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
Incident date: Oct 31, 2025
Upon starting the vehicle around 7p on Friday, 10/31/25, the following errors flooded the screen: Hill start assist not available Service advancetrac 4WD Malfunction service required Pre-collision assist not available Rear sense breaking not available Additionally, cruise control could not be turned on and utilized. There was no incident to trigger these. The car had been sitting parked and off f... Read more
Incident date: Sep 22, 2025
Subject: Complaint - Safety Recall Failure (#23V75100) - Engine Failure Summary: This is a complaint regarding a failure of the safety recall repair performed under Recall #23V75100, which addressed a rod bearing issue that can cause engine failure. Details: 1. On or about April 4, 2024, Southern Acura of Newport News, VA replaced the long block under Recall #23V75100 after the original engine f... Read more
Incident date: Mar 23, 2025
•Year/Make/Model: 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe •Mileage: ~91,502 •Date Purchased: April 2023 Description of Problem / Safety Concern: I am reporting a safety-related engine defect in my 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe. The vehicle has developed engine knocking, metal shavings in the oil, and potential timing chain/bearing failure, all of which create a serious risk of engine failure while driving. The vehicl... Read more
Incident date: Oct 6, 2023
While going 80mph on the highway at 2:00am on or around 10/6/2023, my power braking system went out without warning. I was able to get it off the road and to a shop where they told me it was the vacuum pump and cam shaft. Repair took a week. 7 months later on 5/31/2024, it went out again, luckily in town going 35mph, and involved the vacuum pump, cam shaft, and this time the oil pump as well. ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, the contact became aware that the transmission was shuddering. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that while attempting to drive the vehicle to the shoulder of the road, the contact noticed a large piece of detached metal flying, which was part of the drive shaft. The contact stated that the tran... Read more
Incident date: Apr 25, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Cadillac CT5. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle unexpectedly stopped without the brake pedal being depressed. The contact stated that the message "Reduced Power" was displayed on the instrument cluster. The contact was able to continue driving; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate above 10 MPH. The contact was able to drive the veh... Read more
Incident date: Oct 23, 2025
In 2022, my 2019 Acura TLX A-Spec received a warranty engine replacement due to a spun bearing. At that time, recall 23V-751 (connecting rod bearing defect) did not yet exist. Recently, the replacement engine developed a pronounced knocking/ticking noise at idle and during light acceleration. Multiple independent mechanics and an Acura service department confirmed the noise is abnormal and consist... Read more
Incident date: Apr 11, 2025
The drive shaft is bad. My expedition is shaking very bad at high speeds it shakes the rear view mirror. I took it back to the dealership where I got it from 3 months after I got it because they thought it was the shocks. They replaced both rear shocks. Contol arms, body mounts. Got all brand new tires which have been balanced and rotated and the vehicle is still shaking at 60 + mpr. A while back ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 2, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Jeep Cherokee. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V011000 (Power Train); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle made abnormal grinding and popping sounds, and the vehicle shuddered. The contact was able to pull into a parking lot, and the contact then... Read more
Incident date: Nov 6, 2025
The transfer case began leaking between the transmission and transfer case. Upon taking it to a mechanic I’ve been told the entire transfer case needs replacement because it has prematurely failed. The repair cost is $5533.00. Through research I’ve seen there are many failing transfer cases on acuras with the SH all wheel drive systems. I believe Acura has a design flaw in the system and s... Read more
Incident date: Nov 6, 2025
In March 2025, pulling out from parking lot into traffic and accelerated but vehicle slowly moved forward even though accelerator pedal was more than halfway down. Luckily, the oncoming vehicle had time to slow down and avoid hitting my vehicle. This is the same problem that Toyota Grand Highlander Platinum owners have been experiencing. This is a safety hazard especially when your accelerating ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 23, 2025
On day 3 of having the car brand new straight from the dealer about 25 miles on it the transmission went out. Spent a month for them to fix it. Still does not drive the same and I can tell does not excellerate the same.
Incident date: Nov 6, 2025
I was driving down the road at 45 MPH, I pushed the accelerator then my vehicle shifted out of drive to neutral, the RPM increased, the car speed decelerated, then the vehicle put itself back in gear severely downshifted so much that my car lost 20 MPH then the engine returned to normal after a violent shake and loud grinding noise. The car could have caused an accident had there been anyone be... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2025
Driving on the highway going around 60mph and my transmission disengaged and all of my sensors turned off and i had no power at the gas pedal. I was able to pull over and the warning message told me to put put it in park and turn it off in order to fix the issue
Incident date: Oct 19, 2025
Transmission failing due to torque converter issues. It is available for inspection. Sudden loss of power or slipping transmission. It has been inspected by technician. No warning lights prior to experiencing the problem.
Incident date: Nov 5, 2025
Was traveling on interstate inside lane in heavy traffic and all of a sudden lost power,no throttle response, no warning lights,no priors,wasn't able to move to shoulder.. very close to being rear ended..all of a sudden power returned.. happened 8-12 times trying to get home.. no warning lights .. after got home hooked up my diagnostic scanner and ECU had code P050400 and BCM had no codes but in p... Read more
Incident date: Nov 6, 2025
Transmission stalls, shifts hard, shutters,. Had the transmission rebuilt about four months agoand similar issues are already starting with the rebuilt transmission.
Incident date: Sep 1, 2025
Slow acceleration when the AWD system is needed, due to failure of rear differential. No replacement parts are available, suggesting high demand due to high failure rate, possibly due to poor design.
JEEP
WRANGLER 4XE
(2024) — POWER TRAIN
Nov 6, 2025
Incident date: Oct 12, 2025
The drive indicator suddenly started flashing, the red wrench light came on, the check engine light came on. I pulled over a little on the road and put the jeep in park. I was unable to move the vehicle. It would not come out of gear. I had to turn the jeep off. Then restarted it and was able to get it into gear however the check engine light remained on.
Incident date: Oct 30, 2025
Okay let me first start by saying I have had problem after problem with this car in less than a year. I’ve had to replace my purge valve. The transmission on this car is horrible. I had my car less than a year and at not even 70k miles I had to get my transmission replaced because the car would stutter between 25-45mph thankfully my warranty covered everything. Now let’s get to my current issu... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
GTI
(2001) — POWER TRAIN
Nov 6, 2025
Incident date: Nov 4, 2025
My car has about 61,000 miles and gas been properly maintained with routine oil changes and such. At around 60,000 miles the car started jerking up on the freeway when I was driving at 20mph due to traffic. The accelerator would also jump up from 1 to 2 quickly. The issue became worse and now there's problems with the car driving forward when I turn it on and select D. I press the gas and it takes... Read more
Incident date: Oct 28, 2025
I had been driving for 2 hours on the interstate when the truck starts losing power and warning lights start flashing. I got the truck to the shoulder before it slammed to a stop. I turned the engine off and waited until all the power turned off before restarting. The truck would only run in limp mode at 35 mph. I drove on the shoulder of the interstate to the next exit. I disconnected the battery... Read more
Incident date: Oct 14, 2025
I am the 3rd time owner of this palisade. Car was bought after a transmission replacement at 27,000 miles. (Second transmission). At around 70,000 miles, we started to have oil consumption problems/ignition coil problems. After a slew of tests and other recommend procedures that cost us money out of pocket, hyundai recommended to get a new engine. We get the new engine. They call to tell us the ne... Read more
Incident date: Nov 5, 2025
We received notification from Ford that there is a "rear axle bolt fracture" possible on our 2021 Ford Explorer and noted we were to contact our dealer to address. However when I reached out to the dealership (and then subsequently to Ford Customer Service) I was told that the issue was being treated on an "extended warranty" basis. We would recognize the issue when we noticed severe vibration a... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
BEETLE
(2016) — POWER TRAIN
Nov 5, 2025
Incident date: Nov 5, 2025
On October 21st I had a recall performed at Evansville D- Patrick for a 37M2 shift lever micro switch. Today Nov 5th I was leaving work, pulling out of the drive onto highway and once I got on the road the car lost motion and just rolled. Barely made it across the highway. I got across the street into another lot. Turned car off and back on. You can hear the throttle but tires would not move. It ... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2024
I am experiencing the same issues as the individual who documented incident #11685147. When I turn the shifter to drive and let my foot off the brake, with auto-hold on, the will still roll backwards, even on flat ground, and not respond to me pushing the gas pedal. I have to put the vehicle back into park, and try again. Oftentimes I have to shut the vehicle completely off to be able to get the v... Read more
HYUNDAI
SANTA FE HYBRID
(2025) — POWER TRAIN
Nov 5, 2025
Incident date: Nov 5, 2025
The truck started to vibrate badly. Brought it to the dealership and have to replace the 6.2 L engine. I was happy to make it home without it breaking down. The truck only has 67,000 miles on it.
Incident date: May 1, 2024
During my ownership, the vehicle experienced multiple dangerous failures. It suddenly lost power while driving with my 2‑year‑old child onboard, and on another occasion the steering wheel locked for several seconds on the freeway. The car has had numerous recalls, and the dealer later confirmed an EV motor failure but offered no buyback. These defects created serious safety risks and caused si... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
AMG GLE63
(2020) — POWER TRAIN
Nov 5, 2025
Incident date: Sep 1, 2025
My 2019 jeep cherokee has a warning light on ( SVC 4WD ) . Took it into dealership about 2 months ago ( eide in pine city mn [XXX] ) they came back with it needing a new (PTU )power transfer unit. I can get you the receipt from them if needed. We are on a waiting list and check 3 other dealership near me all are saying about another 2 months! We are still able to drive the jeep but only 2wd .... Read more
Incident date: Sep 30, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that the messages "Four-wheel Drive(4WD) system Unavailable - Service Requested" and "Service Four-wheel Drive(4WD)" were displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the Power Transfer Unit(PTU) needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campa... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving at 20 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The message “Service 4WD” was displayed. The contact stated that while accelerating to 50 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle, and the vehicle jerked abnormally. The vehicle was taken to the deal... Read more
Incident date: Oct 28, 2025
Defect in transmission causing a total replacement to be needed. Jeep is aware of issue and is changing the way they’re built but not recalling.
Incident date: Aug 20, 2025
Electrical system not working correctly. Powertrain maintenance needed. Vehicle randomly had a light come on the dash, and included the message about electrical systems. Vehicle lost power, when I tried to accelerate, it was accelerating extremely slow and finally was able to get to posted speed limit of 35 in 0.5 miles. Never had a light come on until now. Recently had the 10,000 mile safety chec... Read more
Incident date: Nov 4, 2025
Electronics- module went out @40,000 brand new car Drive train teal differential went out
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2019) — POWER TRAIN
Nov 5, 2025
Incident date: Oct 30, 2025
Second occurrence of below happening, first time being 11/28/25, and most recently 11/05/25. Clutch engaged uncommanded while stopped with service brakes engaged. Truck kept trying to power through the service brakes until it was forcefully stalled out with service brakes. Truck is start-able immediately afterwards, but not drivable with engine stop warning lamp illuminated and a error message "N... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
BEETLE
(2013) — POWER TRAIN
Nov 5, 2025
Incident date: May 1, 2025
The car started making weird noises and shaking. Took it to the dealership and the car has a bearing that’s bad on the Transmission. It is a known problem according to the technician who took a look at it. Multiple cars during the 2017-2019 che cars all have the same issues.
VOLKSWAGEN
JETTA
(2014) — POWER TRAIN
Nov 5, 2025
Incident date: Nov 5, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle unexpectedly jerked, and the message “4X4 System Service Required” was displayed. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle unexpectedly lunged forward. The contact engaged the parking brake to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechan... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
PASSAT
(2011) — POWER TRAIN
Nov 5, 2025
Incident date: Nov 4, 2025
After recall 20AE (Fuel Pump Control Module) was completed at Performance Volkswagen in Lyndhurst, NJ, my vehicle began shutting off while idling and displayed code P0087 – Fuel Rail/System Pressure Too Low. This issue began immediately after the recall was done. On one of the first nights after the repair, my car suddenly shut off around 4 a.m. while I was in New York City, leaving me completel... Read more
Incident date: Nov 5, 2025
The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. The contact stated that after the dealer had reprogrammed the PCM under NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V075000 (Power Train), the vehicle started to experience failures. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle downshifted to first gear unintendedly. The powertrain warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to pull over to the side... Read more
FORD
MAVERICK HYBRID
(2023) — POWER TRAIN
Nov 5, 2025
Incident date: Nov 1, 2025
This exact situation has occurred twice in the past 6000 miles driven. Both occurred while driving at highway speeds, once on I85N and once on I75N in GA. Our 2023 Ford Maverick XLT Hybrid suddenly and unexpectedly loss power and shutdown. This forced us to make an emergency stop and attempt to pull over in high speed, heavy traffic in both instances. The vehicle eventually restarted and was driva... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2015) — POWER TRAIN
Nov 5, 2025
Incident date: Nov 5, 2025
The contact’s husband owns a 2019 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the powertrain unit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was then taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the powertrain ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 15, 2025
Hard shifting car jumps when put in gear I think it’s a known issue with this vehicle
Incident date: Oct 20, 2025
On 11/4/25 with only 377 miles on the odometer after backing out of my driveway I put the car into drive, nothing happened initially but then it stalled out in the road way. The vehicle displayed no warning lights and it did go into drive after that point. Vehicle has yet to be diagnosed.
Incident date: May 16, 2024
For the first 39 months of my ownership my 2021 Lincoln Aviator Grand Touring plug-in electric hybrid would not charge properly and resulted in thousands of charge station fault alerts. The dealership was dismissive of the issue for years because it seemed to work for the few minutes when they charged it on their high voltage charger even though I voiced concerns about the charger port being bad ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2025
According to the mechanic, the cdf drum on my 2018 F150’s 10R80 transmission slipped past the retaining ring or lack of a retaining ring causing 5/10 gears to fail. Replaced the entire transmission with a remanufactured one.
Incident date: Oct 28, 2025
While operating my vehicle, I was unable to drive due to transmission failure. The vehicle would not go into gear. I had the vehicle towed to the dealership for repair. The repair has been completed by Ford and was a complete transmission replacement. I am not sure if the failed part is still available for inspection. There were no warning lamps or messages prior to this occurring.
Incident date: Oct 28, 2025
At just under 83,000 miles my transmission began to make a whining sound which increased upon acceleration. I immediately had mechanic check it, then took it to my dealership where they diagnosed the problem as defective ball bearings within the transmission. I have contacted Toyota Corporate office and reported the problem with a request for no charge replacement. It's been crickets for 2 weeks. ... Read more
HONDA
ACCORD HYBRID
(2025) — POWER TRAIN
Nov 5, 2025
Incident date: Nov 5, 2025
Transmission Lead Frame causing sudden shift to first gear during travel, no start, erattic shifting. This seems to be an on going issue with Ford 6 speed transmissions.
Incident date: Nov 5, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle lost power with the message "Transmission Hot Wait 5 Minutes" displayed on the instrument panel. Due to the failure, the contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic where the mechanic diagnosed the vehicle with a defective dual transmission clutch. The contact was informed that although the trans... Read more
Incident date: Oct 14, 2025
Purchased my 2015 escape in Aug. of 2023 used knowing that the head gaskets needed to be replaced. Took it to a certified mechanic and had everything fixed on it. Fast forward to October of 2024 - Transmission went out had to purchase a brand new transmission had it installed at the certified mechanic. Then in July of 2025 all of the sudden it overheated. Took it back to the same mechanic and ... Read more