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 78,884 complaints - component: SERVICE BRAKES
TOYOTA
GRAND HIGHLANDER
(2025) - SERVICE BRAKES
May 18, 2025
Incident date: May 17, 2025
GM Case#[XXX] #1 A- On [XXX] vehicle sensors disabled breaks while driving on [XXX]. B- Driver Displayed Alert. a- BRAKE SYSTEM FAILURE 62 MHP TOP SPEED. b- TRAILER BRAKES DISABLED SERVICE REQUIRED. c- SERVICE ESC. C- Concerned by alerts proceeded to exit highway, the breaks where unresponsive. This required pressing break pedal to the floor. It took over 400ft for the vehicle to come to a complet... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2024
Brakes went out driving. Replaced master cylinder, brake booster, and vacuum11 at 61696 miles.
Incident date: Mar 21, 2025
On 4 different occasions my vehicle applied the brakes forcefully on its own at high speeds. The dash flashed with the message "check forward collision avoidance assist system." as well as displayed the following icons: master warning light, hill climb assist, traction control, forward collision, and the Auto start/stop was flashing. These continued until I was able to stop and turn the car off. W... Read more
Incident date: May 15, 2025
I was driving on the Northbound side of the Interstate when my brakes failed when I pressed them to avoid a collision on the highway. The steering wheel malfunctioned when I tried to avoid a head-on collision with another vehicle. I couldn't control or stop the car, causing me to swerve left to right, and I then completely lost control of the vehicle. I crashed into the middle of the highway, but ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: May 18, 2025
Filed one complaint already about my car malfunctioning now on May 15 2025 I was.involved in a car accident and my airbags DID NOT DEPLOY!!!it was a front crash hit the front right side of the car and no airbag deployment
Crash
Incident date: May 17, 2025
Calibers keep locking up making the brake system go bad. I had my calibers replace, which is weird because they almost never go bad. My jeep has only 60k miles on it. Now I'm back at the dealership getting them replace 200 miles later. This needs to be inspected.
Incident date: May 17, 2025
Vacuum pump broke and car has no brakes
Incident date: May 17, 2025
Vacuum pump failure caused engine damage.
Incident date: May 12, 2025
ABS and VSC lights on the dash have been flashing on and off for the last few years. They always went off after flashing. 2 weeks ago they both flashed on and the warning message "Check VSC System" came on with a loud buzzing whine. Now they will not go off. The brake pedal pulses back when applied and felt very hard. It took the car a long time to stop which is a safety danger. Took it to an ind... Read more
Incident date: May 16, 2025
While driving, my car began to glitch out. The screens started turning on and off, the doors began locking and unlocking, and I lost my ability to steer, brake, and accelerate. It caused me to run a red light and I almost got into a severe accident. This issue has occurred several times, and during more recent occasions the car has turned off completely while driving. There were no warning lights ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 14, 2025
Break light and warning came on. “Low Breakfluid” Next got off ramp put my foot on break and no breaks. Was able to stop using down shift and did not plow into anyone. thank goodness. There is a recall on other non diesel f150s fyu
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2022) - SERVICE BRAKES
May 17, 2025
Incident date: May 7, 2025
Forward collision warning and adaption cruise fail on every drive over 20 to 50 miles. This has been occurring since new. Three trips back to dealer have failed to correct. A visit to a second dealer who stated it is a common problem without a current fix.
Incident date: Jul 5, 2023
Sometimes when traveling higher speeds (55-70)and braking going downhill, a hard brake will come out of nowhere. Not enough lock up the brakes or anything but enough to scare the crap out of you!!! If it would happen to a elderly person or a less experienced driver, they could probably lose control or wrack. With the power train...sometimes when accelerating(from a stop or low speed)it seems as th... Read more
Incident date: May 3, 2025
Ptu went out they replaced it it was still not working and they said oh well now ptu is still out and it rolls in park won’t shift when pulling out and is very scary to have my kids in this death trap
Incident date: May 13, 2025
When you start engine, and it's below normal temp, the engine maintains a high idle rpm and upon shifting to fwd or reverse the truck overpowers the brakes and accelerates rapidly. In reverse it's startling. It's unsafe in parking lots and on street parking.
Incident date: May 10, 2024
I have brought the vehicle into the dealership multiple times due to dangerous behavior involving the Honda Sensing system. The vehicle has attempted to steer out of lanes, and shown repeated safety warnings related to the Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS), Lane Departure Warning (LDW), and Road Departure Mitigation (RDM). Despite these serious issues, the dealership repeatedly tells me ... Read more
Incident date: May 5, 2025
Last year, the brake light failure came on the dashboard. I brought the car to a repair shop they diagnosed the problem as a rusted brake line on the passenger side. Bill approximately $700 for the repair. Over the last weekend, I was driving near my home, and the same indicator lights came on. I drove home and when I got home, noticed that there was brake fluid on my garage floor. I checked the b... Read more
Incident date: May 9, 2025
I got a letter from ford awhile ago about my brakes. I brought it in then they stated I was fine. But you have to push my brake peddle all the way to the floor of the car to make my vehicle stop. I feel this is VERY UNSAFE for me and my family, And also others around me if something where to happen do to this problem. We have done multiply things to try to correct the problem with no luck.
Incident date: May 16, 2025
When dealer took apart my rear brakes the parking brake shoe lining was un bonded from the shoe 26,000 miles and seems to be a defective part
Incident date: May 11, 2025
On 5/11/2025, my husband and I were returning home from the grocery store. I was operating the vehicle at the time of the incident. Upon arriving at our residence, I pulled into our driveway, which has a slight downward incline. As in our usual practice, I attempted to stop in front of the garage to unload groceries before entering, as the hatch of our vehicle can come in contact with the garage d... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: May 9, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Bronco Sport. The contact stated that upon reversing the vehicle and depressing the brake pedal, there was an abnormal vibration sound coming from the brakes. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer to be diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the rear brake parts were faulty and needed to be cleaned and replaced. The vehic... Read more
Incident date: Jan 13, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that the vehicle was vibrating abnormally while driving 45 MPH. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined that the brake pads and rotors needed to be replaced. The mechanic later determined that the torque converter needed to be replaced. The local dealer was contact... Read more
Incident date: May 8, 2025
This Prius Hybrid is my [XXX] mother's car which she got thinking is was a very safe and reliable vehicle. She purchased the vehicle from a Toyota dealership here in Maine on [XXX]. Last week while driving down the road, all of a sudden, every brake warning light lit up the dashboard and the brakes became extremely unresponsive. It scared us both to death but thank goodness, I was driving when ... Read more
GENESIS
GV70 ELECTRIFIED
(2023) - SERVICE BRAKES
May 15, 2025
Incident date: May 5, 2025
I reported this issue with my breaks the other day, however I noticed today 5/15 that my breaks would not engage after going down my hill in my neighborhood, my husband was driving and said he had to push the brakes to the floor to engage and get the car to stop, he almost didn’t get the vehicle to stop. This would have caused him to roll into oncoming traffic, with 2 kids in the car this is not... Read more
Incident date: May 15, 2025
I am reporting a sudden and dangerous failure of the brake booster in my 2012 Toyota Prius. While driving, I experienced a loss of braking power, accompanied by several warning lights including ABS, Brake, and the Traction Control system. The brake pedal became extremely stiff and unresponsive, significantly increasing the stopping distance. This failure nearly caused an accident, as I was unable ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 11, 2025
All Fisker Ocean vehicles were supposed to receive a full 2.2 OS update. However, I received 2.2 (2/3) partial update. I have waited since end of 2024. No full update was ever pushed via OTA on my Fisker Ocean One. I'm the very first Fisker owner. The full 2.2 OS update will fix many software bugs which still exist on my vehicle today.
Incident date: Feb 1, 2025
On the morning of [XXX], I left home in my vehicle for work and felt a difference in brake pressure. After about a block away from home the brake pedal started hitting the floor every time I engaged it. The dashboard indicated that the brake fluid was low, so I returned home to check it and fill up. As I started it up again and engaged the brakes it still hit the floor. On making a visual inspecti... Read more
Incident date: May 13, 2025
On 5/14/2025 at aprox 5:35pm I was completely stopped in traffic when all of a sudden my car started to accelerate without me pressing on the accelerator. I pressed the brake pedal, however the car continued to move forward, by this time the brake pedal was pressed to the floor and the car was continuing to more forward. I was stopped aprox 6 feet behind a semi truck, and ended up crashing into ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Nov 5, 2024
This is a second report of an issue that first happened in February 2025, the dealer replaced the battery and called it fixed. On Friday 5-2-2025 I started the vehicle and as I was driving the dash lit up with these warnings: Service Trailer brake system, Service ESC, Brake System Failure 62 mph top speed, Steering assist reduced drive with care, The vehicle steering got stiff and brake pedal went... Read more
Incident date: May 15, 2025
I was driving about 45 mph when the vehicle started to brake on its own. Message center said "Brake Failure max speed 62 mph". I had to move the vehicle, so I continued forward. It was still trying to self-brake, i decided to stop and turn ignition off so computers could re-set but I had no brakes. I had to stand on brake pedal to get it stopped. Turned ignition off and restarted. The problem was ... Read more
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2022) - SERVICE BRAKES
May 15, 2025
Incident date: May 15, 2025
Ok I know my vin don't go under the 10 recalls for 2019 gmc sierra limited 1500 rwd, but my truck has the same problem with the brake module has those recalls I feel like gmc might have used different parts for the other recall but used the same brake module for my truck cause I have that same problem has the recall. It's obviously a issue that needs to be look in and my brake module should be fix... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2025) - SERVICE BRAKES
May 15, 2025
Incident date: May 12, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to stop as intended. The contact stated that the brake pedal had to be depressed while standing almost up. In addition, the electronic brake failure warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with ... Read more
Incident date: May 15, 2025
I received notice on the recall for my vehicle in October 2024. Since then I have tried to make appointments with BMW of Ramsey to fix the recall issue and they have told me each time that the part is not available and they cannot fix the issue. We are now in May 2025 and this has not been attended to.
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2024) - SERVICE BRAKES
May 15, 2025
Incident date: May 14, 2025
The issue I’m having is that the break red light in the orange brake system just appears randomly without me activating the break. on one occasion I parked the car without seeing any of those signals, then upon me coming out of the store, both signals appeared on the dashboard. my car was stuck in break four hours. After continuously, activating the electronic brake and inactivating it I was abl... Read more
FORD
F-150 HYBRID
(2022) - SERVICE BRAKES
May 15, 2025
Incident date: May 4, 2025
I have been fixing my brakes and rotors every 4 months. 3 times my brake line has busted. The first time there was a recall and it was fixed. The second time I almost died had to hop a curb to stop I had my baby in the car with me. Ford apologized and gave me a free extended platinum warranty and fixed the problem. This last time I was pulling out of the pharmacy and my peddle went straight t... Read more
Incident date: May 2, 2025
The contact owns a 2022 Ford Bronco Sport. The contact stated that while her husband was driving 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that there was an abnormal grinding sound coming from the vehicle while reversing. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated after the failure. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined t... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH downhill, the brakes became inoperable. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to stop when the brake pedal was depressed. The driver turned the steering wheel from side to side to slow the vehicle. The contact stated that the brake pedal was depressed and went to the floorboard. The contact stated that the vehicle drov... Read more
Incident date: Mar 21, 2025
Brakes failed suddenly while on the highway. Virtually no braking available. This could have easily resulted in death or serious injury. Took car to Subaru dealership in Appleton WI. Found split brake line. This is a know issue and recall. Subaru had performed recall by putting anticorrosion on brake lines. All this did was possibly delay the inevitable. The recall stated they could have re... Read more
Incident date: Apr 2, 2015
The ABS, Trac control & Brake lights are all illuminated on the dashboard. I took it to have a professional check it out. It turns out the ABS Modulator is faulty, causing my Jeep to not have ABS, or traction control. This is a safety hazard as the Jeep is not known for its great handling during any emergency braking situation. Here's the worst part. Jeep has known about this for over a year w... Read more
Incident date: Apr 16, 2025
The parking brake has repeatedly engaged without action from the owner/operator. This seems to happen at random. The dash warning light does show upon occurrence. There is no known cause for, or understanding of, this malfunction. The Ford certified dealer could not confirm as it did not occur under their supervision when serviced. Fortunately, occurrences thus far have been while the vehicle is n... Read more
Incident date: Apr 30, 2025
I was traveling down the street in my town going about 40-45 and all of a sudden the dash lights came on and there was no control of the Jeep. I happened to be close to my mechanic shop so we got it there. No one was hurt but there was no warning that the abs module had gone out. I had to have it towed to a Jeep dealership in Topeka. Ks where it still sits 6 weeks later due to Jeep/ Mopar holding... Read more
Incident date: Mar 13, 2025
All of this has been going on for a while but it's gotten to the point of dangerous. The Shift to Park keeps coming on preventing me from shutting the vehicle off even though it's, in fact, in Park. Then, "Steering Assist Reduced Drive With Care" keeps coming on. This will come on and off. Preventing the engine from heating up like it needs to be. Then the transmission keeps slipping. Was nearly r... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2025
May 14, 2025 Dear NHTSA, I am submitting this complaint regarding my 2017 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara, which has only 60,000 miles and has already required several major repairs that raise serious safety concerns. To date, I have had to replace three brake calipers and the emergency brake, at a cost of over $2,500. The calipers were seizing, and the emergency brake would not release proper... Read more
Incident date: Oct 20, 1975
Brake accumulator suddenly failed in vehicle. Known issue from manufacturer
Incident date: May 14, 2025
My rotors warped with 5,260 miles and dealership would not cover the issue stating it is wear and tear. The brembo brake calipers are large and creates to much heat and causes the rotors to overheat and warp.
Incident date: May 9, 2025
2013 ford edge, breaks locked up as I was approaching a downward hill. I felt the breaks tighten up and wouldn’t stop. This could have caused a significant accident if I needed to stop suddenly. There where no warning lights that came on.
Incident date: May 8, 2025
The contact owns a 2025 Volvo XC90. The contact stated that while driving downhill at 15 MPH, while depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle would not come to a complete stop as intended. No warning light illuminated. The contact stated that he drove up a hill in order to come to a stop. The vehicle was towed to a local independent mechanic, where it was left for further diagnosis. The local dealer... Read more
Crash
Incident date: May 14, 2025
C1391 error, "Abnormal Leak of ACC PRESS". This is a common failure in many prius and requires the replacement of the brake master cylinder and brake accumulator. Toyota has an expired customer support program but no actual recall. Parts were replaced to bring braking system back into working condition.
Incident date: May 9, 2025
I am filing a complaint about my 2024 GMC Acadia AT4, leased brand new from Frank's GMC in August 2024, now with a little over 8,000 miles. The brake pads are worn to 35% life, far below the expected 30,000-70,000 miles, with loud squealing, fluid leakage, and odors. This poses a severe safety risk to my family and others, as compromised brakes could fail. In October 2024, before my 3,000-mile oi... Read more
Incident date: May 13, 2025
Vehicle warning lights for brakes, ABS and traction control all on while driving. Per mechanic, known problem on Prius and repair cost is $3-$5K. Covered by a prior customer support program but has expired. I have two Prius’s with the identical problem - bill will be up to $10K. Error code C1391