unavailable, and that the dealer was only receiving one part per week. The contact was also informed that he had been placed on a waiting list and that there were several customers ahead of him... Read more
Incident date: Aug 13, 2021
The contact owns a 2005 Kia Sedona. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, she noticed that the vehicle was overheating. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated she attempted to open the hood of the vehicle to determine the cause of the failure, but the hood would not open. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The dealer wa... Read more
Incident date: Feb 3, 2020
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328XI. The contact stated that while driving at unknown speeds, an odor appeared from the exhaust pipe and under the hood where the engine was located. The contact mentioned that every year the oil was changed at an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the valve gasket failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Aug 11, 2020
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Veracruz. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA Campaign number: 20V705000 (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 notified of the issue. The contact had not experienced a fa... Read more
Incident date: Aug 3, 2021
The contact owned a 2019 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while inside of her residence the vehicle was parked in the driveway when without warning the vehicle independently engulfed with flames. The fire department was contacted and came out to the resident and extinguished the flames. A police report was filed. The vehicle was deemed a total loss by the insurance adjuster who was contacted and ... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Jul 27, 2021
The contact's father owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while his father was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle overheated and loss motive power. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who informed the contact that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V209000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The vehicle wa... Read more
Incident date: Aug 7, 2021
The contact owns a 2016 Jeep Patriot. The contact stated while driving 50 mph, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was unable to be restarted. The vehicle was towed back to the residence. The contact stated there was an unknown warning light illuminated. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V907000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the Vin was not in... Read more
Incident date: Aug 9, 2021
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Veracruz. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA campaign number: 20V705000 (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 notified of the issue. The contact had not experienced a fa... Read more
Incident date: Jun 23, 2021
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Soul. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where the mechanic cleared the warning light. There was no code for the catalytic converter. The vehicle was not repaired however, the recall was... Read more
Incident date: Jul 31, 2021
The contact owns a 2018 Jeep Compass. The contact stated while approaching his driveway, when turning off the headlight and the ignition, he noticed the “Lights On’ message was illuminated however, the lights were off. The contact also stated on another occasion, while making a right turn, the vehicle seized. The contact stated while restarting the vehicle, the low oil pressure warning light w... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2020
The contact owns a 2018 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V757000 (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 had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. T... Read more
Incident date: Jun 17, 2021
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the antifreeze in the vehicle would leak into the cylinders which would result in misfires and the vehicle shaking on a cold start. The contact stated that the check engine and coolant overheating warning lights and messages were displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was diagnosed but was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was inf... Read more
Incident date: Jul 17, 2021
The contact owns a 2004 Mazda Tribute. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle would accelerate unintendedly, and the brakes would fail during the unintended acceleration. The ABS and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but the code reader was not able to read any codes. The manufacturer was made aware o... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328i. The contact stated that after driving, the vehicle failed to restart without warning. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and was diagnosed that the camshaft housing bolts had sheared off. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the repairs were not covered under the warranty. The contact stated th... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2017 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 19V757000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact called the local dealer and it was confirmed that the part was not available. The contact was added to the waiting list. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of... Read more
Incident date: Aug 3, 2021
There was a pop noise and then screeching under the hood for a short period & then the noise stopped. Pulled into my garage for the night. Pulled out the next morning to go to work and the car overheated, low coolant warning light came on. I pulled over into a gas station to let it cool down and added coolant. had it towed to a repair shop & diagnosis is: Water pump bearing failed and leaked eng... Read more
Incident date: Jun 9, 2021
The contact owns a 2017 Dodge Charger. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 mph, there was smoke and oil coming from under the hood of the vehicle. The vehicle was driven to a nearby local mechanic who diagnosed that the engine oil cooler hose had failed and needed to be replaced. The hose was replaced, and the failure was remedied. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Apr 15, 2021
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated upon starting the vehicle, the vehicle started to overheat. The message "Check Coolant, Coolant Low" appeared on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the vehicle was not repaired however, the engine coolant was refilled. The contact stated that t... Read more
Incident date: Jul 28, 2021
Coolant is leaking into one of the cylinders which requires a full engine rebuild.
Incident date: Jul 13, 2021
The car was overheating so I brought it to the dealership to have it looked at. I was informed that there was coolant leaking into one of the engine cylinders causing the car to overheat with the possibility of it even catching on fire.
NISSAN
ROGUE SPORT
(2019) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jul 30, 2021
Incident date: Jul 14, 2021
The contact owns a 2019 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, there was a burning odor inside the vehicle. After, turning off the vehicle antifreeze started leaking from the radiator. After restarting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the thermostat and radiator fan were faulty a... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Jul 26, 2021
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Veracruz. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V705000 (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 notified of the issue. The contact had not experienced a fa... Read more
Incident date: Jul 28, 2012
The contact owns a 2021 Aprilia Motorcycle. The contact stated while riding 30 mph, the motorcycle abruptly stalled. The contact was able to restart the motorcycle and rode to the dealer. The contact had not received a diagnostic report. The contact stated that the motorcycle had been taken to the dealer for a recall repair on the same day that the failure occurred. The contact was not sure what r... Read more
Incident date: Jul 24, 2021
The contact owns a 2006 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost power and immediately regained power. Approximately 24 hours later the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the hybrid water pump was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The local dealer ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 3, 2021
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle was shaking, and a loud knocking sound was coming from the engine. The contact pulled over on the side of the road and the vehicle loss motive power. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and diagnosed that there was rod bearing wear and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was no... Read more
Incident date: Nov 23, 2020
The contact owns a 2010 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 contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The local dealer and the manufacturer were made aware of the issue. The contact stated tha... Read more
Incident date: Jul 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 contact stated that several attempts were needed to start the vehicle. The contact also stated that after coming to a stop the vehicle would inadvertently move forward. The contact stated tha... Read more
Incident date: Jul 26, 2021
The contact owns a 2011 Mini Cooper S. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V248000 (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 notified of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failu... Read more
Incident date: Jul 5, 2021
We bought this car at the end of May 2020. When we bought it it had 48,000 miles on it. We have had this vehicle for 14 month and have religiously kept up on maintenance. Started having issues beginning of July 2021. Today, 7/22/2021 we received notice that the car needs a new engine due coolant leaking into the cylinders. We have only put 17,000 miles on this car. There is absolutely no reason fo... Read more
Incident date: Jul 20, 2021
I have a ecoboost engine on my Ford Edge that has known issues from Ford. Currently after driving past the 60k mile warranty cylinder 4 on my engine started leaking coolant into the engine block. I took my car to Ford to get it checked because I started to get notifications that the engine was overheating while in the car with my toddler. The mechanic informed me later that there was a TSB 19-2346... Read more
Incident date: Sep 17, 2020
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the front windshield bonding fracture and disconnected structing another vehicle. The contact also mentioned that an abnormal fume odor appeared in the interior cabin from all vents. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and inspected which the technician was unable to duplicate th... Read more
Incident date: Jun 16, 2021
One morning got in SUV for work. The SUV was hesitant about cracking as if starter was going so I thought, also had a small knocking/ticking noise after turning again it cranked. After a few days the engine light came on and wouldn't go off. Took the vehicle to the dealership to check and I was told that I needed an engine . The dealership found that cyclinder 2 miss fire nad traced and found coo... Read more
Incident date: May 4, 2021
The contact's husband owns a 2019 Ram 5500. While her husband was driving 45 mph, he heard an abnormal sound coming from the engine as the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle stalled while depressing the accelerator pedal. Her husband pulled over to the side of the road and upon inspection, he discovered that smoke and a fire had started in the engine compartment. Her husband grabb... Read more
Fire