PulsCar analysis of NHTSA public data, September 2026 Head gaskets: what 3,116 owner complaints, 21 recall campaigns and 118 manufacturer communications say Licensed CC BY 4.0. Queries run 18 September 2026. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOURCE FILES -------------------------------------------------------------------------- NHTSA ODI complaint flat files COMPLAINTS_RECEIVED_2015-2019, _2020-2024, _2025-2026 https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/ffdd/cmpl/ (field dictionary: CMPL.txt) 777,040 distinct vehicle complaints (ODINO, product type V) received 1 January 2015 to 8 September 2026. NHTSA manufacturer communication (TSB) flat files TSBS_RECEIVED_2015-2019, _2020-2024, _2025-2026 https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/ffdd/tsbs/ (field dictionary: TSBS.txt) One row per make/model/year; distinct documents counted by NHTSA record id. NHTSA recall flat file FLAT_RCL (campaign, make, model, year, component, potentially affected, report date, defect, consequence, remedy). Campaigns counted DISTINCT on campaign number. NHTSA investigations flat file FLAT_INV (action, make, model, year, component, manufacturer, opened, closed, subject, summary). https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/ffdd/inv/INV.txt -------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHICH COMPLAINTS COUNT (the head gasket set: 3,116) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A complaint counts when its narrative contains the phrase "head gasket" (FTS5 phrase match, case-insensitive; narratives in this file are a mix of upper and mixed case). No other filter is applied. SELECT c.* FROM complaints c JOIN complaints_fts f ON f.rowid = c.rowid WHERE complaints_fts MATCH '"head gasket"'; SAMPLE READING. We read 30 random matches (seed fixed, listed below as ODINO) before publishing any count. All 30 were about a head gasket failure or a head gasket verdict on the vehicle being reported: false-positive rate 0/30. Roughly a fifth (5 of 30) describe a SUSPECTED head gasket -- "they said it might be the head gasket", "intake manifold and/or head gasket" -- rather than a confirmed teardown. We did not exclude those, because a suspected head gasket verdict is a documented event in its own right and is the subject of the article; the article states this in the text. NO NORMALIZATION. These are raw counts of unverified owner reports. NHTSA publishes no denominator (vehicles on the road per model), so counts are NOT failure rates and cannot rank reliability. The article says so. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- FIELDS AND EXCLUSIONS -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mileage: field MILES. Rows with a missing, zero, negative or >= 400,000 value are dropped. 1,073 of 3,116 complaints carry a usable figure. Median 93,000; quartiles 68,000 and 122,000; <=36,000 7.92%; <=60,000 19.2%; <=100,000 58.15%. Towed / crash / fire: fields TOWED_B, CRASH, FIRE = 'Y'. Head gasket set: 5.58% / 0.26% / 1.12%. All 777,040 complaints: 5.11% / 4.37% / 1.82%. Injuries 11, deaths 0 (fields INJURED, DEATHS summed). Narrative subsets (regex on the narrative, case-insensitive): engine replacement language -- new engine | engine replac | replace the engine | replacing the engine | long ?block | short ?block | engine rebuild -> 536 (17.2%) coolant into a cylinder -- coolant (intrusion|leak(ing|ed)? into| (in|into) (the )?cylinder) | into cylinder -> 430 (13.8%) white smoke -- white smoke | smoke from the exhaust | steam from the exhaust -> 187 (6.0%) oil-coolant mixing -- coolant (in|into|mixed|mixing) (the )?oil | oil and coolant mix | milky | milkshake | oil looked like -> 25 (0.8%) no warning -- no (check engine|warning|engine) light | without (any )? warning | no warning | never (came on|illuminated) | no indication -> 327 (10.49%) not repaired -- vehicle was not repaired | not been repaired | cannot afford | could not afford | unable to afford -> 438 (14.06%) names a test -- block test | combustion (leak|gas) test | chemical test | hydrocarbon test | leak-?down | compression test | pressure test -> 75 (2.41%) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- OWNER-REPORTED DOLLAR FIGURES (376 figures, 321 complaints) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Published as head-gasket-owner-reported-costs.csv. A dollar amount counts when ALL of the following hold: - it matches \$\s?([0-9][0-9,]{2,8})(\.\d{1,2})? in the narrative; - its value is >= $300 and <= $40,000; - a 170-character window either side contains a TOPIC word: head gasket | head-gasket | cylinder head | new engine | engine replac | replace the engine | replacing the engine | long block | short block | engine rebuild | engine repair - the same window contains a MONEY-CONTEXT word: quot | estimat | repair | cost | charg | bill | paid | pay | replac | fix | price - the same window contains NO competing term: owe | owed | per month | monthly | down payment | purchase price | bought the car/vehicle | loan | financ | worth | trade-in value | headlight | differential | brake | alternator | body control | cable | torque converter | battery | fuel pressure | transmission (replac|repair|rebuild) | tires | paint | airbag | infotainment | windshield | suspension | struts | catalytic - duplicate values inside one narrative are counted once. FIRST PASS AND WHY IT WAS TIGHTENED. A looser first query (no TOPIC word, no competing-term list) returned 636 figures. Reading 30 random matches found 6-7 clear misfits -- a headlight housing, a rear differential actuator, a body control module, a high-voltage cable, a torque converter, and a car loan balance -- about 20-23%. Adding the TOPIC requirement and the competing-term list produced the 376 figures published here. Reading 30 random matches of the tightened set found 2 misfits (about 7%): one was a car's purchase price ("A $28,000 2011 auto is only supposed to last 120,000 miles?") and one an engine replacement quoted for a different cause. Treat the medians as carrying roughly one misfit in fifteen. RESULT. Median $5,000; quartiles $3,500 and $7,800; 54.5% at or above $5,000; 13.0% at or above $10,000. Split by the language in the window: 276 figures with head-gasket-repair language, median $4,500; 100 figures with engine-or-block-replacement language, median $8,200. HOW TO READ IT. This is NOT a price survey. People file federal complaints when a bill is large, disputed or refused, so the file over-represents the expensive end and under-represents every head gasket quietly repaired under warranty. The article's own price ranges come from repair estimators, not from these figures; these figures are published to show what the loudest end of the distribution looks like. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- MANUFACTURER PROGRAM SCOPE (the 45.1% figure) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Three documented programs, with the model and model-year scope taken from the documents themselves: Honda/Acura bulletin family A26-003..A26-019, A26-097..A26-099, B26-001..B26-003 (24 Aug - 2 Sep 2026): Accord and Accord Hybrid 2018-2026, Civic 2016-2026, Civic Si 2017-2026, Civic Hybrid 2025-2026, CR-V 2017-2026, CR-V Hybrid 2020-2026, Acura ADX 2025-2026, Integra 2023-2026. -> 696 complaints (22.3%) Kia WTY035 / WTY039: Sorento 2014-2017, Sedona 2015-2016, Cadenza 2014-2017 (3.3 L). -> 121 complaints Ford/Lincoln EcoBoost coolant-intrusion communications: Fusion 2014-2019, Escape 2017-2019, Edge 2015-2018, MKZ/MKC 2015-2019, Focus 2016-2018. -> 589 complaints Union of the three, de-duplicated by ODINO: 1,406 of 3,116 = 45.1%. LIMITATION, STATED IN THE ARTICLE: model-year scope is not eligibility. Actual coverage depends on VIN, build date, in-service date, engine and mileage, and the Ford documents are bulletins and a customer-satisfaction reprogramming rather than a blanket free-repair warranty extension. The figure measures how many complaints are on vehicles a program could touch, not how many owners would be paid. Honda scope mileage: only 77 of the 696 report a usable odometer figure. Median 100,000; 93.5% above 60,000; 9 above 150,000. Small sample, and the article says so. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- RECALLS, BULLETINS, INVESTIGATIONS -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Recalls: campaigns whose defect, consequence or remedy text contains "head gasket", "cylinder head" or "coolant intrusion". 21 distinct campaigns, of which most are motorcycles, scooters, heavy trucks and aerial devices; the passenger-vehicle ones cited in the article are 17V-209 (208,584), 13V-583 (139,917), 25V-294 (89,417), 25E-039 (2,985) and 25V-372 (404). Bulletins: manufacturer communications whose summary matches the phrase "head gasket": 2,192 rows collapsing to 118 distinct NHTSA records. By make: Honda 22, Kia 18, Ford 13, Volkswagen 11, Detroit Diesel 9, Chevrolet 7, Caterpillar 6, GMC 5. A separate phrase search on "coolant intrusion" returns 22 distinct records, 16 of them Ford. The 23 distinct Honda/Acura bulletin numbers of August-September 2026 were found by matching the summary text "cylinder head gasket effectiveness may be reduced" (145 rows, 26 NHTSA records). Investigations: actions whose subject or summary names a head gasket or coolant intrusion: PE23-019 (Kia, closed 23 July 2024), DP26-008 (Ford, opened 3 September 2026) and PE86-048 (Ford Escort, 1986). -------------------------------------------------------------------------- DOCUMENTS OPENED IN FULL -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Honda service bulletin 26-003, 26 August 2026 (23 pages), NHTSA record 11036336 -- https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2026/MC-11036336-0001.pdf Honda A26-005 (record 11036404) and A26-098 (record 11036418). Kia TSB ENG253 / WTY035, June 2024 (6 pages), NHTSA record 11001605 -- https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2024/MC-11001605-0001.pdf Recall campaign records 17V209000, 25V372000, 25E039000, 13V583000, read through https://api.nhtsa.gov/recalls/campaignNumber PE23-019 and DP26-008 summaries as published in FLAT_INV. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- FILES IN THIS FOLDER -------------------------------------------------------------------------- head-gasket-complaints-by-make.csv make, complaints, miles reported, median miles, share at or under 60,000 miles, share towed, share whose narrative names an engine replacement, share saying there was no warning. Makes with fewer than 10 complaints are omitted. head-gasket-top-models.csv the 60 most-reported make/model pairs with the same columns plus the top model year and its count. head-gasket-by-model-year.csv complaints and median mileage per vehicle model year. head-gasket-owner-reported-costs.csv 376 dollar figures with ODINO, make, model, model year, amount and which language the surrounding window used. No VIN, no city, no dealer name, no free text. CONTACT: support@pulscar.io