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: Mar 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, another vehicle failed to stop at a red light. Consequently, the other vehicle collided with the vehicle on the passenger's side door and front quarter panel, sending the vehicle careening and nearly tipping over before coming to a complete stop. The air bags did not deploy. No warning lights were... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jan 22, 2025
Car displaying an error air bag message. Other 2021 VW Atlases are showing as recalled for sensor mat and wiring harness but my VIN is not showing.
MERCEDES-BENZ
SPRINTER 2500
(2021) - AIR BAGS
Mar 5, 2025
Incident date: Mar 4, 2025
The contact owns a 2024 Tesla Cybertruck. The contact stated that while driving at 70 MPH with the "Full Self-Driving" (FSD) active, the vehicle ahead of the contact's vehicle abruptly slowed down. The contact began to notice that the vehicle failed to detect the vehicle slowing down and the contact attempted to manually stop the vehicle. The contact crashed into the vehicle which resulted in a th... Read more
Crash
3 injured
Incident date: Mar 2, 2025
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 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
Incident date: Mar 3, 2025
Driving vehicle on road and the accelerator pedal no longer working vehicle. coasted to the side. Car had to be towed. Vehicle cranking without problem but will not accelerate pedal goes to floor. At consideration of purchase of vehicle, car fax and all details about vehicle were viewed for possible purchase. Items on recall are now a concern as a safety issue.
Incident date: Feb 8, 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 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. Parts distribution... Read more
Incident date: Feb 27, 2025
I was getting off the highway and made a left turn. As I was accelerating the motor gentle cut off.. (You wouldnt even notice if you wasnt driving) Full Traffic was behind me, so luckily I was able to get out of the way and pull to shoulder. It was the day before Christmas and car hasn't ran since. Upon investigation I found the CEM was effected. When the car died I was in left hand lane and I ... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2016
Me and my fiancé had just picked the kids up from my mom’s. Got about 2 miles down the road and all of a sudden i heard a loud boom and a flash of light like a shot gun had went off in my ear. When I heard the boom my left side from my face to my hip felt like I had been hit. At the same time it happen with me it happen on the passenger side where my fiancé was sitting. I was able To pull to ... Read more
2 injured
Incident date: Feb 23, 2025
The contact owned a 2021 Toyota Rav4 Hybrid. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (AIR BAGS). The contact stated that while her son was driving down a hill at 25 MPH, the vehicle was rear-ended when the other vehicle's brakes failed to stop as intended. As a result, the contact's vehicle was pushed into oncoming traffic. The contact's son veered to the left, then c... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Nov 15, 2024
The contact's girlfriend owns a 2012 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated while starting. In addition, the contact attempted to jumpstart the vehicle; however, the vehicle failed to start. The check engine warning light was intermittently illuminated. The contact stated that during rainy weather, several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact scanned the vehi... Read more
Incident date: Mar 4, 2024
The airbag warning light randomly remains on. From what I understand this is a known issue as there has been previous recalls by Mini. This could potentially mean the airbag system is faulty and non-operational. Based on online searches, it seems like a lot of there problem are wiring problems though, bad connections. The previous recalls should be extended further, as there are other cars with th... Read more
Incident date: Feb 25, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Chrysler 300. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V198000 (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
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2021) - AIR BAGS
Mar 4, 2025
Incident date: Feb 16, 2025
I received notification via carfax, VW app, AND by mail about the passenger air bag faulty PODS system recall in September 2024. I was told by my local dealership there was no active fix for the issue at the time. I then had my 50k mile service completed in December 2024 the week before Christmas and the service department stated they still had not received a fix for the recall code and that it ... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ID.4
(2023) - AIR BAGS
Mar 3, 2025
Incident date: Jan 29, 2025
On [XXX] at 01:55 PM MT, I was stopped at a red traffic signal at [XXX] While waiting for the light to turn green to take left, a vehicle insured by GEICO, driven by [XXX] , hit my vehicle from little front and left side of my car (driver's side) when he was trying to take right turn in the [XXX] I was completely stationary and the accident was entirely caused by the other driver. The impac... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Oct 1, 2024
SRS Airbag System Malfunction light came on. After I got gas for the vehicle and got in start up this error popped up. I heard this is a common problem with these vehicles please have a recall to fix the problem
HYUNDAI
TUCSON HYBRID
(2025) - AIR BAGS
Mar 3, 2025
Incident date: Mar 2, 2025
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Soul. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 17V608000 (STEERING), 22V096000 (AIR BAGS) and 19V120000 (ENGINE, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING); however, the dealer and manufacturer informed the contact there were no recalls associated with the VIN. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2020
The contact owns a 2020 Dodge Charger. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V198000 (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. Parts distribution disconn... Read more
Incident date: Dec 20, 2024
The contact owned a 2019 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at low speeds in a parking area, she briefly lost control only coming to a stop after colliding with a light pole. The air bags did not deploy. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard and deemed a total loss by the contact's insurance provider. A police report was filed, a... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Dec 20, 2024
Shortly after purchasing my 2018 Nissan Altima (new), there was a recall concerning the passenger side airbag. I took the car to the dealer and had it serviced. Months later, there was a second recall and I took it back promptly; however, the dealer said that nothing was wrong. It was already serviced. I indicated that I had received a second notice. Some time passed, and the same airbag light in... Read more
MITSUBISHI
ECLIPSE CROSS
(2019) - AIR BAGS
Mar 3, 2025
Incident date: Jan 11, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Fiat 124 Spider. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V694000 (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
Incident date: Feb 25, 2025
The contact owned a 2019 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, he became aware that the vehicle was not responding to operator inputs—acceleration, braking, or steering. As a result, the contact briefly lost control of the vehicle, only coming to a complete stop after, running a stop sign, leaving the roadway, and colliding with a tree and ravine where it cam... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Dec 21, 2022
The contact owns a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bags warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed. The contact was informed that it would take three days to receive the diagnostic results. The vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 2500
(2024) - AIR BAGS
Mar 3, 2025
Incident date: Jul 17, 2024
I have been experiencing water intrusion with my vehicle, I first noticed it by a mildew smell. Acknowledged under Toyota’s Customer Support Program 22TE05. This water leak has led to multiple secondary issues, including: Interior water damage Clogged A/C drainage system Sunroof drainage issues I reported this issue to a Toyota, but they denied repairs under 22TE05, claiming the issue was only ... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2023) - AIR BAGS
Mar 3, 2025
Incident date: Feb 5, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Honda Accord. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V064000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer confirmed that parts were not yet available for the recall repair. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount... Read more
Incident date: Mar 2, 2025
I hit a car that went through a red light. Despite hitting him squarely, and my front end bending, the airbags did not deploy
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Oct 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Volkswagen Passat. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V834000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer confirmed that the parts to do the recall repair were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasona... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2025 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle crashed into a tree impacting the front of the vehicle, but the air bags did not deploy. In addition, the seat belt failed to retract during the crash. The front of the vehicle was severely damaged. The contact did not sustain injuries. The vehicle was towed to a collision center. A po... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Feb 19, 2025
This is a widespread safety issue that requires a recall! This is not isolated. Model 3 passenger airbags are at risk of not deploying. Car alert: Update Front Passenger Airbag to Maintain Compatibility with Front Passenger Seat Remedy: “Replace Front Passenger Airbag And Update Vehicle Configuration”
Incident date: Feb 4, 2021
Hello, My VIN is [XXX] and I have a 2014 Jeep Compass Latitude. I took my vehicle into the Jeep Dealership on Val Vista and Williamsfield Rd to have my airbag recall serviced. I picked up my vehicle and the airbag light was still on, I didn't think too much about it since it could have not been related to the airbag recall. However, I was later informed by pep boys and another mechanic that... Read more
Incident date: Feb 28, 2025
The air bag light randomly came on about two yeatago and never went off. The engine(turbo) has been having problems for two years now. I’ve been to the dealership several times over the year. I was almost hit by another vehicle because of slow take off
Incident date: Mar 1, 2025
Power train: at low idle or while slowing down, the car will lose power for a minute until you get on the accelerator and it all comes back on. Alternator had been replaced. And is going to be replaced again soon. Not sure if it's just a bad part. Power steering pump was replaced. The pulley seized. Unrelated. Lighting: third brake light constantly flickers. All Lighting including head lights f... Read more
Incident date: Mar 2, 2025
In an accident I was struck by another vehicle that swerved into my lane at a very high rate of speed. His vehicle struck my car on the drivers side front quater panel just after the head light and continued past the drivers door. Air bags failed to deploy causing injuries to my head and body. In a separate accident, head on collision the airbags failed in the front and side causing bodily injuri... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Feb 11, 2025
My airbag light suddenly came on this morning and my light blinking off for the airbag was blinking my whole trip to work. I've also had my catalytic converter replaced and my check engine warning still says their is an issue when everything has been replaced Lights on my mirrors also don't cut on when someone is in my blind spots the symbol is there but they don't light up My back up camera ha... Read more
Incident date: Feb 14, 2025
The passenger side airbag stays illuminated after the vehicle is started and continues to stay on as the vehicle is driven, never going off. General Motors have not issued a recall on this safety problem with the 2016 Cadillac CTS. My [XXX] address [XXX] . My phone number is [XXX] . INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Incident date: Dec 22, 2024
Constant overheating , I have replace the cooling system 3 times
Incident date: Feb 23, 2025
This is not connected with a specific crash in this vehicle. It is a defect with all vehicles with this seat. There is known common defect with the stitching on the side of the front seats covering the airbag. The stitching is designed to come apart if an airbag is deployed. The defective stitching deteriorates and falls apart. This exposes the airbag system in the seat. This occurs on all GM ve... Read more
Incident date: Dec 20, 2020
There was a safety recall for this airbag issue, and Toyota estimated the remedy can be available in Quarter 3, 2024, however, till date nothing was completed. Toyota failed to resolve this matter in a timely manner. Every time I ask the dealer, they say no remedy yet! This is very unacceptable. This is affecting my personal finance. I need this to be resolved ASAP. Thank you.
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2018) - AIR BAGS
Mar 1, 2025
Incident date: Jan 5, 2025
I have contacted several dealers on multiple occasions about getting this repair done and nothing ever happens. They always say the airbag is on back order.
Incident date: Jan 10, 2025
Car crash potential safety defect in my 2021 Toyota Corolla sedan , the driver defective air bag didn’t protect the driver from injuries. Passenger and back air bags deployed except the driver’s air bag, the driver was the only one in the car.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Feb 5, 2025
I have 5 recalls but have been told by the dealer that because my vehicle is a re-constructed title that recalls cannot be done. Is this true?
MICHELIN
PILOT SPORT 4S
(9999) - AIR BAGS
Feb 28, 2025
Incident date: Feb 10, 2025
The side curtain airbags deployed while I was sitting in the passenger's side of the car looking into the glove compartment for about ten minutes with the car being completely off and parked in the driveway. The Ignition was off and there was glitching and clicking sounds seconds before the airbags deployed. This could have happened at any point while driving on the street or the freeway. It could... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Nov 5, 2024
MY HYUNDAI HAS A LOOSE STEERING WHEEL WITH AN AIR BAG LIGHT ON IT. SO WHEN YOU DRIVE THE STEERING IS WEAK. I RECEIVED A NOTICE THAT THEIR WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE STEERING IN RECALL, BUT NOW ITS NOT FOUND. WHY? MY AIR BAG I BELIEVE IS NOT GOING TO WORK BECAUSE THE LIGHT IS ON FOR AIR BAG.
Incident date: Feb 12, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the air bag warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the air bag warning light intermittently illuminated while driving at various speeds. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was diagnosed with air bag light row #2 inflatable found on higher wire circuit installed, and the was fuse replaced. Ad... Read more
Incident date: Feb 12, 2025
I received notice of this recall June 2023. Today still no resolution. My car display often shows SERVICE AIRBAG SOON but I'm still waiting. Why should it take 2 years for a resolution?
Incident date: Feb 28, 2025
Airbag light keeps coming on and we take it in to be serviced and they say hey it shows low voltage so we tighten down your battery and that fixed it. Then we drive 100 miles and it's back on. Took it to a different dealer and they said the same thing. Another few hundred miles airbag light is on again. Putting my families lives in danger. When we bought this vehicle from Carmax that the same issu... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2018) - AIR BAGS
Feb 28, 2025
Incident date: Nov 7, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Outback. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V227000 (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 experi... Read more
Incident date: Feb 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2025 Volvo XC90. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the air bag light illuminated, and a message to return the vehicle to the dealer was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The vehicle was diagnosed with a software installation failure. The vehicle was repaired but the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer and re... Read more
Incident date: Feb 7, 2025
The contact owned a 2009 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at 45 MPH, the vehicle was turning the corner. It was unknown if any warning lights were illuminated. As a result, the vehicle was T-boned by a vehicle that was turning the corner, then crashed and the vehicle came to a stop at an unknown location. Most of the impact was received from the front passenge... Read more
Crash
2 injured