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 116,327 complaints — component: STEERING
LAND ROVER
RANGE ROVER SPORT
(2017) — STEERING
May 15, 2026
Incident date: Dec 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Land Rover Range Rover Sport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V514000 (Steering); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer was notified of the failure and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The ma... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2026
We experienced power steering failure. Our steering wheel control was taken over while backing out of our driveway and while driving on a highway. When this happens, you can’t turn the wheel. It becomes locked and then you become stuck. It is extremely unsafe and put our whole family at risk of getting in an accident. It is currently sitting at the dealership and has been there for weeks. We hav... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2026
Steering is sticking on center which is causing the driver to oversteering when trying to turn steering wheel from off center. No warning light. Car is scheduled to go to the dealer for inspection.
Incident date: Apr 2, 2026
Subject: Request for Re-Evaluation and Expansion of Recall 23V-770 – Steering Gear Failure I am submitting this letter to formally request that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) re-evaluate Recall 23V-770 concerning defective steering gear assemblies and investigate additional affected vehicles from the 2022 model year. Vehicles sold during the 2022 production year appe... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2026) — STEERING
May 15, 2026
Incident date: Mar 1, 2026
With speeds in excess of 70 MPH, the car have a violent shake. The shake gets worse as you approach 80 MPH. This is in both the 2025 and 2026 Ford Expedition models. This put drivers at risk, as they must keep control of the car at all times on the highway if they are in excess of 70 MPH. The car has already been inspected by Ford and they did a road balance test and replaced one tire. The car sti... Read more
Incident date: May 13, 2026
Steering is ‘sticky’ at highway speeds, doesnt hold on center, steering wheel gives impression of being stuck.
Incident date: May 7, 2026
The vehicle experienced a sudden steering malfunction involving the electronic steering gear. While backing out of a parking structure, the steering wheel suddenly jerked and locked instead of naturally correcting, resulting in collision with a pillar. There were no warning lights, steering fault messages, or prior symptoms before the incident. Restarting the vehicle did not resolve the issue. Th... Read more
Crash
Incident date: May 15, 2026
The contact owns a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel seized with no warning. warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for an unrelated failure, and during the inspection, the mechanic diagnosed the vehicle with a failed rack and pinion steering assembly that needed to be replaced. The vehi... Read more
Incident date: Mar 17, 2026
My 2017 Tesla Model X (VIN: [XXX] ) is experiencing stiff and binding steering caused by corrosion at the lower steering column I-shaft universal joint. The steering intermittently binds and resists normal turning force, which has caused Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system to disengage due to abnormal steering resistance — a direct safety concern. Tesla’s own Service Bulletin SB-20-32-004... Read more
Incident date: Mar 27, 2025
The contact owns a 2014 Acura RLX. The contact stated that while driving on the highway at an undisclosed speed, the power steering became inoperable, the vehicle steering wheel veered left or right and is misaligned. The warning lights lane departure, forward collision, all wheel steering, power steering and other warning indicators illuminated. In another occurrence, a noise could be heard.... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2026
The contact owns a 2016 RAM 3500. The contact stated that when he took his vehicle to be aligned, he was advised that the vehicle was not able to be aligned, due to a previous recall repair where the drag link was welded unless the drag link was replaced. The manufacturer was notified of this issue. The failure mileage was approximately 55,526.
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2016) — STEERING
May 15, 2026
Incident date: Mar 9, 2026
Had steering centering go out. Data cable pinched or broken somewhere in system and transmission got out. Also 4x4 system went out.
Incident date: May 3, 2026
Power steering assist fault while driving with total loss of power steering. Caused difficult steering, particularly at low speed and made for a dangerous driving situation with what seemed like complete loss of steering ability. Power steering fault and lane keeping assist failure warnings lit on display at the same time. Vehicle was towed to dealership and problem was isolated to steering module... Read more
Incident date: May 12, 2026
While driving on the highway, I first noticed the vehicle becoming difficult to steer. The steering felt unusually heavy and sluggish, as if power steering assistance was reduced or failing. Shortly after this began, multiple warning lights illuminated across the dashboard. At that point, braking performance also became severely compromised. The brake pedal felt soft and traveled nearly to the fl... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 2500
(2026) — STEERING
May 15, 2026
Incident date: Apr 1, 2026
I recently purchased my vehicle from Big Star Dealership in Baytown Tx. At a little over 1000 miles i was towing a camper. The vehicle stalled, fuel pouring from engine. It was towed and repaired due to fuel pump failure. At a little over 3000 miles the vehicle would not start. Dealership initially said water contamination then changed it and said gasoline contamination and now they say DEF c... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2026
After returning to my vehicle, I received an alert that the chassis stabilization system had a fault. The car was free, rolling and had no parking brake while it was on an incline. There was zero ability to turn the steering wheel. I consider this a life-threatening safety issue.
Incident date: Aug 24, 2023
I have had my vehicle in the dealer on 4 or 5 occasions, where the issue persisted, where the steering wheel made a clicking noise. I was able to duplicate the issue for the dealer a few times, and they were unable to fix it. The dealer replaced the master cylinder, the steering rack was adjusted, and still the issue persists. After many trips to the dealer, I got sick and tired and got into an ar... Read more
Incident date: May 12, 2026
Electronic Steering Column Lock (ESCL) failed leaving me stranded as car was unable to start. There was a recall on the 2009 model but not my 2008 even with identical part.
Incident date: May 9, 2026
While driving on a high-speed interstate with two children in the vehicle, and without any prior warning signs or issues, the dashboard began displaying sequential warnings from multiple Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) sensors. As the vehicle continued cycling through numerous dashboard warnings, the power steering failed, making the vehicle difficult to control. Additional electronic sy... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2024
STICKY STEERING WHEN TRAVELING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS
Incident date: Apr 27, 2026
Our 2012 Ford Fusion had a sudden and complete loss of power steering & “Power Steering Assist Fault’ flashed on dash. The steering immediately became extremely difficult to operate, requiring both hands and excessive physical force just to turn the wheel. It felt less like driving a passenger car and more like wrestling a fully loaded dump truck with flat tires. This created a serious safety... Read more
Incident date: May 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Forcus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel failed to turn in the intended direction. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a failed power steering pump. The contact was informed that the power steering pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired... Read more
Incident date: Sep 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2023 Mazda. The contact stated that the vehicle was braking randomly while driving. There was an unknown malfunction code that flashed quickly. The steering was stiff and failed to turn. The steering wheel adjusted and guided the vehicle into the wrong lane. The RPM was sporadically reeving. The RPM increased, and the vehicle stalled without acceleration. There was smoke emergin... Read more
Incident date: May 8, 2026
Nissan had a recall 2 years ago for a tie rod issue. When I brought the car in for that recall Nissan said that the tie rods showed no sign of bending so they didn't replace them. Two years later my car is not steering correctly and making noises. I find out that Nissan has a new tie rod recall (recall R23B3, NHTSA #23V-581) that requires the tie rods to be changed regardless if they show any sign... Read more
LAND ROVER
RANGE ROVER SPORT
(2019) — STEERING
May 14, 2026
Incident date: Mar 5, 2026
Vehicle: 2019 Land Rover Range Rover Sport HSE While driving approximately 65-70 mph, a red battery/charging warning appeared instructing me to pull over immediately. Within approximately 3-5 minutes, the vehicle rapidly lost electrical power and became completely disabled while driving. EVERYTHING in my car started shutting down; no air, no lights, no steering. Steering and vehicle functions beca... Read more
Incident date: May 7, 2026
Thermostat failure causes steering assist to be reduced. This leaves more difficult steering especially in an emergency situation, thus a safety concern. The vehicle displays a warning: "Steering Assist Is Reduced, Drive with care". An internet search shows this is a well-known problem across all General Motor vehicles. This is also indicated by the technician notes on my repair invoice that a bul... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2025
Hybrid battery failed causing electrical issues. - Fix in October 2024. During this time Service repair for the recall related to the power steering. Car became jerky and would lose the ability to hold turns. Took to mazda and told there was a gear housing need to be replaced. Was quoted at 4000 for the repair due to car having 49000. Mazda customer service stepped in and dropped the price i... Read more
Incident date: Apr 22, 2026
I took my car to have recalls fixed. The next time I drove it after that my power steering shut off while driving. The warning lights for "Hill Start Assist Not Available" and "Service AdvanceTrac" came on. After some research it looks like I have the exact problem for recall 19S26. However when I called the dealership they couldn’t find the documentation if they fixed this or not on my vehicl... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2026
When first started sometimes power steering does not work. Temporary fix is to restart the car. It's gone out while I was driving. This is very scary and hard to turn when it goes out.
Incident date: Apr 11, 2026
On 2 seperate occassions I had a wheel on my 2019 Toyota Tacoma come off while driving. Both after Toyota signed off on work orders and bill of sales showing they accessed the wheels. On 4/11/26 the front left drivers side fell off. Upon picking it up after repairs on April 28, May 6th the left rear wheel fell off while driving again. My safety could have been fatal but luckily no injuries ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: May 13, 2026
Steering randomly sticks while turning and requires some force to release. Seems to happen most just off center and while turning left.
Incident date: May 12, 2026
I keep getting this warning "Action Required Steering Assist Is Reduced Drive With Care" . This warning has occurred randomly for several years. Recently, after getting this warning the check engine light came on and the engine temp gauge stopped indicating. I have seen a bulletin from GM that this condition is covered under a 'special warranty extension' for a single model year, but it is c... Read more
Incident date: May 9, 2026
2020 Cherokee owner from dealer purchased as CPO w/23k miles in 2023. Shortly after purchase rear differential failed and was replaced under warranty at 25k miles. At 42k full Steering Rack failure. Daughter on 5 hour drive home from college experienced a completely random failure at highway speeds. Failure occurred with zero warning. It was a dangerous situation. Dealer quoting $3600 to repair.... Read more
Incident date: Mar 25, 2026
The first code it threw was for the master air flow sensor then it started bogging out not going over 1RPM -throwing the code "P17F0 CVT Judder" and has left me in some really,really bad situations in traffic, and when it boggs down like that (no matter how many times I turn it off and restart it, even if the battery drains all the way out and I have to get a jump) I have to wait two hours after ... Read more
Incident date: May 13, 2026
2024 Toyota Camry in 50000+ miles. While driving, a warning sign on dash stating Steering Power Low. Steering was loosing power became hard to turn. After few seconds, warning sign disappeared car went back normal. It happened times in last few days.
Incident date: Jan 9, 2025
The truck was working fine, went to start it and the trucks electric power steering was no longer working. We brought to shop and got an est of $3,000-$4,000 to fix the repair. We didnt have the money at the time and brought the truck home. It proceeded to work randomly after a turn but next start up failed to work and has been like this for a year. There is a warning like that comes on that says ... Read more
Incident date: May 13, 2026
When the vehicle was started, the steering wheel was impossible to turn. A message on the dash showed “Steering assist fault, Service required”. After shutting the vehicle off and restarting, the power steering was restored. The problem persisted on 2 more vehicle starts on the same day.
Incident date: May 12, 2026
Component/System: Steering System (Electronic Power Steering / Steering Rack) What happened? I am experiencing a recurring and escalating failure of the steering system on my Mazda CX-90 PHEV. Currently, the steering wheel momentarily "locks up" or experiences a sudden, significant increase in resistance (stickiness) during left turns, especially when a large steering angle is applied. This occur... Read more
Incident date: May 12, 2026
Driving downhill at 70mph on highway. crossed from #2 lane to #1 lane. I did not hit any potholes, I believe I just drove over the "bot dots". This started the "death wobble", the uncontrolled oscillations in the front suspension/tires. I had to take my foot off the accelerator and let the vehicle come down to about 35mph before the violent shaking stopped. I could reproduce this on my own by hitt... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2026
Nature of Defect: While operating Full Self-Driving (FSD) at highway speeds, my vehicle exhibits involuntary lateral swerving — sudden, uncontrolled movement to the left and right without driver input. This behavior occurs repeatedly and unpredictably, posing a direct safety risk to the occupants of my vehicle and to other drivers. Tesla Service diagnosed the root cause as a failed FSD compute... Read more
Incident date: Apr 14, 2026
Persistent steering wheel vibration at highway speeds (60-80 mph), present from the first drive within two hours of taking delivery of this Certified Pre-Owned vehicle on April 14, 2026 at 21,075 miles. No warning lamps or messages. The vibration is constant at highway speed, not intermittent, causing driver fatigue and distraction during sustained highway driving. This is a known defect documente... Read more
Incident date: Apr 30, 2026
I was trying to turn and the wheel kept kicking back the other direction. About a week prior to this as I was driving down the road all of a sudden the wheel threw me across a median and into incoming traffic almost causing multiple accidents. I have a video of it but it won’t allow me to upload it. [XXX] However this link should play it. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INF... Read more
LAND ROVER
RANGE ROVER
(2016) — STEERING
May 13, 2026
Incident date: May 13, 2026
The contact owns a 2016 Land Rover. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V514000 (Steering) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed the remedy was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 2026
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel failed to turn in the intended direction. The failed power steering warning light illuminated. In addition, the steering wheel seized. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, however the failure was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was advised to tak... Read more
Incident date: Mar 23, 2026
The vehicle is experiencing an intermittent and unpredictable loss of power steering assist. The steering becomes extremely stiff and difficult to turn, often immediately upon startup or while at a standstill, then randomly becomes loose again before returning to a stiff state. This creates a significant safety hazard as the effort required to steer changes without warning during operation. Upon i... Read more
LAND ROVER
RANGE ROVER SPORT
(2015) — STEERING
May 13, 2026
Incident date: Jun 13, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 Land Rover Range Rover. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V-514000 (Steering); however, the part for the repairs was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable timeframe for the remedy to be available. The contact stated that their husband informed them, and a certified mechanic inspected the vehicle after rec... Read more
Incident date: Apr 11, 2025
While driving the car the start loosing power and attempts to shut down, other time the steering wheel locks up up and im unable to turn steering wheel. The check engine light comes on and turns off. The dealer/ Car repair shop has been unable to reproduce issue and unable tell me what this issue is. No accident has resulted from this as of yet. But car has some kind of malfuctioning issue.
Incident date: Mar 15, 2026
Motorcycle has exhibited unstable handling behavior since delivery. The defect is specifically a weaving and wobbling oscillation that occurs when the motorcycle is upright and traveling in a straight line, as if the bike is constantly riding on rippled or uneven pavement even on smooth road surfaces. The rear of the motorcycle feels disconnected from the chassis, with the rear tire feeling as tho... Read more
Incident date: May 4, 2026
Vehicle: 2024 Honda Prologue Touring AWD The vehicle has an ongoing clicking/noise issue coming from the driver-side front CV joint/axle area, especially during turns, acceleration, and low-speed maneuvering. The clicking noise appears to be progressively worsening and raises concerns about premature CV joint failure and potential drivetrain safety issues. The issue has persisted despite service ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2026
The contact owns a 2025 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while driving and turning the steering wheel does not come back to center when turned and the driver experienced resistance, sticking and binding while turning. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the steering wheel gear box needed to replaced. The manufacturer was not yet notified of the failure. The failure mi... Read more