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: Sep 9, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that there was coolant intrusion into the engine and the engine needed to be replaced. The contact researched and became aware of TSB: 22-2229. ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 30, 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 local dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact ... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2023) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Oct 1, 2024
Incident date: Jul 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated while her daughter was operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle lost motive power and stalled on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed an engine misfire in cylinder #1 due to coolant intrusion into the engine. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manuf... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Edge. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion into the engine and the engine needed to be replaced. The contact researched and was made aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V209000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the VIN was ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 30, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated with heavy white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where a diagnostic test was performed. The contact was informed that there was a coolant leak into cylinder #1. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and the contact ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 19, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 Chrysler Town and Country. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at an undisclosed speed, the window glass fell into the door abruptly. A mechanic inspected the vehicle and determined that the failure occurred due to an internal door fracture. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated while driving and turning the steering wheel, the steering wheel ma... Read more
CHRYSLER
TOWN AND COUNTRY
(2011) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Oct 1, 2024
Incident date: May 1, 2021
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 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 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who discovered that the oil level was low even though the oil had recently been changed. The contact was informed of a possible oil consumption failure. The vehicle was not repaired. Additionally, while drivin... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Tundra. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, there was electrical smoke emerging from the starter. The low power and battery warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the starter needed to be replaced. While driving, there was a loud clucking sound detected, and the engine seized. The contact stated that th... Read more
Incident date: Aug 8, 2024
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 528I. 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 check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where the contact was made aware of an oil leak. The vehicle was not repaired. The cont... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. 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 a... Read more
Incident date: Sep 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Jaguar F-Pace. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the temperature gauge indicated that the engine was overheating, after which the contact smelled antifreeze on the interior of the vehicle. The low coolant and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed failures the radiator and vacuum cooling system elbow hose. The... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a loud ticking sound coming from the engine. The check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the timing belt had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 18, 2018
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328I. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 24V513000 (AIR BAGS) and 23V707000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for ... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 2500
(2022) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 30, 2024
Incident date: May 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 Ford Bronco Sport. The contact stated while having the vehicle serviced at the dealer, the contact was informed that the engine was leaking coolant. The vehicle was diagnosed, and it was determined that the water pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.
Incident date: May 23, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
MERCEDES-BENZ
GLE350
(2016) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 30, 2024
Incident date: Jul 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 BMW 328I. The contact stated while driving at approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle shuddered and made an abnormal sound that worsened over time. The contact pulled over to inspect the vehicle and discovered smoke coming from the engine compartment; moments later the engine compartment engulfed in flames. The contact was notified that the VIN was included in the NHTSA Campaign ... Read more
Fire
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2018) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 30, 2024
Incident date: Aug 23, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Jul 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was restarted and the engine overheated. The vehicle was driven to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the enjoy had overheated and the plastic cooling line was leaking. The vehicle was repaired but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was n... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the engine was severely damaged due to coolant intrusion into the cylinders. The contact was advised that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was n... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at unknown speed, there was smoke coming from the exhaust pipe and the vehicle shuddered. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not drivable and was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that there was a coolant intrusion into the cylinder. The contact was informed that the engine nee... Read more
Incident date: Jan 30, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated, prompting the contact to drive the vehicle to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The dealer retrieved fault code for a cylinder #2 misfire. The contact was informed that the spark plugs, fuel injectors, and the engine needed to be replaced, due to coolant intrusion into the cylinder head. Th... Read more
Incident date: Oct 4, 2021
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to an auto parts store where it was diagnosed and determined that the spark plugs needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred, and the vehicle was driven to an independent mechan... Read more
Incident date: Sep 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was shaking abnormally. The vehicle failed to accelerate as intended intermittently. The contact stated while starting the vehicle there was a white cloud of exhaust coming from the exhaust pipe. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a certified mechanic where it wa... Read more
Incident date: Jan 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the check engine light had appeared on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the contact was informed that despite the warning light, the vehicle was still safe to drive. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic where the contact was informed that there was a misfire in engine cylinder#1. While the co... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission unexpectedly shifted to park(P), and the vehicle shut off while approaching a traffic light. The contact was able to restart the vehicle; however, the failure recurred while driving and exiting a parking lot. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The co... Read more
Incident date: Sep 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Acura TLX. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 19V060000 (Fuel System, Other) and 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were 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... Read more
NEXEN
N PRIZ AH8
(9999) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 27, 2024
Incident date: Sep 25, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Sep 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Acura MDX. 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 was contacted. The contact called another local dealer, Hopkins Acura of Fairfield (2459 Auto Mall Pkwy, Fairfield, CA 94533); but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contac... Read more
Incident date: Sep 24, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an engine misfire, and the vehicle jerked abnormally 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 with coolant intrusion into the engine, causing engine failure. The contact ... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2015) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 27, 2024
Incident date: Sep 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle experienced a loss of motive power and decelerated. The vehicle was driven to the local dealer who diagnosed that the engine had experienced coolant intrusion into the cylinders, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manu... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Sep 27, 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: Feb 15, 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: Jul 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: Sep 6, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
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
Incident date: Sep 13, 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
Incident date: Jul 1, 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: Aug 1, 2024
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
LAND ROVER
RANGE ROVER EVOQUE
(2012) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 26, 2024
Incident date: Sep 20, 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 25, 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 26, 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: Sep 26, 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 18, 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 26, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Sep 8, 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
NISSAN
PATHFINDER
(2022) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Sep 25, 2024
Incident date: Sep 25, 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: Aug 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