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 62,429 complaints - component: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Incident date: Dec 14, 2024
Fuel pump went out on my Honda Odyssey causing my car to stall on a highway with my kids. It kept giving me issues the last few days before stalling with taking off. It was as if the car did not want to take off when stopped and when accelrating. I did report this to my local Honda dealer and although there is a recall regarding the fuel pumps and injectors dealing with my make and model my vin nu... Read more
Incident date: Dec 31, 2024
The vehicle has no heating, I’ve taken the vehicle multiple times to the dealership From September 2024 and to date January 2025, the vehicle has been in the dealership since December, multiple attempts has been made to fix the heating system including replacing parts one of them being a valve. Vehicle is still not working after replacement of parts, the engineering company called “Star Engine... Read more
Incident date: Oct 6, 2024
Fuel pump went out while driving on an 80 mile per hour speed limit road causing my car to stall.
Incident date: Jan 3, 2025
Fuel injector is causing AWD error. No longer able to use the auto start on vehicle. Sometimes vehicle will not start. Unsure if that was due to the fuel pump recall either. Fuel pump has been replaced. Check engine light is still on and last time we had it checked it was due to fuel injector. The fuel injector was part of a recall for the year and model of our car but Was told our VIN was not par... Read more
Incident date: May 2, 2024
My vehicle was purchased in 2021. It is a 2018 Honda Accord Touring model. The engine is a 1.5TRG. My current mileage is 88,405. About three weeks ago, my mom drove my car to the store and the dash lit up. By this I mean that the dash lights lit up for check engine light, lane mitigation, oil, etc. She was less than 5 minutes from the house and immediately drove back and parked the car. Mind you, ... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2008) - FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Jan 3, 2025
Incident date: Aug 12, 2024
They had recall of this part which is valve in all other models except for this one. My vehicle failed VEIP test due to faulty valve and required assistance from the dealer but they refused to provide solutions and asked to pay $2700 and $230 diagnosis fee when we already had code which showed which part and which is recalled in all other Mercedes vehicles with 150000 milage warranty. We cannot ju... Read more
Incident date: Aug 5, 2024
The high pressure fuel pump failed while traveling causing the truck engine to shutdown placing us at risk of a collision when we took the vehicle to ford dealership in Morrilton, AR we were advised that the CP4 pump or high pressure fuel pump failed containing the entire fuel system with metal shavings. The cost to repair this failure is over $13,000 causing us to take out a loan.
Incident date: May 6, 2024
Vehicle is my wife’s car. Vehicle lost acceleration during rapid acceleration attempts (freeway on-ramps, etc.). Threw engine light with P0087 code (Low fuel rail pressure). Brought to local dealer to diagnose and was told the diverter valve failed, which caused the water pump to leak and then caused transmission to overheat. The total quote for repairs was over $8,900. None of this made sense. ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 12, 2023
My 2017 Ford Escape has a 1.5L EcoBoost engine that has been leaking fuel into my cylinders. My mechanic says I'm lucky it didn't cause a fire while I was driving it. Due to the damage, I now have to replace my long block engine, quoted at $11.2K. A week after I bought the car in late May 2024, the car began to smell of gasoline whenever I used my A/C, which I rarely do. A constant problem I've ex... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2024
Transmission failing - when stopped and trying to go from a dead stop the car will not move for a minute the rpm's rev high and the car will barely move maybe two to five miles per hour while the rpm's just rev higher. When climbing a hill the car seems to lose power and not shift like it should. If starting in morning the car may shift for a few minutes then it seems to only shift like downshift... Read more
GRAND DESIGN
REFLECTION
(2021) - FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Jan 3, 2025
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
Jumped in neutral while at at a stop light. Would not go back in gear.
Incident date: Dec 31, 2024
Late 2023 our Honda Pilot Touring had all lights and dash display systems come on while driving in town. The vehicle became extremely jerky and wouldn’t drive more than 15mph. Major engine vibration and systems failures. Had this happened while on the freeway it could have been a catastrophic accident. There were no symptoms prior to this issue happending. We towed the vehicle to Honda and they... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2025
Multiple fuel pump failures. Being left stranded or disabled on the highway. this is a known issue on this bike and no remedy has been provided or devised.
Incident date: Dec 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Honda Civic. The contact stated that a gasoline smell was detected in and around the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the closest independent repair shop and diagnosed with a fuel pump crack/failure. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) but the VIN w... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2018) - FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Jan 2, 2025
Incident date: Oct 28, 2024
My 2017 Hyundai Santa fe sport burns through 2qts of oil between oil changes (every 3000 miles). I check my oil once a week to make sure I have adequate oil to ensure my engine doesn't blow, Hyundai has open recalls on the 2017 models of my vehicle but my VIN number is not included...I have complained to Hyundai corporate and also the dealer and they state that I have to do an oil consumption test... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2021) - FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Jan 2, 2025
Incident date: Nov 28, 2024
Heard and felt extremely loud BANG under the car while driving then check engine light came on. Vehicle had low power and the gas was decreasing severely fast. The backseat had moved with our 2yr daughter in her car seat above it. Took it to dealership and they said the gas tank expanded and couldn't be fixed. They offered bottom dollar to buy it back
Incident date: Dec 15, 2024
While driving the vehicle lost power, would not go over 15 mph. There was a loud rattling noise from the engine. Check engine light came on. loss of power and speed prevented me from keeping up with traffic. Had vehicle towed to Chevrolet Dealership was told high pressure fuel pump mounting bolts had broken and fuel pump was loose. Dealer replace fuel pump and one fuel pipe (part #12627128). I pa... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
High pressure fuel pump failed while driving towing a trailer. Was able to pull over safely, entire fuel system needs to be replaced. Unknown if anything else was damaged yet. Vehicle is still in for repairs, estimate is between 9-13k parts and labor. I hope it didn't destroy the entire engine.
Incident date: Nov 24, 2024
Fuel pump looses pressure while sitting. It has extended cranks while starting
Incident date: Jan 2, 2024
The fuel gauge and range indicator are faulty. I was doing long-distance highway driving during the holidays. At 1/4 tank, the range indicator said 110 miles until empty. As soon as the needle dipped a fraction below 1/4 tank (about 20 miles later) the range indicator dropped instantly to 40 miles left AND THEN DROPPED ONE MILE PER SECOND UNTIL IT REGISTERED ZERO. The needle also fell at the same ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 22, 2024
I brought y car to the ford dealer in NOv 2024 for the open recall of reprogram integrated trailer relay module #22V193 and then they called me that the fuel pump needed to be replace because the truck al of the sudden stop working i spend over 12,000 to get the car fix and now i see the open recall for the fuel pump defective #24V-957 i would like to get a refund for the money i paid
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2018) - FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Jan 2, 2025
Incident date: Sep 1, 2024
Unable to get an appointment with dealer to fix the safety recall until the October of 2025.
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
Leaking fuel as described in one of the previous recalls for the car. There is a fire hazard but the VIN is not listed as being eligible.
MERCEDES-BENZ
GL350
(2012) - FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Jan 2, 2025
Incident date: Apr 16, 2024
While driving on the interstate in heavy traffic car displayed "Stop Safely - Vehicle will shut off soon" power was reduced and van started slowing down. Turning the vehicle off and on again cleared the problem. Dealer installed a software update and informed us the issue was corrected. Problem persists, happened again at interstate speeds in traffic. Vehicle is now again in the shop for diagno... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
Fuel inlet light on
Incident date: Jul 17, 2015
Gas pedal intermittently goes completely NON-responsive. Vehicle will not accelerate when this issue occurs. Pulling out into traffic is very dangerous when this issue happens. No errors are reported from the vehicle but the gas pedal is completely dead during the issue.
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS CROSS SPORT
(2022) - FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Jan 2, 2025
Incident date: Jan 2, 2025
As I was driving home from the grocery store, the car started to slow down and violently shook to a stop before shutting off. Thankfully, I could restart the car enough times, and the same experience happened every time so that I could make it home safely with my hazard flashers on. Once at home, the car didn't allow me to charge it from my garage and it has been a brick even after replacing the w... Read more
Incident date: Dec 29, 2024
on [XXX] my 2015 Chevy 2500 crew cab LTZ Duramax with 50,959 miles stopped running going down a large hill, Barely made it off the road coasting into a Fire department parking lot. 2nd failure occurred while driving on a main route in WV. At 66,600 miles [XXX], was almost rear ended because truck again just stopped running going 50 mph around a turn. Diesel fuel was pouring onto the hot engine s... Read more
Incident date: Jan 2, 2025
Vehicle has throttle lag when pushing the accelerator. Multiple times since owning vehicle, when pushing the accelerator pedal the engine/vehical doesn’t accelerate. This normally is from a complete stop situation. I have never seen any dashboard warning lights regaurding this issue. This has created on more than a handful of occasions myself and other occupants to be put in danger. I have not ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2022
Safety was at risk when the gears switched to neutral while I was driving in car with my children. A recall was completed when bought car was not aware of fuel pumps recall issue. Says completed repair but the car is still having issues and was sold to me without telling me about the recall. First appeared about a week ago. Making a ticking noise, losing power when accelerating.
Incident date: Jan 2, 2025
Since the middle of 2023 I have noticed a gas fume smell both inside and outside of my 2015 Mazda Mazda3 after I fill my gas tank to full. This smell persists up until I use about a half tank of gas or slightly less. I do not top my gas tank off and stop filling when the automatic gas pump stops. There are no visible leaks on or around the gas tank or below the vehicle, and there are no noticeabl... Read more
Incident date: Nov 22, 2024
My truck started having the extended start a couple of years ago. It seems when it's warmer outside, sometimes, it will crank for an excessive amount of time before it will start. It was very intermittent and hard to determine exactly when this would occur. Someone told me it was the fuel pump and that the fuel pumps in certain Ford Super Duty models were just faulty. A couple of weeks ago, ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 5, 2023
Up and down engine.
Crash
MERCEDES-BENZ
E350
(2010) - FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Jan 1, 2025
Incident date: Dec 10, 2024
My ford escape was diagnosed 12/31/2024 with a slight coolant intrusion. The dealership said my escape would require a new short block engine at the tune of $7555.28. I still owe $5800. I bought my car 12/2020 from a ford dealership with 3rd party extended warranty with 45k and now vehicle has 72k. Ive been having vehicle serviced at different ford dealership located closer to my house.
Incident date: Dec 31, 2024
Vehicle loses power while driving, with no response when accelerator is depressed further. The engine continues to run but no throttle response. No engine warning light came on. No codes stored. Must stop, turn off engine and perform an engine restart to continue driving again.
Incident date: Jan 1, 2025
I think it may be either fuel propulsion system or it maybe something electrical. I don’t really know. It is available for inspection at this time as it has been at the car dealer repair shop for about a month. My safety is put at risk because about seven or eight out of 10 times that I attempt to start the vehicle, it will turn over by pushing the button, but will not start. I work until past d... Read more
Incident date: Dec 31, 2024
The engine sporadically will “skip” and then keep going. The RPMs will spoke a little when it does
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2023) - FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Jan 1, 2025
Incident date: Jan 1, 2025
Low pressure fuel pump defective. Engine dies and/or surges under load at cruise speeds, sometimes dies at idle. Engine shuts down merging onto highway. Occupant(s) could be hit when pulling out into traffic if engine dies. Problem has been reproduced. Dealership said fuel pump is not covered under previous recall, but Toyota has a TSB stating the VIN# is in the TSB range for the above mentioned c... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2025
About 7 months ago, "Refill Inverter Coolant" warning came up. Since then, I've scheduled service appoitment wtih Van Nuys Kia dealership 5 times to resolve this issue, but even after recent appoitment 2 weeks ago, this warning is still came up on my dashboard. Every time I start the car, the persistent refill inverter coolant light comes on. I believe I am experiencing this issue because KIA and ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2024
On numerous times when you start the truck there is a delay from when you engage drive and the drivetrain gets power. To the point that 1 time the truck rolled back into another destroying their bumper.
Crash
Incident date: Jul 15, 2024
Starting in March of 2024 the vehicle began to leak copious amounts of oil. This was noted once the vehicle was parked after driving. It was anywhere from the size of a half dollar to a dinner plate size of oil pooled underneath the oil filter housing on the ground. At this time the Jeep had approximately 103,000 miles. While diagnosing the issue, I had to consistently add many quarts of oil t... Read more
Incident date: Nov 28, 2024
My engine check light came on and it said Engine Fault Service Now, with a wrench signal exposed. Then I could hardly stop the vehicle , it became very difficult to apply the brakes, using all of my body weight applied to stop the vehicle. I immediately brought it to O’Reily’s auto place and had a diagnostic test run on the vehicle. Multiple default code come up. P1016, p0365, p0299,p164D p036... Read more
Incident date: Dec 16, 2024
This 2020 Ford Escape-with less than 67k miles on it-is mostly inoperable, as of this date. This car was financed, from a Fort Lauderdale. FL used car dealership, on or around [XXX]. The check engine light was on. I went to Autozone to see what codes this could be attributed to. I was given printouts, reflecting codes P0171 & P2BF1 [air flow ratio and/or fuel injector related issues]. Additional... Read more
Incident date: Dec 30, 2024
Fuel pump failure. Engine has a slow start and shuts off.
Incident date: Oct 30, 2024
A MALFUNCTIONING CHECK VALVE WITHIN THE FUEL PUMP ASSEMBLY CAUSES A PORTION OF THE UNUSED FUEL FROM ONE TANK TO BE RETURNED TO THE SECOND TANK. WHEN THIS OCCURS, THE CAPACITY OF THE SECOND TANK CAN BE EXCEEDED, CAUSING FUEL SPILLAGE.
Incident date: Jan 3, 2024
a smell of gas came into the car. fuel pump was the problem as per the dealer. could cause driver to pass out or fire
Incident date: Dec 28, 2024
- Component or system that failed: engine (cylinder #4 misfire) - Safety was put at risk twice: once when knock sensor went off on interstate (October) and engine went into limp mode (aka protection mode). Required a tow from the, which was tricky with a vehicle full of passengers. Safety was put at risk gain when vehicle began to stutter/sputter on interstate (December). Drove 4-cylinder vehicle ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 18, 2024
Vehicle will get a stop/start error and stall at low speeds in traffic or at stop lights/signs. Have to put vehicle in park and manually restart. had the same issue at 20k miles and they replaced the carbon canister. This time they won’t replace it until the error code shows. Truly a safety hazard and I can not put my kids back in this car
Incident date: Dec 27, 2024
I have brought my car into the dealership over the last few years at least 6 times for the same issues. Currently there are two codes coming up as permanent on my car which is for the Evaporative Emission System Flow and Brake Booster Hydraulics performance. I drive my child of three every day and the number of times my check engine light comes on and goes into reduced engine power is not okay nor... Read more
Incident date: Oct 15, 2024
My car has shut off multiple times , electrical shorts, intermittent no start, intermittent misfires all the time but randomly , injector codes even when replaced and injectors are good , yes come check out my vehicle no shops can find out what's the problem practically the whole front end has been replaced and problems still happening it is congruent with a recall but shows nothing from vin