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: Nov 28, 2016
Headlights keep flickering while driving and park on high beams and low beams
Incident date: Mar 21, 2022
On my 2020 MDX the rear tail light is filling with moisture and water causing the tail light to fail. There is already a recall from Acura for 2014-2019 MDX for the same issue. Apparently Acura did not correct the issue for the 2020 models which uses the same part and did not address the issue. Acura needs to include the 2020 MDX as part of this recall as well. This is a safety as if the light fai... Read more
Incident date: Mar 16, 2022
The Tesla’s operating system on the center screen froze. I was unable to view speed. I was also unable to turn on wipers, blinkers, or switch headlight beam setting. The operating system had to be rebooted while driving. This has happened twice. The first time was 2/11/2022, on I40 W in TN. The second time, noted below, was on I65 S in AL.
Incident date: Mar 26, 2022
Nissan Altima 2013 extremely dim low light bean, specifically poor intensity of brightness and distance throw of light. Extremely dangerous to operate vehicle at night. Endangering occupants, other drivers, and pedestrians. I changed light bulbs twice using the brightest bulbs available. But noticeable improvement. Almost caused several collisions and pedestrian strikes on dark roads and stre... Read more
Incident date: Mar 9, 2022
The bulbs keep blowing out and now the wiring harness is burnt. I have replaced bulbs multiple times and I have an upcoming appointment at my local dealership on April 4th. My concern is I thought bulbs were supposed to be replaced every few years not 7-8 in one month. Now due to the fact that the lighting housing assembly is melted it will not hold any bulbs. I have a small child that sits and th... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2016
Second Inquiry on this problem, a detailed description was sent previously and no response was ever received. 2015 Chevy Tahoe in short, interior LED lights flash when ever the brake is applied. Interior LED lights flash when left turn signal is activated. Dealer stated that a Service Bulletin was created for this issue as an obvious safety issue at night. Electrical tape over the second seat LE... Read more
Incident date: Mar 24, 2022
Tail lights do not work when I press the brakes. I have been warned multiple times by drivers.
Incident date: Feb 8, 2022
I’ve been getting pulled over by the state trooper because of my headlights they’re stating they aren’t bright enough. The bulb was changed and still same problem. My Nissan was slow to accelerate while driving, then looses power, turns off.
Incident date: Mar 12, 2022
Our 2017 pilot tries to turn on by itself, with the electronics in the dashboard starting and engine compartment relays firing, along with the exterior lights turning on without any driver being present or attempting to start the car. It happens even without the keys being present. As a result, the battery drains while the car is parked. We took our car to the dealership where we bought it and th... Read more
Incident date: Mar 11, 2022
The tracklight on my 2019 Dodge Durango is no longer working. The whole light on the liftgate of the vehicle which is a big part of the brake warning to other vehicles. Which can very likely cause an accident at anytime since the corners of the tail light arent as visible. The vehicle has been evaluated by an independent service center and I was quoted over $1,000 to fix something that is very cri... Read more
Incident date: Mar 24, 2022
Headlights- melted plug causing fire damage on both headlights, replaced with new headlights and bulbs as well as a new wire harness plug. Was driving smelt smoke/wires burning. Wipers- stop preforming during rain storm Southeastern NC on hwy 701 south on 3-24-22. And still does not work. Maybe be associated with older model terrain recall. Same happen to this model.
Fire
Incident date: Mar 1, 2021
Cracks in the side trim of race track (tail) light are present at bolts that attach light housing to vehicle. This has allowed moisture into the area of the led tail lights. Tail lights are no longer working correctly.
Incident date: Mar 17, 2022
Toyota corporate as well as Toyota of Kirkland Washington failed to inform me of an open recall associated with my 2018 Toyota tundra pertaining to possible engine fire due to electrical failure in headlight assembly.
Incident date: Mar 23, 2022
Hi, I think the 2011 Acadia Denali should be in the recall along with the Terrain. The reason being that I always get flashed at night and every night as though I have the high lights on which I don’t. That’s every night. Please check into this. With all this road rage going on I worry I might come across one angry person or cause someone to wreck. Please I’m worried. Thank you.
Incident date: Mar 24, 2022
Brake lights are causing the top of the tail light to melt on the housing.
Incident date: Feb 24, 2021
The contact owns a 2019 Nissan Sentra. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V135000 (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... Read more
Incident date: Mar 21, 2022
The passenger side headlight has stopped functioning on repeated occasions, both the high and low beams stop functioning simultaneously each time. I have been on long distance road trips now each time that this has occurred. Tesla service techs insist that it's software related in both instances and provide a software update. This alleviates the problem temporarily. I am currently insisting that t... Read more
Incident date: Mar 4, 2022
My side boxes do not open with key button and do not unlock with button on key and my bolts broke on exhaust manifold on drivers side and passenger side 4 bolts total
Incident date: Mar 22, 2022
the taillight has been getting water inside and there is no way for the water to get out. The water is taking my LED's. this should be a defect on Dodge since they made it. I speak on the other dodge owners that this needs to be fixed or recalled on this issue.
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2021) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Mar 23, 2022
Incident date: Mar 22, 2022
Head lights are situated too high and are distracting upcoming vehicles, which may distort upcoming traffic.
VOLKSWAGEN
ID.4
(2021) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Mar 23, 2022
Incident date: Mar 23, 2022
The reverse illumination AT NIGHT is non-existant and this puts our safety and the safety of others at risk. When we called the dealership they told us we would be wasting our time to bring the car in, they knew of the problem and said it was a defect in the design and they could not fix it. We were put in contact with the VW Customer Service and spoke with Region Case Manager Kenneth Swantek and ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 7, 2022
There seems to be an issue with the led headlights. When on they are projecting two dark shadows of something looking like rectangle objects. This is very unsafe and definitely very annoying because all you see are those two shadows right in front of your eyes.
Incident date: Feb 15, 2022
Unknown My daytime driving lights for safety have begun to go out. It has been a long standing complaint but they refuse to fix mine under an expired warranty and I was quoted $1650 each to replace. I was told they would do a good will replacement but they will not. There are many complaints on the Tesla forums.
Incident date: Mar 5, 2022
At about 60,000 miles, the turn signal popped out making it unsafe to drive. I had the turn signal replaced, then at about 66,000 miles, the horn quit working and the Airbag light came on. This was not only a safety issue but caused the vehicle to fail state inspection. I contacted Toyota to reimburse me for the expense incurred for replacing the Spiral Cable but they refused based on the reason t... Read more
Incident date: Mar 22, 2022
I was driving and all of my dashboard lights disappeared, I couldn't see anything. I was suddenly driving blind. I pulled over but the car would not turn off. I tried again and again, but it would just not turn off. I called Toyota corporate they asked how far I was to a Toyota dealer and told me to take it there immediately. They gave me a case number 220322000191. When I got to the dealer, they ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 9, 2022
DASHBOARD SPEEDOMETER, FUEL GAUGE, HEADLIGHT INDICATORS, TRANSMISSION STATUS, CRUISE CONTROL DO NOT SHOW, ARE NOT LIT UP. BACKUP CAMERA DOES NOT WORK NOR DO THE BACK-UP LIGHTS. THIS OCCURED AFTER THE AUXILIARY BATTERY WAS REPLACED AND THE DASHBOARD LIGHTS AND BACKUP CAMERA WILL OCCASSIONALLY SPONTANEOUSLY RETURN WHEN THE CAR HAS NOT BEEN DRIVEN FOR A WEEK OR LONGER BUT THEN WILL GO OUT NEXT TIME... Read more
Incident date: Mar 22, 2022
The model 3 no longer turns on the headlights automatically when the windshield wipers are on. It requires the operator to search through menus to turn the lights on manually. This is required even if the headlights are in automatic mode. Voice Command doesn't turn the headlights on either. I believe it is dangerous to be diverting eyes to a menu screen to turn the headlights on while driving ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2022
There is a headlight system error that pops up on dash
Incident date: Mar 19, 2022
Headlight went out . Upon changing it I noticed that wiring harness was burnt and melted. Also was driving and power steering went out driving 65 miles per hour. The cruise control got stuck . Right side making horrible noise at times. This has put me and my five year old as well as anyone driving near me at risk of dying.
Incident date: Mar 17, 2022
Every few months one of my low beam headlamps goes out, and I replace it to stay in compliance with local traffic laws. Within the last week, both low beam headlights went out, and both sockets show burn damage that is similar to the issue reported in NHTSA recall: 04V086000. I am concerned that even if I replace both the lights and the sockets, there may be something else going on that could ca... Read more
Incident date: Apr 10, 2019
Passenger side low-beam headlight is very dim. Replaced bulb and headlight is still very dim. Reflectivity seem to be almost nil inside the headlamp assembly.
Incident date: Mar 21, 2022
I turn my turn signals on and nonthing happens in the Frontline bulbs are brand new doesn't matter back turn signal work,front turn signal dont.this has been happening since forever my inlaws didn't know we didn't know until they gave car.so don't know how long seems like forever
Incident date: Feb 6, 2022
I purchased this vehicle a year ago. About 2 months ago I started having problems getting the vehicle to start. AAA & Geico have come several times to jump me. The vehicle also states High coolant temperature sometimes when it does this. At one point it would not go over 35 mph. I took it to the jeep dealer to be told start by replacing both batteries for $600 and then we can go from there! She al... Read more
Incident date: Jan 4, 2022
We reported the driver's side headlamp as going out intermittently on Jan 4, 2022 to the dealership (Ford of Boerne, Boerne, TX). When they could not resolve the issue, we reported the problem to Ford. The light is out mostly full time now. We first realized the problem when driving at night when it would go in and out.
HYUNDAI
TUCSON HYBRID
(2022) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Mar 21, 2022
Incident date: Mar 13, 2022
Headlights have a mechanical flap that blocks a significant portion of your view at night. In the mountains where I live I am unable to safely drive the car at night. I almost had a serious accident driving up the street to my home when a car coming the opposite direction caused my headlights to go into the low beam mode blocking the majority of my site of view. Terrifying to say the least.
Incident date: Mar 19, 2022
Vehicle taillights failed to function when lights come on at night. I became aware of this when another motorist stopped beside me to tell me. Fuse and lightbulbs work when tested.
Incident date: Mar 1, 2021
My blinker switch that has the light controls on it as well is not working properly! The lights would be set to Auto, and it started randomly switching while driving at night or day on and off, at night when it's dark it just would randomly shut off and sometimes I wouldn't realize until someone lets me know. It could be very dangerous as other people may not see me if my lights are shut off witho... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2020
Low bean headights are extremely dim. Can barely see road and obstacles at night and very difficult to see in rain. High beam headlights function normally. Low beam lights are significantly dimmer than when new. Headlamps are not fogged over. Have not been to dealer yet. Ther are no warning lights (MIL) on dash or codes. difficult to pinpoint when the condition started as it seems to have ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2021
Interior lighting stopped working. Rear lights stopped working and then front lights stopped working. There is a known recall on this, but Ford states it doesn’t include my VIN. However, when you go to the recall it shows the exact same issue with corrosion in the fuse junction box. Bill Estes Ford diagnosed it as corrosion of fuses in that box. Ford won’t work with me even though this is a kn... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2021
Water leaked through the third brake light gasket at the rear, top of the cabin. There is a service campaign, I believe, for 2016-2018 Double Cab Tacomas. However, this issue is present in my Access Cab Tacoma. I have water leaking through onto the rear windshield.
LAND ROVER
RANGE ROVER SPORT
(2021) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Mar 19, 2022
Incident date: Mar 19, 2022
I was driving the car on March 11th 2022, at around 10pm when the car suddenly lost power, while driving in a rural area of Interstate 5 in northern California when the vehicle lost power, I was unable to see anything at all and had to pull to the shoulder unsure of what was on the shoulder. Dash display stated "headlight detected" and the vehicle shut off. Everything was off including, power, lig... Read more
Incident date: Mar 18, 2022
The ambient light sensor is very sensitive. There can be full sunlight, but if I go in the shadow of a truck or a tree, the sensor dims the dashboard lighting. If I go under any sort of bridge, no matter how short, the dash goes dark. Sometimes it takes over 10 minutes for it to go back to normal. The ambient light sensor should be facing straight up at the sky. Also, the sensor should be connecte... Read more
Incident date: Mar 13, 2022
In regards to my 2018 Hyundai Elantra Limited currently with 47000 miles, driving and noticed the a/c temp display which also controls fan speed stopped working, display was blank. Checked all other electrical equipment inside car with no problem except that the heated seat function didn't work also.while doing an exterior inspection noticed that all lights except the headlights worked.After the i... Read more
Incident date: Mar 17, 2022
Last month the passenger tail light stopped working. We took it out not realizing that you have to replace the entire unit. So we put the tail light back in and it magically started working again. Then yesterday the driver's side tail light stopped working, so we did the same. Took it out, waited and put it back (since we know we can't just run to the store and get a new one), except this time it ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2022
Water has entered a headlight and has caused the turn signal, DRL and headlight functions to fail intermittently. Ford/Lincoln has inspected and acknowledge the defect, and it is covered under warranty. However, they have not and do not admit to having a replacement headlight available. They do have headlight assemblies available for new car production and choose to use the new assemblies for new ... Read more
INDIAN
SCOUT BOBBER
(2021) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Mar 18, 2022
Incident date: Mar 12, 2022
When bike gets wet the right turn signal blinks, and will not cancel. Turn bike of then the left one starts blinking, when cancelled the right one will start blinking, and will not cancel. I had to drive 300 miles with the hazards on without turn signals. Also the bright indicator goes on, and off with the brights off.
Incident date: Jan 1, 2022
We have had an ongoing problem with our headlights dimming and getting worse and worse. The dealers tell us there's nothing they can do to test the headlight. They can sure tell if they drive it at night. It's so unsafe to drive at night that when we do we must use our high beams and in doing so, oncoming traffic flash their lights at us. It's so bad, I am afraid to drive and night and now won'... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
GLE350
(2017) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Mar 18, 2022
Incident date: Mar 1, 2021
We purchased a used 2017 GLE 350 two years ago from a Mercedes dealership. The first year or so I had not driven it at night as during Covid when we did go out after dark we usually took my husband’s vehicle and he drove. When I finally did drive the GLE at night I found that I had trouble seeing the road at any reasonable distance from the front of the car and that there is almost no illuminati... Read more
LAND ROVER
RANGE ROVER EVOQUE
(2016) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Mar 18, 2022
Incident date: Feb 25, 2022
1. Water leaking inside the car from top of front windshield. Yes, it is available for inspection. 2. Reduced visibility and distracted driving risk as amid rain/ snow water leak leading to water droplets on eyes/ prescription eyeglasses while driving the vehicle. 3. and 4. Yes problem has been reproduced, confirmed & inspected by both Land Rover dealership & Progressive insurance site visitor/ cl... Read more
Incident date: Mar 16, 2022
Well I was at a red light waiting for the light to train green when I stepped on the Excelerator pedal I heard something snapped and the car would not move anymore I try to switch gears and the car would not move at all it would just accelerate the engine will sound like Like if I had the car on Neutral. In any gear I try to shift there was no warning in the vehicle no light turned on the only lig... Read more