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: Feb 8, 2021
The eMMC failure of Tesla Model S/X manufactured from 2012 to mid 2018 has forced Tesla to issue a recall to replace the aforementioned eMMC chip. A failure in that chip means the AC controls stop working, as well as some lightning signals and the rear camera. I experienced the failure before Tesla issued a recall, when my vehicle had ~29000mi. Since the vehicle was not safe to drive, I did the r... Read more
FOREST RIVER
BERKSHIRE
(2019) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Sep 23, 2021
Incident date: Sep 17, 2021
The contact owns a 2019 Forest River Berkshire RV. The contact stated that the right turn signal and rear taillights failed to operate as needed. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a local dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V488000 (Exterior Lighting, Electrical Syst... Read more
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2019) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Sep 23, 2021
Incident date: Sep 18, 2021
I just bought the car. My family was very excited to have powered doors, including the trunk. We tested the doors thoroughly. That night I push the button on the key fob to open the trunk and hear an awful metallic ripping noise. I inspected the door to figure out the cause. The spoiler, which has the brake light attached, was loose. It was still attached though and I needed to go somewhere. Whil... Read more
Incident date: Sep 22, 2021
The contact owns a 2012 Tesla Model S. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V035000 (Back Over Prevention, Visibility, Exterior Lighting). The contact stated that the center display screen failed to operate as needed. The dealer had been notified about the recall; however, the contact was informed that he did not qualify for the recall despite having received a letter for ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 6, 2021
As many other complaints I have seen on here, the headlights on the car go dim over time. If we can switch the bulb, that would be great but that doesn't solve the issue. I can barely see at night when driving. I avoid driving at night because of that reason. The manufacturer should be responsible for replacing these for the customer. We shouldn't have to wait for someone to get hurt or worse befo... Read more
CHEVROLET
TRAILBLAZER
(2006) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Sep 21, 2021
Incident date: Sep 11, 2021
Low beam headlights stop working, when driving at night. This problem is happening frequently.
Incident date: Apr 23, 2015
I believe the headlights need to be recalled & re-done due to you cannot see to drive the car very well at all at night. I purchased this car in April 2021 & I have had this issue since I bought this car. I have had it inspected by the dealership auto garage & they did check & said there was no recalls in the headlights so I would like the whole headlight be replaced before I have a major accident... Read more
Incident date: Aug 25, 2021
The lights on the visor mirrors and the garage door opener located on the visor stopped working. 2 days later, all of the switches on the drivers door ( window controls and mirror adjustments) stopped working. Now the dome lights have stopped working. The dealership had the car for a week and performed a master reset and a DDM configuration and window learn procedure. None of these problems we... Read more
Incident date: Sep 20, 2021
My opened vehicle doors can not be seen in the path of other vehicle drivers when standing outside the opened vehicle door blocking the light on the vehicle doors. To solve this problem I added a Fluorescent Yellow/Green Retro-Reflective Tape to the lower interior door edge of each vehicle door that is automatically illuminated by another vehicle drivers headlights at night to allow another vehic... Read more
Incident date: Aug 10, 2021
There is currently a recall for 2016 to 2017 honda led lights going out. My led light has gone out and I am being told my vin is not on the list. How is it determined which cars fall under the recall if my car is having the same issue. My car was manufactured with 2016 parts or what ever parts that affect the recall. I was told by honda Corp to pay for diagnostic which I don't think is fair.
Incident date: Jun 7, 2021
I have a 2019 GMC Acadia that has had no vehicle damage and less than 29K miles. The vehicle has condensation in the headlamp on the right front. No damage at all to the vehicle. Clearly a defect in the seal. Doesn't even have to rain and moisture will be apparent in the headlamp. GMC has offered to pay 60% of the repair costs of a $400 part and $1200 labor bill. This clearly needs to ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 29, 2021
The headlights are not bright enough to safely drive in the dark. The light is working and on and they are too dim to see safely at night.
Incident date: Sep 1, 2021
Like other Pacificas 2004-10 my front subframe is rusting away. The repair cost will be $1500.00 if I am lucky. Please help!
Incident date: Sep 1, 2021
Led tail lamp burned internally. There are no fuses in for any of these lamps in the owners manual. Dealership blamed the non functional light on water damage without having even investigated what was wrong. Chevy's own TSB states moisture normal(01-08-42-001L). I personally removed the lamp after the dealer asked over $900 to replace it, stating moisture damaged it. The dealer never inspected it.... Read more
Incident date: Sep 17, 2021
The motorcycle on 9/17/2021 and on 9/18/2021 randomly displayed a Chassis Fault on the dashboard. The light (Chassis Fault) was displayed and the vehicle's horn, turn signals, hazard lights and dashboard become inoperative. The cruise control turned off and no longer operated. Scrolling through the menu of the vehicle's dashboard did not operate.
Incident date: Sep 18, 2021
Tail light continues to blow. Changed both bulbs twice in a week. The left socket has burn mark, and light blows immediately after replacing bulb. This has been continously over the past 2 years.
Incident date: Aug 1, 2021
Back door latches sticking/very hard to open and at times won’t open at all. Visibility from wipers is very limited and not good. Rear exterior lights at times flicker and bulbs come loose at times
Incident date: Sep 4, 2021
The brake light stays on.. causing the battery to drain. Even the vehicle is completely stopped / ignition off.
Incident date: Sep 17, 2021
The front headlights are extremely deem. Found moisture inside the light assembly, having no damage to cause such moisture buildup. The front headlights both low beam and high beam failed at night on 16th September 2021 due to but not limited to moisture and then i discovered this was a known defect, but I did not learn officially of this until the 17th Sept 2021.
Incident date: Sep 15, 2021
Headlights, set in AUTO, randomly will briefly go dark at night while the vehicle is in motion, putting driver at risk of night-time crash. Headlights can be re-illuminated by turning the lights off and back on. This issue has not been by dealer, service tech, or any other party. The issue occurred twice 9/15/2021, and once previously on an unknown date. There were no warning signs, dashboard ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 3, 2020
I have a photo of this sticker. Inside on the car's body frame of the driver's side of my 2017 JEEP, there is a sticker that says: THIS VEHICLE MAY INCLUDE MERCURY -- added devices installed by the manufacturer: Video display (which I have to touch to operate the radio and phone call free feature) Navigation/Camera Display (which I have to touch to operate the radio and phone call free feature)... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
E 450
(2019) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Sep 16, 2021
Incident date: Jun 10, 2021
Central digital driver cluster and lighting behind all speedo/tachometer randomly turns off while driving unexpectedly then fades back on. - can not see control indicators for adaptive cruise control when display fades out - can not see what gear the transmission is in when display fades out - at night can not see speedo, tach, or any items on the display when it fades out Dealership said they c... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2021
The "gate" light will come on and off and so will the all the lights in the vehicle and it will do it off and on. I am not paying to fix it. I never had a problem with it before and I've had this Jeep for almost a year. I was in a hit and run in August and my Jeep didn't do this until I got it back about a week afterwards.
Crash
Incident date: Sep 15, 2019
The contact owns a 2013 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated while driving at night, the low-beam headlight did not provide adequate illumination for safe driving. The high-beam headlight was used to provide adequate illumination to drive safely at night or in low-light driving conditions. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who stated there was nothing that could be done except replacing the h... Read more
Incident date: Dec 9, 2017
Low beam head lights are not bright enough. I have replaced the bulbs 2 times, but no improvement at all. it is dangerous to drive with this light at nights.
Incident date: Sep 14, 2021
Headlights turn off at night while driving and in most cases will still not work after moving the headlight switch or power cycling the switch. Have to shut down and restart multiple times for headlights to work. This problem affects the low beam lights and not the high beams or parking lights as they continue to work and function with the switch. Has happened 3 nights in a row returning from wo... Read more
Incident date: Aug 25, 2021
We purchased 4 of these Dodge promasters about 4 years ago. During the first year we were replacing headlights about every 2 months. Dodge told us that we needed to use their "heavy duty" bulbs. These bulbs seem to last about 1 year. They have a 2 year warranty on original purchase, so after 2 years we have to pay again. This last time the bulb blew it also melted the housing the bulbs sits in. We... Read more
Incident date: Aug 22, 2021
When driving at night my headlights flicker off and on for about 3 seconds, also when I attempt to use my turn signal, the lights will blink out and I have to jiggle the handle to get the lights to come back on. Sometimes when I turn the corner the head lights will blink off and then come back on and this takes about 3 scary seconds. Unable to drive in an unfamiliar or dark area because the ligh... Read more
Incident date: Jun 18, 2019
The lights are horrible on a Nissan Altima 2014. I have changed the bulbs 3 different times and it does not help. I am forced to drive with my bright lights on just to be able to see. This is a huge safety hazard because I am not able to drive without them on bright so it blinds the other drivers but I have no choice.
Incident date: May 1, 2019
The contact owns a 2015 Ram 1500. The contact stated that water was leaking from the headlamps. The contact called the local dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA. The failure mileage was approximately 100.000. The VIN was not available
Incident date: May 4, 2012
my Mazda 3 2011 passenger headlight always had water coming into the headlight itself. It has condensation and it is hard to see when using the headlight itself at night. have to wait a few days or so to clear up and then my headlights will flicker because of the water seeping inside of it.
Incident date: Sep 13, 2021
Headlights are very dim and I cannot see at night. Cadillac refused to provide financial assistance.
Incident date: Jul 23, 2021
Drivers side lightbulb has been changed multiple times. Noticeable condensation in light itself. Driving at night and lights went out completely. Had to drive with only fog lights on. Issue happens sporadically and without warning so it is hard to address.
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2019) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Sep 13, 2021
Incident date: Nov 4, 2019
The infotainment system on the 2019 Chevy Silverado fails when a passenger is using Carplay. While using Carplay for hands-free operation of a cellular device and or navigation the system will reboot continuously. Just prior to the system failures to begin the turn signals will begin to operate sporadically. They will either stay on solid, off, or blink at an uneven interval. These system reboots... Read more
Incident date: Sep 6, 2021
Driver side brake lights don't work again. This will be the 3rd time that I know of that this piece of equipment has been changed out.
Incident date: Jan 4, 2020
The headlights are dangerously dim, don't shine light more than a few feet ahead of the car. Apparently this is the cause: the reflective material in the light assembly has burned off from the heat of the bulbs.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2021
Headlights will not go to high beam at times, other times the right side will not return back to low beam. I have had this problem many times and Hyundi replaced both headlights, but now they say they won't fix them because of the miles. This headlight design was new for the 2019 model year, I had a 2018, and a 2017 and had no problems with them. The 2019 has a projection type bulb, and uses a mec... Read more
Incident date: Sep 3, 2021
While driving car stalled, dropped speed and engine warning light came on. Fuel pump was needed. Had to have car towed obtained a rental for 11 days. Fuel pump out of stock. Immediately after fuel pump was replaced less than two weeks the thermostat had to be replaced. Another tow and another rental. I need to be compensated for stress aggravation and loss of use. Repairs and car rental and t... Read more
Incident date: Sep 9, 2021
The rear brake lights burned out can't replace the light because the wiring harness melted and y'all no longer sell replacement wiring harness at the store or dealership for my vehicle make and model I was told I would have to make a out of pocket costly repair to install a new model wiring harness. I keep getting pulled over by the cops cause I don't have break lights. Worse case someone could ru... Read more
Incident date: Sep 5, 2021
All out of no wear car was seating and caught on fire on the inside of car. They said it was a electrical fire started in the dome light.
Fire
Incident date: Sep 11, 2021
On several occasions my vehicle turned off while driving. When vehicle turns off, steering wheel locks up and my turn signals do not work. We bought and replaced a new battery. Within a week the issue started again. Today it happened twice within 45 minutes apart. Again, the car completely turns/shuts off. We have to find a safe way to stop, put it in park, wait a couple of minutes then turn it b... Read more
Incident date: Aug 18, 2021
low beam headlights in 2015 Acura RDX, 70,000 miles, have become dim because reflective coating in headlight assembly has failed and the light emitted from the lightbulbs is not reflected forward. The amount of light is reduced to the level that night driving is almost impossible. Must use highbeam lights instead of low beams to see road and road markings, and this is not possible in most situati... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2021
Several people we know have the same issue as we do...the brake light wiring harness shorts out and keeps the lights from working and you can smack the side of the fender and it will work for a little while and go back off....my car was already inspected for this issue and it is an electrical issue. The headlights on our friends cars does it also.
Incident date: Sep 9, 2021
GM3 Body module failure interior lights dont function, alarm whipers sprayers locks doors dont funtion
Incident date: Sep 10, 2021
The 2011srx the low beam is so bad you have to drive with the high beam at night there are a lot of complaints on this and nothing is being done other safety problem.please look into this problem hard to see road at night unless bright lights are on.
Incident date: Sep 10, 2021
This model car is equipped with HID headlights. The car has had numerous problems with the bulb not lighting on one side. The light could be cycled off/on and this would allow the lamp to stay lit for an unpredictable amount of time. Sometimes this cycling would allow the lamp to stay on for an entire trip and sometimes the headlights would have to be cycled off/on again. Replaced the lamps to... Read more
Incident date: Sep 9, 2021
The seal of the rear lamp assembly becomes unsealed and lets water in. Burns our bulbs and short out electrical system because of this. Second right rear assembly was replaced today and now front units are also foggy so I know that the seal on the lamp unit is also wearing. I read about this with other Prius and other c models. I had to buy actual Toyota parts as there are no aftermarket units.
Incident date: Nov 1, 2019
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated while driving at night, the headlights did not function properly and would turn off inadvertently. The vehicle was originally taken to the dealer and diagnosed as headlight failure, and the bulbs were replaced. However, the failure recurred. The dealer was made aware of the failure and the dealer notified the manufacturer of the recurr... Read more
Incident date: Sep 9, 2021
I purchased said automobile from my neighbor for my son to drive. I figured it was a good car to buy because it was serviced by Hendrick BMW (Charlotte, NC) only and regularly. BMW's also have a reputation for being safe as well as reputable so this also weighed into my decision. Fast forward 18 months. The passenger rear brake bulb went out. We replaced the bulb, it worked for a short time, then... Read more
CHRYSLER
TOWN AND COUNTRY
(2010) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Sep 9, 2021
Incident date: Jul 29, 2021
Headlight switch was turned on and headlights came on then went off. Turned light switch off and then on again and the lights came on and then went out again. This happened about dark time and I was 30 minutes from home. Cannot trust vehicle to drive at night as this has happened several times as I test the switch at home. Contacted dealership and all they could tell me is there is not a recall on... Read more