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: May 27, 2014
The contact owns a 2007 Hyundai Veracruz. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle stalled and lost electrical power. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle after several attempts. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that engine oil was leaking onto the a... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2022
Ford ECO-Boost 2.0 engine has a cracked block, cylinder head, or blown head gasket at 76,200 miles. Car cut off while driving on the highway and I was almost hit in the rear end when trying to pull over. Engine light confirmed misfire in cylinder 1 and 2. Purcis Ford in Fredericksburg VA has confirmed the engine has water / antifreeze in the cylinders and needs replacement. They explained it's a... Read more
Incident date: May 27, 2022
The contact's daughter owns a 2008 BMW X3. The contact's daughter 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 while driving at an undisclosed speed, a burning odor was detected. The contact pulled over and waited until the vehicle cooled down, then restarted the vehicl... Read more
Incident date: Feb 27, 2022
The contact owns a 2008 BMW X5. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, she smelled a strong burning plastic odor coming through the A/C vents. There was no warning light illuminated. 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 vehicle was taken to the dealer... Read more
Incident date: May 26, 2020
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while in for routine maintenance it was discovered that water from the radiator or water reservoir was leaking. Later a red-colored liquid from the vehicle was present in the driveway. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the water pump had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The ... Read more
Incident date: May 24, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the engine temperature gauge indicated the engine temperature was high and overheating. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the water pump had failed. No further information was available. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were contacted but ... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 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 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. The VIN was in... Read more
Incident date: Mar 2, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool co... Read more
Incident date: Dec 25, 2021
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 530i. The contact stated upon coming to a complete stop, the vehicle would shudder significantly. Additionally, the contact stated that the engine was misfiring while driving. The transmission warning light and another unknown warning light illuminated. The contact stated that upon parking the vehicle in the driveway, he smelled a strong burning plastic odor. The conta... Read more
Incident date: May 25, 2020
The contact owns a 2009 BMW 328i. The contact stated upon starting the vehicle, she saw smoke coming out from underneath the hood of the vehicle. The check engine warning light, the brake warning light, and several unknown warning lights were illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that upon turning on the air conditioner, smoke would come inside the vehicle through the vents. The vehicle wa... Read more
Incident date: Apr 25, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated and the engine seized. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to his residence and the next day the vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the engine to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired but was pen... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that he then performed a diagnostic test on the vehicle and replaced the spark plugs; however, the repair did not fix the vehicle. The contact stated that he then took his vehicle to the dealer and was informed that the coolant had leaked int... Read more
Incident date: Mar 2, 2022
The contact owns a 2007 BMW X3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool conf... Read more
Incident date: Feb 25, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 BMW 128i. The contact stated while driving at 30 MPH, she smelled a strong burning odor. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred several times while driving. The contact stated that the strong burning odor caused her to collapse once. The contact sought medical assistance and was informed that her brain was not getting enough o... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: May 2, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. Additionally, while depressing the accelerator pedal, the turbo boost made a loud high-pitched sound. The contact stated that the low engine coolant warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle with a DTC... Read more
Incident date: May 27, 2021
The contact owned a 2016 Kia Forte. The contact stated that while driving, the vehicle caught fire. The vehicle was burning an excessive amount of oil and fuel. There were no warning indicator lights illuminated. While his wife was driving, the vehicle was making abnormal engine noises. The contact stated he sustained emotional distress and medical attention was provided. The vehicle was towed to ... Read more
Fire
1 injured
Incident date: May 3, 2022
The contact owns a 2007 BMW X5. The contact stated while he was cleaning the vehicle, he noticed an oil leak on the valve and an unknown odor around the location. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The contact re... Read more
Incident date: May 16, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle started vibrating with white smoke coming from the exhaust. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact pulled off the roadway due to the vehicle running roughly with the vehicle misfiring. The contact turned the vehicle off and upon restart, the vehicle was still running with... Read more
Incident date: Feb 24, 2022
The contact's wife owns a 2008 BMW X3. The contact stated while driving at 40-45 MPH, he saw smoke coming out from underneath the hood of the vehicle. The contact was unsure whether there were warning lights illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road. The contact then opened the hood of the vehicle and saw flames. The contact was able to extinguish the flames with the assistance of th... Read more
Fire
Incident date: May 5, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the high engine coolant temperature warning light was illuminated. The contact drove the vehicle to an independent mechanic and was informed that the head gasket needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed of coolant... Read more
Incident date: May 26, 2020
The contact owns a 2007 Hyundai Veracruz. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would stall upon depression of the accelerator pedal with an unknown warning light displayed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the front valve cover gasket was replaced. The contact then received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V705000 (Engine and Engine Coo... Read more
Incident date: Oct 25, 2021
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while his son was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the purge valve, fuel pump, fuel tank, gasket, and fuel sender valve were replaced. The contact called the local dealer but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated the failure was related to ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 23, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 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 local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the dealer. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Numb... Read more
Incident date: Apr 2, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled without warning. There was an abnormal odor of smoke detected. The contact exited the vehicle through the window. The contact stated that ten of the air bags were deployed. There was water damage due to a storm. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer and inf... Read more
Incident date: May 17, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated while his daughter was driving 45 MPH, she heard abnormal knocking sounds coming from the engine and the vehicle started shuddering. The vehicle then stalled. The contact’s daughter was able to veer to the side of the road. The contact met his daughter at the scene and drove the vehicle back to his residence. However, the vehicle would not exc... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2007 Kia Sedona. The contact stated that he initially received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V088000 (Electrical System, Service Brakes, Hydraulic). A year after the recall repair was performed, while his wife was driving 55 MPH, grayish smoke started coming from under the hood. While she was pulling over, the ABS warning light illuminated the instrument panel due to ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 7, 2022
The contact owned a 2013 Dodge Journey. The contact stated while driving 60 mph, the vehicle began to deaccelerate its speed and multiple warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated she saw smoke exiting under the hood and parked on the side of the road. The contact was able to exit the vehicle with her 3 children before the vehicle exploited into flames. The contact stated no one was inju... Read more
Fire
Incident date: May 15, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle and attempting to reverse, the vehicle started to misfire. The check engine warning light was illuminated and the message "Engine Fault, Service Now" was displayed. The contact turned off the vehicle, refilled the coolant reservoir, and was able to drive to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that coolant was... Read more
Incident date: May 17, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Audi Q5. The contact stated while the vehicle was stationary, he became aware of a coolant leak underneath the vehicle. The contact towed the vehicle to an independent mechanic and was informed that the water pump was be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. Upon investigation, the contact associated ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 18, 2022
The contact owns a 2012 BMW 328i. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V1190000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was smoke coming from underneath the hood. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manuf... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2007 BMW 328i. The contact stated that the passenger restraint system message had appeared on the instrument panel indicating an air bag failure. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The manufacturer had been notified of the recall. The contact stated that the ... Read more
Incident date: May 17, 2018
The contact owns a 2006 BMW Z4. The contact stated that while at a complete stop at the traffic light, the vehicle overheated and stalled. The coolant temperature warning light illuminated. The contact waited for the vehicle to cool down and then restarted the vehicle and continued driving. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred several times. The vehicle was towed to the dealer several ti... Read more
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