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: Nov 4, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V464000(Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not exper... Read more
CHEVROLET
TRAILBLAZER
(2021) - AIR BAGS
Nov 4, 2024
Incident date: Jul 1, 1982
This vehicle has a recall for the passenger side airbag OCS sensors NHTSA 23V865 as of December 2023 and there is still no remedy available per NHTSA. This is not being remedied in a timely manner.
Incident date: Oct 30, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Camry. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (AIR BAGS); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that occasionally the sensors activated while driving at various speeds. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed. The contact was informed that the parts to... Read more
Incident date: Oct 30, 2024
My car has been brought in for service multiple times due to airbag issues. After the initial repair resembling of the car panels was not done correctly forcing me to bring back the vehicle. After this on another occasional a strange rattling noise began to happen while driving the vehicle. This was scheduled for service but then the noise went away. After this another airbag issue came up saying ... Read more
FORD
FUSION HYBRID
(2011) - AIR BAGS
Nov 4, 2024
Incident date: Nov 4, 2024
The contact owned a 2019 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, when a vehicle pulled out in front of her vehicle she swerved to the left to avoid the vehicle and crashed into a vehicle that was stopped for traffic on the road. The contact's vehicle front driver's bumper, grill, and headlight had crashed into the stopped vehicle's passenger side rear bumper and... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Oct 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Buick Enclave. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000(Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated an unknown warning light remained illuminated while the front passenger's side seat was occupied with the seat belt buckled. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repair... Read more
Incident date: Nov 4, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Rav4. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. The manufacturer was not made aware ... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 2500
(2018) - AIR BAGS
Nov 4, 2024
Incident date: Nov 2, 2024
The contact owned a 2014 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact received recall notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V870000 (Air Bags) and would like to be removed from the recall distribution list because she no longer owns the vehicle. The dealer and the manufacturer were not contacted.
Incident date: Nov 3, 2024
My husband hit another vehicle, then proceeded across the road and crashed into a telephone pole. The airbags did not deploy. However the vehicle called onstar to report the crash. The nc state trooper and the towing company both indicated that they were also shocked that the air bags did not deploy. This is a brand new vehicle with 1100 miles and has been declared a total loss due to the severity... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Oct 19, 2017
ODS sensor recall still not fixed/remedy available, used heat for first time since i purchased the car, minor cracks in the windshield, car radio/monitors randomly go black, reverse camera won’t work, restarts on there own after a while
HYUNDAI
SANTA FE HYBRID
(2024) - AIR BAGS
Nov 3, 2024
Incident date: Oct 18, 2024
On [XXX], as I was leaving softball tournament in Poway Ca with my kiddos about 6 minutes into driving a message popped up on my dash "ENG PWR REDUCED & SERVICE TRACTION", I lost power to accelerate, I pulled over just before getting on the [XXX] freeway, turned car off and thought car would reset which it didn't. I was stranded with my kiddos. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFOR... Read more
Incident date: Oct 12, 2024
This recall has been open for over a year with no indication of when the repair will be made. For something like an airbag, this extended time seems unreasonable. Please "encourage" GM to make the repair parts available to its dealerships ASAP.
FORD
BRONCO SPORT
(2022) - AIR BAGS
Nov 3, 2024
Incident date: Nov 3, 2024
The air bag light came on and it is staying on
Incident date: Jul 1, 2024
SRS light stays on. According to my mechanic, it is a SRS fault 1-1 which is a resistance issue at assembly, not the coil.
Incident date: Oct 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Rav4 Hybrid. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (AIR BAGS); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms par... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2011 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated that occasionally while driving at various speeds, the air bags warning light illuminated. In addition, the seat belt warning light would illuminate while driving downhill. The check engine warning light illuminated on the day the vehicle was purchased. The contact scanned the vehicle with an OBD2 scanner and retrieved a code that the batte... Read more
Incident date: Oct 31, 2024
I was in an accident on 10/18/24 where a person switched lanes and hit the front end of my vehicle. My airbags didn't deploy.
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Oct 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Lexus ES350. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2009 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 08V521000 (Air Bags, Electrical System); but the VIN was not included.... Read more
Incident date: Oct 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Chrysler 300. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V198000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was m... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ID.4
(2022) - AIR BAGS
Nov 1, 2024
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Dodge Charger. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V198000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts no... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2024
My airbags are currently disabled due to a faulty occupant detection system. I see that this was an Infiniti recall on many2017 Q50s, but my car is not included in the recall. The dealership confirms that my car is not part of the recall. The specific part involved in the recall is the front passenger Occupant Classification System (OCS), which triggers the error code being produced by my car.
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2019) - AIR BAGS
Nov 1, 2024
Incident date: Jan 15, 2022
The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Rav4 Hybrid. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer... Read more
Incident date: Oct 30, 2024
Received recall early 2024: Manufacturer Recall Number19B NHTSA Recall Number24V-198 Problem was supposed to have been resolved early 2024. Have not received any new information and according to website information, recall is incomplete but repair parts are not available. Can someone tell me if this is a serious problem and when can I expect the parts be made available to fix this problem?
Incident date: Jul 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed at night, the vehicle lost motive power. No warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V373000 (Electrical System, Air Bags);... Read more
Incident date: Jul 10, 2024
I purchased a vehicle from a dealership that was aware of faulty airbags that was returned to dealership from another consumer. I discovered the issue a few months later when airbag warning light appeared and had it repaired which included steering wheel airbag, lower knee airbag and the seat belt in September. I did know it was involved in a accident prior to purchase since carfax states airbags ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer to be repaired NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (Air Bags); and the vehicle was partially repaired. Additionally, the contact was informed that the air bag sensor had been deactivated until the recall repair was completed. The contact stated that after calling the dealer for two weeks, the... Read more
HONDA
CLARITY PLUG-IN HYBRID
(2018) - AIR BAGS
Oct 31, 2024
Incident date: Dec 14, 2023
Air bad for rear seat warning light. I can’t drive with my kids in vehicle. Erratic fuel issues stalling bad computer gives faulty reading. Cause me to get in necessary maintenance. Suspension issues always shakes on highway.
Incident date: Oct 31, 2024
I just bought a Used 2006 Suzuki Reno from a private seller 3 months ago. It has less then 53,000 miles on it so I thought I was getting a great deal. While driving it at night 3 weeks ago, I had my lights on high beam. A car was coming towards me so I flipped the light switch on my steering column. Which is also the blinker switch. And we almost wrecked head on with each other because when I fli... Read more
Incident date: Oct 30, 2024
I took in my car for the fuel pump recall on October 4th at Clawson Honda Fresno. I took it home the same day and the next day my car was stalling and shut off on me. I took my car back to Clawson Honda on October 8th and they scanned it and said the fuel pressure was low. They cleared the codes that they claimed were unrelated to the recall and wanted to charge me 390 for diagnostics. I refused. ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2024 Ford Mustang. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at 25 MPH and entering a roundabout, a vehicle suddenly entered the roundabout and was rear-ended. The brake pedal was depressed however there was not enough distance to avoid the collision. The forward collision warning (FCW) system did not engage. No air bags deployed. The vehicle was towed to an independent... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Oct 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V464000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not expe... Read more
Incident date: Oct 10, 2024
I am writing to express my concerns regarding a malfunction in my vehicle, specifically related to the airbags and the steering angle sensor or possibly the steering wheel itself. Over the past year, I have noticed a significant change in my vehicle's performance. Initially, I began hearing a constant clicking sound coming from the steering wheel or its vicinity whenever I make turns, particular... Read more
Incident date: Oct 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Rav4. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (AIR BAGS); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 30, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V064000 (AIR BAGS); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect... Read more
Incident date: Oct 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Buick Enclave. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Rav4. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact also stated that the OCS sensor warning light was illuminated. The dealer was made aware of the iss... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2024
The contact owned a 2017 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle struck a deer. The contact's daughter lost control of the vehicle, crashing head-on into a tree. No warning light was illuminated. The air bags did not deploy. The contact's daughter was shaken up, but she had no visible injuries and did not receive medical treatme... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Oct 28, 2024
The contact owns a 2001 BMW 325I. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 20V018000 (Air Bags) and 17V047000 (Air Bags); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact called another local dealer Ferman BMW (31400 US Hwy 19 N, Palm Harbor, FL 34684); but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact sta... Read more
Incident date: Oct 26, 2024
The air bag warning light is mostly ON, but turns off intermittently. I was told this is a safety issue and will cost hundreds of dollars to fix. I am very anxious about this. I did not find any recall notices but did see many complaints about this issue for 2013 Hyundai Elantras.
Incident date: Oct 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the vehicle had previously been involved in a crash due to brake failure, which caused him to lose control of the vehicle and crash into the guardrail. The air bags did not deploy. The contact stated that the front passenger side seat belt, door, fender, tire, CV joint axle, bumper, bumper cover, headlights, and grill had been replaced. A ... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Sep 1, 2024
I am submitting a complaint regarding an unresolved safety issue with the front passenger restraint system in my 2019 Tesla Model 3 (VIN: [XXX] ). Since February 2024, I have encountered recurring alerts for this system, despite multiple service visits to address it. Service History and Concerns: The initial repair attempt on February 27, 2024, involved Tesla replacing the Occupant Classification... Read more
Incident date: Oct 2, 2024
I have had this airbag recall repaired 8 years ago, yet the dealership (Autonation Subaru Arapahoe 9955 E Arapahoe Rd Centennial, CO 80112) REFUSES to submit the paperwork to complete the recall. I have contacted the dealership numerous times, I have had Subaru of America representatives come out to my house to verify this airbag recall has been completed, yet I cannot get the recall status of my ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 29, 2024
My 2019 Honda Passport with VIN# ending with**********2184. A safety recall of a faulty fuel pump was dangerous to drive. The faulty pump recalled from Honda NHTSA warned drivers that are at risk of crashes and accidents. The increased risk of property damage as well. I was exhausted trying to get a loaner car from my Dealership that I have all of my routine maintenance is performed. The fuel pump... Read more
Crash
3 injured
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer to be repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V050000 (Air Bags); however, the contact was informed that the instrument panel failed to allow access to the odometer and the recall repair was denied. The dealer informed the contact that for the recall repair to be completed, an odometer rea... Read more
Incident date: Jan 30, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Corolla. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufactur... Read more
Incident date: Jul 11, 2024
On10/19/2024, the driver was driving down a road that was coming down from a slope and the road curves to the left. As the driver was braking to decrease the speed down to 30mph or below (she was going around 35mph from what she remembers) and turning the steering wheel left, all the curtain air bags deployed, the seatbelt locked and she was unable to turn the steering wheel. She couldn't see du... Read more
Incident date: Oct 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Kia Optima. The contact received notification of New Vehicle Limited Warranty Extension (Illumination of Air Bag Warning Light); however, the part to do the repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the air bag warning light illuminated. The seat belt alarm chimed while the front driver seat belt was buckled. The dealer was made aware... Read more
Incident date: Oct 30, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the air bag warning light illuminated, indicating that the front passenger’s side air bag was deactivated; however, the front passenger’s side seat was occupied. The contact researched and became aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V253000 (Air Bags); however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was take... Read more
Incident date: Aug 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 Acura MDX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V064000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a f... Read more