Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,245,377 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA, including 140,173 crashes, 56,794 fires, and 8,580 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 2,245,377 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 40,899 complaints - component: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Incident date: Apr 25, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Kia Soul. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V099000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The dealer was contacted. The contact was informed that the recall repair was on hold. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer... Read more
Incident date: Jun 19, 2019
The contact owns a 2019 GMC Yukon. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, there was an abnormal ticking sound coming from the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the water pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where... Read more
Incident date: May 16, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Blazer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became inoperable. The contact stated that the steering wheel became difficult to turn with a reduced steering message displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the thermostat had failed, which caused the steering wheel to fail, and needed to... Read more
Incident date: May 21, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the cylinder, causing engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made... Read more
Incident date: Oct 2, 2024
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 unavailable. The dealer was not contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not ... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2021) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 3, 2025
Incident date: Jun 3, 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 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 issue. The co... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2023) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 3, 2025
Incident date: Jun 3, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 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 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 had not experienced a ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 28, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the vehicle was violently shaking while cold starting the engine. The contact stated that the failure persisted, with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where a mechanic discovered coolant intrusion in cylinder #3. Upon investigation, the contact linked the failure to Technical Service Bul... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2017) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jun 3, 2025
Incident date: May 13, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 BMW 430I. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was diagnosed with intrusion into the heat management module coolant. The contact was informed that the HMM (Heat Management Module) needed to be replaced. An unknown hose was replaced. The contact stated that since 202... Read more
Incident date: Jan 7, 2025
The contact's daughter owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing excessive coolant consumption. The vehicle was taken to Speedy Auto, where it was diagnosed and determined that there was a misfire in cylinder #2 due to coolant intrusion in the engine. The contact was referred to the dealer for further assistance. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The veh... Read more
Incident date: May 11, 2025
The contact's grandson owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact was informed by his grandson that the engine was misfiring significantly. The contact's relative, who was a mechanic at a Ford dealer arrived at the residence and diagnosed the vehicle with DTC: PO302 and PO316. The mechanic determined that there was coolant intrusion in the engine, and the engine block needed to be replaced. The vehicle ... Read more
Incident date: May 11, 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 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 n... Read more
Incident date: Jun 2, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed at night, the headlights unexpectedly failed to illuminate until the vehicle passed over a bump in the road, and shortly afterwards the headlights became illuminated again. Additionally, the engine oil and TPMS warning lights remained illuminated after the vehicle had an oil change and the tire... Read more
Incident date: Sep 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that 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 coolant intrusion into the engine, causing engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The independent mechanic refilled the coolant reservoir. T... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where DTC: P0302 was retrieved, indicating a misfire in cylinder #2. The mechanic informed the contact that there was a small amount of coolant leaking into the engine. The mechanic advised the contact to have another ve... Read more
Incident date: Jun 2, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning illuminated, and the message to change spark plug #2 was displayed. The contact stated that whenever the vehicle was started, there was white smoke coming from the exhaust. The vehicle was taken to another independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion in cyl... Read more
Incident date: May 16, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Accord. The contact stated while driving at approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle lost automotive power, and unintendedly shifted to LIMP Mode. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were intermittently illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that there was an internal coolant leak, and that the head gasket needed to be replac... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while his wife was driving 80 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power while the RPMs exceeded 5,000 RPM. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was flashing. The driver was able to pull over to the side of the road. The contact stated that his wife turned off and restarted the vehicle, and the vehicle was on LIMP Mode. The conta... Read more
Incident date: Jul 31, 2021
The contact owns a 2019 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated while driving at various speeds and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle hesitated to respond. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously taken to the dealer, where the transmission was replaced twice; however, the failure persisted. Additionally, the contact stated that the dealer ha... Read more
Incident date: Jun 2, 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 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. The ... Read more
Incident date: May 17, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the temperature gauge indicated that the engine was overheating. The contact stated that the engine had overheated, and there was no warning light illuminated. The contact drove the vehicle to the shoulder of the road. The contact performed an inspection of the vehicle. The contact became aware that the... Read more
Incident date: Jun 2, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, prompting the contact to discontinue driving the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and it was determined that there was coolant intrusion into the engine, resulting in damages to the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle experienced rough idling. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the engine was damaged due to coolant intrusion and need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer... Read more
Incident date: May 20, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Acura MDX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (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 contact ha... Read more
Incident date: May 20, 2025
The contact owns a 2022 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 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 had not experienced a fai... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2018) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
May 30, 2025
Incident date: May 29, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle jerked abnormally. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, the failure was not diagnosed. The contact's grandson, an employee at Pep Boys, informed the contact not to drive the vehicle because the vehicle was unsafe to drive... Read more
Incident date: May 29, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where spark plug #1 and the coil pack were replaced; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the mechanic, where the coil pack was replaced; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to Groat Broth... Read more
Incident date: May 16, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Expedition. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine blower seized. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the cause of the failure was not determined. The contact was required to pay a diagnostic fee. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the deal... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2021) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
May 30, 2025
Incident date: May 5, 2025
The contact owned a 2014 BMW 528i. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the electrical discharge warning light illuminated and the contact noticed fire coming from the rear end of the vehicle. The fire department arrived on the scene and extinguished the fire. The vehicle was towed to a local tow yard. The vehicle was condemned as a total loss. The manufacturer was schedule... Read more
Fire
1 injured
Incident date: Mar 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the engine had experienced an electrical shock due to coolant intrusion onto the spark plugs. The mechanic determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 Kia Seltos. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V099000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the contact had scheduled a recall appointment and was advised by the dealer that the recall had been placed on hold. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware o... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving or reversing from a complete stop, the vehicle was shuddering and there was an abnormal waterflow sound coming from the dashboard. The vehicle was taken to Advance Auto, where it was diagnosed and determined that the spark plugs needed to ... Read more
Incident date: May 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the message "Malfunction Error" was displayed, and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the rear brake pads and brake fluid were replaced, and an oil change was performed. The failure persisted, and the contact was informed that the coolant and EGR s... Read more
Incident date: May 28, 2025
The contact owns a 2023 Chevrolet Suburban. 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 ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 29, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Acura MDX. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Nu... Read more
Incident date: May 29, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving 25 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle sputtered for thirty seconds. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the engine, and that the cylinder head was cracked. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted a... Read more
Incident date: May 27, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing rough starts. The check engine warning light was temporarily illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that there was a misfire in cylinder #3. The dealer determined that a tune-up was needed. The tune-up was performed; however, the failure recurred, and the contact... Read more
Incident date: May 20, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the coolant level was extremely low, and there was white smoke coming from the exhaust pipes. The contact stated that a diagnostic scanner was used to diagnose the vehicle and retrieved DTC: P0301. The local dealer was contacted; however, the v... Read more
Incident date: May 12, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 BMW 330I. The contact stated while his wife was pulling into the yard, the engine overheated and the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the message "Engine Compartment Overheating" was displayed. The vehicle was towed to Billy's Imports Service, where the spark plug wires, the engine oil filter, the PCV system, the hoses, the injectors, the O-rings, and the valve cove... Read more
Incident date: May 12, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the message "Engine Overheating" was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that there was internal coolant intrusion into the cylinders, and that the engine needed to ... Read more
Incident date: May 27, 2025
The contact's mother-in-law owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while her mother-in-law was driving at an undisclosed speed from a right turn into traffic, the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle delayed accelerating as needed, almost causing a crash. The driver continued driving in the right lane. The contact stated that upon test-driving the vehicle the following day, the... Read more
Incident date: Apr 18, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Gladiator. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made abnormal sounds. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was test-driven; however, the dealer refused to diagnose the vehicle while it was covered under warranty. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the camshaft had... Read more
Incident date: May 26, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine overheated, with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that there was coolant intrusion into the cylinders, causing the engine to fail. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehi... Read more
Incident date: Jan 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2023 GMC Yukon. 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 was not mad... Read more
Incident date: Apr 22, 2025
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 528I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Recall Campaign Number: 23V707000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING), and the vehicle was taken to a local dealer for the recall repair. The contact stated that while driving 40 MPH, the message "Drive Train Malfunction - Drive Moderately" was displayed. The vehicle was towed to the same dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was i... Read more
Incident date: Dec 24, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle started losing motive power. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to drive to a local mechanic and was informed of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V099000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The mechanic referred the contact to the dealer for assistance. Th... Read more
Incident date: Apr 14, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 Volvo S60. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated, and had flashed off and on while driving at highway speeds. The contact stated that the vehicle also stalled on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the engine cylinders were faulty, and th... Read more
Incident date: Apr 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2022 GMC Yukon. The contact stated that the oil warning light was illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact inspected the vehicle and discovered that the engine oil level was low after a recent oil change. The contact added oil and took the vehicle to an independent mechanic. The mechanic confirmed that there was an oil consumption failure and topped off the engine oil. T... Read more
Incident date: Apr 29, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine overheated and the check engine warning light illuminated. In addition, the contact noticed white smoke coming from the exhaust, and the engine was running abnormally rough. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion in cylinder #1, causing engine failur... Read more
Incident date: May 8, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 BMW X5. The contact stated that upon entering the vehicle, the message that the engine had overheated, and the vehicle was disabled was displayed. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the starter motor. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Camp... Read more