Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,215,138 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA — including 138,663 crashes, 56,255 fires, and 8,561 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 2,215,138 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 48,526 complaints — component: POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Incident date: Apr 2, 2022
On 04/02/2022, several minutes after having filled the gas tank, I was driving at about 35 mph on a two lane road at constant throttle, when the engine suddenly lost power for several seconds before it regained acceleration. There was a pickup truck following me very closely and it swerved around me to avoid hitting me. On 04/13/2022 , several minutes after leaving my driveway, at about 27 mph o... Read more
Incident date: Nov 25, 2021
The contact owns a 2022 Ford F-250. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH the transmission would downshift. The transmission warning light illuminated the instrument panel. The contact stated the installation on the vehicle fell on the draft shaft and caught on fire and melted. The fire and smoke were on the rear of the vehicle. The fire was extinguished by the contact. There was ... Read more
Fire
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2017) — POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Apr 12, 2022
Incident date: Apr 12, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH on the highway, the vehicle inadvertently started to decelerate and the RPM started to fluctuate. Additionally, the contact noticed a buzzing sound coming from underneath the vehicle. The contact stated that the drive(D) light was flashing. The contact pulled over and waited to restart the vehicle. The contac... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2019) — POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Apr 12, 2022
Incident date: Jun 15, 2020
The contact owns a 2019 GMC Sierra 15000. The contact stated while driving approximately 5 MPH as the vehicle was placed into "drive" the transmission, would hesitate and would not shift into gear. The contact stated that when the "drive" engaged, the shift was very hard and shook the vehicle, which then lunged forward. The contact stated that the "check engine" warning light was illuminated. The ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 12, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 Dodge Journey. The contact stated that the transmission warning light would illuminate while attempted to change gears. The contact took the vehicle to a certified mechanic and was informed that the torque converter failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 89,... Read more
Incident date: Apr 8, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving approximately 5 MPH there was a power steering failure. The service advance tracking and steering assist fault lights were illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the personal mechanic which diagnosed the failure to be power steering. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failur... Read more
Incident date: Apr 8, 2022
2015 NISSAN ROGUE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO ILLUMINATED ENGINE LIGHT. THE CONSUMER STATED THE ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE DEALER STATED THE TRANSMISSION FAILED AND THAT IT WAS A COMMON OCCURENCE.
Incident date: Feb 7, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle began to shake and shudder when the accelerator pedal was depressed. The contact stated that to control the shudder she slowed the vehicle to the point that the motion stopped and then slowly accelerated back to highway speeds. The contact stated that the shuddering occurred any time the conta... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
2014 FORD FOCUS. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO TRANSMISSION SAFETY RECALL. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED MANY TRANSMISSION ISSUES AS WELL AS OTHER RECALL ISSUES. THE CONSUMER REQUESTED TO BE COMPENSATED FOR THE INCONVIENCES AND NOT HAVING THE REPAIR RESOLVED.
Incident date: Mar 25, 2022
2020 HYUNDAI ELANTRA. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO TRANSMISSION FAILURE. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE FAILED AT 2,200 MILES. THE CONSUMER ALO STATED, WITH THE CRUISE CONTROL ENGAGED, THE RPMS RISE ABOUT 500 RPMS WHILE MAINTAINING A STEADY SPEED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED BUT, DID NOT OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE.
Incident date: Mar 22, 2022
I was driving in Manhattan and stopped on East 5th Street in the East Village on my way home at around 7 pm. I stopped the car on a bit of a diagonal in the middle of the street in order to get out and quickly hand something off to someone there. I put the car in park and stepped out for maybe 30 seconds without even closing my door. Then when I got back in and tried to drive the car I had no abi... Read more
Incident date: Nov 8, 2021
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while her daughter was either stopped at a traffic light or traffic sign and attempting to move off, the vehicle would inadvertently lunge forward. Additionally, the vehicle would shift with a loud thumping noise. The contact stated her daughter did not notice any warning lights illuminated. The vehicle had been taken to a dealer but had not b... Read more
Incident date: Mar 18, 2022
Approximately 1.5 months ago, my ford explorer started having issues with shifting frm drive to reverse or reverse to drive, stopped to reverse and stop to drive. I had my oil changed and there were 2 updates to the transmission that were done. The problem persists. When going through a car wash in which you put the car in neutral and ride through as it washes, I placed the car in neutral and almo... Read more
Incident date: Mar 14, 2018
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while her husband was driving on the highway approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle started losing motive power and was shuddering while shifting gear. The “Service Engine Now” warning light was illuminated. The driver was able to pull over to side of the roadway, turn off, and restart the vehicle and drove to the residence safely. The veh... Read more
FORD
ESCAPE HYBRID
(2010) — POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Mar 14, 2022
Incident date: Mar 7, 2022
The contact owns a 2010 Ford Escape Hybrid. The contact stated while the vehicle was in Park, the transmission would slip. The vehicle would move without the parking brake being deactivated. The contact researched and found a possible failure with the Park retention pin. The contact contacted the dealer who stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number 10V222000 (Power Train) howeve... Read more
Incident date: Feb 24, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that after starting to drive at an unknown speed, the transmission shifted down a gear independently. An unknown warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 35,225
Incident date: Mar 1, 2022
A 2017 Subaru Legacy was stopped on a hill, on the shoulder of a two lane service road. The driver, who was the car owner, placed the gear selector in park, left the motor idling, exited the vehicle, closed the driver side door, loaded several logs into the trunk, and slammed the trunk. The passenger remained in the vehicle, seated in the passenger seat. The motor idled for about 10 minutes after ... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jan 26, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while at a complete stop, the vehicle would hesitate upon depression of the accelerator pedal as the wrench warning light would illuminate on the instrument panel. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic where they changed the rear driver’s side tire and cleared the code; however, the hesitation persisted after the r... Read more
Incident date: Mar 4, 2022
2015 RAM 1500. CONSUMER STATED THAT THEIR TRUCK WOULD NOT SHIFT INTO GEAR. THE CONSUMER STATED THE DEALER ADVISED THE ABS BRAKE MODULE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE PART NECESSARY TO COMPLETE THE REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE DEALERSHIP INFORMED THE CONSUMER THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT BE AVAILABLE UNTIL THE YEAR 2023.THE CONSUMER'S REQUEST FOR A RENTAL VEHICLE WAS DENIED EVEN THOUGH THE VEHICLE WAS UNDER ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2009 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while at a stoplight, her vehicle would intermittently stall without warning. The contact had a friend inspect her vehicle, who immediately smelled an oil odor emitting from the vehicle. The contact's friend checked under her hood and discovered that oil had leaked out of her transmission and into her side spark plugs. The contact call... Read more
Incident date: Feb 24, 2022
The contact owns a 2022 Honda Ridgeline. The contact stated that the vehicle had been driven for approximately a mile; after arriving at her residence, she was unable to shift the vehicle into reverse while depressing the button to select reverse. The contact stated that the emission, transmission, and an unknown sensor warning light were illuminated on the instrument panel during the failure. The... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Nov 15, 2017
The contact owns a 2014 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated that while driving at various highway speeds, the vehicle would independently enter into limp mode and downshift as the service traction control, service stabilitrak, reduced engine power, and the check engine warning lights were illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle would not shift out of first gear once the failure occurred. ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 15, 2022
2020 FORD EXPLORER. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO ISSUES WITH THE TRANSMISSION. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED SEVERE VIBRATIONS AT CERTAIN SPEEDS AND AS THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTS. THE CONSUMER STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER BREACHED IT'S CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATION BY FAILING TO PROPERLY AND TIMELY REPAIR THE VEHICLE.
Incident date: Feb 12, 2022
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that he received a recall letter from the manufacturer. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing a software update. The contact reported that the recall letter advised that the vehicle has no remedy for it yet for the CVT chain. The contact said... Read more
Incident date: Jul 26, 2021
I was contacted by the NHTSA, after I had an accident in my 2020 Ford Mustang EcoBoost with the automatic transmission and ability to manually shift. I spoke with an Investigator by the name of [XXX]. The investigator wished me good luck, as it was relayed to me that I was the only one who had the problem which resulted in me having an accident. I have since then found multiple sites with multiple... Read more
Crash
1 injured
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2015) — POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Feb 10, 2022
Incident date: Feb 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, there was a grinding sound coming from the vehicle. After coming to a stop, the transmission shifter was seized and the vehicle was undrivable. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the torque converter was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. Th... Read more
Incident date: Aug 25, 2021
This car had a lack of power since inception. The transmission had a horrible grinding sound during the upshift and down shifting of the transmission. Hyundai Corporation did replace the transmission but the grinding sound is not completely gone. The check engine light is currently on and has appeared for the second time with less than 6K on the odomoter. I have scheduled another appointment to ta... Read more
CHRYSLER
TOWN AND COUNTRY
(2010) — POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Feb 4, 2022
Incident date: Feb 1, 2020
The contact owns a 2010 Chrysler Town and Country. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start up after multiple attempts. There were several unknown warning lights illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact had the vehicle towed to several dealers and independent mechanics where they informed him that the WIN (Wireless Ignition Node) module was defective and needed to be replaced. T... Read more
Incident date: Jan 17, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while idle with the vehicle in drive or reverse, the vehicle would shudder. The contact stated that there was a lack of full motive power upon acceleration; occasionally, while moving from a stop, the vehicle would shudder while driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The mechanic informed him ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 28, 2022
2014 INFINITI QX60. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO ISSUES WITH THE TRANSMISSION. THE CONSUMER STATED THE DEALER KNOWINGLY SOLD A VEHICLE THAT HAD AN OPEN RECALL, AND DID NOT HAVE A FIX. THE CONSUMER REQUESTED A LOANER VEHICLE UNTIL THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE DEALER DECLINED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED.
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2015) — POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Jan 4, 2022
Incident date: Oct 15, 2021
The contact owns a 2015 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, there was a loud clunking sound underneath the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V504000 (Air Bags) howev... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2017) — POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Dec 28, 2021
Incident date: Jun 1, 2020
The contact owns a 2017 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would hesitate and jerk upon acceleration without warning. The contact also stated that while driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact had taken the vehicle to a dealer and was informed that there ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 28, 2021
The contact owns a 2007 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 MPH or above, the vehicle would suddenly go into limp mode and fail to accelerate. There was a warning light that displayed a wrench however, the contact did not know what was indicated specifically. The contact had not taken the vehicle to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact stated that after resear... Read more
Incident date: Oct 27, 2021
The contact owns a 2016 FORD Fiesta. The contact stated that the vehicle's transmission would suddenly slip while driving at various speeds. The contact would have to release some pressure on the acceleration pedal till the transmission realigns itself. The failure could occur several times in one day. The failure's occurrence had become more frequent. The vehicle's locking system for the hood had... Read more
Incident date: Dec 13, 2021
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Transit. The contact stated that there was a rubbing burning order coming from inside the front end of the vehicle. The vehicle also had a vibration sensation whenever the vehicle was being driven. There were no warning lights on the vehicle. The contact contacted the dealer who stated that the flex disc had failed. The contact stated that this was a known issue for th... Read more
Fire
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2020) — POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Dec 22, 2021
Incident date: Jun 28, 2021
The contact's husband owns a 2020 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that while driving at 65-70 MPH on cruise control, the vehicle inadvertently downshifted, skipped a gear, and lurched forward several times. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle would skip from 3rd gear to 5th gear whenever she would depress the accelerator pedal. The contact was able to ... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Dec 6, 2021
I'm driving my car on the freeway and it's stalls. I barely made it to the shoulder. I waited a few minutes and drove again. Went a few miles, and again, it stalled. I made it to a safe place. Had my car towed to a mechanic. They said it was the CVT transmission.
Incident date: Dec 2, 2021
As thousands of drivers have reported and as NHTSA is clearly already aware yet puzzlingly remains silent about - my F150’s transmission creates whiplash when shifting, causes the vehicle to lurch, and loses power unpredictably. Ford refuses to admit the problem but the problem is the same as the rest of their poorly designed vehicles’ problems - they knew the transmissions had design flaws th... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Dec 13, 2021
2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO TRANSMISSION AND SUSPENSION FAILURES. *LD
Incident date: Dec 10, 2021
The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated that while driving his vehicle at 40 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact was able to restart the vehicle where he returned home and parked it. The contact called the dealer where he was informed that there were no recalls on the vehicle.The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be re... Read more
Incident date: Oct 25, 2021
The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled with the transmission shifter warning message appearing on the instrument panel. Initially, the contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic who performed minor repairs to the vehicle; however, the failure persisted. The contact took the vehicle to another independent mec... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2021
The contact owns a 2014 Ram 2500. The contact stated that while driving at 20 MPH, he temporarily released the accelerator pedal and when he depressed it again the vehicle failed to respond. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that he veered to the side of the road. The contact stated that after he disconnected and reconnected the battery terminals, he was able to restart ... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2015) — POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Nov 19, 2021
Incident date: Jan 1, 2020
The contact owns a 2015 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE. The vehicle had a recall completed for the gear shifter in 2017. Now a total of 4 times the contact stated that while driving approximately 30-35 mph the vehicle's gear shifter would slip from drive into neutral after driving a short distance. The contact stated that they would have to pull over to the side of the road to change the gear. The contact me... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2020
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would intermittently hesitate upon the depression of the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated on the instrument panel during the failure. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer where they originally serviced the vehicle under warr... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2014) — POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Nov 17, 2021
Incident date: Oct 20, 2021
While driving on the freeway at normal speed limit the vehicle has on 2 separate occasions gone into neutral without the driver touching anything. we have taken the vehicle in twice to dealership who have tried to replicate the symptom. They have kept and driven car on multiple occasions with no success . They tell us they cannot fix the problem without a code if they cannot find it. i have calle... Read more
Incident date: Apr 6, 2021
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle stalled randomly. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic where it was diagnosed with needing the transmission replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure recurred. Upon investigation, the contact associated the... Read more
Incident date: Oct 15, 2021
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated while attempting to park the vehicle and shifting into PARK, the shift to PARK warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that she attempted ten times while shifting back from DRIVE to PARK or restart the vehicle to recognize that the gear shifter was in PARK. The contact called Reliable Chevrolet (9901 Coors Blvd NW, Albuquerqu... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 2018
My mother, [XXX], purchased this car in 2017 with only 2 miles on it. Shortly after purchasing it, the steering went out. She had it repaired. Then the clutch on the transmission went out. She had to fight with dealership and Ford to get it replaced. Since this, we have had to have six clutches put in. We have also had to have another steering column put in and two purge valves. The car is now bac... Read more
Incident date: Oct 13, 2021
The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-159 with 125000 miles. The contact was driving about 25 mph when the vehicle downshifted to 1st gear. The contact was able to pullover and put the vehicle in park to reset the transmission. This failure happened several times. The contact stated that now when the failure happen the vehicle do not get out of first gear. The contacts vehicle was not included in recall ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 27, 2021
2019 FORD RANGER. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO TRANSMISSION ISSUES. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE VIOLENTLY JERKED WHEN COMING TO A STOP. THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF POWER AND NO ENGAGED GEARS. ON SOME OCCASIONS, WHEN DRIVING, THE VEHICLE WOULD QUICKL CHANGE GEARS CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO LURCH 3 OR 4 TIMES. THE DEALER AND MANU FACTURER WERE NOTIFIED AND DID NOT OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE.