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: Aug 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that white smoke was coming from the exhaust pipe with several warning lights illuminated. The crankshaft position sensor, power control module short circuit sensor, and other warning lights are illuminated. The contact had reset the sensors however, the failure persisted. The contact stated that the coolant was leaking however, there was no ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle started making abnormally loud sounds and lost motive power. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The contact resumed driving; however, the failure persisted. The contact was able to drive to the residence and noticed that the oil level was low. The c... Read more
Incident date: Mar 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into cylinder #3. The vehicle remained in the possession of the independent mechanic and was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotlin... Read more
Incident date: Aug 19, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford F-150. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the contact heard an abnormal rattling sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that after the engine warmed up the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 27, 2024
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 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 tool con... Read more
Incident date: Aug 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated that an abnormal rattling sound came from the engine compartment upon starting the vehicle. The contact stated that after the engine had warmed up, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a fail... Read more
Incident date: Sep 28, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 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 made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a fail... Read more
Incident date: Oct 29, 2024
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 made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a fail... Read more
Incident date: Sep 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 BMW X1. The contact stated that the coolant temperature warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle hesitated to respond and there was smoke coming out from underneath the hood. An unknown warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the contact was info... Read more
Incident date: Oct 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the rod bearing was worn and caused damage to the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (Engine and Engine ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 BMW X1. The contact had received notification of Manufacturer recall number: 20E-A01 for the engine CO emissions (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to a dealer and the dealer refused to complete the manufacturer’s recall repair. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 3, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the message "Coolant Temperature Overtemperature" was displayed, causing the vehicle to decelerate. The contact stated that another message advising that the engine power was reduced, and to pull to the side of the road was displayed. The contact pulled to the side of the road and checked the coolant level. The contact n... Read more
Incident date: Aug 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle nearly stalled and was losing motive power. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed, and several unknown parts were replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the failure reoccurre... Read more
Incident date: Oct 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 BMW X3. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact noticed a burning odor inside the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the contact was informed that parts to repair the vehicle was not available. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 6, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine block had failed, causing coolant intrusion into the cylinders. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufact... Read more
Incident date: Oct 28, 2024
The contact owns a 2023 Kia Telluride. The contact stated that the second-row seat belts failed to operate as designed. The alarms failed to engage when the seat belts were buckled or unbuckled. While there was a child using a car seat on the second row of seats, the seat belt was unbuckled, and there was no alarm to alert the occupants. While driving at unknown speeds, the information screen disp... Read more
Incident date: Oct 28, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, there was an abnormal anti-freeze odor inside the cabin of the vehicle. The contact stated that the "overheat" and "temperature" gauge illuminated. The contact drove the vehicle back to the residence, parked the vehicle, and observed that anti-freeze was leaking onto the driveway. The contact had the... Read more
HONDA
ACCORD HYBRID
(2019) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Oct 28, 2024
Incident date: Oct 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 BMW X3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System). The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, she observed an odor emanating from the front of the vehicle. The contact stated that there were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was n... Read more
Incident date: Oct 28, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while at a stop sign, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was restarted but failed to shift into gear. While driving 55 MPH, the speedometer decreased, the vehicle failed to accelerate and then stalled. The contact was able to veer over to the side of the road. The vehicle failed to shift into gear. There were no warning lights illuminated.... Read more
MAZDA
CX-50 HYBRID
(2025) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Oct 28, 2024
Incident date: Oct 4, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Infiniti QX60. The contact stated while driving at approximately 60 MPH, the front passenger’s side wheel detached from the axle and was lodged inside the wheel well. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to drive the vehicle to a parking lot and then had the vehicle towed to a dealer. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and determin... Read more
Incident date: Oct 28, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 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 made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a fail... Read more
Incident date: Oct 28, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion in cylinder #2. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, where the same assessment was made. Additionally, the dealer informed the contact that while in the process of removing the spark plugs t... Read more
Incident date: Aug 22, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that the vehicle was making an abnormal rattling sound on cold starts. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the powertrain control module (PCM) was flashed under Ford Campaign Number: 21N03; however, the failure recurred. The dealer was contacted and informed the contact that the vehicle needed to be left with the dealer for three w... Read more
Incident date: Oct 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked in the garage it was discovered that large amounts of oil had leaked from the engine onto the garage floor. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the engine had been damaged due to coolant intrusion into the engine cylinders. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 25, 2004
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328I. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway. The contact was able to restart the vehicle; however, the failure recurred several times while driving on the same day. Additionally, the contact stated while driving at various speeds and d... Read more
Incident date: Oct 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 BMW X5. 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: Oct 25, 2024
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
Incident date: Oct 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle was driving rough, and the low coolant warning light was illuminated. The contact stopped and parked the vehicle. The contact refilled the coolant reservoir. The contact stated that the low coolant warning light illuminated again. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was di... Read more
LAND ROVER
DISCOVERY
(2017) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Oct 25, 2024
Incident date: Sep 10, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 BMW 528I. The contact stated while driving 30-35 MPH, the message that the engine was overheating was displayed. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and allowed the engine to cool down. The contact resumed driving; however, the failure recurred several times while driving; requiring the contact to pull over to the side of the road several times for several minut... Read more
LAND ROVER
DISCOVERY SPORT
(2017) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Oct 25, 2024
Incident date: Jul 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local O'Reilly's Service Center which diagnosed that the vehicle had experienced a #3-cylinder misfire. The spark plugs were replaced but the failure persisted. The vehicle was later taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that th... Read more
Incident date: Oct 7, 2024
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 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: Aug 4, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to stop as intended. The contact stated that the brake pedal was pushing his foot upwards. The contact had to step on the brake pedal very hard to stop the vehicle to prevent a crash. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where ... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
GLE 350
(2020) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Oct 25, 2024
Incident date: Oct 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. 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 contact stated prior to the failure, the oil was changed 2-months prior at approximately 27,000. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal knocking so... Read more
Incident date: Sep 27, 2024
The contact's daughter owns a 2013 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine and the low oil pressure warning lights illuminated. The contact's daughter was able to drive to the contact's residence. Additionally, the contact stated that while his daughter was driving 40-50 MPH, the vehicle started shuddering, and there was smoke comi... Read more
Incident date: Oct 12, 2024
The contact's mother owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while her mother was driving at an undisclosed speed, the driver noticed a significant amount of smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe. The driver drove to the residence. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle had experienced difficulty in starting. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an... Read more
Incident date: Oct 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine over heated with the engine temperature warning light illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the roadway. The contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power with the engine overheating warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle shut off and failed to rest... Read more
Incident date: Mar 25, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the ignition coils and spark plugs needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure recurred, and the vehicle was taken back to the independent mechanic again and... Read more
Incident date: Oct 24, 2023
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 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: Oct 9, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the low oil pressure warning illuminated. The contact slowed the vehicle down below highway speed and drove to the residence. The contact parked and turned off the vehicle; however, while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer ... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2019) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Oct 24, 2024
Incident date: Oct 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2012 BMW 328I. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 5 MPH, there was smoke coming from the engine compartment. The check engine warning light and several other unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair wa... Read more
HYUNDAI
ELANTRA HYBRID
(2021) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Oct 24, 2024
Incident date: Jun 28, 2024
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; however, the contact was informed by the dealer that the part would only be replaced if the vehicle experienced failure in the recall. The contact received the notif... Read more
Incident date: Oct 7, 2024
The contact’s mother owns a 2015 BMW 328I. The contact stated that occasionally while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated with a message to “Drive with Caution” displayed. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the failure was remedied; however, the failure persisted. The contact rec... Read more
Incident date: Jan 30, 2023
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 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 tool con... Read more
Incident date: Sep 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle was shuddering. The contact stated that the vehicle was losing motive power. The vehicle failed to start. The contact added additional fuel. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V027000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it... Read more
Incident date: Jul 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the vehicle made an abnormal rattling sound. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact related the failure to Ford Campaign Number: 21N03. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NH... Read more
Incident date: Jun 22, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the RPM raised to high with heavy white smoke coming from the tailpipe. The check engine light warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was initially taken to an independent mechanic where the ignition coils and spark plugs were replaced; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was then taken to another i... Read more
Incident date: Oct 22, 2024
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 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 tool con... Read more
Incident date: Oct 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 BMW X1. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact observed smoke coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigati... Read more
Incident date: Oct 13, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 BMW 328XI. 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.... Read more
Incident date: Oct 23, 2024
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