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
HYUNDAI
SANTA FE SPORT
(2013) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jan 12, 2024
Incident date: Jan 12, 2024
The KNOWN issue with the 1.5L ecoboost engines happened to my 2017 Escape at 79k miles right after having a the transmission shifter cable bushing recall fixed. Coincidentally, it didn't have the extensive issue before bringing it in for the recall and also ,coincidentally, my warranty expired last month and they told me it's my problem.
Incident date: Jan 11, 2024
Several symptoms occur: First off Its cold where we live & the car goes into deep sleep mode every night. I get a FordPass message that states battery saver feature is activated. The car fails to start using the remote start or Key Fob. Dome lights don't turn on and remote features not allowed. This is a serious safety concern as it's getting colder, and engines not starting on a brand new vehicl... Read more
Incident date: Jan 11, 2024
My headlights are EXTREMELY DIM. I contacted the dealership 4 days after I purchased my Acura RDX to only be told my warranty doesn't cover the headlights and I would have to pay out of pocket to get them fixed. My headlights are so dim it looks like I'm driving with my running lights on. I have to drive with my high beams at night because I have almost hit a pedestrian and run into a ditch not be... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2016) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jan 12, 2024
Incident date: Feb 6, 2023
MY HEADLIGHTS HAVE GOTTEN SO BAD THAT I CANNOT SEE AT NIGHT WITH MY DIM LIGHTS. I HAVE TO KEEP MY BRIGHT LIGHTS ON TO BE ABLE TO SEE, THUS BLINDING DRIVERS DOING OPPOSITE DIRECTION . I RECENTLY WAS PULLED OVER BY STATE TROOPER, HE STATED THAT I DIDNOT TURN OFF MY BRIGHT LIGHTS AND THEN I SHOWED HIM MY DIM LIGHTS. HE STATED, OH, I SEE.... YOU HAVE NO LIGHTING ON THE DIM LIGHTS. I HAVE BEEN ON... Read more
Incident date: Jan 12, 2024
Brake light problems, i.e., the brake and turn signal lights are mounted on the bumper. TOO low and dangerous. Trucks and pickups especially DO NOT see these low mounted lights. I've been almost rear-ended when stopping on numerous occasions. Drivers expect to see lights at line of sight NOT at the bottom of a vehicle. The earlier versions of the Boldt had the lights higher, why this poor ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 9, 2024
Subject: Urgent Safety Complaint - 2016 Cadillac SRX Headlight Performance National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) Vehicle Identification Number (VIN): [XXX] Dear National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, I am writing to submit a formal safety complaint regarding a critical issue with the headlights of my 2016 Cadillac SRX. My name is ... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2020) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jan 11, 2024
Incident date: Jan 7, 2024
The ABS, downhill assist, and engine light stay on constantly, even though the clock spring has been replaced and multiple car repair shops are unable to diagnose a “problem.” When driving, the vehicle seems like the engine is getting extremely hot and starts to sputter and even cuts off at times. There are currently recalls on 2011 Sorentos for fire risk while parked and fire risk while drivi... Read more
Incident date: Jan 10, 2024
2014 Cadillac SRX - Driver's side headlight does not work properly on Low Beam. While the light burns, it does not shine forward on the road. It is absolutely as if there was no light at all, when driving at night. Took it to 2 different Cadillac Dealers who tried to fix but was told it was impossible to fix without replacing the entire headlight unit at a cost of more than $2,000. I had this same... Read more
Incident date: Dec 25, 2023
The Body Control Module malfunctioned in my CRV. The alarm was going off at random and the car would start into accessory mode by itself after being shut off (after use). This is a safety concern as it draws attention to me, the driver, when parking my car in a public space. For females, this can be scary and is especially dangerous as after this the car will typically not start, nor will the door... Read more
Incident date: Jan 10, 2024
My battery died. After a AAA jump, the car started fine but the right-rear-taillight-signal malfunctioned. It was working fine prior to the battery dying. I purchased a new battery and the mechanic said my right-rear-taillight was getting an electrical signal and the bulb work, but I needed a completely new taillight component ($300!) because it still was not working. While researching par... Read more
Incident date: Oct 23, 2023
LED headlights on new 21+Ford Bronco do not have enough heat to melt snow or ice that builds up on the headlights while traveling. There are thousands of posts online from different drivers confirming this issue with winter weather. The headlights become clogged with snow and visibility at night is reduced to an unsafe amount. The headlights will have to be cleared manually, resulting in additi... Read more
JEEP
GRAND WAGONEER
(2023) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jan 11, 2024
Incident date: Aug 16, 2003
Daytime running lights de soldered themselves from the headlight assembly, Tesla suggested a $4600.00 replacement of headlights at customer cost, no warranty.
Incident date: Oct 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Ford Bronco. The contact stated while driving in inclement snowy weather, snow became stuck to the front headlights. Due to the failure, visibility was obstructed while driving at night. The contact frequently pulled over and manually cleared the headlights of snow to resume driving with greater visibility. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure... Read more
Incident date: Jan 10, 2022
My high beam headlights are not working. There is no change whether the high beams are on or off.
Incident date: Nov 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a message was displayed that there was a light bulb malfunction. The contact stated that the rear turn signal lights and brake lights were not operating properly. Additionally, the contact stated that the fuel door failed to operate properly, and occasionally opened independently wh... Read more
Incident date: Dec 19, 2023
Air bag light on passenger side stays on and unable to drive vehicle at night due to lights being so dim
Incident date: Jan 11, 2024
Daytime running lights stopped working with no warning signs or notifications, reducing visibility.. Has been confirmed by independent service center. Circuitry in headlight is known to fail causing the daytime running light to stop without warning
Incident date: Nov 20, 2023
Driver's side headlight works intermittently.
Incident date: Jan 6, 2024
I was driving on the highway in the early morning hours and several warnings appeared stating that the left and right tail lights, left and right brake lights, and center brake lights where faulty. It was dark outside and raining, and I immediately had no rear lights of any kind driving on the highway. The dealership was able to correct the issue with a technical service bulletin, but given the ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2022
In this vehicle the instrument panel is an electronic display. This display did not show any controls, speedometer, mileage, warning lights, etc. It was black, with only the backlight on. This morning (Jan 10) on my way to work I noticed my instrument panel was not working. The screen was completely black instead of displaying the normal information (charge level, speed, etc).
Incident date: Jan 9, 2024
The VW Golf current generation starting has “haptic” controls on the steering wheel and dash under the radio. As it stands right now you cannot make changes to radio, or cruise control without taking your eyes off th me road and look down at the steering wheel to find the button you are looking for. In most cars with normal buttons you learn where they are and can feel your way around them wit... Read more
Incident date: Jan 9, 2024
Vehicle suddenly lost power and displayed shift to park on display. Vehicle will not respond or display any status other than shift to park. Vehicle towed to dealership. Diagnosis of their mechanic is failed BECM module. Vehicle was brought to dealership 3yrs ago with infotainment center problems. Infotainment Software was updated but problem persisted. 2 years ago it was brought to dealership wit... Read more
Incident date: Dec 21, 2023
Having issues driving vehicle at night time due to headlights being to dim. In order to drive safely i have to turn high beams on. Im concern for my family safety when driving with dim lights at night time.
Incident date: Dec 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2011 Toyota Prius. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed on dark roads, the contact became aware that the headlights were extremely dim. The illumination was inadequate while driving. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact became aware of a six-year Extended Warranty letter from the manufacturer. The contact stated that the harness needed to be ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 13, 2023
The low beam headlamps you cannot see at night when you are driving and I just bought this car and ran the VIN for recalls and it says that there is 10 recalls and one of them being problem with the low beam headlights none of these 10 recalls were fixed and I guess the date has passed and now I can't fix them I don't understand how that's fair to me when I just bought the car two three days ago a... Read more
Incident date: Aug 22, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Impreza. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V624000 (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 dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufact... Read more
Incident date: Jan 6, 2024
Low beams have been getting progressively worse since late 2023 to the point where the low beams are as bright as my day running lights. Driving at night has become very dangerous and I need to continually turn on and off high beams to see roadway at night. This seems to be a common problem in 2013-2015 RDX cars. There was a recall for Acura headlights in a different Acura model many years ago.... Read more
Incident date: Mar 9, 2023
This issue affects nearly ALL modern vehicles that support ONLY dark mode for backlit/light-imitting dashboard/infotainment screens. Back-lit, white text on a black background is very difficult to read for some people with certain medical conditions. For example, my wife has an intraocular lens implant. She can read road signs and physical 'white on black' text fine, but the LED backlit screen wh... Read more
Incident date: Jan 9, 2021
Part 573 Safety Recall Report 20V-063 Manufacturer Name : Mazda North American Operations Submission Date : FEB 06, 2020 NHTSA Recall No. : 20V-063 Manufacturer Recall No. : 4320A [XXX] My vehicle was impacted by this yet I never received notice from Mazda and when asking the dealership and Mazda USA to honor the repair I was told it was not covered. Mazda has also issues two TSBs regarding th... Read more
Incident date: Nov 14, 2023
Passenger side low beam headlight bulb connector melted/burnt. Caused low beam to go out on occasion - hit a bump and it switches on/off
Incident date: Nov 15, 2023
There is a visible defect in the touch screen of the infotainment unit, which seems to be progressing in a top down direction. I suspect that the touch screen is delaminating and the electrical characteristics of the unit are degrading. The unit now "self-selects" and changes radio settings (FM to AM, or station), or screens (navigation, to CarPlay, to comfort settings, to...). Any and all featu... Read more
Incident date: Jul 17, 2023
2 SEPERATE ISSUE DIGITAL LIGHTING FAILED, THEN 2ND ISSUE WHICH IS STILL BEING WORKED ON, BEEN A WEEK WITHOUT THE VEHICLE WHICH IS ONLY A MONTH OLD WITH 1100 MILES ON IT, THE ENTITE SYSTEM ISNT WORKING WITH LOTS OF CODE ERROR MESSAGES AND WILL NOT START. THE CURRENT UPDATE FROM MERCEDES IS THEY STARTED A CASE AND TESTING THE VEHICLE AFTER REPLACING THE POWER TRAIN. THE TECHNICIAN AGREED THIS IS NOT... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
GLC 300
(2024) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jan 8, 2024
Incident date: Dec 31, 2023
Low beams have become way too dim. I replaced the bulbs, but it made only a minor improvement. I also cleaned the outer surface so it's not hazy anymore.
FORD
ESCAPE HYBRID
(2020) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jan 8, 2024
Incident date: Jan 8, 2024
I have a 2011 Ford Fiesta. The vehicle has a really serious issue relating to the fuse box that is mounted under the hood. This issue has a recall and I scheduled it for service at the Ford dealer in bryan, ohio. (Bryan Ford) I have issues with this vehicle that make it extremely unsafe for me and my family to drive. The headlights randomly go out while driving, both passenger and drivers side are... Read more
Incident date: Nov 22, 2023
I have moisture and water leaking into my racetrack light bar on my back lift gate I only have 28,000 miles on it I believe there should be a recall on this issue
Incident date: Jan 2, 2024
The backup lights of the 2024 Porsche Cayenne Coupe when the car is put into reverse are extremely dim, and do not adequately highlight what is behind the car. I learned this the first time on September 8th when I tried to back out of my friend’s narrow windy tree lined driveway at night. Something that usually took a few minutes took more than 15 minutes because I could not see where I was go... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2023
Our low beam headlights have been very low for a few months now. I have tried to replace the bulbs, using multiple different types / various degrees of halogen light bulbs, but each time this does not solve the low output problem. Now our car is failing our yearly state safety inspection and after research it appears the reflector inside the housing unit may need change. The lights are very dim... Read more
Incident date: Dec 20, 2023
When driving at night all of the lights on the vehicle go out, but the engine continues to run normally. After 10 -15 seconds the lights come back on and the display has the low tire indicator illuminated. This has happened multiple times. I have had it checked by my mechanic and everything seems normal. Any ideas?
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
Headlights lenses progressively cloudy. Tail light lenses are perfectly clear. Problem progressive over past 5 years.
Incident date: Jan 8, 2024
When the master lighting switch is set to the auto position, the high beam headlights will not activate unless the master lighting switch is first changed to the ‘on’ position. This is the same as the recall for the 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee L which was issued in approximately October 2021. I figured this out when I was searching the internet for why my high beam lights were not working. It ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 7, 2024
When going over road bumps or hitting a pothole, the headlight adjusters pop out of alignment and is unable to be adjusted. This is the second headlight replacement for the same issue after my first pair of headlights were replaced under a tech service bulletin. The replacement lights which should have fixed the issue did not fix the issue and I know have a second pair of headlights that need to b... Read more
Incident date: Jan 7, 2024
Head lights not working.
VOLKSWAGEN
ID.4
(2023) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jan 7, 2024
Incident date: Dec 12, 2023
30848 miles 1/5/24 – Drove to Cedar City UT for an appointment after picking the vehicle up. The elevation is 5846 feet and the weather was about 20f. While going uphill on the interstate I started to receive messages about the headlights not working. Electrical system not working correctly error message came back. The left headlight was going on and off on its own and an error "fault vehicle li... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ID.4
(2023) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jan 7, 2024
Incident date: Jan 5, 2024
The glue around front windshield has deteriorated and has caused major damage to my interior lights, electrical essemblys , interior damage to seats , dash board and flooring. Including the trunk seal is also deteriorated and causing the battery to stop working and has made my car non drivable.
1 injured
MERCEDES-BENZ
E320
(2004) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jan 7, 2024
Incident date: Nov 10, 2021
About this date had accidentair bags failed to go off for any off us
Crash
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
The electrical keeps shutting off and own after hitting speed bumps. It shuts off all power on hvac windows seats and the odometer. I have heard this same issue with many owners
Incident date: Sep 8, 2023
Low beam lights are very low and causes poor visibility at night and in hazardous conditions such as rain, etc. I can hardly see while driving at night because of the poor and low visibility.
Incident date: Dec 29, 2023
The projection paint has worn off from halogen bulb resulting in dangerously low and dim lighting for low beams.
VOLKSWAGEN
ID.4
(2021) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Jan 7, 2024
Incident date: Jan 7, 2024
Tail lamp, brake lamp, turn signal, and reverse light housings become obstructed with condensation on the inside of the housings.
Incident date: Jan 1, 2019
A recall was issued for this vehicle about 17 months ago and a remedy is still unavailable. We find this to be unacceptable especially considering it is a safety hazard.