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: Oct 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled with no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the fuel pump had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recu... Read more
Incident date: Sep 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a loud noise coming from under the hood. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. In addition, the contact thought that the vehicle was going to explode. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with engine failure due to coolant intrusion. The c... Read more
Incident date: Sep 8, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, upon inspecting the vehicle, the contact became aware that there was coolant leaking on the driveway. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 12V431000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 104,0... Read more
Incident date: Apr 20, 2016
The contact owns a 2016 Acura TLX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the dealer advised the contact that the vehicle could not be scheduled until July 2026. The contact stated that the dealer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienc... Read more
Incident date: Oct 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while parked with the engine running the vehicle's "overheating" warning chimed and he observed that the heat gauge was in the "red zone." The contact turned the vehicle off, checked under the hood, and observed that the coolant reservoir was low. The contact filled the reservoir, however the failure reoccurred. The contact refilled the reser... Read more
Incident date: Oct 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated that upon the start of the vehicle, an abnormal cranking noise would emit from the vehicle as several warning lights would appear on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the contact was notified about NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) which the mechanic linked to the failure. T... Read more
Incident date: Oct 18, 2024
The contact's mother owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while her mother was driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the driver noticed a strong coolant odor. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the contact was informed that there was a coolant intrusion into the oil reservoir. The contact was referred to the deale... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that upon the start of the engine, the "Service Engine Now" warning message appeared on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion and needed an engine replacement. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA H... Read more
Incident date: Oct 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power inadvertently. The driver was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the failure persisted. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the turbo had failed. The vehicle was not ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle started to lose motive power and failed to respond while depressing the accelerator pedal. Additionally, the contact noticed that there was smoke coming from under the hood of the vehicle. The contact pulled to the side of the road and discovered that there was fluid leaking from underneath... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Compass. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at 75 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The driver was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway. The vehicle was able to restart after several attempts. The contact's daughter resumed driving; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was able to restart. The overheating warning light w... Read more
Incident date: Oct 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled and failed to return to normal operation. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was jumpstarted and returned to normal operation. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the spark plugs, and ignition coils needed to be rep... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2015) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Oct 18, 2024
Incident date: Aug 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Kia Niro. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power with the message "Stop Engine". The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed failures with the hydraulic clutch actuator and catalytic converter. The catalytic converter was replaced, but the hydraulic clutch ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, there was white smoke coming from the exhaust, with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact exited the vehicle and checked under the hood and became aware that the coolant reservoir was low on coolant. The contact refilled the coolant reservoir and drove to a local dealer where the vehicle was diagn... Read more
Incident date: Oct 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power, failed to accelerate, and stalled. The check engine warning light was flashing. The contact pulled over and checked the oil level. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the pistons were not operating correctly. The vehicle was not repaired. The v... Read more
Incident date: Dec 18, 2023
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 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 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 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 contact stated that while at a complete stop, the vehicle failed to accelerate upon depression of the accelerator pedal. Due to the failure, the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who in... Read more
Incident date: Oct 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the "Low Coolant" message was displayed on the instrument panel. No warning light was illuminated. The failure had occurred on several occasions and the contact consistently added coolant before driving the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that there was a coolant leak; howe... Read more
Incident date: Oct 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 MPH a knocking noise was present coming from the engine compartment, the check engine light had illuminated and the vehicle's speed suddenly reduced to under 30 MPH. The vehicle was later driven to the local dealer who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2014
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 contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceed... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
The contact stated owns a 2013 Land Rover Range Rover Sport. The contact stated that the electrical switch had previously been replaced. Additionally, the contact stated that the infotainment system was updated under warranty. Additionally, the contact stated while driving 65-70 MPH, the instrument panel and the infotainment system screen turned black. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where an... Read more
Incident date: Oct 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at unknown speeds, the check engine warning illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined there was an error code related to a coolant intrusion into the cylinder. The contact called the local dealer, who informed him there was no recall coverage. The vehicle was not diagnosed ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 4, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Oct 17, 2023
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Oct 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that when starting the vehicle the engine would begin to idle, and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer but no codes were displayed. The contact proceeded to drive her vehicle for 3 weeks until the check engine warning light was illuminated again this time however the dashboard displayed a mess... Read more
Incident date: Sep 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle he heard an abnormal rattling sound emanating from the engine compartment. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the cam phasers. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred 38,050 miles later. After investigating the failure, the contact re... Read more
Incident date: Oct 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving the vehicle, there was an abnormal white smoke coming from the exhaust pipes. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle failed to accelerate as needed while depressing the accelerator pedal. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the engi... Read more
Incident date: Oct 12, 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 repair was not yet available. No further information was provided. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not... Read more
CHEVROLET
EQUINOX EV
(2024) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Oct 16, 2024
Incident date: Oct 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing excessive coolant consumption. Additionally, the contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal white smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe, and there was an abnormal water flow sound coming from the engine. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the deale... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine overheated and the vehicle lost motive power. The coolant temperature warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a coolant leak into the short block; however, the contact was not informed of what needed to be replaced. The vehicle was ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the engine had experienced rough idling, the coolant reservoir was continuously low and the check engine light had remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that engine coolant was present inside the engine cylinders. The contact was advised that the engine needed to be repla... Read more
Incident date: Oct 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Audi A6. The contact stated that while driving on neighborhood roads at approximately 25 MPH, the coolant warning light was illuminated. The contact proceeded to park on the side of the road and walk to her residence to pick up coolant to refill the coolant tank. The vehicle was then taken to the independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the coolant tank needed to be... Read more
Incident date: Oct 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. In addition, when attempting to accelerate, the vehicle would hesitate and jerk before accelerating. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that there was a misfire with cylinder #3 due to coolant leaking into the cylinder. The dealer stated the failure related to the Technical Ser... Read more
Incident date: Oct 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle shuddered and white smoke came out of the exhaust pipe; there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment. The "Engine Coolant Overtemperature" message was displayed on the instrument panel and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The failure occurred on several different oc... Read more
Incident date: Sep 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 40 MPH the check engine light illuminated. The contact stated that he had scheduled service with a local dealer for a state inspection. The contact asked the dealer about the check engine warning light illuminated. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and determined that coolant had intruded into the engine block... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2024
The contact called on behalf of their daughter who owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated that their daughter attempted to start the vehicle while parked, the vehicle shuttered and stalled, and then proceeded to start back up again, upon noticing the abnormality the vehicle was no longer used. The contact drove the vehicle to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that coolant was leaking into... Read more
Incident date: Oct 8, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, a knocking noise came from the engine compartment. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the cam phasers failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact learned of the Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N03. The manufacturer was made aware of the failu... Read more
Incident date: Oct 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle went into idle, with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that coolant intrusion leaked into the engine's cylinders which caused the engine to fail. The contac... Read more
HYUNDAI
SANTA CRUZ
(2023) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Oct 15, 2024
Incident date: Oct 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle would leak coolant, and needed to be refilled consistently. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where a hole in the coolant tank was discovered and replaced the tank, however, the coolant continued to leak and the engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed and advis... Read more
Incident date: Oct 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle would misfire, with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that coolant intrusion leaked into the cylinders of the engine which caused the engine to fail. The co... Read more
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2019) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Oct 11, 2024
Incident date: Oct 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the temperature gauge moved to the "RED zone" and the vehicle nearly stalled while slowing for a traffic light. The contact stated that the failure recurred, and the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The vehicle was diagnosed, and the mechanic determined that there was coolant intrusion into the e... Read more
NISSAN
VERSA NOTE
(2014) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Oct 11, 2024
Incident date: Oct 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Ridgeline. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, several unknown warning lights illuminated on the instrument panel and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that the lower connecting rod was causing the rob bearing to fail. After further investigation, the contact related ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 11, 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 not yet available. An unknown 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 10, 2024
The contact's cousin owns a 2018 Ford Edge. While the contact's cousin was driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where a diagnostic test determined that there was coolant intrusion into engine cylinder #4, which caused the engine long block to crack. The vehicle was repaired by the dealer. The manufact... Read more
Incident date: Oct 10, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an engine misfire with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the spark plugs had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The dealer was not c... Read more
Incident date: Oct 8, 2024
The contact's girlfriend owns a 2022 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated while his girlfriend was driving 65 MPH, the vehicle shuddered, went into LIMP Mode, and lost motive power. There was no warning light illuminated. The driver was able to veer to the side of the road. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the engine was blown and need... Read more
Incident date: Oct 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 45-50 MPH, the engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that while driving, the engine started to overheat. The contact added coolant. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion into the cylinder, and that the long block needed to be replaced. The dealer ref... Read more
Incident date: Sep 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the low coolant level warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that coolant was added approximately every 7 days. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and repaired; however, the contact was unaware of the diagnostic result or what repair was performed. The contact stated that the failure recurred 9-months a... Read more
Incident date: Oct 8, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light was illuminated. Due to the failure, the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the cylinder head temperature sensor was replaced. The contact stated that several weeks later, the contact discovered that the coolant level was low. The contact checked the vehicle for le... Read more
Incident date: Sep 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start. The contact stated that an independent mechanic went to the residence and performed a diagnostic test on the vehicle. The diagnostic test received the code for a misfire in cylinder #4. The vehicle was towed to the independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a coolant le... Read more