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: Dec 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2024 Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid. The contact stated while driving at night at approximately 35 MPH with the low beam headlights activated, there was a rectangular shadow cast ahead by both headlights. The shadow was cast directly to the front and the road was not fully illuminated. The contact stated that while using the high beam setting the shadow was not present. The contact... Read more
Incident date: Dec 2, 2024
During dusk/dawn exterior lighting conditions, the informant screen is too dim to use. i.e. can't change drive mode to snow/ice, or locate any other controls.
Incident date: Oct 3, 2024
I was driving in dense fog about 9 am on December 2, 2024. It was about an hour after sunrise. I passed an approaching car without lights on and thought to myself how dangerous it was to be driving in dense fog without lights. I then realized that my automatic headlights were off! That means my fog lights were also off. They were on when I first left the house. The fog was dense enough that cars ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2024
In 2020 I Purchased Meyer Products Night Saber 4 LED Headlights for my snowplow. I thought they would be better than Meyers Nite Blaster 2 Halogen Headlights. Which I have found not to be the case. The Lens Defroster does not work well in heavy snow. They do not stay on constantly to keep melting snow off of the lens. Which becomes heavly snow laden severely impacting driving visibility. On m... Read more
Incident date: Nov 6, 2024
In 2020 I Purchased Meyer Products Night Saber 4 LED Headlights for my snowplow. I thought they would be better than Meyers Nite Blaster 2 Halogen Headlights. Which I have found not to be the case. The Lens Defroster does not work well in heavy snow. They do not stay on constantly to keep melting snow off of the lens. Which becomes heavly snow laden severely impacting driving visibility. On m... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2024
The left front side marker light is defective. However, the left front side marker light is working. The vehicle keeps reporting this error. Audi recall campaign 97CB (NHTSA campaign ID 16V642000) addresses this exact issue, but this problem has always existed. Even 2018 Audi vehicles have this problem.
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2020) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Dec 2, 2024
Incident date: Dec 1, 2024
Components Failing - Reported as central computer. This made the vehicle turn signals and backup cameras fail as critical components. These two elements were/are completely non-functional. Additional less critical safety functions that have been disabled include blind spot monitoring and cameras, both forward and reverse emergency braking, and pedestrian alerts. My safety was put at-risk due to c... Read more
Incident date: Nov 29, 2024
The main infotainment screen does not function. The car reboots itself every 5-6 minutes while driving. This temporarily disables all the seat sensors, signals or anything that requires electrical. The regenerative braking is also disabled. Furthermore, I can not control any Heat, AC, defrosters, which is extremely dangerous during the winter season.
Incident date: Oct 1, 2024
The brake/turn signal lights on all of the bolts, including mine, are barely visible during the day. It needs to be recalled. The lights are tiny.
Incident date: Dec 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Mini Cooper Clubman. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the left and right turn signals were inoperable. The contact was made aware by another driver that four out of the five rear brake lights were inoperable. The right and left turn signal malfunction and the rear brake light warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the place o... Read more
Incident date: Oct 3, 2024
original part # 68545657aa was malfunctioning and i took vehicle into shop to replace. I had to order replacement part 68545657AB at my own expense and pay to have it installed. I received safety recall notice "A2B/NHTSA 24E-082" via mail and went to the recall reimbursement website. this part is not currently listed on the options to select. I called in and was told the vin #'s had not been fi... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2024
Intellibeam feature is not dimming the lights when oncoming vehicles are present or there are vehicles in front of me. This has happened twice now in cold weather only (late November/early December) in Michigan. Also, they do not dim while driving when it's snowing. I have tried to disengage the feature using the button on the left stalk on the steering wheel but the button doesn't seem to turn th... Read more
Incident date: Sep 6, 2024
I purchased the car brand new March 2023. I noticed the front driver headlight fogs and has condensation in cool weather. I mentioned to the Dealership and they said it was a known issue but no fix for it. The light was sealed properly. This has been on going since 2023. The condensation has gotten worse and is a safety visability issue.
Incident date: Dec 2, 2024
The instrument panel cluster has short circuited and failed preventing the display of critical safety information such as speed, fuel levels, and engine temperature, etc. This is the same issue that other jeep gladiators have a recall for code NHTSA recall 24V652, but the service department says my jeep that has the exact same issue is not covered. There was no warning and the dash went out whil... Read more
Incident date: Jul 2, 2021
Low beam headlights are projected too low and it is difficult to see past ~20ft. Field of vision is significantly decreased (~5ft) on downhills or any significant road slope. No accident has occurred yet but it is very difficult to see ahead in the dark without using high beams; turning on high beams is not appropriate in many situations. Dealership was unable to do anything to align headlights. P... Read more
Incident date: Dec 15, 2023
Headlights appear to be adjusted too high from the factory, causing considerable distress to other drivers who are blinded by my bright LED headlights shining directly into their cabin. At night, oncoming drivers are flashing their lights at me constantly, thinking my brights are on. In fact, it's difficult to tell when my brights are on because the headlights are aimed so high that the brights ma... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2024
Rear back up camera at night is extremely bright and blinding to driver. Makes it useless at night and dangerous. There's no way to lower brightness setting for night time back up moves. I've seen many complaints on this. We owners shouldn't have to pay to have this fix.
Incident date: Aug 11, 2024
When driving in snow, the snow accumilates in front of the recessed headlights on top of the front bumper and makes night driving impossible.
TESLA
CYBERTRUCK
(2024) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Dec 1, 2024
Incident date: Nov 24, 2024
Audi Q7 front right parking light defective. Audi recall campaign 97CB (NHTSA campaign ID 16V642000) 16V642000 My vehicle says no open recalls but I get the error meaaage.
Incident date: Jul 2, 2024
Automatic high beams do not come on enough, turn off with slightest reflected light.
Incident date: Oct 1, 2024
The headlight design, being behind and slightly above the front bumper, allows snow to accumulate in front of the headlights while parked and while driving. This prevents visibility in low-light conditions for both the vehicle driver and for other drivers.
Incident date: Mar 1, 2024
Rear Position Light Malfunction on my 2018 Volvo V90 CC. The winter finally came yesterday and it rained the whole night. After I started the car in the following morning and drove for around 2 minutes, the warning popped up. I found out the rear position light of the whole left side doesn’t work, included the position light on the tailgate. But so far, every light works well except the positi... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2024
Led DRL burned out both driver and passenger side. Extremely common issue in this generation of F150/similar year model. $1200 per head light assembly replacement to fix the issue.
Incident date: Jan 1, 2018
THE PASSENGER BACK DOOR LATCH, SOMETIMES WHEN THE DOOR CLOSES IT SAYS REAR RIGHT DOOR AJAR. IT TAKES A FEW TIMES TO OPEN AND CLOSE IT FOR THE LIGHT TO GO OFF.. NOONE'S SAFETY HAS BEEN PUT AT RISK YET DOOR STILL LOCKS BUT COULD BECOME UNSAFE OVER TIME. THE VEHICLES HAS NOT BEEN INSPECTED BY MANUFACTURER OR INSURANCE OR OTHERS YET. THE DOOR LIGHT COMES ON IF DOOR IS NOT CLOSED PROPERLY AND WILL STAY... Read more
Incident date: Jul 18, 2024
When driving early in the morning while it was still dark outside, the car had what seemed to have been a sudden loss of electrical power. The audio for the radio cut off, then the screen for the radio and speedometer went blank, and the headlights also went out. This all lasted for a couple seconds when this happened and then everything came back on fine. I normally would think that this is a def... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
E 450
(2023) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Nov 30, 2024
Incident date: Nov 27, 2024
Left headlight has gone out after only 46000 miles. A search of the internet for a fix for this reveals many individuals are having this issue on the platinum level trim models of the ford explorer. This is a safety risk as the whole headlight needs to be replaced at a cost of upwards of $2000. Other individuals have stated they have replaced the headlights multiple times under warranty. This shou... Read more
Incident date: Nov 17, 2024
#1 Adaptive cruise control suddenly brakes when there are no vehicles ahead. #2 After completing right turn with right turn signal flashing the left turn signal is activated and flashes three times.
Incident date: Nov 30, 2024
Auto high beams: They come far too soon or don't dim when when following other vehicles, they do not dim soon enough when meeting cars over rolling hills. They do not dim for oncoming vehicles on a slight bend in the road or on intersecting streets. They also do not dim when in town on lit streets. I've tried to turn them off and manually operate the lights. You are unable to disable the a... Read more
Incident date: Nov 29, 2024
While merging into heavy highway traffic, turn signal failed to turn on when button was pressed. This made me have to merge without a turn signal on putting me at a higher risk of a collision and surprising the drivers behind me. Immediately after the merge was complete I attempted to troubleshoot the button and found that it was stuck in the up state, flicking it multiple times made it possible t... Read more
Incident date: Oct 10, 2024
Continues to have issues with dealership to remedy/correct recalls. Have waited for 60+ days since recall remedy was initiated in August 2024 Headlights continue to be a hazzard and due to this we had unfortunate incident of a deer running out and inability to see in the dusk of 6am due to lack of head lights. This has caused immense hardship regarding finances and maintaining a job as we are dow... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Oct 1, 2024
when the vehicle is put in reverse when it is dark outside the screen goes to full bright blinding the driver no matter what the brightness settings are. This makes it almost impossible to see when backing up. This more than negates any saferty gains made by having the backup camera in the first place. I have contacted ram concerning this issue with no response. There are multiple threads on the i... Read more
Incident date: Nov 25, 2024
The contact owns a SeaLight S1H11 LED Headlight Bulb, Part Number: AHDS1H11-E. The contact was informed of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21E053000 (Exterior Lighting); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contacted stated that several emails were sent to the manufacturer as the recall notification advised; however, the manufacturer had not yet responded. The contact stated... Read more
Incident date: Nov 29, 2024
Since I have owned this vehicle, the wiring for the backup camera has been wrong since purchase. The image is fuzzy, sometimes non-existent, and if it is it is upside down. The radio works when it wants to. The headlights keep filling with moisture no matter how many times I get it fixed. The windshield wiper will no longer spray the fluid to clear the windshield (after about owning it for a year)... Read more
Incident date: Jul 18, 2024
The headlights seem to high for the vehicle, blinding other drivers, after some research they can be lower, but the dealer does not seem to see that problem
Incident date: Nov 20, 2024
I purchased a 2017 Ford Focus from a car dealership called lion cars on 4201 West Colonial Drive in Orlando Florida the car has a major major electrical issue I was at an intersection and the car went completely dead and turned off and it locked me inside the car I couldn't get out of the car the windows would not roll down the doors were not unlocked and the car started smoking finally I got out ... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Oct 1, 2024
Headlights on low beam have a very low distance reach. This is more apparent if you are going up or down an incline. On inclines, the Steering adaptive headlights change in such a way that you have very little distance in your sight. There is also a very sharp delineation of light vs dark at its maximum distance at even levels. This give the impression that you have good lighting at short dista... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 2024
Vehicle keeps stalling while driving if stopped at a light or stop sign or if mrps drop to low engine shuts off lights flicker and no check engine light has come on.
Incident date: Nov 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the front passenger's side low beam headlight failed to illuminate as needed. Upon inspecting the vehicle, the contact noticed that the front passenger's side low beam headlight assembly wiring harness was burnt, and there was light smoke coming from the wiring harness. The vehicle was taken to the local... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2024
The low beam lighting on my 2025 Subaru Forester is dangerous. The beam is set so that it is flat on top and too low. When the car dips at all the beam does not allow you see straight ahead. This is very dangerous when you cannot use the high beam as with oncoming traffic. I have taken it to the dealer and they state that the low beam is set according to Subaru specifications. Contact with Subaru... Read more
Incident date: Nov 4, 2024
Factory seal on headlight assembly weakens causing headlamp to retain water
FORD
F-150 HYBRID
(2021) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Nov 27, 2024
Incident date: Nov 27, 2024
Drive lights on driver side always stop working or work improperly, after looking into it I see its such a common complaint and always on drivers side, dodge refuses to look into it although it cant be a coincidence that its always on Durangos and always on the driver side exact same light. Theres was no warning lights on dash and fuses are good.
Incident date: Jun 3, 2024
On 3 different occasions in the last 2 weeks, everything mechanical shutdown accept for the ability to drive. This means all lights, computer systems, dashboards, etc. It was everything electrical accept for the ability to press on the gas, brake, and steer as these 3 things were fine though I could not see my speed either. It, meaning all 3 occurrences, were a total blackout. Ciocca Volkswago... Read more
Incident date: Nov 19, 2024
My car keeps indicating that my battery is low because it is discharging after car is turned off. I kept smelling a burning smell and finally discovered that my battery was burning a hole in my trunk lining. The battery has melted the plastic covering the positive terminal on the left side. And it was smoking on fire when I opened my trunk.
Fire
VOLKSWAGEN
TIGUAN
(2022) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Nov 26, 2024
Incident date: Nov 20, 2024
Infotainment display graphics issue; most controls (including disabling seat heaters) are through this screen and camera is displayed on it. Unable to see display clearly and therefore interact with controls or view backup camera to look for obstacles. Search online for "2024 atlas screen glitch" and you'll see quite a few pictures that are similar.
Incident date: Feb 1, 2024
Driver side and third row passenger side seat belts have stopped retracting, will not retract. Exterior tail light is going out due to faulty manufacturer seal, water gets in and destroys tail light from inside which also lets water get into license plate bulb and makes the license plate bulbs burn out constantly. I feel unsafe driving my vehicle due to the seatbelt not retracting, if I have to... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2024
I was driving on the interstate when dark (during the evening hours). I had the headlights on via the "auto" position. Without any warning the dashboard lights and headlights shut off. This has happened on two different occasions, [XXX] and [XXX]. After stopping, shutting off the car and restarting the lights resumed working. I have since taken the car to a Jeep dealership for repair. The dealersh... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2024
There is a serious flaw in the low beam headlight display for this vehicle. There are two large shadows directly in the light of sight. I rarely drive this vehicle at night and with the recent change away from daylight savings time, I drove it in the early evening and discovered the headlights created a huge shadow right in the sightline of the road with oncoming vehicles. It is especially wor... Read more
Incident date: Aug 26, 2024
This car has One Pedal Driving (OPD) which allows you to slow the car to a stop, without using the brake pedal. The car activates the brake lights, based on sensors in the car which sense the deceleration. In this mode, the brake lights are NOT activated by any pedal action by the driver, only by the vehicle's actual deceleration. This all works great EXCEPT the fact that once the car comes to a s... Read more
MINI
COUNTRYMAN
(2025) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Nov 26, 2024
Incident date: Jul 10, 2024
I purchased my 2015 Cadillac SRX a year ago from a private car dealer and of course he never told me about the headlight issue. I purchased two different types of bulbs and paid to have them installed and there are not bright enough Just like other people with the same problem I can't see at night and here in Maine it gets dark by 4:00 and driving at night is so very scary. I am [XXX] and this veh... Read more
DODGE
CHALLENGER
(2014) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Nov 26, 2024
Incident date: Nov 7, 2024
When driving from Washington DC to Richmond VA via the [XXX] highway on the night of [XXX], we found the glare from contemporary car headlamps in the oncoming traffic lanes to be blinding, and cars that were behind us also created a distraction because their headlamps were reflected in our side car mirrors. Although we didn't have an accident, the extreme glare from these intensified lights is ve... Read more