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
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 2500
(2015) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 29, 2024
Incident date: Jul 29, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, there was a coolant leak underneath the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the coolant hoses were faulty and needed to be replaced. Additional, while driving at various highway speeds the vehicle lost motive power and would not properly accelerate. The cause of the failu... Read more
Incident date: Aug 23, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Aug 10, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated while driving approximately 50-55 MPH, the low oil pressure warning light was illuminated, and the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road. The vehi... Read more
Incident date: Aug 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2009 Mercedes-Benz 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 local dealer and several unknown dealers were contacted and informed the contact that they did not service Smart vehicles. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a r... Read more
Incident date: Mar 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving up an incline at approximately 30 MPH, there was a loud clanking sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that the vehicle started to shudder and vibrate with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the failure... Read more
Incident date: Jan 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Ford F-150. The contact stated that there was oil underneath the front end of the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle had been taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that there was oil leaking from the seal on the oil pan. The contact was informed that the oil pan needed to be replaced and the front seal needed to be resealed. The contact rela... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2019
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving at approximately 5 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after several attempts. The contact drove the vehicle to a local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the spark plugs and ignition coils needed to be replaced due to fouling by engi... Read more
Incident date: Aug 27, 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 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: Aug 28, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Tundra. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 23V566000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) and 24V381000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was not mad... Read more
Incident date: Aug 28, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, there was white smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe. Additionally, the contact noticed that the coolant level was significantly low. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was a coolant intrusion in the engine. The dealer determined that the short block needed to be replaced. The ve... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2020
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while the wife was driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle suddenly lost motive power, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was later restarted and driven to the local mechanic who diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion into cylinder #2. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be... Read more
Incident date: Aug 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. In addition, the contact stated that the engine overheated. The vehicle was diagnosed by an independent mechanic; however, the failure was not duplicated. The contact was informed by the independent mechanic that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of c... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2020) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 27, 2024
Incident date: Aug 4, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated on several occasions while starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that while driving on several occasions at various speeds, the vehicle was shaking violently before the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the engin... Read more
Incident date: Aug 17, 2024
The contact's husband owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that upon start the vehicle, there was an abnormal rattling sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed with cam phaser failure. The contact was informed that the cam phasers needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but offered no assistance. The cont... Read more
INDIAN
CHALLENGER LIMITED
(2021) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 27, 2024
Incident date: Feb 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion into the engine. The dealer determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 76... Read more
Incident date: Apr 6, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The engine and TPMS warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated the failure was related to Special Coverage Adjustment: N192291100. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where an oil consumption test was completed. The mechanic informed the contact that the v... Read more
Incident date: Dec 31, 2022
The contact owns a 2010 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V707000 (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 dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manuf... Read more
Incident date: Mar 22, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving at speeds above 80 MPH, the vehicle started to shake, the engine overheated, and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer and was diagnosed with a faulty battery. The battery was replaced; however, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was towed to a second dealer, but the cause of the failure was not yet determ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2024
The contact's client 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 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. T... Read more
HYUNDAI
SANTA FE SPORT
(2018) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 27, 2024
Incident date: Aug 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH and attempting to accelerate, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the vehicle and the vehicle lost motive power. No warning light was illuminated. The contact pulled over to the shoulder of the road to restart the vehicle; however, the engine failed to turn over. The vehicle was towed to a local de... Read more
HYUNDAI
SANTA CRUZ
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 27, 2024
Incident date: Aug 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2009 Audi TTS. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the water pump and the ECM module had failed and needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the water... Read more
HYUNDAI
SANTA CRUZ
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 27, 2024
Incident date: Aug 10, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the oil pump failed and caus... Read more
Incident date: Aug 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 BMW X5. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the low coolant warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed water pump. The contact was informed that the water pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not assist. The failure mileage ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing excessive oil consumption. Additionally, the contact stated while at a complete stop and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle started lunging forward. The contact stated that the vehicle was overheating while driving. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mec... Read more
Incident date: Jan 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Mustang. The contact stated that a ticking sound was coming from underneath the hood of the vehicle while driving at various speeds and while the vehicle was idling. The contact stated that the RPM dropped while idling and while decelerating. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failure in the lifte... Read more
Incident date: Aug 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact pulled over to the side of the road where the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the tone wheel and the crankshaft position sensor had ... Read more
TOYOTA
RAV4 PRIME
(2024) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 27, 2024
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the check engine warning light illuminated intermittently. The contact stated that while refueling, the accelerator pedal had to be slightly depressed to prevent the vehicle from stalling. The vehicle had been taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that ignition coil #3 had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle w... Read more
Incident date: Aug 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while at a complete stop, the vehicle hesitated and sputtered upon the depression of the accelerator pedal. Upon inspection of the engine compartment, the contact discovered that the oil level was low. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the contact was initially informed that the failure was normal with similar vehicles. The cont... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing excessive coolant consumption with the check engine warning light was intermittently illuminated. Additionally, the contact noticed that smoke was coming out of the exhaust pipe. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the ignition coil packs and the spark plugs were replaced; however, the failu... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Acura MDX. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the local dealer for routine maintenance, and it was diagnosed that the tensioner was leaking, and the timing belt needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V298000 (Engine and Engine Coo... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Tundra. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 24V381000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) and 23V566000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The contact stated while driving on several occasions at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated. The contact stated on one occasion an unknown warning light flashed on and off. Additionally, on several occasions, while driv... Read more
Incident date: Mar 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated while the vehicle was idling at a stop light, there was a loud popping sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that while accelerating forward there was steam and smoke coming from under the hood with the engine temperature gauge indicating that the engine was hot before the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. ... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2015) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 26, 2024
Incident date: Aug 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated while starting the vehicle from a cold start, the vehicle was idling rough with white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the spark plugs needed to be replaced. The ve... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 26, 2024
Incident date: Jul 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2010 BMW X5. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V707000 (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 stated that when the vehicle wase cold started ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was temporarily illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated while the vehicle was idling at a red traffic light, an unknown message, and the message "Emergency Stop" were displayed, an alarm sounded, and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle failed to restart and was pushed into a parking lot with assistance. ... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2012) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 26, 2024
Incident date: Jun 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal rattling sound coming 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 not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure m... Read more
Incident date: Aug 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the independent mechanic for a routine oil change, and the mechanic stated that the oil belt was not pumping the oil correctly. Additionally, the contact observed a knocking sound coming from the engine compartmen... Read more
Incident date: Aug 22, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving and exceeding 45 MPH, the vehicle shuddered and hesitated to respond. The check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated while driving 60-65 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact pulled over to the side of the road. The vehicle failed to restart and made a whining sound. The vehicle was towed to an A... Read more
Incident date: Aug 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2023 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle suddenly decelerated after the engine overheated and shifted into "LIMP Mode". The contact stated that during the failure, the message "Engine Overheated" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the engine was faulty and needed to be replaced. No further information was ava... Read more
Incident date: Aug 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was sputtering and hesitating. The contact stated that the failure also occurred during start-up. The message low coolant level was displayed, and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle had been taken to a certified mechanic where it was diagnosed that the spark plugs had faile... Read more
Incident date: Aug 24, 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 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. The contact had n... Read more
Incident date: Aug 13, 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 an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the engine cylinder had failed. The contact was informed that the ignition coils and spark plugs needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The vehic... Read more
TOYOTA
SEQUOIA HYBRID
(2024) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 26, 2024
Incident date: Aug 22, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle briefly vibrated, and there was excessive white smoke coming from the exhaust. The contact stated that the message "Low Coolant Level" was displayed, and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the spark pl... Read more
Incident date: Dec 15, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of oil. While approaching a stop, the vehicle shut off. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that the engine oil was backing up through the muffler and the vehicle was losing motive pow... Read more
Incident date: Aug 16, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: May 16, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS
(2022) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 23, 2024
Incident date: Aug 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Tundra. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 23V566000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) and 24V381000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repairs were unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle the check engine light had remained illuminated and the vehicle would not properly accelerate while driving at various speeds. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the engine coolant was present inside the engine cylinders causing severe damage to the engine. The contact was advised that ... Read more
MAZDA
CX-90 PLUG-IN HYBRID
(2024) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Aug 23, 2024
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2023 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while at a stop light, the brake pedal was released, but the vehicle failed to move. The accelerator pedal was depressed, and the vehicle jolted forward. The contact was able to drive to a parking lot. After shifting to drive, the vehicle unexpectedly reversed. While in reverse, the vehicle would shift to drive erroneously. The vehicle jo... Read more
Incident date: Jul 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle was started and there was an abnormal antifreeze odor coming from the exhaust pipe. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was driven back to the residence. The contact self-diagnosed the vehicle with a coolant leak into the cylinder. The contact had s... Read more