Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,215,138 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA — including 138,663 crashes, 56,255 fires, and 8,561 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 2,215,138 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 42,495 complaints — component: EXTERIOR LIGHTING
VOLKSWAGEN
TIGUAN
(2021) — EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jul 1, 2025
Incident date: Jun 10, 2025
Our Alante's front reading lights and dome light over the bunk quit working. We found a blown fuse, new fuse blows immediately. Repair shop found wires crimped, chafed, some cut clean through by rubbing on fiberglass structure. Problem is a manufacturing defect. The installer routed the wires improperly and the inspector never caught it. These wires were shorting-out behind an enclosed area. In th... Read more
Incident date: Mar 23, 2025
The contact owns a 2022 Ford F-150. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the rear light bar failed to function as intended. The contact stated the lights were inoperable and there was water inside the rear light bar. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The dealer was made aware of the failure. The contact stated the rear light bar was rep... Read more
Incident date: May 8, 2025
The contact owns a 2022 Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the taillights became inoperable. In addition, the contact stated that the brake lights remained illuminated. The contact stated that the failure occurred while the contact was driving at night. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was not made... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V861000 (Exterior Lighting). The contact stated that the headlights activated without driver input. The contact removed the circuit wires. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and opened a case. The failure mileage was a... Read more
Incident date: Jun 28, 2025
My 2020 Dodge Journey has a persistent issue with the passenger-side headlight. Despite multiple bulb replacements, the problem continues, leading to failure of vehicle inspections. Three independent mechanics have examined the vehicle, consistently identifying the problem as originating within the headlight socket or wiring harness, yet no warning light indicates a malfunction. This recurring fai... Read more
POLESTAR
POLESTAR 2
(2022) — EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jun 30, 2025
Incident date: Jun 30, 2025
While driving, the hood prop rod dislodged from its securing clip and fell onto the positive terminal of the battery. This caused an electrical short, which led to the rod heating up rapidly and igniting a fire under the hood. The fire damaged the headlight assembly and the surrounding trim panel, though the wiring fortunately did not catch fire. A nearby police officer was able to extinguish the ... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Jun 30, 2025
Rain water continually collects in both brakelight/taillight assemblies at the rear of the van. This causes the bulbs for the turn signal and brake light to burn out. This has been an issue since we purchased the vehicle in 2016. Initially, we could change the bulb(s) and they would last a while but now the passenger side bulb(s) can be replaced and burn out immediately! We have burned through doz... Read more
Incident date: May 2, 2025
I have a 2019 Kia Sorento that is available upon request for any inspection needed. I replaced the passenger headlight bulb for the low beams 4 times. Each time the bulb go out after a few days. Now, both headlights are out and I can only use my high beams which can cause a safety concern to other drivers as well as myself and family. Vehicle has been inspected by a licensed mechanic. The mechanic... Read more
Incident date: Jun 30, 2025
Tire pressure light did not illuminate. Tire was apparently low, and tire blew out at stop. Inside sidewall of tire had large gash once tire was removed and spare installed. See picture.
Incident date: Jun 2, 2025
Head light assembly quit working, i.e no headlight in Decemeber 2024. I had the unit replaced, paid $1448.40 for part, 299.92 for labor to replace the complete headlight assembly. It is now June 2025, and it has failed again. It is unsafe to drive when the headlights don't work, and Stelantis and the dealer seem unable to fix the problem, and I do not feel that I should have to pay another cent o... Read more
Incident date: Nov 4, 2024
5 minutes into my drive my the whole dashboard (speedometer and music screen) all went black, & my headlights went out. this lasted for about 3 seconds. not sure what happened or why but not something that should happen with such a new car.
Incident date: Jun 28, 2025
UNKNOWN - bought vehicle last year. The right passenger headlight LED strip went out which ended up costing $1600. The drivers side headlight LED strip just went out, which is going to cost me another $1600. Looking online, it looks like many other VW Atlas owners are experiencing the same issues, all within 20-60k miles of having their vehicles. There needs to be a safety recall for these headlig... Read more
Incident date: Jan 10, 2025
The interior lights do not come on. We can manually turn on the light switch but it won’t come on when the doors open. We have to wiggle the front switch (middle, ceiling, between the driver and passenger) nor the rear interior light.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2024 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V729000 (Steering, 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 dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not exper... Read more
Incident date: Jun 27, 2025
Turned on ignition and wipers and headlights turned on with no control, car ignition beeped constantly, all dash lights illuminated, all gauges stopped working (speedometer, fuel, tachometer, temperature) and there was a clicking noise on the transmission. Had to drive home hoping my electrical system wouldn’t shut down while driving home. Narrowed down to faulty TIPM.
Incident date: May 5, 2025
Rear light malfunction alert. Intermittent. Seems to happen when humidity is high.
Incident date: Jun 26, 2025
Headlight DRL went out causing less visibility: Transmission is always losing slamming into gears and searching.
Incident date: Jun 26, 2025
The auto High beam function on this vehicle is absolutely useless. It dims when it should be on. It dims needlessly for highway markers and road signs. The constant on and off of the high beams on a dark road with no other cars is dangerous. This system on the ridgeline is dangerous. I have the system on other cars and it works almost perfectly but not in this vehicle.
Incident date: Jun 24, 2025
Rear taillight failure due to moisture incursion. No message appeared, but light failure was observed less than a month ago. Car is in for regular service now and item is being replaced at great personal expense, since it will not pass required safety inspection until repaired. Reporting this here because it is a known problem for hundreds of owners of this vehicle, and should be subject to a safe... Read more
Incident date: Jun 23, 2025
Blew horn at someone who cut in front of me, and horn sounded rough, then the same driver cut me off again, blew horn, NO horn. Also, headlight burnout issues. Had to replace the driver's headlight 39 weeks ago. Week or two after that, the left side went out, and about a month later, running bulb went out on passenger side. Well, the headlight just blew again, same day as the horn, just had to rep... Read more
Incident date: Jun 24, 2025
Auto high beam turns off and on on dark country road repeatedly with no other cars or light present . This means I lose highbeams when needed the most for animals in road. Also, the system goes from low beam into high beam when a car approaches in opposite lane blinding them. In short , is dangerous to use this safety feature!
Incident date: Jun 25, 2025
Dash is black & does not show anything when car is started and/or moving
Incident date: Jun 4, 2025
When driving down the street car shuts off lights flicker on and off continuously sometimes it don’t turn back on sometimes it does but I usually just coast until it turns back on very dangerous if on freeway or heavy traffic also the brake light and and trac lights go on when this happens. When stepping on gas the rpm’s go up really high like the transmission is going out
Incident date: Jun 24, 2025
Auto has a known defect with headlight condensation ,Honda put out a bulletin sb 23-024 Stating they are aware of this issue.Vehicle had this problem at 38000 miles just outside Their standard 3 year 36000 mile warranty. To repair this Honda dealer stated a price of $1400.00 ,which is a lot of money ,my concern is that failure to fix will lead to other headlight Issues such as burned out bulbs a... Read more
POLESTAR
POLESTAR 2
(2023) — EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jun 24, 2025
Incident date: Jun 23, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Acura MDX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V259000 (Exterior Lighting, Interior 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 dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet availabl... Read more
Incident date: Jun 24, 2025
I recently purchased this vehicle. Only after purchasing it did I realize the unsafe/hazardous location of the backup light. The backup light, located under the rear license plate on the rear bumper, cannot be easily seen by oncoming vehicles, promoting the chance of a rear end collision. It would have been more reasonable to locate it within the area where the housing for the turn signals, war... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2021) — EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jun 24, 2025
Incident date: Oct 12, 2024
Despite maintaining the vehicle according to the recommended schedule, I have encountered ongoing performance issues (electrical, rear shocks, fan motor etc.) that are not in line with the standard of quality I expect from a brand of your reputation. Window not going down all the way on the driver side. Radio not working but was fixed. These issues have caused inconvenience and concern regarding ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 19, 2025
Been dealing with fogged up headlights from the time I bought my 2022 Genesis gv70 new. I've had at least 4 headlights replaced including recently, June 2025. My warrenty is about up and I was told by the dealership that I would be on my own after this. Problem is obviously not resolved. Lighting is a big safety issue. This should be a recall with a fix in place not a stop gap.
Incident date: Jun 22, 2025
Between [XXX] am on [XXX]. I powered on my vehicle and the rear trunk door simultaneously opened. As I was driving my son to school that morning, I noticed water dripping onto my foot. I continued to drive but was distracted by beeping and warning messages but because the dashboard display was constantly switching from daytime to night lighting I could not readily see the dashboard. I tried to m... Read more
Incident date: Sep 6, 2024
Yesterday I bought a 2019 Audi Q7 and today I get a warning light stating my right parking lamp is defective. Upon checking the light I found that it was on and working. Upon researching the issue I found that there are numerous complaints on 2017 and 2018 models of the same vehicle, for the same issue. Dealership stating it is an entire right headlight replacement to the tune of over $ 2500.
Incident date: May 13, 2025
Day time running lamps on the side of the headlight have burnt out. First time it was the passenger side that died, had it replaced under warranty. then a few month later after my warranty was up, the driver side has now died as well. The fact I have had this truck 2 and a half year and both have failed is unacceptable. I see every single F150 on the road with THE EXACT SAME ISSUE! This isn't a fl... Read more
Incident date: Feb 18, 2025
The front drivers headlight low beam keeps going out. I just received my second warning for this failure. It got dark before I got home from the store. We took it to a friend who does mechanical work back in the spring. He fixed it; but now it’s doing it again. Yes we had it inspected last November for tag renewal. There are no warning lights or signals that come on.i think it started acting up... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2025
The low-beam reflector itself oxidizes, is not reflective at all, and no amount of brighter bulbs or clean outside lenses will help with a reflector that doesn’t reflect. (It’s also not related to the cloudy inner-lens. It’s the reflector.) Replacing the entire headlight assembly is the only solution which is about 1,000.00 many people are complaing of this. This should be a recall from Acu... Read more
Incident date: Dec 7, 2023
My complaint mirrors NHTSA ID Number: 11619581. I recently upgraded from a BMW X5 to an X7 and noticed significant dark spots on the road, severely reducing visibility in those areas. The headlight casing appears to have a design flaw, creating these dark, nearly invisible patches directly in front of the car. As the vehicle moves, the car’s vertical motion causes these dark spots to shift up an... Read more
POLESTAR
POLESTAR 3
(2025) — EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jun 20, 2025
Incident date: Jun 19, 2025
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Front passenger HID headlight on 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit V8, 45,000 miles. Yes How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Went out while driving at night, making it difficult to adequately see. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service ce... Read more
Incident date: Jun 20, 2025
The right turn signal light will not cancel when setting the turn signal back to neutral. The left turn will not light up the left signal. Setting the turn signal to the left signal has become the only way to cancel the right turn signal light.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2025
My car is experiencing extreme ghost screen. Also when this happens I get a lot of warning lights when nothing is truly experiencing fault. My screen will jump, change settings, reset settings,become dark on it own, not turn on at all, flip through the system causing major distractions. For instance I was driving in my car with quiet no noise then my screen jump and without warning blasted am and ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 20, 2025
On the driver's side the headlight's smaller light stopped working. I brought the car to BMW and they said the LED burned out, which also caused burn marks on the headlight assembly, so the entire headlight assembly needs to be replaced.
GMC
SIERRA 2500
(2016) — EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jun 19, 2025
Incident date: Jun 5, 2025
1. The driver side DAYTIME Running Light has failed as of 1/20/25. 2. Some states require the DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS to be operating. (So, I need to replace this headlamp.) 3. Three auto repair companies have confirmed the DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS are not operating and the entire headlight will need to be replaced. 4. No warning lights are available for the Daytime Running Lights. I found t... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2025
The MMI or infotainment center turns off and reboots/kicks user out while the car is in motion and also while stopped. The MMI going off has cut out while backing up not allowing the rear camera to be used and has also not allowed the front and rear sensors to be used for parking/auto breaking. There seems to be a large portion of similar complaints and unknown fixes for 2020 models either exactly... Read more
Incident date: Jun 19, 2025
A warning light is showing on the dash about the right side light not working. On inspection all lights are illuminated. Reportedly there has been a recall on some VIN’s for this problem but not ours. On line discussion groups report that the problem is more wide-spread in this model than with the limited VIN’s covered. Since the cost of a dealer replacing the lighting assembly is around $... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
AMG C43
(2019) — EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jun 19, 2025
Incident date: Jul 1, 2024
The daytime running lights which also dim the overall lights at night, also known as the halo LED light continues to malfuction. I bought this car (2) years ago and I'm now on the second set up LED running lights. There are numerous other reports of this malfunctioning across owners. multiple online forums. this overall poses a large saftey hazard as the light is very dim at night from it not runn... Read more
Incident date: Jun 18, 2025
Very low light output from low beams, I have researched others, here is the same situation I have The low-beam reflector itself oxidizes, is not reflective at all, and no amount of brighter bulbs or clean outside lenses will help with a reflector that doesn’t reflect. (It’s also not related to the cloudy inner-lens. It’s the reflector.) Replacing the entire headlight assembly seems to be t... Read more
Incident date: Jun 10, 2025
Vertical headlight seems to have burned out on both sides after reading online and couple forms. It seems to be a common issue and Ford should be held accountable.
Incident date: Jun 12, 2025
My trucks rear light bar was repaired under the NHTSA recall 23S30. This was done in 2023 but Ford's repair did not fix the issue and the light bar continues to allow moisture in and thus the light does not work. I currently have the truck being diagnosed by Hertrich Ford of Elkton in Elkton Maryland and a case number with Ford regarding the issue. The caes number is [XXX]. INFORMATION REDACTE... Read more
Incident date: Jun 4, 2025
For more than a year, we have experienced issues with the infotainment system. Despite many trips to the dealership it has not been fixed. The infotainment system randomly shuts down and or reboots, which seems to affect other systems like turn signals, climate control, lane departure alerts, etc.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2025
Both headlight are dim, even change the headlight bulbs still dim. Night time driver can't see well is very danger!
Incident date: May 26, 2025
Engine light is blinking and put safety of my family in danger. I called the close Huyndai dealer also I have a case number. However, it takes forever for them to answer. I only have this car. I am driver and this how I make living. I have no choice in driving this recall vehicle and kill my self and my family. No body care!
Fire
Incident date: Jun 7, 2025
I have a daytime running light that went out on the driver-side front. It is an LED light designed to last for 30,000-50,000 hours. I have an estimate of more than $1,700 by Port Lavaca Dodge in PL, TX to replace the light from the dealer. I also purchased an extended warranty but it specifically excludes bulbs. I have also seen at least 2 other Dodge Durangos in our small town with the same b... Read more
CHEVROLET
EQUINOX EV
(2024) — EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jun 17, 2025
Incident date: Jun 16, 2025
The front headlight developed condensation with zero evidence of a hit or accident. Additionally, the car randomly loses power when going from a stop to acceleration, leaving me in the middle of an intersection with no power for about 3-5 seconds