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 5, 2026
2021 Chevy Suburban started to have harsh shifting particularly on acceleration and shuddering at higher rates of speed (feeling like you are driving over a rumble strip). I took it to the dealer, and they confirmed the torque converter was in the process of failing. It's currently in the shop getting a new torque converter. No warning messages/lights had yet appeared. Technician at dealer stated ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 12, 2026
This complaint is based on four separate safety recalls affecting my vehicle — Recalls 56C, 68C (NHTSA Campaign No. 25V-741), 21D (NHTSA Campaign No. 26V-363) and 78C (NHTSA Campaign No. 25V-766) — which collectively demonstrate a pattern of serious, unresolved manufacturing defects involving both the high-voltage battery system and the gasoline engine. Stellantis has materially and permanentl... Read more
Incident date: Aug 30, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-250. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number 24V957000 (Fuel System, Diesel); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact stated ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
PROPULSION FAILURE AT HIGHWAY SPEED — KNOWN DEFECT — NHTSA MFR COMMS XXX & XXX VEHICLE: 2026 Rivian R1S Dual Standard, VIN [XXX], LFP battery. Delivered XXX. 702 miles at incident. INCIDENT XXX: Complete unwarned propulsion failure on [XXX] at highway speed. Dashboard showed 8% SOC immediately before failure — no warning, no alert. Vehicle lost all propulsion 5 miles from nearest charger. S... Read more
Incident date: Aug 14, 2024
A continuation from my last post. I brought my car back to the dealer.The worker came out to inspect my car and he lifted the hood and he said I had a loose negative battery cable and that I had the wrong battery in my car. He said that might be the cause of the flickering lights.My car was at the dealership for three days before I was called to come pickup my car.He stated they found another ser... Read more
Incident date: Jun 6, 2026
Reporting on 2020 Hyundai Elantra. I have owned since 2023, my car is currently at a Hyundai certified dealership for it's 3rd transmission in the three years I have owned it. All 3 transmission were inspected and then replaced by Hyundai certified technicians. The Safety aspect is the inability to get you vehicle off the highway.
Incident date: Apr 3, 2026
The contact owns a 2023 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH, a warning message advising to reduce acceleration was displayed, the Check Engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to pull over safely. The contact stated that the failure was recurrent. The dealer was notified of the failure and diagnosed the vehicle with a valve fai... Read more
Incident date: Apr 25, 2025
On two separate occasions I was traveling approx. five to ten miles an hours and had to change lanes. Traffic was heavy and I had to accelerate quickly to do the lane change. The vehicle engine started to rev high and I was barely moving. It was like the transmission didn't know what to do. I had to let my foot completely off the gas for fearing I was going to blow something up. I advised Toyota O... Read more
Incident date: Dec 19, 2025
The differential failed and wouldn't drive. My mechanic replaced it Now there is a loud banging noise in the steering and it lurches.
Incident date: Nov 20, 2025
Follow-up to NHTSA complaint ODI #11742508 regarding the same vehicle and VIN. Vehicle experienced intermittent electrical failures while driving, including dashboard warning lights, charging system warnings, infotainment failures, communication fault codes, and intermittent loss of throttle response while entering intersections. Dealer initially stated they could not duplicate the issue and vehi... Read more
Incident date: May 18, 2026
The vehicle severely shudders, jerks, and hesitates from a stop and while making a turn, during both acceleration and deceleration, making it entirely unsafe to drive. The vehicle has been completely un-driveable for the past 6 days. The check engine light illuminated, and on 4/9/26, the dealer documented a failed transmission judder test and kept the car, issuing a loaner. A temporary software pa... Read more
Incident date: Jun 10, 2026
Numerous amounts of things come over the screen where the speed indicater is and have to do with power train but everything it says is messed up is working fine. The things coming up are very annoying with no way to keep them from coming up. There has been 2 fixes for software that I'm aware of but after calling several times they say there is NO FIX for the issue. It's been over a year now. Very ... Read more
TESLA
CYBERTRUCK
(2024) - POWER TRAIN
Jun 12, 2026
Incident date: Jun 8, 2026
Vehicle: 2024 Toyota Tundra Double Cab | VIN: [XXX] | Mileage: ~19,200 No crash or injury has occurred. This report concerns an unresolved safety defect. My Tundra intermittently fails to accelerate when the gas pedal is pressed from a slow roll (3-18 mph). The engine revs but the vehicle does not move for 1-2+ seconds before the driveline abruptly engages. This occurs at intersections and during... Read more
Incident date: Jun 11, 2024
Vehicle trasmisson will randomly shift into neutral and loose all power. It does pickup and go back into the correct gear within 5 seconds. Intermittent power loss at higher speeds and on busy roadways does cause safety concerns. Transmission oil has been changed and checked repeatedly. This has been a continuing problem since I took ownership 2 years ago. I have complained to ford directly with n... Read more
Incident date: Jun 5, 2026
We are having concerning issue with Mazda CX 50, 2026 hybrid. not going into reverse gear or stopping unexpectedly after attempting to shift to reverse. We recently took the vehicle to the Mazda dealership where we bought it.: Luther Mazda in [XXX]. After repeated attempts, they said they had no way to address the problem since they couldn’t re-create it. We reiterated that it just happened sev... Read more
Incident date: Dec 2, 2025
My car has been making a whining noise upon acceleration. It stops whining as soon as you release the acceleration I had a mechanic look at it who verified transmission failure.
Incident date: Jun 2, 2026
The vehicle is experiencing powertrain performance issues, including a persistent stutter, vehicle shuddering, and erratic RPM jumping while driving at 45-55 mph. These symptoms began immediately following the latest software flash in January 2026 and have progressively gotten worse. An Independent mechanic and a transmission specialist have inspected the vehicle and are unable to resolve the issu... Read more
FORD
BRONCO SPORT
(2022) - POWER TRAIN
Jun 12, 2026
Incident date: Jun 12, 2026
Transmission randomly down shifting many gears at speed, almost causing accident
FORD
BRONCO SPORT
(2022) - POWER TRAIN
Jun 12, 2026
Incident date: Jun 12, 2026
I have had my vehicle inspected twice for an intermittent issue with the rear driver's-side brake light. The brake light continues to go in and out even though the issue has not been identified during inspection. Multiple people have informed me that the brake light was not working, but when checked later, it was functioning again. Because the problem is intermittent, I am concerned that it has no... Read more
Incident date: Jun 8, 2026
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Bronco Sport. The contact stated that there was an abnormally loud grinding sound detected while driving, reversing, and turning the steering wheel. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to two independent mechanics, who related the failure to a recall. The mechanics referred the contact to the dealer. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Numbe... Read more
Incident date: Jun 4, 2026
Our Jeep 4Xe underwent the recall for the hybrid battery. The battery was replaced in May 2026, since then the vehicle hesitates to accelerate at speed causing a safety concern. This vehicle has been recalled so many times we have no confidence in the vehicle.
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS
(2019) - POWER TRAIN
Jun 12, 2026
Incident date: Jun 5, 2026
I'm experiencing all the documented issues with the 10L80 10 speed transmission. Identical to all the recalls. It's shifting poorly, torque converter shudder, lose of power, unreliability, and serious safety concerns. I've tried to communicate and find a resolution to these issues through the dealership and GM. Of course getting nowhere. I don't feel a 60k dollar truck should be in this kind of co... Read more
Incident date: Jun 10, 2026
While coming to a stop or slowing down, truck shifts into neutral on its own without driver input. Truck then makes you press brake and shift back to drive.
Incident date: Mar 25, 2026
Loss of power limp mode at highway speeds, error notification on screen to visit dealer. Almost caused sever wreck. Hybrid motor did nothing to mitigate risk.
Incident date: Jun 11, 2026
Following completion of Service Campaign 9C2 (ECU software update, TSB 25-01-087H) at a Hyundai dealership, my 2018 Sonata immediately exhibited drivability changes that were not present before the service. Symptoms include altered shift timing, hesitation, and rougher throttle response — particularly noticeable during the first several minutes of driving. These symptoms began on the first drive... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2024
1–2 second delay in throttle response from pedal input, followed by sudden uncommanded surge/jerk forward. Occurs when vehicle is on hold mode in a slope or in plain flat conditions at a light or a stop sign. It happens when the car is cold or warm. I consider the vehicle unsafe to drive. The cruise control also has a major problem. When activated the lane departure feature also gets activated a... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2026
Vehicle Details: 2018 GMC Sierra 1500 Z72 4x4, 5.3L V8 EcoTec3 engine, VIN: [XXX] Mileage at time of incident: 220,000 miles Location: [e.g., Little Rock, Arkansas area or specific road/highway – please provide if desired] What happened: The 5.3L V8 engine’s hydraulic roller lifters failed. One or more lifters collapsed, stuck, or lost proper oil pressure/operation. This led to improper valvet... Read more
Incident date: May 20, 2026
The transmission needs to be replaced. My car has 75,146 miles and my check engine light came on while I was driving down the interstate. I took it to the Toyota dealership and they confirmed that the transmission needed to be replaced. I was told it would cost $8,600. I was looking for any recalls on my car and saw there were multiple lawsuits involving the transmission in my car and other Toyota... Read more
Incident date: Jun 11, 2026
The transmission failed while driving. While accelerating to speed, there was a "clunk" and then the vehicle was unable to shift to another gear, stuck in 7th. The vehicle lurched continuously, decelerated suddenly, and I was unable to shift up or down. Cars behind me swerved to avoid hitting me. Luckily I was able to drive at below speed with hazards lights flashing to the nearby dealership. ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2026
Transmission has been having intermitten issues with slow or sluggish acceleration. The RPM dial would oscoliate before it would shift or you would it feel the car jerk while driving like its attempting to shift. Ive had this vehicle in and out of multiple toyota dealerships and they always said they could not find any issues with it this was starting back when the car had like 30k miles on it ... Read more
Incident date: May 17, 2026
My 2014 Ford F-150 is exhibiting symptoms consistent with the Ford transmission molded lead frame safety recall 24S37. While driving approximately 55 mph late at night on a five-lane roadway, the vehicle suddenly and violently jerked, downshifted and came to a complete stop becoming stalled out as I was approaching a major traffic intersection. The truck was disabled in traffic and would not resta... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 2026
Shifter assembly- Shift to Park. The 2018 Chevrolet Traverse repeatedly shows a shift to park message when the vehicle is already in park, this causes the vehicle to not turn off. I have already had this issue fixed by a dealership previously and the issue has come back yet again.
Incident date: May 10, 2026
While slowing to a stop, the vehicle suddenly experienced multiple (3–4) violent jerks. The vehicle fought against my firm brake pedal application, overpowered the brakes, and accelerated uncontrollably, resulting in a crash. During the impact: • The driver frontal airbag and pretensioners deployed. • The driver seatbelt unlatched mid-impact and then locked/retracted in a way that prevente... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jun 3, 2026
My vehicle would not shift into reverse. Took it into the Chevrolet service and they said the Valve body needs replaced. There are known issues with the Valve body in 2021 Tahoe but they said it is not covered under any of the GM extended warranties. It should be covered under Special Coverage N242454441 or N242454440, but they said no coverage. The vehicle only has 46,200 miles on it
Incident date: Feb 10, 2026
Sudden transmission failure. Seems to be a known issue with Toyota CHR 2018 onward. I own the 2018 model and there have been recalls in Canada regarding this issue.
MERCEDES-BENZ
C 300 4MATIC
(2024) - POWER TRAIN
Jun 11, 2026
Incident date: May 29, 2026
The vehicle experienced a sudden and catastrophic internal failure of its Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) at 139,000 miles. While driving, a heavy grinding noise began coming from the vehicle during acceleration. A certified technician at a Toyota dealership inspected the vehicle and officially diagnosed it with an internal center differential grind and noted that the transmission fluid w... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2026
In June 2025, I had the clutch recall (NHTSA 23V-116) performed on my 2019 Jeep Wrangler at AutoNation Jeep Southwest in Littleton Colorado. Prior to this recall repair, the vehicle had no transmission faults or warning lights. Following the recall work, I began experiencing a recurring 'Service Transmission' warning. On a return visit, the dealership discovered they had incorrectly reinstalled th... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2026
10r80 transmission failure. Ford dealer told me that ford is aware of the defective components in the 10r80 pre 2022, issued guidance on what updated components they designed to replace defective ones, and never issued a recall. Said this is very common but company won’t take responsibility or assist with the $10K repair.
Incident date: May 11, 2026
The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle unexpectedly downshifted and experienced a loss of acceleration. The contact stated that manual shifting or pulling over to shut off and restart the vehicle was required for normal operation to resume. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, it was not diagnosed or repaired. The ma... Read more
Incident date: Jun 11, 2026
I purchased my Toyota CHR 2020 LE right off the lot in 2020. In 2023, I had to replace my first transmission, THANK GOD THAT ONE WAS UNDER WARRANT. It is now 2026 and I am again, having to replace my transmission. This is a real safety concern. Just in the beginning stage of failure my car is sluggish to accelerate and I live in Houston, TX! People will run you over here if you aren't careful. No ... Read more
Incident date: May 27, 2026
Transmission began shifting very hard into 3rd gear. Later the transmission got stuck in 4th gear and would not shift out of it, even at a complete stop. Was able to manually shift down to 3rd gear after a few minutes, then it started to shift normal. Lately the transmission has shifted from 7th gear to 1st gear and back to 7th gear, from 8th gear to 1st gear back to 8th gear, and twice it has s... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2024
Since November 2025, this vehicle has experienced repeated loss of power, severe shaking during acceleration, jerking between gear shifts, abnormal humming/grinding noises, and multiple check engine light events. The condition is most noticeable between approximately 40-70 mph and has repeatedly occurred while driving on highways. On multiple occasions, the vehicle struggled to accelerate properly... Read more
Incident date: Nov 10, 2025
Engine light came on, vehicle went into limp mode. Transmission would not shift any higher than 3rd gear and kept slipping while on interstate! Was almost hit by several 18 wheelers! Jeep dealership said our vin is not part of the service bulletin but they did get the P0733 code! Make it make sense! I guess we’re supposed to get run over by 18 wheelers before they’ll fix it!
Incident date: Jun 11, 2026
My Toyota Highlander 2019 began to produce a whining noise that orginates in the transmission at about 89000 miles. An independent mechanic examined the vehicle and deteremined that the noise is well documented. After conducting research, I found that the issue is caused by improper assembly and the only repair is a complete replacement of the transmission. I also discovered that there is a reca... Read more
Incident date: Mar 16, 2023
While driving the dash screen show a caution with a note that vehicle is in "Limp Mode" as I was on a freeway this became a huge problem putting my life at risk and for others moving at the speed of traffic then suddenly having to decelerate in order to move around me. This problem has been reported to the dealership and confirmed that this is a common issue, there was no warning ahead of time.
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2019) - POWER TRAIN
Jun 11, 2026
Incident date: May 22, 2026
The contact owns a 2014 Nissan Versa Note. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to stop as intended. The contact stated that the vehicle stopped after depressing the brake pedal to the floor. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the contact was informed that the service brakes needed to be bled. The ... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2022) - POWER TRAIN
Jun 11, 2026
Incident date: Jan 21, 2026
The contact owns a 2021 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that the message "Service Gear Shifter" was displayed, and the gear shifter lights were not illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the ESS system malfunctioned, and the 12-volt battery had failed, which the contact related to the gear shifter failure. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repai... Read more
Incident date: Apr 15, 2026
Transmission makes whining noise
Incident date: Jan 16, 2022
Internal Water pump Failed causing immediate shutdown of vehicle. This water pump is internal to the engine and requires half of the engine be taken apart to be replaced. This affect all 3.5 and 3.7 Ford engines through 2021. Unlike traditional water pumps which are belt driven this one is driven by the timing chain. Thereby when failure occurs the engine shuts down. Coolant also leaks into the ... Read more
NISSAN
PATHFINDER
(2025) - POWER TRAIN
Jun 11, 2026
Incident date: May 9, 2025
I had to pay for a new transmission in my 2019 Ford Edge SEL after two Ford dealerships deemed it necessary. I spent over $5,000 on a used one from the same year vehicle to only have a second transmission failure in less than 24 months. Not being able to shift gears as normal has caused me to be almost hit by other vehicles when trying to enter highways that require high speeds.