Powertrain is the catch-all NHTSA uses for transmission, driveline, transfer case, axle, and clutch complaints — basically anything that moves the engine's power to the wheels. 109,410 complaints across 2,853 vehicles ain't a small number. Powertrain problems are also some of the most expensive failures on the chart. A bad CVT, a slipping automatic, a clutch pack burning out, a leaking transfer case — any one of those is a $2,000 to $7,000 bill. The vehicles ranked below are the ones where owners have been most consistent in reporting powertrain trouble. Pay close attention to severity. A vehicle with 800 powertrain complaints split across rough shifting and minor hesitation is different from a vehicle with 200 complaints where a third of them mention sudden loss of power on the highway. Click through to the specific vehicle hub to see the actual failure pattern. The repair math is what matters — if predicted exposure exceeds the cost of an extended warranty by a clear margin, the warranty earns its keep on these vehicles.
Powertrain problems
109,410 owner complaints filed with NHTSA. 4 active recall campaigns.
Powertrain problems by manufacturer 37 makes with aggregated detail
Drill into a single manufacturer's powertrain record across all model years. Each page below carries data on the worst-affected year-models, active recalls, and editorial commentary from one of our contributors.
Worst-affected vehicles Top 25 by complaint volume
Specific failure modes 1 documented powertrain patterns
Curated deep-dives on the specific failure patterns within powertrain — the mechanism, the affected platforms, typical failure mileage, and what to check before you buy.
Transmission family deep-dives 10 curated platforms
The transmissions with documented systemic defect patterns across the fleet.
Most-recalled vehicles For powertrain components
Recent owner reports 12 most recent in this category
I was driving on the freeway in the left lane when suddenly a bunch of error lights popped up on the dash and the car threw itself into neutral. When I tried to give the car acceleration it wouldn’t go which is when I realized the car was in neutral. When I tried to go into drive it did not go so I turned the hazard lights on. Turned off the car,…
The ICCU unit failed causing the car to first have low power, reducing the maximum vehicle speed to 25 MPH, then causing the 12V battery to lose charge making the car inopperable.
You step on accelerator and it doesn’t accelerate… it lags and almost caused accident more than 4 times! Throttle body won’t open up and go. I feel they need to remap the system.
While driving, I heard a loud pop in the rear passenger side and subsequently, the dashboard showed an error to "stop vehicle and check power supply". After driving about 15 minutes, another error showed on the dashboard "12V battery voltage low. Stop safely". After coming to a stop, the vehicle completely shut off and would not turn back on. A…
Transmission jerking or not shifting into gear and intermittent park in reverse shifting inoperable. Also, my car has been in the shop.Under warranty repair for most of the last four months. , we are still required to make payments on a vehicle.And cannot even transfer insurance from that vehicle to another temporarily.Because of the sales…
I am writing to formally file a complaint regarding a serious and ongoing issue with my vehicle that has placed my safety at risk and resulted in significant inconvenience and financial burden due to General Motors’ failure to honor my warranty in a timely manner. While driving on the highway, my vehicle suddenly began losing power and displayed…
Frequently while driving my 2023 Kia shortage Hybrid will accelerate on its own. This happens randomly while driving straight as well as making turns. My suv also has a vary hard time driving uphill. If im driving at 25 mph when approaching the hill, my car then gradually drops down to 10-15 mph.This is extremely scary especially when driving with…
To Whom It May Concern, I am writing to formally report an ongoing and concerning issue with my 2022 Ford Edge. My vehicle has begun hesitating when pressing the accelerator and jerking between 20 mph and 40 mph. Some days the issue is worse than others, but it has progressively made the vehicle feel unreliable and unsafe to drive. At times, it…
Powertrain failures don't usually fix themselves. If a vehicle on this list is one you own, get the specific failure mode diagnosed and addressed before it cascades into a transmission rebuild. For the transmission side specifically — CVT vs. dual-clutch vs. automatic, which families fail, and what it costs — see the transmission problems hub.