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.

2,245,377 Total Complaints

140,173 Reported Crashes

56,794 Reported Fires

8,580 Reported 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

How to Read NHTSA Consumer Complaints › How NHTSA Investigations Work › Used Car: 7 Recall Checks to Run First › The Takata Airbag Recall: Full Story › OBD-II Codes Explained › All Articles ›

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Showing 191,761 complaints - component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Incident date: Aug 7, 2026

On multiple occasions, the steering wheel became stiff or locked while driving or during start-up, multiple dashboard warning lights illuminated, and the vehicle could not be shifted from Park to Drive. This occurred repeatedly since the vehicle was purchased. The dealer inspected the vehicle multiple times; on the first attempts they could not duplicate the issue. On a later visit, the vehicle di... Read more

Incident date: Jul 31, 2026

The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal odor outside the vehicle. The contact inspected the vehicle and became aware that there was smoke coming from the battery, and there was battery fluid leaking from the battery. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and was diagnosed with battery failure. The contact was informed ... Read more

Incident date: Aug 7, 2026

The contact owns a 2018 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked with her son inside the vehicle, the instrument panel went blank. No warning light was illuminated. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the instrument cluster needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure had occurred severa... Read more

Incident date: Aug 4, 2026

The contact owns a 2024 Kia Telluride. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V430000 (Seats); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle experienced a failure to start. The contact charged the remote battery pack, and a technician jump-started the vehicle at the residence. While attempting to schedule a... Read more

Incident date: Aug 11, 2026

On 8/10/26, my Tesla experienced a complete low-voltage electrical failure while parked at my home. I owned the vehicle 34 days and put 1,054 miles on it after purchasing it directly from Tesla as a pre-owned vehicle. I entered the driver's seat, and closed the driver's door. The center touchscreen was completely black, the vehicle would not power on, and the Tesla mobile app could not control th... Read more

Incident date: Aug 6, 2026

The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was towed to the residence and jump-started. The vehicle was then driven to a dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the grounding straps were damaged, and one strap was severely corroded and fractured, while the other strap was severely corroded. The dealer determined tha... Read more

Incident date: Aug 12, 2026

The camera does not activate when the car is put into reverse. It also doesn't activate when you are parking the car. The parking camera doesn't show on the screen at all. The recall on this item was repaired on my car but didn't fix the issue and the dealer refused to service it further without significant cost. This is a fundamental safety issue that should be addressed by recall and repaired wi... Read more

Incident date: Aug 12, 2026

While traveling with my wife and two toddlers over the July 4th holiday weekend, the 12 volt battery on my 2025 GMC Hummer EV failed completely at approximately 7,500 miles and five months of ownership. The vehicle would not accept a jump start and was disabled where it sat, stranding my family. AAA installed a replacement 12 volt battery roadside at a cost of $600. Following the battery replacem... Read more

Incident date: Feb 6, 2026

Incident date: Aug 6, 2026

I have a 2023 GMC Yukon AT4. The OnStar/telematics system stopped working. The blue OnStar button does not function and the vehicle no longer communicates with the myGMC app, resulting in loss of connected and OnStar services. A GMC dealership diagnosed a failed OnStar/telematics module and advised that the module must be replaced at a cost of approximately $1,200. I am concerned because this fail... Read more

Incident date: Aug 12, 2026

The contact owns a 2026 BMW X5. The contact stated that after several days of not driving the vehicle, the messages "Starter Battery Low," "Starter Battery Severely Discharged”, and “You can Still Drive - However Power-Consuming Functions Disabled to Preserve the Battery," were displayed on the BMW App. The contact stated that the battery was severely drained after being fully recharged. In ad... Read more

Incident date: Aug 5, 2026

On August 10, 2026, my 2024 INFINITI QX60 unexpectedly locked while the Intelligent Key was still inside the vehicle, trapping my two young children inside on a hot day. The Intelligent Key was inside my purse on the front passenger seat. The purse also contained my phone, house keys, and another vehicle key fob. There were no large metallic objects in the purse. I was closing the passenger-side... Read more

Incident date: Jun 17, 2026

While driving my 2026 Toyota Camry LE Hybrid at approximately 10 mph in a parking lot, the vehicle accelerated on its own without any input from me. I applied hard braking to bring the vehicle under control. No collision occurred. The specific component or system that failed is UNKNOWN — I suspect the speed control, powertrain, or electrical throttle system, but this has not yet been diagnosed. ... Read more

Incident date: Aug 1, 2026

My 2020 Audi A4 has an open safety recall campaign. Audi Corporate and my local dealership are formally refusing to perform the recall remedy unless I pay over $2,000 out-of-pocket to replace a broken J949 SOS Telematics Module. The manufacturer claims the module is separate from the recall, but its total failure physically blocks their diagnostic tools from applying the mandatory safety update. C... Read more

Incident date: Aug 9, 2026

See attached file

Incident date: Jul 15, 2025

The Subaru's Starlink Radio has completely delaminated on the layer between the display and the digitizer, which does not allow the radio to be controlled in any way, shape, or form. This means that the touch screen is not working anymore, and because the radio is so delaminated, whenever the car is put into reverse during the daytime, the backup camera is nowhere near visible enough to be seen sa... Read more

Incident date: Jul 4, 2026

The contact owns a 2024 Buick Encore GX. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact received a phone call and the infotainment screen and the display for the weather and climate control system below the infotainment screen darkened and then became inoperative. The buttons below and around the center console remained operable; however, the contact was unable to see w... Read more

Incident date: Aug 3, 2026

The contact owns a 2024 Honda Ridgeline. The contact stated that while stopping at a red light, the Auto START feature failed to restart the vehicle, and the vehicle started rolling backwards. The brake pedal was depressed, and the PUSH to START button was depressed, and the vehicle was restarted. The dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer w... Read more

Incident date: Jul 23, 2026

On August 11, 2026 at approximately 5:17 PM, the vehicle was traveling about 25–30 MPH and approaching a stop sign. The driver began braking normally, but the vehicle did not adequately slow despite repeatedly pressing the brake pedal. The vehicle continued completely through the stop sign and intersection. Fortunately, no cross traffic was present and no collision occurred. After passing throu... Read more

Incident date: Aug 1, 2025

Ongoing battery and or electrical issues. Replace battery 3 times in 2 years. Car loses power. Replace Body Control module, tail gate lock. Car was in repair for 2 months and Never told an exact reason except there is an electrical gremlin. Dealer and manufacture could not determine cause. I have videos. Dealer was not interested in viewing. Only doing the scheduled service. Which did not fix or... Read more

Incident date: Aug 12, 2026

The 3.5-inch Instrument Panel Cluster went completely black while operating the vehicle, causing a total loss of speedometer and critical safety indicators (violating FMVSS 101). Concurrently, the engine computer limited vehicle performance to 3,000 RPM (limp mode). The vehicle exhibits the exact failure mode detailed in NHTSA Campaign 24V-652 (Jeep Recall 30B), but the manufacturer has not yet ad... Read more

Incident date: Aug 12, 2026

The contact owns a 2025 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle was started and the doors were unlocked and the contact walked over to the front passenger’s side door to put her purse inside the vehicle; however, after the contact walked over to the rear driver’s side door to place a child into the car seat, the doors inadvertently locked and the child ... Read more

Incident date: Aug 11, 2026

The contact owns a 2018 BMW 330E. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine overheated, and the vehicle became inoperable. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The message "Drivetrain - Check Soon" was displayed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and was diagnosed with engine failure, melted cooling hoses, and starter failure. The vehicle was repaired b... Read more

Incident date: May 1, 2026

The contact owns a 2022 Ford Edge. The contact stated that after purchasing the vehicle, she was notified of an unknown recall requiring a software update. The software update was completed. The contact stated that while driving on several occasions at various speeds, the infotainment screen went black, and the contact was unable to access the heat, A/C, or the radio. The contact stated that when ... Read more

Incident date: Dec 24, 2025

The entire dashboard goes blank. No radio, no camera's no telepone connection etc.. 2024 Nissan Rogue SL. After driving a few miles the dashboard info center turns back on. This has happened at least 3 times. I was curious because 655K Camrys are being recalled for the same problem. Most likely the same software is used in both automobiles.

Incident date: Jul 29, 2026

I have a 2024 Hyundai Tuscon SLE that I purchased new and several months ago there was a recall on the trailer hitch wiring. I took the car to Hyundai and they removed the wiring harness hitch due to a fire danager. Todate I have not received a replacement hiring harness, so my vehicle is now useless for pulling a trailer for several months. (The spring and summer months are when I use this the... Read more

Incident date: May 29, 2026

The contact owns a 2025 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V059000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM); 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. Th... Read more

Incident date: Aug 6, 2026

Vehicle was serviced to remediate Recall 271- backup camera replacement in January, 2025. In June 2026, vehicle is exhibiting the same issue. Rear camera is non functional in the following ways: 1. Vehicle is shifted to reverse, backup camera does not function; 2. Vehicle is in park backup camera button is pressed, backup camera does not function.

Incident date: Aug 7, 2026

Since buying the vehicle, the 12-volt battery has been consistently losing charge unless I connect it to a trickle charger. I took the vehicle to the dealer for evaluation, but after testing they told me they found nothing wrong with the charging system. Despite that, the problem continues. At present, the battery state of charge is below 20 percent, which is very concerning on a newly purchased ... Read more

Incident date: May 14, 2026

On [XXX] approx [XXX] PM, my 2023 BMW 740i (VIN [XXX], 46,093 mi, software 03/2026.30) suddenly accelerated on its own with no accelerator input from me. I was driving under 30 mph in Odessa, TX, shortly after making a left turn from [XXX] onto [XXX]. Once I felt the acceleration, I gradually braked while checking the HUD, which confirmed cruise control was NOT engaged. I also confirmed the accele... Read more

Incident date: Aug 4, 2026

The contact owns a 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 5. The contact stated that while driving on the freeway, the vehicle shut off unexpectedly. The vehicle was coasted to the side of the road and parked. Moments later, the vehicle was restarted, and the vehicle drove normally. The contact stated that the failure had reoccurred on several occasions, and the vehicle was taken to the dealer each time, but the caus... Read more

Incident date: Aug 12, 2026

The contact owns a 2025 Acura MDX. The contact stated that while the vehicle was stopped at a stoplight, the START/STOP system failed to operate as designed and the vehicle turned off unintendedly. The vehicle was restarted to continue driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who replaced the starter and battery, and other unknown parts were also replaced. The failure reoccurred once while id... Read more

Incident date: May 9, 2025

I went to the store, came home , parked and turned off the car. Went to go outside about 10 minutes ,maybe. Black smoke coming from right front. By the time i grabbed the keys and fire extinguisher there were flames coming from the engine compartment

Fire

Incident date: Jul 12, 2026

The contact owns a 2024 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that the Headlight System Malfunction, Pre-collision System Malfunction, Road Sign Assist (RSA), and Lane Tracing Assist (LTA) warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to diagnose the vehicle. The contact stated that the remedy for Special Service Campaign: 26TC03, which addressed an incorrect MAF S... Read more

Incident date: Aug 10, 2026

Software issue: all screens go black without warning while driving. No access to speed, car temperature, a real safety issue. It’s like driving blind complete loss of controls. It was 98 degrees in Florida and suddenly the heater was blasting heat. My son, a passenger was unable to turn it off.

Incident date: Aug 7, 2026

My new vehicle was stuck in park the dealership replaced a control module then a gear shift assembly and now some kind of brake switch and im nervous that the vehicles is unsafe. The dealership has not been letting me know much I've had to call and they won't give me any paperwork.

Incident date: Aug 12, 2026

Back up camera lines not working shortly after purchase. Fault code shows faulty or corroded wiring.

Incident date: Aug 11, 2026

Check engine light on 2026 ram RHO Ram Dealerships selling trucks when they know have electrical problems coming off the assembly line.

Incident date: Aug 8, 2026

Check engine light was electrical failure truck has been in the shop for a week now .

Incident date: Aug 1, 2026

While driving at approximately 35 mph on a surface street with my wife and five-year-old son in the vehicle, the electric power steering system failed and steering assist was reduced. The instrument panel simultaneously displayed and cycled through multiple warnings including "Electric Power Steering System Problem — Steering Assist Reduced," "Brake System — Brake Hold System Problem," Vehicle... Read more

Incident date: Mar 14, 2026

On [XXX] at about [XXX] pm at 12,488 miles and 67% charge, I was pulling into traffic from [XXX] onto [XXX]. As I accelerated into the gap in traffic, the car momentarily lost traction. Initially, the traction control system intervened and restored traction. Moments later, the car lost traction a second time. However, the second time the car lost traction, the entire car seemed to shut down. The d... Read more

Incident date: Aug 1, 2025

The door closed sensor fails intermittently. This causes the car to sound an alarm while driving, prevents locking of the doors, and results in automated sudden braking at low speeds, such as in heavy stop & go traffic, causing a significant crash hazard. When it engages in the emergency braking routine, it shifts out of gear, so you can’t prevent a rear collision by simply accelerating, you mus... Read more

Incident date: Aug 10, 2026

I was at my granddaughters and I went to leave and it was like dead except the wrench came up in the dash panel , I waited before calling my husband and I went back to try and start it again and it started no wrench in the display or anything , this was in February 2026. In March of 2026 I was in the middle turn lane on [XXX] by Tuttle, Ok. And it stalled as I was trying to turn and would not move... Read more

Incident date: Mar 23, 2005

My 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 experienced a complete and sudden loss of drive power at high speed, generating open fault code DTC P1A9096 (Internal ICCU Failure) [24V-204]. This failure completely matches the component and safety hazard profile under active Federal Safety Recalls 24V-204 and 24V-868 [24V-204].The vehicle was repaired at an authorized retail facility, Hyundai of El Cajon. The facility's ... Read more

Incident date: Feb 20, 2026

Vehicle caused a SEVERE drivability condition while at highway speeds by sputtering, losing power and auxiliary driver's systems becoming degraded. We were able to drive the vehicle in limp mode to a near service station. They ran diagnostics and determined that there were multiple secondary events affecting the ADAS system. They also checked the battery and determined it was marginally good. We... Read more

Incident date: Jun 3, 2026

In September 2025, the manufacturer issued a component specific extended limited warranty(MINI ELW FRM 15Y/186M)acknowledging the Footwell Module (FRM) may fail after a 12-volt battery disconnect or power supply interruption. My vehicle was identified by VIN as affected. Beginning in 2021, my vehicle experienced recurring electrical failures consistent with FRM failure: three battery replacements ... Read more

Incident date: Aug 11, 2026

The vehicle's Connectivity Master Unit (CMU) / infotainment system has experienced a complete, permanent internal electronic failure, logged by Diagnostic Trouble Code DTC U3000:49 (Control Module Internal Electronic Failure). The main display screen is completely dark at all times and never powers on or responds. The unit is available for inspection upon request. This total hardware failure crea... Read more

Incident date: Jun 30, 2026

The dashboard is completely out. I cannot see my speed,know if my lights are working, cannot not know if there is an issue with the car, cannot see gas. Completely unsafe. Year, make, and model are under the recall # 30B but because my vin is not bringing it up it is not covered despite matching everything else and it is a safety issue.

Incident date: Aug 11, 2024

Over the past two weeks we have been experiencing issues with the Auto Idle Stop device on my 2025 Honda Passport. This has resulted in being temporarily stalled at several busy intersections. I have reported this issue to a Honda dealership where the issue was verified and it is scheduled for a Starter replacement when the part is received from back order.

Incident date: Aug 9, 2026

ABS Randomly turns on with the traction control light… All windows except for driver window will not go down and sometimes it does not unlock or lock sometimes. It started the beginning of 2022 and has got worst over the years. It is available for inspection. Safety has been and issue because whenever it rains it can lose control on the road haven’t had the money to fix it so don’t really dr... Read more

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Consumer Safety Complaints

What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?

How to interpret what you read

If you've experienced a defect

Read more from our blog