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 48,535 complaints - component: POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Incident date: Jul 3, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated that on several occasions, the engine, traction, and stabilitrak warning lights illuminated then the vehicle went into Limp Mode. The vehicle was taken to AutoZone where a diagnostic test indicated that the powertrain system and cylinder #1 had failed. The contact stated while driving downhill, the RPM increased however, the vehicle fa... Read more
Incident date: Aug 26, 2022
2015 FORD ESCAPE. CONSUMER WRITES SEEKING REIMBURSEMENT FOR EPAIRS MADE RELATED TO NHTSA SAFETY RECALL22V-413. THE CONSUMER STATED THE SHIFTER WAS STUCK IN THE PARK POSISTION. THE TRANSMISSION SHIFT CABLE WAS REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED.
Incident date: Aug 26, 2022
2020 FORD F-150. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO ISSUES WITH THE TRANSMISSION. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE SHIFTED HARD WITH A BANG AND JERK. THE DEALER WAS NOTIFIED AND STATED THE VEHICLE WAS OPERATING AS DESIGNED.
Incident date: Aug 22, 2022
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that the vehicle was in the park position in a parking space but was unsure if the shifter was in park when without warning, the vehicle rolled down a hill and crashed into a chain link fence and burial wall. No warning lights illuminated. The air bags failed to deploy. No injuries were sustained. No medical attention was needed. A police... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jul 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while the vehicle was in the driveway, the transmission warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The contact related the failure to Ford Technical Service Bulletin 19N08. The vehicle was diagnosed with a transmission failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate fail... Read more
Incident date: Aug 18, 2022
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the transmission failed. The transmission overheating warning light was illuminated and indicated to wait 5 minutes before proceeding. The contact then waited approximately 10 minutes then continued driving to his destination with the transmission was slipping. The contact then experienced the same failure w... Read more
Incident date: Sep 20, 2019
The contact owns a 2019 Ford F-250. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle failed to respond as needed. The vehicle was turned off and restarted. The contact stated that on another occasion the vehicle hesitated while accelerating and then operated normally. The contact stated that a scanner retrieved fault code: P0762 (Shift Solenoid Failure). The vehicl... Read more
Incident date: Nov 18, 2021
The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Avalon. The contact stated while diving approximately 50 MPH, the engine and transmission warning lights illuminated. The contact also stated that the windshield had detached from the frame. The contact stated that the rear doors were failing to close correctly. The contact stated the vehicle would roll with the brake pedal depressed before coming to a stop. While dr... Read more
Incident date: Jun 11, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ram 1500. The contact stated while reversing she felt the vehicle jerk with a loud sound coming from the vehicle causing the vehicle to come to a complete stop. The dealer was contacted, and an appointment was set to diagnose the vehicle. On another occasion, the vehicle was getting detailed and it was noticed that the rear window was leaking and had white mold. The vehicle... Read more
Incident date: Aug 18, 2022
2015 FORD EDGE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO DEFECTIVE TRANSMISSION.
Incident date: Aug 18, 2022
2017 FORD ESCAPE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO SAFETY RECALL 22V-413. CONSUMER IS ALSO SEEKING REIMBURSEMENT FOR RENTAL VEHICLE. WHILE REPAIRS WERE BEING MADE.
Incident date: Aug 18, 2022
2018 FORD EDGE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO PARTS BEING UNAVAILABLE TO PERFORM SAFETY RECALL. THE CONSUMER REFCERENCED SAFETY RECALL 22S43/22V413. THE CONSUMER STATED THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME COMPLETING THE RECALL REPAIR.
Incident date: Aug 18, 2021
The contact owns a 2014 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while the key was in the ignition with the transmission in park(P) with the brake pedal depressed, the vehicle moved inadvertently. The failure occurred while the vehicle was on an incline. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not ma... Read more
Incident date: Aug 9, 2022
The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle started overheating. The contact was able to pull over where he waited for the vehicle to cool down, but the failure continued. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where unknown parts needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 4,800.
Incident date: Aug 16, 2021
The contact owns a 2017 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated that the gear shifter lights illuminated and remained on. The dealer was notified of the failure and the vehicle was scheduled to be diagnosed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
Incident date: Apr 30, 2022
The contact owns a 2020 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated while driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle began to forcefully jerk. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing to complete TBS: 21-043-20 (flash update transmission controller). The vehicle was repaired but continued to experience a failur... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2019
The contact owns a 2014 Mazda Mazda6. The contact stated while attempting to turn off the vehicle, it was not operating correctly. While the vehicle was parked, it was unable to shut down. The contact would shift back and forth to different gears for the vehicle to shut down correctly. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not not... Read more
Incident date: May 5, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 25 MPH and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle was slipping gears. The transmission warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 133,000.
Incident date: Jul 28, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated while reversing at approximately 2 MPH, the vehicle stopped responding. The contact stated that she moved the gear shifter into neutral (N) position, then shifted back into reverse (R), and the vehicle responded. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that t... Read more
Incident date: Aug 12, 2022
2018 FORD EDGE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO NHTSA SAFETY RECALL 22V-413.
Incident date: Aug 12, 2022
2012 FORD FIESTA. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE SAFETY RECALL. THE CONSUMER REQUESTED AN EXTENSION ON THE TRANSMISSION WARRANTY. AS THE FAILURE OCCURED PRIOR TO THE WARRANTY EXPIRATION DATE. THE CONSUMER WAS UNABLE TO HAVE THE VEHICLE SERVICED UNTIL AFTER THE WARANTY EXPIRED. ALSO, THE VEHICLE WAS UNDER THE MILEAGE REQUIREMENT FOR THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIF... Read more
Incident date: Aug 11, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Infiniti JX35. The contact stated while driving at 40 MPH, she felt the vehicle vibrate. The contact then attempted to accelerate however the vehicle failed to increase in speed. The vehicle was shut off and then restarted but the failure persisted. The contact was able to shift into reverse and exit out the highway. She pulled over and waited for the vehicle to cool down,... Read more
Incident date: Sep 9, 2018
The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated while driving approximately at 35 MPH, the vehicle lost power and dropped speed to 15 MPH. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal and the engine only revved and would not regain forward speed. The contact stated a symbol for a "pedal" was illuminated. The contact had the vehicle towed to the dealer who diagnosed that the transmission n... Read more
Incident date: Jun 26, 2022
The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact stated when he started up the vehicle, it would not start up. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where they replaced the transmission and the engine, but the vehicle still would not start. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle would be repaired under warranty. The failure mileage was 17,500.
Incident date: Aug 11, 2022
2016 FORD ESCAPE. CONSUMER SEEKS REIMBURSEMENT FOR REPAIRS MADE RELATED TO NHTSA SAFETY RECALL 22V-413.
Incident date: Jul 29, 2022
Transmission stalled when the vehicle was in drive in the middle of the road. Wouldn't accelerate or move. I put my entire family in the car at risk of 6 people and those on the road as my car completely stopped driving. Went to Honda dealership was told faulty Transmission. They could not cover any of the repairs! It's a 3 year old vehicle with a faulty Transmission. No lights or warnings came up... Read more
Incident date: Aug 8, 2022
2017 FORD ESCAPE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO PARTS BEING UNAVAILABLE TO PEFORM SAFETY RECALL.
Incident date: Aug 8, 2022
2014 FORD ESCAPE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO TRANSMISSION FAILURE. THE CONSUMER STATED WHILE DRIVING THE TRANSMISSION FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE CONSUMER REQUESTED TO BE REIMBURSED DUE TO A RECALL NOTICE FOR THE TRANSMISSION. *JS
Incident date: Aug 8, 2022
2016 FORD FUSION. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO TRANSMISSION SHIFTER CABLE BUSHING SAFETY RECALL. THE CONSUMER REQUESTED TO BE REIMBURSED FOR THE SAFETY RECALL 22S43/22V413. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED THE SAME FAILURE DESCRIBED IN THE RECALL. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED.
Incident date: Aug 8, 2022
2014 FORD ESCAPE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO SAFETY RECALL 22V-413. THE CONSUMER STATED WHILE DRIVING THE TEANSMISSION BEGAN SLIPPING AND STOPPED WORKING COMPLETELY. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE CONSUMER STATED THIS WAS A PREMATURE FAILURE AND COULD POSSIBLY BE COVERED UNDER RECALL.
Incident date: Aug 5, 2022
******* DELETE VOQ ******* THIS COMPLAINT IS BEING MARKED FOR DELETION BECAUSE IT IS AN INADVERTENT DUPLICATE OF ODI# 11477872*DJR ******* DELETE VOQ *******
Incident date: Aug 5, 2022
2015 FORD ESCAPE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO BEING REIMBURSED FOR NHTSA SAFETY RECALL 22V-413.
Incident date: Aug 3, 2022
2016 FORD ESCAPE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO TRANSMISSION FAILURE. THE COSNUMER STATED THE TRANSMISSION FAILED WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS BEING DRIVEN. THE TRANSMISSION WAS REPLACED. THE CONSUMER REQUESTED TO BE REIMBURSED FOR THE TRANSMISSION FAILURE. THE CONSUMER REFERENCED SAFETY RECALL 22S43/ 22V413.
Incident date: Aug 3, 2022
2015 FORD ESCAPE. CONSUMER WRITES SEEKING REIMBURSEMENT FOR REPAIRS MADE RELATED TO A SAFETY RECALL 22S43/22V413.
Incident date: Jul 26, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated while attempting to start the vehicle, the shifter module, ABS, door module for the driver’s and passenger’s side doors, the instrument cluster, integrated center stack, an electronic parking brake, body control module, steering column, and transmission failure warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the dealer also informed ... Read more
FORD
FUSION HYBRID
(2013) - POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Jul 29, 2022
Incident date: Jun 29, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH and slowing down to enter a parking lot, as she slowed the vehicle, it would not respond to the shift lever, and as she stopped and tried to shift the vehicle to park, the shift lever stopped responding. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact turned off the vehicle and called... Read more
Incident date: Jul 16, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated while the vehicle gear was in park; he switched from the driver's seat to the passenger seat with his wife. His wife was taking over to become the driver. While attempting to change drivers, the vehicle inadvertently reversed. The wife was trying to stop the vehicle while being partially in and partially out of the vehicle. The vehicle... Read more
2 injured
Incident date: Jul 14, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH, the transmission failed to operate as designed. The contact also stated while attempting to accelerate, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact stated that the transmission control module and another unknown warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was not repair... Read more
Incident date: Jul 22, 2022
When shifting in to any gear (reverse, neutral, drive, or speed), the shifter does not click into place. While shifting, the dash does not illuminate with the corresponding gear. The car stays in park regardless of acceleration being applied or not. This poses a safety hazard while driving as this can switch at any point, posing potential harm to other drivers as well. I am filling out this form p... Read more
Incident date: Jul 22, 2022
2012 FORD F-150. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO EXPERIENCING RANDOM DOWNSHIFTS INTO FIRST GEAR WHILE DRIVING. THE CONSUMER STATED THERE WAS A RECALL DETAILING THE SAME DOWNSHIFTING FAILURE. THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED. THE AND MANUFACTURER WERE NOTIFIED. THE CONSUMER BELIEVED THE VEHICLE SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN RECALLS 16V248000, 19V075000, AND 19V07500.
Incident date: Jul 19, 2022
2020 SUBARU ASCENT. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO TRANSMISSION FAILURE. THE CONSUMER STATED THE MANUFACTURER HAS EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME DETERMINING A FIX FOR THE TRANSMISSION DRIVE SLIP TRAIN. THE VEHICLE HAS EXPERIENCED THE FAILURE. THE CONSUMER STATED THAT A NEIGHBOR SAID THE MECHANIC INFORMED HIM, "THE TRANSMISSION FOR SUBARU ACCENT WAS DEFECTIVELY DESIGNED FOR THIS CAR AND UNDER... Read more
Incident date: Jul 12, 2022
The contact owned a 2019 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while attempting to park the vehicle at approximately 2 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently accelerated forward violently and jumped a parking barrier. The contact stated she almost hit two nearby passengers; however was able to steer the vehicle to the side, and crashed into a tree where the vehicle came to a stop. There were no warning lights ... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Jul 4, 2022
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated while attempting to start the vehicle, the transmission was clicking. There was a parking aid malfunction warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken the next day to an independent mechanic but was not diagnosed with a failure. The contact continued to drive the vehicle and the failure recurred. The contact stated that while exiting the h... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 2500
(2018) - POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Jul 15, 2022
Incident date: Jul 15, 2022
2018 GMC SIERRA 2500. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO TRANSMISSION COOLER LINES RECALL. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE BEGAN LEAKING FLUID. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER TO HAVE THE VEHICLE REPAIRE, WHICH COULD NOT BE DONE THE SAME DAY. THE CONSUMER WAS SEEKING REIMBURSEMENT FOR THE HOTEL EXPENSE, SINCE THE CONSUMER WAS TRAVELING OUT OF STATE WHEN THE FAILURE OCCURED.
Incident date: Jul 11, 2022
2022 TOYOTA PRIUS. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO UNINTENDED ACCELERATION. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE ACCELERATES FOR A FEW SECONDS WHEN THE TURN SIGNAL IS ACTIVATED WHILE THE CRUISE CONTROL IS ACTIVE. THE CONSUMER STATED THE DEALER WAS NOTIFIED.
Incident date: Jul 11, 2022
2014 FORD FOCUS. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO TRANSMISSION ISSUES. THE CONSUMER STATED THE TCM MALFUNCTIONED AND COULD NOT BE REPLACED. THE CONSUMER STATED THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME COMPLETING THE WARRANTY REPAIR.
Incident date: Jul 11, 2022
2014 GMC TERRAIN. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO DEFECTIVE WINDSHIELD WIPERS. THE CONSUMER STATED THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS FAILED WHILE DRIVING IN THE RAIN. THE CONSUMER STATED THE WIPERS WERE REPLACED. THE CONSUMER REQUESTED TO BE REIMBURSED DUE TO A RECALL BEING ISSUED FOR THE SAME FAILURE. THE CONSUMER REFERENCED RECALL N212352530
Incident date: Jul 11, 2022
2017 GMC CANYON. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO TRANSMISSION ISSUES. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED TRANSMISSION SHUDDERING AND BUCKING. OCCASIONALLY, THE TRANSMISSION WOULD NOT ENGAGE. THE CONSUMER STATED THE MANUFACTURER HAD NOT YET DISCOVERED A FIX.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
Over a month ago, the transmission on my vehicle blew while I was driving the car. There were no warning signs or lamps prior to this issue. I have been made aware of the recall and I am not sure if the transmission failure is due to this recall. A mechanic has looked at it and has confirmed that a new transmission is needed.
Incident date: Aug 12, 2021
The transmission went out of gear and wouldn't stay in the correct gear. I had the vehicle towed to Fuller Ford on W 8th Street in Cincinnati Ohio. They said the entire transmission had to be replaced and that there wasn't a recall affecting my VIN number. I paid to have it repaired. Eight months later, there was an electrical fire under the hood and the vehicle was towed to Rocky Top Ford in ... Read more
Fire