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 117,788 complaints - component: STEERING
Incident date: Apr 3, 2025
Steering was intermittent for some time now.is completely out
Incident date: May 7, 2025
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while her son was driving at an undisclosed speed, he became aware that the electronic power steering was not functioning properly, requiring increased effort to maneuver the vehicle. The steering assist disabled warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the steering gear. The vehi... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2019) - STEERING
May 7, 2025
Incident date: Apr 14, 2025
We are experiencing a recurring safety issue with our 2015 Volkswagen Tiguan. Upon startup, the power steering warning light consistently illuminates and remains on for 5 to 30 minutes. During this time, the vehicle has no functional power steering, making it extremely difficult and unsafe to drive—particularly in residential areas or parking lots where maneuverability is essential. Once the lig... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2022 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the driver's side floorboard was vibrating. The contact's wife also informed the contact that the passenger's side floorboard was vibrating. The contact stated that the failure was initially occurring while driving at higher speeds, but recently, the failure also occurred while driving at slower speeds. The vehicle was... Read more
Incident date: May 6, 2025
While attempting to park my 2016 GMC Sierra 1500 at less than 5 mph, the steering wheel suddenly jerked on its own, the StabiliTrak warning light turned on, the dashboard flickered, and the entire electrical system briefly shut off. The anti-theft light also came on during this incident. After restarting the vehicle, it temporarily returned to normal, but this kind of malfunction is extremely dang... Read more
Incident date: May 5, 2025
While attempting to park my 2016 GMC Sierra 1500 at less than 5 mph, the steering wheel suddenly jerked on its own, the StabiliTrak warning light turned on, the dashboard flickered, and the entire electrical system briefly shut off. The anti-theft light also came on during this incident. After restarting the vehicle, it temporarily returned to normal, but this kind of malfunction is extremely dang... Read more
Incident date: May 2, 2025
Electric Power Steering goes out intermittently. Common issue with these trucks. I believe the recall needs to be expanded. Doubtful I'll waste money fixing it myself. May just have to shop around for a new GM or Ford since Ram is no longer American owned.
Incident date: May 6, 2025
My steering on my 2013 Ram 1500 completely seized while the vehicle was in motion, with no warning. I was leaving a drive through luckily at low speed, I am reporting this because if this had happened 2 minutes later, I would have been on a 55mph 2 lane highway, and possibly caused an accident harming me or other drivers. I had a few mechanics look at it and state they thought it was the steering ... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2023) - STEERING
May 6, 2025
Incident date: May 6, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel failed to function as intended. The contact stated that while making a right turn, the steering wheel pulled in the opposite direction. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and was diagnosed with steering rack and pinion failure. The contact... Read more
Incident date: Oct 31, 2024
Was running errands in town, truck was on and off a few times over 2 hours. Started up leaving restaurant, I had no power steering. Completely gone, the (service power steering) light and warning popped up on my dash. The power steering has been intermediate loss for the past 5 days now. Works when it wants. Took a local shop to get the code read, lost communication to the EPS. Some times when I s... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel failed to turn in the intended direction. Additionally, the contact stated that there was an abnormal sound while turning the steering wheel. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a failed rack and pinion. The contact was informed that the rack and... Read more
Incident date: May 4, 2025
My vehicle has had a worsening issue with the steering wheel sticking, especially when driving on winding roads. It is most pronounced when the steering wheel is turned to the left. Instead of smoothly returning to center, the steering wheel sticks in the left position and has to be forced right to center or to turn back right. Obviously having steering that is stuck or that has to be forced can b... Read more
Incident date: May 2, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 MPH, the steering wheel became difficult to turn in either direction, and the message "Service Steering" displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure, and the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2025
ABS malfunction. Power steering and brakes go in and out of operation due to a communication error. All lights come on dash, engine light stays on. Occurs mainly when vehicle is hot during summer or above 65mph highway driving. Safety concern as vehicle power steering is unpredictable during this time. The Drive shaft locks in park and requires manual override when lights are on, but then without ... Read more
Incident date: May 6, 2025
SUV pulls to the right in a unsafe manner, Dealership did a alignment but the SUV is still pulling to the right , I’ve been in twice and will back to the dealer after starting a claim to Hyunida Corporate as from my research it’s a common issue Hyunida is denying.
Incident date: Apr 14, 2025
I was driving my Ram 1500 when all of a sudden my steering wheel locked in place and I could not control my steering wheel. This was a bit frightening as I did not know what had happened. I was able to bring my truck back home and called a mechanic, the mechanic told me it is a rack and pinion issue with my truck and after investigation we found there was a recall on a few of these Rams surprising... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
BEETLE
(2013) - STEERING
May 6, 2025
Incident date: Jul 4, 2023
Right hand steering knuckle has developed a crack at the top where the upper ball joint is clamped.
Incident date: Feb 28, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the power steering failure warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the steering wheel failed to turn in the intended direction. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle, and the power steering function was independently reset. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an ind... Read more
Incident date: Apr 9, 2025
ABS Module/brake and traction light came on in 2021. Jeep dealership said ABS Module is on backorder. The Jeep at that time was still drivable. Now, May 2025, The ABS Module has caused so many items to fail that I can no longer drive it. It is currently at the dealership and they just called to say that the transmission and 0 mph is due to the ABS Module and it is still on backorder with no ti... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2025
While driving on a two lane highway at approximately 60 MPH the powersteering on my truck failed with warning lights on the dash. I limped it to a town where I could get it scanned and they could not figure out the issue. The issue was intermittent for a few days until it was non-stop. It took over a month to get the reconfigured part from GM to complete the repair, GM had to reconfigure the part ... Read more
Incident date: May 2, 2025
2019 GMC SIERRA 1500 AT4 2019 VIN: [XXX] On 10/31/2023 the transmission was replaced at Mileage: 72,875. The transmission at Jim Ellis Buick, GMC, after the truck would not drive over 40 miles in speeded. 12/23/23, 86788215, Engine Oil Cooler Hose had to be changed. Truck had to be towed from a public parking lot to the mechanic. The engine is burning oil, the warning messages say add oil, I hav... Read more
Incident date: May 6, 2025
The contact owns a 2023 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle independently activated the brakes while the accelerator pedal was depressed. In addition, the contact stated that while attempting to make a left turn, the steering wheel independently veered towards the right. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towe... Read more
Incident date: Dec 16, 2023
I am unable to control my vehicle. Something in front end of vehicle pushes and pulls the vehicle from left to right without being able to regain control. Loud popping and clunking while turning..Braking has also been a majoir issue along with suspension/steering issues. I would greatly appreciate these things to be fixed immediately beings there has been a recall years ago and I was never notif... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Apr 2, 2025
Woke up and started my car, all the lights were on including engine light. no adapter cruise, steering light was on. Screen also was saying avoid speeding. Every notification was telling me go to the dealer ship. I took it Howdy Honda in Texas and they said we will need to do a diagnostic and it was for 255 for to see what the problem was. They looked and said I had code for po172(rich) and misfi... Read more
Incident date: Apr 24, 2025
UNKNOWN: It happened during a heavy storm on my 40 miles to work and all the symbols lights suddenly lit up on the dashboard. The car died and the steering wheel got heavy when I tried to pull to the emergency lane. Luckily I was able to pull over, but it almost caused an accident as I was in the middle lane. I tried to start up the car again, but it would crank up, but died instantly and the d... Read more
Incident date: Mar 21, 2025
Steering wheel is stiff and doesn’t return to the center point smoothly especially when going 25 mph and faster. Possible safety issue.
Incident date: May 2, 2025
The steering wheel occasionally becomes unresponsive and does not return to center after making turns or slight adjustments, particularly at low to moderate speeds. It was forcing me to manually re-center the wheel. Almost had a bad accident because of this! I have kids and don’t want something bad to happen.
Incident date: May 2, 2025
I was driving as normal I went to make a turn and out of nowhere my car would not turn and almost got smashed on the side of the car would not have swerved out of the way. There was no warning signs lights symptoms or anything one minute it was normal the next was what could have been a deadly situation. After getting a mechanic to diagnose it after removing the steering wheel, because initially w... Read more
Incident date: Apr 29, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power when the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart. The contact also stated that while the vehicle was parked, the power steering warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was cool... Read more
Incident date: Aug 31, 2024
While driving, power steering system quits providing power assist. This problem is intermittent and can occur at any time without any warning and at any speed. This is a safety concern since no warning is given as to when the power steering system will fail. Have contacted local GMC dealer and was told there is a recall for the 2025 model but not the 2016. Contacted General Motors and was told... Read more
Incident date: Aug 31, 2024
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-350. The contact stated while driving at approximately 65 MPH, the contact rolled over a bump and the vehicle started to shudder and sway to the left and right violently. The contact slowed down to 20 MPH and regained control of the vehicle. The contact stated there were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had occurred two years prior. ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2025
I jumped in and turned the car on and started driving. Right away I noticed most of the warning lights were on. The first speed bump in the complex made me realize I had lost 80-90% of my brakes as if I had a broken brake line for example and steering was a little hard and pulling a bit to one side. I check underneath I did not have any leaks. I decided to take it to the Dealer to have it checked.... Read more
Incident date: May 2, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal sound coming from the steering wheel and the vehicle became difficult to maneuver. The failure had occurred on several occasions. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the electronic steering gearbox needed to be replaced. T... Read more
Incident date: May 4, 2025
The contact’s wife owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated while idling or while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel felt loose and there was no resistance while turning the steering wheel. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Cadillac ATS. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing intermittent loss of power steering functionality. The vehicle was taken to Auto Repair Garage, where a routine inspection was performed, and the contact was informed that no failure was found. The contact stated that the failure progressively increased. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, and... Read more
Incident date: Apr 26, 2025
Started having issues with steering rack about a year and a half ago. Steering would stick and make creaking noises. Brought it to my local Honda dealership last spring and they diagnosed it as needing steering rack replacement which would cost about $4,000. I reached out to Honda Corporate and they said the best they could do would to reduce the repair by $1,000. I told them I don’t think I s... Read more
Incident date: May 4, 2025
Sudden power steering failure multiple times while on the road (at both higher speeds of ~55mph and lower speeds of ~20 mph). There was a warning light and notification on that dashboard about 10 seconds before it happened each time. The vehicle will be taken into the dealership tomorrow to be looked at, but after doing some online research this seems to be a very common issue for this year, make ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 29, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Ram 1500. The contact stated upon starting the vehicle, the vehicle lost power steering functionality, and the steering wheel locked up. The message " Service Power Steering " was displayed. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle; however, the failure persisted. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repa... Read more
Incident date: May 4, 2025
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 15V34000 (STEERING), 19V001000 (AIR BAGS), and 21V158000 (AIR BAGS); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 30, 2024
Ever since I bought this vehicle, I have been having issues with it registering the key, which keeps causing an automatic security alert system to shut down my vehicle the moment I start it. I've already replaced the battery to my car. I've already had locksmiths examined the issue and nobody can seem to find the problem. The issue with the car is definitely a security issue. The car shuts dow... Read more
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2018) - STEERING
May 5, 2025
Incident date: Oct 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, while attempting to make a left or right turn, there was a popping sound coming from the steering wheel. Additionally, while driving on the highway at 70 MPH, the vehicle failed to exceed 70 MPH. The contact stated that there was an abnormal burning odor entering the cabin of the vehicle with the TPMS w... Read more
Incident date: Nov 12, 2024
Epas steering efforts Campain #15N01 Power steering goes out sometimes and the Ford dealership will not honor the recall to fix this and said it was past 10 years old?2011 Ford fusion
Incident date: May 1, 2025
Purchase truck and noticed on test drive steering wheel was off centered to the right by about 10-15 degrees.When Lane Assist was activated truck would drift right only to be alerted by the assist which would over correct steering to the left side of the lane.Lane Assist would just continue this effort to keep truck center.Truck has been aligned twice already and steering is still off centered to ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 25, 2025
The contact owns a 2019 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated while reversing out of a parking space at approximately 5 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The contact used an excessive amount of effort to maneuver the steering wheel. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a certified mechanic who failed to diagnose and remove the steering gear rack and pini... Read more
Incident date: Feb 24, 2025
The ABS module is faulty and light will come on at random times and makes steering hard and braking on right side of vehicle is hard. I have taken it to Raceway Ford of Hartsville and they are having a hard time getting the part due to it being called obsolete but I think it needs to be on the recall list as well due to it being a safety concern on my vehicle.
Incident date: Apr 28, 2025
The steering rack has failed due to a manufacturing defect. This is also an issue with the newer civics as Honda has admitted. This problem was confirmed by an independent service center. It can be dangerous at higher speeds, the steering wheel is difficult to turn and I have to jerk it to regain control of the vehicle. Going around bends is also difficult to maintain control since it is very diff... Read more
CHEVROLET
EQUINOX EV
(2025) - STEERING
May 4, 2025
Incident date: May 4, 2025
I just left the gas station from getting a beverage, I got onto the interstate and had gone roughly about 3 miles before setting super cruise a few minutes after that the interstate takes a turn to the left with an exit on the right. Slightly right as I was just getting into the turn my engine shutoff and or died making my truck uncontrollable causing me to drive off the interstate into some small... Read more
Crash
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2020) - STEERING
May 4, 2025
Incident date: May 20, 2024
I am experiencing a sticky steering problem. I didn’t even realize there is recall for other Honda crv but it looks like 2022 is not even part of the recall but I am experiencing the exact same issue wheee steering is getting harder to do and the wheel seems to be stuck and unwilling to turn.
Incident date: Dec 26, 2018
Wy wife and I drove our Tesla Model 3 from Palo Alto, CA to San Francisco downtown, to meet friends. I was the driver, and my wife sat on the passenger seat. The weather was clear, and the pavement was dry. I did not engage auto-pilot features during the entire trip. The car condition was normal with no signs of error or warning. I made a right turn onto [XXX] from [XXX] Shortly after I complet... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Mar 3, 2025
My Electronic Power Steering Rack failed intermittently. After further research, I discovered that other Ram year models between 2013 and 2019 had recalls on the electric assited power steering rack. Unfortunately, my VIN is NOT subject to any of the recalls mentioned above even though some of the parts are the same. I believe that the Rack or it's inner individual parts is defective in it's desig... Read more