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 191,761 complaints - component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Incident date: Mar 24, 2026
I believe the passenger seat occupant sensing and airbag issues from recall 16V507 have not been fixed. I am still having issues related to it, even though I had it fixed.
Incident date: Nov 19, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Nissan Leaf. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V700000 (Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer was contacted several times. 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 ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 10, 2025
While the vehicle was off and in my garage, the vehicle started on its own and was idling at an extremely high RPM. I was the only person home, the keys were out of reach on a key rack and had not been driven yet for the day. I walked into the garage and found my vehicles engine running at a high RPM and all the electrical displays within the vehicle were compleltely off with only the engine runni... Read more
Incident date: Mar 27, 2026
Every once in a while, on a regular basis, ALL the dash warning lights will light up and alarm, as if every single feature of the car is in an emergency state. This may continue (every time the car is started) for days, or weeks, and then it resolves of its own accord, with no predictability. The safety issue is that if something really *IS* wrong with one of these systems, we would be unaware of... Read more
GRAND DESIGN
LINEAGE
(2025) - ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Mar 27, 2026
Incident date: Oct 30, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle started losing automotive power. The check engine warning light started flashing and then remained illuminated, and the vehicle failed to accelerate above 15 MPH. The contact stated that the battery was drained and showed only one bar of battery charge on the instrument panel. The contact state... Read more
Incident date: Jan 12, 2026
My vehicle lost power as I was driving after warnings from the electrical system. The vehicle was towed to a Hyundai dealership where it was diagnosed with ICCU failure. The ICCU system was replaced by dealer.
Incident date: Mar 23, 2026
On 2022 - 2024 Toyota Tundra models, the vehicles are experiencing an issue where the fuel sensor will reset the digital and analog fuel displays back to showing a full tank without adding fuel to the tank. On my vehicle, the reset has been occurring around the 380 mile distance to empty level. I see numerous other reports about individuals experiencing the same issue. I believe this is a defect a... Read more
Incident date: Feb 25, 2026
Instrument panel cluster dashboard failure, found a massive recall online for Wranglers 2018-2024 for this issue, called dealer who informed us our VIN was not under this recall, but we have a Wranger 2019 with the same issue so should definitely qualify. Called JEEP who informed us our VIN was not under this recall and they won’t do anything about it. This issue is deemed a SAFETY HAZZARD per... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2022
1. The Hybrid Battery , yes, Jeep is at dealer since 3/12/25. After daily calls to get updates, including voicemails and emails to service rep and Manager several times, Finally was advised on 3/25/26 (13 days) that it needs the part and will be at least 4-6 weeks more, no loaner, no info, nothing else was provided other then to call Jeep cares to file a complaint--you can imagine how that went-... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2026
The vehicle was purchased approximately one month before this incident and was represented as inspected. While driving on the highway at approximately 65 mph, the vehicle suddenly exploded near the exhaust area. The engine then began smoking and caught fire. The brakes did not work, and the doors locked, preventing the driver from pulling over normally. The driver had to jump out of the moving veh... Read more
Fire
3 injured
Incident date: Mar 8, 2026
Tailgate opens on its own after parking truck. No buttons inside or on the key fob are pressed and the tailgate randomly opens. Caused the battery to drain as well.
Incident date: Mar 23, 2026
This vehicle had an open safety recall at the time the dealership sold it to me. The recall existed before the sale and the dealership knew or should have known about it. The dealer submitted loan paperwork and accepted funding but never delivered the vehicle to me. I was not informed of the open recall before signing. This is a safety and compliance issue involving a dealer selling a vehicle with... Read more
Incident date: Jan 31, 2026
The vehicle exhibits multiple critical safety defects that pose a severe risk to my life and the lives of my children. Most notably, the steering system performs sudden, unintended maneuvers and the steering wheel moves with dangerous abruptness without driver input. Additionally, severe electrical failures frequently prevent the doors from opening or the vehicle from powering down, creating a hig... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2024) - ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Mar 27, 2026
Incident date: Mar 27, 2026
The driver and passenger sliding door power lock actuator is not operating for my wife's 2017 Dodge Grand Caravan with about 44,000 miles. There is a Warranty Bulletin, number D-25-03, dated January 30, 2025 that extended the warranty to coverage to 10 years/ 100,000 miles. My wife's car should have been included in the cars with the problem and it is not included in the cars affected by the probl... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2020) - ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Mar 27, 2026
Incident date: Mar 20, 2026
Driving on highway, "Service Hybrid Electric Vehicle System" warning came on, vehicle lost all propulsion, needed to pull over on road and restart the engine. Almost got into accident with car behind me because of sudden power loss.
Incident date: Mar 27, 2026
Vehicle suffered acute catastrophic engine failure. No dash lights alerted me. Engine just started rattling and smoking. Dealership it was towed to pulled codes p0302 p0304 p0012 p0014 tried to blame it on us despite known coolant intrusion issue
Incident date: Jan 10, 2025
ICCU completely went out. Had to have the ICCU replaced with an upgraded one, fuse replaced and software was updated.
Incident date: Sep 28, 2025
Iccu failure and defective drivers seat. Was covered under warranty but took over a year to finish all defective parts. Still not 100%
Incident date: Mar 27, 2026
When I bought the jeep from the first week on air bag light won’t come on I will notice it flickers but if it does come on it’s for a few minutes and that is it. Ok next thing the seat belts up front and back almost cut you so tight you can’t move and you not even be driving and the seatbelt will just take spells that really hurt my girls don’t even like riding in it anymore. It’s been h... Read more
TOYOTA
RAV4 PRIME
(2023) - ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Mar 27, 2026
Incident date: Dec 29, 2025
This vehicle comes with idle stop. Many times especially at red light, the idle stop switches off the engine but then it does not restart automatically. We have to switch off the car and then restart it again. This takes some time. In the meantime, it is the panic with cars honking behind us.
VOLKSWAGEN
ID.4
(2021) - ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Mar 27, 2026
Incident date: Mar 13, 2026
Fue remolcado barrías veces , no arrancaba , se apagaba totalmente , multiples reparaciones , recall sin resolver , pérdida de uso y de confianza
ALFA ROMEO
GIULIA
(2020) - ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Mar 27, 2026
Incident date: Mar 26, 2026
Car startup just fine and drive without issues but sometimes center console freezes or randomly restarts and when that happen even speedometer stays at zero even car moving about 30-40mph. It stays in frozen state for about 2-3min or unless I force restart it by holding power button for about 10-20seconds. I have seen backup camera sometimes failed to display images which supposed to resolved in l... Read more
Incident date: Mar 25, 2026
Onstar keeps running and failed. Nothing works on car without it. Its dead after shutting it off. And no safety features work.
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Mar 23, 2026
The vehicle experienced multiple electrical and safety-related malfunctions while driving. On several occasions the instrument cluster and vehicle screens suddenly went black while the vehicle was in motion, causing loss of critical driving information such as speed and warnings. In another incident the vehicle displayed a “High Voltage Malfunction” warning while driving and the vehicle shut... Read more
Incident date: Mar 25, 2026
The engine stop/start system on my 2016 Honda Accord, VIN [XXX], has stalled and shut off without warning in active Los Angeles traffic dozens of times since September 2025. The vehicle loses all power mid-drive with no warning — no dashboard lights, no warning sounds — leaving me unable to accelerate or respond to surrounding traffic. The condition has progressively worsened and now includes ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2025
My vehicle has now experienced a serious electrical malfunction a few times, including one again today. Each time, the car suddenly loses power and drops to 40 mph, the steering wheel shakes, and all warning lights come on. This is extremely dangerous and puts my safety—and the safety of others—at risk. The Car is Brand new and has about 1200 miles. I took the car in previously, and the dealer... Read more
Incident date: Jan 14, 2026
The roof leaks in the LH rear of the van under the roof strip thru a bolt or bad seam rfom a bad build causing the Power Unit Liftgate Module PN - 74970-THR-A11 to get wet and sit in water causing a short to the battery, The sliding doors to fail and the rear liftgate to fail which is a safety hazard if someone cannot exit the vehicle in an emergency. It is also a fire potential. This should be a ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 25, 2025
As I was driving,making a right turn and with out warning my steering wheel before excessively hard to control, turn. Because of the sudden wheel tightening as I was making this right turn I almost collided with a vehicle in next lane on highway. My brakes were in good standing but I had to really step down on my brakes to gain control of the steering wheel. I put in the shop and got a multi point... Read more
Incident date: Mar 5, 2026
I was driving at 25 mph when I heard a loud pop come from the rear of the car and subsequent warning message came up on the dashboard - "STOP VEHICLE AND CHECK POWER SUPPLY". In an electric vehicle this is a very alarming message to see. I was fortunate to be close to home so I was able to drive home and call roadside assistance for my car to be towed to the dealer. The vehicle has since been diag... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2026
On [XXX], at approximately 4:10 PM, I was at the McDonald’s drive-through located at [XXX] and [XXX] in Springfield, Missouri. I was stopped at the final service window. As I pulled away from the window, I approached a 90-degree left turn heading south. I removed my foot from the accelerator pedal to allow the truck to coast slowly around the corner, as the area is heavily pedestrian and require... Read more
Incident date: Jan 6, 2025
I was charging at a Tesla Supercharge using the OEM Porsche converter and my car experienced a catastrophic electrical fault. The charge completed but the charger was hard to pull out and then my car had battery fault errors and said it needed immediate service. I took it to the dealer and they pulled these error codes and said severage battery componets had failed including a failed high-voltage ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 4, 2025
AWD functionality of car broken. Had to get traction motor replaced.
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2020) - ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Mar 26, 2026
Incident date: Feb 12, 2026
My complaint is that I was sold a dangerously defective vehicle with a known, unrepaired “stop driving” airbag safety recall, was not warned about the deadly risk, and am now being told to move and tow the car in direct contradiction to official safety instructions. ### Factual background - The vehicle I purchased has a Takata‑type airbag safety recall that carries a formal “do not drive... Read more
Incident date: Dec 15, 2025
-Vehicle would not start several times, this occurred just after purchasing, then battery was replaced and it occurred again over the course of 8 months. -A few days ago after getting the jeep to start, the RPM would not go >2 and the speed would not increase >20 MPH. This happened on PA220 with speed limit of 40MPH causing a near-wreck when pulling out onto the road and not being able to accelera... Read more
Incident date: Jul 10, 2019
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at 25 MPH, he was involved in a head-on collision with another vehicle. The contact stated the front end of his vehicle impacted the front driver-side wheel of the other vehicle. The contact stated that not a single air bag deployed during the impact, and no brake collision warning was activated. No warning lights illuminate... Read more
Crash
1 injured
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2015) - ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Mar 26, 2026
Incident date: Mar 3, 2026
While driving my Ram Rebel 2020, the eTorque alternator failed, causing the vehicle to lose electrical power and forcing me to be towed. This posed a serious safety risk, including potential loss of power assist for steering and braking. The issue was addressed only by purchasing a replacement eTorque alternator part through eBay at approximately four times the normal price, because Ram is curren... Read more
Incident date: Mar 22, 2026
I purchased this vehicle in June 2024 as a demo vehicle with approximately 7,000 miles on it. Within one month of ownership, the vehicle began experiencing serious problems that have continued to worsen. The vehicle currently has approximately 34,000 miles, and the issues have been ongoing from the time of purchase through the present. Since purchasing the vehicle, it has been in the dealership mu... Read more
Incident date: Dec 11, 2025
I own a 2020 Kia Niro PHEV. In October 2024, my dealership performed Technical Service Bulletin SA512 on my vehicle addressing the inverter coolant system. I was not informed at that time that the issue was likely to recur or that periodic maintenance would be required. In March 2026, the inverter coolant warning light returned. I brought the vehicle back to the dealership, where I was told the co... Read more
Incident date: Feb 16, 2026
The SRS spiral cable assembly (clock spring), located directly behind the driver's instrument display in the steering column, is producing an intermittent crackling noise. The component is available for inspection upon request. Safety risk: The clock spring is a safety-critical component responsible for airbag deployment, horn operation, and steering wheel controls. A malfunctioning clock spring ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 23, 2026
"The 8-speed Dual Clutch Transmission and engine (Cylinder 4) failed on my 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz SEL Premium AWD with 37,780 miles. Both components are available for inspection upon request. While merging onto the highway in Sport Mode, the vehicle experienced violent shuddering and noise so severe I believed I had multiple flat tires simultaneously — specifically both front and rear passenger... Read more
Incident date: Mar 26, 2026
My horn started to honk on its own the front windshield wipers will not stop and the turn signals does not work anymore I was told the clock spring needs replaced there is a recall on google but now showing with my vehicle
Incident date: Mar 19, 2026
Car has been asleep after parking and will not wake up leaving all electrical components dead. GM has not been able to repair and unfortunately this has occurred 5 times including twice the month of March, 2026. Having a car parked in an unsafe location and not being able to move it very unsettling. After 30-60 minutes the car will start back up and operate normally.
Incident date: Dec 22, 2025
Hazard lights are inoperable this will be the second time going in for repair but 4th time it has occured. It also makes SOS inoperable and the roof lights. This is a safety concern that has not caused an accident but is a big issue since hazard lights are used when accident or emergencies occur and they are inoperable and this has been a frequent issue
Incident date: Mar 14, 2026
While charging my 2023 Porsche Taycan 4S at an Electrify America station, white smoke began emitting from the front wheel/charging port area. The vehicle also produced a burning odor inside the cabin. I immediately stopped charging and unplugged the vehicle. The smoke ceased within approximately 1–2 minutes. The vehicle was towed to an authorized Porsche dealership. Initial explanation from th... Read more
Incident date: Mar 12, 2025
Vehicle caught fire and completely burned up. It had no problems, had been serviced and recently inspected for emissions and safety in Virginia.
Fire
Incident date: Oct 19, 2025
A recall repair was completed in 2023 related to an overheating warning. Recently, the same issue has returned. The engine cooling fan runs at a very high speed for several minutes and then shuts off, even when the vehicle is cold or operating under normal conditions. An overheating warning message appeared briefly while driving, but the temperature gauge remained within the normal range. This su... Read more
Incident date: Mar 24, 2026
The vehicle is under a safety recall with no permanent fix and is restricted to 80% charging. Even with 8-% charging it is prone to catch fire risks. This reduces usability and raises safety concerns. I