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: Jun 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Renegade. The contact stated while driving from a stop sign, the transmission shifted abnormally hard. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and diagnosed with a wiring harness failure and transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was advised to take the vehicle to th... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
See attached document for complaint
Incident date: Jul 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 Ram 5500. The contact stated while driving 50–55 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power due to the transmission failure. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was towed to another local dealer, Speck Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram (125 E Allen Rd., Sunnyside, WA 98944), where it was diagnose... Read more
Incident date: Nov 9, 2023
I pulled to the side of the road, with my foot on the brake, i placed the Motorhome in park, and set the emergency brake. When i went to start to turn back on the road, the gear shift lever, would move freely, but not change from park to drive, or any other gear. I limped to my destination by shifting the transmission manually at the transmission linkage lever. Found out that the linkage cable ... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2020) - POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Jul 25, 2024
Incident date: Jul 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the vehicle unexpectedly downshifted and the speed was drastically reduced. The contact pulled over to the shoulder of the roadway to turn the vehicle off. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicl... Read more
Incident date: Jul 25, 2023
UNKNOWN....transmission issue/failure under 100,000 miles. Recalls on previous models in 2013-2017. Transmission failed in my 2019 with under 100,000 miles.
Incident date: Jul 13, 2024
UNKNOWN....transmission issue/failure under 100,000 miles. Recalls on previous models in 2013-2017. Transmission failed in my 2019 with under 100,000 miles.
Incident date: Jun 29, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-250. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motor power at approximately the 7th gear. The Ford wrench warning light had illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission had failed. The vehicle was not repaired. Upon further investigation, the contact related the failure to Ford's customer... Read more
Incident date: Jul 5, 2024
The car started making a whining noise in the front end around 80,000 miles. The noise became progressively worse and around 84,000 miles I took it to the dealership. They said it was a transmission failure and quoted the repair at approximately $10,000.
Incident date: Oct 1, 2023
The car started making a whining noise in the front end around 80,000 miles. The noise became progressively worse and around 84,000 miles I took it to the dealership. They said it was a transmission failure and quoted the repair at approximately $10,000.
Incident date: Jul 10, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed the contact noticed a failure when he attempted to switch gears. The contact stated that his shift gear remained in neutral with the transmission warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed as a failure with the clutch gear which the transmission needed to be repla... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2014) - POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Jul 2, 2024
Incident date: Jun 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado LD Crew. The contact stated that while driving from a complete stop and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle hesitated to respond as intended and suddenly stalled. The contact stated that the vehicle worked in reverse but did not move forward. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the contact residence and was then ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 Volkswagen Taos. The contact stated while coming to a stop sign, the vehicle jerked abnormally. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact became aware that the transmission was leaking transmission fluid. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not diagnosed; however, the transmission was repaired. The vehicle was repaired but the failure persisted. The dealer... Read more
Incident date: Jun 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle began to jerk abnormally while shifting gear. There were several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The contact called the local dealer and was informed that there was no warranty cov... Read more
Incident date: Jun 9, 2024
The contact owns a 2007 Jeep Liberty. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormally strong fuel odor coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that the fuel gauge failed to operate as intended. The contact stated that after refueling the vehicle the fuel gauge failed to provide the proper fuel level. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was tak... Read more
Incident date: May 28, 2024
We bought a 2019 Ford expedition max xlt. On a trip we kept having problems with it jumping out of gear and it felt like the transmission was going to fall out. We looked it up and found several complaints on this same problem with the 2019 models although I can't find any recalls that would have fixed the problem.
Incident date: Feb 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Ram 3500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V835000 (Power Train); 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 dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts w... Read more
Incident date: Apr 22, 2024
Transmission started stuttering around 40 to 50mph. The transmission had to be rebuild because of issue.
Incident date: May 1, 2024
There hasn't been an incident yet. But, I want a record of this somewhere. I'm assuming there may be an incident in the future; and, I'm concerned about that. Either an incident with my truck or an incident with the 100s of thousands of Ford and Lincoln vehicles from 2017-2023 that have this issue. The issue is Ford SSM 51939 - a whining noise coming from the bellhousing and the front of the t... Read more
Incident date: Apr 5, 2024
My truck experienced the K1 snap ring failure at 3,600 miles.
Incident date: May 9, 2024
The transmission failed at approximately 3000 miles. Reverse was the only gear to function properly. The truck has been at the dealership for over 2 months and they have not fixed it yet.
Incident date: Apr 29, 2022
This vehicle left me stranded due to Aisen transmission failure with only 2000 miles on the vehicle. Has been at dealer for 3 months awaiting rebuild due to faulty clip. Why is nothing being done? Why am I not getting a new transmission? or better yet forced buy back
Incident date: Oct 30, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle stalled. Additionally, the contact became aware that the transmission was not functioning as needed. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the actuator motor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was no... Read more
Incident date: Feb 28, 2020
I have 2 ford escapes a 2015 and a 2016 (2016 referenced in this complaint) both have experienced catastrophic transmission failure within weeks of each other. The transmission would slip and hard shift, eventually disable completely and would indicate the transmission needed to be serviced.
FREIGHTLINER
M2 BUSINESS CLASS
(2018) - POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
May 3, 2024
Incident date: May 23, 2023
I have 2 ford escapes, a 2015 (referenced in this complaint) and a 2016. Both have experienced catastrophic transmission failure within weeks of each other. The transmission would slip, shudder and eventually disable and indicate service is needed. This happened while traveling highway speeds and the vehicle became disabled on the highway. As it was sudden, there was not time to get it safely off ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle was pulling back and failed to shift into the intended gear. The contact continuously depressed the accelerator pedal until the vehicle responded. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle the following day, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle w... Read more
HONDA
CR-V HYBRID
(2020) - POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Apr 30, 2024
Incident date: Apr 10, 2024
See attached document for complaint
Incident date: Sep 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle lunged forward. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and diagnosed with automatic transmission failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 76,000.
FORD
BRONCO SPORT
(2023) - POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Apr 17, 2024
Incident date: Apr 17, 2024
K1 Clutch Snap Ring failure in the AS69RC Aisin transmission. I loss all forward motion on [XXX] in Iowa City. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Incident date: Apr 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the message "Turn off the Engine Immediately" was displayed. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. Later, the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, th... Read more
Incident date: Feb 9, 2024
The transmission is slipping. When you try to get it up to forty forty-five it jerks and boggs down almost stops in it place. Have to slowly press the exceradtir to get it moving again almost causing be rear ended there is a noise and ive carried it to a couple ford dealers me they honestly weren't sure whats going . Also the washer motor went out for no reason . But mostly my concern. Is th... Read more
Incident date: Apr 12, 2024
6-speed automatic transmission shift issues. Car shifted from 6 to 1st gear while driving down the highway at over 60mph. Recall 19S07 remediation was completed previously, the reprogramming. Now the issues back and the vehicle randomly shifts to 1st gear while in other gears like 4,5,6 going over 40 mph. The issue occurs randomly and creates a major hazard with the vehicle dramatically slowing do... Read more
Incident date: Aug 20, 2020
See attached document for complaint
Incident date: Apr 9, 2024
The 10R60 transmission is exhibiting a hard downshift from 7-6 gear. I know this has been a problem with several of this year make and model. Ford says its not included in the recall. I have 81,000 miles on the vehicle and have to replace the transmission that is known to have problems. No warning lights no codes were produced. Just started happening and took to the dealership
Incident date: Mar 25, 2023
See attached document for complaint
Incident date: Feb 8, 2023
See attached document for complaint
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2016) - POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Apr 8, 2024
Incident date: Apr 8, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle began to lose motive power. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed, and it was determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was no... Read more
FORD
MAVERICK HYBRID
(2023) - POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Apr 5, 2024
Incident date: Mar 28, 2024
Dear Infiniti Consumer Affairs, I am writing to express my concern about the recent transmission failure in my vehicle. This is the second time I have experienced a transmission failure in less than a year. The first transmission failure occurred on around May of 2023. The symptoms were as follows: The transmission gave out while on the highway, causing the vehicle to not start or drive. The t... Read more
Incident date: Oct 2, 2023
The contact owned a 2017 Toyota Prius Prime. The contact stated after the vehicle was in the park position and exiting, the vehicle accelerated on its own in reverse. The contact mentioned when she parked, the front tires pointed towards a curb which allowed her to get inside the vehicle and to depress the brake pedal. The vehicle continued accelerating, crashed into two trees on the front driver'... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Mar 13, 2024
I have been experiencing random and harsh shifting. Starting from a stop, the truck would struggle to find a gear. Kind of scary when you are pulling out into traffic. Driving on the highway, the truck would randomly come out of gear for a few seconds and then back into gear. It would harshly downshift from 8th gear down to 2nd and back up again. All while driving 70mph. I took the truck to th... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2024
The lead frame on my truck was experiencing issues. The truck would intermittently randomly downshift at high speeds or get stuck in one gear. I was going 65+ mph on the freeway and and my truck shifted to second gear with no warning causing me to swerve and slam on the brakes. Other times my truck did it on surface streets. There were no warning lights or anything to let me know it would happen. ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 29, 2024
Transmission down shifts excessively on downhill grades
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
truck speedometer goes to 0. Slows down abruptly. Rpm goes way up. Was going from 45 to less than 10mph in a matter of seconds. Feels like the transmission automatically downshifts to a lower gear. Very dangerous. Seems to be quite a few of these incidents on you tube. Truck only has 11600 miles on it.
Incident date: Mar 21, 2024
My torque convertor has started to fail, extreme vibration when in drive or reverse at a stop, hesitation when trying to take off from a stop, RPMS will redline and the car won't move and then it will slam in to second gear. I have found a recall/customer satisfaction program (20N07) I took the car to a Ford dealership and they confirmed the torque convertor is ruined. I am terrified to drive this... Read more
Incident date: Mar 26, 2024
I am experiencing transmission issues in my 2018 Ford Escape SUV, the vehicle is barely 5 yrs old with less than 75k on the odometer. I started noticing that when I go over 60mph it starts to sputter, I took it to the ford dealership and was told I need to replace the torque converter and transmission at a cost of over 6K. I am in a delima as this is my only vehicle and or not to repair the vehi... Read more
Incident date: Mar 26, 2024
Took vehicle to Ford dealer to investigate whining noise at acceleration from a cold start. No warning lights. Dealer verified whine noise. Also found leak in transmission cooler. Removed and replaced transmission cooler. Not covered by a recall, although there is a recall for some vnn vehicles of same year and model for this defect.
Incident date: Jan 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at 10 MPH, the vehicle lost power and would not shift out of gear. The contact stated that he observed a whining noise emanating from the engine compartment. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the residence. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it has not yet been diagnosed. The vehicle ... Read more
HONDA
ACCORD HYBRID
(2015) - POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Mar 20, 2024
Incident date: Apr 7, 2021
Transmission failed without warning while driving on March 18, 2024. There were no previous issues, warning lights, symptoms, etc. The acceleration suddenly stopped, and the car struggled to move. This put me and other drivers at great risk of physical harm. The problem has been confirmed to be a serious transmission issue by our master mechanic and now needs to be replaced.
Incident date: Mar 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost all motive power, after which the contact became aware that the gear selector was stuck in the drive position. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who was unable to diagnose the failure but informed the contact that the transmission ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 16, 2024
I have a 2013 Ford Fiesta that I had financed through a 3rd party just right at a year . The ride was rough to begin with and I began experiencing problems such as a loud shrieking/grinding noise under the hood , which triggered the check engine light . Also pressing the gas and the car not accelerating properly which causes jerking , stalling , and etc. I had a mechanic look at it and did minor r... Read more