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: Mar 1, 2022
I have been driving at night going 70 mph on major rural freeway, as well as 55 mph on a two lane rural country road when the auto headights went completely dark, including all the interior lights. I could see nothing in the dark at those speeds ... not even the road. The first time this happened, I panicked because I could not see the road. I slammed on the brakes. I turned the auto light swi... Read more
Incident date: Apr 26, 2022
THE HEADLIGHT HAVE BECOME SO DIM I CANNOT SAFELY DRIVE AT NIGHT. THERE ARE NUMEROUS ARTICLES/LAWSUITS REGARDING THIS ISSUE BUT NO RECALL HAS BEEN ISSUED.
Incident date: Mar 8, 2022
The contact owns a 2010 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 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. Parts distribution d... Read more
Incident date: May 23, 2022
I have issues with the headlights on my Outback. They are very bright to the point that i get flashed on a regular basis by other drivers thinking i have my brights on. Just this morning coming to work I passed someone on the Ohio Turnpike and they must of been blinded by my lights because they then got right up behind me and started following me with their brights on. These lights are a danger to... Read more
Incident date: May 23, 2022
Discoloration/fogging of tail light lens on driver side. Picture uploaded.
Incident date: May 22, 2022
Replaced the headlight bulbs in my wife's car around 80k miles when 2 of the 4 bulbs went out. I noticed the lenses were discolored from the inside slightly but didn't put much thought into it. The vehicle now has a little over 144k miles and I have replaced the high beam bulbs once again, and the low beam bulbs twice more, and the low beam bulbs I have had to replace the connector due to burning ... Read more
Incident date: May 23, 2022
I've had my 2014 Cadillac SRX for a little over a year and had a dealership run the VIN to ensure this particular vehicle had no issues. A couple of months ago, I was returning from a late night assignment and after leaving the city limits realized I couldn't see. I was on a 4 lane mountainous road. At a traffic signal I pulled into the turn of road and flashed the lights to make sure they we... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2013) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
May 23, 2022
Incident date: May 23, 2022
at least once a month gives a false trailer braking error and the truck brakes itself, dash dies, driver loses control over the vehicle. It is a risk of crashing or being hit because the truck stops itself in the middle of driving without brake lights coming on to alert other drivers. No way to overcome this - can't hit the gas pedal, etc. It seems to think that you are hauling a trailer and it... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
CLS550
(2008) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
May 22, 2022
Incident date: Mar 6, 2020
My doors will open without the keyfob being in close proximity to the vehicle. My car has been stolen d/t this feature. Also the electrical lighting system malfunctions causing dimmer lights especially when driving at night
Incident date: Nov 26, 2015
My vehicle's headlights are dim and do not light the roadway properly, even when they are turned to the bright setting. I am unable to drive it at night or during rainy weather. I have paid hundreds of dollars for replacement bulbs, trying to get the lights adjusted, and for refurbishing the covers. It is available for inspection at any time. With me being unable to see the road at night, it endan... Read more
Incident date: May 21, 2022
HID HEADLIGHTS MOISTURE ACCUMULATION INSIDE HOUSING MANUFACTURING DEFECT CAUSE IS EITHER A CRACK IN HEADLIGHT HOUSING OR SEAL COULD CAUSE DAMAGE TO BULBS AND/OR BALLAST/WIRING
Incident date: Mar 28, 2022
I received a class action lawsuit settlement for the headlights of my Nissan Ultima when I contacted the dealership they said there is a no contest I don’t know what that means but I know I was supposed to receive replacement headlights due to my headlights being so dim It’s hard to see while driving at night and is really a safety hazard Nissan is not Honering the settlement
Incident date: May 21, 2022
Moisture in headlights causes light to fail while driving .
Incident date: May 18, 2022
My passenger headlight went out again. I've taken to the dealer. They replaced the burnt out fog lights too. This is the 4th time in less than a year! I filed previous complaints. Had the headlights replaced repeatedly. Something keeps shorting out. There's an electrical problem. I can't keep replacing my headlights all the time. When the one side goes out, the other follows. This is becoming ... Read more
Incident date: May 19, 2022
https://youtube.com/channel/UCNkrwnR_lAKd4neLwYAbugA My YouTube channel has 13 videos about Tesla safety concerns. They are the only videos on my channel. The minutes long clips show what happens when the mainframe screen goes black, dies out or powers down while driving. Listed from memory are the following concerns associated with the Tesla ‘Black Screen of Death’: 1. No energy/dis... Read more
Incident date: May 20, 2022
Steering Yoke Safety Issue: Tesla Model S Plaid cars come with a steering yoke instead of steering wheel. The steering yoke’s horn, turn signal, high beam, voice assistant, windshield wiper, and cruise control LED indicators that identify these buttons become invisible due to sun glare when the sun is behind or to the left of the driver. The glossy surface of the yoke combined with the weak LED... Read more
Incident date: May 19, 2022
It is well known in the Dodge Durango community that the main tail light housing on these vehicles was not properly sealed from weather elements. Over the course of time, water intrusion will cause areas of the tail light to burn out, gradually leading to the entire system to fail. Dodge is well aware of this but does not offer any repair outside of warranty period if this happens on factory hou... Read more
Incident date: May 18, 2022
The headlights on this model get worse and worse each day. I've replaced the bulb but there is a more serious issue.
Incident date: Nov 1, 2021
The auto-dimming headlights on my 2021 Honda Ridgeline do not work properly. They don’t engage high beams when they are supposed to, and when they do come on the flash on and immediately turn off. It has gone off and on on dark roads and is very distracting and dangerous. Sometimes they flash other drivers causing angry responses from other drivers. I brought my vehicle in to the Honda dealershi... Read more
Incident date: Feb 15, 2022
Automatic highbeams do not go on gets dangerous when driving on dark roads
Incident date: May 18, 2022
Dead spot in headlights. Manufacturer intentionally created a dead spot just left of center so as to decrease any chance of headlights shining into oncoming traffic. The dead spot looks like an inverted triangle . These are an LED projector light which already have a very sharp cut off and should not require any further manipulation of spread or throw. The problem becomes severe when going aro... Read more
Incident date: May 17, 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 made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms pa... Read more
Incident date: May 18, 2021
The long rear tailgate lamp (called the CHMSL) suffers from water intrusion which results in LED failure. This is a reoccurring issue. I am now trying to get this lamp replaced for the 4th or 5th time (yes, I've lost track because it's ridiculous!) Dodge should do a recall and hold the lighting manufacturer accountable as it is a common problem over many years of vehicles. Why should the consu... Read more
Incident date: May 12, 2021
Instumrnt panel goes blank, often stays off. Sometimes have to pull over to turn off vehicle and turn back in. Rarely works when this is done.
Incident date: May 16, 2022
Driving at night my car headlights/instrument panel shut off on their own. I couldn’t see had to slam my brakes and pull over. Nothing I tried would turn them on. After almost a minute each time they just came back on theirselves. After googling this seems to be a known problem with Chevy impalas but no solution. This is highly dangerous. There were no warning lights that came on or anything. I ... Read more
Incident date: May 16, 2022
Headlights , all front lights shut off while driving, repeatedly.
Incident date: Mar 5, 2022
When driving at night, there are two black dots that appear in my headlights on the road. They move with the steering and become an extreme nuisance. Its all your eye can focus on and are right in the field of view from the lights. They move and create blind spots.
Incident date: Jan 1, 2004
The contact owns a 2000 Toyota Celica. The contact stated that the daytime running lights failed to turn off as needed, causing the battery to be drained. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the running lights needed to be adjusted. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was informe... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2018) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
May 17, 2022
Incident date: May 13, 2022
Beam from headlight bulb causes headlight lens to deteriorate and turn foggy
Incident date: Aug 1, 2021
My 2019 Dodge Durango is experiencing rear 'racetrack' lighting issues as thousands have. Many are complaining same issue. Poor design allows water to get into LED assembly and shorts it out. When this happens not only does the allumination of the LED go out.. But so does the license plate light. This not only creates a illegal situation but a hazard in night driving. You take the mounting bolt ou... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2022
Vehicle center screen freezing multiple times per drive. Speedometer, turn signals, autopilot, battery percentage, backup camera, blind spot monitor, parking sensors, HVAC and garage door opener all repeatedly inoperative. Audio chimes also freeze up and previously-engaged “navigate on autopilot” functions continue to operate without any visual or auditory alerts.
Incident date: Apr 11, 2022
When parked, the car anti-theft alarms will honk loudly waking up everyone noisily; the headlights will be turn on & keep running (even if it is manually turned off); the dashboard lights will be flickering; relays clicking; and sometimes the car will turn itself on. The noise & lights can't be turned off from the keyfob. The only way to silence it is to disconnect the battery and leave the car un... Read more
Incident date: May 6, 2015
Continuous Struggle with the performance of my vehicle’s headlights. I feel like I am driving blind at night unless I turn my Brights on. I have a 2015 SRX and my low headlights are really dim. My 2015 SRX HEADLIGHTS are pretty useless, I got the lens cleaned up and they are not clouded but the light is so dim making it unsafe for me to drive at night. I did some research and found there has b... Read more
Incident date: May 13, 2022
The lowbeam headlights are extremely dim. The high beams are just fine, but the low beams are so dim that it's dangerous driving anywhere at night without the high beams on. I have replaced the bulbs, and a voltage test right before the headlight assembly show significantly less than the 12V standard. At night, when high beams are dangerous to other drivers, I mainly rely on the fog lights to prov... Read more
Incident date: Apr 25, 2022
I had purchased this 2008 Prius touring model used on 4/8/22. The first time I drove it at night I was on the freeway traveling at 55 mph and suddenly had almost no visibility due to loss of headlights. It was terrifying and pure luck that I made it off and home. The headlights turn off one at a time. I took the car to Atomic Auto in Portland, Oregon and they said the type of bulbs in the car oft... Read more
Incident date: May 12, 2022
Use of the turn signal intermittently causes the headlights to turn off at night while in auto headlights mode switching to headlights on mode turns the lights back on.
Incident date: May 6, 2022
The contact owns a 2022 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving and attempting to use the Infotainment System, the headlights became inoperable. The contact stated that the cell phone was extremely hot while connected to Bluetooth. The contact stated that while using the radio the failure would not occur. The contact stated that there was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle w... Read more
Incident date: May 11, 2022
The contact owns a 2010 GMC Terrain. The contact stated that after changing headlight bulbs, the headlights operated for only one day. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V137000 (Exterior Lighting). The approximate failure mileage was 137,0... Read more
Incident date: Feb 10, 2022
Pulled over by police stating that my lights looked like I was driving around with just my running lights on and that I needed to get them looked at and fixed, gave me a warning to take to dealership to have corrected.
Incident date: May 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Audi Q7. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the passenger’s side front marker light and then the front driver’s side marker light became inoperable. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The contact was informed that the vehicle was not included in ... Read more
HYUNDAI
SANTA CRUZ
(2022) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
May 12, 2022
Incident date: Apr 12, 2022
2022 Santa Cruz 764 miles. Washed vehicle April 1st with hose, water & soap bubbles in grill of DRL. I was told that its a lens cover & not the LED DRL, but it collects and holds water & soap. I can't clean in there. Field service engineer came out, deamed normal by Hyundai, grill & lens are not sealed. Unacceptable, water collecting by electrical component. Can't get behind lens cover to clean.... Read more
Incident date: May 12, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Sentra. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V135000 (Exterior Lightning) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power, causing her vehicle to be side-swiped on the front and rear driver's side by another vehicle. Additionally, the... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jan 1, 2022
The standard driving headlights have become very dim over the past 2 years. Have replaced the bulbs with two different manufactured light bulbs with no discernable brightness change in the headlight. The lights did not illuminate any of the road when driving at night. Very dangerous situation. Had to use high beams to get any road illumination. Replaced the entire lighting assembly as online for... Read more
Incident date: Mar 21, 2022
The lights on the vehicle shut off with no warning. All of the lights, front/ rear lights and inside dash and radio.
Incident date: Feb 1, 2022
There appears to be a known issue with 2010-2016 Cadillac SRX models related to defective seals on the headlights that allow moisture to accumulate and condense, therefore damaging and dimming the headlight bulbs. My vehicle is a 2014 model and has recently been afflicted with this problem. The light quality has degraded so completely that I cannot drive the vehicle at night. In my research, ... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 2020
The contact owns a 2012 GMC Terrain. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. AAA arrived at the contact's residence and replaced the battery. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic where the plugs and other unknown parts were replaced however, the failure recurred. The contact replaced the battery twice. The contact also stated that the passenger's side headlamp had fai... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2009) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
May 10, 2022
Incident date: May 8, 2022
I noticed my right tail light has completely went out and related damage to the brown wire connected to the entire casing. Per recall campaign: 2014050001; NHTSA RECALL NUMBER: 14V177, "Oxidation on the ground pin connector for the rear tail lamps of subject vehicles can result in a dimming of the tail lights or loss of tail lamp functions. The loss of a rear tail lamp reduces the rearward visibil... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2022
I was driving at night on highway and tried to switch lanes. After I gave left signal and start changing lanes headlights turned off for several seconds. I almost panic and pushed the brake pedal. It was the Multifunction Switch which was going from Auto mode to Off.
Incident date: May 10, 2022
My rear tail lights on both sides keep burning holes through the plastic then burning out this takes place all with in a week I’ve had to replace the light harness 3 times on both sides already and I’ve wen down on the voltage on the lights. Neither worked. This is a safety concern as I e read on multiple post that there trunks have caught fire because of this. In which I’ve smelled smoke on... Read more
Incident date: May 9, 2022
I took my vehicle in for the light delamination recall. In the last year I have had to replace my headlamps with with three different types headlights because you cannot see at night with the lights on. None of them worked. I order to see at night I have to drive with my brights on otherwise nothing is visible. The Nissan service department denied the recall stating there wasn’t an issue. But pr... Read more