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 133,534 complaints — component: POWER TRAIN
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS
(2024) — POWER TRAIN
Nov 20, 2025
Incident date: Dec 31, 1969
My truck had engine failure while at the dealership getting new tires installed on 11/12/2025. When they started my truck they detected major knocking in my engine the 1st thing in the morning. It unsafe to drive they're telling me my engine needs to be replaced. My engine has 58,000 miles on it. There was no issues with my truck when I drop it off.
Incident date: May 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2023 Ford F-150. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V512000 (POWER TRAIN). However, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that a fluid spill was found on the ground. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the hub bolt had sheared off and damaged an unknown oil component loca... Read more
HYUNDAI
TUCSON HYBRID
(2022) — POWER TRAIN
Nov 20, 2025
Incident date: Nov 7, 2024
I’ve experienced repeated electrical and mechanical issues with my 2022 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid. These include full battery drainage without engine activation (leaving me stranded), multiple warning lights, and recently a heater failure that remains unresolved. I’ve had over 8 service visits in two years, and Hyundai has not responded to my formal letter. A detailed timeline is available if need... Read more
Incident date: Nov 18, 2025
The transmission and transaxle malfunctioned. Evidence was a leak from the transaxle. The dealer confirmed that the vehicle was operating in 2WD mode even though it did not detect any issues from its onboard sensors, and the car thought it was still sending power to all 4 wheels. There were no warning lights that the vehicle was no longer driving in 4wd mode, so the driving dynamics would've be... Read more
Incident date: Sep 17, 2025
This vehicle has 3 catastrophic and dangerous recalls. I have attempted jeep several times to try to get it escalated, but they have ignored us. The vehicle lost power suddenly in busy traffic 2 times, causing my wife to almost be involved in an accident. We have no confidence in driving this vehicle. Hoping you can help
Incident date: Jan 28, 2024
Unknown when taking off from a stop sign it’s has a delay when hitting the gas also when driving down the road it’s like a jerking or feel like transmission jerking or slipping or something it’s does it every time I drive i
Incident date: Nov 17, 2025
I am writing to formally document serious engine defects I have experienced with my 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe equipped with the 5.3L L84 V8 engine. 1.Crankshaft Failure: My Tahoe suffered a catastrophic crankshaft failure that required major repair/replacement. I am aware that GM has recalled certain vehicles equipped with the 6.2L L87 engine for crankshaft and rod-bearing defects. Based on my experien... Read more
Incident date: Dec 20, 2024
On November 17, 2025, my vehicle engine overheated and shutdown while my wife was driving and left my wife and school aged daughter stranded on the side of the road. Took vehicle to dealership and they identified the Thermostat to be faulty and needing replaced. on March 27, 2025, NHTSA issued a Technical Service Bulletin (09-006-25) and a Rapid Service Update (25-047) to Dealerships advising the... Read more
Incident date: Jun 10, 2022
6 months and 20,000 miles after purchasing the 2021 Chevy Silverado custom 4x4 with the 8 automatic transmission and the 2.7L turbo charged engine with 32,000 original miles on it from Volume Chevrolet in Forsyth GA I noticed the transmission was jerking when the truck was first crunk and warming up after about 10 minutes and once it got to 8 mph after a while when the temperature gauge was half w... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
GLA 250
(2015) — POWER TRAIN
Nov 20, 2025
Incident date: Nov 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V011000 (Power Train). The contact stated that the vehicle was vibrating while driving at undisclosed speeds. The contact also stated that the vehicle had shifted out of park unintendedly. There were no warning lights illuminated. The local dealer was contacted and informed the contact that ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 13, 2025
This is the SECOND TIME I am reporting this same issue with my accord. I see there is now a recall but I need this to be on file as I can't continue owning this vehicle if this continues. This is a SCARY situation when you are behind the whell. On 10/30/25, I was 60 miles into a trip and the car lost all power on a major highway. While almost being rear ended by cars in the left lane, I was a... Read more
Incident date: Nov 8, 2025
This vehicle passed the piston oil ring recall in September 2025, by November 2025 the vehicle was burning through a quart of oil a week. Two different dealerships advised that this wouldn't be covered under the recall, stating the recall was for engine noise. The recall states that the issue in question can cause increased oil consumption that will then lead to noise. The vehicle was 5,000 miles ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2024
Purchased the vehicle approximately 45 days ago. Has driven fine with no problems. Randomly had a hard down shift and when I went to leave my destination put the vehicle in reverse and it would not go. The vehicle would not move in drive and when put in neutral it was still not even able to be pushed. Had it towed to the nearest ford dealership, they diagnosed that there were metal shavings in the... Read more
KAWASAKI
NINJA ZX-6R
(2024) — POWER TRAIN
Nov 20, 2025
Incident date: Nov 19, 2025
Recall was issued for crankshaft bearing failure and recall was performed and completed. Kawasaki performed the inspection and repair, however kawasaki had failed to adequately fix the issue causing prolonged headaches and paying for something that is unsafe to opperate. All kawasaki is telling people is dont ride but not providing an adequate fix to make the bike safe again or theyre also refusin... Read more
Incident date: Nov 18, 2025
The car suffered a critical electrical failure which resulted in the car abruptly losing power when driving at a speed of about 30 mph. The speed at which the car became unresponsive was so rapid that the car could not even be maneuvered from the middle lane into the right most lane for safety. The cars digital display system indicated nothing except that the hazards were on (after I had attempted... Read more
Incident date: Sep 5, 2025
Honda CVT transmission fluid seal leak cause by failed torque converter. Car has a perfect maintenance history, all fluid changes done on time with Allen Honda at Bryan Texas including filters associated. Car is garage kept, not driven hard. Always driven in economy mode for smooth efficiency. Failure occurred at 86,165 miles. Significant enough I am reporting this, as it is a safety issue, howeve... Read more
Incident date: Sep 20, 2025
Have noticed when turning a corner vehicle has some slight jerking motions before it picks up speed. Vehicle also has a whining/humming sound that it’s making somewhere in the transmission (CVT). I haven’t ever received a recall or CVT extended warranty about this vehicle before but I received this warranty in the mail last week 11-12-25..This warranty would have covered my problems with the v... Read more
Incident date: Aug 13, 2025
My 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz has an ongoing powertrain/transmission malfunction that occurs during cold starts. The vehicle will not upshift out of 1st gear and becomes stuck around 25 mph with the accelerator fully pressed. There are no warning lights or messages. The only way to temporarily fix the issue is to pull over, turn the vehicle off, and restart it. This creates a serious safety risk beca... Read more
Incident date: Nov 18, 2025
After driving the Kia sorento and parking it for a little bit then restarting it again the transmission jerks very hard at times and sometimes it’s moderate. Its an on going issue. It starts happening after the car is being driven but on a cold start like overnight while its parked and the next day you turn the car on you dont feel anything until you start driving it then parking it and turn i... Read more
Incident date: Nov 13, 2025
P0301 code Cylinder 1 Misfire Detected.
Incident date: Nov 19, 2025
Within the first week of owning my 2023 Nissan Rogue, the vehicle began losing power from highway speeds to around 20 mph, stalling during turns, shaking violently, and displaying warning lights. These issues continued for over a year. Several times I nearly crashed because the vehicle suddenly slowed down or lost power on the highway. Nissan repeatedly told me nothing was wrong, but the vehicle w... Read more
Incident date: Dec 31, 1969
Four days ago, engine started making a whining noise when accelerating, especially in lower gears. No warning signs. 2022 Highlander Platinum is 3 years old, 80K miles, out of warranty; no extended warranty purchased due to historical, stellar Toyota reliability. Toyota service department at Toyota dealership today said whining is due to a bearing issue within the transmission (my personal mech... Read more
Incident date: Nov 10, 2025
Transmission Replacement - The transmission system requires replacement due to issues identified during inspection, including judder in the CVT and auxiliary gearbox. Replacing the transmission can help address these concerns and improve the smoothn
Incident date: Nov 19, 2025
The car has a shudder/vibrate and what feels like jerking at certain speeds. I have a 2023 XT5 Premium Luxury 3.6 However, I have taken multiple times to Big O tires had tires replaced, brakes, Lower control arms, I still had a vibration issue. Took back to Big O due to Tire balance issue but came back tires and balance and alignment were fine. I was told that Big O, hooked the car up to a TPS mac... Read more
Incident date: Nov 16, 2025
My 2024 Honda CR-V EX is experiencing a premature head gasket failure at approximately one year of ownership. A head gasket is a long-life component designed to maintain proper combustion sealing and prevent coolant/oil cross-contamination. This type of failure should not occur on a new vehicle and suggests a potential manufacturing or engineering defect in the powertrain. Before diagnosis, the ve... Read more
Incident date: Oct 28, 2025
My 2018 Mazda 3 has an intermittent electrical failure on the high-speed CAN network that causes multiple safety-critical systems to fail while driving. When the fault occurs, the dash lights up with warnings for powertrain, ABS/traction, lane departure, collision-avoidance, TPMS, immobilizer, and the check-engine light. The car also hesitates or “lurches” between 15–30 mph during these even... Read more
Incident date: Feb 12, 2025
To whom it may concern I hope I've chosen the proper avenue for my problem. I purchased and new 2021 Toyota Highlander. I chose Toyota for it reputation of high standards of dependability. However I took the vehicle in at 20,611 miles (9/22/2021) into the dealership for multiple transmission issues. When passing it would kick down into a lower gear and race the motor. There was also chunky sh... Read more
Incident date: Nov 14, 2025
Tranmssion was Jerking has been to dealer mutiple times for reprogramming and torque converter replacement and now at 123,000 the transmission needs to be replaced
Incident date: Nov 13, 2025
I purchased this van in March 2025, it was used about 62000 miles, but dealer said it was in good condition, no issues. In September 2025, a battery light came on, that also activated the Start/Stop could not be used and needed service as well as Service Shifter. I brought the vehicle in and they simply replaced the auxiliary battery and sent me on my way. On November 13th, I was driving and a bat... Read more
Incident date: Nov 18, 2025
My 2019 Honda HR-v CVT failed due to premature belt deterioration exactly as described in Honda Service Bulletin 21-047. The failure happened only two months after the 7-year extended warranty period. Honda has denied a goodwill assistance despite this being a known safety-related defect. The belt failed while my elderly mother drove. They refuse to provide any assistance in the matter.
Incident date: Oct 21, 2025
The truck suddenly jerks into gear and lurches forward even sometimes after taking foot off the gas. The transmission has issues shifting at low gears, known to ford, and these present in situations like parking lots and at red lights. It creates a safety hazard when operating at low speeds.
Incident date: Nov 16, 2025
While driving down the highway at 70 miles per hour ater driving 2.5 hours our 2021 Pacifica hybrid minivan flashed a warning on the vehicles display saying approximately "Warning Engine Shutting Down". The engine immediately shut down in the middle of the highway and we were forced to coast off the highway to the shoulder. The engine warning light came on. We turned the car off for a few minutes... Read more
Incident date: Nov 17, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that the Service Shifter warning light illuminated when the gear shifter was shifted to park(P). The failure had become more persistent. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the shifter had failed and the shifter, module, knob, gear shifter, and transmission needed to be replaced. The contact related the failure to... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2017) — POWER TRAIN
Nov 19, 2025
Incident date: Sep 19, 2024
Transmission internally failed. This has been confirmed through multiple sources. Dealership, mechanic. No warning lights, grinding noise. My safety is put at risk because A failing transmission creates multiple safety hazards while driving. The vehicle may lose power unexpectedly, hesitate, or fail to accelerate when needed, especially during turns, intersections, or highway merging. It can also ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 19, 2025
Two separate issues: The variable valve timing control (VTC) actuator is defective. There is a Honda service bulletin on this issue that has impacted many years of Honda Fits and has proven to be a defective unit. Service Bulletin 16-088. This repair should be covered as this defective part can cause severe damage to the engine costing the consumer thousands of dollars to repair. A simple search ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 10, 2025
I have a 2018 Mercedes Benz c63 amg which I purchased new in 2018. I have only 61,230 miles yesterday 11/10/2025 it started making a loud noise coming from the right rear. I drove to the Mercedes dealership in Belmont,Ca the technician mechanic told me that the rear differential was bad and need to be replace. Cost $7,000. I don't understand only 61,230 miles why did it go out so soon I always had... Read more
Incident date: Oct 29, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. In addition, the contact stated that the transmission was shifting roughly while upshifting or downshifting. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechani... Read more
Incident date: Oct 15, 2025
When I am at a stop, and the traffic opens for me to go, or the light turns green, I press on the accelerator and nothing happens. The car just rolls forward under no power or it just stays still. About 5 seconds after I'm slamming the gas pedal to get me out the lane of oncoming traffic, or holding up a light the car wakes up again and starts going no problem. This has happened multiple times in ... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS
(2022) — POWER TRAIN
Nov 19, 2025
Incident date: Nov 13, 2025
Navigator transmission goes into neutral when accelerating at speeds of 50+. Trans completely overhauled. Still does it. Almost had 2 accidents when changing lanes on the freeway, trying to accelerate and instead slowing down with cars behind fast approaching . When trying to pass on a 2-lane hwy, this would be deadly.
Incident date: Nov 12, 2025
My transmission was serviced under the cable bushing recall - since then the main complaint is the grinding, loss of power, losing gears etc. the rear camera also fails to function over half of the time. this has been validated by fletcher car care. they said the transmission is now faulty. i have seen this issue repeated throughout the other safety reports on your website. this is an overarching ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 14, 2025
Detailed Description of the Defect: Friday Incident: While picking up my son from school, the vehicle abruptly disabled multiple safety and driver-assist features. The car rolled backward on a slight incline, failed to display any surrounding vehicles on the FSD visualization, and retained accelerator input even after I removed my foot from the pedal. The vehicle continued to speed up slightly in... Read more
Incident date: Apr 4, 2025
This is in regards to toyota CSP 24TE04 and the Engine Bypass System. This was also included in a class action lawsuit that got dropped. Engine Bypass System is faulty and shows check engine requiring replacing of Bypass Valve and or wiring. According to 24TE04 it has been affecting over 2 million cars, but not all are being fairly covered. They need to include all models with this system that... Read more
Incident date: Oct 24, 2025
THE 2021HYUNDAI PALISADE AT A FOUR WAY LIGHT STOP BUSY INTERSECTION. UPON GIVING HAS AND MAKING THE LEFT TURN FROM CIMMIRON UNTO SARATOGA BLVD THE VEHICLE WAS MAKING A CLUNKING NOISE LIKE IF VEHICLE IN 4WD BUT THE VEHICLE IS AN AWD AND IT LOSS LIKE POWER IN THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERSECTION ALMOST REAR ENDED AND HIT BY ANOTHER VEHICLE BECAUSE THE LIGHT BEGUN TO CHANGE. TOOK THE VEHICLE TO HYUNDAI AND... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the service electronic system warning light illuminated. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle drove abnormally rough. The vehicle was driven to the destination. The contact stated that while attempting to restart the vehicle, the vehicle failed to restart. The contact stated that... Read more
Incident date: Nov 18, 2025
The contact owns a 2011 Toyota Tundra. The contact stated that while attempting to accelerate from a red traffic light, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the residence and remained at the residence for further investigation. In addition, a local independent mechanic was contacted, and the ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 19, 2024
Transmission failure at 19,481 miles in my 2021Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 4x4 V6. The vehicle has not been abused, and the mileage is low for its age. The symptoms—erratic shifting, limp mode, and “Service Transmission” warnings— are consistent with a known defect pattern affecting multiple FCA vehicles using the same transmission.
Incident date: Oct 29, 2025
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Nov 18, 2025
continues to roll when parked engine has been replaced twice grinding when putting in park
Incident date: Oct 19, 2025
My 2022 Kia EV6 developed a serious electrical/MCU malfunction on 10/19/2025 at approximately 64,300 miles. While driving, the vehicle began to stutter during acceleration, all driver-assistance and safety systems disabled (LKAS, collision avoidance, lane keeping), and the vehicle could not accelerate normally (topping out around ~60 mph when fully pressing the pedal). The Kia Connect app displaye... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ID.4
(2024) — POWER TRAIN
Nov 19, 2025
Incident date: Nov 3, 2025
Shift to park errors over multiple years, shutter when accelerating. Now pressure control solenoid code vehicle will not go in reverse or shift out of first gear. Transmission needs replacement. This is my family vehicle, i have 3 small children and it has turned off at stop lights etc. My families safety has been jeopardized many times driving this vehicle, especially the last time in particular... Read more