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: Jan 22, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of coolant. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was flashing intermittently on the instrument panel. The contact became aware of heavy white smoke coming from the exhaust pipes while starting the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where a misfire was de... Read more
Incident date: Dec 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the engine failure, auto park, and restart engine messages were displayed. The contact stated that the vehicle had lost motive power. The contact pulled over and stopped the vehicle. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle; however, after shifting into drive(D) and depressing the accelerator pedal,... Read more
Incident date: Jan 26, 2025
The contact owns a 2012 BMW Z4. 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 failur... Read more
Incident date: Jan 27, 2025
The contact owns a 2012 BMW 328I. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, a message to pull over immediately was displayed, and the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the timing chain had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. Additionally, the c... Read more
Incident date: Jan 13, 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 contact stated that the vehicle intermittently failed to start. The check engine warning light... Read more
Incident date: Dec 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine overheated. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with an unknown pump failure. The vehicle... Read more
Incident date: Jan 27, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35-45 MPH, the engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined that there was coolant leaking into the cylinder head, and the short block engine needed to be replaced. The local dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufactur... Read more
Incident date: Dec 6, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of coolant. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined that there was a misfire in the engine and there was coolant leaking into cylinder #2. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replac... Read more
Incident date: Jan 11, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Infiniti Q50. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the "Low Oil Pressure - STOP", message was displayed, and the contact stopped driving the vehicle. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the engine was abnormally loud. The contact stated that the low oil pressure warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 26, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Honda Ridgeline. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 MPH, there was a knocking sound coming from the engine compartment while accelerating and there was a loud popping sound coming from the engine compartment shortly afterwards. The low oil level warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to Firestone and was diagnosed with engine failure. The v... Read more
Incident date: Jan 2, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while attempting to start the vehicle, there was a knocking sound coming from the engine. The contact stated that a dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the cam phasers and timing chain needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired the first time the failure occurred. The vehicl... Read more
Incident date: Nov 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 BMW 528I. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact noticed smoke coming from the engine. There was no warning light illuminated. 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 dealer was contacted and confirmed that ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a clanking sound coming from the engine. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the cam phasers had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure persisted. The contact stated that while the vehicle was... Read more
Incident date: Jan 23, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered abnormally. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The failure had occurred on several occasions. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that there was a coolant intrusion in the engine, and there was a misfire in c... Read more
HONDA
ACCORD HYBRID
(2024) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jan 24, 2025
Incident date: Jan 29, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Dec 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 BMW X3. 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 rep... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2024) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jan 24, 2025
Incident date: Jan 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 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 made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failur... Read more
Incident date: Dec 2, 2024
The contact's wife owns a 2018 BMW 530I. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact refilled the coolant reservoir, and the warning light turned off; however, the check engine light soon returned. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where a diagnostic test discovered that coolant and freon had leaked from the turbo lines, causing ... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS CROSS SPORT
(2024) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jan 24, 2025
Incident date: Oct 9, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Compass. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and running, the brake warning light began flashing. The vehicle lost motive power. The contact stated that the failure was like NHTSA Action Number: PE22013 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING, ENGINE). The contact called the local dealer and was informed that there were no open recalls on the VIN. The vehicle was n... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2020) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jan 24, 2025
Incident date: Jun 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2019 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving 75-80 MPH, there was oil leaking from the vehicle. The contact also noticed that there was oil on the garage floor. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V202000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who deter... Read more
Incident date: Jan 24, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact was informed by... Read more
Incident date: Dec 11, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle was bucking and lurching forward. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure recently occurred while driving and the vehicle was lurching while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mech... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jan 23, 2025
Incident date: Nov 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving 55 MPH in cold temperatures, the oil light illuminated. There was oil leaking from the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle slid sideways. The driver was able to pull over safely. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the oil coolant line had fractured. The vehicle was n... Read more
Incident date: Feb 24, 2023
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 unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall re... Read more
KIA
CARNIVAL HYBRID
(2025) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jan 23, 2025
Incident date: Jan 23, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Mustang. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the message "Engine Failure - SS Repower Mode" and a message advising that the vehicle would shut off in thirty seconds was displayed. The vehicle stalled. The contact was unable to pull to the side of the road. The vehicle failed to restart. The contact who is disabled was assisted by other motorists pushing the vehicl... Read more
Incident date: Oct 9, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while operating the vehicle, there was a whining sound coming from the transmission. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who replaced the transmission. Later while operating the vehicle, the message "Engine Overheating" was displayed, and the vehicle was taken back to the dealer who diagnosed that the turbocharger was faulty and ne... Read more
Incident date: Apr 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact stated that the engine coolant overheat warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was restarted, and the contact pulled over. The contact then continued driving at 10 MPH. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was diagnosed with coolant sensor failure. The conta... Read more
Incident date: Dec 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that when the vehicle was parked and was started, the vehicle was shaking abnormally. In addition, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The vehicle was driven to the dealer where it was diagnosed with camshaft failure. The contact was informed that the camshaft needed to be r... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at 25-30 MPH into town, the contact noticed there was white exhaust smoke emerging from the tailpipe. The engine shut down. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was related to TSB: 20-2234. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined that water had leaked int... Read more
Incident date: Jan 23, 2025
The contact's daughter owns a 2015 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 not made aware... Read more
Incident date: Jan 21, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Acura MDX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (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. Parts distrib... Read more
Incident date: Jan 23, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 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 manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that while driving at... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jan 23, 2025
Incident date: May 15, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Dec 5, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Nov 29, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Tundra. The contact was notified of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V381000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, and it was confirmed that parts were not yet available. The vehicle remained with the dealer. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amou... Read more
Incident date: Jan 11, 2021
The contact owns a 2016 BMW X6. The contact stated that the vehicle was running rough, with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact used a vehicle scanner and retrieved diagnostic trouble codes indicating a misfire in cylinder number #5, and the water pump had failed due to a ground short circuit failure. The contact replaced the spark plugs and recharged the battery, and the check... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2024 Toyota Tundra. The contact stated that while depressing the accelerator pedal from a standing stop at a traffic signal, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact stated that there was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was hesitating before responding as needed and gradually moved forward. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent.... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2023) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jan 22, 2025
Incident date: Nov 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Tundra. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V381000 (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 during sudden braking, the vehicle stalled, and the engine seized. The con... Read more
Incident date: Jan 3, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Edge. The contact stated while depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to accelerate as needed. The contact slightly released and then depressed the accelerator pedal to drive as needed. The check engine warning light illuminated intermittently. The vehicle was taken to a certified mechanic who diagnosed that there was coolant leaking into cylinder #1 caus... Read more
Incident date: Jan 22, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 BMW 528I. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the contact noticed a burning odor coming from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. 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 e... Read more
Incident date: Jan 22, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while his wife was driving 55 MPH, the vehicle started shaking abnormally. The check engine warning light illuminated. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road and call her husband. The contact was able to drive the vehicle to the residence. The contact stated that the dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the d... Read more
Incident date: Jan 14, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the check engine warning light remained illuminated, and the vehicle was taken to a local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced due to coolant intrusion. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 84,024.
Incident date: Dec 31, 2024
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
Incident date: Jan 18, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ram 2500. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The contact stated that a diagnostic scanner was used to retrieve DTC: P2609; which indicated a failure in the intake air heater system. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The local dealers were contacted and indicated that the part was not available to order. N... Read more
Incident date: Jan 21, 2025
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V707000 (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. Parts distribu... Read more
Incident date: Jan 22, 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 contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the low oil pressure message was displayed. Th... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2015) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jan 22, 2025
Incident date: Jan 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 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 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 a... Read more
GRAND DESIGN
MOMENTUM
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jan 22, 2025
Incident date: May 3, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Mustang. The contact stated while driving 55-60 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to AutoZone, where the contact was informed that there was no coolant in the vehicle. The contact added coolant to the vehicle; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the head gasket had failed,... Read more
HYUNDAI
SANTA FE SPORT
(2018) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jan 22, 2025
Incident date: Jan 7, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle experienced a loss of automotive power. The check engine oil warning light illuminated. In addition, the contact noticed smoke coming from under the hood and pulled into the residence. The vehicle was diagnosed by a local independent mechanic on scene, that the vehicle had a lack of lu... Read more
CHEVROLET
TRAILBLAZER
(2021) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Jan 22, 2025
Incident date: Jan 3, 2025
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V707000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). The contact stated while driving 15 MPH, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal before the vehicle stalled. The Safe Mode message was displayed. The contact was driving uphill when the vehicle stalled. The contact helped t... Read more