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: Apr 25, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal metal-on-metal grinding sound coming from the engine. The contact also stated that whenever the vehicle was started, the engine was making an abnormal knocking sound. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independen... Read more
Incident date: Apr 29, 2025
The contact owns a 2023 GMC Yukon. The contact stated that while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. In addition, the contact attempted to restart the vehicle; however, the vehicle failed to immediately restart. The contact stated that after several attempts, the vehicle restarted. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the road. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer; however, the... Read more
Incident date: Apr 29, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle made an abnormal knocking sound. The contact exited the freeway and continued driving 40 MPH; however, the vehicle stalled, and several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that piston #4 valve had seized, ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 25, 2025
The contact owns a 2014 GMC Terrain. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was adding approximately 3-4 quarts of oil every 1,000 miles. The contact was informed by a mechanic that the failure might be related to a defective oil sending unit or piston oil ring. The ma... Read more
Incident date: Apr 14, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 BMW X4. 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 not made aware of the issue. The contact stated that while slowin... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 15 MPH and attempting to complete a turn, the vehicle briefly lost motive power but continued running. The contact stated that shortly afterwards, the vehicle returned to normal functionality. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission. The contact was in... Read more
Incident date: Mar 5, 2024
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 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 too... Read more
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2020) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
May 1, 2025
Incident date: Apr 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated that there was an abnormal clattering sound coming from the engine at start up. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the cam phasers were faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 12, 2022
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was driving rough, and the temperature gauge indicated that the engine was overheating. The contact stated that on several occasions, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that there coolant inside the engine, causing the engine t... Read more
Incident date: Apr 30, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact was notified 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 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 repair. The m... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2020) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 30, 2025
Incident date: Apr 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2023 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact was notified 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 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 repair. The m... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 BMW 428I. The contact received notification 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 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. ... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 30, 2025
Incident date: Mar 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2022 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated that while depressing the accelerator pedal, there was an abnormal sound from the engine compartment. The contact stated that it sounded like a metal-on-metal rattling. The contact stated that the "Service Suspension and Low Oil" warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that a quart of engine oil was being added once per month.... Read more
Incident date: Nov 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to exceed 30 MPH while driving. The ignition, the check engine, the ABS, and the camshaft warning lights were illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that after refueling the vehicle, the vehicle failed to restart as needed. The contact stated that the vehicle started temporarily and shut off after several ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 10, 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 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 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and making a turn, the vehicle made a loud banging sound and the vehicle shut off. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who determined that the engine had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the coolant temperature warning light was illuminated, and upon checking the coolant tank, the coolant level was low. The coolant reservoir was refilled; however, several days later the coolant level was low again. The contact stated that while driving 40 MPH, the engine started overheating, causing the engine to seize. The contact was f... Read more
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2017) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 30, 2025
Incident date: Feb 27, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V635000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was not 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 h... Read more
Incident date: Apr 30, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. A local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into cylinder #2. The contact was informed that the engine block needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referr... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 3500
(2024) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 30, 2025
Incident date: Apr 30, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at an undisclosed speed, several unknown warning lights illuminated, and the engine made knocking sounds. The message "Service Transmission" was displayed. The contact's husband pulled over and turned off the vehicle. The vehicle failed to restart immediately. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who rep... Read more
Incident date: Apr 30, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Mustang. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to Auto Zone, where the contact was informed that there was misfire in the engine. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion into cylinder #2. The dealer recommended that the long block... Read more
Incident date: Sep 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 Ram 3500. The contact stated while driving 40-45 MPH and hauling a 14-ft loaded trailer, the engine made an abnormally loud knocking sound. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the residence, where a mobile independent mechanic diagnosed that the grid heater ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that the engine was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. Additionally, the engine was leaking oil onto the ground, and smoke was coming from the engine compartment while driving. The vehicle was taken to Walmart for an oil change. The contact stated that after the oil change the engine consumed two and a half quarts of oil after dr... Read more
Incident date: Apr 30, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving at 30 MPH, the vehicle stalled. Additionally, while depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle hesitated while accelerating. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the message "Camshaft Acceleration Error" was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact used an OBD2 scanner and retrieved ... Read more
TOYOTA
GR COROLLA
(2023) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 30, 2025
Incident date: Dec 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the check engine warning light started flashing off and on, and the vehicle failed to properly accelerate. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer, who diagnosed that there was water inside the cylinders, causing a misfire. The contact was advised that the s... Read more
Incident date: Mar 31, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 GMC Yukon. The contact stated that the service suspension and low oil warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the engine oil had leaked out of the vehicle. 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 veh... Read more
Incident date: Apr 30, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was serviced under NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING); but the recall repair failed to repair the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated, and the engine failed after the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offere... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, several unknown warning lights were flashing on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where a diagnostic test was performed, and the contact was informed that there was no oil in the vehicle. The contact refuted the mechanics findings and had the vehicle towed back to the residence.... Read more
Incident date: Apr 26, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while driving at approximately 60 MPH, while depressing the accelerator pedal, there was an abnormal clicking sound coming from the from the engine compartment. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact drove the vehicle to a local dealer. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and determined t... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2019) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 30, 2025
Incident date: Sep 6, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Kia Seltos. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with an engine misfire and low oil. The contact stated that the vehicle was scheduled for a service appointment for the following week, however the contact experienced the failure prior to t... Read more
Incident date: Nov 18, 2022
The contact owns a 2019 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made an abnormally loud sound and was shaking abnormal. The vehicle lost motive power and failed to restart. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the residence, and the battery was replaced, but the failure persisted. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who det... Read more
Incident date: Mar 21, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, there was white smoke coming from the exhaust. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the spark plugs needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 28, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 BMW 328I. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, there was fluid leaking on the ground. Additionally, the message "Engine Overheated, Please Stop Now" was displayed while driving, and smoke was coming from under the hood. The contact pulled over and waited for the engine to cool down. Upon inspection under the hood, the contact discovered a hole in the coolan... Read more
Incident date: Apr 25, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the engine failed to turn over. The check warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the engine which caused the #4 spark plug to be rusted, and a failure with the long block. Upon further investigation, the contact rela... Read more
Incident date: Apr 28, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 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 while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle experienced a loss of automotive power before the engine seized. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact attempted... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2021) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 29, 2025
Incident date: Jan 19, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the message "Service Engine Soon" was displayed, and the temperature gauge rose to hot(HOT). Additionally, the message "Stop the vehicle" was displayed while the vehicle was in park(P). The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion in the pistons or cy... Read more
Incident date: Apr 8, 2025
The contact owns a 2022 Cadillac Escalade. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V274000 (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 and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer wa... Read more
Incident date: Apr 29, 2025
The contact owns a 2012 BMW 328I. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the temperature gauge started to indicate that the engine was overheating, prompting the contact to discontinue driving the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 22, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. In addition, the contact stated that an abnormal sound was coming from the engine. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The c... Read more
Incident date: Aug 13, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact proceeded to use a diagnostic scanner and retrieved a code for a misfire in cylinder #3. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where the vehicle was diagnosed, and it was confirmed that the engine had experienced coolant intrusion and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 24, 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 unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was not... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2018) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 29, 2025
Incident date: Apr 29, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the low oil warning light illuminated even though an oil change had been performed within 1,000 miles. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the piston O-rings, resulting in damages to the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the cont... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2024) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 29, 2025
Incident date: Apr 23, 2025
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while driving on the highway at 60 MPH, there was smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle. The contact immediately pulled over to inspect the vehicle. Upon checking under the hood, the contact noticed that the coolant level was low. The contact attempted to restart the vehicle; however, the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was t... Read more
Incident date: Feb 28, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the engine made ticking and knocking sounds while idling. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V274000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the year and VIN wer... Read more
Incident date: Feb 28, 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 the vehicle was hesitating while driving. There was no warning light illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact ... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2019) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 29, 2025
Incident date: Dec 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle was shaking abnormally. The check engine warning light was blinking. Upon restarting the vehicle, the vehicle was driven to an independent mechanic and was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the engine. The contact stated that the failure was related to Customer Satisfaction Program: 19B37. The contact cal... Read more
Incident date: Apr 29, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 BMW X1. The contact received notification 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 not 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 i... Read more
Incident date: Apr 29, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while driving 65-70 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road and turned off the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the engine had failed and ... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2023) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Apr 29, 2025
Incident date: Mar 4, 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 local dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were 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: Apr 26, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that there was an abnormal ticking sound coming from the vehicle while idling. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was then notified of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V274000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet availa... Read more