Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,215,138 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA — including 138,663 crashes, 56,255 fires, and 8,561 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 2,215,138 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 133,534 complaints — component: POWER TRAIN
Incident date: Sep 18, 2024
Delayed gear change from 1st to 2nd/delayed acceleration 1-5 seconds mid-traffic because the car overheats soon after driving which causes the car to not properly accelerate causing more RPMs than necessary during longer drives with frequent stops (within urban/suburban areas).
Incident date: Feb 8, 2026
Engine coolant control valve failure. This is a widespread issue on 2020-2022 3.0L Diesel trucks and it hasn’t been addressed by GM, leaving owners to pay out of pocket for a faulty part.
Incident date: May 10, 2025
My car hesitates to shift, gear slips, shudders, and loss acceleration. I almost got into accident while merging on the highway because I lost acceleration due to gear slips. This car is dangerous.
Incident date: Sep 25, 2025
After stopping at a red light truck acted like it was in neutral. I got the orange wrench icon on the dash. I had to pull over and stop and restart. Seems to be a known problem
Incident date: Jan 27, 2026
Drive axle suddenly not functioning properly, caused dangerous conditions to stop the car while driving on highway.
Incident date: Oct 23, 2025
Harsh or jerky shifting. Associated issues with a current class action lawsuit involving 10R80 transmissions. these risks can pose hazards to drivers while on the road, leading to potentially life-threatening situations.
Incident date: Feb 7, 2022
I have not had any issues with my 2017 Jeep Trailhawk that I have owned for 6 years. A couple of days ago I was exiting off the highway and felt a loud thump and lost all power, luckily I wasn't hit and was able to maneuver over around traffic to the shoulder. No warning lights have came on. Jeep will not drive, and cannot put in park. I had to have it towed home. I cannot find a dealership to hel... Read more
Incident date: Feb 12, 2026
On 2/19/26 the Vehicle would not go in reverse. This is the second time the vehicle has failed to reverse. The vehicle was towed and fixed by don chalmers ford the first time this happened. Now they stated the vehicle was one day past warranty and would not tow/fix issue. I dropped the vehicle at dc ford on Friday 2/20. Today they called and said they think it is the same issue that was fixed with... Read more
Incident date: Feb 12, 2026
While driving into town, the dashboard illuminated with every warning light before the vehicle suffered a total electronic and engine shutdown. This happened twice—the second time while I was mid-turn in an intersection. Several vehicles had to slam on their brakes to avoid a high-speed collision with my stalled truck. I had to get the vehicle towed as it is fundamentally unsafe to operate.
VOLKSWAGEN
TIGUAN
(2019) — POWER TRAIN
Feb 25, 2026
Incident date: Jul 1, 2025
Vehicle shutdown while driving causing total power loss and hitting a parked vehicle. No alerts or notifications were present at the time.
Crash
Incident date: Feb 23, 2026
Detailed Description of the Incident: I am reporting a recurring powertrain safety issue regarding the 8-speed automatic transmission (UA80-series) in my vehicle. [Symptoms] During cold-start conditions (outside temperatures below 30°F), the vehicle consistently experiences a violent jerk/shock and an audible clicking noise during the first 2nd-to-3rd gear transition. This physical impact is se... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Feb 20, 2026
TRANSMISSION AT VARIOUS TIMES HAS A VERY HARD DROP TO A LOWER GEAR, TO THE POINT WHERE IT WILL DROP FROM A HIGH GEAR TO A LOWE GEAR SKIPPING THE MIDDLE GEARS AND THE TRANSMISSION/DRIVESHAFT SERIOUSLY BANGS WHEN IT DOES THIS.
Incident date: Feb 25, 2026
- The PTU has been making a grinding noise, and the car feels different to drive. - Other issues with a different model of this PTU involve the car rolling out of park or losing driving power while in motion. I do not believe this is an isolated issue with my vehicle, due to looked at forums and communities online with people having the same issue as me. This could put other drivers and me on the ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2026
I was driving on the highway, and there was an abrupt loss of drive and failure of the car. The transmission failed suddenly when I was traveling at highway speed, and there was no prior warning. This nearly caused an accident with the cars behind me, but I managed to get off the road into the shoulder. This is a safety concern, since there were no prior signs at all of this happening. The transmi... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2024 Ford F-150. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V512000 (Power Train); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that the part was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware... Read more
Incident date: Feb 25, 2026
My truck has had both rear axle bolts broken since October of 2025. This is part of the recall 23S65/23V896 for the max tow axles. My dealer ordered parts in October, yet they're still supposidly on national backorder from Ford. New vehicles are coming off the assembly line with these axles every day, and I can find several OEM parts websites online selling the fixed axles, yet Ford continues to t... Read more
Incident date: Dec 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2024 Ford F-150. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V512000 (Power Train); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that the part was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware... Read more
Incident date: Feb 11, 2026
Vehicle experienced sudden loss of power while driving. Transmission warning and ABS warning lights appeared at the same time. The vehicle would not shift properly and began skipping and dropping gears. Smoke was visibly coming from the center underside of the vehicle near the transmission area. There was a strong burning oil or rubber smell inside and outside the vehicle. This created a serious ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 25, 2026
While driving the vehicle I received dash warnings of temperature rise. Pulled over and saw a large coolant leak coming from right side of engine compartment. Towed to dealership. Dealership informed me that coolant hose coming from heater core was routed by the manufacturer so that it rubbed on the frame. Dealer indicated problem persists on all vehicles and no given, other than replacing the hos... Read more
Incident date: Feb 13, 2026
ICCU failure at 5308 miles. heard a loud pop while driving and 12v warning system errors
Incident date: Feb 25, 2026
Sudden loss of acceleration. This occurred while making a left turn across traffic from a stop. At approximately 7mph the car would not accelerate any further. I was luckily able to coast the vehicle into a center turn lane. Upon coming to a stop I was unable to get any acceleration. The vehicle was turned off and turned back on again and operated normally. There were no trouble codes displayed.
Incident date: Sep 1, 2023
I was driving on the highway when I proceeded to the turn lane to turn left crossing two lanes of traffic and the vehicle just shut down no warning whatsoever no check engine lights no oil lights nothing and it wouldn’t turn back on when trying it but after about 5 times it turned on and I was able to get it off the highway but couldn’t go any further as the vehicle was making a loud noise and... Read more
Incident date: Feb 24, 2026
The ICCU unit failed. Limited speed and no charging capabilities. The Dealer has been informed and an appointment has been made 3 weeks out as they are too busy. The ICCU has not been inspected yet. No warning lamps or messages appeared before the problem started. After a loud POP or bang in the rear of the car 1 warning light appeared and 1 message. (See Attached) POP happened at 16:15 hrs on the... Read more
Incident date: Feb 14, 2026
The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made grinding sounds while accelerating. Additionally, the vehicle jerked while shifting into gear. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that the transmission fluid was dirty and that the transmission assembly and torque converter needed to be replaced. The vehicle w... Read more
Incident date: May 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ram 2500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the traction control and the 4WD features were inoperable. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V896000 (SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exc... Read more
Incident date: Feb 20, 2026
The contact owns a 2014 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that while attempting to accelerate after a stop, the vehicle jolted while the accelerator pedal was depressed. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to restart the vehicle, and the vehicle was taken to a local independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. The local dealer was con... Read more
Incident date: Feb 25, 2026
1) Vehicle transmission erratic shifting ,skips gear 2 and 4 a lot and sometimes from stop to 33 mph it seems to go into neutral then bang back into gear. Grand kids in back gets knocked around hard enough to lose food/drinks. It dose to back but now the truck is less than 10MPH. 2) On start up something in the engine jingle and gaggle sound for 1-3 seconds.. This happens when truck has been s... Read more
Incident date: Feb 18, 2026
There have been systemic cylinder misfires (each cylinder), anomalous electrical architecture behavior, and transmission calibration irregularities. The check engine light indicated multiple cylinder misfires, which I understand from the dealer is a common issue with the 2025 model. As the driver, there are a few major issues: Chassis Vibration-pronounced shaking or shuddering transmitted through... Read more
Incident date: Feb 22, 2026
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Sonic. The contact stated that on several occasions, while coming to a stop, the vehicle unexpectedly remained in second gear. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that several attempts were needed for the vehicle to shift into another gear. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made a... Read more
FORD
CROWN VICTORIA
(2005) — POWER TRAIN
Feb 25, 2026
Incident date: Feb 25, 2026
I noticed the CV axle grease coming out of the boot onto the wheel a few days from taking delivery from dealership at around 400 miles. In a few weeks the CV joint started making noise. I have an appointment at the dealership currently. I am ASE certified and know what a CV axle failure looks and sounds like.
Incident date: Jan 4, 2026
Auto Transmission makes loud noise. Will not shift gear. Engine warning light comes on. After waiting a few minutes, I restart the engine and it may shift gears properly
Incident date: Jan 22, 2026
The DPS6 clutch failed rapidly. It is available for inspection. The car will suddenly and aggressively speed up while trying to shift gears or will suddenly slow down when downshifting making a collision very likely. They problem has been confirmed by a dealer. It has been inspected by a ford dealership and confirmed bad. There were no warning lamps or other symptoms prior to failure. It first sta... Read more
Incident date: Jan 8, 2026
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and running, the transmission remained in neutral(N). There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that while attempting to move the gear shifter, the transmission remained in neutral(N). The vehicle was able to restart; however, the failure recurred. The contact was able to drive... Read more
Incident date: Feb 20, 2026
The rear differential on my PHEV Crosstrek failed around 31,500 miles. My spouse was driving under 30mph and turning, and heard a clunking/popping/metal-on-metal sound that persisted intermittently for the remainder of the drive home. Since then on 1/8/26, the sound has been aggravated and persistent, every 45 seconds or so while driving, mostly while turning, so we brought it in and were alerted ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2026
I was driving on the highway and my entire car shut down right in the middle of the highway and would not turn back on or shift into any gears. It was making horrible sounds and was really scary to be dead in the middle of the highway. The shop called and just informed me a bearing broke loose and sent metal shards throughout the entire transmission and it needs fully replaced. This appears to be ... Read more
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2018) — POWER TRAIN
Feb 25, 2026
Incident date: Feb 19, 2026
No accident or incident cause issues with the power train. Seems like a recurring problem that this specific model of Jeep has been facing.
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2020) — POWER TRAIN
Feb 25, 2026
Incident date: Feb 21, 2026
Vehicle was just purchased from a Nissan Dealership (2020 Kicks) and less than 1,300 miles of driving throwing a code stating there is a problem with CVT transmission. Will not produce enough power when going uphill. RPMs will suddenly not go over 1 when given gas uphill. There was a recall for this problem on other 2020 kicks but ours isn't covered and we just purchased this vehicle and drove it ... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2021) — POWER TRAIN
Feb 25, 2026
Incident date: Feb 24, 2026
The contact owns a 2019 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. No warning lights were illuminated. Additionally, occasionally, while shifted into drive, the transmission failed to shift as intended. The dealer was made aware of the failure several times; however, the cont... Read more
Incident date: Feb 23, 2026
When driving at normal speed, my truck completely shut down with no warning. The instrument panel went dark and the engine shut off. I do not believe I was able to steer, though I think the brakes allowed me to slow the vehicle to a stop. I was near an intersection, so I was lucky to not have been hit from the rear or run in to traffic in front of me. The vehicle was unresponsive and would not tur... Read more
Incident date: Jan 24, 2026
On January 24, 2026, my wife was driving the vehicle we purchased in May 2025 from Ziegler GMC in Lincolnwood, Illinois. While traveling on the highway in WI the vehicle suddenly lost power without warning. She was traveling with our [XXX] son at the time and was able to safely maneuver the vehicle off the highway onto an exit ramp. Despite multiple attempts, the vehicle would not restart. She c... Read more
Incident date: Feb 17, 2026
My truck down shifted from seventh gear all the way down to first, making rev really high and slow down all the sudden. I was doing 50 mph
Incident date: Feb 14, 2026
Driving down the road the car shimmed a couple times I parked it turned it off when I went to turn it back on. It wouldn’t turn over when I finally got it to turn on. It wouldn’t go on reverse sometimes it’ll start sometimes it won’t sometimes it’ll go in reverse and sometimes it won’t.
Incident date: Feb 19, 2026
Transfer case failure, I had started to notice as if the transmission were shifted to neutral, high engine rpm and no output to the wheels. This happened a few times but not consistently. After the 3rd time this occurred, I decided to bring the vehicle in to a well-known local shop transmission shop. It was diagnosed as the transfer case a known issue with previous years. Still such a popular fail... Read more
Incident date: Apr 4, 2023
Catalytic converter and oil leak which is causing the vehicle to lose power. The catalytic converter was replaced in 2024 and now is bad again in 2025. Oil consumption has been a problem since 2024. Hyuandi is refusing to repair the vehicle. Despite the engine making a knocking noise and the check engine light is flashing the vehicle is still under the 150,000 power train warranty
Incident date: Dec 12, 2025
I was driving on the highway and experienced what felt like a brief power outage where my vehicle instantly dropped speed. I estimate it was approximately 10-15 mph. Everything appeared to return to normal at the time until approximately 5 minutes later when I exited the highway and it began making a loud noise. I drove a couple miles before getting concerned and thinking I don't want to risk b... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2025
We own a 2016 Jeep Cherokee and have been experiencing ongoing issues with the transmission and acceleration. The vehicle will sometimes hesitate or lag when pressing the gas pedal. There are situations where you try to accelerate and the vehicle does not respond right away. This has created safety concerns while driving. There have been multiple instances where the vehicle did not move as expecte... Read more
Incident date: Feb 23, 2026
I am reporting a safety-related issue involving a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit 5.7 HEMI. Within days of purchase, the vehicle experienced transmission slipping and delayed shifting, as well as braking issues. These conditions affected drivability and raised safety concerns during normal operation. An independent mechanic found burnt transmission fluid, indicating that the transmission conditi... Read more
Incident date: Feb 24, 2026
1. The engine starter motor (specifically the pinion starter) has failed, and the auxiliary battery is also showing reduced capacity (only a portion of its 660 cold cranking amps). The vehicle is currently at a service center where the technician has diagnosed these issues. The components should be available for inspection upon request, as they have not yet been replaced. 2. The failure of t... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2025
Oil consumption takes several quarts of oil before next oil change. Erratic and harsh shifting and sudden hard downshifts.
MERCEDES-BENZ
METRIS
(2017) — POWER TRAIN
Feb 24, 2026
Incident date: Feb 24, 2026
Always had Transmissions / power train problems with it until now my mechanic and his Transmissions specialist said that I need a new transmission. They and all other mechanics and people who owned these jeeps or known people who owned these jeeps said they have major Transmissions / power train problems that eventually require new Transmissions on short timings compared to all other vehicles.