Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,192,899 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA — including 137,559 crashes, 55,854 fires, and 8,555 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 2,192,899 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 127,896 complaints — component: AIR BAGS
Incident date: Aug 28, 2023
ABS light, passenger air bag light and skid light came on. Passenger airbag light flashes whenever car is in drive
Incident date: Jul 20, 2023
Engine rod bearings loose torque and piston break make a hole into block, I fix the engine but my cat converter failed
Incident date: Sep 9, 2023
I noticed when driving with a passenger (female, approximately 135 pounds) that the screen keeps switching between "PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF" and showing the vehicle detects the passenger (hence the airbag is on). I'm concerned about the safety of my passenger when driving as I do not know whether the passenger airbag will work properly. I took photos and videos of this issue with my vehicle as it i... Read more
Incident date: Aug 7, 2023
I have no back tail lights , mechanic says it's an electrical issue yrans module needs fixed right front hub bearing and head light switch, my air bag system is constantly on my car cruise control system is messed up the cruise control steering switch needs to be replace my cars control panel all messed up.
Incident date: Sep 29, 2023
The contact owns a 2006 Nissan Frontier. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23E012000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was mad... Read more
Incident date: Sep 29, 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 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 ex... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 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 unavailable. 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: Nov 24, 2021
Ignition was replaced under recall and now the passenger air bag light is on and will not go out and passenger side airbag is inop. ABS Ecm failed and replacement cost was $1300.00. This is a known issue and should be investigated. Thank you [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Incident date: Sep 29, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 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 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 wa... Read more
Incident date: Sep 25, 2023
The air bags didn’t deploy
Crash
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS
(2018) — AIR BAGS
Sep 29, 2023
Incident date: Sep 29, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V215000 (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 ... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ID.4
(2021) — AIR BAGS
Sep 29, 2023
Incident date: Sep 5, 2023
Passenger airbag error No passenger airbag Confirmed but no fix No inspection A warning light on dash screen
Incident date: Sep 27, 2023
My car had engine seized while driving on the road with no warning light prior nor other mechanical issues. When the engine seized, all mechanical powers are have lost power including brakes and power steering in which have almost caused a near accident at an early morning rushed hours. The vehicle's odometer reading at 120,836 and was up to date on all normal tune up performances. Other issues th... Read more
Incident date: Jul 13, 2023
The contact's daughter owns a 2007 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started, the air bag warning light illuminated and remained illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 200,111.
Incident date: Sep 29, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 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 not 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
Incident date: Sep 21, 2023
Restraint System Malfunction Fault in passenger-restraint system effecting airbag, belt tensioner or belt-force limiter. Having to replace passenger seat or sensor to indicate I have a passenger so the airbag will deploy. It looks like there may have been a recall for this in the past according to an article I found, but my VIN does not come up as needing this item replaced. Cost is approximately ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 29, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ford F-150. The contact stated that upon accelerating into traffic, the vehicle was slow to respond. The contact stated that the vehicle would upshift or downshift erratically. The check engine and air bag warning lights were illuminated. The contact went to the local dealer and ordered the parts for the repair. The vehicle was taken to another local dealer, Dick Masheter F... Read more
Incident date: Sep 28, 2023
While driving, my driver seat headrest deployed. There was no collision to activate the headrest to deploy. It did so spontaneously. This could have caused a major accident due to me being startled. I am concerned for my daughter’s safety and mine. There were no recalls for the headrests reported in my vehicle. There was no indication that the headrests in my vehicle would be an issue. I will be... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Nov 16, 2022
the anti lock button does not work, kia will not fix it, they stated that there recall on it was for locks that can move the car forward and backwards. I've never used my anti lock button its down beside the gear shift so the only way I can drive my suv to put my car in drive, reverse etc to use the gear shift is by holding a screwdriver down in it the whole time and I complained to kia about that... Read more
Incident date: Sep 28, 2023
i was involved in a collision on US30 3 miles west of Rainer Oregon. where I struck another Ford truck while cruising at 55 mph. The vehicle I struck pulled in front of me, my vehicle was severely damaged in the front end and the steering wheel and lower dash panel injured me.,
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: May 1, 2023
My vehicle has not recieved the recommended new module. The problem is I am afraid to drive this vehicle for fear of Injury or death as the recall states! Please advise!
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
The air bag light came on. I brought it to the dealer and was told it was the clock spring. I was charged over $700.00 for this repair. It appears that other years of the same make and model had problems with the clock spring as well and received an extended warranty. I want to know since my car had the same issue why my car 's clock spring is not covered in this class action suit for the ex... Read more
Incident date: May 18, 2023
Contacted, by phone, Uftring Chevrolet, located in Washington, Illinois, to request air bag to be fixed due to recall issued by General Motors (Manufacturer Recall NumberN232404980 NHTSA Recall Number23V334) on May 18, 2023 and again on September 28, 2023. I was told that GM has not offered a remedy for the recall. Dealership did not replace the air bag after two requests to do so. According to... Read more
Incident date: Aug 24, 2023
Driving at 25 mph and the airbag spontaneously deployed. Exploded. Dust. Noise. No impact no accident. Hurt my hand. Busted the turn signal arm Caused me to drive over a median and damage the under carriage of the car.
Crash
Incident date: Sep 26, 2023
Vehicle is out of warranty. Car only has 36K miles and passengers restraint system malfunction appeared. It basically says that the passenger airbag won't deploy due to this malfunction. Union diagnosis ilthe culprit is a defective seat occupancy mat sensor module and the seat mat. Both parts should be recalled as this failure occured without outside influence. This is a extremely important compon... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 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: Sep 28, 2023
I have had my car to the dealership 3 times and scheduled for a4th time for this same issue. It is intermittent which I realize makes it hard to diagnose however the dealership kept it overnight in 2nd visit to try to reproduce it and they did. When driving, the car will randomly start beeping and errors cycle thru in the dash. It tells me that my braking system needs to be checked then lighting ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 13, 2023
I brought a brand new BMW IX fully electric vehicle in May, 2023. A couple of weeks ago in early September, the “Emergency Call System Malfunction” warning light came on, and I can also smell a chemical burn from the vehicle. I dropped it off to Eastbay BMW in Pleasanton, California. 4350 Rosewood Drive, Pleasanton, California 94588. They confirmed that the “Control Module” may be over h... Read more
Incident date: Sep 28, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was 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 was ma... Read more
Incident date: Sep 28, 2023
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 that the message "Service Air Bag" was displayed. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amo... Read more
Incident date: Sep 24, 2023
Airbag light will not turn off after 6 seconds. Stays on even when driving. Cruise control turns on sporadically when trying to turn off, it will not respond stays on. Car will be inspected on 10/03/2023 by Earnhardt Peoria KIA Peoria Az.
Incident date: Jul 29, 2023
In July 2023 my airbag light appeared on my instrument panel. I checked seat belts but all was good. I had the ford dealer diagnose and they said that the rear seat belt airbag was out of compliance. I am the original owner of the vehicle and asked if this was under any recall or TSB. They checked and said that it was no longer under any repair order and that it would cost me approx. $1100 to fix.... Read more
Incident date: Sep 14, 2023
Context: My wife replaced the driver’s side airbag per the 2019 Toyota Corolla recall at a Columbia, MO dealership. We’ve since moved to North Carolina. The airbag light and maintenance light came on, and we took it to the mechanic (Christian Brothers Automotive) close to our new home. They ran a diagnostics report to determine the airbag on the driver’s side needed to be replaced. I ha... Read more
Incident date: Sep 28, 2023
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 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. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
Incident date: Sep 7, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that he was concerned for his safety while operating the vehicle. An undisclosed dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the vehicle was not covered under warranty and the contact was advised take the vehicle to the dealer. The vehicle was not d... Read more
Incident date: Aug 30, 2023
My airbag light came on 1000 miles over the warranty mileage while on vacation. Had the issue checked and it was a 'pre tensioner', driver side, that shorted out and in turn shorted out the airbag module. This is a huge safety problem and should not happen. It should also be covered, due to no fault of my own. I have tried to resolve the issue with Hyundai customer care, but no help from them. I h... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2023
On September 1, 2023, I was headed north on I-95 in North Carolina. I was involved in a 3 car pileup where the Automatic Emergency Braking and Forward Collision Warning on my 2021 Nissan Rogue failed to activate. My vehicle had ADAS but almost killed my mother and me since they did not work. The car was totaled and the State Trooper wrongfully cited me for failure to reduce speed even though m... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Sep 28, 2023
The driver's headrest in my 2016 Dodge Journey has deployed and will not reset. The plastic pieces that hold the metal bar have broken. I have read about many other owners of Journeys, that are experiencing the same issue, yet there is no official recall. I have not taken it to be inspected.
Incident date: Sep 27, 2023
They have set the sensors for the passenger airbag outside of the acceptable department standards. There are many instances where a person under 120 pounds does not activate the sensor and therefore the passenger airbag is not activated. I have notified the company on several occasions and not been given any response other than they are aware or it is working as intended. It is not worth someone g... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
GOLF
(2017) — AIR BAGS
Sep 27, 2023
Incident date: May 1, 2023
My clock spring has failed three times now the first few times I had it fixed at the dealership but my warranty is now no longer valid once since I bought it from the dealership and it has failed again saying my airbags deployed and none of my features on my steering wheel work at all not even my paddle shifters and nor does my horn. And this has happened every time all those things have not worke... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
BEETLE
(2015) — AIR BAGS
Sep 27, 2023
Incident date: Sep 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Volkswagen Beetle. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V945000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted 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 was made ... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 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. An undisclosed dealer was contacted and confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. Additionally, the contact ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 18, 2019
Passenger seat air bag sensor doesn't work.
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2013) — AIR BAGS
Sep 27, 2023
Incident date: Sep 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag warning light and the check engine warning light intermittently illuminated and then turned off independently. Additionally, the “Service Air Bags” message was displayed. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Th... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2017) — AIR BAGS
Sep 27, 2023
Incident date: Sep 14, 2023
This is [XXX] . On September 14, 2023 had a very big crash with our 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee. My husband and Granddaughter were in the crash. Everyone is okay but the Jeep is totaled. At 7:00am, the Jeep accelerated out of control, my husband was trying applying the breaks, but the accelerator over powered the brake system. The car reached speeds of between 74-83 mph based on the Life 360 app ou... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Sep 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (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 part... Read more
Incident date: Sep 15, 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 and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
TIGUAN
(2012) — AIR BAGS
Sep 27, 2023
Incident date: Sep 18, 2023
I made a report on 11/1/19 about issues with my vehicle due to a manufactures defect that the panoramic roof drains did not drain properly and water leaked throughout the vehicle. Please refer to ODI# 41277589 and Ref.# 238025. This is a known issue with these vehicles and should have been recalled by volkswagon. On September 18, 2023 my daughter got into an accident because the vehicle shut off a... Read more
Crash