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: Mar 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal sound emanating from the engine compartment, prompting the to discontinue driving the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the head gasket, resulting in damages to the engine. The contact was... Read more
Incident date: Aug 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 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 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... Read more
Incident date: Feb 18, 2025
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V209000 (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 ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 25, 2025
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while pulling out of the driveway and attempting to make a turn onto the street, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the used car dealer where it was purchased. The dealer added coolant to the coolant reservoir and informed the contact that the vehicle was experiencing excessive coolant consumption due to a possible coolant lea... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2019) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 26, 2025
Incident date: Feb 26, 2025
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine started to overheat with the temperature gauge indicating that the engine was hot(H). The contact stated that the engine shut off with the "Engine Temperature High, Stop Safely" message was displayed. The contact later discovered that upon inspection of the vehicle, that coolant was leaking fr... Read more
Incident date: Feb 17, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while her daughter was operating the vehicle, the vehicle lost automotive power and stalled. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the engine had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start. The contact attempted to jumpstart the vehicle but was unsuccessful. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the starter had failed. The starter was replaced; however, several days later, the failure recurred. The vehicl... Read more
Incident date: Feb 17, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 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 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. Th... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2018) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 26, 2025
Incident date: Feb 4, 2025
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while operating the vehicle, the engine overheated and the message "Coolant Low" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that there was coolant inside the cylinders. The contact stated that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer and local... Read more
Incident date: Feb 14, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated intermittently while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the cylinders. The dealer determined that the long block engine assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 BMW 228I. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact noticed smoke coming from the engine compartment. 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 not contacted.... Read more
Incident date: Jan 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 contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the A/C was activated, and there was smoke coming from under the hood. There was smoke entering the cabin of the vehicle thr... Read more
Incident date: Feb 26, 2025
The contact 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 contact stated while driving at undisclosed speeds, smoke was coming from under the hood, entering the vehicle through the A/C vents. The local dealer was not contacted. The conta... Read more
Incident date: Dec 8, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 BMW X1. The contact received notification of the NHTSA Campaign to 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 and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The... Read more
Incident date: Oct 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated, and the vehicle later failed to start. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact... Read more
Incident date: Feb 22, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was 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. T... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made an abnormal screeching sound while accelerating. There was smoke coming from the passenger's side engine. No warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to drive to the residence. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The contact related the failure to the exhaust mani... Read more
Incident date: Jun 19, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 BMW 528I. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle was inadvertently shaking and there was smoke coming from the engine. The contact was unable to confirm if a warning light was illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System); however, the part to do the reca... Read more
Incident date: Dec 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 BMW X1. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, there was a significant amount of smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where a coolant leak was found. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System); whi... Read more
Incident date: Jan 14, 2025
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Nov 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that the vehicle had an oil change however, several days later, while driving at approximately 60 MPH, there was a beeping sound coming from the vehicle, and the message “Oil Pressure Low" was displayed. Additionally, the check engine warnin... Read more
Incident date: Feb 25, 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 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
Incident date: Feb 13, 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 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 ha... Read more
Incident date: Feb 6, 2025
The contact owns a 2014 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 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... Read more
TOYOTA
COROLLA HYBRID
(2025) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 25, 2025
Incident date: Feb 18, 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 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 ha... Read more
Incident date: Feb 25, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. Th... Read more
Incident date: Feb 3, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ram 1500. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 22V406000 (FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL) and 23V411000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were 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. The manufacturer... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2017) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 25, 2025
Incident date: Feb 25, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact’s wife was able to coast to the side of the road. The contact was called and went to the site of the failure. The contact opened the hood and checked the fluids. The contact stated that the cool... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving at approximately 50 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact attempted to activate the heater however, only cold air was blowing out of the vents. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer who diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion into the engine block. The dealer determined that the engine needed to be repl... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2019 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while the vehicle was at an independent mechanic for a State Inspection, the contact was informed that there was an engine oil cooler leak into the intake manifold, and the oil cooler needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that the vehicle was not cov... Read more
Incident date: Dec 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was 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: Feb 7, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the vehicle shuddered and stalled in the middle of the road. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact attempted to pull over to the side of the road, but the gear shifter failed to shift to neutral. The tow truck operator disassembled the dashboard to shift the vehicle into neutra... Read more
Incident date: Feb 7, 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 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
CHRYSLER
PACIFICA PLUG-IN HYBRID
(2021) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 24, 2025
Incident date: Feb 22, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing excessive coolant consumption. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where a tune-up was performed. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the contact noticed... Read more
Incident date: Oct 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Tundra. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power with the oil warning light illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V381000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the en... Read more
Incident date: Jan 25, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 BMW X5. The contact stated that a low coolant message was displayed on the instrument panel while driving at various speeds. The vehicle was initially taken to a dealer where an oil change was performed, and the contact was informed that there were no other defects found with the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure returned a week after the oil change and the vehic... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the "Shut Down Engine, Engine Overheating" message was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and waited several hours for the vehicle to cool down and the vehicle eventually returned to normal operation. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where i... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving from a complete stop at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated to respond upon depressing the accelerator pedal. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times, and the dealer replaced the transmission and the turbo; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to Advanc... Read more
Incident date: Feb 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 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 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... Read more
FORD
ESCAPE HYBRID
(2022) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 21, 2025
Incident date: Feb 21, 2025
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Aug 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2024 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving approximately 60 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated and flashed on and off. There was an abnormally loud clinking sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where the O-ring, oil pan, gasket, drive belt, oil belt, thermostat, and long block were replaced. The ve... Read more
Incident date: Jan 28, 2025
The contact's husband owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while he was driving to work at approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle started running rough with the check engine and low oil pressure warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that her husband drove the vehicle back to the residence. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the oil ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 BMW X3. The contact received notification of the NHTSA Campaign to 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 and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 BMW 428I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (Engine an 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. T... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS
(2022) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 21, 2025
Incident date: Feb 21, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that 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 vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the oil pump belt and oil pump b... Read more
Incident date: Feb 21, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 75 MPH with cruise control activated, the engine started to overheat. The contact pulled over to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with head gasket failure. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the head gasket had failed, causing the en... Read more
Incident date: Feb 21, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the temperature gauge indicated that the vehicle was overheating, and the vehicle lost motive power. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle was able to restart. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who ... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2021) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 21, 2025
Incident date: Sep 21, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 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 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 iss... Read more
Incident date: Aug 13, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 BMW X3. The contact stated that while driving at 29 MPH, the engine overheated. The vehicle lost motive power and stalled. There was smoke coming from the vehicle. The contact was unaware of any warning lights being illuminated. The contact received notification of the NHTSA Campaign Number (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall r... Read more
Incident date: Sep 24, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 BMW 428I. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a burning odor inside the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic. The dealer was made aware of the failure. The contact was advised not to drive the vehicle. Additionally, the contact had been without a vehicle for more than four months. The contact receive... Read more