Engine fires: what owners report, and what NHTSA acted on
Two records of the same thing, collected in completely different ways. Owners file complaints voluntarily. Recalls are defects the manufacturer confirmed and filed federally. Neither one alone proves much. Comparing them is more informative than either.
The recalls where NHTSA said to park outside
NHTSA issues this warning rarely. It means the defect can start a fire with the car switched off — so keeping it away from a house or garage matters. Model-level, covering 2015–2025 cars.
| Model | Recalls | Defect | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet Bolt | 5 | Electrical System › Propulsion System › Traction Battery | 2019–2022 |
| Hyundai Tucson | 4 | Service Brakes | 2015–2024 |
| Jaguar I-pace | 4 | Electrical System › Propulsion System › Traction Battery | 2019–2024 |
| Kia Sportage | 4 | Service Brakes | 2015–2023 |
| Mercedes-Benz EQB | 4 | Electrical System › Propulsion System › Traction Battery | 2022–2022 |
| Hyundai IONIQ | 3 | Electrical System › Propulsion System › Traction Battery | 2020–2025 |
| Hyundai Nexo | 3 | Fuel System | 2019–2024 |
| Hyundai Palisade | 3 | Trailer Hitches | 2020–2025 |
| Hyundai Santa Fe | 3 | Service Brakes | 2015–2023 |
| Jeep Wrangler | 3 | Electrical System › Propulsion System › Traction Battery | 2020–2025 |
| Kia Optima | 3 | Service Brakes | 2015–2015 |
| Kia Sorento | 3 | Service Brakes | 2015–2022 |
| Kia Telluride | 3 | Trailer Hitches | 2020–2024 |
| Volkswagen ID.4 | 3 | Electrical System › 12V/24V/48V Battery › Cables | 2023–2024 |
| Chrysler Pacifica | 2 | Electrical System › Propulsion System › Traction Battery | 2020–2023 |
| Ford Expedition | 2 | Engine | 2020–2021 |
| Genesis G70 | 2 | Service Brakes | 2019–2021 |
| Genesis G80 | 2 | Service Brakes | 2017–2020 |
| Hyundai Elantra | 2 | Service Brakes | 2015–2023 |
| Hyundai Genesis | 2 | Service Brakes | 2015–2016 |
| INFINITI QX60 | 2 | Service Brakes | 2017–2019 |
| Kia Cadenza | 2 | Service Brakes | 2015–2019 |
| Kia K900 | 2 | Service Brakes | 2015–2018 |
| Lincoln Navigator | 2 | Engine | 2020–2021 |
| Nissan Maxima | 2 | Service Brakes | 2016–2018 |
| Nissan Murano | 2 | Service Brakes | 2015–2018 |
| Nissan Pathfinder | 2 | Service Brakes | 2017–2019 |
| Ram 2500 | 2 | Electrical System › Wiring › Relays/Solenoids | 2021–2023 |
| Alfa Romeo Tonale | 1 | Electrical System › Propulsion System › Cables › Fastener/Connector | 2023–2024 |
| BMW 430i | 1 | Electrical System › Starter Assembly › Relay | 2021–2022 |
| BMW i4 | 1 | Electrical System › Propulsion System › Traction Battery | 2022–2022 |
| BMW iX | 1 | Electrical System › Propulsion System › Traction Battery | 2022–2023 |
| BMW X3 | 1 | Electrical System › Starter Assembly › Relay | 2020–2022 |
| BMW X4 | 1 | Electrical System › Starter Assembly › Relay | 2020–2022 |
| BMW Z4 | 1 | Electrical System › Starter Assembly › Relay | 2019–2022 |
| Chevrolet Express | 1 | Electrical System › 12V/24V/48V Battery › Cables | 2021–2021 |
| Dodge Hornet | 1 | Electrical System › Propulsion System › Cables › Fastener/Connector | 2023–2024 |
| Genesis G90 | 1 | Electrical System › Starter Assembly › Solenoid | 2017–2019 |
| Hyundai Accent | 1 | Service Brakes | 2015–2015 |
| Hyundai Azera | 1 | Service Brakes | 2015–2015 |
| Hyundai Equus | 1 | Service Brakes | 2015–2015 |
| Hyundai Kona | 1 | Power Train › Automatic Transmission › Fluid/Lubricant › Pump | 2023–2023 |
| Hyundai Santa Cruz | 1 | Trailer Hitches | 2022–2023 |
| Hyundai Sonata | 1 | Power Train › Automatic Transmission › Fluid/Lubricant › Pump | 2023–2023 |
| Hyundai Veloster | 1 | Service Brakes | 2015–2015 |
| Jeep Cherokee | 1 | Electrical System › Wiring › Rear Compartment/Trunk | 2015–2016 |
| Jeep Gladiator | 1 | Steering › Hydraulic Power Assist › Pump | 2021–2025 |
| Jeep Grand Cherokee | 1 | Electrical System › Propulsion System › Traction Battery | 2022–2025 |
| Kia Carnival | 1 | Trailer Hitches | 2022–2023 |
| Kia EV6 | 1 | Electrical System › Propulsion System › Traction Battery | 2022–2024 |
| Kia EV9 | 1 | Electrical System › Propulsion System › Traction Battery | 2024–2024 |
| Kia RIO | 1 | Service Brakes | 2015–2017 |
| Kia Seltos | 1 | Power Train › Automatic Transmission › Fluid/Lubricant › Pump | 2023–2024 |
| Kia Soul | 1 | Power Train › Automatic Transmission › Fluid/Lubricant › Pump | 2023–2023 |
| Kia Stinger | 1 | Service Brakes | 2018–2021 |
| Lincoln MKC | 1 | Engine | 2015–2019 |
| Lucid Air | 1 | Electrical System › Software | 2022–2025 |
| Subaru Ascent | 1 | Electrical System › Wiring › Interior/Under Dash | 2019–2022 |
| Volvo EX30 | 1 | Electrical System › Propulsion System › Traction Battery | 2025–2025 |
Fire as a share of an engine's complaints
For each engine: of the complaints filed about it, what share mentioned a fire. This is a ratio inside a single engine, so how many were sold cancels out — which is why these can be compared with each other, unlike complaint totals. Ranked by the lower bound of a 95% confidence interval, so small samples can't top the list on a lucky streak.
all vehicles 1.14%
Do the two records agree?
Of the 57 models with a park-outside recall, 36 have an owner fire-complaint share above the 1.14% database average — typically around 2.3× it. Two records built by unrelated processes pointing the same way.
The 21 that don't — and why that isn't a contradiction
A recall can be issued before fires show up in the field. Mercedes-Benz EQB has 4 park-outside recalls and 0 fire complaints in this data. That is not the data disagreeing with itself; that is what it looks like when a defect gets caught early. Low complaint share next to an active recall is as likely to mean the system worked as anything else.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer, whatever the car's age or how many owners it has had.
Check a specific car by VIN at NHTSA →Method and limits
- Complaints: NHTSA public complaint database, model years 2015–2025, each decoded to its exact engine through the partial VIN it carries. Recalls: NHTSA recall database for the same vehicles.
- The denominator is complaints, not cars on the road. A 5% fire share means five of every hundred complaints about that engine mentioned a fire — not that 5% of those cars catch fire. Nobody publishes per-engine fleet numbers, so a true rate cannot be calculated here.
- Engines with fewer than 80 complaints are excluded. Fire is rare enough that one extra case would move the figure by more than a point.
- Complaints are self-reported and skew toward alarming events, and toward vehicles under active recall attention — which is precisely why the recall record is shown next to them rather than on its own.
- Recalls are issued per model and year, not per engine. A model's recall count is not comparable between manufacturers: it rises with sales volume, and a manufacturer that recalls promptly looks worse than one that stalls.