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: Aug 24, 2026
Description of the Complaint: I own a 2022 BMW X5 (VIN: [XXX], current mileage: approximately 39,500 miles as of 08/24/2026) equipped with the B58TU engine, which uses a plastic oil pump (part number 11418646454) rather than a metal one. I have not yet experienced an actual failure, but I am reporting this as a precautionary safety concern based on the following: 1. On BMW's official parts refer... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2020
My truck's electric power steering (EPS) gets stuck in a left-hand turn and does not return to center. I have to physically turn the steering wheel to get it to return to center which causes the vehicle to over-steer, causes jerky movements and makes drives at highway speeds very unsafe. The steering system gets stuck mostly in a left-hand turn but less so in a right-hand turn. This appears to e... Read more
Incident date: Aug 23, 2026
Power steering sticks at highway speed around curves. This problem is worsening and is dangerous. The car has been inspected with repair estimates around $5,000.
Incident date: Dec 15, 2024
The affected components are the BOTH FRONT DRIVE AXLE/CV JOINT ASSEMBLIES on my 2024 Honda Prologue. This is not merely a suspected problem. After I reported the clicking/popping condition to Honda multiple times, the vehicle was finally inspected by a technician, who determined that BOTH FRONT AXLES WERE BROKEN AND REQUIRED REPLACEMENT. The original clicking/popping was not present when I obtain... Read more
Incident date: Jun 19, 2025
I've owned this 2016 Honda Civic since May of 2025. At first I never experienced any issue from the steering, that is when I started to notice that my steering felt like it would be sticking, like you couldn't balance yourself on highways or speeds exceeding 30+mph. I started doing my own research and discovered that other civic owners (10th and 11th gen) were experiencing similar issues. I'm hopi... Read more
Incident date: Aug 23, 2026
Subject: Safety Hazard caused by Emergency Lane Departure Avoidance on [2026 Tesla Model Y] Description: I am writing to report a serious safety issue regarding the Emergency Lane Departure Avoidance (ELDA) feature on my US-spec Tesla. Starting with recent software updates, the vehicle forces the Lane Departure Avoidance setting back to "Assist" upon every single drive cycle, with no option to ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 22, 2026
Complete loss of electronic power steering capability while new teenage driver was traveling at high rate of speed. Loss of power steering and stabilitrak traction control warning indicators on dash. Issue that invoke a safety recall in previous year model vehicle (GM Recall #15595 & GM Special Coverage N182182190) but is being ignored by manufacturer for my 2016 model. ODB2 fault codes confirm... Read more
Incident date: Aug 4, 2026
After completing a turn, the car's steering wheel does not fully return to center. It remains at 30 degrees under 10mph, 10-15 degrees at 20mph. Dealer has claimed it is behaving as intended.
Incident date: Aug 13, 2026
Received a power steering reduced notice when starting the car, noticed shortly after driving the temperature gauge had not moved from its resting position. A few trips later it still had not moved and the check engine light came on. Mechanic looked at it said it may be a sensor quoted $1k to fix. A few days later it randomly started working and the light went off so I did not have it fixed. About... Read more
MITSUBISHI
OUTLANDER SPORT
(2014) - STEERING
Aug 23, 2026
Incident date: Jul 3, 2026
lower control arm broke due to recall #21v144 resulting in transmission cv axles lower control arms front steering components and drive train failure. emergency tow bill etc vihicle is at burdick mitsubishi in cicero ny and dealer says mitsubishi has denied as secondary damage as per recall. waiting on dealership for denial letter.
Incident date: Aug 20, 2026
The steering is sticky at highway speeds. While making slight curves, the steering feels momentarily unresponsive and then suddenly catches up to create a high potential for loss of control.
Incident date: Aug 22, 2026
On 8/22/2026, my 2022 Tesla Model Y Long Range with approximately 81,000 miles developed an Electronic Power Assisted Steering (EPAS) fault immediately after I felt a brief jerk while reversing. The vehicle displayed “Steering assist reduced / Steering may require increased effort.” Manual steering currently feels normal, but Full Self-Driving/Autosteer and Lane Departure/Lane Keeping function... Read more
Incident date: Jun 8, 2026
For about two months my 2016 Chevy Colorado has been having a random power steering and stabilitrak issue message popping up. There’s no clear reason why this happens as I can drive my truck for days/weeks and it was suddenly lose power steering. When this happens it is a serious safety issue as I can be on the highway driving fine and my power steering will just suddenly stop working. Normally,... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2026
Component Failed: Electronic Power Steering (EPAS) system / Steering Rack. The vehicle is currently displaying the active safety alert code: UI_a020 ("Steering assist reduced / disabled"). The vehicle is available for inspection. Safety Risk: A sudden loss of primary power steering assist creates a severe safety hazard, requiring extreme physical effort to steer the vehicle. This increases the ris... Read more
Incident date: Jun 25, 2026
With about 59,800 miles, a rattling noise under the driver's side of the car began near the end of June, 2026 and gradually became louder, specially on bumpier streets. By the last week of July 2026, the steering started getting erratically stiffer becoming harder to control the direction of the vehicle. A neighborhood mechanic replaced the inner & outer tire rods but this didn't resolve the pro... Read more
Incident date: Aug 22, 2026
Seats: Driver’s seat shifts forward when normal braking pressure is applied. Bottom cushion seems to be loose/shifting. Cause for major concern if emergency braking should be needed and seat does not restrain driver Steering: Steering wheel has vibrations when driving over normal aberrations/roughness on paved roads. Accompanied by rattles and mechanical noise. Extremely annoying Suspension: F... Read more
Incident date: Aug 5, 2026
When driving at higher speeds, around 50 mph +, the steering wheel gets stuck into position. You have to over correct it out of the stuck position to stay in the lane. When in a turn, it get stuck around 1 or 11 o'clock and you have to pull hard to the left or right to get it out of the stuck position, which makes you drift into the wrong lane in the stuck position, then swerve towards the wrong l... Read more
Incident date: Aug 17, 2026
My vehicle was left rendered unable to steer during use. It was taken to a local shop All Japanse Auto, who found the damage was consistent with Ford Saftey Recall 21S28. Upon speaking to AutoFair Ford of Haverhill service they informed me Ford did not include my truck in the recall despite it matching year and model and they would not be addressing the issue for me. Loss of steering mid use is ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 17, 2026
2018 Honda Civic is having the same issue as Honda noted on a safety notice below: [XXX] My steering wheel clicks when turning, often sticks, and can be heard if standing outside the vehicle. The dealer ship which sold me this car is Dick Brooks Honda in Greer, SC. I went to them about the issue and they refuse to help. I had 2 private mechanics look at the car and both mechanics agree it is the ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2026
We were driving down the highway passing another vehicle when we lost steering and the dash said "Steering Power Loss". We pulled to the side of the road where the vehicle stalled and would not restart. Probably 10-15 minutes later the vehicle started and we eventually made it to our destination. It was quite scary trying to get to the side of the road, in heavy traffic, and pulling over where the... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2026
Steering rack component failure, vague steering, play during steering directional change, Light grinding noise when turning steering wheel.
Incident date: Aug 15, 2026
COMPONENT: Electric power steering (EPS) steering gear / rack and pinion assembly. WHAT HAPPENED: The steering gear binds internally. After a turn the wheel does not return to center and must be forced back to straight; steering feel is stiff and clunky. On at least one occasion the wheel felt stuck in place partway through a turn and I had to fight it to finish the maneuver. I nearly lost contro... Read more
Incident date: Aug 20, 2026
Upon driving steering appears normal then starts to feel a little tight as if I was loosing power steering then goes back to normal.
Incident date: Dec 13, 2025
The vehicle has suffered a life-threatening, complete loss of power steering while driving under identical, hazardous conditions on two separate occasions. There were no warning lights or inductors prior to either event. 1. The vehicle suffered a complete steering failure while driving over railroad tracks with a child inside the vehicle. A full replacement of the steering gearbox and power steeri... Read more
Incident date: Aug 20, 2026
"While driving down a steep mountain hill, my 2015 Ford Escape suffered a sudden and complete loss of electric power steering assist without any advance warning... We came within inches of a catastrophic collision and almost crashed directly into a utility pole." I'm absolutely terrified & Now going to cost a fortune. No injury, Just wife Panic attack.
Incident date: Nov 21, 2025
While driving my 2025 Honda Civic Touring, the electric steering system suddenly malfunctioned without warning. While entering/navigating a roundabout, the wheels forcibly straightened out on their own, overriding steering input and causing the vehicle to crash directly into the roundabout curb/barrier. Prior to this sudden steering lockout/binding event, there were no known performance or handlin... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Aug 21, 2026
NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: PE25009 The steering now appears to stick while going into and out of corners on the highway. The problem gets worse as speed increases.
TOYOTA
REDUNDANT CAMRY
(2025) - STEERING
Aug 21, 2026
Incident date: Jun 4, 2026
Sometimes the vehicle doesn’t detect my key. This is a new vehicle I bought brand new. It will detect and give random times where you hit the button and nothing. In 100 degree heat , seconds matter. This is dangerous. I bought Toyota for reliability. I try to reverse and the sensor makes me have to put in park to put back in reverse to get it to work. My dash is frequently messing up and discon... Read more
Incident date: Aug 11, 2026
The contact owns a 2022 BMW X6. The contact stated that while reversing at 5 MPH in the driveway, there was an abnormal dragging sound coming from the vehicle while turning the steering wheel. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was determined that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was conta... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2021) - STEERING
Aug 21, 2026
Incident date: Feb 1, 2026
When I put the pickup in park, I get a message that states "Shift to Park". The pickup is completely stopped, the gear shift indicator is in "P". When I get out of the vehicle I get two loud two-horn alerts indicating that the pickup in not in Park, when in fact it is. Doing some research, I have seen that this is a common problem for GM vehicles. The console shift vehicles are actually involved... Read more
Incident date: Aug 20, 2026
The contact owns a 2013 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving approximately 15-20 MPH and attempting to make a left turn, the steering wheel became difficult to turn, and the contact stopped the vehicle and activated the hazard lights. Another driver assisted the contact in moving the vehicle to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determi... Read more
Incident date: Aug 11, 2026
Loss of power assistance in steering
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2015) - STEERING
Aug 21, 2026
Incident date: Aug 18, 2026
The contact owns a 2015 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost power steering functionality for approximately 1 minute. The failure had occurred while the steering wheel was straight or turning towards the left or the right, and the steering wheel was jerking during the failure. The “Power Steering” message was displayed, and there w... Read more
Incident date: Aug 3, 2026
While I was driving my 2012 Ford Fusion on August 3rd the steering cut out. I parked the car and re-started it and it worked again. It went to the shop (Extra Mile Automotive) on XXX where they informed me of the 2015 recall on the steering. Recall number 15S18 and program 15N01 When I spoke with [XXX] Ford in [XXX], they said they replaced the electrical piece of the recall on December 7th 2015... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2022) - STEERING
Aug 20, 2026
Incident date: Aug 19, 2026
1. There was front suspension failure where the lower ball joint has separated, causing the steering knuckle and wheel assembly to detach and collapse while driving- yes it is available to inspect if done tomorrow 2. Driver could not control car, passengers and other cars on road in immediate danger. Car was swerving with loss of control 3 Independent service center looked-this should have not h... Read more
Incident date: Jul 28, 2026
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact turned the steering wheel; however, the steering wheel was abnormally difficult to turn. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with rack and pinion failure. The contact was informed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 31, 2026
When driving off and on the power steering will go out and different warning lights will come on including “hill parking assist is off”.
Incident date: Feb 4, 2026
When turning left, steering fails to correct to neutral, resulting in the driver having to force the vehicle to the right to maintain a straight path. Steering wheel sticks. Honda dealership confirmed the issue and problem needed steering gearbox replacement. Issue is related to recalls in other SAME MODEL vehicles, however was not the SAME YEAR.
Incident date: Jul 25, 2026
The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost automotive power, and the "Low Steering" message was displayed on the instrument panel. The check engine warning light was illuminated, the vehicle shuddered, and then stalled as the contact pulled into a parking lot. The failure had occurred on several different occasions. The cont... Read more
Incident date: Aug 20, 2026
My 2022 Tesla Model 3 has experienced recurring intermittent loss/reduction of power steering assistance. The vehicle displays “Steering assist reduced – Steering may require increased effort.” The problem has occurred multiple times over a period of months and may disappear after the vehicle is power cycled or the alert clears. Tesla previously evaluated the vehicle for this condition. On ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 22, 2026
The contact owns a 2019 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving 64 MPH, the contact detected a shimmy and knocking coming from the front wheels. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was a common failure with similar vehicles. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, and an alignment, tire rotation, and wheel balance were performed. The veh... Read more
Incident date: Jul 21, 2026
The engine/dash wiring harness connector XY230A suffered severe thermal degradation, resulting in a melted pin and causing a complete loss of communication with the Transmission Control Module (TCM, Code U0101-00) and continuous dashboard warning lights (Service Connection Error). This vehicle has a chronic history of unresolved electrical failures, having been brought to Stellantis Puerto Rico de... Read more
Incident date: Aug 16, 2026
I initiated a turn and the steering wheel suddenly and forcefully moved in the opposite direction of my steering input. The steering wheel was pulled out of my hand. I was unable to maintain the intended steering direction and the vehicle was involved in a collision. This was not an intentional steering maneuver or ordinary loss of traction.
Incident date: Oct 13, 2025
I own a Prologue Touring on a lease and it has defective drive axles and every time I brought it to Honda Service Dept they said that Honda said that the will not repair or replace them. The Vin# is [XXX].Any question feel free to contact me at [XXX]. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Incident date: Aug 11, 2026
The contact leased a 2024 Hyundai Kona. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH, the steering wheel independently turned from the left to the right, and the contact lost control of the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact experienced temporary left wrist pain but had not sought medical attention. The contact regained control of the vehicle and stopped the vehicle; howe... Read more
1 injured
TOYOTA
COROLLA CROSS
(2024) - STEERING
Aug 20, 2026
Incident date: Aug 16, 2026
The contact owns a 2024 Toyota Corolla Cross. The contact stated that twice while driving at various speeds and slowing down to make a turn, the brake pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to slow down as intended and the steering wheel locked up. During the first failure, while the contact’s husband was driving, the vehicle lost power. The vehicle was driven to a gas station and then resta... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Jan 8, 2020
Steering is sticking on curves, creating a hazardous condition. Condition comes and goes
Incident date: Aug 20, 2026
My 2025 Ram 1500 has experienced seven separate incidents in which the steering suddenly became extremely difficult or impossible to turn. The most recent incident occurred on August 20, 2026. During these events, I temporarily lose the ability to steer the vehicle normally, creating an immediate risk of a crash. A vehicle diagnostic scan recorded repeated U0131 faults for lost communication with... Read more
Incident date: Aug 19, 2026
There is a recall on the power steering box, Honda attempted repairing, but the issue was not resolved. Honda is now requesting I purchase a new power steering rack and will not replace the faulty one on recall.
Incident date: Aug 19, 2026
The power steering system is continually giving Power Steering Assist Failure and Service Advance Trac. The code U3000 was identified by Ford technician. This code is found in a Ford recall 15S18, my VIN is not included in this recall. The power steering quits working while the car is driving. The problem was confirmed through codes U3000 and Coo51 by Ed Morse Ford in Lebanon, MO. There was no a... Read more