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 28, 2023
The footwell module that controls the lights, brake lights windows and dashboard is faulty on all mini cooper of this module. Every time I change my battery or disconnect it the module brakes and the dealership knows this problem and still want to charge 1300 dollars to fix it it is a safety and hazard issue.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Impreza. The contact stated that the vehicle was difficult to drive at night. The contact stated that the headlights were pointed downward. The contact stated that other drivers were flashing their headlights at her while she was driving. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V624000 (Exterior Lighting) however, the part to do the recall repai... Read more
Incident date: Dec 25, 2023
Driver side headlamp draws moisture, keeps blowing bulbs at 104.99 a pop. Water gets in the headlight assembly and shorts out the ballast. This happens even when driving down the road at random. It could be pitch black and suddenly you have no headlights and are forced to drive with only fog lamps
Incident date: Dec 27, 2023
Right high beam stopped working. Low beams work, no indicators, bulb has been changed. Jist stopped working.
Incident date: Nov 16, 2023
2014 Toyota RAV4 perfectly good headlight bulb stops working on low beam selection, severely limiting visibility for night-time driving. Looks like everyone on the internet is having the same problem.
Incident date: Dec 27, 2023
Received important safety recall on 14th November 2023, I called Kia dealership and corporate office to resolve and got the answer that the remedy is not available. It’s been more than 45 days since I received a letter, I am not parking my car in my garage, or neither driving secondary to concerned of fire, risk and injury as indicated in later. I went to local Kia dealership as I was instructed... Read more
Incident date: Dec 19, 2023
I ordered this vehicle brand new in October 2022. I took delivery May 1, 2023. The problem presented itself instantly the first moment I drove the car at night. On low beams, the headlights project a very large "V" that is cut out of the upper left hand corner of the projected headlight beam. This creates a very distracting and absolutely very dangerous driving condition. The easiest way to... Read more
Incident date: Dec 20, 2023
2018 Mitishichi Headlights, left, then right stop working. Dealer replaced first one within 6 months. So far I have replaced one or the other 4 or 5 Times. I did complain to NHTSA . These lights have been out more than they have worked. Google indicates a large number of these issues but no recall from NHTSA.
VOLKSWAGEN
TIGUAN
(2022) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Dec 28, 2023
Incident date: Dec 28, 2023
Brake light stays due to brake pedal stays stuck.. on while driving causing the motorcycle to be activate the ABS Also handlebar tends to become loose
Incident date: Dec 28, 2023
While driving the brake pedal stays stuck causing the brake lights to be illuminated while driving, and causing the motorcycle to activate the ABS
Incident date: Nov 15, 2023
Twice in about a week my 12V battery has died without warning. The car is inoperable and there’s no way to open the car doors or even the trunk and front trunk. We’ve been locked out entirely. Left stranded in parking lots waiting for tow trucks. The only fix is jumping the vehicle’s 12V battery. If this happened while you’re in the vehicle you’d be stuck in the car since none of the a... Read more
FORD
MUSTANG MACH E
(2021) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Dec 27, 2023
Incident date: Dec 26, 2023
Twice in about a week my 12V battery has died without warning. The car is inoperable and there’s no way to open the car doors or even the trunk and front trunk. We’ve been locked out entirely. Left stranded in parking lots waiting for tow trucks. The only fix is jumping the vehicle’s 12V battery. If this happened while you’re in the vehicle you’d be stuck in the car since none of the a... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
The headlights on the Nissan Altima are dangerously dim. In dry weather the only way to see at night is with the high beams on. When it is raining even that doesn't help. I paid several hundred dollars to have the bulbs replaced at a Nissan dealer and they advised they likely will not help. At no time did the Nissan dealer tell me that there was a recall on the headlights, so I found this out to... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
GLE 450
(2020) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Dec 27, 2023
Incident date: Dec 15, 2023
Mercedes Benz has a KNOWN safety problem with this model and has not put it under recall yet and it needs to be. The wire casing in the wiring harness for the headlights crumbles and leaves exposed wires that touch, short, and draw causing dim headlights. Due to being cited for dim headlights the night before, I called MBUSA on December 27 2023 and they initially REFUSED to take a case from me.
Incident date: Nov 12, 2023
I was driving on the freeway and my hood popped up and smashed my roof and everything inside the ceiling onto my lap. The lighting and visor broken. Roof and hood damaged. I luckily survived this. I am leading this car. I took it to Nissan when this happened. They said they’d fix it but it’s been months and now no answer.
Incident date: Sep 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that the vehicle was designed with plastic headlamps that became foggy over time, causing the headlights to become extremely dim. The contact stated that the failure had reduced the visibility of the roadway while driving. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not n... Read more
Incident date: Dec 27, 2023
Bright head light stopped working without any cause.
Incident date: Dec 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Porsche Cayenne. The contact stated that water had leaked inside the front driver's side and passenger's side headlamps. The contact stated that the failure caused the headlights to become foggy and significantly dim, reducing the visibility of the roadway. The contact stated that he had received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V656000 (Exterior Lighting) and the v... Read more
Incident date: Jan 4, 2023
Días atrás se prendió la luz de airbag en el tablero y se siente mucho aire caliente al conducir los dealers me cobran mucho para un diagnóstico que puedo hacer?
Incident date: Dec 25, 2023
The edges of the tail light covers are sharp and when I accidentally brush my arms on them while the tailgate is up exposing the edges, I cut my arms badly. I could not upload pictures of the tailgate cover edges or the cuts on my arm which I have.
1 injured
Incident date: Oct 5, 2023
Center tail light failure in the lift gate. On further inspection all tail lights have water intrusion. Obviously tail/brake light failure is a safety hazard, especially at night. Dodge not owning the problem and the repair parts are extremely hard to find.
Incident date: Jul 10, 2023
The rear center tail light, “Racetrack light” has water in it and is defective now for the second time, this is a well known issue, but continues to fail. Dodge will not cover the repair even with a maximum care warranty, pushing a well documented issue back to the consumer.
Incident date: Dec 26, 2023
The headlights are dim. I believe the projector has been burned by the halogen bulb. It is a common issue with the halogen-equipped RDX. It is a safety issue at night. Replacing the bulb does not fix the issue.
Incident date: Nov 8, 2023
Check engine has failed. Glow relay stuck on or knock sensor or engine warranty. I don't know. Kia service will find out what's wrong with my car.
Incident date: Dec 21, 2023
High mount brake light failure (2nd occurrence) November 2023 at 13,400 miles. Vehicle was repaired under warranty. This occurrence appears to be a repeated faulty part. Failure of high mount brake light creates rear collision potential in low visibility scenarios. The part (13613A High Mount Stop Lamp Assembly) appears to be a known faulty part by manufacturer or vehicle design. There are no warn... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2015) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Dec 25, 2023
Incident date: Oct 7, 2023
I have a 2009 chevy malibu that is under the NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V252000. The recall fix on this vehicle was performed but did not fix the issue and when contacting the local gm dealerships (multiple ones) I was told that the recall was closed on this vehicle and they refused to help at all. this is a very deadly issue the brake lights staying on until you press the brake pedal then they go... Read more
DODGE
CHALLENGER
(2015) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Dec 25, 2023
Incident date: Feb 27, 2022
High beams failure. Yes it is available for inspection. I live/travel in rural area with large sized wildlife. I require the ability to have high beams. I haven’t taken it to a service center, nor has any inspection been conducted. No warning lights, to the contrary, the interior instrumentation shows high beams are on even though they aren’t. This has been since I purchased the vehicle 2 mo... Read more
Incident date: Sep 25, 2023
Hi, I’ve noticed with this Jeep and the two newer cars before it would have my dash lit up when my headlights weren’t on. This is giving me and other drivers of these cars the false impression that my headlights must be on. So many folks are driving with either just fog lights or no lights at all because their dash is lit up. Before this technology your dash would be dim and that way you kne... Read more
Incident date: Aug 10, 2023
The tail light burned out because of water intrusion. I understand there is a leaky gasket that lets water in and, in time, this moisture ruins the LED taillight. Mine gave way at 45k miles. One section on the left started fading, then the whole taillight burned out. I was reading on the Internet a lot of people report the same issue for a number of years, how is this still happening, can you plea... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2023
The backup camera failed to display any image, even with a vehicle restart by pushing the 2 buttons on the steering wheel to force a vehicle restart. I cannot see the back of the vehicle without the camera as the rearview window is so up high that it creates blind spots that I cannot see to safely get in or out of a parking spot and this creates a huge safety risk. Warnings that displayed was emer... Read more
Incident date: Dec 19, 2023
When driving at night the illumination from the headlights is very poor. I can only see about 1/3 of the way up on the windshield and only a short distance in front of the car. Everything else is black. I am leasing the car for three years but I can't drive it at night it's too dangerous. Even if I use highbeams it is difficult to see. Both of my adult children have driven the car and come to the ... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 2023
Head light brightness detiorates over time to the point that entire assembly must be replaced for $2000 or more Common problem with cadillac suv for several years.
Incident date: Dec 23, 2023
My driver side tail light has water leaking into it, I reached out to Tesla to have it repaired. Tesla informed me that the amount of water in my taillight is considered acceptable, and that they will not swap it out.
Incident date: Jan 3, 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 manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool co... Read more
Incident date: Nov 19, 2023
Voltage will drop and effects steering, dash lights, radio, headlights
Incident date: Dec 17, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that while driving at slow speeds during the night, the headlights were dark and failed to provide adequate lighting to safely drive. The driver utilized the high-beam headlights, but there was still inadequate lighting. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the headl... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
After installing Mazda Genuine Accessory 4-pin trailer wiring harness (P/N VA40-V7-780A), and Mazda’s trailer hitch as well, found that the wiring does not operate correctly. When the turn signal or hazard lamps are activated while the brake is applied, the trailer lamps will operate erratically, flashing faster for a few cycles, then return to a normal flash rate before the erratic behavior rep... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that the driver’s side front headlight had failed to illuminate as designed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the computer system for the headlight had failed causing the headlights to not function as needed. The contact was informed that the headlight unit needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been r... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2007 Pontiac G6. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed at night, the brake lights illuminated without the brake pedal being depressed; however, the brake lights failed to illuminate while the brake pedal was depressed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the... Read more
Incident date: Dec 17, 2023
My engine is burning oil on the pistons and does not retain oil. I am having to top the engine oil off every 10-14 days. I went in to repair the catalytic converter, but I was told by the dealership that if I repair the converter, because I have a bad engine, it would be useless. The first warning sign was an H2O engine error that remains. My safety with a bad engine is put at risk with ever... Read more
Incident date: Dec 18, 2023
Low beam headlight failed. It is available for inspection. Drove car with only one low beam headlight. Not safe. Yes. Confirmed by independent service center. Had independent mechanic perform a pre-purchase inspection. They advised that my passenger side low beam headlight was out but they they would not be able to repair it quickly because it required removing the front bumper and removing the... Read more
Incident date: Nov 20, 2023
Driver side HID headlight filling with condensation on lens and water collecting inside the headlight capsule where the wiring for the bulbs and ballast run through. Daytime running light now out and potential loss of headlight use is foreseen.
Incident date: Dec 20, 2023
Hello dear infinity company. 1 problem is the seat belts, they don't tighten back. Problem 2: the headlights are very poorly lit and there are internal microcracks, the lamps are standard. Problem 3: Cruise control sometimes does not work and does not brake when approaching a vehicle. 4 the problem of moisture getting into the headlights and internal microcracks
Incident date: Jul 21, 2023
We hit a stationary deer at night. Afterwards, we found an open recall: WRG23-1: Forward recognition camera reprogramming 2023 Subaru Solterra, but Subaru refused to investigate as they claim animals (suddenly appearing) are a carve out on their liability. However, the deer wasn't leaping, it was already frozen in the road. The headlights only illuminated its knees, too late for the driver to sto... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Nov 27, 2023
My car should be included as part of special coverage since my car is leaking also: GLOBAL SAFETY FIELD INVESTIGATIONS DCS5111 URGENT - DISTRIBUTE IMMEDIATELY Date: August 7, 2019 Subject: N192210570 - Special Coverage Center High Mount Stop Lamp Water Leak Models: 2016 – 2017 Chevrolet Malibu To: All General Motors Dealers General Motors is releasing Special Coverage N192210570 today. The total... Read more
Incident date: Dec 19, 2023
Transmission lags between 1st & 2nd gear some times as long as 3 seconds making transfer case hit hard . I have had this truck at the dealer 2 are 3 times with this and other matters , the maintenance technician reports he can not reduplicate my grievance , this malfunction occurs more prominently in cold weather in morning on first take off . All so turn signal malfunction at random no particular... Read more
Incident date: Dec 19, 2023
low bean lights are very dim, visibility is very difficult cannot drive at night low bean light is very dim cannot see the road. high bean draws attention from other drivers blinding them. please advise on a remedy for this safety hazard
FORD
ESCAPE HYBRID
(2020) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Dec 19, 2023
Incident date: Dec 19, 2023
The headlights on this vehicle have deteriorated over time to the point where it is 100% a safety issue. I have had all of the bulbs replaced, but it is not the bulbs and this is a known issue with this model of vehicle. I am baffled that there hasn't been a recall for this vehicle for this KNOWN issue. It would be pretty easy to look across multiple forums and find numerous people with the sam... Read more
Incident date: Nov 22, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Bronco Sport. The contact stated that while driving with the high-beam headlights engaged, there was a dark spot on the driver's side headlight, reducing the visibility of the roadway. The contact stated that the failure was distracting. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and the contact was informed the failure was caused by a design flaw. The dealer informed the co... Read more