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: Jan 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Veracruz. The contact indicated on several occasions that after starting the vehicle, the vehicle suddenly stalled and had to be restarted. The contact later received notification of NHTSA campaign number 20V705000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2021
The contact owned a 2021 Kia Soul. The contact stated that soon after purchase of the vehicle, she discovered both low coolant and low oil levels upon inspection of the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer on two separate occasions. On her second visit, the contact stated that the dealer informed her to bring the vehicle back in 1,000 mil... Read more
Incident date: Jan 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 unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, 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. The manufa... Read more
Incident date: May 20, 2021
The contact owned a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving at 25 mph, a UPS truck veered off into her lane causing the contact to crash her vehicle into a curb. The contact stated that the next morning, she saw that her vehicle was leaking an immense amount of oil. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was n... Read more
Crash
Fire
Incident date: Apr 3, 2021
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the engine started to shake violently and was leaking coolant. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.
Incident date: Jul 19, 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 unavailable. The contact called the local dealer and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. Th... Read more
Incident date: Jul 19, 2021
The contact owns a 2008 Hyundai Veracruz. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V705000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the contact received another notification advising that the part for 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 and manufacture... Read more
Incident date: Nov 13, 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 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 contacted and informed the contact that no parts were available for the rec... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 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 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 contacted and informed the contact that the part was not yet available. The... Read more
Incident date: Jun 30, 2021
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving at 75 MPH, the vehicle began to stall. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated she was able to pull to the side of the road, and the vehicle lost power when it was shifted into PARK. The contact stated she was able to restart the vehicle after two attempts however, she heard abnormal knocking sounds coming from... Read more
Incident date: Apr 13, 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 unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The ma... Read more
Incident date: May 2, 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 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: Jun 11, 2021
The contact owns a 2012 Chrysler 200. The contact stated while driving at 50 mph, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the vehicle was serviced under NHTSA campaign number: 13V282000 (Electrical system, Air Bags), 16V668000 (Seat belts, Air Bags), and 17V640000 (Seats, Air Bags). The vehicle was r... Read more
Incident date: Jul 7, 2021
The contact owns a 2012 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated while driving 75 mph, the contact heard a clicking sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated moments later, a loud explosion came from the rear of the vehicle. The contact saw smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle stalled while driving to the side of the roadway. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer w... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Jun 7, 2021
The contact owns a 2017 KIA Forte. The contact stated while driving 55 mph, the vehicle started losing motive power with an abnormal clicking sound coming from the engine. The vehicle eventually stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and coast to the side of the highway as the engine ceased. Upon inspection of the vehicle, the contact s... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2021
The contact's daughter owns a 2013 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving 10 mph, the vehicle loss motive power without warning. The vehicle was towed to the contact's friend's residence, who works as an independent mechanic, and diagnosed the vehicle with an engine. The battery, alternator, and starter were replaced however, the failure recurred. The dealer was made ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 6, 2021
The contact owns a 2007 Acura TSX. The contact stated that the emission warning light was illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle with a defective ECM/PCM due to salt corrosion. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V093000 (Eng... Read more
Incident date: Jul 2, 2021
The contact owns a 2015 BMW X6. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle inadvertently shifted into neutral with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V755000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) as a possible solution to the failure however, the Vin was not included. Neither the de... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2017 KIA Sorento. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 17V224000 (engine and engine cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall rep... Read more
Incident date: Jun 24, 2021
The contact owns a 2002 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated while driving around a bend, the vehicle stalled. Additionally, the brake pedal was depressed however, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact stated that the wheels locked up, and the parking brake was engaged to stop vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer but was not diagnosed nor r... Read more
Incident date: Jul 6, 2021
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 17V224000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. Th... Read more
Incident date: Jun 17, 2021
Engine defect - Coolant leaking into cyclinder- requires whole new engine
Incident date: Jun 25, 2021
Started my car last couple days heard a little rattling. Then it got quiet. Later that day pulling into Driveway began to shake I cut it off. Never came back on. Tried new battery alot of other things.
Incident date: Jun 30, 2021
The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated while driving approximately 5 mph, the vehicle loss motive power. The vehicle was not able to be restarted. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed, diagnosed, but not repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V226000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) h... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2019
The contact owns a 2010 Hyundai Veracruz. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V705000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle loss motive power without warning. The vehicle was towed to the residence and the contact’s husband inspected the vehicle and noticed that there was oil leaking from the valve cover ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 11, 2021
The contact owns a 2014 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 vehicle was taken to the dealer and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufa... Read more
Incident date: Jun 27, 2021
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Optima. The contact stated that upon entering an interstate highway at 65 MPH, the vehicle ceased with the battery and oil warning lights illuminated on the instrument panel. As the vehicle shut-off, the contact was able to coast the vehicle to the shoulder of the highway. After the vehicle failed to start up after multiple attempts, the contact had the vehicle towed to... Read more
Incident date: Apr 28, 2021
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to a parts store for the vehicle to be diagnosed. The contact was informed of a cylinder misfire on cylinder #2. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic to be repaired however, the failure persisted. The contact took... Read more
Incident date: Jun 26, 2021
The contact owns a 2008 Mercedes-Benz Smart ForTwo. The contact stated while parking the vehicle, there was smoke coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was on fire under the hood. The fire department was called to the scene and the fire was extinguished. A fire report was filed. The vehicle was not towed. There was no injury sustained. There was no warning light illuminated. Upon investi... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Jun 22, 2021
The contact owns a 2010 Hyundai Veracruz. The contact stated while driving 32 mph, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the battery warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed back to the contact's residence where an independent mechanic arrived to inspect the vehicle. The vehicle was diagnosed with a battery and the alternator needing to be replaced. The battery was replaced howe... Read more
Incident date: Mar 30, 2021
Repeated 'misfire in cylinder 2' error code - from what i've seen online, this may mean that coolant is leaking into the engine block and can cause total engine failure. about 77,000 miles currently. Will be taking to dealership in a couple days, as it's a repeated issue and the dealership staff member we talked to said i shouldn't be driving the car, which we just bought in March 2021 from a used... Read more
Incident date: May 24, 2021
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving at 55 mph, a loud knocking noise was coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with the engine needing to be replaced due to metal shavings being found in the oil pan. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact then... Read more
Incident date: May 27, 2021
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Forte. The contact stated while driving at 70 mph, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with the engine needing to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was relating the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 21V260000 (Engine and engine cooling)... Read more
Incident date: Jun 22, 2021
The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated upon starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light was illuminated on the control panel. The contact also stated a loud knocking noise came from the engine compartment. The vehicle was inspected by an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed the engine needing to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was relating... Read more
Incident date: Jun 17, 2021
About a week or so ago I went out to crank my car and it sounded awful It was shuttering, sounded like it was going to shut off and the engine light came on, it's a 2019 Ford Fusion. I notice it does this every morning, well I took it to the dealer ship today, they said I have coolant leaking into the Engine.
Incident date: Mar 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving the vehicle overheated. Additionally, the contact stated while accelerating the vehicle shakes and shutters. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed the air conditioner, transmission module, thermostat sensor, and control fan module needed to be replaced. The contact... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2020
The contact owns a 2014 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 19v757000 (engine and engine cooling) and 20v475000 (engine and engine cooling) however, the part to do the recall was unavailable. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 mph, the vehicle caught fire without warning. There were no reported injuries. The contact was able to pull off the ... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Jun 3, 2021
The contact owns a 2008 Hyundai Veracruz. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V705000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 mph the vehicle stalled. The battery and engine warning indicator lights were illuminated. Additionally, the radio flickered. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where diagnosed the battery needed ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 22, 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 unavailable. The contact called the 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. The manufactur... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2020
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 unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that they had to give the vehicle a jump start whenever being used due to excessi... Read more
Incident date: Jan 21, 2021
The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Veloster. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle a clicking noise was present coming from the engine and the vehicle had stalled. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who performed and serviced unknown repairs along with an oil change. Approximately two weeks later the vehicle stalled and upon inspection, it was discovered that oil had leaked from ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2019
The contact's wife owns a 2012 Hyundai Veracruz. The contact stated that while driving at 60 MPH, the vehicle began to lose power as several warning lights illuminated the instrument panel. Due to the failure, the contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic who informed him that the cover gasket had leaked oil onto the alternator. The contact had both the alternator and the cover gask... Read more
Incident date: Nov 13, 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 do the recall repair was unavailable due to being on backorder. 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 stated that ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 2, 2021
The contact owns a 2016 Audi Q5. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, an abnormal rattling sound was coming from the vehicle with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and the contact was informed that the coolant pump and serpentine belt needed to be replaced. The contact was informed that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number... Read more
Incident date: Jan 12, 2021
The contact owns a 2010 Hyundai Veracruz. The contact stated while driving 60 mph, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that engine oil had leaked onto the alternator and the alternator needed to be replaced. The alternator was replaced but failed to fix the failure. The conta... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Soul. The contact stated that there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the vehicle with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine had misfired and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but declined the repair d... Read more
Incident date: Jun 14, 2021
The contact owns a 2015 BMW 328D. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V755000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The vehicle was taken to the dealer for the recall repair and the contact was informed by the dealer that the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valve needed to be replaced due to leakage however, the EGR valve was not part of the recall repair, and the contact needed t... Read more
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2012) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 14, 2021
Incident date: Jun 5, 2021
The contact owns a 2012 Dodge Caravan. The contact stated that while driving 65 mph, the air conditioning independently turned off with the check engine warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact stated that the vehicle started to lose motive power as he began to pull off to the shoulder of the highway. The contact stated that another unknown warning light illuminated and the v... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Sep 1, 2017
The contact owns a 2016 Jeep Patriot. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lagged and hesitated before accelerating. There was also rough idling while stopped at a stoplight with an abnormal grinding sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle stalled intermittently on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to an unknown dealer but was not yet diagnosed. The contact sta... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2019
The contact owns a 2017 Ram 1500. The contact stated while attempting to exceed speeds above 25 mph, the vehicle jerked with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that speed increased after a moment with a hard jerk with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The mechanic located a transmission fault co... Read more