Symptom explainer · every vehicle on the site
Head gasket fails or coolant leaks into the engine
Most reported: 2018 Honda Accord with 335 reports. Across the 74 model years on this site with at least five, owners filed 2,012.
- 2,012owner reports
- 74model years affected
- 80,544median miles
- 6involved a crash
- 6involved a fire
This is the narrower sheet inside overheating and coolant leaks for reports that name the head gasket. The difference from the wider sheet is where the coolant goes: instead of dripping onto the driveway, it disappears inside the engine, into the cylinders or the oil.
Part of Overheating and Coolant Leak Problems, which counts 13,370 reports.
Which cars report it most · By model · When it happens · What it is and what to do
The 25 vehicles with the most reports
Each row is one model year. The bar is its count of head gasket failure reports; the share is how much of that car's complaint file this problem takes up. Bigger sellers draw more reports, so read the share alongside the count. Red dots mark crashes and fires in these reports; amber marks a recall on the same system.
- 12018 Honda Accord2 crashes33518% of its complaints95k mi
- 22017 Ford Escaperecall1385% of its complaints76k mi
- 312414% of its complaints76k mi
- 42018 Ford Escaperecall1177% of its complaints75k mi
- 5976% of its complaints78k mi
- 62019 Honda Accord1 crash1 fire9213% of its complaints94k mi
- 7655% of its complaints108k mi
- 8604% of its complaints68k mi
- 92022 Volkswagen Taosrecall6019% of its complaints22k mi
- 102014 Ford Escape1 firerecall533% of its complaints85k mi
- 11445% of its complaints71k mi
- 12442% of its complaints100k mi
- 13412% of its complaints102k mi
- 142016 Ford Fusion1 crash382% of its complaints88k mi
- 15383% of its complaints85k mi
- 16293% of its complaints83k mi
- 17276% of its complaints85k mi
- 18267% of its complaints100k mi
- 192321% of its complaints17k mi
- 202019 Ford Escape1 crashrecall224% of its complaints68k mi
- 212114% of its complaints49k mi
- 222021 Honda Accord1 crash219% of its complaints74k mi
- 23202% of its complaints100k mi
- 242016 Ford Escaperecall202% of its complaints78k mi
- 252014 Chevrolet Cruze1 fire173% of its complaints89k mi
Where it dominates the complaint file
Model years with at least 25 reports, ranked by the share of all their complaints that describe head gasket failure. That takes most of the sales-volume effect out (small sellers still swing more).
- 12022 Volkswagen Taosrecall6019% of its complaints22k mi
- 22018 Honda Accord2 crashes33518% of its complaints95k mi
- 312414% of its complaints76k mi
- 42019 Honda Accord1 crash1 fire9213% of its complaints94k mi
- 5267% of its complaints100k mi
- 62018 Ford Escaperecall1177% of its complaints75k mi
- 7976% of its complaints78k mi
- 8276% of its complaints85k mi
- 9445% of its complaints71k mi
- 10655% of its complaints108k mi
By model, every year together
The 12 models with the most reports. Each chip is a model year; the darker chip is its worst year.
- Honda Accord488
- Ford Escape372
- Ford Edge156
- Ford Fusion147
- Honda CR-V113
- Kia Sorento102
When it happens
1,021 of the 2,012 reports state a mileage. The middle half fall between 61,000 and 104,000 miles; the median is 80,544. Each column is a 20,000-mile band.
Reports by model year
Every report of head gasket failure, grouped by the model year of the car. 6 involved a crash and 6 a fire. 8 people were hurt.
What owners describe
Share of the 2,012 reports that use each phrase. One report can use several.
What got replaced
Reports that name the part, across every vehicle.
What it is and what to do
The head gasket seals the joint between the engine block and the cylinder head, keeping oil, coolant and combustion gases apart. Firestone lists what happens when it fails: overheating, white smoke from the tailpipe with a sweet smell, milky or frothy oil, rough running or misfires, and coolant that keeps needing top-ups with no leak in sight. High engine temperature is the top cause it names, and its advice is not to ignore overheating even if it happens only once.
About 2,000 complaints on this site name the gasket. One in five mentions coolant loss, about one in five mentions overheating, and about one in eight mentions coolant in the oil. This is a late failure, with a median of about 80,000 miles, and the 2018 Honda Accord has the most reports of any vehicle year here. NHTSA looked at head gasket and head bolt failures on 2016 and 2017 Kia Sorentos with the 3.3L engine in PE23-019, which closed in 2024 with no recall attached.
A shop confirms it with a compression test, a leak-down test or a chemical test for exhaust gases in the coolant, according to Firestone. Ask which one they ran and for the result in writing.
Driving on a failed head gasket risks warped parts, internal corrosion and complete engine failure, Firestone warns, so pull over, let it cool and arrange a diagnosis. Tell the shop how much coolant you've added and over how many miles, whether you've seen white smoke, and whether the car overheated at any point.
Check NHTSA's recall lookup and the bulletins NHTSA posts by year, make and model. If the car is under warranty, get it on a repair order; the FTC says a defect reported during the warranty period must be fixed even if the warranty expires before the repair.
Sources
- What causes head gasket failure?, Firestone Complete Auto Care
- NHTSA investigation PE23-019, loss of motive power from head gasket or head bolt failure, 2016 to 2017 Kia Sorento (NHTSA investigation file)
- Check for recalls, NHTSA
- Resources related to investigations and recalls (manufacturer communications), NHTSA
- Warranties, FTC Consumer Advice
- Complaint counts, mileages and phrase shares: NHTSA complaint files as tallied on this site
Counts are unique NHTSA complaints on the 1,040 vehicle model years that have a page here, grouped by the word patterns described on the method page. A vehicle needs five matching reports to be counted in this ranking. Checked Sep 27, 2026. All problem explainers.