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: Oct 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 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 not made aware of the issue. The contact had not... Read more
Incident date: Dec 23, 2023
My vehicle is never been in an accident, but it is showing SRS malfunction. Nissan dealer took 2500$ to do all the services (Coolant, battery change, etc..) and gave me rejection sticker for state inspection and said I need to get this SRS issue fixed from infiniti dealer. And infiniti dealer says they have to replace the Airbag Control Module and quoting an other 2500$ spending 5000$ on a 10000... Read more
FORD
MUSTANG MACH E
(2022) - AIR BAGS
Jan 2, 2024
Incident date: Jan 1, 2024
Gas pedal locked up can’t accelerate
Incident date: Jan 1, 2024
My Model 3 began giving an RCM_a056 error indicating a fault with the front passenger safety restraint system. When I scheduled service for this fault at Tesla, they advised that the front passenger airbag and occupant sensor for the right/front seat needed to be replaced. Research into this issue revealed at it is a common issue. Other owners reported Tesla covering the cost of this repair (indic... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2011) - AIR BAGS
Jan 2, 2024
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
I purchase the vehicle at 58,000 or so miles, used at a dealership. The next day I returned the vehicle because while driving out of town, the vehicle said: Warning, Warning -- This vehicle is not safe to drive. Some components may not operator correctly. Do Not Drive this vehicle. This happens when you're on the highway above 50 miles per hour. There was a smoke smell also inside the car and ... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2011) - AIR BAGS
Jan 2, 2024
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
BMW/MINI have known about a faulty airbag sensor in the seats, yet never did a recall. The passenger side airbag does not operate when someone sits in the seat due to a faulty sensor on the seat cushion. BMW was around $1600 to replace this. Big safety concern if a crash happens and air bag does not go off. Should be a factory recall.
Incident date: Nov 28, 2023
Car stops un-expectantly while driving, this caused the car to turn off and not be able to steer, then it turns back on without warning. This results in not being able to control the car. This resulted in being hit by three cars. It looks like Lexus listed a notice, however we did not receive it, and were not aware of the notice. Waring lamps did come on please see pictures.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Dec 2, 2023
Manufacturer Recall Number N232404980 NHTSA Recall Number 23V334 I have called local dealerships three times over the past several months to schedule service for this recall with no luck. The last call I was told not to worry about it, it's not a big deal. I do worry about it though. They suggested that the delay in parts availability is because of the recent auto strike which started in Septe... Read more
Incident date: Dec 31, 2023
10/19/2023 NHTSA recall 23V-704, Manufacturer recall YFW 10/28/2023--I rented a 2022 Honda Civic from National at airport. Leaving the airport initially I didn't notice an issue. But after traveling several miles at highway speeds, on changing lanes or making minor adjustments in direction, I noticed the steering wheel felt like it would stick, then release allowing the car to change direction, st... Read more
Crash
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2017) - AIR BAGS
Dec 31, 2023
Incident date: Dec 31, 2023
12/4/2023 while attempting to pull into a parking spot in a parking garage car suddenly accelerated forward at a very fast rate, just prior to acceleration felt like it shuddered. Afraid that it would keep going and go over edge so I pulled to the right while trying to brake and hit a concrete barrier. Terrifying! October 23, 2019 another couple had this happen in another parking garage downtow... Read more
Crash
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2019) - AIR BAGS
Dec 31, 2023
Incident date: Dec 30, 2023
My passenger air warning message appeared about 2 weeks ago. It doesn't happen everyday but every now and then it will appear.
Incident date: Dec 31, 2021
My passenger airbag light has been showing an error light on and off since March of 2023. I’ve brought it to a Volkswagen dealership 2 separate times, and they advised me they didn’t have a fix for the issue. This is our family car that we HAVE to drive everyday to get to work and school. Everyday someone is at risk by riding in the passenger seat. It’s been 9 months of my family being at ri... Read more
Incident date: Dec 11, 2023
Passenger airbag notifi action blinks and will not show it is activated to function in a crash. Airbag has never worked. Also driver seat belt keeps releasing without being pushed to open. Seat belt issue just began Dec 2023
Incident date: Dec 30, 2023
I slide off the road and went into a ditch then rolled a dew times no airbags denied I was upside-down Bach shoulder head injury and left leg all on the left side .y mirror wouldn't call 911 I have photos
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Dec 30, 2023
When I brushes a car, the dealer said Car has a recall for safety issue for airbags and will fix someone hit the front light with a low speed 20 mph on the street the old airbag open in the car for no reason to do this
Crash
Incident date: Oct 27, 2023
We received a recall notice in May regarding the passenger airbag and Volkswagen still does not have a solution yet.
Incident date: Dec 30, 2023
The the OC3 MAT on the passanger car just showed up faulty which causes the air bag light to also come on. I have seen a lot of others posting they are having the same issue. Can you help me find out if this has already been recalled but not replaced on my car or if it hasn't even been recalled yet this is a safety issue. Because the airbags will not function if the oc3 mat is not functi... Read more
Incident date: Nov 25, 2023
The airbags did not deploy upon collision
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Dec 21, 2023
I was on the 15 freeway going home and bent down to pick up something I dropped and hit the car that was stopped in front of me. What I remember is my glasses flying off and I hit my chest and head on the steering wheel and also broke my foot. At that time I realized that the air bag did not deploy and the seat belt did not hold me and I hit the steering wheel with full force. I spent three day... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Dec 27, 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 not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the air conditioning system would activate unintendedly. ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 22, 2023
The vehicle is a 2018 VW Atlas SE w/Tech 2.0T FWD. The manufacturer recall number is 69FB. The NHTSA recall number is 23V215. The recall status is incomplete because a remedy is not yet available. I have called several VW dealerships and they are all saying there is no remedy identified yet for this. This has been a known issue since April 2023. It has now been 8 months. How long does a manufactu... Read more
Incident date: Dec 12, 2023
The contact owned a 2023 Ford Mustang. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V727000 (Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer had not been contacted. The contact stated that while driving approximately 20 MPH and attempting to... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Dec 1, 2022
The contact's partner 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 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 ex... Read more
Incident date: Nov 22, 2023
The contact owns a 2007 Volvo XC90. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated on the instrument cluster. The local dealer was contacted, and it was diagnosed that the failure was due to the air bag module. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but the result was unknown. The manufacturer was contacted, and a re... Read more
Incident date: Dec 21, 2022
10/10 Tapped pedal into Drive: Toyota Highlander 2018 Car sped off at 50mph with my foot on brake for 3 minutes Holding brake down and down-shifting did nothing Vehicle stopped when it hit a pole destroying passenger-side fender and bumper Airbag did not deploy Unintended acceleration/sticky pedal as reported early this century when Toyota recalled 80,000 vehicles. On 11/17/2023 an ER or Black B... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Nov 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Honda Civic. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and a diagnostic test was performed. The diagnostic showed that the vehicle had a faulty front driver’s side air bag inflator. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but the contact was informed that the vehicle warranty had expired. The vehicle was not... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2023
The contact owns a 2007 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated while driving at 65 MPH with his friend in the front passenger's seat, the vehicle crashed into the driver's side of another vehicle that was making a left turn. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact stated that he hit his head against the ceiling, and hit his chest against the steering wheel, which caused him to have tense muscles a... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Dec 14, 2023
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Mustang. The contact stated that while at a stop light, the front driver’s side seat air bag deployed upon depression of the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that the air bag warning light illuminated after the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 123,000.
VOLKSWAGEN
JETTA
(2016) - AIR BAGS
Dec 29, 2023
Incident date: Jul 29, 2023
I was hit from behind on the interstate 2 weeks ago. My Jeep Compass was stopped in heavy traffic on the interstate. A large white pickup truck hit my car first going at least 80 mph. He did not see that traffic was stopped. This caused my jeep to roll and come to a stop on the passenger side on the ground and the driver side in the air. My airbags did deploy, but not on impact. They deployed afte... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Dec 1, 2022
Front Passenger airbag sensor does not recognize when a passenger is sitting in the seat. Airbag sensor turns off and on while driving depending on how passenger sits. If passenger shifts slightly forward the airbag sensor no longer detects them. I have never seen an issue like this in any other vehicle.
Incident date: Dec 27, 2023
Air bag service light came on without any incident or accident being involved.
Incident date: Oct 2, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the driver's side air bag emblem cover was detaching. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the air bag emblem cover needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer informed the contact that the VIN was not included in an unknown recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assist... Read more
Incident date: Dec 7, 2023
My airbag light stays on and I heard if the air bag gis off it could have metal in it..that don't sound like something I want to happen...also this cars power go's out and back on its scary when your driving down the road.it only has 141k miles something is wrong...
Incident date: Dec 28, 2023
I was rear ended and pushed into the car in front of me. My car was totaled and no airbags went off.
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Dec 28, 2023
I am the original owner of this 2009 G37 sedan with only 12K miles. This car has never been in an accident. It is perfectly maintained and sits in a garage 99% of the time. Last week the airbag light flashed on. The dealer said the error code was B1018 (Occupant Classification Sensor malfunction). The cost of the passenger seat cushion alone is $7,500. This problem was also found on the 2007 ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2020
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V215000 (Ari Bags). The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the air bag needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a complaint was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 25... Read more
HONDA
ACCORD HYBRID
(2024) - AIR BAGS
Dec 28, 2023
Incident date: Dec 21, 2023
Problems reside in the total integrated power management module. TPIM whereas vehicle will shut off while driving. No indicator lights to give warning before the vehicle shuts off. Has on occasion shut off and recovered power multiple times within a minute This is a very dangerous scenario to conduct a road test or have someone confirm the issue on the road.
Incident date: Jan 1, 2016
I am writing to bring to your attention a persistent issue I have been facing with my 2014 BMW i3, VIN: [XXX] . Unfortunately, I have been experiencing an airbag and/or seatbelt alert problem identified as "Driver Restraint System Malfunction" with the error code 930904 displayed on the dashboard. I have attached supporting documentation, including images and information from the BMW Service Bulle... Read more
Incident date: Sep 22, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Buick Enclave. The contact stated that the airbag warning light was illuminated upon starting the vehicle. 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 vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where an unknown diagnosis was provided. The veh... Read more
Incident date: Sep 20, 2023
The contact owned a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 35-40 MPH, an oncoming driver veered into his lane. The contact stated that he swerved to the left to avoid a head-on collision with the other driver. The vehicle drove off the road into the woods. The contact stated that all the airbags but the front driver's airbag deployed. The contact stated that he was able to exit the vehi... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Dec 13, 2023
Horn stopped working right after I bought this truck from a dealer. I did some research on why it stopped. I was told and also read that it was the air bag clock spring. This controls the air bags and horn and other components. What it is the clock spring was installed by Toyota that had a bad spot on it. This causes the wiring harness to start rubbing and cutting into the wires. Would cause the h... Read more
Incident date: Dec 26, 2023
Refuse a loaner car while the recall gets done
Incident date: Dec 16, 2023
The passenger airbag restraint system has failed. Specifically, the passenger seat airbag sensor has failed, meaning there is no current airbag functionality for the passenger in my 2010 Infiniti QX56. There was a voluntary safety recall for (R1606) for Infiniti QX56's with years 2014-2016 for the same fault. Obviously, this is a tremendous life and safety risk and should be resolved by the man... Read more
Incident date: Dec 15, 2023
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 unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer had not been contacted. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a fail... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
AMG GLE43
(2017) - AIR BAGS
Dec 28, 2023
Incident date: Dec 26, 2023
I can not get any psarts avability date from GM as to when Takata replacement air bag moduals will be avail for recall #23V334 - its been nearly a year since I was notified. GM says they don't have a date- Having worked in this industry, I can tell you that Takata knows when parts will be avail - they couldn't function as a tier one supplier to the OEMs with knowing when they can supply parts. H... Read more
Incident date: Dec 26, 2023
Pulling in the parking spot , looking to my right not noticing light pole on the left , car sensor bumped the pole in the perfect spot to deploy all of the drivers airbags . No warning of front collision , no breaks emergency were activated , seatbelt did not tighten threw me against the wheel : suffered , lacerations , broken forearm requiring surgery . Slight scratch on the bumper not even a... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Dec 28, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the air bag warning light illuminated. 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 called another local dealer, Feldman Chevrolet of New Hudson (30400 Lyon Cen... Read more
Incident date: Jun 27, 2019
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated while operating the vehicle, the front passenger’s side air bag warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who determined that the front passenger’s side air bag Passenger Sensor System was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was informed that the part to repair... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
An airbag recall issued in may, 2023 has yet to have a fix after 6 months. This is a significant risk to myself and passengers.