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: Jun 16, 2023
The display, where the speed and other pertinent information is displayed, is in dark or night mode. It is very if not impossible to see during daylight hours. It is very distracting not to be able to see the information that you should be able to this vehicle.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
I have a 2017 Q7 with the "front Left side marker light defective" warning. However I saw that there was a limited recall 97CB or 16V6420000 for this issue with 2017 Audi Q7 vehicles, but it's VIN specific and my VIN isn't included. Looks like the issue is much more widespread than the Vins they included for the recall as I saw online that lot of people have the same issue in this model. Please ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 23, 2023
The contact owns a 2023 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that the headlamps failed to properly illuminate the sides of the road on the driver’s and passenger’s side of the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact had spoken with the dealer to discuss trading the vehicle; however, the vehicle had not been taken to the dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer w... Read more
Incident date: Jun 27, 2023
My turn signals burn bulbs burn out constantly (2x a year) and I drive approx 8k miles per year. Turn signals are a basic basic safety issue & given that if you explore the Hyundai Genesis form it is a KNOWN faulty wiring design. . It is not simply a matter of changing a bulb - it’s very difficult to get to. Hyundai knows this issue since they changed the housing design for the 2016. I beli... Read more
Incident date: Jun 9, 2023
The contact's girlfriend owns a 2017 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that while driving from a complete stop, the vehicle jerked, shuddered, and hesitated to respond while depressing the accelerator pedal. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle jerked and shuddered while coming to a complete stop. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing hard shifts while driving in the lo... Read more
Incident date: Jun 27, 2023
My cluster display has been on dark night mode since January 2023. I purchased the vehicle in April 2022. During the day, I cannot see the cluster display, and have missed gas warning lights, low tire lights, and other emergency lights due to the dimness of the screen. It is a hazard to drive as daylight is longer-- and the navigation screen is also impossible to see during daylight hours. There i... Read more
Incident date: Jun 27, 2023
Subaru Safety Recall WRG-22 (NHTSA ID 22V-624) regarding inadequate front halogen headlamp lighting went out October 2022. This critical recall remains unresolved approaching 9 months now. No excuse for this. Why is this still unrevolved?
Incident date: Jun 23, 2023
My brake lights are not turning off. Upon inspection of the brake light switch attached to the pedal, I saw a plastic part (washer) that had broken in half. I believe it is the same issue that affected other 2014-15 Ford models. (https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2022/01/19/ford-recall-brakes-fusion-lincoln-mkz/6580413001/)
Incident date: Jun 30, 2015
The exhaust manifold cracked, the electrical system, supplying gas to the engine, is built into the fuse box, which is unfixable without replacing the entire fuse box. Valve on engine became extremely noisy and I’ve had to be replaced
Incident date: Jun 19, 2023
Digital Dash goes dark at times, so dark you cant see the speed or any of the gages. You have to pull over shut the car off and wait approx. 40 seconds and then restart, it may or may not do it again.I have read on the vw forum that a lot of Taos owners are having this problem. No help from VW
Incident date: Sep 9, 2022
The contact owns a 2009 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that in February 2022 there was an unknown recall campaign for the Stop Lamp Switch replacement and the recall repair was completed. The contact stated that the failure ha reoccurred, and the warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the... Read more
Incident date: May 19, 2023
Seal on rear break lights malfunctioning causing water to leak into light and trunk causing mold and mildew buildup and possible electrical issues.
Incident date: Jun 2, 2023
During the day the the instrument cluster that has a speedometer doesn't have any brightness so I cannot see the speed or warning lights. I took my car to the dealership and they said there is no solution to that problem right now and multiple vehicles have the same issue since September last year.
Incident date: Jun 25, 2023
I just purchased this vehicle and within a day, it was already giving an alert that something was wrong. Says "action required, shift to park". My car was in park. It was not shutting off due to the notification, which leads your battery to drain. The next day, as I was driving with my kids, the headlights start flickering, and then shut off. It left us driving in the dark and nearly causing a wre... Read more
Incident date: May 22, 2023
Passenger side low beam headlight wont work. Replace fuses relays and wiring harness. Ive read online where this is very common with these cars and even replacing the headlight assembky isnt a sure fix.
Incident date: Jun 11, 2023
New car LED headlights both reflector based and focus beam are overly bright and cause a great deal of blinding glare at night and during low light conditions. The intensity combined with the white color of the LED headlights is a saftey hazzard.
Incident date: Sep 13, 2021
Hard braking for a deer the abs ,traction light came on lost abs and lowbeam lights wile rainy and lost auto wipers
Incident date: Jun 22, 2023
Auto high beams do not correctly switch from low and high beams ALSO, the QI wireless charger doesn't work with my iPhone 14 plus
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
The manufacturer has a recall for front headlights not being bright enough and causing a danger to drivers. I no longer feel safe driving my vehicle at night as i cannot see the roadway nor other vehicles can see me. Its been almost a year and it’s taking a long time to remedy the recall. Please help!
Incident date: Jun 23, 2023
Vehicle is consuming an excessive amount of oil, I see this is a common issue with this make and model , even a TSB regarding this issue. Yet, dealership states it is normal. I’m sorry but I have never owned a vehicle where it is normal to have to add 4 qts of oil between oil changes. This is a serious concern for engine wear and tear. I would like to escalate this issue to seek resolutio... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2023
Rear tail lights failure.
Incident date: Jun 15, 2022
Front end collision with car making an illegal left in front of our Subaru. Our car hood, bumper, head lights, grill and parts of the engine were smashed, with liquid draining out of the engine. My husband (wearing a seatbelt) hit his knee and shoulder on impact. Airbags failed - Not a single airbag deployed. A police officer helped him move car parts out of the street. Safety was at risk because ... Read more
Crash
1 injured
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS
(2022) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jun 23, 2023
Incident date: Jun 22, 2023
I was driving mid day today and I noticed my display on the dash had gone dim as if the headlights had turned on and the dash lights dimmed expecting it to be dark inside. I then got a ding about the auto shutoff when stopped feature not working (this has been dinging for a few years and hasn’t worked since shortly after I got the vehicle in 2018, however it’s been working the last few weeks).... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS
(2022) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jun 23, 2023
Incident date: Jun 22, 2023
Got caught in bad rain and both speedo and tach filled up with water. Bike completely shut down on highway doing 60mph (70 mph highway) and if I did not pull in on clutch, bike would have went down and I could have possibly lost my life. I believe a less experienced rider would have not been so fortunate. It is clear this is a manufacture defect as the seal on these gauges are minimal or undervalu... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2002) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jun 23, 2023
Incident date: Jun 23, 2023
Auto high beams do not function correctly. They often do not turn on.
Incident date: May 14, 2023
The lights on the interior are coming on by them self, I believe the problem lies in the rear wire harnesses. My car only has 31000 miles
Incident date: Jun 22, 2023
Honda CR-V head unit or central console refuses to dim. This is a serious safety threat as display is glaringly bright and distorts night vision. I did take the vehicle to dealership for inspection and recommendation was to replace the head unit as they think this is a hardware issue. Professionally, I am a software engineer and I find it very hard to accept that this is a hardware issue. The ha... Read more
Incident date: Jun 5, 2023
Headlights do not reflect more than 3 feet. The headlights “pass” inspection but provide no use.
Incident date: Jun 6, 2023
Purchased used vehicle from a Toyota Dealership on or about March 27, 2021. The dashboard illumination on the 2017 Toyota Sienna only appears to operate when the vehicle is turned on AND the front headlight selector is moved to the on or automatic mode. I do not believe it is a standard feature for any vehicle to NOT illuminate the dashboard without the headlights being turned on. Issue: With n... Read more
Incident date: Jun 21, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Impreza. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V624000 (Exterior Lighting) 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 manufact... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2015) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jun 22, 2023
Incident date: Jun 12, 2023
2 Issue Related to Electrical/Lights: 1) The touch screen has delaminated. This started a while ago (appx. 2020) and was only an aesthetic issue until very recently. Appx. 3 months ago (3/2023) the screen started to have a "ghost button" where different things were being pressed. For example, music changed, seat warmers turned on/off, etc. The most dangerous of these issues was a dark screen ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 22, 2023
1.) I would like to begin by saying that my bike is nearly brand new. Only just over 4k miles. So, the following problem is not in any way a result of the bike being an old or beaten down vehicle. The rear brake light and turn signals failed due to the cable that runs under the rear fender to the rear lights (being suspended by very weak and half attached thin metal tabs) becoming dislodged from t... Read more
TRIUMPH
BONNEVILLE BOBBER
(2018) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jun 22, 2023
Incident date: Jun 22, 2023
I have replaced several day light running lights /low beam bulbs. Approximately every 6-9 months since I purchased the vehicle in December of 2014.
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2017) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jun 21, 2023
Incident date: Jun 12, 2023
I'm a first time Subaru owner but am now challenging my decision to buy a Subaru. While driving at night on dark roads in Pennsylvania, it was quite obvious and strange that the top half of the windshield was black while the bottom half was clear showing the lights on the road. This was quite annoying and disruptive while driving; We did not notice such on a well-lit road. I googled and fou... Read more
Incident date: Jun 20, 2023
This vehicle was sold to me with a not for sale in states requiring California emissions, no governor on the vehicle as well faulty lighting mechanisms. The fuel pump is fluctuating and the car is a danger to myself and those around me. I consulted with a independent licensed mechanic who confirmed these defaults. No warning lights no messages and the dealer did not point out these flaws. I discov... Read more
Incident date: May 17, 2022
While driving with Auto Pilot the car turns off the high beams whenever it sees too many reflectors. Such as on power poles of guard rails. The problem is twice this week I seen deer crossing the road ahead of me and the car turned off the high beaks. Then for a couple seconds I couldn't turn on the high beams manually. When I asked Tesla to look at this problem I was told they are in development.... Read more
Incident date: Mar 8, 2023
I notice water leaking inside the trunk and roof, after carefully checking the outside car i have found a cracked 3rd brake light( rear), no accident , no impact nothing happened.
Incident date: May 4, 2023
My dash lights will dim automatically during day and can’t dim dash lights at night very frustrating
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
Driver-side headlight started getting condensation last winter. Brought the car to the dealer to see if they can replace the gasket but was told that it needs to be replaced and it could cost as much as $7,000 if the module needs to be replaced as well. That is ridiculous that it needs to be replaced at such ab absurd cost. Lights can stop working if it burns out and dangerous if it occurs at ni... Read more
Incident date: Jun 19, 2023
We were pulled over because a police officer could not see our brake lights. We told him that the lights are at the bottom of the vehicle and not in the logical spot. I exited the vehicle and showed him that the brake lights were located at the bottom of the vehicle and not where you would expect the brake lights to be. My husband was driving and he tapped the brakes so we could see that they were... Read more
Incident date: Jun 10, 2023
I financed a car from a car place (mainline) auto in march, there’s been some lights on it, I mentioned this numberless times also, the steering wheel was completely out of commission and the horn did not work, or the mileage, I talk with him he said bring it in and he will fix it, he fixed the steering wheel 2 weeks later but there’s lights still on the vehicle, last Friday 06/16/2017 I got a... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2017) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jun 20, 2023
Incident date: Jun 20, 2023
My navigation system is stuck in a reboot mode where is flashes a very bright white screen. I was driving at night and the screen is so bright, and there’s no way to turn it off or adjust the brightness. It was bright that I could not see the road and hit the ditch when I went to turn onto my road. Its very hard to drive at night with this bright light flashing from the entire radio screen it ma... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jun 19, 2023
The high beam nolonger functions. On this make model for this year, the manufacturer uses only one bulb for low and high beam. This is accomplished by using a hood to shield part of the bulb; lowered for low beams, raised for high beams. The problem is the mechanism used to raise and lower the shield is made out of cheap plastic. Whenever the gears break or skip a cog the shield will not raise. ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 20, 2023
I have a Exhaust manifold leaking on the drive side lower back side. I'm scared it could catch my truck on fire if a backfire could happen while with my family with me
Incident date: May 28, 2023
I was Driving down the main road at night time in my 2006 prius and the headlights both went out and all most caused a crash. I pulled over turned my car off then back on and the headlights came back on so i started driving home. After driving a couple blocks i was pulled over by the police because my drivers side headlight was off. Luckily he let me go with a warning, but i work at night and am l... Read more
Incident date: Jun 9, 2023
All 3 brake lights stopped working over the weekend & there was a recall for all other years except for 2016. This is a serious problem & Hyundai has been having major recalls on their vehicles as of recent
NISSAN
PATHFINDER
(2022) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jun 19, 2023
Incident date: Jun 18, 2023
It’s been nearly a year since Subaru issued the safety recall on the Impreza yet they still claim they have no remedy despite the recall notice and the NHTSA website stating that the right and left headlamp housing will be replaced as the remedy. At this point it’s not being handled in a timely fashion and Subaru is dragging their feet and not concerned about the safety of their customers as t... Read more
Incident date: Jun 18, 2023
The high beams are not working, since the low beams work there is no reason to change bulb as it only has one. It appears that the shutter is not working.
Incident date: Jun 19, 2023
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The auto stop idle feature in my 2016 Honda Pilot Touring failed to operate correctly. This feature automatically turns off the engine while keeping the electrical systems on. I can make the vehicle available for inspection upon request. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? The m... Read more
Incident date: May 24, 2023
All the dash lights go out. Very dangerous especially at night. sometimes turning on another electrical device will restore, sometimes shutting vehicle down and restarting will help. have tried covering/ cleaning light sensor, no help. just have to wait until it decides to work. started about 6 years ago. getting progressively worse. no warning lights. had independent mechanic check it, he... Read more