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
MERCEDES-BENZ
E320
(2005) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Mar 7, 2022
Incident date: Mar 7, 2022
INSTRUMENT PANEL NOT WORKING FOR LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS OR LONGER DID NOT DRIVE FOR SEVERAL WEEKS BEFORE
Incident date: Dec 7, 2021
2014 Kia Soul: Noticed some pretty dim headlights. In checking them out the lens over the headlight has orange peal cracking. On the inside. Took it to Kia dealer where I bought it with a 10 year bumper to bumper insurance policy. They told me it is not covered. To go ahead and call myself and find out. Still waiting for an answer. This is a definite safety issue. I only have 35,112 miles on it. N... Read more
Incident date: Feb 23, 2022
When it rain, both rear taillight accumulate water inside of taillight lenses causing lights to blow. Dealership has replaced gaskets and it still happens. lights go out and no warning light indication on dash. Concerned this might contribute to rear end accident. This is a one owner car and no know accident to vehicle.
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2019) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Mar 5, 2022
Incident date: Feb 20, 2022
SUV AIRBAG WARING LIGHT FLASHES OFF AND ON. Lights randomly come off and on when truck is parked.
Incident date: Feb 28, 2022
Back LEFT inner tail light assembly strip and RIGHT Outer LED strip tail light assembly damaged by water moisturizer getting inside of them.
Incident date: Mar 2, 2022
Taillights and Brake light LEDs go out unexpectedly or work intermittently creating a safety hazard that drivers behind the Yukon are unable to see your taillights at night or when your braking causing Potential rear end collisions. For this common problem GM recalled the taillights of 2015-16 models, but the 2017+ models that still have the same exact taillights with the same issue but has not... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2021) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Mar 4, 2022
Incident date: Feb 14, 2022
This vehicle had a new complete transfer case after owning 3 weeks was in the repair shop for approximately 1 month. 1 week later power steering goes out. back at the dealership. Power Steering goes out again get back 1 day and Power steering goes out as I am driving. Back to the Dealership. 3 x power steering goes out. Now says a repair has been done. This week transmission and interior lights p... Read more
Incident date: Feb 27, 2022
Rear tailight assembly retaining internally after rain/washing, shorting out LED light system and not illuminating
Incident date: Mar 3, 2022
The contact's wife owns a 2019 Nissan Sentra. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V135000 (Exterior Lighting). The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the stop lamp switch was replaced with a temporary switch. The contact stated that while driving 25 MPH, the automatic braking system applied inadvertently and the vehicle stopped abruptly. The contact stated that the ABS... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2021
Over the last year or so, the halogen headlights have gradually become so dim that visibility at night is severely impaired. Dealer has tested all electrical components and the bulbs have been replaced, with no improvement in visibility. Dealer recommendation is to replace both headlight assemblies at a quoted cost over $2500. I have found other owners complaining of the same degradation of visibi... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2022
The left rear tail light has gone out. There is no user replaceable bulb and this is a sealed unit. The deal has quoted almost $800 to replace. I feel a sealed unit should not fail prematurely and should last the entirety of the life of the vehicle. Had it been user serviceable, this would be a simple repair/fix.
Incident date: Jan 5, 2022
The brake light comes on by itself for no apparent reason it will turn on like you Are braking this could cause and accident it also will slip out of park for no rhyme or reason also which is scary I park on a.hill and luckily I had my wheels turned towards the curb so it didn't move when it happens multiple times
Incident date: Jul 6, 2021
The contact owns a 2007 Saturn Aura. The contact stated that she was calling on behalf of her deceased son. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing failures with the electrical system. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the brake lights would fail to illuminate while depressing the brake pedal. The contact sta... Read more
Incident date: Feb 23, 2022
The headlights are so dim I can't see at night without putting my bright lights on. The dealership is aware of the problem, they say there was a rebate given not a recall. I was told it would still cost me over $600 in addition to the $1600 the manufacturer was giving as a rebate. The problem with that was the letter I received stated the headlight would frost over due to moisture. Since my headli... Read more
ASTON MARTIN
DB9
(2015) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Mar 1, 2022
Incident date: Jan 1, 2022
Headlights, not bulbs, failed in both. It is available for inspection. Creates driving hazard for all.The defect has been confirmed by shop and no other inspections at this time. I did communicate with dealer who said they are not covered under any warranty or recall, and acknowledged it is a factory defect. No warning lights. The problem first appeared in January of 2022.
Incident date: Feb 13, 2020
I have my driver side tail light out, when I bought the car in 2019, they said I have 30 days to bring in my car so they can replace what needs fixing, well I hit day 32 and I’ve had to replace my tires, brakes, headlights and tail lights because they all went out on my own dime, now my brakes are making me nervous because sometimes it feels like my car isn’t slowing down to a stop and I have... Read more
Incident date: Feb 28, 2022
My car has recalls on it and I want to get this fixed
Incident date: Jan 7, 2022
The rear tailgate lights, which operate in conjunction with the tail lights, fills up with water over time. The water then shorts out the LED lights.
Incident date: Jan 24, 2019
We paid $638.42 to repair a leak issue which later became a recall. We we are now having difficulty getting Toyota to reimbursement that money.
Incident date: Feb 1, 2022
34,000 MILES LED DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS WENT OUT, STOPPED WORKING
Incident date: Sep 9, 2021
The contact owns a 2000 Nissan Frontier. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the rear taillight bulb would eject from the retaining clip inside the socket of the taillight assembly. She became aware of the failure after purchasing replacement bulbs for what she thought were blown bulbs. After several failures, the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who physically hel... Read more
Incident date: Feb 14, 2022
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 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: Feb 25, 2022
Headlights problems with this 2015 Cadillac SRX that only has 56k miles. I had just bought this car and on the way home from the dealership I had to use my high beams to see anything on my hour trip. The low beam lights are so low you can not even tell that they are on at all. How did this pass inspection? This could cause an accident. It is not safe driving at night. I was given no information ab... Read more
Incident date: Feb 27, 2022
Liftgate tail light leaking and holding water causing light failure and electrical shorts. Which cause visibility for other drivers to not see your back end at night.
GMC
SIERRA 3500
(2019) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Feb 26, 2022
Incident date: Feb 25, 2022
Intermittent issue with entire dash lights and radio lights going either fully out/off or extremely dark. Adjusting dimmer does not correct the issue. Affects driver safety due to acute driver distraction while trying to correct, and disables driver warning lights and all information systems, including towing related warnings (transmission temp/coolant temp, etc) Dealer advises to bring it back w... Read more
Incident date: Feb 3, 2022
Honda Odyssey 2021 has major safety issues – the van starts engine on itself, shuts the engine on itself, tail lights are on when the engine is running, the knob for the lights on the turn signal handle was in OFF position when the van was observed starting, running and shutting engine on itself – for no reason. In all occasions key fobs were untouched. Once Honda Odyssey was observed with the... Read more
Incident date: Feb 18, 2022
The contact owns a 2008 Mini Cooper. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the headlights and taillights failed to illuminate as needed. The contact was able to drive safely to the residence. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with footwell (FRM) module failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate f... Read more
Incident date: Jan 24, 2022
This is not a specific incident but a serious safety concern with a new vehicle purchased in January 2022. There are three contributing issues to the concern with 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 irregular with low... Read more
Incident date: Feb 24, 2022
Headlight assembly leaks and retains significant amounts of water resembling a half filled fish tank. This causes the bulbs to burn out or corrode the light power supply leaving you with no headlights! This is a very common problem across many GM platforms. I am surprised the Government regulators have allowed a safety problem this wide spread and known to continue unaddressed.
Incident date: Feb 24, 2022
Water is able to leak into the rear hatch “racetrack” tail light by means of a faulty sealing system used on the tail Light across the back hatch. The water then grounds out the break and tail light function as well as numerous other electrical systems (in my case the radio and whole vehicle control system located in the dash). The seal on the light is a non serviceable item and the manufactur... Read more
Incident date: Feb 9, 2022
Wipers continually run. Headlights will not flip to high beam at times.
Incident date: May 5, 2021
my passenger headlight continuously goes out. I also have where my headlights completely go out as well as my interior lights. there is nothing out of the ordinary when it happens. Sometimes it will do it when I use a turn signal, other times just on it's own. I will have it happen very frequently and then not again for months. I also have the taillight burn out very often
Incident date: Feb 23, 2022
The low bean headlights are where the Brights should shine. The brights shine in the tree tops. Every time I go out at night I get flashed by almost all passing cars when the low beams are on. The dealership told us there is no way to adjust the lights. How am I supposed to drive this at night?
Incident date: Feb 11, 2022
Vehicle has LED headlights. In snowy conditions at night, buildup on headlights caused extremely reduced visibility. Required frequent pulling over, getting out of vehicle, and clearing headlights. Not a safe situation in the snow. Never had problems with halogen or HID lighting so I suspect it’s a heat issue due to LED lights operating much cooler. Also, snow buildup on grille emblem that house... Read more
Incident date: Jan 21, 2022
My car is less than two months NEW. The headlight assembly, which includes blinker and running light, has been defective and not working for over a month. NO blinker, no headlight, no running light. This is a safety issue and can be issued a traffic citation, yet Tesla has NOT repaired/replaced this part.
Incident date: Feb 23, 2022
LED headlights do not emit heat and allow ice to cover entire headlight group, blocking illumination. Problem is exacerbated with road grime in the ice. LED headlights, also, do not provide enough light spectrum to identify objects in the dark—nearly all other lights provide better/friendlier illumination to the human eye at night. LED headlights are a safety issue in the dark… made worse in i... Read more
Incident date: Jul 19, 2021
When driving with headlights set to Auto the headlights turn off whenever the blinker is used. I've found many complaints however my vehicle has not been inspected. This poses a hazard of driving at night with no headlights, then having to fiddle with the switch to turn them back on.
Incident date: Jan 8, 2022
My throttle body keeps going in and out which cause me to have to get an alternator replaced twice plus a crankshaft twice. Now my car is smoking which is the valve cover gasket . Also my car lights went out one at a time so my driver side lights wnt work at all in the front and the passenger side front won't work just my signal on the passenger side. Also my dashboard won't work properly it keeps... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2017) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Feb 22, 2022
Incident date: Jan 14, 2022
Started my 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee after a heavy snow fall the next day drove about 10 minutes and horn started going off lights exterior and interior started flashing, faults came across the screen to service every imaginable function from transmission to power steering and everything in between and truck just completely failed on the road. Waited roughly 30 minutes truck fired back up drove abo... Read more
Incident date: Mar 4, 2019
Ed Payne Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM 2101 E Expressway 83, Weslaco, TX 78599 +1 956-272-1902 For the past years, I have complained to the car dealer I take my vehicle into that there is an issue with the fuel tank. I have been told that other Fiat car owners have had the same issues as I. Issues, the 2013 - 2014 Fait Sport 500, tank issue, when filling up the tank, the tank does not fill up normal. W... Read more
Incident date: Feb 15, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Tesla Model S. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V035000 (Back Over Prevention, Visibility, Exterior Lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted and it was confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for... Read more
Incident date: Feb 21, 2022
Brake light on the passenger side has failed and non operational. I have researched this and found it is way to common to not be a manufacturer design issue.
Incident date: Feb 22, 2022
The headlights are so dim that they are a hazard unless i drive with my high beams on. the other night someone was walking at night and I was unable to see them until I was very close tot hem. My husband remarks how he can barely see at night, We have changed out the headlights and it made no difference. My Uncle has a 2014 Model and he has commented he has the same issue. They are a true hazard a... Read more
Incident date: Feb 22, 2022
Headlight stay in Dim mode will not switch to Bright Lights
Incident date: Oct 1, 2015
We purchased our 2013 Acura RDX new and have owned it since. After about 2 years, I noticed that the Low Beam lighting was not as bright as it use to be (it never seemed exceptionally bright in the first place). Over the next few years, it appeared to be getting worse. I replaced the bulbs with the appropriate aftermarket, higher lumen rated halogen bulbs, that improved it a little bit, but not... Read more
Incident date: Feb 12, 2022
The headlights are so dim due to delamination, it's a serious safety Hazzard because you cannot see more than four feet in front of you at night. I try to avoid driving at night like the plague. I've read where people have had accidents and have been pulled over by the police because the light output is way too low. I'm also aware of Suarez vs Nissan lawsuit due to this issue.
Incident date: Jan 21, 2022
Uconnect 12” Screen Blinds Driver With Full Brightness in Reverse. There is a software issue with the Uconnect 12” screen in RAM trucks. The issue arises in dark unlit areas when the truck is put in reverse, the Uconnect 12” screen is automatically switched to full brightness, resulting in blinding the driver so the side rear view mirrors become useless. There is no way for the driver t... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2021
LED taillights have both gone out. One was replaced by a "service bulliten" and it didn't cost us. The other recently went out at approx 80k miles. These are supposed to last the life of the vehicle. Replacement cost is $750. After doing research, there is a recall for 2015-2016 GMC Yukon taillights that are the exact same product. I contacted GMC and they refuse to replace the known defect p... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2022
The front of the stop lamp is not working. The lighting of the lamp stopped working.
Incident date: Jan 1, 2022
Front headlights have gradually gotten dimmer to the point where they are almost unsafe.