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.

2,245,377 Total Complaints

140,173 Reported Crashes

56,794 Reported Fires

8,580 Reported 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

How to Read NHTSA Consumer Complaints › How NHTSA Investigations Work › Used Car: 7 Recall Checks to Run First › The Takata Airbag Recall: Full Story › OBD-II Codes Explained › All Articles ›

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Showing 40,899 complaints - component: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

Incident date: Sep 7, 2024

The contact owns a 2008 Smart Fortwo. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V273000(Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact noticed there was smoke c... Read more

Fire

Incident date: Sep 25, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the vehicle was being repaired under an unstated recall, there was an abnormal amount of smoke coming from the exhaust pipes. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that there was a coolant intrusion into the engine short block. The contact was informed that the short block needed to be ... Read more

Incident date: Nov 25, 2021

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was smoke coming from the exhaust, and the vehicle lost motive power with the check engine and the engine coolant over temperature warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that there was coolant leaking into the engine, causing engine failure. The conta... Read more

Incident date: Feb 15, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that the failure had gotten progressively worse. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the cam phasers and differential had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The ... Read more

Incident date: Aug 15, 2024

The contact owns a 2020 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that the parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The cont... Read more

Incident date: Sep 25, 2023

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, there was a strong fuel odor coming from the vehicle. Additionally, there was fuel leaking from the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure... Read more

Incident date: Oct 6, 2023

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 65 MPH, the engine overheated and check engine warning lights illuminated. The contact drove the vehicle to the local dealer, where the vehicle was diagnosed. The contact was informed that coolant had leaked into the engine, and that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufa... Read more

Incident date: Aug 31, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing rough starts and there was an abnormal amount of white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was determined that there was a misfire in cylinder #4. The mechanic replaced the spark plugs and the ignition coi... Read more

Incident date: Sep 25, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle failed to start as intended. The check engine and oil warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the oil pump had malfunctioned and caused oil to n... Read more

Incident date: Apr 1, 2024

The contact owns a 2015 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while her husband was driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The vehicle was towed to the residence and later restarted and driven to the local dealer who diagnosed that the tone wheel and crankshaft position sensor had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was... Read more

Incident date: Aug 14, 2024

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while attempting to open the coolant overflow reservoir tank, the upper part of the tank cap fractured, preventing the contact from opening the coolant reservoir. The contact stated that on other occasions, the cap had melted. The contact stated that the failure recurred several times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the coolant ov... Read more

Incident date: Sep 4, 2024

The contact owns a 2020 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle made an abnormal sound while decelerating and while coming to a complete stop. There was no warning light illuminated. The local deal... Read more

Incident date: Sep 17, 2024

The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was restarted; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion into the engine, which caused engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine... Read more

Incident date: Sep 24, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the vehicle experienced rough idling with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the head gasket had failed, and that there was coolant intrusion into the cylinders causing the engine to overheat. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer a... Read more

Incident date: Sep 3, 2024

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was a misfire coming from the engine. The vehicle lost motive power with white smoke coming from the exhaust system. Upon inspection, it was discovered that there was no coolant in the coolant reservoir. The vehicle was examined by an independent mechanic who determined that the engine short block was fa... Read more

Incident date: Sep 1, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Acura TLX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start intermittently. The contact stated that while driv... Read more

Incident date: Sep 12, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated while coming to a complete stop while driving 5-6 MPH, the vehicle made an abnormal popping sound. The contact stated that the low oil pressure warning light was illuminated. The... Read more

Incident date: Sep 18, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the vehicle made an abnormal rattling sound. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the cam phaser had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

Incident date: Jun 1, 2024

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while adding coolant, the coolant was leaking out. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle failed to accelerate properly. The vehicle was turned off and restarted and there was smoke detected. The contact opened the hood and noticed that the coolant level was low. The check engine warning light was illu... Read more

Incident date: Sep 23, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the contact noticed fuel leaking from under the hood of the vehicle. The check engine, and electronic power control warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the fuel rail bolt had failed and needed to be replaced. The dealer was not contact... Read more

Incident date: Sep 24, 2024

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the water pump was leaking. The contact added coolant. There was cool air being distributed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined there was a water pump leak and that the water pump needed to be replaced. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagno... Read more

Incident date: Aug 15, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated while attempting to turn off the vehicle, the vehicle failed to turn off as needed. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that there was rust inside the cylinder. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notif... Read more

Incident date: Sep 24, 2024

The contact owns a 2015 Ford F-150. The contact stated that during a routine oil change, the contact was informed by the dealer that the oil pan was leaking and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the oil pan was replaced eight times. The contact stated that there was an excessive amount of oil leaking from the oil pan and there were puddles of oil on the drive... Read more

Incident date: Sep 24, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with coolant intrusion into an engine cylinder, resulting in engine failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHT... Read more

Incident date: Sep 23, 2024

The contact owns a 2014 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 MPH, there was a chemical burning odor inside the cabin of the vehicle. Later, while driving the check engine warning light illuminated, and the "throttle body" message was displayed before the vehicle decelerated and stalled. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the crankshaft position... Read more

Incident date: Sep 19, 2024

The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated, the engine overheated, and the vehicle would not properly accelerate. The contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power. The contact diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the intake manifold had failed. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufactu... Read more

Incident date: Jul 17, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while pulling out of the driveway, the messages that "Engine Overheating, Do Not Drive" and "Power Train Failure" were displayed on the instrument panel. Additionally, the vehicle was jerking. The vehicle was placed in Neutral(N) and coasted back into the garage. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined tha... Read more

Incident date: Sep 2, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started, there was white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the contact became aware of an abnormal coolant odor. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a coolant leak into the engine and engine failure. The contact was informed t... Read more

Incident date: Sep 23, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while cold starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal rattling sound coming from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. Upon investigation, the contact discovered that the failure was related to the cam phasers. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was provided an estimate for the repair. The vehicle was not r... Read more

Incident date: Sep 23, 2024

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the message "Low Engine Coolant" was displayed, and the vehicle started driving rough. The vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was later taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that coolant had leaked into the cylinders and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was no... Read more

Incident date: Jun 1, 2019

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The dealer informed the contact that there was a coolant intrusion into the engine and that the engine needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 134,000.

Incident date: Sep 5, 2024

The contact's in-laws own a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle lost motive power. The contact stated that his in-laws were able to drive the vehicle to an independent mechanic and was referred to a dealer for assistance. The contact stated that the vehicle was towed to a dealer. The dealer diagnosed the... Read more

Incident date: Sep 20, 2024

The contact owns a 2019 Acura MDX. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 23V858000 (Fuel system, Gasoline) and 23V751000 (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 repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact h... Read more

Incident date: Jun 15, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was restarted; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that coolant had leaked into the engine, causing engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be... Read more

Incident date: Aug 5, 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 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 stated that while stopped at a traff... Read more

Incident date: Sep 6, 2024

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was a cloud of white exhaust coming from the tailpipe causing an odor of exhaust to emit from the vehicle. The contact, an independent mechanic, had inspected the vehicle and noticed water leaking into the cylinders. The contact replaced the water pump, thermostat, and temperature sensors. The failure... Read more

Incident date: Sep 19, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 BMW 430I. The contact stated that while the dealer was servicing the vehicle, the dealer informed the contact there were several coolant leaks found. The dealer advised the contact to regularly add coolant to the vehicle. Additionally, the contact stated while driving 40-50 MPH, the vehicle experienced reduced power. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The mess... Read more

Incident date: Jul 16, 2024

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at 55 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The driver was able to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. The blank warning light was illuminated. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic... Read more

Incident date: Sep 19, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that there was white smoke from the vehicle. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was chugging. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion into the engine, and the head gasket and engine needed to be replaced... Read more

Incident date: Sep 20, 2024

The contact owns a 2021 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated there was an abnormal squeaking noise coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that the engine was overheating, and the vehicle lost motive power. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was ... Read more

Incident date: Sep 2, 2024

The contact owns a 2019 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that there was a misfire in the engine. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that there was water build up in the spark plug wells, and there were signs of corrosion on electrical component. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and informed th... Read more

Incident date: Sep 17, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Honda Accord. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline); 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 contact had... Read more

Incident date: Sep 19, 2024

See attached document for complaint.

Incident date: Sep 20, 2024

The contact owns a 2019 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact was constantly adding coolant to the coolant reservoir. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and the contact was informed that coolant was leaking into the engine. The vehicle was repaired. The contact researched online and b... Read more

Incident date: Sep 19, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving at various speeds and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle was intermittently sluggish and failed to respond as needed. The contact stated that the vehicle then lost motive power. The contact was unable to pull over to the side of the roadway. The contact was able to restart the vehicle; however, the vehicle experienc... Read more

Incident date: Sep 9, 2024

The contact owns a 2015 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the oil pan was leaking. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the oil pan was leaking and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage w... Read more

Incident date: Sep 18, 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 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 ... Read more

Incident date: Aug 29, 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 local dealer for a routine oil change and the contact was informed that there was a misfire in cylinder #3, and there was coolant intrusion into the cylinder. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was ... Read more

Incident date: Sep 17, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that the vehicle was leaking oil. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the oil pan had rusted and caused the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was informed that the part to do the repair was on back order. The manufacturer was contacted and refe... Read more

Incident date: Aug 29, 2024

The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Veloster. The contact stated while driving from a complete stop, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to AutoZone, where diagnostic test codes indicated a timing chain failure and other diagnostic test codes were retrieved. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the engine had failed due to low engine oil, a... Read more

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Consumer Safety Complaints

What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?

How to interpret what you read

If you've experienced a defect

Read more from our blog