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: Jan 31, 2025
Vehicles steering is extremely difficult to turn, power steering fluids have been checked and changed out as well. Issue persists in high and low speeds
Incident date: May 4, 2014
The contact owns a 2022 Honda Civic. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V744000 (Steering); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. 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... Read more
Incident date: May 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Civic. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the steering wheel was inadvertently seized. The contact also stated that while steering to the right or the left, the steering wheel felt loosened. The contact stated that the steering then became difficult to turn. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aw... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving 30-40 MPH, the power steering assist warning light illuminated. The contact stated while making a left turn, the vehicle became difficult to maneuver and the steering wheel vibrated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failu... Read more
Incident date: Jan 27, 2025
The contact owns a 2024 Honda Civic. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V744000 (Steering); 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 not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disco... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Dodge Ram 2500. The contact stated that the vehicle was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V021000 (Steering) and the vehicle was taken to the dealer for the recall repair. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken for an alignment and the contact was informed that an alignment could not be completed because to the tie rods were welded together. The dealer who perform... Read more
Incident date: Feb 3, 2025
Brand new 2025 Ram 1500 Bighorn/Lonestar purchased on 10/24/24. From day 1 it pulls to the right at highways speeds. The dealer has tried to fix the issue with alignment two times, but not luck, they don’t know what is wrong because all the numbers in alignment are green and good. There are several online posts that are talking about this issue with the 2025 Ram 1500s. Also in regard to my truc... Read more
Incident date: Jun 16, 2024
1) This is the second occurrence of this issue within the past 12 months. While driving, my EV displayed various blinking lights and a “Check EV Connection” message, followed by a “12v Battery Critical” warning. The entire system began shutting down in the middle of the road. I managed to pull over before the car completely shut off. 2) This malfunction posed a significant safety risk to ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 4, 2023
After no issues with my electric power steering for the vehicles whole life, it randomly started shutting off and back on. If I were to park and restart the car, the power steering will return, then shut off again once I steer while driving. The next day, no power steering at all and none since. After taking it into a shop, they told be the steering sensor needed to be replaced and would cost abou... Read more
HYUNDAI
TUCSON HYBRID
(2022) - STEERING
Feb 4, 2025
Incident date: Jun 1, 2024
While driving the power steering suddenly completely went out without warning.
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2019) - STEERING
Feb 4, 2025
Incident date: Jan 28, 2025
Instrument cluster on steering wheel not working could include airbag. All power to instruments on steering wheel no longer work under 40000 miles and no abuse or collisions on vehicle. All services done to the recommended schedule done by dealership. Rear camera glitches out from time to time and alarm system is triggered at night when in secure garage.
Incident date: Feb 3, 2025
The contact owns a 2024 Honda HR-V. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V744000 (STEERING); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experience... Read more
Incident date: Jan 31, 2025
The contact owns a 2024 Honda HR-V. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V744000 (STEERING); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experience... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2025
When Braking steering wheel locked up and almost caused accident due to not being able to control vehicle with steering wheel.
Incident date: May 17, 2024
I experienced a loss of power steering while driving and a dash display "Service Power Steering Now" and "Service Advancetrac". The messages started just before the failure. The lack of power steering was a risk to everyone as the car could only be turned with significant effort and not respond to quick movement. The dash messages are still on after a restart and the car cannot be driven because o... Read more
Incident date: Jan 28, 2024
While driving this truck at approximately 45 mph to 50mph the steering locked up and could not turn wheel either way with both hands . It then broke loose causing to truck to take a herd right turn . It does same thing if you are pulling to left when it frees up causing a quick left hand turn . This is very dangerous as total loss of steering occurred . Luckily there was room to stop . The steerin... Read more
FORD
MAVERICK HYBRID
(2024) - STEERING
Feb 3, 2025
Incident date: Dec 30, 2024
the electric power steering system indicator light came on and the car would not start-- the indicator went off and the car then started--2 weeks later the same issue occurred when i went to start the car this time all indicator lights came on and then the electric power steering system indicator light came on and the car would not start-- after 5 minutes the car started--brought the car in to dea... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
My jeep has just started this problem going lower speeds and hitting a bump in the road. All of the sudden my jeep will start to shake violently and will not stop until I slow way down almost to a stop. It is happening approx. 8 to 15 times every day now. I no longer can go even one day without this happening. I believe it is called the death wobble. the shaking is so bad that it has steered me in... Read more
Incident date: Feb 3, 2025
Steering wheels binds up on highway. If I slightly turn the wheel in any direction it gets stuck that way and I have to use a lot of force to get it to unbind. Causes uncontrollable steering adjustment very serious.
Incident date: Jan 31, 2025
I have had a recall notice on my car for months I’ve taken my car in and they have yet to have the part to fix the recall on my car
Incident date: Jan 8, 2025
The contact owns a 2012 Subaru Impreza. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30-40 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality and was driven with manual steering. The failure occurred while driving at various speeds. The contact stated that approximately four days after the first failure, the steering wheel failed to move. Additionally, the vehicle was losing oil and one qua... Read more
Incident date: Jan 27, 2025
The contact owns a 2014 Buick LaCrosse. The contact stated that while his wife was driving on the highway at 25 MPH, the “Service Power Steering” message was displayed, and shortly afterward the vehicle lost power steering functionality and the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact stated that his wife proceeded to make her way onto the side of the highway and parked the vehicle... Read more
Incident date: Jan 27, 2025
The contact owned a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel seized with the power steering warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the power steering control module had failed and needed to be replaced. The veh... Read more
Incident date: Feb 2, 2025
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the vehicle lost power steering assist functionality upon starting the vehicle with the "Power Steering Assist Fault" message displayed. The contact stated that prior to the latest failure, the failure was intermittent; however, the power steering assist would return upon restarting the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure persis... Read more
Incident date: Dec 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while driving at slow speeds, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The contact was unaware of a warning light being illuminated. The contact stated that the failure persisted upon turning off and restarting the vehicle. The contact stated that the power steering functionality returned after resuming driving. The contact... Read more
Incident date: Jan 31, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. the contact stated that there was excessive movement in the steering when the steering column was making a clicking sound while turning to the left. The contact stated that while turning to the left, the steering wheel was seized, and the contact had to use excessive force to turn the steering wheel to the left. While pulling out of a parking space, the advance... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2024) - STEERING
Feb 3, 2025
Incident date: Feb 3, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon reversing out of the driveway, the power steering assist failed with the "Steering Assist Fault Service required" message displayed on the instrument panel. The dealer was notified of the failure and instructed the contact to bring the vehicle to the dealer. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the s... Read more
Incident date: Jan 31, 2025
The contact owns a 2023 Honda CR-V. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V744000 (Steering); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experience... Read more
Incident date: Jan 28, 2025
Steering sticks and does not return to center in sweeping turns. Clicking noise over bumps in very cold weather (may or may not be related--steering issue most concerning). Most prominent at higher speeds (for example, getting off of the highway) but occurs at any speed. Once you turn the wheel, it will return slightly then stick in place. It takes a small amount of extra force to correct it back ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 14, 2025
when turn i hear a clicking sound dealer technician acknowledges sound but refuses to repair. forward collision system sees things that are not there and slams on the brakes for no reason. hvac system fails to heat until after driving for at least 45 minutes even after pre heating.
Incident date: Feb 2, 2025
While driving on the roadway, I was almost to a four way intersection, as i was going to get into the left turn lane, I turned the steering wheel slightly to the left as the steering wheel turned but the car almost did little adjusting to turn into the left turn lane. As this occurred you could here a noise underneath the vehicle . As I wasn't sure exactly what had happened, I attempted to limp th... Read more
Incident date: Feb 2, 2025
MY VEHICLE HAS 75,583. I received a recall for 3 items and made an appointment and took the car in for the work. I noticed that their wasa slight dead spot in the centeing of the steering and asked if there was any adjustmen. I was told there wasn't but they would check it because there was a known problem thith the plastic gear in the electric motor's connection to the rack that wears out and can... Read more
CONTINENTAL
CROSSCONTACT
(9999) - STEERING
Feb 2, 2025
Incident date: Nov 23, 2024
Traction Control/ABS/Brake lights turn on 122-11 VSA Solenoid Valve Malfunction and 83-11 which causes pcm malfunction. This is a known problem with Honda vehicles and should be a recall. When this error occurs traction/abs/brake, LDW fcw are disabled. The fix for this is over $1000.00.
CADILLAC
ESCALADE ESV
(2022) - STEERING
Feb 2, 2025
Incident date: Dec 9, 2024
On three separate occasions the vehicle began violently shaking giving the impression the front wheels were coming off (aka the death wobble). On all three occasions the shaking started while driving straight on paved road at 45-60mph. The first two incidents occurred within a week’s time. The Jeep services testing reported no issues. At that time they performed a realignment and sent me on ... Read more
CADILLAC
ESCALADE ESV
(2019) - STEERING
Feb 2, 2025
Incident date: Sep 13, 2023
Steering wheel is making a clunk noise like somethings loose
Incident date: Sep 1, 2024
Vehicle caught fire while parked unassisted in our driveway. It was trying to start itself while on fire pulling itself into our porch setting it on fire. Fire dept put house and vehicle out. Total loss on vehicle. Vehicle is available for inspection. Fire appears to have stated on passenger side under hood.
Fire
1 injured
Incident date: Jan 6, 2025
ChatGPT You said: My jeep 2019 is losing power and steering which lead em.to.collide with a pole to stop the vehicle in was going around 30 mph and the brakes also stopped working write me a complaint answering these questions with my story What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk?... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Feb 1, 2025
Received notice from Honda about recall contacted local dealership where vehicle was purchased. Waited one month for appointment to repair the recall but was told the night before the part was not available. Waited another 30 days contacted dealership was told unknown when parts would be available to repair recall would send a letter which as of this dat I have not received,
Incident date: Dec 31, 2024
Brand new truck pulling to the right in highways speed, the dealer try to fix the issue with alignment but not luck, they don’t know what is wrong because all the numbers in alignment are green and good, several online post are talking about this issue with this 2025 Ram 1500
KIA
SORENTO HYBRID
(2023) - STEERING
Feb 1, 2025
Incident date: Feb 1, 2025
My 2007 Chevy Malibu began experiencing intermittent power steering failure at around 103,000 miles. This issue makes the vehicle extremely dangerous to drive, even though it is not classified as an official recall because it only affects certain VIN numbers. However, I see multiple other owners reporting the same problem, proving this is a widespread defect. I had the issue diagnosed as a failin... Read more
CHEVROLET
EQUINOX EV
(2025) - STEERING
Feb 1, 2025
Incident date: Feb 1, 2025
December 2021 about 2 months after purchasing, traction control, power steering light would intermittently turn on as well as the radio screen would flash black. All of these were separate problems and were not ways necessarily present when another light was on but they did occasionally all happen at the same time. Periodically, not every time when the light came there was the inability to turn... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2025
When I go to pull into a parking spot or leave a parking lot I sometimes (often) hear a dinging sound then all of the sudden I lose power steering to where I almost hit the cars around me. There has been the same make, model and year of my car that has had a previous recall for electric power steering assist (eps) in the past
Incident date: Feb 1, 2025
Lane Keeping and Lane Departure: Lane Departure warnings cannot be disabled, but steering interventions also cannot be disabled, contrary to manual’s instructions and control panel button. With feature turned “off”, vehicle still intervenes and self-steers. Car has steered back toward potholes and bicyclists that I was trying to avoid. I could have destroyed a wheel in the 1st case or killed... Read more
Incident date: Sep 10, 2024
While cruising control is engaged, turning the steering wheel 5-10 degrees to the right will result in disruption of the cruise control and displaying a message "cruise control cancelled." This results in an abrupt deceleration during a turn that is unexpected and can create a safety hazard. Additionally, the illumination of steering wheel switches flickers with 5 degrees of right turn. This ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 28, 2025
Two times I have been driving in busy areas and when I brought my car to a stop at red lights and it’s turned green, my car will no longer move, but stays running so then I have to turn it off and turn it back on for it to gain motor function again. I have almost been rear-ended twice.
Incident date: Sep 28, 2024
The vehicle shakes at speeds starting at 68 mph and is extreme at 73 mph. I have taken it in for repairs at the Chevrolet dealership twice and to a tire shop. I fear this could be the start of the term known as the "Death Wobble". Chevrolet is aware of this issue and have issued Technical Service Bulletins relating to shake and vibration complaints. This is a brand new 2025 vehicle. Because this v... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2021) - STEERING
Feb 1, 2025
Incident date: Dec 18, 2024
The steering wheel sticks when it is at center while driving down a straight road or a slight bend and I have to push the steering wheel past the center. But I mostly experience this issue when driving down a straight road and the steering wheel is in the center position and I have to turn the steering wheel slightly to the right or left to bring the car back to the center of the lane due to car m... Read more
Incident date: Jan 31, 2025
I have a 2020 Jeep Wrangler with 42,000 miles on it and the steering damper malfunctioned twice causing my vehicle to shake while on the interstate going about 70 mph. Very unsafe when you are in the middle of traffic going the same mph and have to slow down for the shaking / wobble to stop. I am scared that it will do it again. I’m paying a nice payment each month for my Jeep and I shouldn’t ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 31, 2025
Car had error on dashboard of Engine stopped power steering low, car is available for inspection. Car would not start in the middle of the night while raining, had smoke coming out the front. Problem not reproduced at dealership. No other warnings were shown beforehand.
Incident date: Jan 31, 2025
My electrical power steering is going out. A “power steering” flashes on my dash. I turn off my car and turn it back on and is able to be steered. However, my steering wheel read only moves/jiggles on its on at idle and in park. When I drive I feel the steering wheel jiggling on it’s on requiring to constantly correct so I stay in the lines.