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
VOLKSWAGEN
PASSAT
(2015) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 13, 2024
Incident date: Dec 5, 2023
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. Upon investigation, the contact discovered that the failure was likely related to the cam phasers. The dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure milea... Read more
Incident date: Dec 5, 2022
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 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 failure. VIN t... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH several hours after an oil change was performed on the vehicle, the engine seized. The battery, the check engine, and the low oil pressure warning lights were illuminated. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road close to a swamp. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed... Read more
Incident date: Jun 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while his wife driving approximately 65 MPH, she observed that the "High Engine Temperature - Stop Safely" message was displayed. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled, and his wife was able to coast to the side of the highway. The contact stated that his wife was able to restart the vehicle and drive back to the residence; however... Read more
Incident date: Aug 28, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 GMC Terrain. The contact stated that while at a complete stop, the vehicle jerked and shut off. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and continue driving. The contact stated that on several occasions, while the vehicle was jerking at a complete stop, the contact shifted to park(P) to prevent the vehicle from stalling. T... Read more
LAND ROVER
LR4
(2015) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 13, 2024
Incident date: Sep 10, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started, the check engine warning light illuminated with an engine misfire. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into cylinder #2 and engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made of th... Read more
Incident date: May 12, 2021
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that there was coolant leaking from the vehicle, and the “Engine Fault - Service Now” message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that the spark plugs and EVAP system needed to be replaced. The vehicle was taken to another independent mechanic, who determined that the head gasket was leaking int... Read more
Incident date: Sep 13, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light activated and remained illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the local dealer who diagnosed that the #2-cylinder head had cracked due to coolant intrusion into the engine, and that the engine was overheating. The contact was advised that the engine needed to be replaced. The ve... Read more
Incident date: Aug 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated and remained illuminated with the engine overheating. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed an internal engine coolant leak. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified o... Read more
Incident date: Aug 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine and the engine hot warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the road. The contact allowed the vehicle to cool down. The vehicle was driven to the residence. The following day, the contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator peda... Read more
HYUNDAI
SONATA HYBRID
(2024) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 13, 2024
Incident date: Aug 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined there was coolant intrusion into the engine causing and engine misfire in cylinder #3, resulting in engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 7, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that whenever it was cold outside, there was an abnormal rattling sound coming from the vehicle after starting the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the cam phasers and the timing chain was skipping. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufact... Read more
Incident date: Aug 22, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while cold starting the vehicle, the vehicle was idling roughly and shaking abnormally until the engine had warmed up. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that there was coolant intrusio... Read more
Incident date: Aug 22, 2024
The contact's husband owns a 2006 BMW 325i. The contact stated moments after her son had started, parked and exited the vehicle, there was smoke coming from under the hood. The under hood caught on fire and the hood failed to open. The fire was extinguished by the fire department. The contact stated that the under hood, the front of the vehicle and the front tires burned significantly. A fire depa... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Sep 6, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the engine overheating message was displayed. Upon inspection, the contact discovered that there was no coolant in the coolant reservoir. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who diagnosed a cylinder #2 misfire within the engine. The spark plugs and engine ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 18, 2023
The contact owned a 2007 BMW 328XI. The contact stated that upon reaching his destination, he observed smoke emanating from the engine compartment. After a visual inspection, the contact then observed flames within the engine compartment, shortly after which the entire vehicle became engulfed in flames. Emergency services arrived and were able to extinguish the flames. No warning lights were illum... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Sep 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the temperature gauge rose to HOT, and the vehicle would hesitate while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic where a diagnostic test was performed. The diagnostic result indicated that the O-rings on the bottom of the coolant module were worn an... Read more
Incident date: Sep 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated, and the vehicle experienced rough idling. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who determined that the engine block had cracked due to coolant intrusion into the engine, causing the engine to overheat. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be r... Read more
Incident date: Mar 28, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, he observed excessive smoke emanating from the exhaust. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that coolant intrusion into the engine had resulted in damages to the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. Th... Read more
Incident date: Sep 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle briefly hesitated before returning to normal functionality. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who observed coolant intrusion into cylinder #1, resulting in engine damage. The contact was informed that the engine n... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the RPM's immediately surged to 3,000 RPM. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who observed a crack in the engine block, allowing coolant to leak into the head gasket. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. A... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Toyota RAV4. 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 with a coolant bypass valve failure. The contact was informed that the coolant bypass valve needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that coolant bypass valve had been replac... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that the vehicle had previously been repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); but the failure occurred after the recall repair. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The vehicle was taken to... Read more
Incident date: May 28, 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 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 contac... Read more
Incident date: Sep 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that upon coming to a complete stop at a stop light, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to push the vehicle over to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with th... Read more
Incident date: Apr 24, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while attempting to accelerate, the vehicle jerked abnormally before accelerating. The failure had become more persistent eventually causing the vehicle to stall. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the cam phasers had failed, there was an engine misfire, and the timing chain and tensioners had failed. The vehi... Read more
Incident date: Sep 10, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at approximately 25 MPH, the engine overheating warning light was illuminated with an audible chime. The contact pulled over and checked under the hood and became aware that the coolant reservoir was nearly empty. The contact refilled the coolant reservoir and restarted the vehicle. The vehicle was shifted into drive (D) but was... Read more
CHRYSLER
TOWN AND COUNTRY
(2015) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 11, 2024
Incident date: Sep 8, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed and DTC code: P0301 (cylinder #1 misfire) was retrieved, and a coolant leak was found. The contact was advised by the local dealer that the long block might need to be replaced, which would replace th... Read more
Incident date: Jul 10, 2024
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Sorento. 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 side of the road, and the vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was then towed to the used car dealer where it was purchased. The dealer determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine overheated. The engine overheating warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion and engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer w... Read more
Incident date: Sep 9, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Edge. The contact noticed that the engine coolant was quickly depleted. There was no warning light illuminated. The failure persisted and the vehicle shuddered while idling with heavy white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was discovered that the long block was damaged. A dealer was notified of the failure an... Read more
Incident date: Sep 4, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle was shaking and vibrating abnormally. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was flashing off and on. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that there was coolant intrusion into the engine block. The dealer informed the contact... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that after refueling the vehicle, the failed to start. The contact stated that upon revving the engine, the vehicle was able to start. Additionally, the contact stated while driving 50 MPH after refueling the vehicle, the vehicle failed to respond upon depressing the accelerator pedal, and the vehicle went into Safe Mode and stalled. The check... Read more
Incident date: Aug 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated, and the vehicle experienced a rough start-up. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that coolant had intruded into cylinder #3 and recommended that the engine be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The m... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS
(2019) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 11, 2024
Incident date: Dec 28, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle experienced a loss of motive power. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the coolant had leaked into the cylinders, and the engine long block needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified... Read more
Incident date: Sep 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while cold starting the vehicle, there was a large cloud of white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The contact stated that the vehicle was idling rough until the engine had warmed up. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent at first but had become a recurring failure. ... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
S500
(2006) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 11, 2024
Incident date: Sep 11, 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 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: Jun 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine overheated. The contact drove the vehicle to the shoulder of the road. The contact opened the hood to perform an inspection and became aware that the coolant reservoir was empty. The contact stated that there were no indications of a coolant leak. The contact allowed the engine to cool off and... Read more
Incident date: Aug 9, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle shuddered, and lost motive power. The contact stated that the message "Engine over temperature" was displayed and the temperature gauge indicated that the engine was hot(H). Additionally, the contact observed an abnormal burning odor after exiting the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a deale... Read more
Incident date: Oct 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. 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 contact also became aware of a loud ticking sound coming from the engine. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the cam phasers had fa... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while cold starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the vehicle. In addition, the contact stated that the check engine warning light intermittently illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was initially taken to an independent mechanic where a diagnostic test was performed on the vehicle. The mechani... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2015) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 10, 2024
Incident date: Sep 10, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while cold starting the vehicle, the vehicle was idling rough until the engine had warmed up. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that there was coolant intrusion into the engine block and that the engine needed ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the vehicle was hesitating and shaking abnormally while being started. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a certified mechanic where it was diagnosed with an engine misfire. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to another dealer where it was diagnosed and determin... Read more
Incident date: Aug 8, 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 starting the vehicle, and while driving at various speeds, the vehicle made abnormal knocking sounds. There was no warning light illuminated. The dealer was not contacted. ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started, there was white smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. In addition, the contact stated that the Customer Service Prog... Read more
Incident date: Sep 10, 2021
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. The contact stated while driving 75 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 7, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed in a parking lot, the vehicle stalled. There were no warning lights illuminated. 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 vehicle was towed to th... Read more
Incident date: Aug 28, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle went into LIMP Mode, with the "Engine coolant over Temperature" message on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where a diagnostic test revealed that there was coolant intrusion into an engine cylinder and the contact was provided an estimate for the repair. The manufacturer was ... Read more
FORD
BRONCO SPORT
(2021) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 10, 2024
Incident date: Aug 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. The contact stated that while merging onto the freeway at approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle failed to respond as needed. The contact was depressing the accelerator pedal however, the vehicle was not accelerating as needed. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact drove the vehicle to a local dealer who diagn... Read more
Incident date: Sep 10, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced rough starts and there was a slushing liquid sound coming from inside the dashboard. Additionally, while operating the vehicle the check engine warning light remained illuminated and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the engine block was cracked and causing coola... Read more