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: Jun 20, 2009
The contact owns a 2021 GMC Yukon XL. The contact stated while his wife was driving 25 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact pulled over to the side of a parking lot waiting for towing assistance. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not r... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 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 dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not ex... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
ML350
(2014) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 20, 2025
Incident date: Jun 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the check engine warming light illuminated, and the vehicle displayed low coolant level. The engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that coolant was leaking, and the engine had failed. The mechanic referred the contact to the dealer. The vehic... Read more
Incident date: Jun 17, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated that upon cold start-ups, there was a loud rattling sound coming from the engine. During the failure, the rattling noise was present for approximately 20 seconds before self-correcting; however, the vehicle failed to properly accelerate. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the cam phasers were faulty and needed to be r... Read more
NISSAN
PATHFINDER
(2013) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 18, 2025
Incident date: Jun 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was a misfire in cylinder #3 due to coolant intrusion. The dealer determined that the engine short block needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistanc... Read more
Incident date: May 13, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Ford F-150. The contact stated that there was an abnormal sound coming from the cam phasers. While driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine was overheating. The contact stated that the failure was related to Customer Satisfaction Programs: 21B10 and 21N03. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the cam phasers needed to be r... Read more
Incident date: Jun 3, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a Collison Center and was diagnosed with a misfire in cylinder #3. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic, who confirmed the misfire in cylinder #3. The contact stated that the spark plugs, and ignition coils were replaced. The contact st... Read more
Incident date: Jun 8, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the engine was idling rough. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that there was coolant intrusion into the engine and that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufactu... Read more
Incident date: May 31, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH after the vehicle had been serviced, the check engine warning light illuminated. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that there was coolant inside the water pump, and the water pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The man... Read more
Incident date: Jun 18, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle shuddered. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated, and the message "Coolant Overheating" was displayed on the instrument panel. The failure had occurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that there was coolant ... Read more
Incident date: May 7, 2025
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Jun 13, 2025
The contact owns a 2024 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 contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. Th... Read more
Incident date: Dec 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that there was coolant intrusion into several cylinders, resulting in engine damage. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failur... Read more
Incident date: May 16, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 BMW X5. The contact stated that after refueling the vehicle, the contact attempted to restart the vehicle; however, the vehicle failed to restart. The contact made several attempts, and after approximately an hour, the vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle failed to start and was towed to a local dealer. The contact stated that there were no warning lights illumin... Read more
Incident date: Mar 27, 2025
The contact owns a 2024 GMC Yukon XL. 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 had ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 GMC Yukon. The contact stated while driving 68 MPH, the vehicle stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to pull over to the shoulder of the road. The vehicle failed to restart and was pushed into a parking lot, where a mobile mechanic determined that the battery and the starter needed to be replaced. The parts were replaced; however, the failur... Read more
Incident date: May 16, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that there was coolant leaking into the engine and there was smoke coming from the exhaust. The contact stated that the engine was overheating. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where a pressure test was performed and determined that the engine was not maintaining the proper engin... Read more
TOYOTA
RAV4 HYBRID
(2018) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 18, 2025
Incident date: Jun 18, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the vehicle failed to exceed 20 MPH, with the check engine warning light remaining illuminated before the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, who diagnosed the vehicle with connecting rods failure in the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehi... Read more
TOYOTA
GRAND HIGHLANDER HYBRID
(2024) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 18, 2025
Incident date: Oct 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Rav4 Hybrid. The contact stated that while receiving an oil change by a certified mechanic, the contact was informed that there was no coolant in the coolant reservoir. The mechanic confirmed that the radiator, hoses, and thermostat had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. While the contact was checking the coola... Read more
Incident date: Jun 18, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving 15-55 MPH, the vehicle was jerking abnormally. Additionally, the contact stated that while activating the heater, the heater was intermittently inoperable and was blowing cold air. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to Homestead Auto Repair, where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion in cylind... Read more
Incident date: Jun 18, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Lincoln MKC. The contact stated that when the vehicle was cold-started, the vehicle shuddered, shook abnormally, and idled roughly. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was still running rough after the engine had reached normal operating temperatures. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer,... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2025
The contact owned a 2021 Kia Seltos. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that on another occasion while driving at slow speeds and approaching a stop sign, the engine seized. The contact was unable to coast to the side of the road and the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicl... Read more
Incident date: Jun 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Mercedes-Benz AMG GLE43. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the engine oil pump control solenoid, resulting in possible damages to the engine. The vehic... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2009) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 17, 2025
Incident date: Jun 14, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to a local dealer for an inspection, and the contact was informed that the engine was faulty due to coolant intrusion, and that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 60,258.
Incident date: Oct 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the engine fan activated and operated at a very high velocity. Additionally, the message "Engine Power Failure" message was displayed, and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the engine coolant control valve was f... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that weeks after having an oil change, the oil warning light became illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the independent mechanic where the oil change was performed, and the contact was informed that the failure was common for the model vehicle. The contact was advised to have the oil topped off every 6 weeks due to the failure. The contact... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Prius. The contact stated there was a coolant leak and the coolant level was low. There was no indication of coolant on the ground. The check engine and engine HOT warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was related to TSB: 0135-19. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that there was a coolant leak in the front... Read more
Incident date: Apr 8, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 BMW X3. 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 contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contac... Read more
Incident date: Jun 17, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the contact heard a chirping sound coming from the engine. The contact pulled over to the right side of the road and waited for tow assistance. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufactu... Read more
Incident date: Jun 17, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and was diagnosed with a misfire in cylinder #1, and that the spark plugs and coils needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure reoccurred a mo... Read more
Incident date: Jun 2, 2025
The contact owned a 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle started losing motive power. The contact stated there was an abnormal ticking sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that the vehicle slowed to approximately 10 MPH with black smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The conta... Read more
CHEVROLET
TRAILBLAZER
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 17, 2025
Incident date: May 8, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Ford F-150. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked and occupied, the contact heard an abnormal rattling sound coming from the engine while attempting to start the vehicle. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the cam phasers need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notifi... Read more
FORD
F-150 HYBRID
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 17, 2025
Incident date: Aug 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 BMW X5. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer to be diagnosed, and it was determined that the EGR module and cooler were malfunctioning and needed to be replaced. The contact was made aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V755000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the VIN w... Read more
Incident date: Jun 14, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH, the vehicle made an abnormal ticking sound. The contact stated that the failure also occurred upon starting the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the camshaft and lifters were replaced, and other unknown required repairs were performed. The vehicle was repaired. The contact related the failure to NH... Read more
Incident date: Mar 31, 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 unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds there was a clattering sound coming from t... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2020) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 17, 2025
Incident date: Jun 16, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the engine fan activated and operated at a very high velocity. Additionally, the message "Engine Power Failure" message was displayed, and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the engine coolant control valve ... Read more
Incident date: May 24, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and retrieved DTC: P0303 (Misfire in cylinder #3). The vehicle was not repaired. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer, who confirmed the failure. The dealer replaced the spark pl... Read more
Incident date: Mar 13, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to a local dealer to have the air conditioning inspected, and the contact was informed that the coolant reservoir was cracked and needed to be replaced. The coolant reservoir was replaced. The contact stated that several days later, while attempting to start the vehicle, there was an abnormal amount of black smoke com... Read more
Incident date: Jun 16, 2025
The contact's wife owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while the vehicle was idling, there was smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe. The contact stated that while driving, the engine overheated and the vehicle failed to exceed 15 MPH. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that while driving on several occasions, the vehicle lurched fo... Read more
Incident date: Jun 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2023 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while driving approximately 10 MPH and slowing for a traffic signal, the vehicle stalled. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was towed to the residence and then towed to a dealer. The contact stated that the vehicle was diagnosed, and it was r... Read more
Incident date: Feb 3, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at undisclosed speeds, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that on several occasions, coolant was added to the vehicle, and the vehicle took longer to start. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion in the engine, and the engine ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 13, 2025
The contact owns a 2014 Buick Encore. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and replaced the 02 sensor. The vehicle was repaired; however, the check engine warning light became illuminated again. The contact had the vehicle towed to another mechanic, w... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2023) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 16, 2025
Incident date: Nov 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while driving 30-35 MPH from a complete stop, the vehicle made an abnormal thumping sound and unintendedly turned sideways to the left onto the turn lane. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The message "Oil Pressure Low - Turn Off Engine" was displayed. The contact then noticed an oil leak onto the rear dr... Read more
Incident date: May 23, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 BMW 528I. 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 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 fail... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2023
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. VIN tool ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2020
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the coolant level was low; however, there was no warning light illuminated. The contact added coolant to the coolant reservoir; however, after driving for approximately 20 minutes and then parking the vehicle overnight; however, while attempting to start the vehicle the following morning, the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was towe... Read more
Incident date: May 30, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the oil pressure level fluctuated between 60 and 0. The contact stated that the low-pressure oil warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the oil level was continually being topped off. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. Th... Read more
Incident date: Mar 5, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 GMC Yukon XL Denali. The contact stated while driving approximately 30-35 MPH, the engine and oil warning lights illuminated, and the contact pulled over. There was no indication of oil leaking on the ground. The contact had her son-in-law, an independent mechanic to check the oil and it was determined that the oil level was low. The contact stated that oil was added; howev... Read more
Incident date: Apr 2, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine, with the check engine warning light illuminated. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure... Read more
HYUNDAI
SANTA FE SPORT
(2018) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 13, 2025
Incident date: Mar 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving on a main road at 35 MPH, the message "Engine Coolant Temperature Overheat" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed and the mechanic retrieved DTC: P1285 (Cylinder head over-temperature). The contact was informed that the engine was faulty and to bring the vehicle to a Ford dealer for assist... Read more