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.
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
Showing 129,250 complaints - component: AIR BAGS
Incident date: Jul 17, 2026
Took a hard Impact to the rear driver side tire and rear driver door corner small dent(near rear tire), and was spun 180° causing being propelled into a light pole on the passenger front and side. No airbags deployed in the entire vehicle. Multiple people in the vehicle in the vehicle sustained concussions, one also hit their head off the side window which resulted in a large bump forming, and al... Read more
Crash
4 injured
Incident date: May 1, 2024
Head on collision, airbag did not deploy
Crash
Incident date: Jul 19, 2026
I was run off the road by a drunk driver I hit a tree at 35MPH MY AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY NOR DID MY SEAT BELT LOCK!!!! I NOW HAVE MULTIPLE INJURIES I HAVE BROKEN BONES ALL THROUGHOUT MY FACE!!!!! A SEVERE CONCUSSION!!!!! Any time I call the the customer care center and try and get information or call someone I either get hung up or gave the run around and then hung up on my mother in law has also... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Apr 16, 2026
Door slam caused side impact airbags to deploy
Incident date: Jul 1, 2025
The clock spring in the steering has failed causing the airbag to no longer work on the driver side. The cruise control turns on and shuts off on its own. Sometimes won’t even let you set it. Volume controls no longer work. Horn no longer works. Steering has a clicking catching sound now when turning. Steering controls no longer light up and none of the buttons work.
Incident date: Nov 30, 2025
Car was t- boned at Intersection on right side. Front passenger sustained bruising but did not require hospitalization. Side airbag did not deploy.
Crash
Incident date: Jul 15, 2026
My passenger side, dashboard bowls up in the heat and doesn’t seat properly. My fear for safety is that if I’m in an accident that airbag will not come out due to the dash bubbling because of the defect.. It seems to be an only problem with the platinum editions of the Cadillac XT5’s. There’s no warning lamps and it has not been inspected.
Incident date: Dec 27, 2025
NHTSA Vehicle Safety Complaint I am submitting this complaint to request that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigate a potential safety defect involving the dashboard on my 2021 Ram TRX. The dashboard on my vehicle has developed significant bubbling and delamination in the area of the passenger-side airbag deployment seam. While the manufacturer and dealership have charac... Read more
Incident date: Jul 19, 2026
I brought my vehicle to an authorized Subaru dealership (Byers Imports, LLC in Columbus, Ohio) to diagnose the reason for the airbag warning lamp illuminating. The dealer had the manufacturer's WUM-98 Safety Recall (NHTSA Campaign Number 19V701000) performed to remedy a defective Occupant Detection System (ODS) sensor harness.Despite the recall remedy being completed, the Supplemental Restraint Sy... Read more
HYUNDAI
SANTA CRUZ
(2024) - AIR BAGS
Jul 19, 2026
Incident date: Jul 19, 2026
Component/System: Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) / Airbag Occupancy Classification System — Passenger Side What Happened: The airbag/SRS warning light illuminated on my 2018 Infiniti Q60 (VIN [XXX], 102,388 miles). The vehicle was taken to Sewell Infiniti of Dallas ([XXX]) for diagnosis. The technician performed a diagnostic scan and found fault code B00A0-00 related to the passenger seat o... Read more
Incident date: Jul 18, 2026
My 2017 Subaru Forester is experiencing the exact component failure and severe safety hazard outlined in NHTSA Recall 19V-701 (Subaru Campaign WUM-98R). The front passenger seat Occupant Detection System (ODS) is failing continuously, which illuminates the "Passenger Airbag Off" indicator and completely deactivates the front passenger airbag safety restraint system even when an adult is securely s... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2019) - AIR BAGS
Jul 18, 2026
Incident date: Jul 10, 2026
Started the truck in driveway waiting on woman to get in on passenger side BOOM! AIR BAG EXPLODED didn't know what happened and then the passenger side airbag exploded. Shut the truck off got out 5 minutes later passenger side airbag exploded again and it was smoking they are very loud thank God no one was injured or we were driving down the road and that happened that would have been terrible.
Incident date: Mar 1, 2026
Recalled part not in stock, back-ordered, unavailable and no estimated time of availability; I did not receive a loaner vehicle/I need a loaner vehicle and would like an a “vehicle off road priority tag” placed on my VIN. Case filed with Jeep, case no.s 97461935 and 97468071.
Incident date: Jul 1, 2025
To start, I had to replace the engine in my 2024 Legacy that I purchased brand new in June 2024. Subaru of America handled the situation incredibly poorly, I was unable to use any warranty and I was out over 6,000 dollars. Second, my passenger airbag light has been on since September 2024. I was told to replace the sensor the whole seat rail would need replaced and would be over 1000 dollars. Appa... Read more
Incident date: Jun 2, 2026
I am reporting a safety concern with my 2014 Ram 1500, which recently reached 100,000 miles. The ABS module has failed, and replacement parts are not available to repair this critical safety system. Many other Ram owners appear to be experiencing the same issue. Additionally, my airbag warning light is on, creating further concerns about vehicle safety. A failure of essential safety systems with ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 16, 2026
The contact owns a 2021 BMW 330I. The contact stated that while entering the vehicle, there was an audible alert heard, and a red air bag light was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a failure in the driver’s side knee air bags. The air bags were replaced, and the airbag module was reprogrammed. The manufacturer was notified of the... Read more
Incident date: May 26, 2023
2020 Ford Expedition MAX. Ford issued Safety Recall 26S48 / NHTSA 26V402 confirming a transmission park pawl defect causing potential rollaway and crash risk. Remedy not available until Q2 2027. Vehicle has experienced the exact defect symptoms since at least November 2025 including stuck-in-park diagnostic codes and shifting anomalies. Prior to November 2025 the transmission failed to execute a c... Read more
Incident date: Jul 11, 2026
The contact owns a 2024 Acura RDX. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed and went to the floorboard. The vehicle failed to stop and crashed into the rear driver’s side of another vehicle. During the crash, the braking system malfunctioned, and the air bag failed to deploy as needed. The contact sustained an injury to the back but had not yet so... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Jun 24, 2026
I am reporting a potential safety defect involving my leased 2023 Infiniti Q50, VIN [XXX]. In 2024, I brought the vehicle to the dealership because the passenger seatbelt warning activated even when the passenger seat was unoccupied. I was told the condition was caused by objects triggering the passenger seat sensor, and no further repair was performed. On XXX, I returned to the dealership for a... Read more
Incident date: Sep 30, 2025
Hit front passenger side at approximately 70mph. Did nearly $15000 damage. No air bags deployed.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2026
The contact owns a 2022 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V189000 (Air Bags). The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were on back order. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The contact had not experienced a failure.
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2015) - AIR BAGS
Jul 17, 2026
Incident date: Mar 17, 2026
There has been numerous issues that affected my safety while driving and had to make costly repairs and replacements while on going. Alternator and serpentine belt broke out and all my coolant leaked out. had to stop in the middle of the street several Times by force having the abs, check engine light turn on having to turn the car off. Transmission shifter was so faulty I couldn’t pull out of p... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2026
15V483000 (VW Recall Code 69L2) was issued for 2014 Volkswagen Golf's indicating a "clock spring" affecting a cable that powers the air bag. This is indicated also by the airbag emergency light coming on. I believe a similar, if not the same, issue is occurring in my 2015 VW Golf. Furthermore, the issue has affected all mechanical buttons on the steering wheel. I had taken my vehicle to a VW... Read more
Incident date: Jul 10, 2026
The contact owns a 2011 Mazda Mazda3. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the front driver’s side seat wobbled and was unsecured. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who determined that the front driver’s side seat lifter link was inoperable and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was p... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2026
The vehicle show code B0020-13. This is a fault in the wiring system for the airbags. Caused by Jeep engineering being bad. This has nothing to do with how is driven or used and is a massive safety issue and shuts the entire airbag system down. It requires fix 10-001-20. This issue is so common they have issued a bulletin. The fix is $1100. The fact that this isn't covered by Chrysler is an ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2026
The contact owns a 2011 Dodge Charger. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the SRS alarm activated, and there was a short circuit in the front passenger’s side air bag. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V018000 (Air Bags); however, the VIN was not included. The dealer was contacted, and the vehicle was diagnosed with a short circuit in th... Read more
NISSAN
PATHFINDER
(2024) - AIR BAGS
Jul 16, 2026
Incident date: Mar 16, 2025
My car was legally parked on the street near my apartment, and was hit about a month ago that left my car totaled and my trunk completely crushed in, and the back seat caved in. My car was then hit a 2nd time two weeks ago, from the back, and both times, my car ricocheted and hit the car parked in front of mine. Both times. Police said first driver had to be going at least 80 to 90 mph, and would ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jul 15, 2026
Vehicle was in a heavy front collision and the airbags did not deploy.
Crash
Incident date: Jul 14, 2026
The contact owns a 2009 BMW 335I. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the air bag warning illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be diagnosed; however, the result was unknown. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 67,000.
HYUNDAI
SANTA FE SPORT
(2014) - AIR BAGS
Jul 16, 2026
Incident date: Jun 4, 2026
It just stop shifting and won't come out of park and won't go into reverse or drive
Incident date: Jun 6, 2026
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, the front driver’s side curtain air bag deployed without impact. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact slowed down and veered over to the side of the road to park and inspect the vehicle. The Fire Department and the local EMT was contacted to inspect; however, there was no injury reported. The vehi... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2026
This vehicle was involved in an accident. The car crashed into a concrete barrier separating the interstate highway. The front passenger airbag appeared to only partly deploy, and the driver air bag did not deploy.
Crash
Incident date: Nov 1, 2025
The contact owned a 2016 Nissan Versa Note. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5 MPH in a parking lot, the vehicle failed to stop as needed while the brake pedal was depressed. No warning lights were illuminated. The failure caused the vehicle to crash into a nearby wall, which was not damaged. The driver’s side steering wheel air bag deployed, and the front windshield fractured... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: May 10, 2026
On June 24th, 2026, I received a warning for "Supplemental Restraint System Problem". The airbag Dash indicator illuminated on the dash. The issue is intermittent and the warning has appeared on five separate occasions since. The message had went away when the vehicle has been turned off and has not appear every time the car is running. It does appear mid-travel on occasion. The issue is consi... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2026
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH uphill, the vehicle struck a curb. The vehicle was able to drive over the curb, but the air bags deployed. The contact stated that there was no damage to the vehicle to cause the air bags to deploy. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V227000 (Air Bags); as a possible cause for the failure... Read more
Incident date: Jan 14, 2026
The contact owns a 2018 Acura RDX. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag warning light was intermittently illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the driver’s side air bag needed to be replaced; however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact researched and was made aware of an u... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2018
I went to a toyota dealership June 24th to have my car checked for the airbag recall. They told me my car did have the recall on it and that they would have to order the part. I haven't heard anything from them at all.
Incident date: Jul 9, 2026
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Accord. The contact stated that the air bag module warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The warning light was intermittently illuminated. The contact stated that while the front passenger seat was occupied, the warning light remained off but was occasionally illuminated while the seat was empty. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V332000 (Ai... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2026
This email serves as a formal dispute of the warranty denial issued by [Lester Glenn Hyundai Toms River NJ] regarding the Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) passenger airbag sensor in my 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe.The dealership has refused coverage, attributing the failure to "water damage." I strongly dispute this finding and am formally requesting a Corporate Goodwill Repair Exception or a tier-two... Read more
Incident date: Jun 2, 2026
The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that after entering the vehicle, closing the door, and starting the vehicle, the passenger’s side rear-seat air bag unexpectedly deployed. The driver's side rear seat air bag deployed the following day. The air bag warning light was illuminated. There were no injuries reported. The local dealer was contacted and referred the contact to th... Read more
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2014) - AIR BAGS
Jul 15, 2026
Incident date: May 11, 2026
The dashboard is peeling up and is unsafe due to airbag being underneath the leather dash. If airbag was to blow it would not function correctly due to dashboard leather peeling. Could potentially injur passenger or not deploy at all.
Incident date: Jul 14, 2026
7/14/26 my wife attempted to park our 2023 VW ID.4 Pro S AWD. She pulled into the spot with two hands on the steering wheel, her foot off of the accelerator, with the car being slowed by regenerative braking, and the car suddenly accelerated and crashed through a fence and hit a cement barrier. The air bags did not deploy. After the accident that most likely totaled the car, my wife's foot was on... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jul 8, 2026
2020 Honda Odyssey EX-L, 49k miles, no prior collisions. 1. Faulty system: SRS airbag module, defective factory aluminum clip (official Honda recall defect). EDR data verified this component failure by dealer technicians. 2. Safety risk: Driver airbag spontaneously deployed at 41MPH with zero impact. Seven occupants suffered soft tissue injuries and PTSD; sudden deployment created severe r... Read more
Incident date: Jun 12, 2026
The contact owns a 2024 Chevrolet Trax. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25-35 MPH, the front center of the vehicle crashed into the center rear end of another vehicle; however, the air bags failed to deploy. The contact was distracted by an ambulance approaching and did not notice that the vehicle in front had braked. No warning lights were illuminated. A police report was file... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jul 10, 2026
I am filing a formal complaint against Subaru of America for refusing to remedy an active federal safety recall (NHTSA Campaign 19V701000 / Subaru Recall WUM98). My passenger airbag is currently disabled (DTC B1760). SRS light goes on and off and visit to the Sheehy Fredericksburg Subaru location confirmed that the occupant detection system is failing and I need a cushion assembly replacement. S... Read more
Incident date: Jul 14, 2026
Vehicle: 2019 Honda Odyssey Issue: Unintended airbag deployment consistent with Honda Recall UNW (SRS Control Unit Calibration Defect) Incident Type: Safety defect – airbags deployed without collision Location & Date: Highway 131, outside of Kalamazoo, MI - travel – normal road conditions on July 6, 2026 Insurance Outcome: Denied due to manufacturer defect, will only cover minor wheel damage... Read more
Incident date: Jun 7, 2026
I was involved in a vehicle accident Mar. 31, 2026. And only the side curtain air bags deployed. Neither driverside steering wheel airbag (which caused me to fracture my sternum) nor the passanger side airbag deployed.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jul 6, 2026
"On March 4, 2022, Customer Satisfaction Notification S33 (Airbag Clockspring Recall Remedy) was performed on my 2008 Jeep Wrangler by an authorized dealer at 123,314 miles. The vehicle now has 137, 347 miles. The replacement clockspring provided as the official safety remedy has completely failed after only roughly 15,000 miles of driving, illuminating the SRS airbag warning light and completely ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2026
The contact owned a 2012 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed uphill during flooding conditions, the vehicle slipped and hydroplaned. The contact attempted to correct the steering but lost control of the vehicle, causing the vehicle to drive into a ditch and flip over several times before coming to a complete stop upside down. Upon impact, the air bags failed... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Apr 10, 2026
The contact owned a 2025 Buick Enclave. While the contact’s daughter was driving through an intersection on a green light at an undisclosed speed, a truck crashed into the front driver’s side of the vehicle. Upon impact, the air bags failed to deploy. The contact and his wife and daughter were all transported for medical attention and were checked for injuries. The contact received a CT scan a... Read more
Crash
3 injured