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: Dec 25, 2023
Intermittently does not register a passenger in the passenger seat (even with a seatbelt on and seat upright in a normal position) such that the airbags are turned off and climate controls are not activated. Passenger weighs more than 120 lbs.
Incident date: Dec 13, 2023
Días atrás se prendió la luz de airbag en el tablero y se siente mucho aire caliente al conducir los dealers me cobran mucho para un diagnóstico que puedo hacer?
Incident date: Oct 18, 2023
Head on collision with a deer destroying the front head light and severely damaging the drivers side door. No airbags were deployed.
Crash
Incident date: Dec 22, 2023
My airbag light just recently came on driver frontal airbag may explode NHTSA-19001900 Power steering NHTSA- 14E044000 u joint premature failure Electrical system all out of wack NHSTA-14V252000 bcm resistance result in voltage fluctuations in brake Power train- NHTSA 12V460000 4 speed automatic transmission the tabs on transmission shift cable end may fracture and separate
Incident date: Dec 21, 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 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 ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 18, 2023
My daughter was hit by a red light runner at 60mph and her airbags did not deploy at all. Her head hit the door and she sustained a broken collarbone, concussion and mild brain bleed.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Nov 15, 2023
The front passenger airbag sensor goes on and off when my passenger sits in the front seat. My passenger is 133 pounds and sometimes it triggers the "disabled" airbag icon and sometimes it doens't. It's very inconsistent and I fear that if it is in the disabled position at the time of an accident the airbags will not deploy. The vehicle has not been inspected by a licensed professional, manufactur... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2022
Blinking airbag sign in my Nissan Murano since week. Reset did not work by mechanic..
Incident date: Jun 9, 2022
Hello, I have a concern about the passenger side airbag in my 2023 Rivian R1T pickup truck. My wife is very small (weighs about 110 lbs., 5'2" tall). I've noticed on several occasions that when she's sitting in the passenger seat the airbag sensor will turn off because it's not detecting her sitting there. This happens more often if she crosses her legs or reclines the seat too much. As if she... Read more
Incident date: Dec 21, 2023
I was in a collision which was a tbone situation on the drivers side and the drivers side or front airbags did not deploy.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Dec 15, 2023
Received safety recall last year 2021 and made arrangements with John Holt Auto Sales in Chickasha, OK. They took all the information and said we would be notified when the air bag replacement had arrived. It's been over a year now and this problem still exists. Not sure how much longer I should wait while driving this hazardous vehicle on the highway.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2024 Lexus RX350H. The contact stated that while the vehicle was started, the Forward Collision Avoidance system and air bag warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for 17 days, where it was diagnosed that a software update was needed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and the contact was informed that there was no... Read more
Incident date: Aug 6, 2023
Air bag light comes on when drivers seat put back. When seat moved forward air bag light goes off. When air bag light is on system will not work, not safe to drive. Dealership on first repair did wire repair. They claimed when seat was put back it stretched harness turning on air bag light. Did repair under warranty. Second time they replaced harness due to same problem per Service Advisor. Second... Read more
Incident date: Aug 6, 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: Aug 18, 2023
I purchased my 2019 VW ATLAS IN 2021 and was not aware there was an airbag recall issue. I moved to Florida from California last year and brought my vehicle to Gunther VW in Daytona FL because of this issue about 5 months ago. Mike Taylor the senior service manager acknowledge the problem with me and stated we should be notified shortly. Its been 5 months now. This car is not safe to drive and we ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 26, 2023
Truck says service airbag when it only had 148,867 miles. Was told its passenger side front by dealership. All other airbags are fine
HONDA
CR-V HYBRID
(2023) - AIR BAGS
Dec 27, 2023
Incident date: Dec 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 BMW 320I. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 MPH, the front driver's side airbags and passenger side airbags deployed unintendedly, causing the driver to lose control of the steering wheel and drive over the curb. The contact stated that there was no crash to cause the airbags to deploy. During the failure, the rear driver’s side and passenger’s side... Read more
LAND ROVER
DEFENDER
(2024) - AIR BAGS
Dec 26, 2023
Incident date: Dec 26, 2023
When I am driving, my passenger sometimes does not trigger the airbag to activate. Depending on how they are sitting, many times the passenger airbag is set to "off" because it can not detect a passenger. The Rivian service center has investigated and mentioned there is no problem and that the passenger needs to sit more upright, but this still seems like a safety issue if we are driving and fail ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2023
The car currently has 28,899 miles to date. Mid November 2023, the dashboard indicated that there was a default with the safety system. I took the car to the authorized service center and their diagnostics indicated as follows: Faulty crash safety module. The recommendation was to replace and program ACSM control unit. Since this was a matter of my personal safety I had to pay $2100 to fix it. The... Read more
Incident date: Sep 9, 2022
A passenger of lighter weight will not trigger the passenger seat’s weight sensor, rendering the passenger side airbag disabled. The passenger must sit up perfectly straight and center their weight on the center of the seat for them to be properly detected. A service center visit claimed the seats are working as designed, but there is clearly an issue.
Incident date: Dec 26, 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 local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made awar... Read more
Incident date: Dec 17, 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 local dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. VIN tool confirms parts n... Read more
Incident date: Nov 27, 2023
Volkswagen has been aware of a known recall since April 2023 and 9 months later has still not resolved a very serious recall rendering the front passenger seat completely useless.
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
I currently have the Airbag indicator light on my car lit up. I was recently recalled, and the work done in February of 2023. I do not have confidence in the dealership that completed the work initially due to circumstances that occured with my same car a few months later. The circumstances are that later in the year, my car was in the same shop for 48 days, and they could not diagnose, or fix th... Read more
Incident date: Oct 9, 2023
UNKNOWN - I have a 2004 Honda Accord which indicates an airbag issue. The seat belt buckles but the light stays on. Many 2004 Accords were in a recall over SRS but my VIN did not show as part of the recall. The dealer says the seat sensor is bad but they are not making the part any longer. What should I do. I guess the maker should replace with a new system.
Incident date: Nov 27, 2023
Airbag pre-tensioner fired without any collision.
Incident date: Nov 11, 2023
The passenger front air bag malfunction,the passenger seat head rest deployed and And malfunction with any incident,the driver air bag is light on malfunction.after I took it to the dealership radio stop working no audio
Incident date: Dec 23, 2023
Driving 36 mph and got hit in drive side and the airbags didn't deploy
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Dec 12, 2023
While driving the vehicle and making a slow speed turn into a drive way, the wires in the clock spring portion of the Driver airbag were severed mechanism. This has caused the car to no longer have airbags on the Driver side of the car. Volkswagon has recalled some of the car in this model year, but they continue to say my vehicle is not affected. When this happened, I had less than 90,000 miles o... Read more
Incident date: Dec 24, 2023
I hit a curb while I was turning and I my air bag light and seatbelt light turned on. My passenger air bag won’t turn back to on even when someone is sitting in and my seatbelt light won’t turn off. Nothing was deployed when I hit the curb just the lights turning on.
Incident date: Dec 24, 2023
- The side detection module became corroded, blew a fuse and stopped functioning. This was reported in a service bulletin and extended warranty protection for some GM vehicles, but not the Buick Verano. [XXX] - This happened while driving. The vehicle would still drive, but lost all gauge functions (No speedometer, tachometer, fuel, or temp gauges). -The side obstacle detection system does not... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2014) - AIR BAGS
Dec 24, 2023
Incident date: Aug 20, 2023
The Rivian R1T's passenger airbag does not engage if you weigh less than a certain amount. I am 5'2" and 120 pounds, and the airbag is "off" if I sit in the passenger seat. Some Rivian dealers say it is set at 135 pounds; one dealer said it is set at 150 pounds. When we complain to Rivian, they say the car is "functioning as designed," but will not tell us what those design parameters are. I cann... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
AIRBAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY AT UTILITY POLE COLLISION.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Dec 21, 2023
Front passenger airbag sensor is off even when there is no person sitting in the front passenger seat. It is off also when adult passenger is seating in the seat. It looks by pages of manual folded that previous owner had similar problem. That could possibly impact non-deployment of air-bag in a case of collision. My google search shows there was a recall of Volt 2013 models for that problem.
Incident date: Dec 16, 2023
Recall number N232404980 has not been resolved yet on my 2016 GMC Acadia. Have not been contacted since the first letter from the manufacturer was sent out. Anytime I ask a dealership if the recall can be fixed I'm always told they are unable to get the part.
Incident date: Dec 23, 2023
1). Dash light stays on constantly and reads SERVICE AIR BAG. This was checked out at an auto repair shop. If air bag doesn't respond, it could be fatal. 2). Check engine light is always on. Was checked out at an auto repair shop and repaired on 10/19/2021. 3). Right engine exhaust manifold is cracked and leaking exhaust. Was checked out at a muffler repair shop. In time I'm afraid fumes my ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 23, 2023
I was driving southbound freeway I 35 in Oklahoma City at around 60mph lost control of my vehicle and crashed into the median barrier that divides both freeways crashed head on and the airbags. Not even one of them deployed hit my head with the steering wheel And driver passenger door window
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Dec 23, 2023
The car proceeds by itself and does not stop even when brakes are engaged. This happened 2 times. Once in reverse and once forward, both caused severe damages to the car. In the forward incident, the driver was wearing seat belt but air bags deployed with impact.
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Oct 23, 2019
No lamps on at all. Car was in a major accident and no airbags went off. Was hit almost head on by a ram pickup at approximately 45 miles an hour and then the truck went down the drivers side of the car Car was stopped at a red light at the time of the incident
Crash
Incident date: Oct 27, 2023
I was pulling into a parking spot. I was riding slowly into the correct position. Immediately the car went into full acceleration. Knocked the parked car in front about 8 feet, turned and knocked another car on the side. I stood on the breaks, it went another 10 feet and engine stopped. I never heard this level of acceleration of engine ever before. The airbags for me and my passenger did not op... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Dec 22, 2023
(1) Since October, I have had airbag failure in my Wrangler Rubicon. The failure is the 2nd time for the same defective parts. Jeep has failed to repair/replace the parts. I've been waiting for two months. I cannot drive with no airbags. It's a death sentence and SUICIDE to drive without airbags. There is a recall on this same defect issue, yet Jeep has continued to ignore this issue. (2) Jeep rep... Read more
Incident date: Sep 30, 2022
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 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 confirm... Read more
Incident date: Mar 22, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 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 made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer wa... Read more
Incident date: Dec 22, 2023
When there's a passenger sitting in the passenger seat, the car consistently fails to detect the passenger and the "AIRBAGS OFF" indicator remains on. I've brought the car in for service and Rivian says it's acting in normal parameters.
Incident date: Nov 2, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V215000 (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 manu... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2023
The contact 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 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 ... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
EQS 450+
(2022) - AIR BAGS
Dec 22, 2023
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
desconocidos
Crash
Fire
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2010 Mercedes-Benz GLK350. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the airbags warning light illuminated and remained illuminated. The contact stated that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V010000 (Air Bags). The local dealer was contacted but provided no assistance. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure... Read more
MITSUBISHI
MONTERO
(2000) - AIR BAGS
Dec 21, 2023
Incident date: Dec 21, 2023
We were sitting in car with it idling, the right-side air bag just deployed without collision. We turned the ignition off waited a few moments and turned it back on and the right-side dash airbag deployed without any warning. The vehicle has not been in any collisions.
Incident date: Dec 8, 2023
The contact’s grandmother owns a 2018 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that while driving up a hill, the vehicle started sputtering, vibrating, and jerking. The sputtering was severe, causing the front driver's side seat belt to be activated. The vehicle was immediately driven to the local dealer who diagnosed that the transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet rep... Read more