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: Oct 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 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. Additionally, the contact stated that the headlights failed to illuminate while it w... Read more
Incident date: Jul 30, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Oct 10, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 BMW 528I. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was smoke coming through the A/C vents and coming from underneath the hood. The check engine warning light and an unknown warning light were illuminated. The contact later received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System); which the contact related to t... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 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 made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a fail... Read more
TOYOTA
CAMRY HYBRID
(2021) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Oct 22, 2024
Incident date: Dec 22, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, upon inspecting the vehicle the contact noticed oil burning and an abnormal sound coming from the engine. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V226000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage w... Read more
Incident date: Sep 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that coolant was leaking into the engine. The mechanic recommended that the engine be replaced. The contact called the local dealer and was referred to the manufacturer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Th... Read more
Incident date: Dec 10, 2015
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while cold starting the vehicle, the engine was idling roughly. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the message “Stop Driving – Engine Overheating” was displayed and an audible chime was heard. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while conducting a routine inspection on the vehicle, the contact noticed that the coolant was low in the coolant reservoir. The contact drove the vehicle to a local dealer where the vehicle was inspected. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The dealer suggested that the vehicle remain at the dealer to be... Read more
Incident date: Sep 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the message "Service Engine Soon" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion in cylinder #3. The dealer determined that the long block needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to TSB Number: 19-2208. The manufacturer was notified of the failu... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE 4XE
(2023) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Oct 22, 2024
Incident date: Jan 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced rough starts and the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who discovered coolant inside the cylinders and informed the contact that the engine long block needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were notifie... Read more
Incident date: Oct 9, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the floorboard was vibrating, and the vehicle was losing motive power. The contact was depressing the accelerator pedal; however, the vehicle was not responding as needed. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring for several years. The v... Read more
Incident date: Oct 9, 2024
The contact owned a 2014 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 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 contact attempted to start the vehicle and ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 10, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Tundra. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V381000 (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 11, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that there was coolant intrusion into the cylinder and that the engine long block needed to be replaced. The dealer made the contact aware of Customer Satisfaction Program Number: 21N12 (Engin... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
The contact owned a 2014 BMW 328i. The contact stated that while at a complete stop at the red traffic light, the contact noticed smoke coming from underneath the hood. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact pulled to the side of the road. A bystander advised the contact to exit the vehicle immediately. The contact and his best friend occupying the front passenger's side seat exited t... Read more
Fire
Incident date: May 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V635000 (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 tool... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing excessive coolant consumption. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion in the cylinders. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with coolant i... Read more
Incident date: Aug 13, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated upon depressing the accelerator pedal. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle failed to start after several attempts, with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was initially taken to an independent mechanic where the ignition coils and spark plugs were re... Read more
Incident date: Sep 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving 25-30 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an unknown dealer, where the sparks plugs were replaced; however, the failure progressively worsened. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the failure recurred, and the vehicle shuddered. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was... Read more
Incident date: Sep 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated there was heavy white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe at start-up. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and a dealer, and a diagnostic test was performed. The contact was informed that coolant had leaked into cylinder #2. The contact was informed by the dealer that the engine need... Read more
Incident date: Oct 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated and the message "Coolant Temperature High" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed and determined that there was coolant inside the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet... Read more
NISSAN
PATHFINDER
(2014) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Oct 21, 2024
Incident date: Jun 24, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that unknown gaskets had malfunctioned, causing fluids to leak into the engine. The engine was currently being replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and opened a case. The manufacturer referred the... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle difficult to start; but was able to start after several attempts. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the spark plugs were replaced; however, the failure persisted. The mechanic determined that the failure was related to Ford Campaign Number: 21N12. The vehic... Read more
Incident date: Jul 25, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 BMW 328I. The contact received notified notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated upon turning on the heat or the A/C, there was an abnormal loud sound coming from under the hood. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehic... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS CROSS SPORT
(2024) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Oct 21, 2024
Incident date: Oct 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the engine overheated and stalled, rendering the vehicle inoperable. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the engine block had cracked due to coolant intrusion into the cylinders. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manu... Read more
Incident date: Jun 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine overheated with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the engine, causing engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The local dealer was contacted, and the vehicle was diagnosed, and the spark plugs, and ignition coils were replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The vehicle was recently diagnosed with coolant intrusion into the engine. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approxima... Read more
Incident date: Sep 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the engine started to vibrate violently. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that coolant was leaking into the engine block, resulting in damages to the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact... Read more
Incident date: Jul 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the check engine warning light illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated while starting the vehicle, the engine revved significantly. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the canister purge valve had failed and needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the c... Read more
PIRELLI
SCORPION VERDE ALL SEASON
(9999) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Oct 21, 2024
Incident date: Dec 11, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, there was white smoke intermittently coming from the exhaust pipe. No warning light was illuminated. The failure occurred on several occasions. 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 ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 21, 2024
The contact’s son owns a 2015 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System). The contact stated that while his son was driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was not able to be restarted. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed and it was determined that the timing chain had ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to respond while the RPMS had risen significantly high. The contact stated that upon releasing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle responded as needed. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing excessive coolant consumption. The ch... Read more
Incident date: Oct 19, 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: May 1, 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: Oct 19, 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: Oct 11, 2024
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: Aug 21, 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
MICHELIN
AGILIS CROSSCLIMATE C-METRIC
(9999) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Oct 18, 2024
Incident date: Aug 21, 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 17, 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 30, 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: Dec 18, 2023
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 17, 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: Aug 1, 2024
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
Incident date: Sep 19, 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: Oct 14, 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: Sep 19, 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: Oct 18, 2024
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 14, 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: Sep 16, 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