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 137,132 complaints - component: POWER TRAIN
Incident date: Aug 11, 2026
Transmission failure. No warning lights or messages.
Incident date: Aug 17, 2026
While stopped at a red light or intersection, the vehicle's Auto Idle Stop feature engages and shuts off the engine as designed. However, on multiple occasions, the engine has failed to automatically restart when the brake pedal is released. The vehicle remains stalled and unresponsive in the middle of the intersection or traffic lane, creating a safety risk to myself and other drivers, particular... Read more
Incident date: Aug 17, 2026
When driving it will randomly stall out/shut off in the middle of an intersection or just while driving in general. While also giving a message about the coolant temperature
Incident date: Aug 12, 2026
While operating the vehicle, I experienced a sudden and unexpected loss of propulsion accompanied by a Drive System Failure warning. An associated fault message was also displayed. The vehicle became immediately undrivable and required towing. This matter is not being raised as a routine service concern. The critical issue is the abrupt and uncommanded loss of propulsion during active vehicle ope... Read more
Incident date: Aug 8, 2026
I am filing a complaint against Capital Auto Mall Premier regarding the sale of a 2019 Ford F\-250 Lariat \(VIN [XXX]\) that I purchased on XXX. The vehicle was represented as being in good working condition at the time of sale. However, almost immediately after taking possession of the vehicle, I began discovering numerous mechanical, electrical, and safety\-related defects. Due to the number of... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2026
The vehicle needs a complete engine replacement due to a coolant intrusion issue. The safety of myself and my family are of my utmost concern. Overheating of the system can cause sudden engine stalling, catastrophic power loss at highway speeds, a risk of collision, and toxic vapor exposure inside the vehicle. Furthermore, A leaking heater core vents sweet-smelling but toxic antifreeze vapors into... Read more
Incident date: Aug 14, 2026
My 2014 Cadillac ATS experienced a transmission shift cable/linkage failure. After driving normally, I pulled into my garage and moved the shifter to Park. The physical shifter was in Park, but the instrument cluster continued to indicate Drive (D). The vehicle would not recognize Park, the shifter became stuck, and the vehicle would not restart because the transmission was still being detected as... Read more
Incident date: Aug 14, 2026
Despite NHTSA and Ford stating the "recall" has been fixed on my 2013 Ford F150, my truck still performs the exact symptoms of a Transmission molded leadframe failure. Not only my safety, but the safety of others was put as risk when my truck suddenly downshifted into what appeared to first gear, while traveling on the road, with no indication. I lost power and was no longer able to move at the sp... Read more
Incident date: Jun 24, 2026
The vehicle unprompted shifted into 4wd and lost all propulsion. Revved high, but didn’t move. There is a recall that outlines the exact issues I experienced, but my VIN is not covered for a free fix. The recall is NHTSA Recall Campain 25V-011 (jeep campaing 01C) I have a child and the fact that my car broke down with her in it is terrifying. I purchased 4 new tires because I was told it was th... Read more
Incident date: Apr 8, 2026
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted. The powertrain warning light illuminated; however, the warning light was intermittent. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was informed of an unknown PCM software recall. The contact was informed that the recall repair needed to be complete... Read more
Incident date: Aug 14, 2026
The contact owns a 2021 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle failed to shift gear as intended, and the RPM was extremely elevated. The failure had occurred on several occasions. The contact pulled over, and the message "Possible Condition with the Transmission Control System Detected - Press SOS for Roadside Assistance" was displayed on the instru... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2019
The contact owns a 2019 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted. There was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was pulled over to the shoulder of the roadway. The accelerator pedal was depressed, and the RPM became elevated. The check engine warning light was illuminated, and the vehicle failed to go fo... Read more
Incident date: Jul 7, 2026
The transmission on the vehicle needed to be replaced. The dealership told me that I was responsible for the repair. The price quote was $14,000.00. The Toyota dealership knew that the transmission were problematic and said nothing.
Incident date: Oct 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed in the snow, the 4WD feature became inoperable. The 4WD warning light was illuminated. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V290000 (Power Train). The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was determined the PTU needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. ... Read more
FORD
BRONCO SPORT
(2022) - POWER TRAIN
Aug 17, 2026
Incident date: Jul 22, 2026
Both the valve included in Ford's TSB 24-2185 and the clutch pack included in TSB 26-2328 both defaulted in the vehicle, causing debris and metal shavings to accumulate in the RDU which resulted in pitting of the gears and parts. This has resulted in a complete RDU replacement. The vehicle has only 65,700 miles.
Incident date: Aug 16, 2026
2021 Toyota RAV4 (gas model) has experienced a sudden, unexpected engine stall/shutdown on a public road. The incident occurred while shifting into Drive after backing up in reverse. The engine immediately died without any prior dashboard warning lights or mechanical symptoms. The information screen displayed a message stating "Put Car in Park" or "Shift into Park." The vehicle safely restarted im... Read more
Incident date: Aug 7, 2026
My 10R80 transmission has failed at 79000 miles. This tranmission has been problematic during the life of this truck. Hard shifting, delayed shift, clutch flutter. Ford refused to honor my extended warranty that covers the power train beyond the 5/60000mile base warranty.
Incident date: Jun 19, 2026
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated that the vehicle unintendedly decelerated. The contact stated the failure reoccurred. The transmission failed to shift out of first gear, and the RPM was elevated. No warning lights w... Read more
Incident date: Jul 30, 2026
My truck is having transmission problem , hard shifting , going into neutral while driving, same problem with other 1080R transmission ford has on the recall list, I have had it in the shop before at Five Star Ford Stone Mtn Georgia, they said it was the battery, they put a new battery in it, same didnt fix the problem, now they are saying I need a new transmission , they know there is a problem w... Read more
Incident date: Aug 3, 2026
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was a loud grinding sound coming from the vehicle, and the message “4WD Unavailable - Service Required" was displayed. The sound became louder and more frequent over time. The vehicle was taken to a certified mechanic and was diagnosed with Power Transfer Unit failure. The contact was informed t... Read more
Incident date: Feb 19, 2026
Acceleration lag: either bucking or temporary loss of motive power when attempting to pull into traffic has almost caused us to be hit several times. We had the problem almost immediately after purchase, but the lag was short and the Jeep would leap forward and back tires would squeal which caused the back tires to wear quickly compared to front. The bucking and loss of power while accelerating b... Read more
Incident date: Jul 17, 2026
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal grinding sound coming from the vehicle, and while the accelerator pedal was depressed, the vehicle failed to accelerate as needed. No warning lights were illuminated. The failure had occurred on several occasions. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26... Read more
Incident date: Aug 5, 2026
The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated that while the vehicle was at an independent mechanic for brake service, the contact was informed that the transmission chain had fractured and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was towed to another independent mechanic for the transmission to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure an... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2023
While accelerating, the 8-speed transmission sporadically hangs in 1st gear and will not change to 2nd. The motor revs to about 4000 rpm and will only travel at about 15 mph. This causes a safety hazard when attempting to enter fast moving traffic. After several attempts, the Dealer has said that they cannot duplicate this issue in their shop and has not made necessary warranty repairs to fix t... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2026
The contact owns a 2016 Dodge Dart. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V674000 (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 contact stated that while parking the vehicle, the transmission slipped and failed to shift into park. Th... Read more
Incident date: Aug 8, 2026
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V237000 (Power Train); but the failure occurred. The dealer was contacted and stated that there was no result on the diagnostic test associated with the transmission failure, and the repair was not performed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was app... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2026
The transmission intermittently enters a failure mode where the wrench warning lamp illuminates and the transmission locks into its current gear, with no further shifting. This has happened multiple times without warning, including at highway speed. It sometimes recovers on its own and resumes normal shifting, then fails again later. The safety risk is loss of gear selection while moving. Dependi... Read more
Incident date: May 20, 2026
The contact owns a 2025 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while the accelerator was depressed, the vehicle hesitated, jerked, and failed to accelerate as intended. The failure occurred while driving from a stop and while driving at various speeds, causing the vehicle to decelerate during the failure. While depressing the brake pedal, there was a rubbing or grinding coming from the vehicle, a... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2022) - POWER TRAIN
Aug 17, 2026
Incident date: Jul 8, 2026
Automatic transmission failed due to code P0722 (Output Speed Sensor signal lost). The vehicle experienced sudden loss of propulsion, violent/harsh shifting, and severe drivability issues while operating on the highway. Loss of forward motive power at high speeds creates an immediate collision hazard. The vehicle was previously serviced for transmission issues but the defect recurred. The vehicle ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2026
The transmission started skipping 4th gear a couple days later started randomly changing gears from 1st through 10th, and neutral while driving after reaching speed limits. While making a left hand turn it went into neutral and was almost hit broadside by an 18 wheeler with my grandson in the truck. There is a TSB and 3 class action lawsuits on this issue. My vehicle is a 2017 f150 with 50,365 mil... Read more
Incident date: Aug 14, 2026
I received codes p2888, p288a, p0c2c all within the current recall parameters however my vin is not listed in the recall currently but falls within the same guidelines for those model years, engine, and trim package. It is the parking/pawl codes. I cannot currently drive my vehicle and I am about to face very heavy charges with getting a repair for my vehicle. As of now the Ford service writer ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 16, 2026
While at a stop light on a major road, the vehicles auto start stop engaged. Upon the light turning green, I released the brake and vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle put itself into park and flashed a warning message "problem detected....." . I pressed the start button, and at first the vehicle failed to start, making a clicking sound, consistent with a dead battery or starter. I had to ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 10, 2026
The contact owns a 2016 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving 80 MPH, the towing suddenly failed. The contact was able to drive off the exit. The contact was able to drive to the residence. The contact stated that the week before, while idling at a stop light, the vehicle suddenly stalled. The check engine warning light illuminated, and the contact cleared the code before restarting the ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 12, 2026
The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150 used for hauling a trailer. The contact stated that while reversing, the vehicle became stuck in neutral. The vehicle failed to shift into the intended gear. The contact stated that the gear selector was inoperable. The contact stated that the vehicle continued moving and rolled into the water and became submerged in water up to the door. No warning lights were i... Read more
FORD
F-150 HYBRID
(2024) - POWER TRAIN
Aug 17, 2026
Incident date: Aug 17, 2026
Several times now the truck will get "stuck" in N or D and will not move. No loss of power, and can't manually shift out to park. Now waiting for a tow to the dealer, they were supposed to correct this when I took it in the last time it happened but didn't. There are a lot of online complaints IRT this issue with the powerboost 150 and other 150s. Mine was made at the Dearborn plant. Huge safety i... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 3500
(2020) - POWER TRAIN
Aug 17, 2026
Incident date: Jul 30, 2026
VIN: [XXX] Make/Model/Year: 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD, Duramax L5P, Allison 10L1000 Recall: N242454440 / N242454441 (NHTSA 24V797) Description: Vehicle had N242454440 completed May 2026 (TCM software update for harsh shift / wheel lockup). On XXX at 103k miles, vehicle exhibited same defect: harsh downshift 8th-9th gear, CEL on. Diagnosed as TCM failure per N242454441. Vehicle at O'Re... Read more
Incident date: Jul 14, 2026
Needed to move quickly out of way of oncoming traffic, but delay/hesitation in CVT made it almost impossible to avoid traffic.
Incident date: Aug 2, 2026
Purchased my Kia on the XXX then on the XXX, My engine light came on and my car went into Safety Mode . I at once took it to Auto Zone and their test came back with P1326 Knock signal range / performance. I then looked it up and found that a recall was put out quite a while back called an [XXX] # took my car to Kia Dealership in [XXX]. They said I could bring it in that was on the XXX and if ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 13, 2026
I was driving my 2026 Mazda CX-30 in a parking lot and was pulling into a parking space at a very low speed. I lightly pressed the accelerator to move the car forward, but the car suddenly surged forward much faster than I intended or expected based on how lightly I had pressed the pedal. The sudden acceleration resulted in a collision and property damage. There were no warning lights, warning me... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jun 19, 2026
On June 20th 2026 while driving my 2023 Ford Edge SEL AWD at approximately 35mph on an active hwy (93 AZ NB in Wickenburg AZ) the vehicle experienced a sudden catastrophic loss of motive power and came to a sudden stop in a jerking motion. The vehicle completely disabled itself without warning in live traffic, presenting an immediate and severe safety hazard to myself and surrounding motorists. I ... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2024) - POWER TRAIN
Aug 16, 2026
Incident date: May 1, 2026
Vehicle suddenly stalls and reduces speed at different times with no warning. At first it would show that message after car washes or rainy days but now randomly it’ll reduce speed in unexpected moments causing safety concerns. It reduces speed, stalls, drives forcefully, and shows a “reduced acceleration drive with care”. Sudden stalls have become a danger to my family and myself as we depe... Read more
CADILLAC
ESCALADE ESV
(2021) - POWER TRAIN
Aug 16, 2026
Incident date: Jan 31, 2023
Bought vehicle brand new in 2021 took delivery in 2022. Had to have a full transmission replacement and radiator that was cracked replaced at 30,000 miles. Over the next few years have had fuel delivery issues due to fuel pump. This fuel pump was not fixed. As of this year 2026 i've had the vehicle in the shop just shy of every single month. I have had a thermostat sensor that caused the engine fa... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C 300
(2019) - POWER TRAIN
Aug 16, 2026
Incident date: Mar 6, 2026
Shifting gears when stopped and the car lunged forward while I was stopped at a red light. I almost hit the car in front of me at the red light. Very rough gear changes and changing out of the correct gear to the wrong one and then back into another one. Severe speed changes - jerking the car back or it lunges forward, while driving results in loss of reasonable control of the vehicle and inabili... Read more
Incident date: Dec 31, 1969
My wife and I purchased a brand new Tundra LTD in May 2023. An important note to keep in mind is that my wife and I not only purchased the new Tundra but also a new travel trailer so we could enjoy our nation's national parks during our retirement years. I will relate that to my complaint shortly. It wasn't long after our purchase that we became aware of the issue of machining debris possibly c... Read more
Incident date: Jul 11, 2026
Component: Engine / Electrical System / Power Train VIN [XXX] Description of Safety Defect: The vehicle experienced a sudden, catastrophic loss of engine power and completely shut off while traveling at highway speeds. This total engine failure disabled the vehicle on an active highway, forcing an emergency maneuver to reach the shoulder. This incident occurred less than four months after an autho... Read more
FORD
BRONCO SPORT
(2021) - POWER TRAIN
Aug 16, 2026
Incident date: Jul 17, 2026
The vehicle was slowing down after leaving a stop light and within a short distance completely shut down no lights no power nothing wouldnt start to put in neutral so we can get it from the middle of traffic on a 2 lane highway. After about 15 minutes of trying to see what the issues was it turned over and we put the car in gear and pushed ot to the side of the road
Incident date: Jun 11, 2026
Different codes started blanking after I got gas June 11, 2026. Soon as I cranked up it started flashing warnings. Emission system, brake system, sport mode doesn’t work, cruise control doesn’t work, check engine light on, tire pressure light on. I took it to midlands Honda on June 15, 2026. They told me turbocharger and need spark plugs based off mileage. I took it to oreily, they say it only... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2024
I’ve been experiencing shuttering and hard shifting since day one of purchasing my car
Incident date: Aug 3, 2026
The drive mode randomly changes by itself while drive. When this occurs it can shift to 4 wheel drive will moving on dry pavement. This this not been checked out by the dealer because based on online forums others have the same issue and Ford can not reproduce or provide any fixes. I'm assuming there have been other complaints for this same issue reported to NHTSA. I'm adding a date for when this ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 5, 2026
Truck starting missing gears when pulling onto highway. Rpms jumped high and truck wouldnt shift. Thankfully we made it across before the oncoming traffic or we would have been hit. Finally got it to go but it was missing gears causing it to drive sluggish. No prior engine lights warning me. When the incident happed I got a notification of a power train malfunction/ reduced power.