Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,215,138 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA — including 138,663 crashes, 56,255 fires, and 8,561 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 2,215,138 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 187,860 complaints — component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Incident date: May 6, 2026
The vehicle's Auto Idle Stop system shuts off the engine at stop lights and other low-speed stops and, on multiple occasions, fails to restart, and the AIS disable button is sticking. We disable AIS every single time we drive the vehicle, and on multiple occasions the button has re-engaged itself mid-drive, meaning the safety hazard cannot reliably be avoided even with the workaround Honda recomme... Read more
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2023) — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
May 6, 2026
Incident date: Jan 14, 2026
Door lock actuators, yes it is available for inspection. Doors cannot be locked or unlocked with a remote key fob or the interior power door locks. Lock defect poses a significant safety hazard in that a single or multiple doors may not lock at any time, whether the vehicle is on or off and despite actions or commands by the driver. The alleged defect is dangerous to passengers as it can cause uni... Read more
Incident date: May 4, 2026
My life turn signal and parking light stopped working, my problem is the whole headlight assembly needs to be replaced just because these two items don’t work. The dealer wants over $800 for the part. Why don’t they issue a warranty or a recall on this item? It’s too much to pay just because turn signal and parking light doesn’t work.
Incident date: Mar 1, 2026
1)Brakes were changed, rotors and pads. Brakes were bled 3 times and it still does not stop correctly. Even when the brakaes are on, it releases itself. 2)Truck keeps shuddering and loosing power. 3Electronics will not stay bluetoothed and it connects and disconnects all by itself all the time. Appears there are recalls on these 3 issues.
Incident date: May 6, 2026
The vehicle experienced a total electrical failure while driving. Dealer diagnosed the issue as a loose fuse box connector/power distribution connector. The vehicle and repaired component should be available for inspection through the Hyundai dealer service department. The vehicle suddenly lost all power while being driven on a public roadway. The engine shut off, dashboard went dark, and power st... Read more
Incident date: Feb 5, 2026
The contact owns a 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle unexpectedly decelerated to 25 MPH with a “Vehicle Will Shut Down” warning message displayed. The contact stated that the engine then began to shut down, and although the accelerator pedal was depressed, the vehicle failed to accelerate and stalled. The failure occurred on multiple... Read more
Incident date: May 6, 2026
SUMMARY OF SAFETY HAZARD: I am reporting a catastrophic and unpredictable loss of motive power in a 2023 Volkswagen Taos (4Motion with DQ381 DSG Transmission). The vehicle presents a critical electronic sensor failure within the transmission mechatronics unit that causes the vehicle to enter an immediate "Limp Mode" without warning. This has resulted in several near-miss incidents where the veh... Read more
Incident date: Apr 2, 2026
1) Climate Control System Malfunction I am reporting a safety-related defect involving the climate control system in my vehicle. Specifically, the temperature control knob is malfunctioning and behaves erratically. When adjusting the temperature, the system does not respond consistently and will unpredictably change temperature settings without corresponding input. This was diagnosed at The Autob... Read more
Incident date: Apr 19, 2026
Thank god nothing has happened but almost. I bought my car brand new and 2 weeks into having it I have been having issues with the infotainment system. Its very distracting. Sometimes it distracts me so much that I swerve while driving trying to stop it. It also is interfering with my experience listening to music. Something needs to be done as im not the only one having this experience.
Incident date: May 3, 2026
Approximately one year ago, my vehicle experienced a high voltage system failure requiring a repair of approximately $7,000 out of pocket. The recall now identifies a defect in the same system. I am requesting an engineering review to determine whether my prior failure is connected to the defect described in H570/H572 and whether reimbursement is warranted.
Incident date: May 4, 2026
The 14.4" Infotainment Screen will freeze randomly during vehicle start-up, make an audible buzzing sound through the speakers, then hard reset. During this time, the camera system is inoperable until the radio finishes resetting, causing reduced visibility around the vehicle when in reverse. No warning lamps or stored codes were present when this issue first occurred. The concern was shared with ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 23, 2026
All of my braking/abs lights intermittently go on and off. My 2019 Honda HRV runs fine but when dealer looked at it they said it was the VSA and to replace would be over $4k. Dealer said eventually my vehicle may shut down if not taken care of. I am wondering if this is a common problem and if will be a recall?
Incident date: Apr 1, 2026
The contact owns a 2024 Land Rover Range Rover. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle would shift into neutral independently before losing automotive power. A warning message "Electrical Fault detected" and another unknown were displayed. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed with a catastrophic converter failure. The vehicle was repa... Read more
JAYCO TRAVEL TRAILER
JAY FEATHER
(2017) — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
May 6, 2026
Incident date: Apr 22, 2026
The contact owns a 2025 Cadillac Escalade. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5 MPh, attempting to make a left turn in the snow, the vehicle prompted them to activate the skid protection mode. After activating the Skid Protection mode, the vehicle began to lose power and shut down. The contact placed the vehicle in neutral and coasted to the side of the road. The contact waited be... Read more
Incident date: Apr 22, 2026
Vehicle Info: 2021 Polestar 2 74,765 mi Software version 5.0.10 About 2 weeks ago, I updated to the newest OTA update 5.0.10, which may be unrelated. 1 week ago, the normal start-up safety procedure flagged the airbag and instructed me to find a service station immediately. I scheduled an appt and I was charged $300 diagnostic fee. It's unclear if the airbags would deploy in a collision based o... Read more
Incident date: Apr 24, 2026
My 2020 Subaru Crosstrek experienced a sudden loss of motive power and stalled due to a blown ignition fuse. Diagnostic code P1604 (Startability Malfunction) was stored. Inspection by Wayne Subaru (Invoice #25340) confirmed the Cylinder 3 ignition coil had shorted and physically melted. This is the exact failure mode described in Subaru Safety Recall WRE-21 (NHTSA Campaign 21V825000), which curren... Read more
Incident date: Apr 8, 2026
Rear hatch randomly opens. Hatch button sometimes works, usually not.
Incident date: Mar 27, 2026
Under extremely cold temperatures, approx 10° the main display does not work. The MPH & other vehicle information will not display. KIA service requires the vehicle to be brought to the facility while condition exists in order to troubleshoot, however once the vehicle warms up, the non functioning display begins to operate normally and the problem does not exist. Speaking with the service advi... Read more
Incident date: Jul 16, 2025
While driving with a trailer after leaving a jobsite in [XXX] , the vehicle experienced a sudden electrical failure while in motion. The instrument cluster/speedometer screen went completely black and the vehicle lights stopped functioning properly while driving at night. During the incident, we lost the speedometer display and visibility from the vehicle lighting system, creating a serious safet... Read more
Incident date: Mar 31, 2026
The vehicle experienced repeated electrical and no-start issues believed to be related to the RF/electrical communication system. The truck has been returned to the dealership repeatedly for this issue and recently spent approximately two months at the dealership for diagnosis and repair. After finally being returned, the vehicle was completely dead the very next morning and would not start. The ... Read more
Incident date: May 5, 2026
The driver's side window switch panel failed and caught on fire. It is available for inspection.It will be towed to a toyota dealership tomorrow. Nobody was in the vehicle when the fire started. The problem has not been confirmed or reproduced by a dealer. The vehicle has not been inspected, is going in for inspection tomorrow. There was no warning or indication prior to the fire starting.
Fire
1 injured
VOLKSWAGEN
TAOS
(2022) — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
May 6, 2026
Incident date: Nov 20, 2024
Drop off a few days after receiving vehicle. Picked up and dropped back off the same day due to issue repeating it self after being told there was no issue. Parts were supposedly replace on one of the occasions. No real time spent on the vehicle according to invoices. 8/28/25 -9/4/25 9/4/25 - 9/15/25 9/24/25 - 10/14/25 I have brought the car in for the same problem multiple times without it being... Read more
Incident date: Apr 6, 2026
At red light, foot on break, car in drive. Light turns green, I go to drive off. Car puts itself in neutral, dash says “shift to park”, I try to press to put it in drive, it won’t shift to “D”. I put it in park. Turned the vehicle off, car wouldn’t restart. Kept trying, wouldn’t start. Held my finger on the push to start for ~1 minute, it did not want to start at all. It was spittin... Read more
Incident date: May 4, 2026
Water is leaking through back tailgate every time it rains. Water pools on the back floor and gets into the tailgate control unit. As a result, mold has grown on the floors and water has gotten into the power tailgate control unit causing my tailgate to stop opening and propping up (I have to manually hold the heavy door while lifting items out). This has caused electrical problems with cruise co... Read more
Incident date: May 5, 2026
High voltage component, onboard charger, failure caused an electrical fire contained inside the case. It is available for inspection. Unclear on safety concerns. Taken to dealer and a second repair shop and they were unable to identify the issue. I opened the onboard charger and found the evidence of the fire. Has not been inspected by anyone. No warning lights were present before or after the inc... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Apr 12, 2026
going down highway (60mph) a sudden rear wheels lock up jerking the steering wheel out of my hand sudden down shift causing me to be put in the median...wrench symbol pops up trucks in limp mode... no 1-6 gear light or light to show if i am in P.R.N.D.M.1.2. Truck won't start back up until it wants too if you cut it off in limp mode (factory reset) unhooking negative battery cable dosent work. C... Read more
Incident date: Feb 10, 2026
I have the warning power steering on my dash and it’s getting harder to steer and turn then it quits and does it again it’s not safe at all
Incident date: Feb 10, 2026
The contact owns a 2016 BMW X5 PHEV. The vehicle was serviced under NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM), but the failure persisted. The contact stated that a month after the repairs were completed, the coolant connector would stay on and drain the battery. The contact stated that after the vehicle was turned off at night, the coolant connector overheated... Read more
Incident date: Apr 16, 2026
I am submitting this complaint regarding a safety defect in my 2018 Infiniti Q50, which was manufactured prior to May 1, 2018. Despite matching the make, model, and production timeframe associated with an existing Infiniti recall for backup camera failures, my specific vehicle is not included in the recall population. The backup camera in my vehicle intermittently fails to display an image or pre... Read more
Incident date: Mar 27, 2026
Unknown cause but Timeline: -Delayed push start (5 -15second delay from electrical system starting) -Early battery failure (3 years old) attributed to operating voltage ranging between 12-13 -Camshaft replacement 4 months later the delayed engine turnover began again. All diagnostic testing shows no error
Incident date: Apr 8, 2026
The contact owns a 2023 Chevrolet Silverado. The contact stated while driving at approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle stalled, the brakes were inoperative, the gear shift was stuck in drive, and all of the doors and windows were locked and inoperative. The check engine warning light was illuminated and the "please restart the engine" message was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was take... Read more
Incident date: May 5, 2026
2025 Dodge Charger EV | VIN: [XXX] | Purchased: April 11, 2026 | Dealer: Thunder Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, Bartow, FL I am reporting multiple active, unresolved safety system failures that began within 24 hours of purchase and remain unrepaired after two dealer visits. On April 15–16, 2026, the dealer documented NINE fault codes across FIVE modules, including an active Electronic Throttle Modu... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2020) — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
May 5, 2026
Incident date: Feb 17, 2026
Vehicle was being driven on the highway when suddenly engine hesitated and started stalling. Speed was reduced from around 65MPH down to the low 40s. Cars were stacking up behind and passing, causing potential hazardous conditions. Vehicle was taken to a mechanic shop and diagnosed with misfiring, after reading OBD II with many alerts coming on. Further diagnostics revealed cylinder head gaske... Read more
Incident date: Apr 22, 2026
The contact owns a 2023 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the message "Battery Issue, Pull Over" displayed, and the battery, check engine, and master warning lights illuminated. The contact pulled over and contacted the dealer, who instructed him to turn off and restart the vehicle. After following the dealer's instructions, the failure was resolved. The c... Read more
HONDA
ACCORD HYBRID
(2019) — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
May 5, 2026
Incident date: May 5, 2026
I reported the issue yesterday, but we have additional information. Here is a timeline of the incident as recorded by the doorbell camera: 2026-05-03 085400 Car parked 101423 Car is already trying to start by itself 101713 Car still starting, starter slowing down 101734 Starter sounds overheated 101740 Starter slows to stop ... Read more
Fire
Incident date: May 4, 2026
The right side power captain seat in the second row began to fold down without the button being pressed. It happened with and without the seatbelt plugged in. It came down while my toddler was in her rear facing car seat and began to crush the car seat and push on her feet. The chair would not stop the power seat motors even with both my wife and myself pushing back on the seat trying to free our ... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Jan 14, 2021
On 3/17/26, my husband and I started heading N on RT 83 to a medical appointment in our 2025 Honda CR-V Touring Sport. We were doing between 40 to 50 miles/hr. Twenty minutes later, we smelled faint smoke which was attributed to the trucks driving around us. Upon exit to our next route we immediately came to a red light and stopped and found heavy dark smoke coming from inside the front of our ... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Nov 1, 2025
I recently purchased a 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee and began experiencing serious issues almost immediately after taking possession of the vehicle. The vehicle has stalled unexpectedly while driving on multiple occasions, including during active driving conditions. It also has difficulty starting and has shut off without warning. The vehicle has already undergone multiple repairs within a short peri... Read more
Incident date: May 5, 2026
Within 24 hours of buying the vehicle back in February, the truck has not run red Lightning bulbs, electronic throttle control system Lights all started coming on that system was replaced by a certified mechanic. The system then did it again, literally, 1 day later. Now I'm not certain about the new part, which has been discontinued. It's some sort of pigtail off of that. And again the wiring pig... Read more
Incident date: Apr 29, 2026
We were on our way home from charlotte nc where the suv sat for a week while we were on vacation. Less than an hour of traveling home we smelled something burning so my husband pulled over, turns the suv off, and we looked on the outside at the tires. We didn’t see anything no smoke, no flat tires, so we look back in the suv and there was smoke all inside. We opened my passenger door and the smo... Read more
Fire
Incident date: May 5, 2026
In November of 2025 the vehicle displayed a "Check Eletrical System" error message. Shortly thereafter the vehicle decelerated to under 10mph as we were turning into traffic. We were able to drive it home (less than 1mi away) and then called the Dealership. The car was then towed to the dealer (but needed a jump as the 12v battery had drained). The dealer diagnosed a failure of the ICCU and repla... Read more
Incident date: Dec 5, 2025
Service four-wheel-drive warning light comes on – intermittently and randomly car still drives but vibrates just a little started at 36,000 miles and continues at 39,000 miles.
EVENFLO
REVOLVE360 SLIM
(9999) — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
May 5, 2026
Incident date: May 5, 2026
While flat towing my 2022 Ford F‑350 behind a motorhome using Ford’s Neutral Tow Mode procedure, the vehicle suffered a catastrophic transmission failure. The Ford dealer documented this clearly on the service invoice: “HAPPENED WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS FLAT TOWED.” After the tow, the truck had severe slipping, delayed engagement, high RPM with no movement, and a wrench light. The dealer conf... Read more
Incident date: May 3, 2026
Ford has acknowledged the defect (recall 26S28). · my truck experienced the dangerous downshift and wheel lockup. · Ford has no fix available until June 30th, leaving me without a safe vehicle. · Ford is refusing to provide a loaner or rental. The wheel locked on me and causing the vehicle to be uncontrollable, in wet condition. Causes a near fatal accident. I do have a dash Camera recording to... Read more
Incident date: Apr 3, 2026
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? After diagnostics of multiple 'no communication' codes, it was determined that the CAN buss star connector was faulty. The part has been replaced, but is available for inspection. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? The malfunction caused repeated warning lights and loss of steer... Read more
Incident date: May 4, 2026
My 2022 GMC Sierra 2500HD was previously repaired under GM safety recall N232426400 / NHTSA recall 24V060 for the power-unlatching tailgate switch, which can fail from water intrusion. The recall repair was completed and the recall now shows as closed. Recently, the same tailgate switch problem occurred again. The dealer diagnosed water intrusion/corrosion affecting the tailgate release switch ci... Read more
LAND ROVER
RANGE ROVER
(2019) — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
May 5, 2026
Incident date: May 4, 2026
Dealer is refusing to acknowledge the known BSG defect (TSB 2058831/13) and is instead attempting to charge for secondary electrical failures (ABS/AC) caused by the primary charging system failure. 2023 Audi A3 2.0T, VIN [XXX] . Recurring 48V BSG (Belt Starter Generator) failure causing complete loss of power steering and brake assist. First documented under warranty October 29, 2025 at 45,500 mi... Read more
Incident date: Apr 29, 2026
Ground strap is faulty. I have owned the vehicle for less than 2 years and am already on my 4th battery because the ground strap keeps draining it. The dealership is finally replacing the ground strap under my warranty but on several occasions I have been left essentially stranded away from home because the vehicle was acting completely fine then will randomly not start due to the faulty ground st... Read more
Incident date: Mar 8, 2026
I own a 2020 Honda Odyssey and I am currently having a safety issue with the power tailgate. Upon inspection by my Honda dealership, my vehicle requires a new power tailgate control unit and floor harness and my roof rail and clips need to be re-sealed and replaced. It was discovered that due to the break in seal the connectors corroded due to a water leak.In April of 2026 I received multiple war... Read more
Incident date: Apr 30, 2026
The contact owns a 2010 Chrysler Town & Country. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle unexpectedly lost motive power. The failure caused a loss of power steering and power braking. The contact coasted the vehicle to the side of the road. The vehicle was turned off and restarted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. T... Read more