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: Aug 11, 2022
When auto lights are engaged and the blinkers are engaged, the light will turn off and it will blink in the wrong direction for a few times and then blink the correct direction. While in auto lights and you turn a curve they will sometimes go off. Now I have an issue with my AC - it goes on and off randomly. Had it looked at and they cannot find an issue with the components but said it could be ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 8, 2022
Headlight to nowhere just started having horrible visibility it’s like if lights were off I change the bulbs several times LEDs H IDs factory bulbs still results no good
MERCEDES-BENZ
SLK280
(2006) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Aug 17, 2022
Incident date: Feb 12, 2018
Electrical system faulty. Front lowbeam headlight warning light on. Mechanic changed headlight bulb but it still did not work. After about a week the warning indicator went off and headlight worked. A few days went by and the indicator came on again. The low beam did not work. This time the left side marker lamp indicator came on and the bulb wasn't working. Before I could take it in for repa... Read more
MITSUBISHI
OUTLANDER SPORT
(2018) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Aug 17, 2022
Incident date: Jul 1, 2022
On 07/01/2022 low beam & high beams went out at the same time. Driving without headlights at night when they went out. Could have hit anything not knowing I didn't have any lights. Someone yelled at me from another vehicle to let me know my lights wasn't on keep turning lights on nothing. Made appt. with York Mitsubishi they seen me on 07/19/2022 they said the ETACS need to be replace control unit... Read more
Incident date: Apr 6, 2022
Brake light have stopped working randomly. Were working fine one day then next day I have no brake lights, I've had several people see if they could find the problem with no success. Could possibly be faulty wiring to the brake lights? Put just normal tail lights work with only those lights when breaking. I've also seen several same make and model vehicles with the same issue in the same town that... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2022
My headlights are randomly turning off when driving at night. This is a serious safety issue and possibly a defect. Also have sensors (down hill assist) that have failed.
Incident date: Aug 17, 2022
Tesla provides a back-up input form to its touch screen -- namely voice commands. Voice commands operate, among other things, map positioning, HVAC, lighting. Unfortunately, as quiet as the car is, the voice commands are a roulette wheel of results. 80% accuracy in detecting the specific command is the best Tesla manages. This would be a problem, by itself. However, even when the voice commands a... Read more
Incident date: Aug 17, 2022
Interior lighting. Multiple shorted wires kept blowing fuses for interior lights. Wiring harness for all interior lights had to be replaced with multiple areas of chafing and wires melted together.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
The headlights and signal lights go out at least twice a year without warning which happens at night and or when raining. The dealership says they know that's why they keep plenty in stock. I've been dealing with this for 6 years afraid to drive at night or in rain because I never know when they will blow. I'm sure this can be verified by the amount of bulbs being replaced and sold. Help. This has... Read more
Incident date: Mar 8, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 GMC Terrain. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V137000 (Exterior Lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer 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 remedy... Read more
Incident date: Jun 8, 2022
i have a 2016 hyundai tucson and now that the vehicle is almost paid for, i am having issue with the blinker. when i put the let or right blinker on it stops blinking, also, my car smells like something is burning. i take good care of my car, i do routine maintenance on it when it is require, i have regular oil changes. i am taking to a hyundai shop this weekend
Incident date: Jul 12, 2022
After recall for brake light switch was performed at dealership on 7-12-2022 brake light switch sticks causing brake lights to be illuminated randomly. Brake lights stay lit after being parked and may also be lit during operation. This may cause a safety issue if following drivers cannot determine when brakes are applied. Dealership has not rectified this problem. Problem never existed before ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 16, 2022
Low beams very dim due to headlight housing defect
Incident date: Aug 14, 2022
Headlights will not work. Due to the vehicle not having a method of turning on headlights without access to a properly working media control unit which happens to be of all touch screen functionality a blackout of the screen will cause the driver to have no other access to the headlights or other vital safety features. This issue has been ongoing with Tesla for a long period of time and it continu... Read more
Incident date: Apr 28, 2022
Somehow, either by design or manufacturing defect, a part in the headlamp assembly melts and causes a gap in the illumination of the lights while driving. Technicians have said that this is a progressive issue, rather than some sudden onset, and multiple people have said they've never experienced this before but are having this issue with the Hyundai Sonata.
THOR MOTOR COACH
PALAZZO
(2017) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Aug 15, 2022
Incident date: Aug 8, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Thor Motor Coach Palazzo RV. The contact stated while operating the vehicle, the rear marker light, and the driver side(left turn) signal were inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be serviced under the NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V00H000 (Electrical System, Exterior Lighting) which would address the failures but after the recall remedy was performed the fai... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
BMW NA is aware of this problem with the sunroof leaking water on the dashboard and damaging the electrical of the car. BMW NA is colluding with the dealers to inform customers they are clogged to charge them money for a clog that is non existent. The sun roof are not clogged as BMW NA and the dealers are saying I have video of the unclogged drain tubes and have caught the dealers all lying that t... Read more
Incident date: Jun 5, 2022
The high beams on the headlights no longer work. This is a safety hazard where I live due to the number of deer around in the evenings. This problem was confirmed by Kia in many 2020 Telluride vehicles. This has not been inspected by anyone yet. It has been reported to Kia Customer Service and awaiting confirmation of warranty replacement. There was no warning when it stopped working. The high b... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2022
It had rained a good bit, as I was driving & once I stopped the interior dome light in the front dripped water. There's no noticeable seal issue outside the truck, and also no noticeable water settled in the light fixture. However it was dripping water.
Incident date: Jun 11, 2022
The locked door emblem sporadically comes on and stays on. It makes my interior lights stay on. It runs my battery down. The back passenger side door was opened by a rider and the lock all doors button had been engaged. The red light was on to show doors were not locked. This has been an ongoing issue for several months now. I have an appointment at Ford garage 09/13/22.
FREIGHTLINER
SPRINTER 3500
(2011) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Aug 14, 2022
Incident date: Jul 14, 2021
RV motor shutdowns on freeways. Needed towed to different rv repair shops. No place I went to could repair right.
Incident date: Aug 2, 2022
Had one headlight issue for months that I knew about. Told BCM issue but the BCM for this vehicle has been discontinued. Was pulled over by the police only to be told the taillights are out. Took it back in and was told electrical issue that the dealer needed to address. Already knew it was the same issue, the BCM. Unfortunately, I have to get rid of this car, and it is still being sold. This car ... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2022
Rear view mirror is hazy. This is a problem with most Honda Pilots 2011. The problem is most likely with adhesion or the chemicals tat make up the camera screen and electronics inside the mirror. It is too dangerous to drive with a hazy rear view mirror. Also, headlights get hazy on the Honda Pilot 2011. I think problem is adhesion. In other words, Honda is either did not apply adhesion properly ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 14, 2022
We have maintained this vehicle from its start. It has been developing a burn out on both rear turn signals in the last two years. The bulbs seem to require replacement more than once every six months. The bulbs seem to be overheating and actually melting the plastic between the bulb glass and the insert itself. Viewing this online it seems to be a problem that goes back for years and yet Ford ma... Read more
Incident date: Jul 27, 2022
SYMPTOMS – Dangerous Malfunction Critical Component Failure – Wipers constantly on slow speed, even in driving rain. No Rear Wiper. No TURN SIGNALS Engine rough and limited to ~2,500 RPM. No HORN. Left signal initiated by Driver in Vehicle#1 when turning left in front of other driver Vehicle#2, no left signal light resulted; Driver in Veh#2 presumed Veh#1 was proceeding straight and pulled ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2022
During rain or carwash, water leaks into rear passenger cabin along ceiling. Suspect coming from cracked rear third brake light which is a known Cruze issue that may also cause battery issues. My third brake light has two cracks (one on each side).
Incident date: Aug 6, 2022
Left Rear Brake Light, Blinker and reverse light stopped working simultaneously. Bulbs replaced, so not operating. Found multiple complaints online and discovered the ground to the tail light was burnt and the board and pigtail connector had to be replaced.
Incident date: Aug 10, 2022
The contact owns a 2012 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle suddenly began to lose power and stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and continued driving. However, the failure reoccurred while driving. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact associated the failure to NHTSA Camp... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2019
Low beam headlights inadequate. Very obvious. Difficult to see at night. Nissan dealer does not want to replace under class action settlement. Headlight lenses are not hazy.
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2018) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Aug 12, 2022
Incident date: Jul 30, 2022
The touch screen on the center console of the vehicle is delaminating. The digitizer is peeling off of the screen at the top edge. This causes phantom touches on the display, causing pop-ups to appear at random, sometimes back to back in a short time. Most notably, the clock at the top-center of the display is experiencing phantom touches which causes a pop-up asking if I would like to configure t... Read more
Incident date: Jul 5, 2022
I was traveling on the interstate through Missouri through to Kansas to get back to California on July 5, 2022 in my brand new just got april 18 2022 toyota corolla hybrid when the entire electrical panel went out on my car. i was driving the speed limit on the interstate with the AC on in 109 degree temps when the whole electric panel went out it was out for about ten minutes before it came back ... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Jul 5, 2022
please see report number 11479072 for the other information. not once person except the man i talked to there on the phone asked me if the heater went out as well and IT DID! so not only did i lose the ac i lost heat which is what i guess makes this a real problem for everyone. as its friday, after hours i have to wait until monday to contact toyota to get an appointment to confirm the heater does... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Audi Q7. The contact stated that the vehicle was unsafe when driven at night due to the right side marker being defected and as a result, she was unable to view the roadway. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the side marker needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V642000 (Electrical S... Read more
HYUNDAI
ELANTRA HYBRID
(2022) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Aug 11, 2022
Incident date: Jul 20, 2022
The 2022 Hyundai Elantra Blue is Hyundai's entry level hybrid model, and after purchasing it about a month ago, we started experiencing 'near misses' while changing lanes and using the blinkers. While other models have a visible side mounted blinker on the right and left mirrors, they removed this important feature from the entry level model. This means there is no visible blinker on the side ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
Class action suit letter received that on car headlights would be replaced as they are very dim. North Plainfield, nj Nissan has said for past 4 months they are on back order. Dangerous situation and I believe they do not want to spend money to comply with class action suit.
Incident date: Aug 8, 2022
The power steering failed on my 2013 Ford Explorer while driving which made steering extremely difficult, especially at slower speeds. I was very startled by the immediate loss of steering while traveling at a high rate of speed. I also had to be extremely cautious turning to ensure there was ample time to turn and not cause an accident. My turn signals also quite functioning properly. When turnin... Read more
Incident date: Aug 8, 2022
The right rear outside signal light assembly is defective. Shoddy workmanship allowed moisture into the assembly shorting out the LED lighting. The signal, including 4-emergency light stopped functioning. The entire assembly must be replaced. There is not simply a light bulb to change. The replacement cost of over $500 will cause people to not change the assembly thus prolonging the operation of t... Read more
Incident date: Aug 5, 2022
Father in laws vehical, low beam headlights so dim you can not see the road in front of you. very unsafe condition. bulbs changed, it appears reflective material inside the housing is missing or faded away, replacement lamp assembly very expensive. I see many other reports of this problem on here & on the Web. Other Acuras have had recalls issued for similar reasons, why not this one?
Incident date: Aug 1, 2022
Headlights flickering. Must turn off the headlights and turn them back on for this issue to go away. All headlight components were replaced including the bulb and this issue still is there. The Audi dealerships seem to not know how to fix this issue. This issue is only on the left side/driver side. The dealer could not duplicate this issue on the right side/passenger side. All new parts were ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 7, 2022
Headlight's,taillight's,turn signals stop working whenever they want.It's pretty scary to lose your headlight's when your driving at night.There's nothing i can do about it,except to sit wherever it happend and wait for them to come back on.My wife was following me one day and told me my brakelight's and turn signal stopped working and started to work again,she said this happened a couple time's ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 8, 2022
Left tail light flickers, after reading internet comments learned that tail light board connections are made of very flimsy metal material, they crack with normal vehicle operations. LED lamps are fine but the power connections to the lamps breaks therefore it renders taillights useless. Replacement cost of those lamps are $700-$800 parts alone. On the internet there is some information I’ll at... Read more
Incident date: Nov 2, 2021
I purchased a 2017 GMC Yukon Denali brand new off the showroom floor. I have maintained the services thru GMC dealership. I had to replace the struts and rear and front shocks due to hydraulic system leaking and locking up my brakes and causing extra pressure on my braking system to stop my vehicle. This cost me over $5000 to replace out of my pocket and I saw there was a previous recall in 2019 f... Read more
Incident date: Jul 20, 2022
The gear stick gets stuck when trying to shift gears it wont move from Parking, headlights seem to not give enough lighting when on, I have replaced the transmission after 3years of having the vehicle, I still owe on the loan and the vehicle still shakes when driving over 80mph on the freeway. I dont currently have any warning lights on the vehicle. I have taken the vehicle many times for repairs ... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2021) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Aug 9, 2022
Incident date: Jan 1, 2022
Trailer lightning error on dashboard (trailer package is factory installed)
Incident date: Jun 1, 2019
Problem with the computer for dash. Was worked on at Ford dealership in Lexington ky and had to borrow money with the lender that was already financing the vehicle for me for repairs. They was unable to repair it but still charged me almost 1,800.00.
MERCEDES-BENZ
C 300
(2018) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Aug 8, 2022
Incident date: Jun 7, 2022
Headlight is out and there is no replacement; dealer says they are having significant issues with headlamps. Also, tire safety monitoring system is always on, even though there is a proper air pressure amount.
Incident date: Aug 8, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 GMC Terrain. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V137000 (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 not e... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2022
Unable to unlock/lock doors on car (obviously very worrisome), unable to use turn signals, no interior lighting controls or functionality. Unable to control headlights, they still do turn on but I cannot control them. Cannot adjust any mirrors electronically. Some speedometer lighting affect or but the dials do still work, cannot see all buttons inside interior due to electrical issue. Problem: F... Read more
MITSUBISHI
ECLIPSE
(2000) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Aug 8, 2022
Incident date: Jul 27, 2022
The contact owns a 2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse. The contact stated that while parking the vehicle, the turn signal and headlights failed. The contact stated that the high beam failed to operate correctly whether the vehicle was turned or not. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 99V305001 (Exterior Light... Read more
Incident date: Mar 8, 2022
The contact owns a 2012 GMC Terrain. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V137000 (Exterior Lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer was not made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact h... Read more