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 42,929 complaints - component: EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Incident date: Sep 10, 2023
The problem I'm having with my truck is I can't keep a head light from burning out. I just had one quit that was a month old. I've been using the spec. lamp from Sylvania H7. What really sucks about this is in the past 2 years I've installed at least 7 or 8 head lamps, and at a cost of $45 to $55 bucks each it's Bull#@#$. Why can't Dodge come up with a better head lamp.
Incident date: Sep 9, 2023
On SEPT.8, 2023 The car was charging and then it stopped charging. There was no warning or indications. All power failed and the EV is now inoperable.
Incident date: Sep 8, 2023
Shortly after the purchase we received a TSB for dim low beams. We took it to our dealer and they increased the voltage to the low beams using a scanner. They seemed ok but still seemed dim compared to our other vehicles. Since the purchase of this truck we have replaced the low beam headlamps 7 times. Doing research on this problem it is wide spread with no remedy or fix from RAM. Just google dim... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2018) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Sep 9, 2023
Incident date: Jul 31, 2023
Headlights turned off on 3 occasions in the last 2 weeks. first i was driving on an unlit section of a residential thoroughfare, dark night and suddenly, while both hands on steering wheel, not having had any interaction with dashboard/radio controls, smooth section of roads (no obvious bumps) the lights turned off. I immediately fiddled with the steering column mounted light control switch, wh... Read more
Incident date: Jul 11, 2023
Unbeknownst to me, the 2010-2015 Cadillac SRX is prone to moisture in the headlights. We just bought a used 2015, and as night came, we went for our first evening drive, and the low beams are extremely dangerously dim. It looks like they weren’t even on. Searching the internet on how to fix the problem, I came across what seems to be a ridiculous amount of unsatisfied customers with the same pro... Read more
Incident date: Sep 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the four doors would inadvertently lock and unlock, causing the battery to drain quickly. The contact used pliers to unlock and open the doors. Additionally, the headlights were dimmed, and the turn signals intermittently failed to operate as needed. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an indepen... Read more
Incident date: Sep 6, 2023
1. During nighttime driving, the headlights suddenly go off. Headlights are on auto and it happens randomly. The first time it happened was in August 2023 and then on 09/08/2023 twice during night driving. 2. It's very risky to be in the dark on a rural road. I really worry for my family's safety. 3. I could not reproduce the issue, nor have I taken it to a technician or dealer yet. 4. Not insp... Read more
Incident date: Sep 6, 2023
The car's low beam headlights do not safely illuminate the road in front of you. Honda/Acura has acknowledged a recall on other models of the Acura but they have not recalled 2015 Model RDX automobiles for this problem. The headlight's illumination is unsafe and pose a serious risk to all traffic. This problem forces the driver to illuminate high beams to see the road surface at night even wh... Read more
Incident date: Jan 23, 2022
The headlights will turn off and on randomly without warning. My driving panel shows no indicator or warning lights. This is an ongoing and extremely dangerous issue. I’m told it will be very expensive to diagnose and repair due to the need to remove the entire steering section to access the headlight control wand.
Incident date: Aug 16, 2023
There is an open recall on my car for the headlights which currently has no fix and none of the dealerships I've spoken to have the parts to fix it. At one dealership they even attempted to sell me new headlights, claiming that the dimness of my headlights has to do with the fact that they're not LED bulbs and not the recall. The car is unsafe to drive at night due to the fact that they are very d... Read more
Incident date: Apr 12, 2023
The low beams are so dim that I have to drive only during the day and if I get stuck driving at night, I have no choice but to use my high beams. This is a safety issue because I am constantly paying attention to adjusting my lights as to not blind other drivers rather than all around driving. I have had several near misses for head on collisions. The first in 2019 from unintentionally blinding th... Read more
Incident date: Aug 16, 2023
The low beam lights abruptly stopped working without warning. The high beams, fog lights and interior lights work fine but I had to use my bright lights to get home which visually impaired oncoming traffic & myself because they flashed me with their bright lights. I called the dealership, and they said what happened was highly unusual and that led lights don't go out. Following this my system ligh... Read more
Incident date: Jul 23, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Audi Q7. The contact stated while driving 55-60 MPH, a message regarding the exterior passenger’s side marker light was displayed. Additionally, the contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered and hesitated upon depressing the accelerator pedal. The message "Malfunction System. Contact Service" was displayed. The contact stated that the fai... Read more
Incident date: Sep 3, 2023
Only on days where I leave my car in the direct heat under the sun for a few hours I go to get in and start and it starts up at first and then the dashboard displays "check starter system" soon after all the electrical work in the car shuts down and doesn't turn on again until the car cools down or when the sun goes down. I live in phoenix where it's hot everyday so this issue is happening frequen... Read more
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2023) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Sep 6, 2023
Incident date: Jun 15, 2023
When the vehicle computer detects low voltage all turn signals, lights and instrument cluster immediately fail and do not turn back on. The Foot Well Module (FWM) or Foot Rest Module (FRM) computer becomes corrupt and deletes data from the module. This becomes a major safety hazard as a nighttime failure occurred causing several near accidents due to inability to signal to other vehicles. This ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 3, 2023
The cover of front headlights are all foggy. This makes it difficult to see at night and does not put out the light like it use to. This is on both headlights and the vehicle is under 9 years old and kept in the garage. There are several posts like this with same issue for the 2015 Acura RDX. This is a material flaw and should be recalled. Issue started happening in 2019.
Incident date: Apr 15, 2023
The backup camera display is very bright with little or no dimming at night. Backing during the day in any scenario (trailer or not) is acceptable. The camera display being this bright at night reduces rearward visibility with the mirrors due to a loss of night vision. The bright backup camera display is especially an issue when backing a trailer at night since you must use the side mirrors (tr... Read more
Incident date: Sep 4, 2023
Car stalled out while driving, restarted, car said, "check starter system". Restarted again, engine stayed running, no lights at all (brake, headlight or tail light), however the hazards still seemed to work.
Incident date: Jul 15, 2022
The low beam lighting has been dimmed even replacing with new light bulb doesn’t fix it it’s hard to drive at night
Incident date: Jun 5, 2023
While driving car ignition shuts off. Gas and breaks still work, but no lights, no speedometer, nothing else, ignition completely off. Has happened on 5 different occasions on days the temperature is 90 degrees. Volkswagen dealership aren't able to fix it.
Incident date: Aug 30, 2023
The aim of the headlight beams droops over time to dangerous low level where the headlings barely light beyond 30 feet. The highlights would re-level and re-adjust the aim at restart, but they would start drooping to dangerous low level within 10 mins of driving.
Incident date: Aug 25, 2023
When the vehicle first starts, the headlights go through some sort of leveling routine and the light spread seems to illuminate a reasonable distance ahead of the vehicle. However, over as short as a few minutes of driving, the headlight seems to droop significantly and can result in only a very short section of road being illuminated ahead of the vehicle. This makes it very dangerous to drive a... Read more
Incident date: Jul 11, 2023
2018 Jeep Compass with OEM Bi-Xenon Headlights w/DRL. The right headlamp assembly bulb will frequently not turn on no matter what position you turn the headlights on to. Some days I am left with only driving with one operating headlight since the other won’t flicker on. This has been brought to my local dealership who found no source to problem.
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2019) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Sep 4, 2023
Incident date: Aug 10, 2023
Headlights come on sometimes sometime, other times driver will come and passanger side won't, or passanger side will come on and driver side will not. Seems to be some sort of issue other then headlights because when they do work they seem to work fine but randomly one or the other does not work. Makes it unsafe to drive at night and worry that if we are out for a late drive we may randomly end up... Read more
Incident date: Sep 4, 2023
The headlights are so dim it is dangerous. I had been riding with the brights on because of the dimness of the lights. I was almost in a serious accident due to the lack of visibility resulting from faulty headlights—even with the brights on. These are dangerous.
Incident date: Sep 1, 2023
I am having the following issues with my digital lights on my 2023 GLC. Dealer states normal. It is unsafe and should have a recall/software update. VIN: [XXX] Dangerously inadequate forward visibility at night on low beam/inadequate beam pattern. Level of illumination not at legal minimum of visibility on low beam/ no long distance illumination yet creates excessive illumination of retroref... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2019
It appears that my car started itself, went into gear and drove into my garage. At 9:00 PM om Thursday my dog was barking and growling, I suspected someone was outside. I went to investigate and saw my car running and lodged against my garage and garage door. It would stop and start again and try to move forward but it was stuck against the wall and door. The car moved approximately 6 feet ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 30, 2023
October 2021 at 74,790 miles I took the 2014 RDX to the dealer as the driver side headlight did not illuminate. The bulb was replaced. The light was still dimmer than the passenger side. In December 2022 at 81,415 mile service at the dealer I reported continued issues with night driving and dim headlights and was informed that the both head light projectors oxidized and the recommendation was ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 2, 2023
I have just found out that my 2006 BMW Z4 Convertible has serious wiring issues. The wires for example on my front headlights the insulation is falling off the and leaving bare wires. I am very concerned this could be a fire safety issue that could result in bare electrical wires shorting together and starting a car fire. My research shows that many people who have 2006 BMW Z4 Convertibles ar... Read more
Incident date: Sep 3, 2023
Harness and wires damaged and chewed by woodchuck causing multiple warning lights and malfunctions including headlight; turning signal and temperature to suddenly stop working, resulting in front wiring harness replacement and repairs costing over $7k in damage.
Incident date: Aug 21, 2023
Headlights go out when replacing. Fuel smell in cab. Engine ticking Front wheels knocking on bumps Inspection done by police Could cause major wreck all of the above
Incident date: Aug 25, 2023
I want to bring 2 issues to your attention: First, with all the technology in vehicles today, I can't figure out why there isn't an audible warning if the lights aren't on at night and why they don't come on automatically when windshield wipers are turned on. I often find that I am driving without lights because either my wife or some valet turned them off from 'auto' without my knowledge. I... Read more
Incident date: Sep 2, 2023
Center hatch led strip light leak causing led to go out and back up camera to stop working. Causes hazardous conditions for backing up with camera not working and hazardous conditions while driving because don’t know if the short in few of led lights will cause all tail light/brake lights to short out also.
Incident date: Jul 31, 2023
I have been having issues with my daytime running lights and brake lights going out and then coming back on randomly for almost 2 years . I have lost count of how many bulbs have been replaced. In May 2023, Deland Kia replaced the harness for the rear passenger brake light as they said it was melted, and 3 months later it is happening again. My radio changes stations by itself, my driver window wo... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2006 Buick LaCrosse. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds with the headlights activated, the front driver’s and passenger’s side low-beam headlights intermittently failed to remain illuminated, making it difficult to see the roadway. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the HDM headl... Read more
FORD
F-150 LIGHTNING BEV
(2022) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Sep 1, 2023
Incident date: Jul 15, 2023
The headlight repair has been made but now the tail and park lights work intermittently. Most of the time not working but occasionally they will come on in colder weather. I think the problem is still in the Lighting control module. First appearance was last summer and has gotten worse. No other symptoms. Hazard ,turn signals, and brake lights all still work properly. Just no tail or park lights.
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS
(2021) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Sep 1, 2023
Incident date: Aug 28, 2023
The headlight disappears when turning corners. The motorcycle is unrideable at night. The dealership inspected it and they were horrified by it's lack of performance. I contacted the manufacturer and they seem to think that it is street legal. I just don't see how this is possible. Does testing/certification involve riding the machine?
Incident date: Aug 29, 2023
The BMW R18 B motorcycle is equipped with an adaptive headlight, which directs the headlight beam in the direction of the motorcycle's lean angle and handlebar rotation; however, the headlight has failed, where the reflective mirror pieces have fallen apart. The loose reflective pieces creates a dazzling effect in the direction of the light beam; this appears to be a high failure item on the R18 ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 12, 2023
The rear taillights both went out due to a design issue with the LED circuit board - where the connections on the board crack and cause the lights to fail
Incident date: Mar 1, 2023
Audi engine start system malfunction continues to go off on the dash and the majority of the exterior lighting has gone into a malfunction as well. The left rear fuse panel in the luggage compartment has moisture in it and on the wires.
Incident date: Aug 24, 2023
When driving at night with the headlights on dim, I can barely see the road. I have to drive with them on bright. I have heard other SRX have had the same problem. I’ve called a Cadillac dealership twice to get info about a repair…they said they would call back but have not and it’s been at least 4 months since I contacted them.
HONDA
CR-V HYBRID
(2021) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Aug 31, 2023
Incident date: Aug 31, 2023
HIGH BEAM LIGHTS FAILED TO COME ON. AFTER TRYING TO ENGAGE THE HB THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER WOULD SHOW HB ON BUT THEY WERE NOT ON. I OFTEN DRIVE ON DARK, WINDING COUNTRY ROADS INHABITED BY DEER AND OTHER ANIMALS AND NEED THESE LIGHTS TO SEE AHEAD AND CONTROL THE VEHICLE. I AM ATTEMPTING TO GET AN APPOINTMENT AT THE NEAREST KIA DEALER.
Incident date: Feb 17, 2022
My vehicle has been parked for the better of about two years due to head lamp failure and engine shutting off without warning at any particular time. Steps were made to fix the issue but the problem continues still to this day.
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
While driving to work today in fog, the vehicle auto headlights sensed enough light and turned off. Because it was foggy outside I did not feel safe only driving with DRLs on so I attempted to turn on the headlights using the touchscreen controls. The headlights would not turn on. I have video evidence of the headlights not responding to the touch controls and remaining off despite trying to turn ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2015
The contact owns a 2015 Acura RDX. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the low-beam headlights were very dim. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not under recall. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V792000 (Exterior Lighting) however, the VIN was not included. T... Read more
Incident date: Aug 28, 2023
HEADLAMPS ARE DEFECTIVE VERY DIM AND CAN NOT DRIVE VEHICLE AT NIGHT. DEALER CONFIRMED WIDESPREAD ISSUE THAT CADILLAC HAS FAILED TO RESOLVE. DEALER STATED SOME LETTERS were SENT TO LIMITED OWNERS AND REIMBURSEMENT FOR REPLACEMENT. BUT NOT TO ALL OWNERS. SAFETY HAZARD WHEN DRIVING DURING RAIN OR EVENINGS.
Incident date: Aug 29, 2023
Running lights (low beans) can not be used. They are on, new, and adjusted properly. I have to drive with high beams on to see at night.
Incident date: Aug 28, 2023
When using the low beams, there is a distinctive shadow or blotch that is evident on the driver's side only in the 2023 4 Runner Limited. I understand from others that it is due to the LED anti glare technology mandated to be used by the government. This shadow or blotch is NOT visible when using the high beams. When using the low beams the shadow is ALWAYS in the periphery or in front of the d... Read more
Incident date: Aug 4, 2023
I have heavy condensation in my BMW 330i xDrive driver side headlights. Comes during rainy and moist weather and takes couple of days to go away. upon dealer inspection its underlying issue with BMW's and sadly my warranty just expired 5 months ago and BMWusa is not helping in this regard.