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
LAND ROVER
RANGE ROVER VELAR
(2018) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Mar 17, 2022
Incident date: Mar 17, 2022
The left side headlamp assembly is faulty. Recommend replacing the headlight assembly. This vehicle has 47000 miles 2018 why is this something that needs to be replaced this soon.
Incident date: Mar 17, 2022
Fog light wiring issue front drivers side. Changed light. It happens to be in the wiring and I’ve heard other people have issues with this and it is a safety concern based on not being able to see or have people see you in the fog.
Incident date: Feb 17, 2022
Defective Headlights on Brand New 2022 BMW R1250GS. I recently purchased a new BMW 1250 GS. Unfortunately, every time I ride at night I get an "Active headlamp faulty" warning. I took the bike in a day after the purchase and the dealer was able to verify multiple instances of the error code. A month has passed since I reported the issue but so far both the dealer, BMW Motorcycles of Escondido, and... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2022
The FRM module has failed for a 3rd time in my 328xi. This module distributes power to many components and since it has failed I have no headlights, no turn signals, no interior lights, no dashboard lights, and cannot roll my windows up or down. This is a known flaw with these cars and if you look on eBay there are bootleg repair services than can temporarily reset it however they often fail again... Read more
Incident date: Mar 13, 2022
Passenger as well as driver side headlight continuously pop on and off, not blowing the bulbs but assuming there is a wiring issue
Incident date: Jan 1, 2019
My parking and tail lights do not turn off when I turn off the car when it's dark. I have to turn the headlight switch on and off several times to see if they will turn off. If they do not I have to disconnect the battery so it doesn't discharge. I was told this is a fuse panel issue. If this is a fuse panel issue then I'm concerned what else will go wrong with the fuse panel. If the lights stop w... Read more
Incident date: Mar 11, 2022
The contact owns a 2019 Nissan Sentra. The contact was driving under 10 MPH when she depressed the brake pedal however, the vehicle failed to stop. The parking brake was activated however, the vehicle rear-ended the vehicle in front. The air bags did not deploy. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a salvage yard. A police report was filed. The vehicl... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Mar 15, 2022
Moisture in headlight results in headlight shortage. Moisture in headlight is not a result of collision or damage. Per service bulletin Classification: EL03-031L Reference ITB03-051L, the headlight moisture issue is an ongoing issue for 2011-2019 Infiniti's all models.
Incident date: Mar 13, 2022
WHILE DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE ALL DASHBOARD LIGHTS COME ON INCLUDING PARKING BRAKE. AFTER TURNING ENGINE OFF, THE LIGHTS GO OFF AND COME BACK ON AFTER 5 MINUTES OF DRIVING AGAIN. IF PARKING BRAKE IS ENGAGED WHEN PARKED, IT IS NOT RELEASABLE. CHANGED BATTERY WITH HONDA BATTERY, ISSUE RESOLVED. 6 MONTHS LATER DRIVING DOWN THE INTERSTATE AND THE SAME THING HAPPENS AGAIN BUT THIS TIME THE DOOR AJA... Read more
Incident date: Mar 13, 2022
Just driving along yesterday in my Yukon, and when I stopped another driver pulled up to me and informed me my right rear brake light is not working. Upon further investigation, it comes in and out (sometimes it works sometimes it does not). I had this same issue with my 2015 Yukon, I would have thought GM would have this fixed by now, very expensive fix on my 2015, assuming it’s the same cost o... Read more
Incident date: Mar 11, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated the vehicle overheated and stalled. The oil, engine, and battery warning lights were illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V135000 (Exterior Lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact s... Read more
Incident date: Feb 17, 2022
The headlights iced over completely while driving in light freezing drizzle. When they iced over it was at night and I was no longer able to see well enough to drive safely. These all led headlights need a heating system like emergency lights to prevent this in freezing conditions.
Incident date: Feb 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Nissan Sentra. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V135000 (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 con... Read more
Incident date: Dec 14, 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 not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the vehicle would only start after 6-7 attempts and the failure had been draining the battery. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact s... Read more
FORD
TRANSIT CONNECT
(2014) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Mar 14, 2022
Incident date: Dec 14, 2021
6-2021: Crackling sound on radio, whether on or off. 2 types: Like bare wires rubbed together, or connecting/disconnecting speaker. ·Crackling persists after vehicle shut off. Eventually stops. 12-2021: ·Radio quit working, crackling sound continued, appears random. ·Observed lights on @ distance. Then off. Vehicle was parked overnight, inactive. 2-2022: ·2-year-old battery died. Dead again ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 11, 2022
on the pasenger side front low beam light if the headlight does not sit correctly it melts the headlight housing and or the headlight is dimmer my damage wiring harness in past dealership blames owner feel like this is a part defect the heat from a bulb should not melt or damage housing assemblies damage was found during a new headlight install
Incident date: Jan 7, 2022
Well, we purchased a 2009 Pontiac G6 in November of 2021. We have been having problems with our light staying on, we were pull over a couple nights ago due to our lights not working. Also, our G6 pulls to the right and tweeters are the only speakers that work. Sometimes the driver door speaker will come on but that's in a blue moon. My step dad looked at my lights and noticed our wires were burnt ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 12, 2022
Right (passenger side) lo beam headlight continues to go out. You must remove the bumper to change headlamps, so, time consuming and expensive labor. I have changed this bulb 4 times just for it to go out within a couple hours. There is an entire forum of this same complaint. When you make a large purchase such as a vehicle, you should be assured that you can use your vehicle as intended without t... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2019
both headlights will not show brights is there a recall on this vehicle. I have seen youtube clips showing the autodialers with a recall fix. please advise [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Incident date: Mar 5, 2022
The ADAS lights indacstor turn on the freeway while driving, the brake system ligth came on and the car start braking while driving several times The problem happend 5 times on 4 weeks, i took the car to the dealer they replace the brake switch but the problem still coming up days after, now the brake ligths are always on even when nobody is pressing the brake pedal.
Incident date: Mar 4, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Sentra. The contact received a notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V135000 (Exterior Lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The dealer had been notified about the recall and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer had been notified of the recall. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonab... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2021
Headlights turn off when applying it turn signal. Low beam headlights are not shining far enough down the road to be able to see.
TOYOTA
VENZA HYBRID
(2022) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Mar 11, 2022
Incident date: Mar 2, 2022
I purchased my 2022 Venza two weeks ago. I am concerned with the safety of the headlights. When driving at night (especially in my rural area) there are shadows that are projected onto the road, trees, and shoulder of the road. They are very distracting and make you focus only on the shadows instead of the road. These shadows do disappear when the high beams are on, but continue to be an issue w... Read more
HYUNDAI
SANTA CRUZ
(2022) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Mar 10, 2022
Incident date: Jan 22, 2022
My Santa Cruz headlights have a dark shadow on the drivers side while driving at night. It is extremely distracting and it can be a danger. The blind spot is very obvious. It can lead the driver to look at the shadow instead of the road as well as a portion of the headlight projection is not illuminating the road. The 2022 Tucson has the same front headlight configuration and while searching the H... Read more
Incident date: Mar 10, 2022
Dome light goes has gone on automatically several times. Twice drained my battery. Never use dome light because I do not drive at night and have never turned it on myself.
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS CROSS SPORT
(2021) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Mar 10, 2022
Incident date: Nov 10, 2021
While driving the vehicle it would randomly turn on the emergency brake, roll down the windows, and start flashing all of the lights. We were told it is a door wire harness issue. We have been waiting on the replacement part for 5 months now with no end in sight. The
GMC
SIERRA 3500
(2022) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Mar 10, 2022
Incident date: Mar 9, 2022
While driving on the highway at night during mixed precipitation/icy conditions I noticed I was loosing visibility. I had to pull over on the highway to see if my headlights were on. I discovered they were completely covered in 1.5-2in of ice. The entire front grill of the truck was covered in ice. I had to chip off the ice on the headlights so I could see. I had to pull over three times during my... Read more
Incident date: Dec 16, 2021
I am not able to see the road correctly when I drive. I thought it was my vision so I bought stronger glasses but it was not working. Its the light bulb in car is soooo dim. Also the front window fogs up to the point of having a car accident. I have to have the window open and even on cold days to be able to see. If it rains I cant see at all. I have to put the AC on it so I can see. Its a nightma... Read more
Incident date: Feb 7, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Sentra. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V135000 (Exterior Lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted by phone and it was confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the brake lights failed to illuminate. The contact stated that the manufacturer had ex... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2017) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Mar 10, 2022
Incident date: Mar 10, 2022
When you put the truck in reverse, the rear back up camera display is always extremely bright, regardless of the setting of the dimmer switch or automatic dimmer settings. This causes a safety issue at night when backing up, as the driver's night vision is completely diminished as soon as you put the truck in reverse. The display becomes so bright the driver loses their night vison and is also u... Read more
Incident date: Mar 8, 2022
On 3/8/22 between 5:10 pm ET and 5:45 PM ET, I was traveling to a destination with a friend following behind me in her vehicle. Later, when it was dark, we traveled back to our homes. She followed me again until the location that we parted to head in different directions. After arriving home, she messaged me to state that my "tail lights kept going on and off the whole way" to our destination. ... Read more
NISSAN
PATHFINDER
(2015) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Mar 9, 2022
Incident date: Jan 20, 2021
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V020000 (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... Read more
Incident date: Feb 21, 2022
My vehicle was stuck in park. I noted that module 2 fuse was blown. I replaced the fuse and smelled smoke. I took my Sorento in to the local KIA dealership for diagnosis. It was determined by a technician that the headlight level sensor and harness pigtail were both significantly melted. It was suggested by the tech to remove the level sensor and that has created a safety issue with the headlights... Read more
Incident date: Mar 3, 2022
unknown. I have a dodge Durango that the racetrack lights on the tailgate not all are working and I've seen some with all the lights out causing a safety hazard.
Incident date: Mar 2, 2022
After arriving home and turning off the vehicle, there was a lot of flickering of the lights and clicking noises in the engine. The dash displayed all emergency startup lights and performed the following message on the dash, "Keyless Start System Error." I took it to the dealer who ran a diagnostic, and provided me the diagnostic paperwork showing 4 codes in the Security, Power Control Unit, Mode ... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2008) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Mar 8, 2022
Incident date: Mar 8, 2022
Both headlights wiring harnesses (right and left ) wiring has melted and all wiring is now exposed and touching and causing all light bulbs ( headlights-tail lights-turn signals-brake lights-ect) to be shortage out due to the original wiring not being constructed to resist the heat from the engine and environment.We had MB of Maidland,fl and Elite motors of Ococee,fl to view this issue with the on... Read more
Incident date: Jan 5, 2022
the driver receives a warning light in the instrument panel left tail light is defective, and then right tail light defective. Some times tail light works and does not when car is in cold weather Was told that both tail lights were defective and would have to be replaced at a cost of $3400.00 . Found an after sale Porsche publication saying that it affected 2015-2018 Porsche Cayenne. Dealer to... Read more
Incident date: Mar 8, 2022
Same complaint as NHTSA ID Number: 11454147. I have a serious safety concern with a new vehicle purchased in February 2022. I have there are three issues concerning the vehicle’s headlights: 1.There are two large shaded dark spots directly in your field of vision. These are approximately fifteen to twenty feet directly in front of the vehicle. 2.The cutoff lines are jagged and irregula... Read more
Incident date: Jan 18, 2021
My passenger air bag monitor seems to have a shortage. If there is no one in the passenger seat it will show on the dash as being on or when no one is in the seat it will show on and then sometimes off. Most days there isn't any symbol on the dash when someone is sitting in the passenger seat. I never know if the passenger seat belt is on or off. My second concern is my exterior headlights, they ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 4, 2022
Low beam headlights cause oncoming traffic to swerve and to flash bright lights, as if they are being blinded by low beams in this car. Car has no load or extra weight, and yet this happens dozens of times per week with oncoming cars flashing their lights as I am approaching. Dealership refused to look at this concern, saying that if I did not purchase a new $15,000 engine, then my factory war... Read more
Incident date: Mar 7, 2022
the lighting isn’t good on the car! if I don’t have them on bright I cannot see
MERCEDES-BENZ
GLS450
(2017) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Mar 7, 2022
Incident date: Jan 1, 2021
Over time, the low beam lights have faded which make it very difficult to see at night.
Incident date: Apr 1, 2017
I have had problems with two trailer hitch sending units causing brake lights to be constantly illuminated. Hyundai has issues a recall for my model year on this issue, but for some reason my VIN is not covered in the recall.
MERCEDES-BENZ
ML320
(2008) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Mar 7, 2022
Incident date: Aug 24, 2018
THE REAR TURN SIGNALS AND BRAKES LIGHTS ARE NOT WORKING PROPERLY, EVEN WITH NEW BULBS AND REPLACEMENT OF THE BULBS BASE CASE THE TURN SIGNAL STILL BLINKING AS IF THE BULB IS BURNED AND THE BRAKE LIGHT DOESN'T WORK SIMULTANEOUSLY IT WORK WHEN THE TURN SIGNAL IS NOT USED. THE CAR WAS TOOK TO THE DEALER SEVERAL TIMES AND THE PROBLEM CONTINUE THE SAME.
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2018) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Mar 7, 2022
Incident date: Feb 18, 2022
The rear driver side lamp started flickering and eventually was completely dead. On inspecting, it was found that the earthing brown wire pin in the connector was completely burnt and it also burnt the area right on the spot where it connects to the lamp panel.
Incident date: Jan 1, 2022
The contact's son owns a 2012 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated when she arrived at her residence, she noticed that her son's rear brake lights illuminated while the vehicle was turned off. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated her son placed a can on the brake pedal to turn off the brake lights. The contact stated she had to disconnect the battery and reconnect ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2022
There is a gap between the lift gate lamp and the frame of the vehicle allowing for water build up in the lighting causing for the brake lights to malfunction and go out at random times. Dealer wants to charge 1,500 to replace light but refuses to acknowledge that the issue is cause by the gap between the frame and the light. Constantly have to bleed out water from my brakes until they went out
Incident date: Oct 28, 2021
Lights do not shine correctly on road, the dealership says that's how they were made and I even paid for them to put led lights bulbs in. It is dangerous at night driving.
Incident date: Aug 18, 2021
The contact owns 2019 FCC RV000042S. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V404000 (Electrical System, 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. Th... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
PASSAT
(2013) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Mar 7, 2022
Incident date: Mar 1, 2022
The headlights on this vehicle are constantly going out. I’ve had to repair, replace or pay someone to fix it multiple times since I had the vehicle. One repair shop told me that they needed to take the tire off in order to fix the light and charged me $130+ to replace the bulb. I don’t think that the bulbs are the issue, I think that the sockets are. I sent the car in last year because there ... Read more