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: Dec 12, 2024
FORMAL COMPLAINT: CONSUMER FRAUD & SAFETY VIOLATION Dealership: Germain Toyota West (Columbus, OH) Case Reference: #[XXX] To the Consumer Protection Division: I am filing a formal complaint regarding Theft by Deception, Gross Negligence, and Reckless Endangerment by this dealership. 1. THEFT & BILLING FRAUD On Oct 24, 2025, the dealership charged me $455.00 for labor to install rear sway ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2025
Bought this car less then a year ago with 38k miles and just last week after coming back from vacation my power steering system went while on the expressway. The advancetrac warning light came on and then the service power steering now. The steering wheel was impossible to turn and to make matters worse it was snowing out.
Incident date: Oct 1, 2025
I am reporting a safety-related defect involving the electric power steering system on my 2017 Ford Explorer. The vehicle displays a “Steering System Fault” warning, and when this occurs the power steering assist is reduced or disabled, creating a safety risk during low-speed driving, turning, and parking. When the ignition is on with the engine off, multiple communication fault codes appear,... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2025
The front passenger-side lower control arm on my 2022 Kia Forte fractured completely without warning during normal driving conditions. There was no collision, curb strike, pothole impact, or accident. The fracture appears clean and brittle, not bent or deformed. The failure caused suspension misalignment, damage to the CV axle, and uneven tire wear, creating a loss-of-control risk. The vehicle wa... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2024
Subject: Formal Complaint Regarding Persistent CV Joint Clicking Noise I am writing to formally document an ongoing issue with the constant velocity (CV) joints in my vehicle, which produce a noticeable clicking noise during low-speed turns, particularly at 90-degree intersections. This concern was first reported to my Honda dealer shortly after I leased the vehicle. At that time, the noise was in... Read more
Incident date: Dec 13, 2025
Driving about 10 mph when steering lockup Shop replaced rack opinion
Incident date: Sep 23, 2025
On December 2, 2025 I was driving on interstate 26, and warning lights came on, at the same time steering locked up and was I unable to steer. I did manage to slowly leave right lane, about 200 yards, and enter shoulder. I turned off and restarted many times and finally the steering unlocked. In Sept. car was brought to dealer. They could not find anything wrong. Since the incident, other war... Read more
Incident date: Dec 12, 2025
Bad vibration and bad wobble in steering wheel and front end components. This is the 3rd or 4th time my truck has been back to the dealer because of the same issue!
Incident date: Dec 12, 2025
I am experiencing the issue that was widely reported in the news on 9/8/2025. The steering starts to stick when the wheels are turned on gentle curved. This happens after about 1 hour of driving, and it most likely to happen between 45mph-65mph. Car has approximately 58,0000 miles on the odometer. This is a massive safety issue, a driver should not have to fight the steering wheel to maintain c... Read more
Incident date: Dec 13, 2025
The vehicle was in supervised full self driving on the turnpike, when all of a sudden it darted out of the lane into th grass hitting a guard rail.
Crash
Incident date: Dec 11, 2025
The steering was hard to turn, and the fully supervised driving mode didn't work. This has happened twice, and both times the issue went away on its own after a few minutes. I performed a soft reset both times, but it did not resolve the issue. The first time, the steering was very heavy, i.e., hard to turn. The second time was less difficult, but in both cases, FSD (Full Self-Driving) did not fun... Read more
FORD
MUSTANG MACH E
(2023) - STEERING
Dec 13, 2025
Incident date: Dec 9, 2025
I took my car into Freeland Chevrolet for the recall my car was running great,when i picked it up it was idling rough and smoking on my way home it was stalling out at every stop causing me to loose control of power steering and braking creating a safty haszard called them the next day and told them about it which they already knew because the manager was outside when i started it up. They said it... Read more
Incident date: Dec 11, 2025
Vehicle: 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E (leased) The issue involves the cruise control system and steering wheel control layout (human-machine interface). Cruise control is unintentionally activated when attempting to use the turn signal due to the placement of the cruise control buttons. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. On two separate occasions while using one-pedal driving, uni... Read more
Incident date: Dec 8, 2025
While driving, the vehicle experienced a sudden loss of electrical voltage. Multiple warning messages appeared, and several vehicle systems disabled while the vehicle was in motion. Power and safety features malfunctioned, and the parking brake engaged unexpectedly. The vehicle became unsafe to operate while driving. The failure required towing and a battery replacement to restore drivability. T... Read more
Incident date: Nov 29, 2025
All of the lights on the dash came on and the power steering stopped working while driving on the highway. I was in the number one lane and had to merge across four lanes to pull over with no power steering. I shut the car off and waited a few minutes. The lights were still on the dash but the power steering was working. This is the second time this has happened in the last two weeks.
Incident date: Nov 1, 2025
I have noticed a loud knocking sound coming from both the front right and left areas of the car when turning. I have read it may be a faulty CV joint but I am not sure. This issue arose before the car reached 6k miles. I believe these joints play a significant role in vehicle stability and safety. I have not been able to take it to the dealer yet but I will as soon as I can get a day off of work.... Read more
Incident date: Aug 7, 2025
I have a 2024 jeep gladiator and when I’m on the highway doing anything over 55mph it gets a horrible death wobble and the entire vehicle rattles. It’s hard to maintain control. The first time it happened I almost wrecked my truck. The entire vehicle vibrates violently so you lose control of the steering wheel. You have to come to an immediate stop wherever you are and pray you don’t get rea... Read more
Incident date: Dec 12, 2025
There is a grinding in my steering column, worse at lower speeds. I have spoke to Hyundai about this and several other shops and they said this is a common recall for Elantras and there is a barring that is in the recall. However, my VIN is not in this common recall. If this is a common recall on Elantras in my year range, wouldn't ALL Elantras have the option to have to corrected not just a... Read more
CHEVROLET
TRAILBLAZER
(2022) - STEERING
Dec 12, 2025
Incident date: Nov 26, 2025
I am filing an official safety complaint regarding my 2015 Ford Explorer Sport 3.5L due to a dangerous and sudden power-steering failure that occurred while I was driving with my children in the vehicle. There were no warning lights, alerts, or symptoms leading up to the failure. The power steering went out instantly and without any indication that something was wrong. The moment it failed, the st... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 Land Rover Range Rover Sport. The contact stated that while driving or starting the vehicle, there was a loud clunking sound coming from the engine compartment with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact also stated that while the vehicle was parked, an attempt was made to start the vehicle; however, the vehicle became inoperable and failed to start. The ve... Read more
Incident date: Dec 7, 2025
The car is equipped with a supercruise feature, which should ideally enhance the driving experience. However, I've encountered a significant issue: even when this feature is not activated, the vehicle tends to oscillate between the lane markers. This problem becomes particularly pronounced under poor road conditions, such as when it's raining. The moisture on the pavement obscures the lane marking... Read more
Incident date: Nov 22, 2025
The contact owns a 2023 Mazda CX-50. The contact stated that the steering wheel was loose. The contact was able to move the steering wheel up and down very easily. The contact stated that the vehicle was involved in a crash 7 months ago, and the steering wheel started to become loose one week ago. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a local dealer or independent me... Read more
Incident date: Dec 2, 2024
I am leasing a 2024 Tesla Model 3. The vehicle has a steering column defect that was previously acknowledged and temporarily repaired by Tesla Service. Within days, the issue returned. Tesla has now informed me that the steering column has a known design flaw, that replacement parts are still in development, and that any repair attempted now would fail. Despite this, I am being asked to continue ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 12, 2024
While driving, the vehicle experienced a serious steering malfunction. The right front wheel does not respond properly to steering input, while the left wheel responds normally, resulting in uneven steering and loss of directional control. The issue occurred without warning and created an immediate safety risk, especially during turns and lane changes. The vehicle became difficult to control and ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 12, 2025
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, there was a grinding sound coming from the steering column while making left and right turns. Additionally, the contact stated that the steering wheel jerked while driving and making left or right turns. The contact stated that three unknown warning lights were illuminated, and the traction control w... Read more
Incident date: Nov 7, 2025
The contact owns a 2025 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while depressing the accelerator pedal from a stop, the power steering became inoperable. Several warning lights were illuminated. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was towed to a dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the front camera had failed and caused the power steering failure. The vehicle was not repaired. Th... Read more
CHRYSLER
PACIFICA PLUG-IN HYBRID
(2023) - STEERING
Dec 12, 2025
Incident date: Dec 12, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while attempting to make a left turn, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The message "Service Power Steering Unit" was displayed. The contact stated that the failure had occurred on two different occasions. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the steering rack and pinion n... Read more
Incident date: Dec 12, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Land Rover Range Rover Sport. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. Additionally, the contact stated that the front driver's side of the vehicle had lowered unexpectedly, and the vehicle drove unsteadily. The vehicle was driven back to the residence. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for... Read more
Incident date: Dec 12, 2023
The contact owned a 2021 Volkswagen ID.4. The contact stated that while her husband was driving approximately 25 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed and there was a loud revving noise coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle then independently accelerated at full speed. The contact stated that her husband depressed the brake pedal several times, but the vehicle did not slow down, and the ste... Read more
Crash
1 injured
MERCEDES-BENZ
GLE 350
(2020) - STEERING
Dec 12, 2025
Incident date: Nov 3, 2025
The contact owned a 2017 Nissan Sentra. The contact stated that while driving 45 MPH and coasting to the right around a curve, after completing the maneuver, the accelerator was depressed, the cruise control was set at 48 MPH, and the steering wheel was turned to the left but independently turned all the way to the right. The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced a failure with the steer... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Dec 6, 2025
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle on two occasions, the "Power Steering Assist Fault" message was displayed on the instrument panel, and excessive force was required to steer the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a defective electric rack and pinion. The vehicle was not repaired. Upon investigation, the co... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2024
While operating the vehicle, the steering system suddenly developed a fault with no prior warning. A "Changed Steering Effort" warning appeared on the dashboard, immediately followed by significant resistance in the steering wheel and violent mechanical shuddering/oscillation. This resulted in a sudden, dangerous difficulty in maneuvering the vehicle. Despite the 2024 BMW iX and related models (5... Read more
Incident date: Dec 11, 2025
Power steering failing. As I was driving down the road I got a power steering message and chime. No dash light came on and I lost all ability to turn my vehicles steering wheel. I went to add power steering fluid just to learn that my 2005 Chevy Malibu maxx LS comes equipped with EPS(electric power steering). Then I check on NHTSA for safety recalls and there is a safety recall for the Chevy Mali... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2022) - STEERING
Dec 11, 2025
Incident date: Nov 28, 2025
2019 ram 1500 bighorn Power steering is going out intermittently while driving without notice or indication that it's going to happen, and it's throws power steering service light.The behavior matches exactly to the confirmed recall from Dodge "Safety Recall VB8 / NHTSA 19V812 Electric Power Steering Gear", I'm unclear why this vehicle VIN was not part of the recall as the recall description mat... Read more
Incident date: Dec 11, 2025
Steering will not return to center. After going around a turn, or even a curve like an exit ramp, the steering will remain locked in position and not re- center. It requires close attention and considerable force to return it to center and continue along a straight road.
Incident date: Dec 9, 2025
The contact owns a 2022 Honda Civic. The contact stated that the steering wheel felt sticky while driving and making turns. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the recall repair of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V744000(Steering) was performed; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where the recall repair was performed for a second time; however, the failure h... Read more
Incident date: Nov 22, 2025
I am writing to file a complaint regarding a safety issue with my 2023 Model Y Performance Tesla vehicle. The steering wheel's faux leather covering is peeling and bubbling, causing the material to come off while driving. This poses a significant hazard as it compromises my grip and creates a distraction, potentially leading to loss of control. Additionally, Tesla does NOT want to repair this, eve... Read more
Incident date: Nov 22, 2025
The contact owns a 2008 Acura TL. The contact stated that while driving at lower speeds or while making a left or right turn, the steering wheel became stiff and excessive force was required to steer the vehicle. No warning lights illuminated. The local dealer was contacted. It was unknown whether the vehicle was previously diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The... Read more
Incident date: Dec 11, 2025
The contact rented a 2018 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving at unknown highway speeds, the lane departure malfunctioned. The vehicle was jumping while driving and became uncontrollable. The steering wheel had unknown damage. The wheel cover was removed, but the failure persisted. The contact stated that there seemed to be a torque sensor issue, the tires had low tread and the tir... Read more
Incident date: Nov 12, 2022
The vehicle stalls while driving without any notice. This van has a start/stop function and it malfunctions. There are two separate batteries that control this function and both of them have been replaced. The entire steering rack and steering column have had to be replaced. The front suspension has also had to be replaced because the tires wear out very quickly. The alternator, radiator, and moto... Read more
Incident date: Jan 6, 2025
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel failed to turn in the intended direction. In addition, the power steering and advanced traction control warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was very difficult to steer. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with an electroni... Read more
Incident date: Oct 16, 2025
Heated steering wheel gets so hot it almost burns to touch it. IR Thermometer readings at the 10 and 2 o'clock positions read between 119 and 125 degrees Fahrenheit. Bottom of the steering wheel is 127-130 degrees. Have made an appointment to have the dealer check for issues.
Incident date: Dec 8, 2025
The contact owns a 2016 Land Rover Range Rover Sport. The contact stated that while driving at high speeds, the vehicle independently drifted into another lane, and the contact slightly lost control of the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and a dealer; however, the cause of the failure was not determined. The contact recently discove... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2025
I purchased a new 2026 BMW X3 xDrive30 (VIN [XXX] ) on 10/10/2025 from Patrick BMW/MINI in Schaumburg, IL. At under 200 miles, the vehicle began pulling to one side without driver input. The issue recurred several weeks later. On 11/23/2025, the defect became severe. The steering wheel would not return to center, resisted turning, and the vehicle continued pulling sharply to one side. Multiple wa... Read more
Incident date: Sep 10, 2025
I am filing this complaint regarding the serious safety hazard associated with the fire-risk recall on my 2023 Jeep Wrangler 4xe. The official manufacturer recall letter states: “The high-voltage battery may become damaged under normal operation which could lead to a vehicle fire.” The recall instructions also direct me to: Fully discharge the high-voltage battery Not charge the vehicle P... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2022) - STEERING
Dec 11, 2025
Incident date: Apr 15, 2025
I went to start my car and pull out of a parking lot when the power steering would not turn on. I tried starting and stopping the engine multiple times. I eventually left the car and returned later for it where the power steering was back on and fully functioning. I had a friend drive me and the vehicle to my house to be towed to a jeep dealership the following day. The power steering went out and... Read more
Incident date: Nov 29, 2025
Power steering would not work. Luckily I was pulling into my own driveway when this happened. The car was brought to the nearest Jeep dealership which I was then told they could do nothing about and no problem was visible on the computer or when they drove the vehicle. The vehicle was returned to me with no resolution.
Incident date: Oct 29, 2025
The contact owns a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that the steering wheel and the front wheels were uncontrollable. While driving from Georgia to Memphis, there was an unknown object loose by the wheel. The ball joint suspension was replaced by an independent mechanic. The low tire pressure warning light was illuminated. The contact was unable to control the vehicle and had the vehicle t... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2025
I was driving our 2017 Kia Sorento 2.4 liter, on I-94 in Detroit, MI when suddenly, the vehicle would not go over 50 mph when the engine suddenly lost power on Friday 11/28/2025 ..We towed the vehicle to the Auto Repair Shop a few days later. On Tuesday 12/9/2025 the Auto Repair shop contacted us and said that their was plenty of oil in the vehicle but Cylinder 3 misfired and there is a loss of ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2025
Power steering failure - unexpected. Made vehicle difficult to drive