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 1, 2024
I had adaptive cruise control on and debris hit my windshield and I went into the rumble strip and eventually into the guard rail where the car essentially pingponged from there until it eventually stopped when the metal hit the front. It appears the emergency brake did not activate and the lane keep did not activate. My air bags did not deploy.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Feb 20, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Fiat 124 Spider. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V694000 (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: Mar 20, 2024
The contact owned a 2000 GMC Sierra. The contact stated while driving at approximately 70 MPH the driver's side front wheel control arm had fractured and the vehicle went out of control. The contact stated that the vehicle rolled over three times. The contact stated that the vehicle rolled off of the road and stopped on its roof. The contact stated no warning light had illuminated. No air bags had... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Mar 19, 2025
Ever since I bought my infiniti the air bag light flashed rapidly on the dash. I received notice a couple years ago about the air bags being recalled.I took my vehicle to Roseville Infiniti and supposedly the airbags were replaced I expected it to take a couple hours it was in and out in under 2 hours. When i left the deLership the light was still blinking and never quit blinking. My concern was ... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Feb 10, 2025
While driving the air bag symbol and wrench appears on the dash, car starts losing power, and when shifting gears there's a hard shift and clunking noise. Videos on YouTube show many people with the same issue some say it's a sensor issue. Output Shaft speed sensor and turbine speed sensor
Incident date: Feb 5, 2025
I bought this car new in 2019. It was never in an accident. While driving normally, the car started throwing warnings saying the lane keep assist has a problem, the collision mitigatuon system hhas a peoblem, the auto high beams have a problem, the road departure system has a problem. I paid Honda in Surprise AZ $210 for a diagnosis and they told me that it needs a new U3000-49 Multipurpose camera... Read more
Incident date: Mar 17, 2025
THE ODS is not properly determining the status of the right front seat occupant. The airbag warning light is illuminated, and the front passenger airbag is deactivated even with a person sitting in the passenger seat. The ODS is also unable to determine if someone is in the seat and triggers the seatbelt alert when anything (even a purse) is on the seat. This exact issue was part of a Subaru re... Read more
Incident date: Mar 19, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Mazda CX-5. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH, the air bag warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the air bag connector. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred 9,000 miles later. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, who again diagnosed a failure with the air bag conne... Read more
Incident date: Mar 18, 2025
On [XXX], in Washington, D.C., my 2013 Hyundai Sonata experienced sudden engine failure, leaving the vehicle inoperable. My goodwill repair request was denied within 30 minutes, without a proper inspection of the rod bearings (a known failure point covered under the TXXI extended warranty) or the fuel pipe recall—a known issue that could pose a fire hazard. Hyundai cited suspected maintenance ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2025
A warning saying Front Right Malfunction Service Required. I took my vehicle to a mercedes dealership to have my vehicle inspected. I was told that the Airbag seat cushion/weight sensing control unit all needed to be repaired/fixed. I have an extended warranty but this was not covered. I was told my Airbag might not be deployed if I was involved in an accident and someone was in my front passenge... Read more
Incident date: Mar 18, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Camry. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (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 was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the... Read more
Incident date: Mar 2, 2025
The car was involved in a collision into a jersey barrier on the left side of the vehicle at high speed that is 60 mph first the none of the airbags deployed and including the front airbags driver knee airbags or the curtain side airbags. Next, the driver‘s Apple Watch confirmed that we were in a collision and was able to call 911 where the safety features within the vehicle did not make any no... Read more
Crash
3 injured
CONTINENTAL
PROCONTACT TX
(9999) - AIR BAGS
Mar 19, 2025
Incident date: Mar 8, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Highlander. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V720000 (Structure). The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH, an abnormal sound was coming from the front bumper. Upon inspection, the front bumper had partially detached from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, it was unknown if the vehicle was repaired. The contact... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 2500
(2016) - AIR BAGS
Mar 19, 2025
Incident date: Feb 12, 2025
There is an active recall (69E6 - Driver Frontal Airbag Inflator) on my 2014 Volkswagen Passat. About 2 months ago, I scheduled an appointment with my local Volkswagen dealer to get this recall resolved. I was told that the parts were on back order and haven't heard anything for almost 2 months, meaning this is not being resolved in a timely manner and I continue to drive my car with added risk. ... Read more
Incident date: May 31, 2024
I was in a rollover crash on 3/9/25. I hit the guardrail head on, then completely rolled the vehicle multiple times. The driver/steering wheel airbag did NOT deploy. Curtain airbags, and the airbag from the seat deployed but the steering wheel did NOT. My head hit the steering wheel as a result with injuries to my face. The airbag malfunction was confirmed by a mechanic.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Oct 19, 2024
Vehicle transmission has a whining sound Dealer stated needs new transmission Parts not available continue driving local only Would not state car is safe to drive and told not to take on long trips. No rental provided Also there is a airbag recall for this model and have not been notified
Incident date: Mar 14, 2025
The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Passat. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V834000 (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 exp... Read more
Incident date: Aug 13, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated that the front passenger's side seat belt audible chime was sounded, and the message "Air Bag ON" was displayed while the front passenger's side seat was unoccupied. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the calibration-learning error was corrected by preconditioning the empty seat and resetting the seat zero-value in the electronic... Read more
Incident date: Mar 19, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Buick Enclave. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the driver's and passenger's side roof air bags independently deployed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. In addition, the contact stated that the front driver's side and front passenger's side seat belts had seized. The manufacturer was not made a... Read more
Incident date: Mar 7, 2025
Dashboard leather has shrunk and removed staples. Dashboard leather is laying on top of airbag and may act as a deterrent to the airbag function. Was informed that the airbag may not deploy correctly. Cost to repair is >$10k due to a common material defect.
HYUNDAI
SONATA HYBRID
(2017) - AIR BAGS
Mar 19, 2025
Incident date: Mar 11, 2025
The vehicle history does not show any type of accidents. The vehicle history says that the vehicles airbags are in tact. In reviewing my contract from the dealership there is a page that states the vehicle has no airbags.The airbags not being present means the have been deployed due to a collision, right? Im concerned that the vehicle is not the vehicle aligned with the vin. Visually inspecting ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 10, 2025
Front passenger seat belt/SRS lights flashing and staying on. I recently gave someone a ride and when they adjusted the seat/seat belt these lights on the dash came on and will not go off. My guess it is the SRS/seatbelt/seat pretensioner.
Incident date: Feb 6, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The dealer was made aware of the failure; however, the contact was informed that parts were not available. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (Air... Read more
Incident date: Nov 5, 2023
I was driving south on [XXX] north of [XXX] when a blue Dakota pulled out in front of me. I did not have time to stop or swerve. The Emblem of the airbag cut my left hand and fingers, tore the tendon in my thumb and hand, and sprained my left wrist. It also bruised my right thumb, bruised my heart, and collapsed the bottom of my lungs. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION... Read more
Crash
1 injured
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS
(2023) - AIR BAGS
Mar 18, 2025
Incident date: Jun 3, 2024
The contact owned a 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that while his stepdaughter was driving at 40 MPH during rainy conditions, the railroad track poles were lowered. The contact's daughter crashed the front of the vehicle into the railroad poles. There were no warning lights illuminated. The driver’s and passenger’s side air bags did not deploy. The vehicle came to a stop when the... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Mar 4, 2025
I have attempted to have a recall repaired on the defected PODS sensor and everytime I have tried the dealership says that the part is on back order. I have had the airbag light come on multiple times with no remedy for the issue.
Incident date: Nov 11, 2023
This is a follow up to a compliant that I put in early this year or late last year. There is not much discussion of the failed occupancy sensor for the passenger front airbag on this website, but it does get discussed online more often. I am not sure why Infiniti says the entire seat must be replaced ($5,000 or so) rather than just replacing the sensor. Also, the seat has now been discontinued.... Read more
Incident date: Mar 21, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Chrysler 300. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact became aware that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the seat belt module had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not... Read more
Incident date: Mar 17, 2025
The contact owned a 2020 BMW X5. The contact stated while the contact's mother was driving at an undisclosed speed, another vehicle attempted to make a left turn and crashed head-on into the front driver and passenger side of the vehicle. The driver's air bag did not deploy. During the impact, the driver's head hit the windshield causing it to crack. The police and paramedics arrived on the scen... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Mar 1, 2025
For about 1 year now when there is someone in the passenger seat the car will randomly stop recognizing the seat is occupied and deactivate the air bags on the passenger side front. I took the car to bmw where it was diagnosed as a faulty seat mat. I called bmw corporate to try to get this issue resolved and they were unable to cover it under any warranty. After the battery replacement the car has... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2025
My air bag light keeps coming on saying to service it. I saw the recalled issues before with the other Acadias and was thinking maybe my year model would need to be looked into as well. I haven't ever had a wreck for them to come out but the light comes on frequently.
Incident date: Mar 1, 2025
I was driving in normal conditions and as i went over railroad tracks, which were not overly bumpy, the driverside headrest hit me in the back of my head while driving. It appereared to be popped out. Took it to our mechanic and the plastic that holds the retainer pin is broken, which caused the headrest to spring forward.
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2021) - AIR BAGS
Mar 18, 2025
Incident date: Sep 13, 2024
Steering locks while driving
Incident date: Dec 17, 2024
Dodge was not able to replace the passenger airbag. No dealers could replace it. I had the passenger airbag replaced by a Mercedes Sprinter dealership and was reimbursed by Dodge. The problem is they can not remove the recall from NHTSA. I still get email and mail telling me to replace the passenger airbag. I've called 4 times over 2 years. Each time they say they'll fix it. It still shows t... Read more
Incident date: Dec 12, 2022
The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Rav4. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. 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... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2025
The contact owned a 2024 Hyundai Palisade. The contact stated while driving at approximately 65 MPH, an 18-wheeler crashed while driving approximately 85-90 MPH into the rear end of the vehicle and impacted the vehicle approximately 4 times including the passenger side. As a result, the vehicle ricocheted into a concrete barrier. The contact did not recollect where the vehicle came to a stop. The ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Mar 4, 2025
The contact owns a 1995 Toyota T100. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 45-50 MPH, the driver's side air bag unexpectedly deployed. The air bag warning light had illuminated intermittently. The contact stated that there was no impact to the vehicle that could have caused the air bag to deploy. The contact sustained bruising to the left arm, chest, and stomach, but medical atte... Read more
1 injured
MERCEDES-BENZ
GLC 300
(2018) - AIR BAGS
Mar 17, 2025
Incident date: Mar 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Rav4 Hybrid. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (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 not made aware of the issue. The contact ha... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2023) - AIR BAGS
Mar 17, 2025
Incident date: Mar 17, 2025
I was backing out of my driveway and was putting the car in Drive when the airbag located in my steering wheel deployed without a reason. The car has not been inspected by anyone as of today. I was told there was a warning but that it was not of immediate attention in November of 2024.
1 injured
Incident date: Mar 14, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Lexus RX450H. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (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. The contact had not expe... Read more
Incident date: Mar 14, 2025
There used to be no sufficient clearance between the drivers knee airbag and the brake pedal. I wear steel toe boots for work and my foot just barely fits between the brake pedal and the airbag box. Several times it’s gotten hung up and I had trouble getting to the brake. In a panic situation the could be disastrous. I’ve checked in other model trucks and there is plenty of clearance.
Incident date: Mar 17, 2024
Error message alerted to maintenance needed and the air bag light has turned on and remained on. Also said message that front assist inls unavailable.
Incident date: Feb 24, 2025
The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Murano. The contact stated that while closing the rear liftgate door, the front driver’s and passenger’s side air bags inadvertently deployed. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local independent mechanic where it remained pending a diagnostic test. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was no... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2022) - AIR BAGS
Mar 17, 2025
Incident date: Feb 3, 2025
Took car in and dealership kept it. Recall indicated that parts were available, however, dealership says that because there's additional fraying of wires, they don't have the parts. When I contacted Kia corporate, they confirmed that they have release of parts indicated as "TBD." According to NHTSA records, they should have the parts but they say they don't and can't indicate when parts will be... Read more
Incident date: Mar 4, 2025
The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V075000 (Power Train); 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 contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted to 1st gear, the... Read more
Incident date: Mar 7, 2025
I bought the car on Dec 20th 2024. The dealership informed me of the recall and turned off the passenger side airbag. I returned to the dealership as scheduled about 2 weeks later. When I went to pick up my car after work the service center said they couldn't fix the problem because the airbag didn't exist and sent me on my way. I tried calling the sales person but had to leave a message. There ha... Read more
Incident date: Mar 14, 2025
During a normal drive on city road, the right side airbag and copilot passenger seat airbag both activate with no collision or agitation of the vehicle. Vehicle was sent to dealership for inspection; data transmitted to Honda USA. Honda USA replied that it is normal for airbag to activate even if there is no collision; Honda said even a speed bump could activate the airbag. Honda has refused to in... Read more
Incident date: Feb 20, 2025
Lost connection with the restraint control module. I have 97,000 miles on my truck., and the air bags module malfunctioned at the same time. Now I am a bit worried about driving my truck.
Incident date: Mar 16, 2025
Instrument panel showed "Front Left Malfunction Service Required ". I believe it says bad grounding circuit due to rust accumulation.
Incident date: Mar 15, 2025
I have owned the car for 2 years, purchased a 2018 Q5 from an Audi dealer. Within the first year, my thermostat failed causing the car to lose power and turn off while driving with my newborn baby. I also received the passenger airbag alert daily, which I did see there was a recall for this prior to buying the car. I also received the “add a quart of oil” message about 3 months after an oil ch... Read more