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
MITSUBISHI
OUTLANDER
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 15, 2025
Incident date: Mar 15, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Buick Encore. The contact stated that while depressing the accelerator, the vehicle hesitated before accelerating. The contact became aware of oil underneath the vehicle on the driveway, resulting in a complete loss of power. The vehicle leaked oil and lost the vehicle lost power twice. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact inspected the vehicle and de... Read more
Incident date: Sep 4, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, the vehicle stalled. An unknown warning light was illuminated. The v... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2024) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 15, 2025
Incident date: Sep 4, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. No warning lights were illuminated. A mobile mechanic stopped by the residence, removed the battery, and took the battery to a specialty shop to be tested. The mobile mechanic returned to the residence and tes... Read more
Incident date: Sep 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while the transmission was shifted into reverse, or while diving during rainy weather, there was an abnormal sound coming from the rear wheels. The vehicle was taken to a lo... Read more
Incident date: Jul 21, 2025
The contact owns a 2025 Ram 1500. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated at start-up. The contact stated that the following day, the vehicle was taken to a dealer and was diagnosed with several cylinder misfires. An unknown repair was performed; however, the check engine warning light returned the following day. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, and the cont... Read more
Incident date: Aug 4, 2025
The contact owns a 2013 BMW X3. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, smoke was noticed leaking from under the hood. The contact stated that after she opened the hood, the vehicle caught on fire. No warning lights were illuminated. In addition, the contact stated that she and a neighbor had extinguished the fire utilizing a fire extinguisher. No police report was filed. The fire depa... Read more
Fire
1 injured
Incident date: Sep 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2013 Mercedes-Benz C-350. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. In addition, the contact became aware of an abnormal rattling sound. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the road and turned off. While the vehicle was started, the contact became aware of an abnormal rattling sound. In addition, the check en... Read more
Incident date: Apr 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the oil warning light flickered on the instrument panel. While the contact's son was driving the vehicle at highway speeds, the vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact's son pulled off to the right shoulder of the highway, and the vehicle entered LIMP Mode. Despite the failu... Read more
Incident date: Sep 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2023 Nissan Rogue. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V437000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The local dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and informed the contact about the buyback process and about waiting for parts to become available. There was no additional assistance provided. The cont... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C250
(2012) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 15, 2025
Incident date: Sep 11, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Infiniti QX50. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle was vibrating, and the vehicle stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact attempted to pull over and felt that the vehicle had lost power steering assist functionality. The contact stated that extra effort was needed to steer the vehicle. The vehicle was shifted to park(... Read more
HYUNDAI
SANTA FE HYBRID
(2025) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 12, 2025
Incident date: Sep 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2023 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated that after stopping at a traffic light and then making a turn, the vehicle failed to properly accelerate as intended. There were no warning lights illuminated, and the vehicle never stalled. The contact waited for a while, and the vehicle operated as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact manually turned off the “Engi... Read more
Incident date: Mar 20, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at 20-25 MPH, an alert indicating engine failure was displayed, along with the “Service Now” message. The vehicle was on the verge of overheating, with the temperature gauge showing an excessively high temperature reading. The contact added coolant to the coolant reservoir to address the issue temporarily. The vehicle w... Read more
Incident date: Sep 12, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at 25 MPH, the engine overheated. The message to "Immediately Pull Over" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where coolant was added. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the failure was related to the Customer Satisfaction Progra... Read more
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2008) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 12, 2025
Incident date: Sep 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact observed smoke coming from the engine compartment, and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not able to restart. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the r... Read more
Incident date: Apr 11, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at 70 MPH, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where an oil change was performed because the engine oil level was extremely low. The contact stated that the vehicle was not due for an oil change at the time of... Read more
Incident date: May 12, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 BMW M340I. The contact stated that while merging onto the highway and accelerating, there was an abnormally loud banging sound coming from the vehicle before the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to coast forward. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact removed the panels, and there was metal falling out. The contact stated that there was a sizable hole in... Read more
Incident date: Sep 11, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle was jerking significantly and failed to accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. The low engine oil pressure warning light and th... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
CLS63
(2012) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 12, 2025
Incident date: Sep 9, 2025
The contact owns a 2011 Mini Cooper Countryman. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked in the driveway while both the contact and his wife were in another vehicle parked in the garage. The contact noticed white smoke coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that upon opening the hood of the vehicle, the contact noticed an electrical burning smell and fire. The contact was able to extin... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Sep 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Patriot. The contact stated that the check engine warning light had illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the fuel and the oxygen were not mixing correctly. The dealer confirmed that the throttle body box sensor failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was returned to the dea... Read more
HONDA
ACCORD HYBRID
(2023) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 12, 2025
Incident date: Sep 11, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Renegade. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of coolant, and there was white smoke coming from under the hood. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local independent mechanic, where DTC: P0481"Engine Cooling Fan Fault" was displayed. The local dealer was cont... Read more
POLESTAR
POLESTAR 2
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 11, 2025
Incident date: Jun 20, 2025
The contact owns a 2023 Nissan Rogue. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V437000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). The contact stated that the dealer was contacted; however, the contact was informed that parts were not yet available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted regarding parts availability. The contact had not experienced a failure.
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 11, 2025
Incident date: Jun 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Palisade. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact checked the oil level and became aware that the oil level was low. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where an oil consumption test was performed. The contact was informed that the oil consumption test results indicated that the vehicle was operating pro... Read more
Incident date: Aug 4, 2025
The contact leased a 2023 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact received the recall notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V437000(Engine and Engine Cooling); after the failure. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was initially unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle wa... Read more
Incident date: Aug 23, 2025
The contact owns a 2023 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine made an abnormal knocking sound. The contact stated that while driving with the Adaptive Cruise Control activated, the vehicle failed to decelerate automatically while there was a vehicle in the proximity of the vehicle. The contact stated that the Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emerg... Read more
Incident date: Jun 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 BMW X1. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 MPH, the vehicle lost automotive power with the check engine warning light illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was towed and left at the residence. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electr... Read more
Incident date: Sep 11, 2025
The contact owns a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal and stalled. In addition, the vehicle vibrated before losing power. The vehicle stalled at an intersection. The contact was stopped for hours, and the vehicle failed to restart. After six hours, the tow truck arri... Read more
Incident date: Jan 11, 2024
The contact owned a 2020 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that driving at 25 MPH with her daughter, another driver on the opposite lane, alerted them that the engine was on fire. Upon checking the rearview mirror, the contact noticed black smoke. The contact pulled over to the right side of the road, turned off the vehicle, and exited. The front hood had partially opened on its own, revealing flam... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Jul 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH on seven occasions, the “Engine Malfunction” and “Engine Power Reduced” messages were displayed. The contact stated that the vehicle was difficult to start. The engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was jumpstarted to started. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V4370... Read more
Incident date: Aug 11, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM); 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... Read more
Incident date: Sep 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). The contact stated that while driving at 30 MPH, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal, and the vehicle stalled. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagn... Read more
Incident date: Aug 31, 2025
The contact owns a 2024 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the low oil warning light illuminated, though the vehicle had previously been serviced within 1,600 miles. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who informed the contact that the engine had consumed four quarts of oil within 1,600 miles. The contact was advised to take the vehicle ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the low engine oil warning light illuminated, prompting the contact to inspect the dipstick. After a visual inspection, the contact observed that the oil was abnormally low, though the vehicle had been serviced less than a month prior. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who performed an... Read more
Incident date: Mar 3, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at 45 MPH, the contact noticed that the engine was shaking, and smoke was coming from the engine compartment. Additionally, while depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to respond as needed. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed... Read more
Incident date: Sep 10, 2025
The contact owned a 2018 Ram 2500. The contact stated that while her husband was driving and pulling a fifth wheel RV, the check engine warning light and another unknown red warning light were illuminated. The contact's husband stopped in the middle of the road and immediately exited the vehicle with the contact's nephews and dog, who were also occupying the vehicle. The contact stated that the dr... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Jul 8, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 BMW 535I. The contact stated that while driving at 30 MPH, the engine overheated. The engine temperature gauge was between 250 and 300 degrees. The contact linked the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System). The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and was diagnosed with a water pump connector failure. The vehicle was repa... Read more
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2020) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 10, 2025
Incident date: Jul 7, 2025
The contact owns a 2022 Kia Soul. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. Additionally, the contact stated that the low oil pressure warning light failed to illuminate while the engine oil level was significantly low. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where an oil consumption test was performed. The contact stated that on the first test, the vehicle ... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 10, 2025
Incident date: Sep 5, 2025
See attached document for complaint.
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2018) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 10, 2025
Incident date: Sep 9, 2025
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Aug 12, 2025
The contact owns a 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH, there was a chirping sound coming from the engine. A dealer was contacted. The contact pulled over to the right side of the road and waited for tow truck assistance. The vehicle was towed to the residence and then towed to the dealer the following day to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that th... Read more
Incident date: Sep 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Cadillac Escalade. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V274000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). Prior to the letter being received, the message "Engine Oil Low" was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the issue was with the engine. However, the part to do the repair was not availabl... Read more
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2019) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 10, 2025
Incident date: Sep 1, 2025
See attached document for complaint. When contacting my local dealership, Dick Hannah Chevrolet located in Sandy Oregon the Service Representative BXXXXX explained to me that they could not complete service in the form of inspection. BXXXXX recommended that I defer my request for a month. This is an example of Chevrolet, and the local dealership combining in a course of action meant to deceive th... Read more
Incident date: May 5, 2025
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Jan 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving approximately 70-75 MPH, the contact accelerated to 80 MPH to pass another vehicle; however, after releasing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The battery and the low oil pressure warning lights and two other unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2025
The contact owns a 2023 Nissan Rogue. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V437000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact had been calling the local dealer to schedule an appointment; however, the contact was informed that parts were not yet available and that the manufacturer would mail another letter when parts became available. The contact stated that the vehicle was ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 9, 2025
The contact owns a 2023 Nissan Rogue. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V437000 (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.
Incident date: Aug 28, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investig... Read more
TOYOTA
COROLLA CROSS
(2023) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 9, 2025
Incident date: Jul 23, 2025
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Aug 20, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, there was a knocking sound coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who replaced the turbocharger, but the failure persisted. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The vehicle was later examined by an independent mechanic w... Read more
Incident date: Sep 9, 2025
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Sep 6, 2025
The contact's son owns a 2018 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle started sputtering and the engine overheated. The engine overheating warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed, and it was determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The contact was informed that there was a crack in the engine... Read more