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: Jun 30, 2026
Vehicle transmission shifts harshly from 2nd to 3rd gear and occasionally from 1st to 2nd gear I believe it’s a safety issue because it causes slower acceleration and jerkiness which causes vehicle instability The problem has been reproduced by the dealer but no solution was found yet The transmission hasn’t been fully inspected yet There are no warning lamps or codes present for this iss... Read more
Incident date: Jun 30, 2026
At approximately 135,000 miles my automatic transmission began "slipping" or lurching while accelerating. I took the car to a Nissan dealership, as well as 2 local mechanics, and all 3 sources have told me that my transmission is having identical symptoms to the recalled Versa models that previously had transmission issues. I'm now forced to replace the transmission before it hopefully goes out co... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 2025
Vehicle makes strange sounds from the fuel fill inlet and proceeds to stall shortly after while driving and most of the times fails to restart based on my own research it looks like purge valve issues My safety was put at risk by almost being rear ended multiple times from stalling on the expressway and red lights The problem has not been reproduced yet by the dealer it will be looked at on 07/1... Read more
Incident date: Jul 6, 2026
The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-250. The contact received notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V256000 (Power Train); however, the recall repair could not be completed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that a thrust washer was missing from the output planetary assembly and had disintegrated, contaminating the transmission case, transfer case, torque converter, cooling l... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that after shifting into park (P), the vehicle failed to shut off because it failed to recognize that the gear shifter was in park (P). The "Shift To Park" warning message was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact jiggled the gear shifter button several times until the vehicle responded as intended and turned off. The contact stated t... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2026
2024 Dodge Durango, purchased brand new. AC completely stopped working at 340 miles after buying. Vehicle has had 7+ dealership visits since purchase. Vehicle has been out of service for 40+days total. Currently, vehicle has been at dealer since June 24, 2026 and is still not returned as of July 9, 2026 — 16 days ongoing with no resolution. I request NHTSA look into this. Electrical/HVAC: Con... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2026
I was driving my car down the road and all the sudden I couldn't steer my car It caused me to go off the road and hit a ditch
Incident date: Jul 7, 2026
Transmission down shifted from 10th gear to 1st gear while traveling at 80mph on XXX. Truck then continued to shift randomly throughout gears and occasionally not shift at all. Clutchs are all burned up and the fluid is now burnt as well. Had to be hauled 2 hours home from an army installation. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Incident date: Jul 1, 2026
Heat Management Module HMM is bad. BMW used a plastic part that is right up against the engine block. This HMM Heat Management Module resulted in STOPPING the vehicle completely in the middle of the freeway. I had no control. Then the car drove, then stopped again. I had NO CONTROL over the vehicle. Weeks later the Drivetrain Malfunction warning light appeared as i was driving home late at night f... Read more
Incident date: Jun 24, 2026
The vehicle failed to re-start after being engine had been at full operating temperature then was turned off for a short period of time. It has also struggled to re-start with auto start/stop leaving the vehicle partially in a busy intersection without any engine power until it successfully turned over several seconds after releasing the brake pedal. The dealer is unable to replicate. They have... Read more
Incident date: Jul 10, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that when shifting the gear selector into park (P), the "Shift To Park" warning message was displayed on the instrument panel, even though the vehicle was already parked. The failure was recurrent. A dealer was contacted and informed the contact that the failure was a known condition with pending repairs. The manufacturer was made aware ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 12, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact received notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V237000 (Power Train); however, the part to complete the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time to perform the recall repair. The contact stated that when attempting to make a left turn and depressing the accelerator pedal, the RPM... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2026
A known issue with this transmission. It started whining and had to be replaced at around 40,000 miles. Was replaced with a rebuilt transmission instead of a new one.
Incident date: Jan 28, 2026
The contact owns a 2025 Ford Mustang. The contact received notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V122000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to complete the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The vehicle stalled, jerked forward, and the ch... Read more
Incident date: May 5, 2026
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 35 MPH down a hill, the engine and powertrain were resistant when the brakes were applied. No warning lights illuminated. A mobile mechanic was sent by a local dealer to inspect the vehicle. The mechanic determined that the failure was due to the transfer case but was not related to NHTSA Campaign Number:... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2026
The contact owns a 2024 Jeep Wagoneer. The contact stated that while driving on a busy highway at an undisclosed speed with the contact's two minor children seated in the rear seat, the "Shift To Park" warning message was displayed on the instrument panel, and the engine stalled. In addition, the contact stated that the gear selector was stuck. After several attempts, the vehicle restarted and was... Read more
Incident date: May 8, 2026
The contact owns a 2017 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked on an incline with the engine turned off, the contact's toddler was able to shift into drive(D), and the vehicle rolled backwards, hit a light pole and a basketball stand, causing damage to the front driver-side door. No police report was filed, and no injuries were reported. The contact was unable to shift ba... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jun 27, 2026
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Taurus. The contact received notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to complete the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the rearview camera image was blank or inverted while reversing. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time to perform the recall repair. Additi... Read more
Incident date: Jan 2, 2025
I was driving down the road in a snow storm when all of a sudden the vehicle started swirling all over the road. I pulled over and looked underneath and something was hanging down. I had no choice but to drive it slow less than 10mph to make it home as it was also making a hard jumping. Once there I had my mechanic come look at it and the drive shaft was busted. I am extremely luck that this happe... Read more
KIA
TELLURIDE HYBRID
(2027) - POWER TRAIN
Jul 9, 2026
Incident date: Jun 27, 2026
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 40 MPH and accelerating, the vehicle failed to change gears as intended or shut off completely. The "Shift System Failure" warning message was displayed. The contact stated that the failure was recurrent. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V402 (Power Train). A dealer was contac... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 60 MPH with cruise control activated, the vehicle shuddered and multiple warning lights illuminated, including the check engine, check oil, fasten seatbelt, traction control, and brake warning lights. The vehicle experienced steering overcorrection and lost power. The vehicle was steered to the... Read more
Incident date: Dec 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Dodge Dart. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled, and the transmission shift cable fractured. No warning lights illuminated. The contact received notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V674000 (Power Train); however, the part to complete the recall repair was unavailable. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic shop ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 2, 2026
The contact owns a 2015 Cadillac Escalade. The contact stated that while driving through a conveyor car wash with child occupants in the rear seats, the vehicle was placed in neutral (N). The vehicle was then shifted into drive (D) as instructed but accelerated independently. The contact added that the vehicle barely made a left turn exiting the car wash bay, nearly colliding with a wall and a car... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Jun 17, 2026
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle shuddered and downshifted independently. No warning lights illuminated. Additionally, an OBD2 diagnostic scan retrieved diagnostic trouble codes: U0146, U0101, and U0100. A local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired because the VIN was not... Read more
Incident date: Jul 2, 2026
The 12-volt auxiliary battery and related electrical system in my 2025 Jeep Wrangler 4XE plug-in hybrid (leased new 8/25/2025) repeatedly fail. The battery completely discharges after the vehicle sits plugged into a standard home charger, undisturbed, for several consecutive days, leaving the vehicle completely inoperable. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request and is currently at a ... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2014) - POWER TRAIN
Jul 9, 2026
Incident date: May 15, 2026
Vehicle has not has cruise control, abs, traction/stability control for over 2 years. No traction control or stability in the winter is horrible. Not being able to control speed when traveling is inconvenient. The warning lamps illuminated and went away for weeks. Then randomly just stayed illuminated. Abs hydraulic pump has failed. The recall has been open for over a year and a half and no parts... Read more
Incident date: May 28, 2025
The contact owns a 2023 Dodge Durango. The contact stated that upon startup and while driving, the check engine and airbag warning lights illuminated. Additionally, the gear shifter became stuck when shifting into drive(D). The rearview camera flickered, displayed incorrect images, and the display screen intermittently froze or turned blue. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer on ten occasion... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact received a notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V237000 (Power Train); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would independently upshift or downshift while the accelerator pedal was depressed. The message "See manual" was displayed. In addition, the co... Read more
Incident date: Jul 4, 2026
The Automatic transmission is making a whining noise when you press the accelerator. I took it to the dealer and they confirmed it needs a new transmission. the vehicle started making noise at 58,000 miles. When I was able to bring it in it had 60,200 miles on it. They would not cover it under warranty because the 5-year portion of the warranty was up a few month prior. I filed for a goodwill repl... Read more
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2021) - POWER TRAIN
Jul 9, 2026
Incident date: Apr 3, 2026
When the vehicle is shifted into Park and the ignition button is pressed, the vehicle fails to shut down. The dashboard displays a "Shift to Park" warning message, indicating the vehicle does not recognize that the gear selector is physically in the Park position.To shut the engine off, the driver must repeatedly wiggle, slam, or cycle the gear shifter back and forth into Park until the electrical... Read more
HYUNDAI
TUCSON HYBRID
(2024) - POWER TRAIN
Jul 9, 2026
Incident date: Jan 1, 2025
Multiple instances of low power to ignition coils (all of have been replaced with new coils and plugs). Transmission immediately stopped transmitting power to the wheels and would not re-engage. Transmission would sometimes go into gear, but slam into gear, lurch, or only shift into 1 or 2.
Incident date: Jul 9, 2026
transmission shuddering, harsh or delayed shifting, and erratic gear changes. The truck jerks really bad during each shift of the ten speeds. A vibration or shudder typically occurring at speeds between 25-65 mph under light throttle. Also makes a bad noise every times it’s shifting. I have no lights on the dash and the gmc app tells me everything is fine when clearly it’s not . I see there... Read more
PONTIAC
BONNEVILLE
(2002) - POWER TRAIN
Jul 9, 2026
Incident date: Jul 1, 2026
My 2023 Jeep Grand Wagoneer has experienced repeated safety-related defects involving the body, electrical, and powertrain systems despite 6 warranty repair visits. The vehicle has been out of service 72 cumulative days, and the current repair still ongoing. Before the most serious incident, the vehicle had already been returned to authorized Jeep dealerships multiple times for liftgate malfunctio... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2025) - POWER TRAIN
Jul 8, 2026
Incident date: Apr 1, 2026
I am reporting a possible power train/drivetrain issue with a 2025 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness. At steady highway speeds, most noticeably around 72–76 mph under light accelerator load, the vehicle produces a persistent high-frequency ringing/whining tone throughout the cabin. The noise stops when I lift off the accelerator and rarely occurs when traveling downhill, which suggests it may be relat... Read more
Incident date: Jul 8, 2026
The transmission has failed twice while the vehicle was in motion, causing loss of gear control and, on one occasion, loss of parking brake function. Incident 1 — March 24, 2026: While driving on the highway, the transmission failed and the vehicle entered a "safety mode." The vehicle was in dealer service for 8 days at Findlay Land Rover. Incident 2 — July 4, 2026, approximately 9:55 AM, at 6... Read more
Incident date: Jul 8, 2026
My low mileage 2020 Ford Escape has rear differential shuddering, grinding, and bumping during low speed turns.
HYUNDAI
SANTA FE SPORT
(2014) - POWER TRAIN
Jul 8, 2026
Incident date: Jun 22, 2026
On July 6, 2026, while my brand-new vehicle (purchased June 10, 2026) was stationary and preconditioning, the high-voltage drivetrain and climate control networks suffered a catastrophic synchronization failure. The vehicle’s internal communication bus network completely crashed, causing the SME (Battery Management System) and IHKA (Climate Control) modules to stop communicating. This software/h... Read more
Incident date: Jun 25, 2026
Vehicle is a 2017 Toyota Highlander (VIN [XXX]) experiencing the UA80 8-speed transmission whine defect (T-SB-0160-18) upon acceleration. An authorized Toyota dealership test drove and officially verified the transmission failure and recommended a full replacement. However, Toyota Corporate is refusing to honor the ZJC Customer Support Program warranty extension due to an arbitrary VIN cutoff. The... Read more
Incident date: Jul 6, 2026
Transmission was replaced at 62,000 miles, along with the passenger headlight. Transmission had the dreaded "whine" at 60k miles. Headlight led lights were dead at 61K miles. All service work was completed at the local Toyota dealership.
Incident date: Apr 20, 2023
The April 2026 recall for the 6R80 transmission (2015- 2017 F-150s) involves a software update to prevent unintended downshifts to first gear, which, if left unaddressed, can cause significant damage to the transmission and torque converter. The recall aims to prevent this damage, not cause it, though the underlying defect—if it causes violent, abrupt downshifts-can lead to transmission failure,... Read more
Incident date: Jul 8, 2026
The contact owns a 2016 RAM 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the ABS, traction control, and several unknown warning lights illuminated, and the failure was persistent. Additionally, while attempting to shift into drive(D), the gear shifter failed to shift into drive(D) as intended. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The dealer was made aware of the failure,... Read more
Incident date: May 6, 2026
Front passenger tire was losing air, on the way to bring it to tire shop dashboard displayed tire pressure sensor, power steering system, TCM notification, Electronic brake control. Got it to the tire shop bought a new tire and they did a diagnostic test it showed TCM passed and failed, lost communication with power steering passed and failed, lost communication with inflatable restraint passed an... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2026
I work from home, so I drive my car maybe once a week and only on flat highways. One day, I heard a loud booming crack and then suddenly the vehicle was making a grinding noise and pulling strangely. I drove directly to a mechanic and had them looked at the vehicle since it was highly concerning to me. They said that the rear differential had split suddenly and that it was actually extremely dange... Read more
Incident date: Jul 8, 2026
I bought my car 2 years ago I heard about a recall so I had check turns back if you don't inject your powertrain and they can't fix it feel injector because they don't have the part apparently but it goes to the powertrain I've had to check three times the last time the light came on the very next day the wrench and the engine now it's saying something by my Cadillac converter and it open fuel lin... Read more
Incident date: Jun 30, 2026
I have the high pitch whine coming from transmission. It is a known issue with Toyota but they refuse to look into it since my VIN falls outside their recall list. This is the same transmission as previous years and has the exact same issues. This is a safety issue that needs to be addressed immediately.
Incident date: Jul 8, 2026
Traction stabilization light comes on very frequently and vehicle loses power, step on gas and it sputters can’t get out of any one’s way, they throw parts at it and never fixes. From feedback off internet a big problem 2008-2017 enclaves
Incident date: Jun 18, 2026
On Thursday, XXX, at approximately 5:10 AM, I was driving my Ford F-150 XLT (VIN: [XXX]) eastbound on [XXX]. While exiting the elevated bridge at the intersection of [XXX] and [XXX] at 55 mph (6th gear), the vehicle experienced a sudden, uncommanded transmission downshift directly from 6th to 1st gear. This caused immediate extreme deceleration, engine over-speed, and locked the rear tires, causin... Read more
Incident date: Jul 3, 2026
I am reporting a severe vehicle safety hazard involving a sudden loss of motive power and extreme thermal failure on my 2012 Hyundai Equus Signature 5.0L. In July 2022, at 88,845 miles, an authorized Hyundai dealership replaced the transmission under a factory warranty event. Rather than replacing the transmission oil cooler assembly—which was contaminated with heavy metal shrapnel from the ori... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2021) - POWER TRAIN
Jul 8, 2026
Incident date: Jul 1, 2026
On June 25, 2026 my 2023 GMC Yukon Denali with 53,456 miles was brought to an authorized GMC dealership after displaying a Service 4WD warning light and exhibiting a groaning noise when shifting into Drive and Reverse. The vehicle was diagnosed with the following brake system fault codes: P25A2, C0511, C0517, C1595 and C1596. These codes indicate brake control module failure and wheel speed sensor... Read more
Incident date: Jun 30, 2026
An authorized dealership performed the federal safety (Safety Recall 01C) software update on my 2017 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk. Two days and 160 miles later, the vehicle suffered a dangerous highway loss of propulsion. This software update failed to protect the physical drivetrain components from catastrophic failure.