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: May 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated with the temperature gauge indicated that the engine was hot(H). The contact later checked the coolant level and discovered that the coolant level was low; the coolant was topped off and the check engine warning light disappeared. The contact stated that while h... Read more
Incident date: Sep 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Acura TLX. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact drove the vehicle to the shoulder of the roadway. The contact heard a loud clucking sound and the vehicle lost motive power. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to t... Read more
Incident date: Sep 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Audi R8. The contact stated that the vehicle had been experiencing failures with the engine overheating. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the coolant tank had expanded resulting in thermostat failure. The dealer advised the contact to replace the expansion tank and thermostat to repair the vehicle. The vehicle was repaired. ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Acura TLX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the dealer informed the contact that she would be placed on a waiting list. The waiting list indicated that the vehicle would not be checked until mid-2025. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall rep... Read more
Incident date: Aug 26, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
FORD
MUSTANG MACH E
(2023) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 26, 2024
Incident date: Sep 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Mercedes-Benz GLS450. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated, and the vehicle was jerking and hesitating while attempting to accelerate. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed and determined that the oil pump and check valve were faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repai... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2024) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 26, 2024
Incident date: Mar 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while cold starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure had occurred twice. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with cam phaser failure. The contact was informed that the cam phasers needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. In add... Read more
FORD
MAVERICK HYBRID
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 26, 2024
Incident date: Sep 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Honda Ridgeline. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, there was an abnormal sound and shaking coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was diagnosed, and it was determined that the timing belt needed to be replaced. The VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while his friend was driving at an undisclosed speed, there was excessive white smoke coming from the exhaust. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that coolant intrusion had damaged the engine. The owner was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. After investigating the failure, the ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was a coolant intrusion into cylinder #1. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 58,000.
Incident date: Sep 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Kia Optima. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The engine and oil warning lights were flashing on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who performed an oil consumption test. The vehicle failed the oil consumption test and determined that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil.... Read more
Incident date: Sep 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine overheated with the engine coolant 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 head gasket had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dea... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 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 not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Kia Sportage. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the low oil light and engine warning lights illuminated. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle had been consuming excessive engine oil. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a failed crankshaft and rocker arm. The contact was informed that the crankshaft... Read more
Incident date: Sep 8, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Aug 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Acura TLX. 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 and an unknown dealer were 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 is... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 2500
(2017) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 25, 2024
Incident date: Sep 19, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford F-150. The contact stated that upon cold starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal rattling sound coming from the engine. There was no warning light illuminated. The local dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the defect was related to the cam phasers and the contact was provided an estimate for the repair. The manufacturer was notified... Read more
Incident date: Jun 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced rough idling and was sputtering while driving at various speeds. The check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, there was a message that the engine was overheating, and to urgently stop the vehicle safely was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that cylinder #2 was... Read more
Incident date: Sep 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2008 Smart Fortwo. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V273000(Engine and Engine Cooling) 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 contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact noticed there was smoke c... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Sep 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the vehicle was being repaired under an unstated recall, there was an abnormal amount of smoke coming from the exhaust pipes. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that there was a coolant intrusion into the engine short block. The contact was informed that the short block needed to be ... Read more
ALFA ROMEO
GIULIA
(2018) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 25, 2024
Incident date: Sep 24, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was smoke coming from the exhaust, and the vehicle lost motive power with the check engine and the engine coolant over temperature warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that there was coolant leaking into the engine, causing engine failure. The conta... Read more
Incident date: Aug 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that the failure had gotten progressively worse. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the cam phasers and differential had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 31, 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 contacted and confirmed that the parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The cont... Read more
Incident date: Sep 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, there was a strong fuel odor coming from the vehicle. Additionally, there was fuel leaking from the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure... Read more
Incident date: May 11, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 65 MPH, the engine overheated and check engine warning lights illuminated. The contact drove the vehicle to the local dealer, where the vehicle was diagnosed. The contact was informed that coolant had leaked into the engine, and that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufa... Read more
Incident date: Aug 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing rough starts and there was an abnormal amount of white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was determined that there was a misfire in cylinder #4. The mechanic replaced the spark plugs and the ignition coi... Read more
TOYOTA
COROLLA CROSS
(2023) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 25, 2024
Incident date: Sep 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle failed to start as intended. The check engine and oil warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the oil pump had malfunctioned and caused oil to n... Read more
Incident date: Sep 10, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while her husband was driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The vehicle was towed to the residence and later restarted and driven to the local dealer who diagnosed that the tone wheel and crankshaft position sensor had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was... Read more
Incident date: Jun 24, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while attempting to open the coolant overflow reservoir tank, the upper part of the tank cap fractured, preventing the contact from opening the coolant reservoir. The contact stated that on other occasions, the cap had melted. The contact stated that the failure recurred several times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the coolant ov... Read more
Incident date: Sep 13, 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 contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle made an abnormal sound while decelerating and while coming to a complete stop. There was no warning light illuminated. The local deal... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
E350
(2014) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 24, 2024
Incident date: Sep 19, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was restarted; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion into the engine, which caused engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 2500
(2008) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 24, 2024
Incident date: Sep 19, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the vehicle experienced rough idling with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the head gasket had failed, and that there was coolant intrusion into the cylinders causing the engine to overheat. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer a... Read more
TOYOTA
REDUNDANT SIENNA
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 24, 2024
Incident date: Sep 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was a misfire coming from the engine. The vehicle lost motive power with white smoke coming from the exhaust system. Upon inspection, it was discovered that there was no coolant in the coolant reservoir. The vehicle was examined by an independent mechanic who determined that the engine short block was fa... Read more
Incident date: Sep 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Acura TLX. 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 contact stated that the vehicle failed to start intermittently. The contact stated that while driv... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 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 contact stated while coming to a complete stop while driving 5-6 MPH, the vehicle made an abnormal popping sound. The contact stated that the low oil pressure warning light was illuminated. The... Read more
Incident date: Sep 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the vehicle made an abnormal rattling sound. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the cam phaser had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
Incident date: Aug 30, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while adding coolant, the coolant was leaking out. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle failed to accelerate properly. The vehicle was turned off and restarted and there was smoke detected. The contact opened the hood and noticed that the coolant level was low. The check engine warning light was illu... Read more
Incident date: Sep 24, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the contact noticed fuel leaking from under the hood of the vehicle. The check engine, and electronic power control warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the fuel rail bolt had failed and needed to be replaced. The dealer was not contact... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
JETTA
(2017) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 24, 2024
Incident date: Sep 24, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the water pump was leaking. The contact added coolant. There was cool air being distributed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined there was a water pump leak and that the water pump needed to be replaced. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagno... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2018) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 24, 2024
Incident date: Sep 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while attempting to turn off the vehicle, the vehicle failed to turn off as needed. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that there was rust inside the cylinder. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notif... Read more
Incident date: Sep 24, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Ford F-150. The contact stated that during a routine oil change, the contact was informed by the dealer that the oil pan was leaking and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the oil pan was replaced eight times. The contact stated that there was an excessive amount of oil leaking from the oil pan and there were puddles of oil on the drive... Read more
Incident date: Aug 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into an engine cylinder, resulting in engine failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHT... Read more
Incident date: Sep 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 MPH, there was a chemical burning odor inside the cabin of the vehicle. Later, while driving the check engine warning light illuminated, and the "throttle body" message was displayed before the vehicle decelerated and stalled. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the crankshaft position... Read more
Incident date: Sep 9, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated, the engine overheated, and the vehicle would not properly accelerate. The contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power. The contact diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the intake manifold had failed. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufactu... Read more
Incident date: Sep 19, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while pulling out of the driveway, the messages that "Engine Overheating, Do Not Drive" and "Power Train Failure" were displayed on the instrument panel. Additionally, the vehicle was jerking. The vehicle was placed in Neutral(N) and coasted back into the garage. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined tha... Read more
Incident date: Sep 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started, there was white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the contact became aware of an abnormal coolant odor. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a coolant leak into the engine and engine failure. The contact was informed t... Read more
Incident date: Aug 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while cold starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal rattling sound coming from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. Upon investigation, the contact discovered that the failure was related to the cam phasers. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was provided an estimate for the repair. The vehicle was not r... Read more
Incident date: Aug 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the message "Low Engine Coolant" was displayed, and the vehicle started driving rough. The vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was later taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that coolant had leaked into the cylinders and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was no... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2019) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 23, 2024
Incident date: Jun 1, 2019
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The dealer informed the contact that there was a coolant intrusion into the engine and that the engine needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 134,000.
Incident date: Sep 9, 2024
The contact's in-laws own a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle lost motive power. The contact stated that his in-laws were able to drive the vehicle to an independent mechanic and was referred to a dealer for assistance. The contact stated that the vehicle was towed to a dealer. The dealer diagnosed the... Read more