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 13, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, after contacting several local dealers, the contact was advised that the vehicle would not be inspected unless a failure had occurred that was related to the recall, and then the recall repair would be provided. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired... Read more
Incident date: Aug 18, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving approximately 75 MPH and attempting to accelerate to overtake a semi-truck, the vehicle suddenly started losing automotive power and then stalled. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, who diagnosed that the engine had seized and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The contact indicated that prior t... Read more
Incident date: Jun 13, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45-65 MPH and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle made an abnormal waterflow sound. The check engine warning light was intermittently illuminated. The contact stated that upon scanning the vehicle with a code scanner, the contact retrieved a diagnostic trouble code related to a cylinder #2 misfire. The con... Read more
TOYOTA
COROLLA HATCHBACK
(2025) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 20, 2025
Incident date: Aug 29, 2024
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 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 20, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 ( ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). The contact stated that the local dealer was contacted; however, the contact was informed that parts were not yet available to repair the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about when parts would be available. The contact had not... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a coolant leak and engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failur... Read more
Incident date: Aug 20, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). The contact stated that the part to do the recall repair was available. The local dealer was contacted; however, the dealer refused to perform the recall repair because the vehicle had not experienced the failure. The contact was informed that the vehicle would ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 18, 2025
The contact's daughter owns a 2021 Kia Seltos. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, and it was acknowledged that the failure was a known issue. The dealer recommended that the vehicle no longer be driven and remain with the dealer for addition... Read more
Incident date: Aug 20, 2025
The contact owns a 2014 BMW X3. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was smoke coming from the engine compartment, prompting the contact to discontinue driving the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the fail... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 20, 2025
Incident date: Aug 14, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle was shaking abnormally with the check engine warning light illuminated before starting to blink afterwards. The vehicle was steered over to the side of the road and restarted; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to an Auto Zone, where a handheld diagnostic machine retrieve... Read more
GMC
HUMMER EV SUV
(2024) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 20, 2025
Incident date: Aug 11, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was displayed on the instrument panel. A code scanner was used and retrieved a code for a misfire in cylinder r#3. Upon additional inspection, the contact became aware of excessive coolant consumption. One day, while stopped at a stoplight, the engine temperature gauge indicated that the engine temperature wa... Read more
Incident date: Jun 20, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Lincoln MKX. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost automotive power. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The message "Coolant Overheated" was displayed on the digital display screen. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to restart as intended. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed with an ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 14, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the vehicle was idling roughly with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who suggested that the spark plugs be replaced and a tune-up be performed based on the mileage. The dealer performed the spark plug replacement and tune-up, and the check engine warning light was no longer illuminated; how... Read more
Incident date: Jul 11, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The vehicle was taken to the dealer six times; however, the contact was informed that the parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure related to the recall.
MERCEDES-BENZ
CLA 250
(2018) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 20, 2025
Incident date: Aug 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 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 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 contac... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2021) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 20, 2025
Incident date: Aug 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2023 Volkswagen Taos. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion into the head gasket. The head gasket was replaced, and the vehicle was repaired. Later, while driving 55 MPH, the message "Transmission Failure" was displayed and the tran... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving on the highway at 65 MPH, the message "Engine Overheating - Please Pull Over" was displayed, and the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the engine was faulty due to coolant intrusion, and the engine needed to be ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 19, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 BMW 328I. The contact was notified of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall r... Read more
Incident date: Jun 12, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 GMC Yukon XL. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V274000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). The dealer was contacted; however, the contact was informed that parts were not yet available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about parts not being available. The contact stated that while driving at 70 MPH, the vehicle lost automoti... Read more
Incident date: Aug 4, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that she checked the engine oil every Sunday and became aware that the oil level was low. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The contact was adding one quart of engine oil every ten days. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer wa... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ID.4
(2021) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 19, 2025
Incident date: Feb 1, 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 not yet available. The contact stated that whenever the vehicle was started, there was an abnormal shuddering sound coming from the engine. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had ... Read more
Incident date: May 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). The local dealer was contacted and refused to repair the vehicle. The contact was informed that, unless a failure occurred with the engine, the recall repair would not be performed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a... Read more
Incident date: Apr 18, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Kia Soul. 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 towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the piston oil rings, resulting in damag... Read more
Incident date: Aug 14, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated the vehicle was idling roughly. While checking around the engine, the temperature coming off the engine was significantly hotter than the other temperatures around the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that there was coolant intrusion into the eng... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that after an oil change, additional oil needed to be added to the engine. The oil light was illuminated. The contact stated that when the brake pedal was depressed, the vehicle was slow to respond. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was eventually diagnosed, and ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 11, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that upon scanning the vehicle with a vehicle scanner, the contact retrieved diagnostic trouble codes indicating an engine misfire. The contact replaced the ignition coils; however, the failure persisted. The contact stated that while replacing the spark plugs, the spark ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 13, 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 check engine warning light was intermittently illuminated. The contact stated that while driving at 25 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road, and the vehicle was able to restart. The conta... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 BMW 428I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System). The contact called the local dealer, who confirmed that recall parts were not yet available and advised the contact to wait for another notification to arrive when parts become available. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 16, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (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 vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the oil pump was losing pressur... Read more
Incident date: Aug 7, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. An independent mechanic was contacted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the spark plugs were replaced. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer for an oil change. The vehicle was taken to a friend, who determined there was coolant intrusion into the... Read more
Incident date: Aug 4, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V274000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The dealer was contacted, and the contact was informed that the parts were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded the limited time frame to have the parts available. The manufacturer was contacted; however, the contact was ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 18, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal with the oil warning light flashing on the instrument panel. The contact's friend initially inspected the vehicle and discovered that the engine oil was empty. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where a diagnostic test was performed, and the mecha... Read more
Incident date: Aug 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 33I. The contact stated that while driving at 75 MPH, the contact noticed smoke coming into the interior of the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. In addition, the contact noticed fire coming from underneath the hood. The contact exited the vehicle. The contact stated he had to leave the vehicle abandoned for about a month. The contact stated the vehicle had b... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Aug 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 Dodge Dart. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle vibrated and failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. In addition, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, an abnormal sound was heard. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was... Read more
Incident date: Aug 9, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Jeep Cherokee. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V011000 (Power Train); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle experienced reduced motive power and failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The... Read more
Incident date: Aug 16, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated and remained illuminated. Additionally, the vehicle experienced harsh driving and hesitation while accelerating. The vehicle was also consuming an excessive amount of coolant. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were not... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2025
The contact leased a 2023 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V274000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle experienced reduced motive power. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had recurred on another occasion. The vehicle was taken to the deal... Read more
Incident date: Aug 17, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that after the idle stop feature engaged, the vehicle failed to restart. The engine light was illuminated. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that there was no warranty coverage on the VIN and was unsure if the failure was related to... Read more
Incident date: Aug 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 required for the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that the check oil light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the d... Read more
TOYOTA
SEQUOIA HYBRID
(2023) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 18, 2025
Incident date: Jul 29, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, there was an abnormal rattling sound coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was driven to the local dealer, who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the engine was faulty and needed to be replaced. No further information was available. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufactu... Read more
Incident date: Aug 11, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that the engine was previously replaced under warranty. The contact stated that the vehicle had been experiencing excessive oil consumption and required three quarts of oil every 30 days. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V274000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2013
The contact owns a 2023 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that while his wife was driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle suddenly lost motive power, decelerated, and shut off unintendedly. The vehicle was later restarted and driven to the residence before stalling a second time. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the local dealer. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and determined th... Read more
Incident date: Aug 16, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Infiniti QX50. 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 contact stated that while driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact was a... Read more
Incident date: Aug 8, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled while driving at various speeds and while idling. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The vehicle failed to restart and had to be towed several times. The contact stated while driving 70-75 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The vehicle failed to ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the vehicle shuddered abnormally, with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with engine failure due to coolant intrusion into cylinders #2 and #3. The contact was informed that the engine block needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaire... Read more
Incident date: Jul 21, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V274000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing rough and delayed starts, and the vehicle made an abnormally loud rattling sound on cold starts. The check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated and downshifted unintendedly while the RPM increased, and the vehicle fai... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2013) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 15, 2025
Incident date: Aug 7, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (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 check engine warning light was temporarily illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a certified mech... Read more
KIA
SORENTO HYBRID
(2025) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 15, 2025
Incident date: Apr 16, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal ticking sound coming from the engine. The ticking sound was intermittent. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with excessive oil consumption, which was possibly caused by the intake manifold vacuum during some dece... Read more
Incident date: Aug 13, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power and was unable to accelerate. Afterward, the message "Low Power Mode" was displayed. The contact was able to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway; however, the failure persisted. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was tak... Read more