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 7, 2023
Occasionally the knob that dims the dash and infotainment screen does not work. The lights stay at full illumination. This creates a blindingly bright situation in the dark of night.
Incident date: Jun 7, 2023
EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION! Vehicle has less than 60k and I have to check and put oil in about every 1,000 miles. Engine light comes on and this is how I know to check the oil. This is ridiculous and should not be happening. I change my oil as directed at every 5,000 miles and at least 2-3 times before next oil change I am adding more oil. WHY AM I BURNING SO MUCH OIL? No oil is leaking that I ... Read more
Incident date: May 29, 2023
I would like to report that my 93,632 2015 Kia Soul headlights flicker. The headlights (both) even go out for seconds and then they come back at the same time. It's an electrical issue, not a matter of changing the bulbs. I contacted Kia Motors to report this and check if there are recalls or extended warranty on this issue and they said no. There are plenty of other users on online forums repo... Read more
Incident date: Jun 6, 2023
When driving my 2009 Toyota Avalon my headlights sporadically go out. Mostly on the drivers side. I have replaced the headlight on 3 separate occasions with in the last 3 Years and each time it cost me $185.00 for labor and the headlight. I also got stopped by the POLICE for it! Now in 2023 the right head light goes on and off sporadically since March 2023. Again, I got stopped by the POLICE! Now... Read more
Incident date: Aug 10, 2022
I have a 2017 Audi Q7. There is a recall for the problem I am having but my VIN is not included and Audi cannot do the repair unless my VIN is included. The recall is 97CB. When my auto lights option is turned on, at completely random times, I get warning light that states: FRONT LEFT SIDE MARKER LIGHT DEFECTIVE SEE OWNERS MANUAL. The lights are functional and working (as verified by dealer in 201... Read more
Incident date: Jun 7, 2023
When the headlamp selector is in Automatic Mode, automatic high beams are also enabled by default. The issue is that the automatic high beam headlamps do not function well at all. They defeat the high beam selection if any ambient light is detected and are far too sensitive. As a result, if there are streetlights, city lights, or even snow on the ground, the high beam headlamps cannot be turned on... Read more
Incident date: Apr 7, 2023
The headlight high beams do not properly light upward and the service center refuses to replace the headlight. They also had another new car the same way. Both defective which is a manufacturing problem and safety risk.
Incident date: Apr 8, 2023
My motorcycle developed a problem: while riding at a steady speed without any input (braking, steering, or accelerating/decelerating) ABS and TC lights come in and dash starts flashing message 'ABS failure'. The main issue: the above-mentioned problem also causes turn signals to malfunction - they would self-cancel after few flashes (13-17) which compromises my safety as it can confuse cars behi... Read more
Incident date: Jun 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Impreza. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V624000 (Exterior Lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the headlights were very dim, which ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 31, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Audi Q7. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH at night, she was informed by another driver that the turn signals and the running lights were inoperable. The contact stated the "Auto Adaptive Light” malfunction warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the headlight module... Read more
Incident date: May 31, 2023
When opening any door to the vehicle, the interior lights will stay on for 90 seconds and then go off. And will only come back on if the key fob unlock button is pressed, or if you climb into the vehicle and initiate the lights "on" button overhead. I've had the vehicle to 2 different Wagoneer certified dealers and they both have confirmed the behavior of the vehicle. We've been in pursuit with ... Read more
Incident date: May 29, 2023
When starting the car at night, the center display will run at full daytime brightness until the driver manually presses one of the up/down display/interior brightness control buttons. Once pressed, the system "realizes" that it's night time and adjusts accordingly. Having the display at full brightness at night is a safety hazard for drivers unaware that you can use the brightness control buttons... Read more
Incident date: May 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 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 vehicle ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 5, 2023
High beam headlights stopped working. There are no maintenance indicators that tell me the high beams do not work. When I pull the switch to turn on high beams, the high beam dash indicator lights up on the dash, but the high beams do not turn on. I have replaced both high beam bulbs, but that did not fix the issue, so I just do not drive this vehicle at night anymore. I was researching recalls an... Read more
Incident date: Nov 8, 2022
Steering components broke when turning the truck around, this happened 30 miles up a Forest service rd. while out sightseeing. Had to be towed a long way ($1200) for the towing. and the steering repair for $1150.00, if this would have happened at speed when we were towing our camper it would have been terrible. This truck has no off-road usage other than for snow. Head light low beam on the driver... Read more
Incident date: Jun 4, 2023
Low beams have dimmed to an unsafe level due to oxidation of the reflector. Replacement of bulbs with the brightest option made little difference. Dealership acknowledged it is a common problem.
Incident date: May 28, 2023
Low beam headlights have become dim to the point where they offer no visibility. This has been a progressive decline in the low beam lights. I now use high beams as much as possible for safe travel. This is a problem experienced by many Acura owners with no help from Acura except to offer a costly replacement of headlight assemblies.
Incident date: Jun 4, 2023
The center console power supply is faulty, does not charge or hold usb port. The white paint on my car began to chip in large amounts.
Incident date: May 19, 2023
The brake lights go out all the time. They work one day and then not the next. This is a known issue with Kia vehicles. Apparently this is a wide spread issue that effects many Kia brand cars not just the Soul model that I drive. I have people stop me saying they did not see my brake lights come on at all when I obviously had to. Why hasn't this been a recall? This is a problem that could ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 2, 2023
Lights are too dim to drive at night. Bulbs have been replaced with 6 different styles but the lights are too dim. Bright lights shine too high to be useful. Spoke with numerous people who have had the same problem.
NISSAN
PATHFINDER
(2022) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jun 3, 2023
Incident date: May 26, 2023
So I the wiring harness in the hatch needed replaced. So we replaced it and a year later the interior light would come on randomly, then my rear wiper stopped working, all my rear light are messed up sometimes they work sometimes they don't. And not the computer says don't ajar so I can't lock my 2012 journey and the alarm goes of randomly... I'm afraid it's gonna catch fire like I have been readi... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2022
Front right headlight assembly failed to function. After inspection, it was discovered that the ground point in the right front wheel well had corroded and broke off the frame. This caused all lighting in the front right headlight assembly to not function. This defect is reported multiple times on online discussion boards and should be a recall due to safety equipment, headlights.
Incident date: Jan 1, 2021
Emergency brake keeps engaging Power steering problem, seat belt light stays on even when buckled. Headlights are dim
Incident date: Aug 31, 2022
Upon entering the roadway, both of my brake taillights went out on my vehicle. The left, driver side bulb had been replaced within the last year, however, both brake lights stopped working at the same time. This happened in front of an officer who then pulled me over.
Incident date: May 25, 2023
Headlights are dangerously dim. Replacing the bulbs did not help. I am forced to either use high beams or not drive at night.
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2018) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jun 2, 2023
Incident date: Mar 2, 2023
On June 1st yesterday this issue happened again but it was the taillights. The uploaded document is from the most recent repair shop bill for the front headlight (under warranty since it stopped working so close to the previous repair) Intermittently without cause the front right head light goes out (seems like every 3-6 months). And every 12-18 months the tail lights go out (the brake lights st... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Impreza. The contact received notification of the NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V6240000 (Exterior Lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. An undisclosed dealer was contacted and confirmed that the parts were not yet available for the recall repair. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2015) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jun 1, 2023
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2002 Mercedes-Benz SLK320. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the message that the rear light had malfunctioned was displayed. Upon inspection, it was discovered that while depressing the brake pedal, the driver’s side brake light failed to illuminate as needed. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the rear lamp module was faulty and... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
THERE ARE two ISSUES WITH THIS VEHICLE. FIRST, THE COST TO REPLACE A HEADLIGHT BULB IF ONE GOES OUT IS VERY HIGH (I PAID WELL OVER A HUNDRED DOLLARS), AND THUS MANY PEOPLE MAY NOT BEABLE TO REPLACE THE LIGHT, WHICH I BELIEVE IS A SAFETY ISSUE. Second, this vehicle does NOT have the means to start it with a real key. It ONLY starts with the key fob. Thus, in the event that something happens to t... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2022
LED brake lights and tail lights not working on passenger side. Partial LED failure on driver side.
Incident date: May 23, 2023
My 2015 Nissan Altima head lights are too dim. It is hard to see 50 feet in front of me unless i use my high beams. I bought this vehicle brand new in May 2015, the issue started in 2017.
FREIGHTLINER
CASCADIA
(2023) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
May 31, 2023
Incident date: Feb 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis. The contact stated while driving 75 MPH at night, the brake lights, headlights, and taillights failed to illuminate as needed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The contact stated that the lighting control module was the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 30, 2023
Dash cluster lights do not illuminate in daytime,not visible in daytime driving conditions,also gps screen same problem.it is a dangerous distraction.went to dealer and they said Chrysler is aware of problem ,but there is no fix at this time.
CHRYSLER
PACIFICA PLUG-IN HYBRID
(2020) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
May 31, 2023
Incident date: Feb 24, 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 unavailable. 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 had not experienced a failure. VIN tool conf... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2015) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
May 31, 2023
Incident date: Apr 28, 2023
I tried to have my headlights replaced in 2020 but they told me to wait there was a lawsuit going about this. After it was resolved I had to go online and fill out some info to get on the list. Then I was told they had to order headlights for me. I had to call Nissan corporate office to get on the list. But still my headlight are not fix because they do not have headlights for me.
Incident date: Apr 27, 2023
The daytime running light is dangerously dim on one side. Changing the headlight doesn't fix the issue. The housing is defective it's failing to reflect the light outward causing dangerous visibility issues.
Incident date: May 31, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated that the vehicle was initially taken to the dealer to be repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V903000 (Exterior Lighting) however, the contact stated that while driving at night at an undisclosed speed, the headlights were extremely dim. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to safely drive to her destination. Th... Read more
Incident date: May 18, 2023
There is a black shadow/blotch/blob in the driver side headlight. This blob bounces with the headlights depending on road condition. It is extremely distracting when driving at night. I live in an area with minimal streetlights and am often on dark, country roads with abundant wildlife. This blob both obscures my vision and leads me to think there’s an animal on the road. I find the lack of clar... Read more
Incident date: May 26, 2023
January 2021 starting burning engine oil. Have been to the kia dealership numerous times complaining. Negative results regarding the situation. Engine spits - hisses - hiccups and dies. Car hopped forward and rolled backwards into traffic on the highway. Car burned through three quarts of oil within a three week time period. Check engine light is on again. Do not feel safe Respectfully req... Read more
Incident date: May 28, 2023
2020 Silverado 1500 LTZ, Turn signals on mirror do not work
Incident date: May 9, 2023
Vehicle is experiencing the same issue for recall 15A, NHTSA Campaign Number 23V058000. The instrument panel no longer adjusts its lighting, and remains extremely dim at all times. This is especially detrimental during the hours of daylight. Vehicle is a 2022 Jeep Compass, similar to those under recall 15A, and is not currently listed for the recall. FCA refused to take the complaint until a deale... Read more
Incident date: May 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 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 local dealer was contacted. 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 had no... Read more
Incident date: May 19, 2023
The brake & turn signal lights are located at the bottom of the bumper, however the vehicle has additional taillights midway up the back of the vehicle, these are in the traditional area of the car, however these taillights in the traditional place do not indicate a stop or turn. This is where most people’s eyes are focused when they are following you, not at the bottom of the bumper. This creat... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2018) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
May 30, 2023
Incident date: Mar 27, 2023
I have several recalls on my vehicle and the dealership only scrub and they did not replace the crossmember and other parts. I need help to see if this is OK
Incident date: May 20, 2023
The car lurches forward upon accelerating. Other times the car lags when accelerating after slowing for a dip or speed bump. This has caused me to almost be hit from behind on multiple occasions. My car has been in the shop multiple times since I bought it.
Incident date: Apr 1, 2023
I purchased this 2011 Cheverolet Malibu brand new. A few years prior to me giving it to my daughter, I had to get the headlights replaced several times, one would go out a month or so after I had the other one fixed. I gave it to her in 2019 and lately every other week one or even BOTH of the front headlights have gone out. Also, the third brake lamp randomly goes out and now one of the rear brak... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2023
Both headlamp lights have water on it (Condensation ocurring on both headlamps) Please verify if this situation could be considered a safety hazard.
Incident date: Jan 11, 2022
The headlights and rain don’t mix at all I can’t see 3 feet i from it me and the wipers don’t clear the windshield fast enough they need to have led bulbs or design a new headlight
Incident date: Sep 1, 2017
Head lights are very dim. When I took a vacation through Arizona and parts of Southern California where street lights were not present it was very hard and unsafe to see where I was going due to lights being so dim. Estimate to replace was so out of my budget. Don’t know what to do. Please help