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: Aug 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH, there was an abnormal whining sound coming from the front of the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 49,729.
Incident date: Nov 13, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving approximately 20-30 MPH, the transmission started slipper while shifting out of 2nd gear with the message "Transmission Overheating" and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local Auto Zone and a diagnostic scanner retrieved DTC: P090C and P207A. The local dealer was contacted; however, ... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle briefly shuddered and hesitated. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the tra... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2021
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that on several occasions while attempting to park the vehicle, after placing the gear shifter in park(P), while attempting to turn off the vehicle, the message "Shift to Park" was displayed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 113,000.
Incident date: Aug 13, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the transmission experienced hard downshifts, causing the vehicle to jerk and abruptly decelerate. The contact stated that the failure had occurred while driving in different gears, and while driving at highway speeds or slower speeds. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who reprogrammed the transm... Read more
Incident date: Aug 13, 2025
believe that Hurd Auto Mall - car dealership in Johnston, Rhode Island is ignoring service bulletins provided by NHTSA. Purchased a vehicle that is currently dealing with significant transmission issues that was purchased from them. It is a 2024 Chevy Trailblazer. I believe they did not complete service bulletin N242446290. Dealership told me they did not complete this service bulletin and said th... Read more
Incident date: Aug 6, 2025
The contact's father owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle and shifting to reverse, the vehicle failed to reverse as intended. Upon inspection, the contact discovered that the transmission shifter cable bushing had detached. The local dealer was contacted and arrived at the residence and replaced the transmission shifter cable bushing and the vehicle was repai... Read more
Incident date: Jun 27, 2018
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway, where the failure persisted. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission after finding metal shavings insid... Read more
Incident date: Jul 23, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Ford F-250. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission imploded while shifting into first gear with the powertrain warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 89,000.
FORD
MAVERICK HYBRID
(2022) - POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Aug 11, 2025
Incident date: Jul 27, 2025
The contact owns a 2008 Nissan Xterra. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the contact shifted the vehicle into drive, and the vehicle unexpectedly went into reverse with no warning light illuminated. The contact restarted the vehicle, and the failure reoccurred. The contact stated that the instrument panel displayed that the gear shifter was in reverse while shifted into drive. Th... Read more
Incident date: Aug 8, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal whining sound emanating from the front of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced; however, there was a back log on the part. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
METRIS
(2017) - POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Aug 7, 2025
Incident date: Jul 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-350. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 MPH, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted from 10th to 1st gear, causing the vehicle to abruptly decelerate in the middle of the road. Additionally, on several occasions, the transmission unintendedly shifted out of gear. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who serviced the transmission, but the ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 23, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving at slow speeds, while completing a right turn, there was a loud bang and the vehicle immediately lost motive power. The vehicle was coast to the shoulder of the roadway, where the failure persisted. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the transmi... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at a roundabout at 20 MPH, the "Transmission Overheating - Please Pull Over to a Safe Location" was displayed, and the contact pulled over for 30 minutes for the transmission to cool down. However, after restarting the vehicle and attempting to drive, the contact noticed that the transmission was slipping between 1st and 2nd... Read more
FREIGHTLINER
SPRINTER 2500
(2014) - POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Aug 6, 2025
Incident date: Aug 5, 2025
The contact owns a 2024 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that while attempting to reverse out of a parking space, the transmission failed to respond while in reverse. Additionally, the vehicle operated in LIMP Mode. The vehicle was driven in LIMP Mode to the nearest dealer, who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the transmission valve body was faulty and needed to be replaced. The transm... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the ABS, the Advance Trac, the Hill Start Assist, and the Powertrain warning lights were illuminated. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 78,000.
Incident date: Apr 25, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and accelerating, there was an abnormal sound coming from underneath the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was n... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle unintendedly downshifted from 6th to 1st gear. The battery and the powertrain warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the lead frame and speed sensor had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was t... Read more
Incident date: Oct 16, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 5 MPH, the vehicle hesitated, and the vehicle experienced hard transmission shifts while attempting to shift gear. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufac... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated while driving approximately 20-30 MPH, the vehicle jerked and stalled, and the vehicle was nearly rear-ended. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact immediately made a turn into the nearby independent mechanic shop parking lot. The contact stated that the vehicle was able to restart; however, the failure recurred while the... Read more
Incident date: Jun 2, 2025
After consulting with a certified technician, I’ve learned this model uses the same 6-speed transmission (6T40) found in several GM vehicles, and that it’s widely known to fail prematurely—many as early as 100K–117K miles. There are dozens of similar consumer complaints filed with NHTSA and discussed online. These are not isolated incidents but part of a consistent pattern of early, costly... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2017) - POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Jul 30, 2025
Incident date: Jul 4, 2018
After consulting with a certified technician, I’ve learned this model uses the same 6-speed transmission (6T40) found in several GM vehicles, and that it’s widely known to fail prematurely—many as early as 100K–117K miles. There are dozens of similar consumer complaints filed with NHTSA and discussed online. These are not isolated incidents but part of a consistent pattern of early, costly... Read more
Incident date: Jul 13, 2025
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to accelerate. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the failure was not duplicated. Additionally, the contact received notification of Customer Satisfaction Program 14M02; however, the dealer ... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle unintendedly downshifted. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.
Incident date: Jul 28, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving on the highway at 65 MPH, the transmission downshifted to 1st gear from 6th gear, causing the rear wheels to lock up temporarily, and the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact pulled over and restarted the vehicle; however, while driving, the transmission only shifted from 3rd to 5th gear. The following day, th... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds the vehicle failed to properly accelerate and the transmission overheated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the transmission cooler had leaked transmission fluid and needed to be replaced. The transmission cooler was replaced but the failure persisted. Additionally, while ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Ascent. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive and failed to accelerate at intended. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission, and ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2025
The contact’s daughter owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact's daughter stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated while attempting to shift gear. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic but was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. ... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2019) - POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Jul 17, 2025
Incident date: Jul 17, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving on the highway at 60 MPH the messages "Service Air Bag System", "Service Electric Stability Control", "Service Trailer Brake System", "Service Park Brake", "Service Anti-Lock Brake System" and "Service Power Steering" were displayed and several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that soon after, the t... Read more
Incident date: Jul 6, 2025
The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving 45 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently downshifted. There was no warning light illuminated. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 178,000.
Incident date: Apr 28, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle had experienced hesitation to accelerate and reduced speeds. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 130,000.
Incident date: Jul 9, 2025
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted to first gear. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included i... Read more
Incident date: Jul 10, 2025
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Jun 20, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power, leaving the contact stuck in the middle of the roadway. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicl... Read more
Incident date: Jul 4, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to switch gears, the transmission slipped. The transmission warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made awa... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2025
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Jun 20, 2025
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2014 Dodge Charger. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the message "Service Transmission" displayed, with a grinding sound coming from the transmission. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The vehicle was taken to the local auto parts store and the message "Lost Communication with ECM and PCM" was displayed. The vehicle was not repaired. The local ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 3, 2025
Reduced power transmission module defective.
Incident date: Jun 12, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at undisclosed speeds, the transmission failed to shift correctly, causing the vehicle to jerk. The vehicle was then taken to a dealer and was diagnosed and determined that the CDF drum on the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified o... Read more
Incident date: Jun 12, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the vehicle misfired. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. An unknown dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the f... Read more
Incident date: Apr 20, 2025
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Aug 16, 2020
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at various speeds the transmission unexpected downshifted from a high gear to a low gear, and the vehicle lurched forward while attempting to decelerate. The TPMS warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehic... Read more
Incident date: Feb 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed highway speeds, the vehicle stalled after the transmission shifted to the sixth gear. The contact stated that upon restarting the vehicle, the vehicle operated as needed; however, the failure recurred while accelerating and shifting to the sixth gear. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer. The vehicle was ... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated that upon attempting to reverse out of a parking spot, the vehicle failed to respond and there was an abnormal rattling sound coming from the rear end of the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the transmission had failed and needed to ... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2019) - POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Jun 9, 2025
Incident date: Apr 18, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while shifting into reverse, the vehicle drove forward instead of reversing. During the most recent failure, after starting the vehicle, the contact shifted the vehicle into park, and the vehicle collided with the contact's home. No warning lights illuminated. No air bags deployed. No injuries were sustained, and no medical attention wa... Read more
Crash
HARLEY-DAVIDSON
FLHXST
(2023) - POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Jun 2, 2025
Incident date: Jun 2, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated while driving at various speeds and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle hesitated to respond. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously taken to the dealer, where the transmission was replaced twice; however, the failure persisted. Additionally, the contact stated that the dealer ha... Read more
HARLEY-DAVIDSON
FLHXST
(2023) - POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Jun 2, 2025
Incident date: Jun 2, 2025
The primary component that failed is the transmission system, part of the vehicle’s powertrain, which has exhibited ongoing malfunction since the purchase of the 2021 Coachmen Mirada 35ES. The vehicle has been unsafe to drive due to this unresolved transmission issue, putting the safety of the driver and others at risk. The problem has been confirmed but not fully resolved by Peach State Ford un... Read more
Incident date: May 22, 2025
Gains speed on mild downhills. Request a feature to be called "Brake Saver" on all automatic transmissions. Depressing Brake downshifts if RPMs are low enough to reduce speed (2000-2500RPM, so next gear does not exceed 3600RPM). Taking foot off gas sets coasting maximum speed. If speed rises 5 km/hr 3 mi/hr the transmission downshifts to reduce speed to the speed the foot came off the gas peda... Read more