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
Incident date: Dec 1, 2025
All alarms are on. Breaks adaptive cruise control hill assist and all other alarms. Taken in to 2 Honda deals and serval mechanics they cannot figure out what’s wrong with it. About once a month all the alarms will clear while driving and the car sensors will start making the car drive odd. Have to fight the steering wheel to keep it straight and wheels will independently break, thinking it’s... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
TIGUAN
(2022) — STEERING
Apr 6, 2026
Incident date: Feb 1, 2026
This vehicle was purchased in 2021, while the vehicle was under warranty, we had issues with the travel assist 2 times. The vehicle was taken twice to the main VW dealership to fix the issue with the travel assist. Both times they change the entire steering mechanism and the vehicle worked fine after that. Recently, the car started having issues again with the travel assist but now it’s not unde... Read more
Incident date: Nov 23, 2025
While driving my 2025 Kia K4, the steering system failed and became unresponsive. I was unable to steer the vehicle as intended. The exact cause of the steering failure is UNKNOWN at this time. The vehicle and steering components are available for inspection upon request. The loss of steering control put my safety and passengers riding at serious risk because I could not properly control the dire... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2026
Subject: Safety Defect Report – Steering Wheel Lock-Up & Lack of Notification – 2022 Honda HR-V Description of Incident: I am reporting a severe, life-threatening safety defect regarding the steering system of my 2022 Honda HR-V. While driving, the steering wheel suddenly and unexpectedly locks up, making it nearly impossible to steer. This has occurred more than three times recently, with in... Read more
Incident date: Apr 5, 2026
The contact's brother owned a 2024 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while her brother was driving at approximately 54 MPH as he turned the steering wheel to the left to follow the road, the steering wheel locked up and stayed turned to the left. The contact stated that her brother crashed into the highway barrier. The contact stated that her brother had a passenger in the back seat. The contact... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Apr 4, 2026
Difficulty in steering around corners
Incident date: Mar 9, 2026
The contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became firm and failed to turn to the left or the right. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer, where it remained for several weeks;... Read more
Incident date: May 15, 2025
There is a loud clicking sound coming from the front axle(s) while steering around corners. It began within 30 days of taking possession of the new vehicle in mid-April 2025 and has continued to this day, April 6, 2026 with 11k mileage on the car. Furthermore it has become progressively worse, whereby early on the steering had to be near the fully clocked left or right position, now it only has to... Read more
Incident date: Oct 26, 2024
This has happened several times and I have spent so much money trying to fix the issue but i dont seem to be able to do so. Whenever I am driving my Jeep on any road at speeds above 55 miles per hour the front wheels begin to vibrate violently and shake the car. After researching this is called "Death Wobbles." It is very scary when it happens and even more so when I have my children in the car. I... Read more
Incident date: Feb 9, 2026
Shift to Park issue: Known issue where the car fails to recognize it is in Park, preventing it from shutting off. Electronics: Potential blanked-out display screens, USB port issues, and malfunctioning cameras. Steering Assist: Restricted, temperature gauge goes to cold and radiator fan blows hard. I have to unplug negative cable to battery and reconnect and everything goes back to normal.
Incident date: Oct 16, 2025
Getting message on screen since october 2025. That time total milage on my car was less then 30,000 STEERING ASSIST REDUCED and LANE DEPARTURE AVOIDANCE FEATURE UNAVAILABLE. I did reset / restart the vehicle / soft / hard reset, software update. and This both message got disappear and then again after sometimes its keep coming back. So i did appointment to rocklin tesla center and they gave me cos... Read more
Incident date: Mar 5, 2026
No less than 6 occasions now I have experienced extreme shaking (death wobble) even after Ford replaced the steering damper. I'm done with the vehicle and will take it in again for this issue.
Incident date: Apr 2, 2026
My 2019 Jeep Cherokee Latitude Plus is exhibiting a persistent metallic rattling and grinding noise originating from the Power Transfer Unit (PTU) and the propeller shaft interface. The noise is most prominent during acceleration and coasting at speeds under 20 mph. Confirmed through Dr. Auto LLC, in Warren, OR. That it is in fact PTU unit attached to the propeller shaft. Plan to go through a deal... Read more
Incident date: Mar 27, 2026
Losing power steering intermittently.
Incident date: Apr 5, 2026
This complaint is a follow-up to NHTSA complaint number 11729095. Since submitting the original complaint, the issue has continued and is now occurring while the vehicle is in motion. The vehicle is experiencing intermittent electrical and communication failures affecting multiple systems. The issue began approximately three weeks ago after completing a normal drive and has persisted since that ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2025
As I drive down the road above 45 mph my steering wheel feels like it gets stuck, I have to get it pulled back out of the stick. It’s a terrible feeling and is uncontrollable. All systems are off that may cause any issues and it still does this. This is a common problem that I have been researching with this year model can we get a recall on this. It’s been doing. It over 6 months
Incident date: Mar 1, 2026
Steering feels stucked and when navigating in a curve. You have to put an effort to get the steering wheel unstuck.
Incident date: Mar 1, 2026
Steering gear and torque sensor failure at 39,000 miles. Car is unsafe to drive and costs over $3500 to fix. The problem has been diagnosed at a dealership. No warning lights or codes apparent, problem is worsening and the car is becoming unsafe to drive. Steering gear or rack could be available for inspection.
Incident date: Apr 2, 2026
The steering wheel becomes sticky when turning at highway speeds and around 30 MPH. This problem happens consistently when turning at certain speed. Lot of extra effort needs to be applied to bring the sticky steering wheel back to the original position. This extra effort makes the turning very dangerous as the sticky steering wheel doesn't smoothly reverts back to normal position. Any extra effo... Read more
Incident date: Apr 3, 2026
I am the owner of a 2024 Honda Prologue Touring Sport Utility FWD 2WD. I am reporting a defect involving a clicking/ratcheting noise originating from the front CV joint/drive axle when turning the steering wheel, most notably during left turns and when the steering wheel auto-centers after a turn. The noise is consistent and reproducible. This is not an isolated issue — Honda itself acknowledged... Read more
Incident date: Apr 4, 2026
My 2016 Honda Civic w/ 66000 miles has been experiencing issues with the steering wheel wherein after driving for approximately 10-15 minutes the steering wheel will start "sticking" when attempting to make micro-adjustments. This primarily occurs at highway speeds, however after starting it does still occur at lower city speeds. This problem causes a significant safety issue, particularly when tr... Read more
Incident date: Apr 4, 2026
Steering locks when turning/ in a curve trajectory. Must manually overpower wheel to break locked position when coming out of the turn. No warning lights or sensors alerted. Vehicle will be brought to dealer for service for determined solution. Available for inspection.
Incident date: Apr 1, 2026
Steering doesn't return to center when moving. When moving at low speeds steering is heavy. Possible steering gear issue. Always present while driving vehicle and turning.
Incident date: Apr 3, 2026
While driving on a clear road, with or without heavy traffic, the collision mitigation warning shows up on the dashboard display. Sometimes the warning for the collision system goes off and the system tries to brake and jerk the wheel. If I have the wheel firmly I can correct it and it resolves. It can happen on a clear road with no one around or in heavy traffic. Yesterday it happened in a sing... Read more
Incident date: Apr 3, 2026
Steering wheel is sticky during highway driving. While making minor turns or changing lanes the steering wheel intermittently has issues driving straight.
Incident date: Mar 8, 2026
On March 8th 2026 I noticed a shudder or vibration from my steering wheel while pulling up into my parking spot, this does not happen when the vehicle is moving faster. I even turned my steering wheel fully to the right and left when I am parked and the vibration is there. I took the car to Future Honda at Citrus Heights CA and the first time they’ve told me the car was perfectly fine. Before I ... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
TIGUAN
(2017) — STEERING
Apr 3, 2026
Incident date: Jan 8, 2025
I am filing this complaint to seek a full buyback and debt cancellation for a 2017 VW Tiguan (VIN: [XXX] ) sold to me by Carvana for $40,000. Summary of Deception: Carvana sold this vehicle as "Certified" with a "150-Point Inspection" guarantee. This was a fraudulent misrepresentation. Within six months, the vehicle required 45+ mechanical services, including a full internal teardown that reveale... Read more
Incident date: Mar 22, 2026
Steering sticks in one direction doesn’t recenter by itself stiff while driving even city or freeway
Incident date: Apr 1, 2026
Three times now, my steering wheel feels like it’s jerking out of my hands and difficult to turn. It has happened at low speeds while maneuvering in parking lots. I’m afraid it’ll happen at higher speeds as it gets worse.
Incident date: Oct 1, 2025
Lost power steering while I was driving multiple time and I couldn't turn. Later the alert also come on and off but sometime the steering is fine. Found out on Tesla Model X facebook group people are having the same issues.
Incident date: Oct 22, 2025
My 2025 Ford Explorer pulls hard to the left, the steering wheel feels heavy, stiff, and gets hard to steer my wife and I are constantly fighting with the car to get it to steer right and stay in the lane. If I let it, I can keep the steering wheel straight and the car will just veer to the left Into the left lane, it’s dangerous, my wife won’t even drive it anymore. Then there are times while... Read more
Incident date: Mar 22, 2026
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the power steering malfunctioned, and the steering wheel was extremely difficult to turn in either direction. The vehicle was driven to the local dealer, and the power steering control module was updated under NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (STEERING); but the failure was not corrected. The manufacturer was... Read more
Incident date: Apr 3, 2026
The contact owns a 2020 Acura RLX. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel seized with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the steering wheel became difficult to turn, with an abnormal sound coming from the steering wheel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the steering rack had f... Read more
MINI
JCW COUNTRYMAN ALL4
(2026) — STEERING
Apr 3, 2026
Incident date: Apr 1, 2026
The vehicle onboard screen is very slow to connect to our Android phones. This has been an issue from the very beginning. A drivetrain fault message appeared on 04/01 (NOT a joke!!) and the car was not responsive to going in reverse gear. The transmission stopped responding and we were barely able to make it to the dealership. The car wouldn't go past 40mph. We've had the car since mid-December an... Read more
Incident date: Mar 10, 2026
Airbag/SOS System failure - stated resistance on airbag was “above 8 ohms” This happened - and [XXX] emailed me THREE times in the first 30 days of ownership. Replaced Steering Column Control Module - but this may not resolve the issue. Am looking to have this lemon replaced - been having trouble with ANY real contact from Jeep/Stellantis/FCA INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF I... Read more
Incident date: Mar 31, 2026
For the past year my steering wheel gets stuck or feels sticky. Especially when I am driving at higher speeds of 45mph or above. It happens more so when the temperature outside is warmer or I have been driving on the highway. When I turn the wheels left to go around a curve, the wheel will stay when I go to return the wheel to center. It causes my car to bounce back and forth and be very shaky. I ... Read more
LAND ROVER
RANGE ROVER SPORT
(2017) — STEERING
Apr 3, 2026
Incident date: Apr 3, 2026
The contact owns a 2017 Land Rover Range Rover Sport. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a loud sound coming from the front of the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was made aware that the VIN was associated with NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V514000 (Steering); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer w... Read more
Incident date: Apr 2, 2026
My steering wheel came detached as I was driving. Forest is refusing to pay to have it towed to the dealership to be fixed. I do not understand why I have to pay $160 for a tow that was a defect of ford. At that point, it is no longer a free repair
Incident date: Nov 28, 2025
My 2023 Ford Explorer (VIN: [XXX] ) has a persistent front suspension clunk/rattle/knock when driving over small bumps or uneven pavement at low speeds (8–20 mph). The noise is repeatable and has progressively worsened. It matches the condition described in Ford Special Service Message SSM 52405, which identifies a manufacturing defect involving a loose internal pressure tube inside the front st... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2026
The Power Steering and Stabilitrak went out on my vehicle. Within a 2 week period the service lights started coming on and then it finally went out. I could not steer the vehicle due to it being so hard to turn. Brought vehicle to dealer and they had the same issue with it. They had to replace the Steering Gear box. Cost me $2100.00. Noticed on line many people have had this same issue on ma... Read more
Incident date: Mar 21, 2026
Around 20,000 miles my car began having faint metallic clanking/clicking sounds turning left and recoiling back to the left under 15 miles an hour and while parked. My lane mitigation, see dealer light turned on for 5 minutes while backing in to a spot then turned off. No issues steering just noise. Glad I am not deaf and I know better because it was a very easy and quiet noise to ignore or miss.... Read more
HYUNDAI
SANTA FE SPORT
(2013) — STEERING
Apr 2, 2026
Incident date: Dec 2, 2025
While my vehicle was at an authorized Hyundai dealership for engine warranty repair, I reported a suspension grinding noise and requested that it be inspected. This concern was raised while the vehicle was in the dealership’s possession and was communicated as a safety concern. The engine repair was completed and the vehicle was returned to me. No inspection findings, documentation, or technici... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2026
Axle clicking when turning. Car visited dealer on Jan2026 and they requested replacement parts. Last update from dealer stats Honda stopped replacing them due to defective parts. Replacement part is under design.
Incident date: Jan 17, 2026
The contact owns a 2023 Honda Accord. The contact stated that after taking the vehicle in for a check, the instrument panel was inoperative. The contact attempted to reboot the system, but the issue persisted. The contact stated that the steering gear box was failing, and that the steering wheel was firm, and the contact temporarily lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, b... Read more
Incident date: Mar 6, 2026
The contact owns a 2021 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving at 30–35 MPH, the steering wheel failed to steer in the intended direction. The contact stated that the steering wheel independently steered and made a left turn. The vehicle crashed into a nearby pole. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that when the vehicle stopped, the steering wheel independently sp... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Mar 16, 2026
STEERING: 2025 Honda CRV steering became "sticky" when veering left, making it difficult to maneuver back to center and the steering could feel a bit jumpy. There were also faint clicks when driving in circles to the left. The VIN was not listed under the current recall number 24V-744 so we brought it to the dealer to see if it was under warranty. The sticky steering only happens after driving the... Read more
Incident date: Feb 22, 2026
My vehicle has already had recall remedy for 24V-022, still experiencing "notchy" steering (momentary increase in steering effort). Mid corner the steering wheel locks into place, I can let my hands off the wheel and the steering wheel maintains the steering angle, I have to forcibly move it out of the lock to either increase or decrease turning radius. This is a recurring issue every time I drive... Read more
Incident date: Apr 2, 2026
Was driving on the road while it was raining outside. As I turned a corner my power steering suddenly dropped out mid turn. Was able to fight to get of the road. It was accompanied with a service power steering system light on my dash. I shut the vehicle off and restarted it. It drove fine for a short bit and again loss power steering. The power steering light came on along with service elec... Read more