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
VOLKSWAGEN
GOLF
(2022) - AIR BAGS
Feb 4, 2024
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
Amid sliding briefly on ice, the driver side front and rear curtain airbags of my 2013 Honda Civic deployed. No collision or impact occurred to trigger this and, correspondingly, no external damage to the vehicle was sustained. Post-airbag deployment, despite the unexpected bodily impact, sudden jolt, and visual obstruction caused by the airbags, I was able to maintain control of the vehicle and m... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Jan 24, 2024
The car crashed into the back of the truck in front of it. The crash caused the airbag to go off and either the airbag itself or the area that covers the steering wheel cut my wife’s jaw/throat. She was luck it did not cut her artery or wind pipe she was able to be transported to the hospital and survived.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jan 27, 2024
*From day one of purchase there is a random, frequent loud buzzing/whining through the speakers(with our without the radio on). Dealership had no idea how to fix and Chevrolet said there was no known issue, so no help. *The running lights constantly short out. We continually replace them and they short out again! *We have replaced all four door handles! Cheap chrome plastic is not going to ho... Read more
FORD
MUSTANG MACH E
(2021) - AIR BAGS
Feb 4, 2024
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
I was on [XXX] and turned into [XXX] . I was driving at 25 miles or so. I don't know if my first or second tire flat first but immediately after my airbags at right and left front and back side got deployed and created a little fire and thick black smoke. I got shock, panicked and lost control for second and hit right front wheel trim of car to probably edge of road. I called Honda Road services ... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Oct 20, 2023
My 2020 Honda Odyssey started showing SRS problem error on its 4th year of ownership. Since it’s not under warranty after 3 years I spent close to 1k to replace SRS computer module by dealership from where I purchased my car. Same error came back a month later and again I took it to dealer and they said it has loose connection on cable and fix the loose connection. About a month later SRS light ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 3, 2024
Air bag alert warning light and this 2012 infiniti g37 and it should be added to the recall list
Incident date: Jan 30, 2024
My vehicle has an open recall and manufacturer is unable to remedy this safety recall in a timely manner. I called many dealerships and there’s no part available to fix that issue. I’d like to get that information rid of records, because I’m trying to list my car for rent on Turo. Thanks
Incident date: Feb 2, 2024
Steering wheel clicking and accessories and functions not working along with airbag (malfunction) light illuminated on 2018 Audi Q3 with 66,000 miles.
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
The airbag lights indicator on the dash are going on and off periodically as I used the vehicle
Incident date: Dec 5, 2019
I am writing this reporting on the active NHTSA Recall Number 23V334, which includes my vehicle. As per the NHTSA's site, an online complaint can be filed if the manufacturer is unable to remedy this safety recall for the vehicle in a timely manner. The recall was issued on May 10, 2023. Today it is February 2, 2024, and is almost a year since the notice. This amount of time for a safety defect th... Read more
Incident date: Jan 9, 2024
Passenger airbag deployed for no reason while driving car, no warning lights on dashboard, no impact, no precipitating event occured
Incident date: Feb 2, 2024
I was in a collision and sandwiched in between cars severe front and back damage. No Air bags!
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jan 22, 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 m... Read more
MINI
COUNTRYMAN
(2015) - AIR BAGS
Feb 2, 2024
Incident date: Jan 18, 2024
It has been 9 months since I received a letter notifying me of this potentially fatal issue with my car and a repair is still not available. I am furious that it is taking so long and there need to be legal repercussions for the manufacturer taking this much time to procure a replacement. My car is not safe to drive; I do not feel safe driving my car. I am not getting what I paid for. NHTSA needs ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the passenger’s side air bag warning light intermittently illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who recalibrated the air bag sensor; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the independent mechanic, who determined that the front passenger’s seat rail n... Read more
Incident date: Oct 2, 2023
Air Bag warning light stays on.
Incident date: Jan 29, 2024
Seatbelt retention sensor not working. Not covered for seatbelt repair.
Incident date: Feb 2, 2024
I hit a deer going 60 mph and the airbag didn’t deploy, the service airbag light came on after I hit it. I’d assume that means the airbag tried to deploy but ran into an issue
Crash
Incident date: Feb 1, 2024
The air bag light came on in April of 2022 indicating that the air bag will not deploy in the event of a car accident. We took the car to the Honda dealership and the mechanic diagnosed it as a bad seat-belt tensioner and confirmed that the part is under warranty by American Honda. The dealership requested the part from American Honda and they have failed to provide the part to the dealership stat... Read more
Incident date: Feb 28, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 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 manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms par... Read more
Incident date: Jan 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Titan. The contact stated that after receiving the vehicle from the dealer following a recall repair, the air bag warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. 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: 23E012000 (Air ... Read more
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2021) - AIR BAGS
Feb 2, 2024
Incident date: Feb 1, 2024
I noticed an warning indicator on my vehicle that says SERVICE AIR BAG. I received a recall notice from GM, stating that my car has a recall that needs to be serviced. I called my local GM Service Dealer, and they informed me that this recall "does not have a remedy yet" and they are not able to fix it for me. I looked online to see what the severity is. Safety Risk Description: An inflator ruptu... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2010 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that seat air bag warning light remained illuminated after starting the vehicle. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed there was no recall on the VIN for the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 191,000.
Incident date: Feb 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (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 manufac... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (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
Incident date: Dec 9, 2023
There is a current recall on my 2020 camry. I was notified by email in December 2023. It is for the passenger side air bag. I do not feel safe driving the car since being made aware of the recall. The Toyota dealership I go to has said there is nothing they can do as there is no remedy for this recall. I also have had multiple issues over the years with the sensors and battery. I bought the car br... Read more
Incident date: Feb 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 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 manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms... Read more
Incident date: Jan 27, 2024
my sonata 2012 the engine was replaced it seized up on the highway. since then ive had multiple issues; 1. my brake pedal seems to get pulled to the floor all the way at random times i have to pump the brake for it to release itself. 2. ive replaced the purge valve 3 going on 4 times as well as the cadilac converter due to it being clogged. 3. my car is so loud it makes a hissing noise and a windi... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2024
1.- Bolsa de aire. Si me lo solicita, por supuesto puedo llevarlo a inspección. 2.- Se puso en riesgo ya que pudo haber sido otro tipo de accidente y las bolsas de aire no se activaron. Yo usaba el cinturón de seguridad. 3.- No ha sido confirmado por un distribuidor local. 4.- No no ha sido inspeccionado por el fabricante. 5.- No hubo ningún tipo de luces o indicador de la falla de las bolsas d... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jan 18, 2024
With all the airbag recalls, is the reason they have not recalled them on my 2000 Honda Accord and my 1996 BMW 328ic because there are so few still on the road and should a death or injury occur, it’s only one so not worth recalling them? I find it hard that cars not quite as old have been recalled but these have not. My son still owns his 1999 Honda civic, too! Thank you for your time and dedi... Read more
FORD
BRONCO SPORT
(2021) - AIR BAGS
Feb 1, 2024
Incident date: Feb 1, 2024
This reports a recurring Safety Restraint System (SRS) airbag warning light issue for no apparent reason other than potentially defective components. Please investigate this! Any issues with the SRS system of a vehicle by default puts the safety of the vehicle's passengers at risk. The SRS airbag warning light first turned on randomly in June 2023 and remained on for a few weeks every time the ca... Read more
FORD
BRONCO SPORT
(2021) - AIR BAGS
Feb 1, 2024
Incident date: Feb 1, 2024
Rear right occupancy sensor, At service mode shows red and says seat sensor fault, this seat was replaced due to issue at first week of purchase. Tesla service center says, they know my car issue, it will be fixed in future update, but after 6 months no fix yet.
Incident date: Dec 1, 2022
Rear right occupancy sensor, At service mode shows red and says seat sensor fault, this seat was replaced due to issue at first week of purchase. Tesla service center says, they know my car issue, it will be fixed in future update, but after 6 months no fix yet.
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
I had a car collision last [XXX] when the car ahead of me made a sudden stop in the [XXX] . I was in the fastest lane when it happened and I was not protected at all because the airbag did not deploy. It resulted to pain due to contusion on my chest wall, pain on my sternum contusion on my right knee and neck strain. My insurance covered for the repair. Hyundai has told me after I asked them to ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Aug 24, 2023
Dash showed a problem with the Supplemental Restraint Issue. The car was taken to our local Honda dealer. After three days of diagnosis, trial and error and almost a $1500 charge the driver’s side Airbag was found to be the problem and replaced. This car had just over 31000 miles. It had been garaged since purchased and was never in an accident. Why should an Airbag such as above need to be r... Read more
Incident date: Nov 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Traverse. 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. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that p... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Buick Enclave. The contact stated that the ignition switch was previously replaced. Additionally, the message "Check Stability System" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the fuse box and engine struts were replaced; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact also received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2024
Last week we noticed steering wheel controls not working, steering wheel heater .. cruise control ,, hands free,controls Today took in to Jeep dealer In superior Wi was told it is the Clock Spring , squib,, said that we have to replace entire unit including new airbag .. as we do not know for sure if until the work done ,air bag would deploy as per dealer ,he isn't 100 percent sure. ,and the e... Read more
Incident date: Jan 29, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 GMC Acadia. 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. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts wer... Read more
Incident date: Sep 16, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (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 manufac... Read more
Incident date: Dec 4, 2023
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 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 manufacturer... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ID.4
(2021) - AIR BAGS
Feb 1, 2024
Incident date: May 13, 2023
While driving on a rough road the driver's seat airbag deployed injuring my arm (big bruise and tennis-ball size laceration). I plan to take the vehicle into the dealership to find out why this happened.
1 injured
Incident date: Jan 31, 2024
Was in an accident, where my front bumper was hit going about 60 and air bags did not deploy.
Crash
Incident date: Jul 1, 2023
I was in a accident where I was not at fault. I had my car 3 weeks. Brand new, it took on right under 20k in damage. Both airbags deployed. They have had my car in the body shop for 7 months. I paid 34k for the car. They won't offer depreciation. They are making me pay a 7k rental bill. The person who is fixing my car has never worked on a bronco. So I am I'm a situation and I really need some hel... Read more
Fire
FORD
ESCAPE HYBRID
(2022) - AIR BAGS
Feb 1, 2024
Incident date: May 26, 2023
The contact's wife owns a 2016 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 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 manuf... Read more
Incident date: Jan 18, 2024
The passenger airbag does not consistently turn on or stay on with passengers in the seat.
Incident date: Feb 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (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 experie... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2022
Vehicle struck drivers side rear passenger door going at least 30mph and side air bags did not deploy. Upon inspection and door removal for repair, it was found that in the crash, the air bag sensor was struck and broke. The door and everything in it has to be replaced as well as the unibody sections surrounding each side door. This was a significant impact where the side air bags should have depl... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Nov 4, 2023
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 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 ... Read more