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 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the heater was not working properly. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed and the contact was informed that coolant was leaking into the cylinders, and that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to Technical ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 9, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle started accelerating slowly. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. There was an abnormal dinging sound coming from the vehicle. There was no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determine... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2024) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Dec 11, 2024
Incident date: Dec 10, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 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 had not experienced a failur... Read more
Incident date: Dec 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that coolant was leaking from the coolant reservoir. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to several independent mechanics however, the vehicle was not able to be repaired. The vehicle was then taken to a local dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the coolant hoses and the coolant reservoir were a... Read more
Incident date: Aug 11, 2014
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at approximately 25 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that there was an internal coolant leak into the engine and that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed that there was no recall on th... Read more
Incident date: Nov 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving at approximately 70 MPH, the low engine oil pressure warning light illuminated. The contact pulled over and the vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the oil drive belt needed to be replaced. The VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part was not yet ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at undisclosed speeds, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The coolant level was low. The contact cleared the check engine warning light. The contact stated that coolant was entering the cylinder and pistons. There was no indication of a coolant leak. The contact linked the failure to Technical Service Bulletin: 20-2... Read more
Incident date: Nov 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Mustang. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 45 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed with a cylinder #3 misfire, and that the spark plugs, coil pack, vacuum sensor, and engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred two days later. The vehicle was... Read more
Incident date: Nov 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle the contact heard a loud clanking noise with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the cam phasers had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired.... Read more
Incident date: Nov 18, 2024
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 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... Read more
Incident date: Dec 10, 2024
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 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 fa... Read more
Incident date: Nov 6, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing excessive coolant consumption. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an unknown dealer, where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion in the short block and spark plugs. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion in the engine. Th... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
JETTA
(2014) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Dec 10, 2024
Incident date: May 7, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Land Rover Range Rover Sport. The contact stated that while cold starting the vehicle, the vehicle was idling roughly, and the contact had to depress the accelerator pedal to prevent the vehicle from stalling. The contact stated that numerous warning lights were illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, and the ignition coil, fuel injectors, and spar... Read more
LAND ROVER
RANGE ROVER SPORT
(2013) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Dec 10, 2024
Incident date: Aug 9, 2024
The contact's husband owns a 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle failed to accelerate upon depression of the accelerator pedal. The check engine warning light appeared on the instrument panel during the failure. Despite the vehicle operating in LIMP Mode, the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where an oil change was performed. The ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 4, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine started overheating with the high engine temperature warning light illuminated. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and added coolant to the coolant reservoir and waited for the engine to cool down. The vehicle was restarted, and the contact inspected the vehicle and became aware t... Read more
Incident date: Dec 7, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Acura MDX. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 23V751000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING) and 23V858000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were unavailable. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time fo... Read more
FORD
BRONCO SPORT
(2021) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Dec 10, 2024
Incident date: Dec 10, 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 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 ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 30, 2019
The contact owns a 2020 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
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2016) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Dec 9, 2024
Incident date: Dec 9, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle failed to properly accelerate, and the vehicle was driving rough. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that there was coolant inside the engine. The vehicle was later taken to the local dealer who confirmed that the failure was caused by coolant intrusion into the engine. The c... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Honda Odyssey. While the contact’s wife was driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle began to lose automotive power with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the roadway before stalling. The vehicle was unable to be restarted and was later towed to the local dealer. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manu... Read more
Incident date: Nov 22, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, there was an engine misfire. Additionally, the contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an unknown dealer, where the DTC code was cleared. The contact stated that the failure recurred while driving. The vehicle was taken to another deale... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle stalled and there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment, with white smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe. Additionally, there was an abnormal odor coming from the inside of the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diag... Read more
Incident date: Dec 7, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Acura MDX. The contact stated that at an idle stop, he allowed another vehicle to complete a turn. As the contact depressed the accelerator pedal to make a left turn, the vehicle came to an abrupt stop which caused the vehicle to be rear ended by another vehicle. The air bags did not deploy upon impact. No injuries were reported and a police report was not filed. The vehicl... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Dec 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion into the cylinder and that the engine needed to be replaced. The contact researched and was made aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V209000 (Engine and Engin... Read more
LAND ROVER
RANGE ROVER EVOQUE
(2020) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Dec 9, 2024
Incident date: Dec 9, 2024
The contact's daughter owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle was shaking, and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact's daughter pulled over and turned off the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was determined that there was coolant intrusion into the short block and the engine ne... Read more
Incident date: Dec 2, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine overheated. In addition, the check engine warning light illuminated after the failure had occurred. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the road. The contact stated that when the vehicle was parked, the engine seized. The contact inspected the vehicle and noticed there was water from t... Read more
Incident date: Oct 21, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 BMW X1. The contact stated after reversing out of the driveway and shifting into drive(D), the vehicle failed to respond. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that upon turning off and restarting the vehicle, the vehicle responded as needed. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring. Additionally, the contact stated while accelerating from... Read more
Incident date: Dec 6, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was no warm air coming from the defroster or air vents while the heater was activated. The contact was adding coolant to the coolant reservoir two to three times a month for the system to operate as designed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The c... Read more
Incident date: Dec 6, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost automotive power and failed to accelerate above 5 MPH. During the failure, several unknown warning lights were illuminated. After turning off and restarting the vehicle, the failure self-corrected and the vehicle operated normally. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable... Read more
Incident date: Aug 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and was informed that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The contact was informed that the failure might be related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V226000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING); however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer and t... Read more
Incident date: Dec 6, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated and was flashing off and on. Upon inspection, the contact discovered that there was no coolant in the coolant reservoir. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined there was coolant intrusion into the engine. The contact ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 6, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2019) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Dec 6, 2024
Incident date: Dec 6, 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 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. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
Incident date: Dec 6, 2023
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 called another local dealer, Key Scales Ford-Villages, Leesburg (1719 Citrus Blvd, Leesburg, FL 34748), and Ford of Clermont (1101 E Hwy 50, Clermont, FL... Read more
Incident date: Oct 29, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Mercedes-Benz GLS450. The contact stated upon starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated intermittently. The contact stated that the failure had become consistent. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the engine oil pump valve and the camshaft adjuster had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The m... Read more
Incident date: Nov 7, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while cold starting the vehicle, the engine was making a grinding noise and the vehicle was vibrating abnormally. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The failure was a recurring failure. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufact... Read more
Incident date: Sep 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Transit. The contact stated while driving at undisclosed speeds, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was related to Customer Satisfaction Program: 15B39 CPR and Technical Service Bulletin: 19-2091. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with water intrusion from insufficient sealing in certain a... Read more
Incident date: Oct 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, a message indicating that the engine was overheating was displayed. The contact was able to drive to the destination. The contact stated upon inspecting the coolant reservoir, the coolant reservoir was empty. The contact's husband added coolant to the coolant reservoir; however, the failure recurred the following day. The ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was white smoke coming from the exhaust. In addition, the contact stated that the coolant level was low. The contact stated that occasionally when the vehicle was started, there was white smoke coming from the exhaust. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dea... Read more
Incident date: Nov 8, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 BMW 528I. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was smoke coming from the engine with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact pulled over and after an hour was able to restart the vehicle. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System); however, the part to do the... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
GLE 400 E
(2024) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Dec 6, 2024
Incident date: Nov 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Mustang. The contact stated while driving or while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle was leaking coolant. The contact stated that while washing the vehicle, the contact became aware that coolant was leaking from the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the coolant pipe needed to be replaced. The cont... Read more
Incident date: Dec 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Volvo XC60. The contact stated that every three weeks an oil change was performed on the vehicle. The contact stated that low oil level or oil empty messages were displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who confirmed that the vehicle was consuming 15-quarts of engine oil every 6,000 miles driven. The dealer determined that oil was leaking into the pistons. The dealer... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
GTI
(2024) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Dec 5, 2024
Incident date: Dec 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 BMW X3. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the steering wheel became difficult to turn to the left or the right. In addition, the contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle loss automotive power on several occasions. The vehicle was towed to the local Midas where the battery was replaced; however, the failure occasionally ... Read more
HONDA
ACCORD HYBRID
(2019) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Dec 5, 2024
Incident date: Jan 5, 2024
The contact's wife owns a 2016 BMW 528I. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing excessive coolant consumption. The low coolant warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated while his wife was driving at approximately 35 MPH, the driver noticed that there was steamy smoke coming out from underneath the hood. The driver pulled to the side of the road and noticed that ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 18, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
MERCEDES-BENZ
GLA 250
(2019) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Dec 5, 2024
Incident date: Nov 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. No warning light was illuminated. In addition, the contact stated an abnormal sound was coming from the engine with an abnormal fuel odor entering the interior and exterior of the vehicle. The local dealer was contacte... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 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 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 ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 9, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact noticed coolant leaking underneath the vehicle. The low coolant warning light was illuminated. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer referred the contact to the manufacturer for further assistance. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referr... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 BMW X5. The contact stated that while the vehicle was at the dealer for a scheduled service appointment, the contact was informed that the coolant pump was failing. The contact was informed that the coolant pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. In addition, the contact was informed that the repair was not cover... Read more