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.

2,245,377 Total Complaints

140,173 Reported Crashes

56,794 Reported Fires

8,580 Reported 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

How to Read NHTSA Consumer Complaints › How NHTSA Investigations Work › Used Car: 7 Recall Checks to Run First › The Takata Airbag Recall: Full Story › OBD-II Codes Explained › All Articles ›

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Showing 137,132 complaints - component: POWER TRAIN

Incident date: Jun 29, 2026

Since buying the vehicle I’ve had issues with the truck going into limp mode with codes p0700 as well as p0747. I have taken it to the dealership twice now, when it has arrived the codes were no longer there. Every time the truck went into limp mode the transmission would get stuck into 5th gear stuck at 45 mph. The problem with the truck started at 48,000 miles, the truck currently has 60,000 m... Read more

Incident date: Jul 6, 2026

The contact owns a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle suddenly experienced reduced power and hard shifting. Additionally, the steering wheel suddenly became difficult to turn while driving. The cause of the failures was not determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failures, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 5... Read more

Incident date: Aug 25, 2023

The vehicle experienced a sudden and rapid mechanical failure of the 6-speed automatic transmission (6L80 model) within a span of less than two weeks. The light did not come on until the transmission was past salvage. The failure escalated rapidly from initial minor slipping to a severe loss of vehicle propulsion. A loss of acceleration while driving poses an immediate crash hazard, as the vehicle... Read more

Incident date: Aug 25, 2023

Problem: CVT transmission failure with code P187E at 73500 miles. Nissan dealer confirmed clean fluid but quoted $9800 for transmission replacement. Vehicle still drives but repeatedly enters failsafe/limp mode, limiting speed and acceleration without warning. This occurred multiple times on the highway, creating a serious safety hazard due to sudden loss of power in trafic. This is a know issue w... Read more

Incident date: Jul 6, 2026

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the power train warning light illuminated intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was taken to AutoZone, where diagnostic trouble code: B41-49 was retrieved, indicating an electronic brake failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The c... Read more

Incident date: Oct 24, 2025

A noise from under the hood kept getting louder. When I took it to the Toyota dealership for inspection, they determined that a bearing in the CVT transmission failed causing the transmission to need total replacement. I can not safely drive my car because the transmission could fail at any time. This issue has been widely reported for the 2018 Toyota C-HR and possibly other year models. There w... Read more

Incident date: Jul 4, 2026

The contact owns a 2015 Ford F-150. The contact received notification of NTHSA Campaign Number: 26V237000 (Power Train); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while his wife was driving approximately 20 MPH, the vehicle started shuddering and failed to shift into the intended gears. The power train warning light was illuminated. The local dealer... Read more

Incident date: Jul 2, 2026

The headlight went dim and put in new but that didn’t work for long now I can’t drive at night can’t see road. Only had less than 2 years

Incident date: Jul 3, 2026

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended and stalled. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was turned off and restarted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included... Read more

Incident date: Jul 5, 2026

Head Gasket failure. Design failure there are grooves holding coolant on the block making the coolant leak into cylinders heads

Incident date: Jul 6, 2026

While driving under normal highway conditions, my 2023 Nissan Rogue AWD experienced a sudden and severe safety malfunction. All warning and safety indicator lights on the dashboard illuminated simultaneously, followed by a complete shutdown of the digital instrument cluster. The vehicle lost critical display functions at the moment the issue occurred. Shortly afterward, the check engine light rema... Read more

Incident date: Jul 5, 2026

While shifting my vehicle from Park, a "Service Transmission" warning message appeared on the dashboard. The warning would illuminate and then disappear, but the vehicle continued to shift into the other gears. At the time the issue occurred, my truck had only 47,000 miles. I brought it to Blasius Chevrolet in [XXX] on XXX, for diagnosis. The dealership determined that the Transmission Control Ass... Read more

Incident date: Jun 29, 2026

Was driving down the interstate and the vehicle started making an awful noise and dash lights went crazy with cannot shift to park error on dash. We pulled over asap and shifted to park and went to exit vehicle and the car tried to roll off and wouldn’t engage in park and has since done this same thing 2 more times. Ford says there’s a recall and the software and parts won’t be available unt... Read more

Incident date: May 4, 2026

The transmission will shift from whatever gear it is to a random lower gear usually 1-4

Incident date: Apr 6, 2024

There was a recall on these cars do to timing chain issues but mine was not in the recall with the others but ones not in recall are having same issues. Car is a ticking time bomb I want fixed under the recall.

Incident date: Feb 16, 2023

Electrical issues: Media screen blacks out/glitches including speakers. Gear switch "Dial" will move on its own and park itself. Switching from "Drive to Park". "Transmission not in park" on dash , Lights on dash for engine 4x

Incident date: Dec 31, 1969

While driving approximately 53 mph on a main road, my 2017 Ford Focus suddenly displayed the message “Engine Fault Service Now.” The vehicle immediately entered limp mode, downshifted into 2nd gear, and would not accelerate above approximately 31 mph. During the event, the engine shook noticeably and made abnormal noises. No check engine light appeared during this initial incident. This probl... Read more

Incident date: Jun 29, 2026

The vehicle jerks forward when driving at slower speeds, around 10-25 miles per hour. I have especially noticed this on the highway when there is moderate to heavy traffic as I am consistently driving at slower speeds. The vehicle was checked by the original dealer I bought it from as well as a Ford dealership, but neither could replicate the problem. However, I have driven with multiple people wh... Read more

Incident date: Jun 8, 2026

Transmission began shifting hard through each gear. Especially on deceleration. Causes lunging. Early signs were at about 90K miles. Undrivable at 130K. Took to dealership and the said it needs a new transmission. Just under $9k. Their words were, "This is a known design failure". A drum bushing can slide out of position.

Incident date: Nov 1, 2024

I am experiencing a severe, life-threatening stalling issue with my 2021 Ram 1500 equipped with the 5.7L HEMI eTorque system. While driving at low speeds through a neighborhood (between 5 and 15 mph), the engine suddenly and cleanly shuts down without any prior warning, sputtering, or illumination of dashboard error lights.As soon as the engine stalls while the vehicle is in motion, the truck's tr... Read more

Incident date: Jul 1, 2026

While driving on the parkway, the engine revved, and then the brakes became hard as a brick. The truck was unable to be stopped. There were no warning lamps or indications there was a problem, it happened suddenly and immediately. Other drivers' and my own safety was at risk because I could not stop the truck. Here is the diagnosis from the GM service center where it was towed to: "After the remov... Read more

Incident date: Dec 31, 1969

COMPONENT: 2021 Ford Expedition Max 10R80 transmission. The CDF clutch cylinder (7H351) sleeve exhibits axial movement, breaking the clutch apply-pressure seal so commanded torque is not transmitted to the wheels. Engine revs while the vehicle fails to accelerate or move forward. Vehicle is available for NHTSA inspection and testing. INCIDENTS (7/5/2026, same drive cycle): (1) Highway — after b... Read more

Incident date: Jul 4, 2026

Incident date: Jun 27, 2026

At 144k I had to replace the passenger lifters because cylender 8 (linked to AFM) was stuck. I got that repaired. At 147k I had to get my passenger side lifters replaced again. 2 months later at about 152k I had to replace drivers side lifters. At this point 152k ive had all lifters replaced. Passenger side twice. Now at 157k my bottom end is bad. I was driving and boom no power. That could of bee... Read more

Incident date: Apr 1, 2025

While making a right turn from a stop the car made a bang sound followed by grinding upon acceleration. I took my 23 TLX type S to a local Dunn Tire and asked them to put it on the lift. They raised all tires off the ground, started the car, and accelerated. Only the front wheels spun. This is the exact scenario lots of consumers have reported with this model when the transfer case splines break o... Read more

Incident date: May 26, 2026

At highway speed of 70 mph vehicle briefly went into park and shut entire vehicle down, vert traumatized and injured my head from the brief shutdown, could have caused a fatal accident

1 injured

Incident date: Jul 2, 2026

On XXX, the 8F35 transmission in my 2021 Ford Escape experienced a critical failure, characterized by severe slipping and a violent shuddering condition while operating at speed. This sudden loss of predictable power and drivetrain stability directly compromised my ability to safely operate the vehicle in traffic, creating an immediate highway safety hazard for myself and others. The vehicle was ... Read more

Incident date: May 5, 2026

Reported this to the dealer in June 2025 a month after I bought the car. Dealer checked the car & couldn't find a problem causing this. Problem continues & is getting worse. I believe problem with CVT - vehicle jerks, hesitates and shudders in low speeds upon deceleration and acceleration. Not a smooth ride at all. I had an older Civic with CVT and husband has a 2022 Civic with CVT and never had ... Read more

Incident date: Jun 1, 2025

While driving a 2018 Audi SQ5 with the EA839 3.0T engine, a coolant warning light activated and engine temperatures began rising to 210-215°F. The vehicle was pulled over immediately. Upon inspection the coolant reservoir was found to be nearly empty with dried coolant residue on the exterior indicating an active leak. The vehicle was towed to an authorized Audi dealer who confirmed via multi-poi... Read more

Incident date: Jul 2, 2026

The date was XXX there was a recall on the transmission for my 2014 Chevrolet Spark I took my car to Ben Mynatt [XXX]. They check my car and told me that my car transmission was effected and that they put an order for a new transmission. They called me the next day to bring the car in which I did, they gave me a loaner. On XXX they called me and told me my car was ready and that I can come and p... Read more

Incident date: Dec 16, 2024

I believe this was a CDF Clutch Drum failure on the 10R80 transmission. Caused me to loose power midway through a signalized intersection. It is currently at the shop being diagnosed, but may be available for inspection upon a timely request. This issue put me and my family at risk because it caused my vehicle to stop in the middle of the road. No warning lamps, but the truck will no longer shift ... Read more

Incident date: Jul 3, 2026

At around 4:20 pm I was turning left at a stop sign (did not put on turning signal) and then about 30 feet later, turning right at a light. This is the same location I have driven for the past month. The car had been on for about 3 minutes after sitting in a hot parking lot all day (104 degrees). All of a sudden (after turning left) but before/during was turning right, the car’s steering wheel l... Read more

Incident date: Jun 30, 2026

Cylinder 1 and 6 rod bearing failure, plus complete destruction of piston number 6. On highway engine failed, sudden loss of power to move vehicle.

Incident date: Jul 1, 2026

Truck continues to shutter after having the torque converter replaced and the 2nd injector replaced. Been in the shop several times over the last few years, and still giving warnings on the dash saying, reduce acceleration drive safely. Feel like we just got a terrible vehicle. Almost paid off, and it’s just unreliable. Sadly we need this truck every single day, and the local dealerships have no... Read more

Incident date: Jun 1, 2026

Truck stutters and idles terrible. Vehicle warning light keeps saying, reduce acceleration and drive safely. Two years ago an injector went bad, and it was fixed. 6 months ago, we had it in the shop, of course still under the 60k mile warranty. Said it was fixed, it wasn’t. Just had it back there, and they replaced the the torque converter. Shaking stopped for a month. Now it is even worse. Beli... Read more

Incident date: Jul 15, 2024

The electronic brake control module causes the car to no start and goes into limp mode. Cuts off the power to every system in the entire dashboard including the transmission making the car very dangerous to drive.

Incident date: Jul 4, 2026

On April 3, 2026, this vehicle suffered a sudden, catastrophic mechanical failure as I was driving on US-169, in Kansas City, Mo.,l The engine seized and the fuel line ruptured resulting in an undercarriage fire with small explosions. I had to be physically extracted from the burning vehicle by a Clay County Sheriff’s Deputy, Clay County Sheriff’s Department, Liberty, Missouri (Report #CC26008... Read more

Fire

Incident date: Jun 13, 2026

The car's transmission became unresponsive and caused the car to lose the ability to accelerate. This happened twice on the highway before I could get it to the dealer. In order to recover, I had to pull over on the shoulder and turn the car off, wait, and turn it back on. The dealer, through the Kia warranty service, would only 'recalibrate' the transmission and refused to service it. After the r... Read more

Incident date: Jul 4, 2026

While driving on the highway the vehicle lost power and then lowered the transmission gear and would not accelerate over 17mph regardless of pressure on accelerator. I switched from auto hybrid mode over to sport mode so the gasoline engine could be used yet the transmission would not increase power to the tires. I stopped several times and restarted with no corrections. Vehicle battery drained... Read more

Incident date: Jul 4, 2026

I have a 2022 Escalade with 98,000 miles at 70,000 miles I complained about engine and transmission issues On June 14 I lost my transmission I brought it to the dealer and they diagnosed it as a valve body failure Valve number 6 stuck and binding Unfortunately I inquired about the special coverage and my vin is not in the special Recall This problem extends beyond what gm is saying

Incident date: Apr 19, 2026

My car is literally stalling out on me. It started by sputtering when I put my foot on the gas a week or so ago. Then today It literally started just losing power while driving. It’s not throwing any codes but that’s super dangerous and this car is only a year old. I am extremely concerned for my safety.

Incident date: Jul 1, 2026

VEHICLE: 2015 Hyundai Sonata, 2.4L Theta II GDI engine Mileage at time of incident: [ 93k Date update performed: June 2026 Dealer/location where update was performed: Fitzgerald Hyundai Gaithersburg, MD DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM: After my vehicle received the ECM software update issued under Hyundai Service Campaign 9C2 (ECU Software Update for Theta II Emissions Improvement, TSB 25-01-087H / 26-01-... Read more

Incident date: Apr 3, 2024

My transmission “slips” causing the truck to “jerk” very harshly when it shifts. The problem is VERY scary when I’m driving the vehicle, making me feel and think that the truck is breaking down. It is psychologically very scary. I purchased the vehicle brand new in 2020. I have taken it in multiple times complaining of it (still have the documentation noting the problem). The dealer... Read more

Incident date: Jul 4, 2026

On XXX at approximately 1002am, [XXX] was on the exit ramp from [XXX] northbound to [XXX]. At the end of the ramp, she stopped and tried to make a left turn onto [XXX] northbound. The vehicle was still in Electric mode (plenty of battery life remaining). The Jeep crawled through the intersection, with the accelerator all the way to the floor. [XXX] feared that she would be struck by oncoming t... Read more

Incident date: Jun 10, 2026

On XXX at approximately 1000am, [XXX] was driving the Jeep on [XXX] at a speed of 72mph. The vehicle was in E-Save mode and had 16 miles of battery life remaining. [XXX] switched over to Electric mode and slowly began to lose speed. She put the accelerator all the way to the floor, but the gas motor did not activate. The Jeep dropped slowly down to 62mph where it leveled off. Shortly thereaft... Read more

Incident date: Jul 1, 2026

This vehicle was bought new and is a NEW 2026 GMC TERRAIN DENALI with less than 5,000 miles at this time. It is a continuous event and not a specific failure date, but began soon after purchasing. The specific parts are UNKNOWN. It could be tires, wheels, steering parts (CV JOINTS, CONTROL ARMS ETC) or possibly transmission. I took it initially to the purchasing dealership and they took it for a ... Read more

Incident date: Jun 30, 2026

Component Affected: POWER TRAIN: AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION / TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULEDescription of Safety Defect:The vehicle is experiencing a severe, intermittent, and violent mechanical "garage shift" engagement lurch. This occurs specifically when shifting the gear selector from Reverse to Drive during a cold-start cycle.When the gear is selected, there is a distinct hydraulic delay followed b... Read more

Incident date: Apr 27, 2026

Sudden total loss of power while driving. Multiple lights on dash immediately, at least 5 different lights on dash with message that says check manual. Daughter stranded in the road at 10:30pm. Good Samaritan helped to push vehicle while directing traffic to not get hit. Towing to dealer asap since it will not move. It will start, but won't pull itself & checking manual as instructed wasn't he... Read more

Incident date: Mar 20, 2026

I am reporting an ongoing, catastrophic safety defect and corporate suppression regarding Chrysler Recall 03A (NHTSA Campaign 23V010) on my 2022 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. The official recall remedy has repeatedly failed to prevent total electrical system depletion and unexpected motive power shutdown in the field, leaving my family in extreme danger. On March 3, 2023, at 6,000 miles, the vehicle s... Read more

Incident date: Mar 3, 2023

I own a 2020 Jeep Cherokee with approximately 87,000 miles. Approximately one month ago, my "Service 4WD" light illuminated on the dashboard, and I heard a severe grinding noise coming from the drivetrain. A mechanic scanned the vehicle's computer and pulled active diagnostic fault code C14A7-97 (PTU Motor Component or System Operation Obstructed or Blocked). The mechanic cleared the code to test ... Read more

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Consumer Safety Complaints

What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?

How to interpret what you read

If you've experienced a defect

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