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: Jul 1, 2020
Low-beam headlights are so faint, it's dangerous to drive at night. Dealer will not repair, local service station will not repair - both say that the entire front facia (bumper, grill, headlight assembly) would all have to be removed to access the headlight reflector. From your website, there have been hundreds of complaints for the same issue - what needs to be done for a recall, someone gettin... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2022
My 2014 Tesla Model S is an unsafe vehicle as my dash goes black constantly and I lose control of the car safety items included in the dash panel such as speed, back up camera, visibility and power train. I have complained many times but Tesla does not respond with results that will make the car safe again.
Incident date: Jul 22, 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 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 confi... Read more
Incident date: Jun 8, 2020
HEADLIGHTS LOW BEAMS DOES NOT WORK PROPERLY, YOU CAN HARDLY SEE THE ROAD AT NIGHT, AT FIRST I THOUGHT IT WAS THE BULBS, BUT I WENT TO BUY SOME LED LIGHTS TO SEE IF IT WORKED BETTER BUT IT DID NOT, I EVEN PAID FOR MY HEADLIGHTS TO BE POLISHED, BUT DID NOT SEE ANY CHANGE, I LOOKED FOR INFORMATION AND THERE WAS A LAW SUE AGAINST NISSAN FOR THE HEADLIGHTS, THEY FIND OUT THAT THE CHROME INSIDE THE LIGH... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
My left rear turn signal is not working. It is GM part number 13582912. I have checked with several GM dealers who have. Confirmed there are none available. Just for the sake of it, 3 dealers have it on order but have no confirmed delivery date. Some parts stores say it’s is discontinued. There are no other aftermarket parts to substitute. This is a significant safety issue the GM needs to ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
When turning on vehicle the lightning stalls to come on properly. The dash board and radio is completely off even when vehicle has started. Speedometer does not have an accurate reading of how many miles per hour I'm truly going in which I don't feel safe due to the fact that I'm more likely to get pulled over for speeding or not driving fast enough while on the road. No one has inspected the veh... Read more
Incident date: Jul 24, 2022
My vehicle screen is starting to shatter .Each day it’s shatter more and more. I hear a thump noise and then the screen shatters more and more. My vehicle has never been in a accident.
Incident date: May 16, 2022
Left driver side rear taillights failed constantly I have no rear working lights . I brought in for repair and there is no fix for the lights ! I was rear ended
Incident date: Jul 20, 2022
I recently purchased this vehicle and had nit driven it at night. On 07/20/22 at approximately 930pm I had to pick my son up at a friends home. We live in Florida and thunderstorms are routine here. While driving I noticed my visibility of the road was not clear. I pulled over during the storm and visually checked that my headlamps were on. They were except that the lighting was dim. I proceeded t... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2015
Headlight's reflection material inside the housing and lens degrades and makes it harder to see while driving at night.
Incident date: Jul 20, 2022
Rear turn signal location is not easily visible in many traffic situations when being followed in traffic. Signals get snow covered quickly and markers are not visible from the side views. Rear signals are located very low on the rear bumper. Signals are small in size. There is also a recall on the failure of the signal on some of the 2021 Venzas that is concerning.
Incident date: Jun 15, 2022
Our car is in excellent running and cosmetic condition. It has been well maintained and garaged and never in an accident. Recently my wife was driving and was getting angry gestures, honking, and yells from other cars. She discovered that her breaklights and blinkers were not functioning. It is an intermittent problem. It took the ford dealer multiple days to be able to recreate the problem. They ... Read more
Incident date: May 11, 2022
License plate lights (2). Burned wires and components.
Incident date: Jun 21, 2022
The low beam lights are extremely dim and I can’t see at night.
Incident date: Jul 10, 2022
Headlights will randomly turn off when set on automatic lights. Turn signal might be part of the issue. Headlights will turn off when driving on winding road or randomly when you turn on the turning signal. I was driving rounding on the hillside when my headlights randomly turned off. So scary because I could have driven off the cliff. No specific dates because it happens consistently. I will ente... Read more
Incident date: Jul 19, 2022
When driving down the the interstate at night, my headlights just turn off while driving. They are on Auto. This has happened multiple times while driving. I have not took it to be looked at yet. There is no warning light or anything else that lets you know that there is a malfunction. The lights just go off. For them to come back on, I have to manually turn it off and back on again, and they will... Read more
Incident date: Jul 11, 2022
The High beams will not engage lights stay on dim mode
Incident date: Mar 22, 2022
Altima headlamps settlement Can’t drive at night due To dim headlamps Approved for replacement March 2022 by Nissan dealership Gray daniels in Brandon ms by service advisor Josiah Williams and his supervisor Called a month later and told they didn’t know when lamps Would be available Called last week to Josiah’s personal phone ,left a msg and have Not gotten a callback
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2016) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jul 20, 2022
Incident date: May 1, 2019
The tail lights on the back tailgate hatch are leaking and have been leaking. The leaks are getting progressively worse and the lights are filling up with water. The vehicle has been garage kept, has low mileage, and has never been wrecked. I feel like this is a manufacturer defect.
Incident date: Jun 4, 2022
High Beam Headlight system both headlamps are malfunctioned and yes it is available for inspection. Due to high beam headlight system not working when I am driving down hill I am not able to see at a distance in front of my vehicle nor can I see animals jumping out of the road in front of me. My safety is at risk as well as others I meet on the road. Dealer is aware unable to get me in immediately... Read more
Incident date: Jul 20, 2022
Junction box failure. No functioning marker lights.
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
While driving at night the headlights turn off. The headlights are set to auto at all times. The headlights will come back on when the switch is moved to the on position. This occurs almost nightly.
Incident date: Jul 6, 2022
I bought the vehicle 2 months ago, and 2 weeks ago, I noticed the car was shaking when I applied the brakes. The engine light came on and I took it to the shop, and was told I needed a new engine.
Incident date: Jul 19, 2022
I own a 2013 Kia Optima. The low-beam headlight was not providing proper illumination while driving at night, making it difficult to see the roadway. Took the vehicle to the local dealer, the mechanic was able to see the failure, but stated that my car was made in the US. So the Recall that is out for dimming headlights from cars made in South Korea does not apply to my car. Stated it would cost $... Read more
Incident date: Jul 19, 2022
Driver side light intermittently shut off until I turn the lights off and then they come back on for a little while and then I have to repeat the process
Incident date: Jul 19, 2022
The headlights don't work even after replacing. It rains in the vehicle from the sunroof. The gas tank isn't registering even after fixing it. So the engine doesn't know how much to put out etc etc and it makes the car jerk horribly. This vehicle is a fire hazard due to raining inside on everything upfront. I have kids I pray nothing happens!!
Incident date: May 6, 2022
when using the automatic rain wipers with automatic headlights activated during the daytime the dash illumination is darken to night time values. Since the dash is digital along with the radio system, it is EXTREMELY difficult to see anything. It requires you take take your eyes off the road for a longer period to time to view any information on the dash or in the navigation/radio. The dash ill... Read more
Incident date: Jul 18, 2022
The low beams on my car cast to shadows beyond the visible lighted area of the beams but beyond the shadows is dark , no penetration through the shadows restricting my view down the road and I have to switch to high beams to actually see down the road. I've been driving cars for 72 years and I have never had this problem. I love the car but hate driving it at night ! I've reported this to m deal... Read more
Incident date: Jun 16, 2022
The Lighting Control Board Module (LKM) of the 1996 BMW 840Ci failed in a manner that caused it to catch fire even though the vehicle was not running at the time, and in fact had not been driven in several days. The fire damaged surrounding modules and wiring inside the passenger compartment of the car, and filled the garage with smoke, necessitating dispatch of the local fire department. The fail... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Dec 26, 2021
I believe Low Beam Head lights must be carefully inspected in low light environments, when driving at around 60mph at 2 lanes highway where you cannot use high beam lights, the sight is clear at the sides of the road but its to low down at at the speed driven if something shows up at the road it would be impossible to see and to stop at a safe distance. I believe the lights from your car ahead are... Read more
Incident date: Feb 4, 2021
THE HEADLIGHTS ARE VERY DIM THEY SAY THE WHOLE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY IS BAD THE REFLECTIVE COATING BURNS DUE TO THE TEMP OF THE HAILOGEN HEAD LIGHTS THIS IS A KNOWEN PROBLEM WITH THE CADDY SRX
Incident date: Jul 15, 2022
Headlights are leaking and allowing moisture to enter into the headlight assembly. In turn, this is causing headlights to rust and fail early. Additionally, they fail without warning, thus potentially leaving the driver in the dark. Very serious safety issue. Dealer contacted and stated they were, at one time, reimbursing car owners, however they are not doing so now. Cadillac states that sin... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2022
1. Headlights randomly fail and yes. 2. Headlights will completely go out at night while driving. Not being able to see in the dark while driving can be fatal to me, my family, and any nearby innocent bystanders. 3. No. 4. No. 5. No warnings at all and it started almost 2 weeks ago.
Incident date: Jul 15, 2022
The headlights are so dim they were replaced by GM On the 2014&2015 SRX I bought this car used and the GM dealer never said there was an issue with the headlamps. This vehicle cannot be driven at night!!!
Incident date: Mar 8, 2022
Water in the rear tail light. Dealer is trying to collect money from me, even though the other service tech said if it was not moisture but water retention that is would be under warranty. It is evident in the internet car forums that this has been happening to many current and previous Forte models and a factory know defect. The other issue is the gas tank lid won't opened. I had it in to be ch... Read more
Incident date: Jul 11, 2022
ABS light came on, I checked on the internet to see what the problem might be and came up with a number of reasons, the last being have it checked ASAP. Took the car to my repair shop to have it checked. Found code C1116 stop lamp circuit was the problem, which I had fixed.When I picked up the car, I was told that getting the part wasn't difficult because it was a common problem. They also told... Read more
Incident date: Jun 6, 2022
While driving at night, the low beams on the vehicle cast a very dark shadow approximately 30-40 feet in front of the car. While traveling, it us very noticeable and downright dangerous. If someone or something is in front of the vehicle, it would be hit. We have seen numerous complaints about this on the internet while searching for dilutions to the problem. Dealer says its within Hyundai specif... Read more
Incident date: Jun 28, 2022
The display that tells you how fast you are going and how much gas ect It jerks in traffic while sitting in traffic and when first out in gear it tends to jerk
Incident date: Jul 13, 2022
Head lights have become dim to the point of even with bright lights on it’s difficult to see. I read of a head lamp recall and contacted the dealer. I was informed there is a recall on the Altima head lights which did not include my vin number.
Incident date: Jul 1, 2022
Brake light switch failure causing loss of break lights and other safety features such as emergency stopping, lane change notification, loss of anti-lock brakes,and other safety features.
Incident date: Jul 1, 2021
My windshield wipers snapped off in the middle of a storm. I had them replaced and submitted all the paperwork to GMC. They have not reimbursed me. The reference number with GMC is: [XXX], 2015 GMC Recall Follow Up Dear [XXX], Thank you for contacting GMC Customer Service. The vehicle identification numbers for recall have been published and your vehicle with vehicle identification number [XXX]... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2021
The parts are not available.
Incident date: Oct 1, 2019
First noted dimming low beam headlights in Oct 2019 with ~80K mileage. There were no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms (visual observation during nighttime driving). I replaced the OEM halogen bulbs with Sylvania SilverStar Ultra higher intensity halogen bulbs, but no discernable improvement in brightness and continued to dim over time. In Jan 2021 with ~93K mileage, I purchased and in... Read more
Incident date: Nov 14, 2021
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Altima. The contact state while driving approximately 65 MPH at night, the headlights were dimmed making visibility very difficult. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who confirmed the failure with the headlights. The headlights were not replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The dealer related the failu... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2022
Despite recently replacing bulbs and cleaning my headlights, my low beams are very dim. I do not feel safe driving at night without high beams on because they are so dim. Other Acura’s have had parts recalled for this issue.
FORD
BRONCO SPORT
(2021) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jul 11, 2022
Incident date: Apr 10, 2021
There is an electrical issue with the cars running lights, headlights and interior lighting. Intermittently, when the car is shut off and either locked or unlocked, the cars running lights, and/or headlights, and/or interior lighting fail to shut off. This occurs BEYOND the 30 to60 minute delay feature. This happens when you lock the door from the door lock or the key fob. In all cases the car... Read more
Incident date: Jul 11, 2022
I was driving on a back road when my car started smoking and blazed up on passenger side headlights an I see were people have been saying this was seriously fire issue now I'm out of work no car and I was only owner fa 5 months
Fire
1 injured
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2009) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jul 11, 2022
Incident date: Feb 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2009 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated that she had experienced several electrical failures with the vehicle including the power seat and power windows, the parking brake, the exterior lighting, and the air bag warning lights. The contact also stated that the vehicle would lose motive power and stall while driving at various speeds with several unknown warning lights illumi... Read more
Incident date: Jul 5, 2022
Poor illumination of headlights and headlights high beam does not work. The bulbs were changed, and the high beam light fuse and the high beam relay were changed and the lights still will not go on high beam. I heavily rely on bright lights when possible to easily identify animals in or near roadway when traveling during hours of darkness. Night time visibility is very poor and unsafe,
Incident date: May 22, 2022
Trouble code:P0011 Mechanic replaced timing soliend. On driving car home, the engine began shutting down. Took back to mechanic who stated he could not get the engine to repeat trouble. Continue to drive and see what happens. Continued to drive but engine shut down got continuously worse and there is a sound like a fan blade is knocking against something (best way I can describe the noise)which is... Read more