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: Jan 1, 2022
This is an addendum to NHTSA tracking # 11508192. Please see attached Kia Dealer repair recommendation which is to Replace both Front headlamps with a cost quote of $1,682.54!!!! This vehicle is a 2020 with less than 65,000 miles.
Incident date: Feb 19, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Ford F-150. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V686000 (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 had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms pa... Read more
Incident date: Dec 18, 2019
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 not yet available. The local dealer was not contacted. 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 had no... Read more
Incident date: Feb 19, 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 made aware of the issue. The contact had not ex... Read more
Incident date: Feb 21, 2023
The instrument panel is flashing all alerts when the car is off. I am able to drive the car. It is unknown which component has malfunctioned. Several Honda owners on Google say to check the fuel injectors. I am hoping you all can assist me with that. My safety was put at risk as the alarm goes off randomly when the car is off. It is bothersome at my workplace. I am afraid to drive the vehicle. One... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
Complete loss of high beam headlight function without warning. The failure occurred on completely dark rural roads at night. It is a huge safety issues as it compromises navigation and increases the risk of hitting deer or other large animals. The car is dangerous to the occupants of the vehicle in these conditions. The high beam indicator dashboard light illuminates, but the high beams do not... Read more
Incident date: Feb 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Forte. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at undisclosed speeds, the rear driver's side brake light failed. No warning lights were illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that she previously replaced the rear driver’s side brake light three times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the rear driver’s side tai... Read more
Incident date: Dec 17, 2022
Protective coating on wires in the headlight and turn signal assemblies crumbled and disintegrated, causing all the lighting components and ballast for HID lights, light level adjusters and the fuses and relays to short out, sparks and potential fire hazard.
Fire
Incident date: Feb 20, 2023
I keep the light switch turned to auto. At random times I will get this warning on the center display to turn on the lights. I look down and find that the switch has turned to the left to off. I have no idea how this happens. It is not in a place where I can bump it or touch it. I do not feel safe knowing that I think that I have lights on and they are, in fact, off.
Incident date: Feb 8, 2023
The headlights turn off randomly when in Auto mode. There are a lot of other people reporting the same issue. https://sorentoforums.com/threads/lights-shutting-off-in-auto-mode.16/
Incident date: Feb 20, 2023
Station wagon lift gate has severe wiring failures between the lift gate and body. This problem is well known throught the blog community. Broken wires cause failures, and electrical danger, to the rear lighting system that includes brake, running, back up, and turn signals. Also effected is the rear wiper, defroster, and operation access to open and close the lift gate. Tailgate failure would... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
PASSAT
(2016) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Feb 20, 2023
Incident date: Jan 19, 2023
High beams just stopped working and won't turn back on. The bulbs were changed and a new relay was tried out, both did nothing. The dealer is looking into it further but I have read that this is a problem with similar year/make/model. We drive on desert roads every weekend where there is limited visibility and no street lights for very long distances. Our high beams are a critical safety eleme... Read more
Incident date: Dec 9, 2022
1) Back up camera goes blank periodically. A few times the monitor would not come on at all. Frightening when I am using it for directions. 2) Service System 4WD light has come on. Jeep dealer said it is a Disconnect Acetutor (?). I have appt to repair but am concerned it might not be safe to drive. 3) Cannot figure out how to get high beams to automatically turn off when oncoming vehicle is app... Read more
CASTLE ROCK
RADIAL ST226
(9999) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Feb 19, 2023
Incident date: Feb 19, 2023
My windshield wipers started coming on and off by themselves in my 2005 grand Marquis. They also started spraying all of the windshield wipers fluid out. The lights also flicker on and off by themselves. The wipers then stopped working all together. I took it to a Ford dealership where they could not locate the problem.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2020
The dash has completely desegregated exposing all the wires, air conditioning unit, and airbag parts. This is a huge hazard because my headlight switch hangs with nothing to attach to. My airbags are completely visible and could explode at anytime. Everything that was in the dash heated seat, headlight, air system, radio, speedometer, and airbag controls are completely visible and all attachments ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 22, 2022
The headlights fail to light up safely and can cause serious injuries or even death. You are unable to see 10 foot in front of the car on deem and bright lights you can only see 15 feet at the max.
Incident date: Feb 17, 2023
Many states like Florida have a law that headlights need to be on when it is raining, My Tesla has automatic wipers that come on when it senses rain, when this happens, it should also turn on headlights for safety reasons but it does not, they need to be turned on manually, the car does also have automatic headlights, but the automatic headlights on the car only work when it gets dark in the eveni... Read more
NISSAN
PATHFINDER
(2015) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Feb 18, 2023
Incident date: Jan 13, 2023
The headlights on this vehicle you can’t even tell they are on after dark even after kia of Cape Coral florida tried adjusting them it’s so bad I ended up installing a light bar on there just to be able to drive this after dark if I get in a accident because of this who is liable I just think there should be a repair they should have to do
Incident date: Feb 10, 2023
There is a KNOWN issue with Honda's Body Control Module (BCM) in 2017 Accord, Pilot, Insight, but except the CVR. Upon researching online, it looks like many 2017 CRV owners are experiencing the same issue with the BCM; CRV is not being recalled, but all other Honda models are. Bought it to our car technician, he indicated many CVRs are experiencing the same issue and recommended us to bring it ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 10, 2023
High beams stopped working. When I called with issue the dealership stated that it was a safety issue. Took car to dealership and they stated that the actuator lighting system more than likely has a short. They recommended that it would be $1700 for them to replace the system and then retest to see if that was the issue. Upon further research it was found that other owners with the 2020 model were... Read more
Incident date: Jan 18, 2023
SYSTEM FAILURE: High beam headlights don't illuminate. When switch is activated, the blue dash indicator light illuminates, but the high beams don't come on. Initially a flicker was noted in the low beams when the switch was activated. Problem was first noted some time in Oct 2022. RISK: During mountain driving I am unable to utilize the high beams to help illuminate unlit roadways at night. DEA... Read more
Incident date: Aug 2, 2021
The dome lights won’t shut off when all the doors are shut
Incident date: Feb 17, 2023
The right low beam bulb goes out every 10-15k miles. This is a known issue by Toyota that addressed it with a "Warranty Enhancement Program" that worked to address the defect, but expired in 2019. I believe that headlamps are critical safety issues, and this should be subject to a recall, not a "Warranty Enhancement Program".
Incident date: Feb 12, 2023
The brake lights and headlights keep going out within a few month of changing the bulbs
Incident date: Sep 9, 2022
Fully enclosed LED tail light (turn and brake integrated into 1 LED "strip") with no visible moisture ingress/egress system showing retained moisture and no longer functional. Dash light for "rear signal brake light failure" appears. This rear light unit is NOT serviceable or repairable when a light goes out and is fully sealed aside from the reverse light (incandescent bulb and functions fine). L... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
Low beam headlights are so poor that they barely illuminate the roadway when driving at night. I've replaced them with Sylvania Silverstar Max bulbs as well as tried LED bulbs and neither help. Makes the car almost worthless to drive at night due to the limited visibility. It has slowly gotten worse since my purchase of the vehicle in 2016.
Incident date: Feb 16, 2023
Vehicle doors are uneven. Crooked. Headlights/taillights get foggy to the point where you cannot see the lights. Doors wont shut properly. Powertrain issues. Vibration after certain speeds. Transmission delays gear switching. Transmission kicking and banging. Exhaust has a hole in it. I can provide more videos details via the email if possible.
Incident date: Jan 2, 2023
I CAN NOT SEE OUT OF MY HEADLIGHTS AT NIGHT BECAUSE THEY ARE SO DIM. SEARCHING THE INTERNET THIS IS A PROBLEM CADILLAC KNOWS ABOUT FOR MY MODEL AND YEAR, THEY HAVE A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AND DO NOT HAVE A RECALL! IT IS DUE TO THE HOUSING ON LIGHTS THEY GET MOISTURE IN AND IT MAKES THE BULBS DIM. TO FIX THIS PROBLEM IS $2000 PLUS. CURRENTLY I CAN NOT DRIVE MY VERY EXPENSIVE CADI... Read more
Incident date: Jan 16, 2023
From what I have learned, the halogen low beam bulbs deteriorated the reflectors to the point it was noticeable around 60,000 miles and lights are now too dim to drive the vehicle since about 80,000 miles. Full headlight housing replacement is required to remedy the problem. I was driving in the rain on a dark highway when I was unable to see the roadway and had to travel with my high beams with... Read more
Incident date: Feb 5, 2023
I recently purchased this motorhome used. Today, I discovered that the bulbs for both front turn signal lights are missing. Normally, if a bulb burns out, you have the old one to match when searching for a repacement. However, my MH has no bulbs installed at all. I discussed this problem on the phone with the Manufacturer today. Tiffin is unwilling or unable to provide any information on repl... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2019
Left rear brake light dose not work, that is also the left rear turn signal. Part number 13582912 brake/turn signal bulb. GMC can not provide me with one. Chevrolet can not provide me with one. None of the chain store parts companies have them either. I have call GMC customer service line and also Chevrolet customer service line. They are of no help. Thank You.
CHRYSLER
TOWN AND COUNTRY
(2014) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Feb 16, 2023
Incident date: May 16, 2021
Since I bought this vehicle from A from a used dealer as is, the passenger restraint indicator on the dashboard comes on and off, the tire pressure warning indicator, even after proper inflation will not turn off and the passenger head restraint popped out forward almost a year ago.
Incident date: Feb 11, 2023
Automatic high beams don’t work fluidly. This is a safety issue because they are sensitive to the point where it seems you are “high beaming” oncoming traffic. This problem has been confirmed by several legitimate websites and by myself. All components are in working order. There are no warning lamps as this is the way the vehicle was intended to operate by the manufacturer. Honda let it sli... Read more
Incident date: Jan 14, 2023
The plastic on my sun visor broke and with the use of it the wires inside the mirror light become exposed and almost caused a fire
Fire
Incident date: Oct 22, 2022
While driving and when parked the headlights flicker on and off. I have no headlights while driving at night, during adverse weather conditions and during dawn hours. I could crash into other drivers, or they could crash into me because they can’t see me. When a parking bulb blows it fuses and melts everything together causing the replacement of the entire headlight unit, this has happened twi... Read more
Incident date: Feb 12, 2023
The housing for the drive lights have failed. Replacing the bulbs does not resolve the problem. Cadillac wants to replace the entire unit because the plastic reflector has failed. Lots of Cadillac owners reporting this problem on the internet. Cadillac used an inexpensive plastic part that creates high risk when it fails. This is happening not just to the SRX, but to many GM models. Please s... Read more
Incident date: Dec 15, 2021
No injuries or accident but this vehicle has two serious problems . 1. The head lights are almost non existent. you can not drive faster than 25 mph with out over driving you lighted area... I consider this a serious issue. .2. when car was new i almost always was getting in the low 30s and as high as 40 mpg now it is always getting in the low 20s consistently ... When i check this on you tube ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 14, 2023
Vehicle is being held at dealership due to recall 22V686 (Ford 22C22) "Front Lamp Park Flicker". The bulletin states the Ford would have a remedy for F-150 vehicles in January 2023. As of this writing there is no remedy yet available, and no updates have been provided by Ford. Ford has exceeded the reasonable time allotted to provide a fix or update on when the fix may be available.
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2021) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Feb 15, 2023
Incident date: Jan 23, 2023
The headlight assembly has a reflective plate and has a manufactures defect that is a safety hazard. The reflective plate becomes yellow due to the heat of the HID light bulbs and causes the low beam lights to become dim and not put out the required output for safety and visibility. This part can not be replaced individually and the whole headlight assembly has to be replaced at a cost of $1200 pe... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed on the highway, the vehicle stalled. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact also stated that there was water intrusion into the passenger’s side taillight. The contact was made aware of TSB: 22-NA-170 and related the failures to the battery and taillight. The contact made a local dea... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2022
In September 2022, I contacted the dealership to schedule my 50k service after observing a yellow battery light indicator flash on and then resolve itself by turning off. The mileage on my Q8 was approximately 44K at this time. I was also experiencing a passenger seatbelt warning issue despite no one in the passenger seat. The soonest the Audi service department could get me scheduled was on Fe... Read more
Incident date: Feb 13, 2023
My headlights go completely out, pitch black, going over 50mph, several times now. I have turned them off the automatic setting as this has happened more than 5 times over the past year. Everything out front goes black including fog lamps, meeting cars, not meeting cars, lights, no lights on the roadway, no rhyme or reason. No warning lights, no sensors covered. My children have been in the car ev... Read more
Incident date: Feb 10, 2023
Both of my headlights burned out at the same time. I was driving on a rural mountain highway at about 7:30pm and was using my adaptive headlights. They were working fine, I noticed no issues, until they both burned out at the same time. It was dangerous, there was no shoulder to pull over on, and a steep drop-off i couldn't see and no warning whatsoever I'd be in pitch black dark in the middle of ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 11, 2023
Both high beam headlights failed while driving at night. One keeps failing, but this was the first time both failed. Headlight failure alert does appear on the dash. Mechanic said that it is a wiring issue, as LED bulbs do not fail so frequently. Interior lights also stop working randomly.
Incident date: Feb 13, 2023
RT REAR BRAKE LIGHT FAILED TO ILLUMINATE WHILE THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS APPLIED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THERE WAS A RECALL ASSOCIATED WITH NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 11V438000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING); HOWEVER, THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 43,120. VEHICLE IS AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION UPON REQUEST.
Incident date: Feb 14, 2023
The infotainment system glitches or goes static after a bump of any sort. Sometimes it would restart entirely. Or just not work until I stop and restart the car.
Incident date: Dec 1, 2020
In late 2020 Ford issued recall 20C03 to correct a problem with the Daylight running lights. This entailed the reprogramming of the body control module. In so doing they made an error in the new program and inadvertently activated the parking lamps at all times when using the Daylight running lights. This is in violation of the FMVSS No. 108 (Vehicle Lighting Standards) and California Vehicle Code... Read more
Incident date: Feb 4, 2023
Driver side headlight has an extreme condensation issue. Especially after it rains or using a car wash. The condensation leaks into the control light module , which makes the turn signal, parking lamp and the adaptive light to all fail.
Incident date: Feb 14, 2023
Rear tail light malfunction due to defective ground, melting connectors to rear break lights and indicators. Lack of break lights and indicators is a risk to motorist safety as a whole.
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2023) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Feb 14, 2023
Incident date: Feb 3, 2023
On 12/31/2022, I received six notifications from my app regarding “theft alarm triggered”. Go outside horn is honking. Turn off and continued. January 2, 2023 I brought vehicle into jeep as my entire dash was glitching in and out. Couldn’t see my speed limit. Interior lights were turning on and off. Back light on interior tailgate was blinking. They had my car a few days and it was “fixe... Read more