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.

2,215,138 Total Complaints

138,663 Reported Crashes

56,255 Reported Fires

8,561 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 2,215,138 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

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 40,517 complaints — component: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

Incident date: Feb 4, 2026

The contact owns a 2022 GMC Yukon XL. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired under NHTSA Campaign: 25V274000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the repair failed to prevent a failure from occurring. The day after the recall repair was completed at a local authorized dealer, while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated to maintain automotive power while the accelerator ... Read more

Incident date: Feb 13, 2026

The contact owns a 2024 Toyota Tundra. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 25V322000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING) and 25V767000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle jerked and failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal.... Read more

Incident date: Mar 15, 2026

The contact owns a 2019 Ram Promaster 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V720000 (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 c... Read more

Incident date: Feb 12, 2026

Incident date: Oct 15, 2025

The contact owns a 2020 Acura MDX. The contact stated that while driving 55 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The vehicle shook abnormally with the check engine warning light illuminated. Additionally, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was driven to the residence. The contact stated that while ... Read more

Incident date: Feb 22, 2026

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving 45-55 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, with a message that the engine was overheating displayed. The vehicle experienced reduced power and decelerated to 8 MPH. The vehicle was driven to the residence, and coolant was added to the coolant reservoir. The contact replaced the ignition coils and spark plugs; ho... Read more

Incident date: Feb 27, 2026

The contact owns a 2021 Kia Seltos. The contact stated that while driving at 50 MPH, there was white smoke coming from the engine, before the engine caught on fire. After the failure, several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact was able to pull over safely. The fire was extinguished independently. There were no reported injuries. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA... Read more

Fire

Incident date: Feb 16, 2026

The contact owns a 2023 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds or while the vehicle was parked, there was an abnormal clicking sound coming from the engine. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was determined that the sound might be caused by unknown engine parts rubbing against each other. The... Read more

Incident date: Feb 16, 2026

The contact owns a 2019 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the messages "Engine Temperature Too Hot - Do Not Drive - Allow Engine to Cool" and "Engine Temperature Near Limit - Avoid Heavy Acceleration and High Speeds" were displayed. The contact pulled over and had the vehicle towed to the dealer, who determined that there was no coolant leak but that the ... Read more

Incident date: Jan 31, 2026

The contact owns a 2019 Ram 3500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine made an abnormal rattling sound. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic; however, the vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V475000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The man... Read more

Incident date: Mar 16, 2026

The contact owns a 2013 Kia Forte. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle suddenly stalled and failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the piston rings had failed, causing catastrophic engine damages. The contact was advised that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified... Read more

Incident date: Jan 22, 2026

The contact owns a 2023 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was initially taken to an independent mechanic where the DTC for a failure with the turbo charger was retrieved. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, where no errors codes were retrieved; however, the check engine warning light returned two weeks la... Read more

Incident date: May 11, 2025

The contact owns a 2023 Ram Promaster 3500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V720000 (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 c... Read more

Incident date: Feb 24, 2026

The contact owns a 2014 Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing front suspension, coolant, and oil leak failures. The contact stated that the front suspension unexpectedly lowered while the vehicle was parked or while driving. The message "Active Curve System Malfunction" was displayed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where unknown repairs were performed. ... Read more

Incident date: Jun 1, 2024

The contact owns a 2020 Audi Q7. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted while the accelerator pedal was depressed. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where the water pump, coolant pump, vacuum line, and vacuum reservoir were replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failur... Read more

Incident date: Jan 12, 2026

The contact owns a 2025 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal banging sound coming from the vehicle. In addition, the vehicle jerked back and forth and was shaking abnormally. The check engine warning light was illuminated. There was white smoke coming from the exhaust. The contact attempted to drive the vehicle to the shoulder of the ro... Read more

Incident date: Jul 24, 2025

The contact owns a 2010 BMW 328I. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started, the vehicle was idling rough and occasionally, the vehicle lost automotive power. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent but was more frequent. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. While the vehicle was idling, the RPM was fluctuating between 800 - 1,000 RPM. The... Read more

Incident date: Jul 5, 2025

The contact owns a 2022 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V720000 (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 had... Read more

Incident date: Mar 12, 2026

The contact owns a 2023 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, engine oil sprayed all over the engine. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who replaced the engine under NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V437000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the failure recurred two days later, resulting in a loss of drive power while driving. The vehicle was towed back to the ... Read more

Incident date: Mar 12, 2026

The contact owns a 2019 Infiniti QX50. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V437000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact later received an extended warranty notification from the manufacturer stating that the extended warranty on the engine for 10 years/120,000 miles. However, the contact received a secon... Read more

Incident date: Mar 8, 2026

See attached document for complaint.

Incident date: Mar 1, 2020

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at 25 MPH, the vehicle started shaking abnormally, and there was white smoke coming from the exhaust system, the engine overheated, and the coolant level was extremely low hours after the coolant reservoir was refilled. The check engine warning light was illuminated while the vehicle was shaking. An independent mechanic det... Read more

Incident date: Sep 15, 2023

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F150. The contact stated that while driving at 30 MPH, the speedometer went to zero unexpectedly. In addition, the transmission failed to properly shift gears. The vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road, turned off, and minutes later, it was restarted. After the vehicle was restarted, the wrench warning light illuminated. The contact moved the shift lever to r... Read more

Incident date: Jul 15, 2025

The contact owns a 2021 Ram Promaster 3500. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V552000 (Back Over Prevention) and 25V720000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, parts for the recall repairs were not yet available. The dealer was contacted, and the contact was informed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was contacted, but provided no assistance. The con... Read more

Incident date: Mar 10, 2026

The contact owns a 2017 Lincoln MKC. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle sputtered with a misfire coming from the engine, with the check engine warning light flashing on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion in cylinder #3, which caused the engine failure. The contact was informed that the engi... Read more

Incident date: Oct 11, 2025

The contact owns a 2021 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that after stopping at a traffic light, the accelerator pedal was depressed, and the vehicle went into LIMP Mode. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local independent mechanic, where it was determined that there was debris in the engine oil pan. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, and debris was ... Read more

Incident date: Jan 15, 2026

The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated that the engine was consuming an excessive amount of oil, and there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine. Additionally, the vehicle hesitated and failed to accelerate as needed, with blue smoke coming from the exhaust pipes. The check engine warning light was intermittently illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer... Read more

Incident date: Mar 6, 2026

The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated that while driving 35 MPH on the highway, the vehicle stalled. The contact pulled over to the side of the road. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired ou... Read more

Incident date: Feb 1, 2026

The contact owns a 2019 Honda Ridgeline. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. A diagnostic test revealed codes for the catalytic converter efficiency below threshold Bank 2, and Bank 2 air-fuel ratio imbalance. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, and the dealer referenced NHTSA ID Number: 10187289 (Fuel System, Gasoline); however... Read more

Incident date: Mar 5, 2026

The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The vehicle was initially taken to the local dealer for NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V011000 (Equipment). The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the engine had overheated. A diagnostic scanner was used to determine that the head overheat protection was active and... Read more

Incident date: Nov 15, 2025

The contact owns a 2022 Jeep Wagoneer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal odor inside and outside the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to two dealers several times; however, the failure was not duplicated. The dealers performed several diagnostic tests, but no leaks were evident. The vehicle was not diagnosed or re... Read more

Incident date: Mar 6, 2026

The contact owns a 2025 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated that while driving 25 MPH, a yellow triangle warning icon was displayed, and a message to "Please Add Oil" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed with a broken part and oil was leaking oil onto the oil filter. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that approximately 1,000 miles later, the same t... Read more

Incident date: Jan 26, 2026

The contact owns a 2023 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and it was determined that the engine had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, an... Read more

Incident date: Nov 10, 2025

The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated that while driving at a slow speed or making a turn, the vehicle stalled. In addition, there was an abnormal ticking sound coming from the engine. There was an unknown code displayed on the instrument panel. Most recently, the engine started consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The contact was adding oil every other week to the vehic... Read more

Incident date: Mar 9, 2026

The contact owns a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 22V406000 (Fuel System, Diesel) and 23V411000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); and requested to be removed from the recall distribution list. The local dealer and manufacturer were contacted.

Incident date: Jul 1, 2023

The contact owns a 2017 Buick Encore. The contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH, the engine was running rough, and the vehicle experienced reduced power. The stabili-trak and the check engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to Auto Zone, where a diagnostic trouble code for a cylinder misfire was retrieved. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the cyl... Read more

Incident date: Sep 19, 2025

The contact owns a 2022 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated that while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle went into LIMP Mode and decelerated to approximately 10 MPH. The message "Engine Malfunction" was displayed. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The vehicle was restarted, but failed to respond while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it w... Read more

Incident date: Oct 8, 2024

The contact owns a 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact state while driving at various speeds, the engine overheated and there was a misfire coming from the engine. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The message that the Auto START/STOP system needed to be serviced was displayed, and that the engine was overheating. The vehicle was taken to the dealer on several occasions, and the ca... Read more

Incident date: Jan 3, 2025

The contact owns a 2019 GMC Yukon XL. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 - 55 MPH, and slowing down to approximately 40 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the engine started knocking. The contact noticed that the engine was one quart of oil low after an oil change and driving less than 2,058 miles. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer, but was not repaired.... Read more

Incident date: Mar 7, 2026

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 MPH, there was a banging sound coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the lifters and the camshaft needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure milea... Read more

Incident date: Feb 20, 2026

The contact owns a 2021 Kia Seltos. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle started to lose motive power. The contact stated that the brake pedal was depressed to stop the vehicle, and the vehicle stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, and the contact was informed that there was an open recall for the engin... Read more

Incident date: Mar 1, 2026

The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the Forward Collision Avoidance message was intermittently displayed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where a computer module was replaced. While driving at various speeds, there was an intermittent knocking sound coming from the engine, with the check engine warning light illuminated. While drivin... Read more

Incident date: Mar 1, 2026

See attached document for complaint.

Incident date: Mar 3, 2026

The contact owns a 2021 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and the contact was informed that the part was not available and needed to be ordered. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The... Read more

Incident date: Feb 17, 2026

See attached document for complaint. 100,000 Toyota Tundras have been recalled for Engine defects that require engine replacements. Toyota recall letter directed me to contact my dealer for engine replacement information. I have been to Toyota of Cedar Park, Texas three times just to find out if there is a schedule that will let me know when my truck will be serviced for engine replacement. The a... Read more

Incident date: Feb 20, 2025

See attached document for complaint. The undersigned is legal counsel representing XXXXXXXXXXX in the above-mentioned matter. Please be advised that XXXXXXXXXX purchased a new Kawasaki 2024 motorcycle model ZX636JRFBN on May 9, 2024 with total purchase price of $13,981.92. On or about April of 2025, XXXXXXXXXXX received a recall notice with follow up notice in June of 2025 NHTSA Recall No. 25V376... Read more

Incident date: Nov 20, 2025

The contact owns a 2019 Infiniti QX50. While driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the contact was informed that parts were not yet available. The contact was advised to call back to schedule an appointment for a later date. The vehicle was not diagnosed ... Read more

Incident date: Jul 1, 2024

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that there were exhaust fumes inside the vehicle while accelerating. There were no warning lights illuminated. Upon research, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Action Number: EA17002 (Structure, Engine and Engine Cooling). The local dealer was contacted and informed that there was a fee for the repair. The vehicle was not diagno... Read more

Incident date: Mar 5, 2026

The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil after approximately 1,500 miles, 2 weeks after an oil change was performed. While driving at various speeds, the vehicle was sluggish while attempting to accelerate. The check engine warning light has been illuminated since purchasing the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a... Read more

Incident date: Mar 5, 2026

The contact owns a 2026 Kia K5. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the engine immediately started to rev extremely high, and smoke was coming from under the hood, and the front passenger side lights failed to illuminate. There was a sizzling sound coming from the engine compartment, and the hood was very hot to the touch. The contact turned off the vehicle, and a tow truck company... Read more

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Consumer Safety Complaints

What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?

How to interpret what you read

If you've experienced a defect

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