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 29, 2023
The controls on the steering wheel have stopped working along with the air bags were disabled (the light is on). Sounds like the clock spring.
Incident date: Apr 27, 2023
AIR BAG ON DRIVERS SIDE DID NOT OPEN SAME THING WITH MY 2019 ELANTRA 3 YEARS AGO
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Dec 12, 2023
The contact owned a 2014 Jeep Patriot. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V668000 (Seat Belts, 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 stated that while a family member was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle w... Read more
Crash
1 deaths
Incident date: Nov 26, 2023
As the passenger, following a passenger side impact, (T bone) I sustained 1st and 2nd degree burns extending from my ribs to my hip. To my knowledge the only airbags that inflated were the curtain air bags. Immediately upon impact I had a burning sensation on my right side that slowly began to spread. Once out of the car it was discovered that something had burned through 3 layers of clothing with... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Nov 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that upon accelerating from a stop light, the vehicle in the right lane abruptly attempted a U-turn, colliding with the contact's vehicle on the front passenger side. The air bags did not deploy. No warning lights were illuminated at the time of the collision, but the ABS warning light had illuminated intermittently before the collision. ... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Dec 5, 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 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: Dec 10, 2023
I was in a really bad accident nd went off n embankment. My chest hit the steering wheel md broke my sternum. My seatbelt also didn’t do it port by locking me in place and let me hit forward. Everyone at the scene. Could not believ the airbags didn’t deploy and the seatbelt didn’t help more. I am blessed and very fortunate to be alive!! Both doors on passenger side and driver side are hard t... Read more
Crash
1 injured
CHRYSLER
TOWN AND COUNTRY
(2014) - AIR BAGS
Dec 11, 2023
Incident date: Dec 9, 2023
The problem started a couple of years ago as a small crack in the dashboard at the upper left corner of the airbag. The crack widened and lengthened after replacement of the air bag last year. Then the dash cracked earlier this year at the crown above the instrument cluster. It has completely separated and is nearly 12” in length. Not only does it rattle to the point of driver distraction, but I... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2021) - AIR BAGS
Dec 11, 2023
Incident date: Nov 23, 2023
Active head rest deployed without collision (or even being hit slightly).
Incident date: Nov 30, 2023
The airbags didn't work And the other information unknown
Crash
1 injured
VOLKSWAGEN
JETTA
(2023) - AIR BAGS
Dec 11, 2023
Incident date: Oct 4, 2023
I was involved in an accident with a deer. It impacted my driver door. The impact and physical damage were minimal to moderate. However, at least 6 airbags deployed, totaling out the vehicle. There have been some recalls on 2021 Broncos for faulty airbag sensors. There was no recall on mine. Yet, I believe these sensors were faulty as it was a minor impact to the vehicle. As I had purchased this v... Read more
Crash
FORD
ESCAPE HYBRID
(2020) - AIR BAGS
Dec 11, 2023
Incident date: Dec 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Express. The contact stated while driving at approximately 55 MPH the contact was crashed into by a deer, the contact stated that the deer struck the driver's side front headlight and then the driver's door. The contact stated that the left headlight was fractured and the grill was damaged by the deer strike. The contact stated that both side curtain air bags had ... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Nov 27, 2023
My airbag light has now come on and flashes and dings every time the car comes on
Incident date: Nov 15, 2023
I took my vehicle into sunset Chevrolet in Sumner Washington, in November of 2022 and had them complete the Takata air bag recall on the vehicle. I drove it for a few months and put it in storage. Since the recall the dash is now cracked where the dealer replaced the passenger airbag recall. It was not cracked prior to the replacement. I have talked to the dealer and they are saying they will not ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 15, 2022
Within one week of car purchase, the car is alerting that the SRS system is not working and it needs to be taken to a dealership. Dealership doesn't have am timeline on when they will be able to fix it.
Incident date: Aug 2, 2023
Airbag deployed for no reason, while pulling forward slowly from a parking spot. An airbag that deploys when there is no impact or collision is a clear risk to the safety of the driver, passengers and other drivers on the road.
Incident date: Sep 19, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape Hybrid. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V380000 (Engine) 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 pa... Read more
Incident date: Sep 29, 2023
I have a Mercedes Sprinter Van that has a Dodge Vin number and no one wants to provide the replacement of the Airbag in the vehicle. Mercedes says its a Dodge and the Dodge Dealership in Freehold said they can not work on it since it has a Mercedes Emblem on it.
Incident date: Nov 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 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: Dec 8, 2023
Recieved letter in mail to schedule to airbag recall. I scheduled to have recall replaced. The dealership told me it was available. After leaving vehicle. Dealership advised they don't have the part. They don't know when the part will be available. They part hasnt been available for a year. I advised them. This a an accident waiting to happen. I'm driving a vehicle and the airbag is defected. M... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
After starting the van, an error pops up: "SRS Airbag System Malfunction Visit Your Dealer." This occurs a day after turning the car on and off and driving for several hours. The next day, it may come back on, or it may not. I have taken it to a dealership, and they stated it was a firmware update they completed. After they updated the warning light, it came back on less than a week later.
Incident date: Dec 9, 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 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 parts ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 9, 2023
I got into an accident and my airbags did not go off
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Dec 7, 2023
My son was in an accident to where the whole front end was smashed and neither airbag deployed
Crash
FORD
FUSION ENERGI
(2020) - AIR BAGS
Dec 10, 2023
Incident date: Jul 1, 2023
Horn honks randomly will driving or turned off/parked. Windows go up/down on their own. Locks/unlocks. wipers turn on/off. Emergency flashers turn on/blink all on their own. Appears to be an issue with security system. Replaced TIPM and still having issues with all of the above. My truck is dead every day, replaced battery twice & crack shaft sensor, still having issues. There is a ticking noise a... Read more
Incident date: Nov 29, 2023
I was driving down the street, and the air bags deployed in their own. I was injured.
1 injured
Incident date: Apr 14, 2022
I noticed a common problem among MK6 GTI owners of the steering wheel messing up, causing many issues such as broken airbags, the horn not work, cruise control stopped, etc., and since I have the issue (air bag symbol, horn, no cruise control) as well I was wondering what could be done. This happened after a near-accident/close call and when I tried to honk it didnt work. It could've been for any ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2023
The airbags in our 2005 Audi A4 were recalled. We had the airbag replaced due to the recall in Audi of Stratham, 58 Portsmouth Ave, Stratham, NH 03885 in February 2023. On 12/8/23, my daughter was involved in a serious front-end collation with another vehicle. The airbags in the Audi did not deploy. The other vehicle (which sustained less damage) did deploy. Without the airbags, her face hit ... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Dec 9, 2023
The airbags did not deploy when a large jeep turned into the driver side door.
Crash
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 2500
(2020) - AIR BAGS
Dec 9, 2023
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
Recall has not been rectified for months and there’s still no remedy in sight!
Incident date: Nov 20, 2023
Motor vehicle accident head on and the airbags did not deploy.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Dec 8, 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 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 experienced... Read more
Incident date: Nov 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 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 and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2003) - AIR BAGS
Dec 8, 2023
Incident date: Dec 8, 2023
Was in a head on collision going 40-45 mph. Hit a guard rail head on and airbags did not deploy
Crash
1 injured
VOLKSWAGEN
TIGUAN
(2022) - AIR BAGS
Dec 8, 2023
Incident date: Apr 6, 2022
The contact's wife owns a 2017 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle before him stopped suddenly, causing his vehicle to crash into the rear end of the other vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. The emergency units transported the contact to the hospital, where he was informed that his upper spine disk could be dislocated or fractured. An appointment was scheduled ... Read more
Crash
1 injured
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2017) - AIR BAGS
Dec 8, 2023
Incident date: Dec 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the OCS control unit was malfunctioning. The dealer determined that the front passenger’s side seat needed to be replaced. The dealer charged a fee to repair the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The man... Read more
Incident date: Dec 8, 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 not yet available. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for t... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C 300
(2019) - AIR BAGS
Dec 8, 2023
Incident date: Nov 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 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 experien... Read more
Incident date: Oct 13, 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 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
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2009) - AIR BAGS
Dec 8, 2023
Incident date: Oct 21, 2023
The contact owned a 2009 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while driving approximately 20 mph, an unknown Chevrolet Postal truck pulled out and crashed into the vehicle. The steering wheel air bag exploded and hit his face. The contact sustained injuries to his face, wrist, chest, and hand during the impact, and medical attention was provided at the hospital. A police report was filed. The dr... Read more
Crash
1 injured
HONDA
ACCORD HYBRID
(2022) - AIR BAGS
Dec 8, 2023
Incident date: Dec 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2009 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that while parked with the keys out of the ignition, the contact heard a loud pop coming from the passenger’s side of the vehicle. The contact stated that the driver’s and passenger’s side deployed without impact. The dealer was contacted and advised the contact to inform the manufacturer of the failure. The vehicle was towed to... Read more
Incident date: Nov 4, 2023
Due to a death in the family, we were traveling back from a funeral. We were miles away from another freeway change when a deer came from the ditch and darted in front of my vehicle. With no time to react, I braced for impact. Going at a high rate of speed, I was bracing for airbags. At the time of collision all the safety features engaged. The seatbelts locked in place, hazard lights turned on, a... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Sep 1, 2023
I have this airbag light on problem stated below. It seems it should be a safety recall. Possible solution for Airbag light on Seat Sensor Ok, I'm going to ask a couple of questions and hope that [XXX] or someone with knowledge chimes in. I originally had this problem in my wife's car a couple of months ago, airbag light on, clock flashing after going over a bump with my 240lb ass in the passe... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
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 dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was m... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2023
Vehicle received large amounts of front end damage at approximately 45 mph and totalled with no air bag deployment
Crash
Incident date: Dec 7, 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 and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was m... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
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 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: Nov 30, 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 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 ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2023
We have a fleet of eighteen NV200s. The one that was listed was just repaired on 11/20/23. It had issues with the occupant air bag system. The issues with the air bag system are happening in other NV200s that we own. I believe there is a defect in these vans that could lead to them not operate as designed, causing injury or death. The other air bag issues we have had in the NV200s, not including t... Read more
Incident date: Dec 4, 2023
Clockspring failed causing airbag to malfunction. Jeep dealer ordered a replacement in April 2023 and still has not received the part(even though they have one in stock the manufacturer will not allow them to use and install the stock clockspring). We have been forced to drive the vehicle without an operating clockspring which creates a major safety hazard since the airbags may not deploy on impac... Read more