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.

2,245,377 Total Complaints

140,173 Reported Crashes

56,794 Reported Fires

8,580 Reported 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

How to Read NHTSA Consumer Complaints › How NHTSA Investigations Work › Used Car: 7 Recall Checks to Run First › The Takata Airbag Recall: Full Story › OBD-II Codes Explained › All Articles ›

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Showing 40,899 complaints - component: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

Incident date: Jun 9, 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Mustang. The contact stated that the air conditioning system failed to function as intended. Additionally, the contact stated that while accelerating from a complete stop, several unknown warning lights were illuminated, and the vehicle chugged and failed to accelerate as intended. The contact pulled over to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the residence.... Read more

Incident date: Jun 15, 2026

The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. While the contact’s daughter was driving approximately 10 MPH, the vehicle started bucking and shaking abnormally. The warning light indicating that the oil level was low had flashed on the screen. The driver pulled over to the side of the road and waited for the contact to arrive on scene. The contact inspected the vehicle and became aware that th... Read more

Incident date: Jun 17, 2026

The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle went into LIMP Mode. While accelerating to overtake a vehicle driving under the speed limit, the vehicle started to stall. The check engine light was flashing, and the vehicle went into ECO mode. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V224000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); howeve... Read more

Incident date: Jun 13, 2026

The contact owns a 2019 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a loud chattering sound coming from the engine before the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who replaced the cam phasers and the vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred. Additionally, the A/C failed to blow cool air due to a condens... Read more

Incident date: Jun 17, 2014

The contact owns a 2020 Kia Telluride. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. No warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that while driving at slower speeds, the vehicle lost automotive power. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed with oil consumption and a misfire in cylinder #3. The... Read more

Incident date: Jun 6, 2026

The contact owns a 2014 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that while driving 35 MPH, the Check Engine warning light illuminated, and there was no heat coming from the front passenger’s or driver’s side air vents. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine heater core had failed and needed to be replaced. The contact... Read more

Incident date: Apr 27, 2026

The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the engine was idling rough, the Check Engine warning light was illuminated, and the vehicle failed to properly accelerate. The vehicle was driven to the local dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the engine rods were bent, causing internal damage to the engine. The contact was informed... Read more

Incident date: Jun 5, 2026

The contact owns a 2021 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the reduced power mode and Check Engine warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with coolant control valve failure. The contact was informed that the coolant control valve needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was informe... Read more

Incident date: May 12, 2026

The contact owns a 2019 Kia Forte. The contact stated that after driving to the local store and turning off the vehicle, after returning to the vehicle, the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The vehicle was diagnosed with a timing chain failure caused by low engine oil. The contact stated that prior to the failure, the vehicle had experienced exc... Read more

Incident date: Apr 24, 2026

The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced excessive oil consumption. The contact stated that while driving 70 MPH on the highway, the vehicle stalled. The contact was unable to pull over to the side of the road. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and continued driving. The contact stated that the failure recurred while driving into a parking... Read more

Incident date: Jan 26, 2026

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while his wife was driving on two occasions at approximately 50 MPH, the Check Engine warning light illuminated. During the second failure, there was white smoke coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road each time, turned off, and restarted; however, the check engine warning light remained il... Read more

Incident date: May 29, 2026

The contact owns a 2018 Land Rover Range Rover Sport. While the contact's husband was driving approximately 10 MPH on the highway, the engine overheated, with the engine warning light illuminated. The driver exited the highway and was able to safely stop the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed and repaired. The contact stated that after the most recent failure... Read more

Incident date: Mar 30, 2026

The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Tundra. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V767000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer called and advised the contact to bring the vehicle in because the vehicle was unsafe to drive. The contact was provided a loaner vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle had remaine... Read more

Incident date: Jun 16, 2025

The contact owns a 2023 Toyota GR86. The contact stated that while driving 80 MPH, the engine blew up, causing the vehicle to stall, and there was a significant amount of smoke coming from underneath the hood. The message "Engine Misfire" was displayed. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The contact stated that engine oil had leaked out and spread underneath the hood, and t... Read more

Incident date: Jun 4, 2026

The contact owns a 2020 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the low oil warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the contact was advised that it was normal for the vehicle to use a quart of oil every 1,000 miles. The contact was advised to bring the vehicle to the dealer every 1,000 miles. The failure became a persistent failure... Read more

Incident date: Oct 23, 2024

The contact owns a 2019 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle decelerated, and the RPM was lowered. After parking and restarting the vehicle, the vehicle failed to accelerate above 20 MPH with the wrench icon displayed. The vehicle was slowly driven to the residence. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer was notified of the f... Read more

Incident date: Mar 26, 2026

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle failed to accelerate. While driving in traffic and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle experienced a complete loss of power and was choking and hesitating. The contact pulled over to let the vehicle cool down, after which the Check Engine warning light illuminated on the instrument pan... Read more

Incident date: Jun 7, 2026

The contact owns a 2023 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH, a warning message advising to reduce acceleration was displayed, the Check Engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to pull over safely. The contact stated that the failure was recurrent. The dealer was notified of the failure and diagnosed the vehicle with a valve fai... Read more

Incident date: Jun 8, 2026

The contact's husband owns a 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered and experienced a loss of drive power. A message to turn on the vehicle was displayed. The contact's husband coasted the vehicle to the side of the road and attempted to jumpstart the vehicle, but the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was tow... Read more

Incident date: Jun 9, 2026

The contact owns a 2025 Kia K4. The contact stated that while driving at 75 MPH, the vehicle downshifted upon depression of the accelerator pedal, with heavy white smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe. The contact stated that the low oil pressure warning light was illuminated prior to the failure. The contact pulled off the highway and drove into a store parking lot as the engine made an abnormal... Read more

Incident date: May 19, 2026

The contact owns a 2019 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle suddenly lost motive power following a loud screeching sound. The Check Engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle started to misfire upon depression of the accelerator pedal. The contact managed to drive the vehicle to the local mechanic, where diagnostic testing revealed a misfir... Read more

Incident date: Jun 9, 2026

The contact owns a 2022 GMC Yukon. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle suddenly entered LIMP mode, the speed was reduced, and the vehicle failed to exceed 55 MPH. The Check Engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who diagnosed that an emission system failure had occurred, but the cause of the failure was not determined. The vehi... Read more

Incident date: Nov 28, 2025

The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Tundra. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced significant hesitation upon acceleration. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V767000 (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 o... Read more

Incident date: Jun 11, 2026

The contact owns a 2021 Cadillac XT5. The contact stated that while an oil change was being completed, an oil leak was discovered. No warning light was illuminated. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the head gasket needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that t... Read more

Incident date: Mar 1, 2026

The contact owns a 2010 Hyundai Veracruz. The contact stated that after starting the engine and shifting into drive(D), the engine immediately shut off. The vehicle could not be restarted, and the battery failed. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure. The cause of the failure was not determined. The contact stated that the vehicle had previously experienced the same failur... Read more

Incident date: Dec 20, 2023