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 6, 2026
Front Differential Fail at 42K Miles.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2026
2025 Honda Civic Hatchback experiencing dangerous mechanical binding, sticking, and notching in the steering column. The defect is strictly thermal, escalating significantly in extreme Arizona heat and/ or after driving for a prolonged duration. This requires excessive driver effort to break the steering wheel free from center, risking over-correction and loss of vehicle control. Additionally, ve... Read more
Incident date: May 25, 2026
After the vehicle was jumpstarted the vehicle failed to correctly enter gear- when shifting into reverse it instead rolled forward downhill. The following systems also displayed failure warnings: ABS Traction Control Parking Brake ( Parking brake also showed as activated when it was not active- it would audibly disengage but the parking brake light stayed lit) Stability Control 4wd. The combinat... Read more
Incident date: Oct 31, 2025
The car has extreme vibration almost like speed wobbles when accelerating. Difficult to steer particularly if accelerating to change lanes. Appears the cv axles / have gone bad. Shocked there is not an active recall for the 2023 model year given the amount of reports of similar issue I have found online.
Incident date: Apr 16, 2026
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that the "Shift to Park" message was displayed after shifting the vehicle into park(P). The bells and whistles failed to go off, and the vehicle made a continuous beeping sound. The failure required the contact to restart the vehicle 14 times. The contact was concerned that the battery would die. The vehicle was taken to the local deal... Read more
Incident date: May 8, 2026
Jeep death wobble, terribly! Starting when going over 55mph, now happens often and anytime the road has a bump, uneven, or hole.
Incident date: Jun 7, 2026
The contact owns a 2023 Ford F-150. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V896000(POWER TRAIN); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not available. The contact stated that while driving at low speeds, a bearing noise was heard. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who confirme... Read more
FORD
MAVERICK HYBRID
(2025) - POWER TRAIN
Jun 8, 2026
Incident date: Jun 4, 2026
On startup, the engine took about an extra second to fire. The starter cranked noticeably longer than normal before the car turned on. Shortly after, I pulled out and turned onto a street. When I pressed the accelerator, there was no response at all. No rev increase and no acceleration. The car would not pick up speed. I switched to manual shift mode to try to force a gear change. When I changed... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2019) - POWER TRAIN
Jun 8, 2026
Incident date: May 28, 2026
The contact owns a 2013 Dodge Dart. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V674000(POWER TRAIN); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.
Incident date: Jun 8, 2026
I previously had an issue with my 10 speed f150 transmission shifting into first gear at highway speeds and locking into first gear. It was taken to the dealer and had a tail shaft speed sensor replaced. It had been issue free for a few years now, but the issue happened again this weekend while towing a loaded trailer almost causing a loss of control and crash. It was completely unexpected and req... Read more
Incident date: Jan 2, 2026
At approximately 24,000 miles the engine had catastrophic failure under normal street/highway driving conditions. The engine is the 6.2L V8. The issue began with a high pitch squeal or chirping sound and noticeable power loss. I parked the truck over night and then drove it to the dealer first thing the next morning. While on the way to the dealership, which was less than 20 miles away, the engine... Read more
Incident date: May 27, 2026
Vehicle: 2014 Jeep Cherokee VIN: [XXX] Component: Power Train – Transfer Case (PTU) Safety Issue: Loss of motive power / PTU failure Complaint: My 2014 Jeep Cherokee is experiencing the same failure mode described in FCA PTU recalls W47 (20V343) and W48 (20E037). The PTU output shaft bearing is failing under load. The grinding noise disappears when the driveshaft is removed and returns immediate... Read more
FORD
MUSTANG MACH E
(2025) - POWER TRAIN
Jun 8, 2026
Incident date: Jun 8, 2026
The contact owns a 2013 Lincoln MKX. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated upon depression of the accelerator pedal, with the transmission warning light illuminated. Occasionally, the contact was forced to shut off the vehicle and wait a few moments before restarting, after which the vehicle resumed normal operation. The vehicle was initially towed to the d... Read more
LAND ROVER
DEFENDER
(2024) - POWER TRAIN
Jun 8, 2026
Incident date: Apr 15, 2026
Intermittent delayed upshifts with slipping sensation, most noticeable between 1st and 2nd gear under light throttle. Occurs approximately 3–4 times per week. Condition has been present since approximately 5,000 miles. Dealer has documented two repair visits and written 'drives normal' on both repair orders despite the condition persisting. Toyota North America was contacted and promised dealer ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 27, 2026
The contact owns a 2022 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving 55-60 MPH, the vehicle unexpectedly downshifted, bucked, and jerked. No warning light illuminated. There was no failure notification from the vehicle mobile app. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V083000 (Power Train), but the VIN was not included. The vehicle was taken... Read more
Incident date: Jun 4, 2026
I was traveling at highway speeds in active, high-velocity traffic when my vehicle suffered a sudden, catastrophic mechanical failure that nearly resulted in a severe multi-car accident. Without any warning, the vehicle completely lost its ability to accelerate, flatly refusing to pick up speed or maintain momentum despite pressing the gas pedal. This unexpected, immediate drop in propulsion ma... Read more
Incident date: Jun 2, 2026
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Bronco Sport. The contact stated that the daughter had reported that while in a parking lot, the brakes unintendedly engaged, and then the vehicle suddenly accelerated. The driver immediately applied the brakes to stop the vehicle. The contact was able to duplicate the failure while attempting to park the vehicle. The messages "Power Train Malfunction" and "Reduced Pow... Read more
Incident date: May 30, 2026
When i first purchased the vehicle off the lot a few years back (its a 21, so probably in 22?) Brand new off the lot minimal miles. Within the first few months we started having issues with the power wanting to shift down. We took it in, the dealership found nothing wrong with it and cleared the codes. This happened a few more times. The last 2 times I took it in. They mentioned that there were re... Read more
Incident date: Nov 24, 2024
My 2015 Ford F-150 experienced a sudden, dangerous loss of throttle power while driving, forcing an emergency stop on the side of the road. The vehicle is now locked in a hard electronic no-start/no-crank condition. We diagnosed the vehicle and pulled active, stored trouble codes P0706 and P0707 for the Transmission Range Sensor (TRS).This failure matches the exact defect described in NHTSA Campai... Read more
Incident date: Jun 8, 2026
The contact owns a 2022 Kia Telluride. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed at night, the side view mirror's blind-spot system generated phantom alerts while there was no object nearby. Additionally, the headlights inadvertently fluctuated between dim (low beam) and extremely bright (high beam) settings. The instrument cluster displayed that the vehicle unintendedly switc... Read more
Incident date: May 2, 2026
This vehicle has experienced three separate powertrain failures stemming from the same transmission defect (DTC P0A43 — Drive Motor Position Sensor, eFlite transmission). Incident 1 — April 19, 2026: Complete sudden loss of motive power on the highway with family aboard. Vehicle towed to Castle Rock Chrysler CDJR. Failed Repair — May 8, 2026: Chrysler corporate mandated a software flash ra... Read more
Incident date: May 28, 2026
A week after purchasing a New 2025 Telliride with less than 8 miles on it the Transmission stopped shifting into gear. I would have to move manuel mode and shift into each gear to keep SUV moving. Never got a check engine light and nothing showed when codes were ran on car from dealership. The first dealership where I purchased from replace throttle body thinking that would fix it but it did not... Read more
HARLEY-DAVIDSON
FLTRXSTSE
(2024) - POWER TRAIN
Jun 8, 2026
Incident date: Jun 5, 2026
The contact owns a 2019 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that the Four-Wheel Drive Service light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a certified mechanic, who retrieved diagnostic trouble code: C1417/97, indicating a transfer case failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact completed some research online and found information about NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V011000 (Power Train), whi... Read more
Incident date: Jun 3, 2026
The transmission has been making a whining noise since about 75K miles. Had the transmission fluid changed at about 110K miles. Still makes whining noise and now has a rumble occasionally. We took it to the dealer and they said the transmission needs replaced. Over $8k in charges for the repair.
Incident date: Jun 6, 2026
My 2019 Toyota Highlander XLE V6 developed a serious transmission-related safety problem that ultimately resulted in a sudden loss of propulsion while driving. For some time before the failure, I had noticed an unusual startup noise during cold starts and mentioned this concern during routine service visits at an authorized Toyota dealership. I was advised that the condition was normal. Prior to ... Read more
JEEP
GRAND WAGONEER
(2024) - POWER TRAIN
Jun 8, 2026
Incident date: Apr 18, 2025
When I was driving my van was loosing power even when I was pushing the gas I had to pull over before a car was about to hit me. I look it up online it had a recall in 2013 but I bought van from someone last year and I called the ford place about the recall and they said couldn’t do it Mac hik in Jackson
VOLKSWAGEN
TAOS
(2024) - POWER TRAIN
Jun 8, 2026
Incident date: Jun 6, 2026
While driving at highway speeds, the vehicle displays a "Drive Train Malfunction" warning message and the traction control warning light illuminates. Shortly after the warning appears, the vehicle loses power and may enter a reduced-power mode or stall, creating a serious safety hazard in traffic. This has occurred while traveling on the highway, forcing sudden deceleration and creating the risk o... Read more
Incident date: Jun 4, 2026
We have a 2017 Honda Pilot EXL. It had approximately 163,000 when the engine seized.
Incident date: Mar 18, 2026
Transmission failed at 65,000 miles right after the warranty expired. Cost to fix is $8,000. This is an epidemic issue with Toyota Highlanders built from 2017 to 2023. Tried to get dealer to cover but they said they refuse. They said that Toyota Corporate settled by paying all dealerships for potential repairs due to this issue, however all funds have been depleted. Basically no help at all... Read more
Incident date: Feb 23, 2026
NHTSA Defect Report (Initial Portal Filing) Manufacturer Target: General Motors (GM) Filer: [XXX] Classification: Mechanical Defect & Administrative Evasion Narrative for Submission I am filing this formal defect report regarding a catastrophic, systemic safety failure present in the 2025 Chevrolet Traverse architecture (VIN: [XXX]), manufactured by General Motors. The vehicle was originally purc... Read more
Incident date: May 23, 2026
POWERTRAIN The vehicle will jerk forward when taking off from a stop. Happened 2 times today 6/7/2026 in the span of 1 hour. Both times within 1 minutes minute of driving amd gettimg to a stop. Safety at risk of i am teyomg to get into a road where traffic is coming. Has not been checked by a dealer. No warning lights or otjer symptoms
Incident date: Jun 4, 2026
THE CVT TRANSMISSION BELT IS BREAKING APART WHICH SUDDENLY SLOWED THE CAR WHILES DRIVING ON A FREEWAY, AMERICAN HONDA QUIETLY SENT NEW BULLETIN TO DEALERS WITHOUT INFORMING ME AS A OWNER OF THIS CAR FROM 02/2019. AMERICAN HONDA NEW ANOUT THE BELT DETERIORATION AND DID NOT TOOK STEPS TO SAFEQUARD MY INVESTMENT, LIKE ADVISING TO CHANGE TRANSMISSION FLUIS MORE FREQUESNTLY THAN MANUFACTURER RECOMMENDA... Read more
Incident date: Mar 6, 2025
While driving at highway speed with adaptive cruise control The car put up a RED WARNING ACROSS MY ENTIRE SCREEN: SOS VEHICLE UNABLE TO DRIVE. SHUTTING DOWN.. The vehicle proceeded to shut down then it jerked and it started driving normally again. This incident occurred the day after software update
HYUNDAI
ELANTRA GT
(2017) - POWER TRAIN
Jun 7, 2026
Incident date: Nov 10, 2025
Observed arcing noises and strong electrical fire smell upon plugging in L2 EVSE charging cable. MIL lit, Hybrid Vehicle Charging System codes active; vehicle refused to charge afterwards. Self-diagnosed and repaired defective 6.6 kW onboard charger. See pics of clear arcing damage withing charging unit - possible fire risk.
Fire
Incident date: Jan 10, 2025
I was driving and my power steering suddenly went out by its self. It was a very dangerous and traumatic experience. I had to get a good grip on the steering wheel to keep from hitting a Parked Car or something! I read that it was once a recall for this part but when I took it to the dealer they said it wasn’t. I need some type of help. My car isn’t safe for me or my son
Incident date: Mar 26, 2026
I was merging onto the highway in my 2024 GMC Sierra 2500HD AT4X equipped with the 6.6L Duramax engine at about 50mph when the gauge cluster emitted a “Reduced Acceleration Drive With Care” message followed by a check engine light. The check engine light presented indicated a “P0747” and “P0700” code. The vehicle was then stuck in 5th gear at highway speeds. Luckily there was no traffi... Read more
Incident date: May 20, 2026
I received a warning light svc and, had the car looked at a Jeep dealership in late Feb early March, the PTU case needs to be replaced. There seems to be a recall for this on jeep cherokees but my car isn't listed and my car has had a failure.
Incident date: Jun 7, 2026
At stop lights trying to excel it stales for a couple of seconds then resumes. Does this on and off all day because I drive for a living. Finally the check engine light is on and now have to replace the whole turbo because it’s failing. I just got the car mid march of 2026. I have kids and scared to drive around and the car fail on me.
Incident date: Apr 1, 2026
Ford Fusion energi battery failure. Dealership wouldn't inspect the battery and kept replacing the battery control module. The replacement part kept failing under warranty and then the dealership quoted me $20,000 for the hybrid battery. They have replaced the BCM twice and error code P0dc9 keeps appearing. The EV range drops to zero randomly or gains range while parked and not plugged in. Dealers... Read more
Incident date: Jun 4, 2026
Loud ticking noise and power loss. Transmission shift slips from 2ed to 3rd .Recall to factory for check up. Said no problem? Changed oil. They say it was good. It is not.
Crash
Incident date: Jun 5, 2026
Had over 1300 miles until next oil change. Car has no leaking issues. Car ran out of oil completely and seized engine during camping trip. I use synthetic and both mileage/time were both way under than what was on my next oil change sticker... warranty says they won't cover it. So now I just have a shell of a car I cannot drive nor afford a new engine for. It was not neglect.
Incident date: Jun 11, 2025
The transmission control module failed. The dealer said a I a high voltage alarm signal code. This was the diagnostic inform received from the dealership service department. Primary]: MDIAG : MISC. VEHICLE DIAGNOSIS. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND GETTING MESSAGE FOR SERVICE TRANSMISSION, UNABLE TO SHIFT. PLEASE CHECK AND ADVISE * Repair items per diagnosis: FOUND P07B4 STORED IN SYSTEM. VERI... Read more
CHEVROLET
TRAILBLAZER
(2021) - POWER TRAIN
Jun 7, 2026
Incident date: May 12, 2026
While driving my truck it started flashing all the service lights on the dash, and then started shaking bad and making a loud ratcheting noise from the transfer case/transmission and a loud knock/tick from the engine. I scanned for codes and it has all loss of communication codes for engine/transmission/transfer case/brakes/steering
Incident date: Jan 1, 2022
Vehicle was sold to me with a bad transmission. Dealer is refusing to fix it or buyback the vehicle. There is a recall for potentially cracked fuel injector which poses a significant risk of fire under the hood, however it’s been almost a year and Ford still doesn’t have a fix for it.
Incident date: May 30, 2026
Shift to park error on dash. GM is aware of this issue and won't do anything about it. This causes stress and can cause battery drain. The issue lies within the microswitch that reads that the shifter is in park. The metal arm that activates the switch wears down or the wiring is faulty. Several Malibus, as well as other models have this issue and Chevy dealerships want hundreds to thousands of do... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
JETTA
(2022) - POWER TRAIN
Jun 7, 2026
Incident date: Jun 2, 2026
SENCE PURCHACED the truck has a tie rod rattle, I have spoken to dealership and was informed no issue found. But as of late Vehicle wobbles very harshly when execrating or pulling away from stop signs passing another vehicle. Turns out it's a VERY common CV axle issue that the dealership doesn't have any sort of recall on. Feels very very unsafe to drive and its disappointing to see so many other ... Read more
Incident date: May 30, 2026
While I was driving home from the grocery store with my 4 kids our 2021 GMC Yukon XL (5.3L V8 engine), the vehicle suffered a sudden, catastrophic mechanical engine failure without warning. The engine began violently shaking, lost major propulsion, and dropped into a severe misfire state when we were coming down the highway. This created an immediate safety hazard on the road, as I suddenly lost t... Read more
Incident date: Jun 6, 2026
I bought this vehicle and it has about 5,000 miles on it, I added about 60,000 more miles on it and I have to replaced the automatic transmission paid from my pocket since the manufacturer warranty does not cover all that much miles.
Incident date: Apr 22, 2026
I was traveling southbound on XXX from [XXX] to [XXX] While traveling in this major highway, the vehicle shunted forward and it felt like something hit us from behind. In reality, a transmission issue flared up on the dashboard along with a "Check Engine" light. Vehicle was left at the dealership. Blue Link (the automatic car system) detected this issue at 12:48 P.M. I was driving on a highway wit... Read more
Incident date: Jun 5, 2026
My vehicle has 81000 miles and the PTU/transmission went out. After doing some research about this issue I discovered that it is a very common problem with jeeps from 2014 to 2024. To get it repaired is $3,000. Seems like Jeep was installing bad transmissions. They should recall these and cover the coast for repair.