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: Oct 4, 2022
The low beam headlights are not bright enough to see under normal night driving need to use high beams which is not safe
Incident date: Dec 2, 2022
Low beam headlights are very dim . Changed bulbs with no improvement. This is dangerous to occupants in my vehicle and oncoming traffic because we have to use high beams all the time at night.this was seen by dealer and I was told there was no problem.
Incident date: Dec 2, 2022
I called the Porsche dealer regarding my open recall and they are unable to check my vehicle for 2 months. That is unacceptable. What are my next steps?
Incident date: Oct 3, 2022
The headlights on my 2015 SRX are faulty--even GM admits it. They are so dim that it is dangerous to drive at night unless I keep my high beams on at all times, which is dangerous to other drivers. Without the high beams on at night, the reduced headlight performance prevents me from seeing more than 5 feet in front of my car. There was no warning--the lights simply dimmed to the point where I ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2022
Since the purchase of my vehicle 7 30 2022 & after driving the first several times in the darkness/evening hours & since I have had safety concerns that the headlamps in my vehicle are insufficient/inadequate - not just the normal headlights illumination but also the high beams. When the high beams are activated the additional effect is negligible/deliver inferior performance. I have continued t... Read more
Incident date: Oct 17, 2022
Faulty software in Body Control Module (BCM) causing numerous problems with multiple vehicle components including battery, namely: electrical (key fob and headlights) malfunctions, illumination of several warning dash display lights, repeated parasitic battery draining, and security system problems (car alarm activation). Please see attached letter to manufacturer American Honda Motor Co. for a... Read more
Incident date: Nov 18, 2022
Headlights and dash lights will suddenly and randomly turn off while driving when using auto setting. Have experienced this multiple times.
Incident date: May 30, 2021
Both left and right headlights on this car cast a dark "shadow" on the road in front of the car when driving at night. It only occurs when the headlights are on low beam, the high beam headlights are normal. Each headlight casts 2 shadows, for a total of 4, which can be seen about 100 feet in front of the car. They are very distracting at all times, but especially when the car is driven around ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2022
TIPM failure. Lights, Turn Signals, Fuel Pump, Windshield wiper malfunctions. 89,000 miles on car. Wipers went to constant on. Lights went to off. Turn signals ceased working. This was a know issue for Chrysler. The TIPM was recalled on other Jeep and Chrysler models.
Incident date: Nov 30, 2022
When lights are turned to automatic setting they often turn on during daylight or off at night. They have now turned off while driving at night on unlit roads and highways and we are lucky we did not have an accident. Typically jiggling the knob on light lever will reset the lights to be correct, but this leads to distracted driving often while not being able to see the road.
Incident date: Oct 17, 2022
The infotainment system is damaged resulting in the display screen being blacked out. All of the safety features including rearview camera, parking assistance, Hands-free phone, and all other vehicle settings are not available. There are multiple warning notifications on the dashboard indicating a malfunction in the interior lighting, lane change, and parking systems. Even before the screen went... Read more
Incident date: Nov 28, 2022
The 'automatic high beam/low beam' function is totally worthless. Any reflective sign along the road turns the high beams off. The system on my earlier 2017 Honda Ridgeline worked almost 100%. This 2021 system basically doesn't work. In addition you must reach 45 mph before it activates. On many of the back roads that I travel on, the speed limit is less than 45 mph. I have heard that Honda ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2022
The headlights malfunctioned two weeks after I purchased the vehicle. The center control panel electronics that controls heating and cooling, the phone, etc failed suddenly and without warning while I was on the highway. There have been multiple problems with this vehicle since I purchased it on September 19. It has been in the shop for about 15 days. A propulsion system warning appeared without... Read more
Incident date: Nov 27, 2022
Vehicle has 32K miles on it and both low beam headlight bulbs failed at the exact same time. My daughter had just left her house and as soon as she got away from street lights she realized this. The odd part is that the in-dash indicators showed everything working normally with NO FAULTS, so we assumed it was an electrical issue. We got it to a Ford dealer (she has an extended warranty), and they ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2000
Headlights are too dim to drive safely at night.
Incident date: Nov 11, 2022
My daughter is in college in Tallahassee. About 4 months ago, she told me that when she presses the accelerator, the car doesn’t go as fast as it should. In July 2022, the car was serviced in Tallahassee at the dealership; however, none of this is reflected on the receipt. In November she came home to Palm Beach County, on her way back, she told me that she was having the same issue when she pre... Read more
Incident date: Nov 28, 2022
While driving at night with headlights set to "auto" the car will (without moving the physical switch) change the headlights to "off" for approximately 2 seconds, after which it will change them back to "auto". This causes a momentary loss of vision to the driver. The drivers display shows the change from "auto" to "off" as though the switch had been turned. I am unaware if this also happens in l... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2021
Nissan has issued a replacement of headlights but parts are unavailable. Car is unsafe to drive during hours of darkness. I spoke with both the dealer (Coggin Nissan on Atlantic, Jacksonville, FL and Nissan this morning. Parts were ordered in August but as of today there is no indication as to when they will be available. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE. I cannot use this car safely between dusk and ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2021
Low beam headlights too dim to be usable at night. Service center confirmed it is a known delamination issue of the reflective coating, for which a class action lawsuit was previously filed and settled. Have been waiting for over 6 months for the "back ordered" parts to come in so it can be fixed.
Incident date: Nov 29, 2022
I tried to start the car and got the “Center Display unavailable” message. Reset the computer doesn’t help. I have to wait for more than 5 minutes for the system to be on.
Incident date: Nov 29, 2022
Nissan is aware that there is a problem with the headlights. There was a class action suit against them for this defect. They need to be made to issue a recall. It's very dangerous as the lights are incredibly dim making it difficult to see. I tried to get them repaired by Nissan but I missed the class action suit deadline by 5 days.
NISSAN
PATHFINDER
(2019) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Nov 29, 2022
Incident date: Nov 13, 2022
This 2019 Nissan Pathfinder: The ABS, Traction Control, and Collision lights all illuminate at once on the vehicle's dash board. When the vehicle's engine is turned off and then back on, the lights reset. However, they illuminate once again.
Incident date: Nov 29, 2022
The headlights have gradually become so dim you can’t even see at night time. It is extremely dangerous.
Incident date: Nov 27, 2022
The high beams frequently don’t work. It has to be off auto. They only work sometimes I have to pull the left stalk forward to have them on. They should over ride the system if I push the stalk forward so I can see the road. I have allot of deer in my area and I’m afraid to drive often because the system isn’t working right. They want to charge me $1,363 to look at it.
Incident date: Oct 12, 2022
This is one of the absolutely worst kind of problems that fundamentally affects the safety of the car when driven at night. Problem: Delamination of the headlight reflective material resulting in severely degraded headlights. A multitude of accounts including at least 2 YouTube videos with many comments confirming the problem state that there is so little light the car is or is next to undrivable... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Sep 23, 2022
Dim Headlights. Vehicle is available for inspection.Headlights do not illuminate the road resulting in not being able to see while driving at night. High beam lights no longer function. Vehicle was inspected and it was determined headlights would need to be replaced at owners expense. There were no warning messages that high beams no longer worked.
MERCEDES-BENZ
E 400
(2018) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Nov 28, 2022
Incident date: May 28, 2020
The contact owns a 2018 Mercedes-Benz E400. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the message "Inoperable Headlight" was displayed, and the passenger's side headlight became inoperable. The contact stated that he was able to continue driving. The vehicle was taken to dealer who added an unknown gas inside the headlight. However, the failure reoccurred with the driver's side headlight six months... Read more
Incident date: Nov 28, 2022
climate control intermittently operable. only works half the time. can't regulate the fan control as the touch screen control systems fails to work
Incident date: Nov 27, 2022
Driving in weather from -4C to 0C with medium snow coming down. Normally not a problem at all. Was with a friend in a ram 1500 2019. We both had stock LED headlights. Within approximately 5-10 minutes the snow flakes directly Infront of the car but above the hood height got brighter and brighter even though my High beams were off. My headlights also lacked any beam distance at all. I was forced t... Read more
Incident date: Nov 7, 2022
right side headlight always had condensation and much more condensation than the left side, however, Ford and dealer always said that it was for ventilation. after a rain, the right headlight light was always on, even when the car was off, and after that the right signal and lamp will not turn on anymore. Dealer did changed the whole headlight assembly, however, the issue still there.
Incident date: Mar 3, 2022
Nothing happy was just left mirror
Incident date: Nov 21, 2022
The touch screen for the radio and steering controls for the radio on the steering wheel start changing channels on the radio, the touch screen starts clicking, and going through the stations, satellite stations, and flipping through all of the home screens. When trying to stop this will the truck is running is a hazard because the touch screen does not work, nor does the volume or channel contro... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2022
The passenger side headlight stopped working 2 months ago. I have the OEM LED system that tracks through turns. I finally got in for service and mentioned it. Also mentioned I had something similar in 2019 after a service at the dealer and they said it was “fixed”. Only had one or two moments where is didn’t work and just turned off car and back on and seemed to resolve. This recent service ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 6, 2022
I was riding the motorcycle during daylight hours, and I noticed some glitchy electrical behavior. The turn signal indicators were dimly lit, turn signals themselves were inoperative, horn inoperative, windshield vertical adjustment inoperative, etc. The important part was that both headlights were inoperative, which would be a huge problem if I was riding during nighttime hours. The engine contin... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2011) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Nov 26, 2022
Incident date: Nov 26, 2022
The worst problem I have with this vehicle is that it will cut power to propulsion without any warning. I was driving down a suburban roadway, not on the freeway, thank God. When the truck's automatic gear shift wouldn't engage, I went from going 30 mph to 5 mph in seconds. The accelerator pedal wouldn't respond, I managed to coax my truck into a parking lot and restart the engine. Other times the... Read more
Incident date: Nov 24, 2022
The lane departure warning goes off frequently and at random times when there is no issue with it at all. The windows are constantly malfunctioning and turning down when there is nothing obstructing the path of the window. The tail lights will go out at random times and will only be notified by other drivers particularly at night making the vehicle unsafe to operate and unreliable.
Incident date: Sep 1, 2022
Dim headlights and faulty high beam lights that do not work at all; while the sensor remains lit up on the dash board.
Incident date: Oct 11, 2022
Toyota North America failed to notify me of the latent defect in the Headlight Operating System. I have had ongoing issues with the flickering of the lights for multiple years. I finally saved up enough money to try and fix the problem and spent $2854.34. After multiple failed attempts to get the problem fixed and having both headlights shut off simultaneously, I went to Alexandria Toyota in Virgi... Read more
Incident date: Jun 8, 2022
1) The automatic high beam functionality, and it is available for inspection 2) Safety of others is out at risk, as the automatic high beams will turn on even if an incoming car is detected, and in most cases will flash off and on automatically with oncoming traffic, resulting in the oncoming driver being blinded and unable to operate their vehicle safely. 3) It’s been inspected by the dealer, ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 22, 2022
I took the car in for a recall regarding the headlights. The recall number is N222363740. The dealer placed a sticker. On the headlights, which now makes it hard to see at night this is my wife’s commuter car to work at the hospital. We live in a very rural area where the 2 lane roads are remote and very dark.my wife works from 7:00 am to 7:30 pm but with her commute she leaves at 5;30 am and re... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
JETTA
(2017) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Nov 24, 2022
Incident date: Nov 7, 2022
The fuse that controls the exterior lights (tail, marker,etc.) and interior lights at first interment would blow/burn out. Sometimes after a few days or a few months for the past year. In the past few weeks the fuse blows immediately once replaced. The car was brought to a VW dealer a year ago who changed the fuse and ran a diagnostic. It was brought back 4-5 months later and they again change... Read more
Incident date: Nov 20, 2022
Numerous reports of taillights and headlights not working properly and no recall like it should be
Incident date: Nov 19, 2022
the high beam actuator has failed which has resulted in loss of high beam usage.
Incident date: Oct 21, 2022
This issue appears to fall under recall 97CB for a Side Marker Light Violation on select Audi vehicles. I own a 2017 Audi Q7 and have been receiving an error that the "front right side marker light is defective". Audi service has stated that the issue is with an individual LED diode so the entire headlight unit must be replaced to the tune of $4,400.00. Since my VIN is not included in recall 97CB,... Read more
Incident date: Nov 22, 2022
The low beam headlights are VERY dim when driving at night. Very hard to see unless high beams are activated. Even replaced bulbs with LED's. Helped some, but not much.
Incident date: Nov 7, 2022
VIN [XXX] My headlights are so dim, it is dangerous to drive at night even after replacing the bulbs for same reason in last year. Called Cadillac of Dublin. [XXX] tells me there is a reimbursement for the headlight assembly as a part of a lawsuit, but I need to bring in car to be sure that’s the problem. [XXX] checked me in, then called with estimate. Headlight Assembly Repair Diagnosti... Read more
Incident date: Nov 12, 2021
In winter weather driving the LED headlights become covered in snow and ice. I have to keep finding a safe place to pull over and manually clear the snow and ice off the headlights so I can see properly without dazzling other drivers.
Incident date: Jan 15, 2021
At about 45,000 miles on the vehicle both bright lights no longer worked suddenly at the same time. I figured they had burn out so I purchased brand new bulbs for both sides at advanced auto parts. advanced auto parts installed the lightbulbs, and when I flipped the switch for brights again no bright lights. Apparently there’s an issue on the 2020 tellurides for some reason, the bright lights qu... Read more
MERCURY
GRAND MARQUIS
(2003) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Nov 23, 2022
Incident date: Nov 23, 2022
Almost had accidents because lights failed, headlights and taillights failed at night, including dash lights today, creating safety hazard. Seat tilt failed, and body mount frame bushing failed. Mirror tilt switch failed. Fuel filler neck leaks when filled. Very scary especially at night. Please recall and fix before we get hurt.
Incident date: Nov 23, 2018
The instrument cluster is failing on my vehicle which causes the digital display that shows mileage and gas levels start off blank then as the vehicle warms it starts flickering and causes visibility issues as that is very distracting and could cause seizures to those sensitive to flickering. This also prevents drivers from knowing gas levels which causes drivers to be stranded on the side of the... Read more