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 49,040 complaints — component: STRUCTURE:BODY
Incident date: Dec 2, 2023
The driver's door hinge welds broke. Vehicle is available for inspection and do to the nature of the problem I am afraid that the door may fall off. The door and hinge piece need to be replaced to fix this issue. I called the Dealer, and they are aware of the issue but seem to not be willing to get this fixed without charging me due to me being 2 months outside of the bumper-to-bumper warranty. Th... Read more
HONDA
CR-V HYBRID
(2021) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Dec 4, 2023
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
Tailgate opens by itself, a know issue by GM and Sierra drivers. Mine was damaged by opening and banging against my travel trailer. I have been talking with GM about this since September. Today a different department told me they require up to 30 days to investigate and if I pay for the repairs myself they will cancel the investigation. Objects flying out of my pickup bed could damage my vehic... Read more
Incident date: Oct 11, 2022
Rusted out subframe, less than 95k miles. No “salt belt” treatment offered to this vehicle. Vehicle in Ohio since bought. Took to dealer for engine recall, found $1200 subframe replacement bill. Car was garage stored all of the time.
Incident date: Nov 11, 2022
The driver door is making popping noises when opening and closing. I read this could be the door weld issue.
Incident date: Oct 22, 2023
My driver side door began to make a popping sound and was hard to open and shut. Now it feels like the door will fall off or open while driving and has caused the window to no longer roll down. The Ford dealership (Bob Tomes) has acknowledged the problem and the same problem with other same year models but will not take care of the issue unless I pay full price out of pocket.
Incident date: Nov 22, 2023
Driver side door is making a click click sound when opening the door. Doing some research it seems the problem is that the hinge is broken and will continue to get worse. I have to go from the passenger side to get in and out or slightly open the driver door to get in and out.I also noticed that my power window doesn't go all the way down starting today 12/04/2023. I believe this is due to the doo... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2023
Back window defrost over heats causing back glass to shatter. This is a safety issue causing the driver visual impairment through the back glass. Vehicle has been inspected with the glass replacement. There were no prior warning sensors.
Incident date: Nov 3, 2023
Windshield of my car cracked spontaneously in two different occasions for no apparent reasons. First incident's occurred in June 2023 resulting in replacement of the windshield. Second incident occurred on December 4,2023 & vehicle is scheduled for replacement of the windshield. I thought the first event was due to rock hitting my car while driving on the highway but very likely it’s a spontaneo... Read more
Incident date: Dec 4, 2023
The vehicle does not have the hood rear view convex mirrors.. The hood mirrors are use for rear to side view blind spot that the passenger or driver side mirrors cannot see. For instance entering or crossing a two way divided highway with no traffic lights, the hood mirrors is use to view when entering without on coming vehicle in a blind spot brushing past your engine compartment or passenger sid... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2023
On 11-17-23 someone rear ended me making me lose control of the vehicle and getting off the road into the woods and eventually hitting a tree, the airbags did not deploy, the car is equipped with OnStar system from Chevrolet as a safety feature in which as soon as there is a collision I supposed to get a call from an advisor so they could call an ambulance and a towing service, it's included in m... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Sep 15, 2023
Due to bad deals, one of our front lights was filled with water. Causing multiple sensors to go off, like our lane departure and camera features. Car had 5 warnings on dash
DOONA
CAR SEAT/ STROLLER
(9999) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Dec 3, 2023
Incident date: Feb 23, 2023
Driver side door began making a popping sound when opening and closing. Eventually window would not go all the way down. Took to dealer and they said there is a known problem with some spot welds associated with the door bracket and that Ford recommends replacement of the entire door. They also said this is not a recall and would cost around $1,800.00 since its out of warranty.
Incident date: Nov 8, 2023
The driver and passenger windshield trim started to break apart while traveling at 70 mph. First the soft trim started to fly off and then the hard trim started to lift off. Luckily I was able to pull over before it completely flew off on the highway and hit the cars around me. Did some research and it looks like this is a very common issue for the explorer and some cases end up worse than mine.
Incident date: Dec 3, 2023
Took delivery of the Fisker Ocean One on Saturday, December 2, 2023. Upon driving home in the freeway on Sunday, December 3, 2023, the hood flipped open and completely obstructed my view of the road. The hood slammed against the windshield (but did not break the windshield) and popped off the rear view mirror. Hood is bent, as well as causing body damage. The hood is supposed to be secured with t... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2021) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Dec 3, 2023
Incident date: Oct 28, 2023
Came out in the morning to the rear windshield shattered. No impact or anything of the like, just randomly shattered overnight while in my garage.
Incident date: Oct 1, 2023
The driver side door has issues with opening from outside.
Incident date: Oct 1, 2023
My driver side door's arm weld has broken causing my window to no longer function, the driver side door does not unlock electronically, my heads up display no longer works, and the door no longer has any resistance when opening. I understand there is a current investigation going on for these arm welds breaking and am reporting another instance of that. With my vehicle being at 70k miles the doo... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2020) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Dec 1, 2023
Incident date: Nov 27, 2023
The subframe corroded causing an unsafe potentially hazardous condition. Also the brake line was were corroded causing imminent brake failure. The rear springs rusted from the corrosion subframe defect..Mercedes required 2800 dollars from me to remedy the problem
Incident date: Oct 15, 2023
DRIVER DOOR RETAINER WELDS HAVE CRACKED AND SEPARATED. MAKING THE DOOR DIFFICULT TO OPEN OR CLOSE AND REMAIN CLOSED. THERE ARE NO WARNING LAMPS THIS PROBLEM IS ALREADY CURRENTLY UNDER INVESTIGATION BY NHTSA SSM 50150. ITS TIME FOR A RECALL OF THIS DANGEROUS LIFE SAFETY ISSUE AS THE DOOR IS ABLE TO OPEN SUDDENLY WHILE DRIVING
Incident date: Dec 23, 2022
Vehicle hood opened on its own while driving. We have video of the incident from front dash camera. Vehicle hood was not operated prior to 300 miles when employee start the day with pre-trip information. There were few people also verified that the hood was closed properly. While driving from Ontario, CA to Las Vegas , NV and driver returning from Las Vegas the vehicle midway to Ontario Californ... Read more
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2012) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Dec 1, 2023
Incident date: Nov 29, 2023
The rear passenger compartment outside and inside door handles broke such that rear seating passengers cannot exit the vehicle and are trapped inside. In case of an accident, the emergency responders will have to resort to drastic time consuming measures such as ripping the doors off to save the trapped passengers. Apparently all years of Ford Econoline vans have this dangerous problem because the... Read more
Incident date: Nov 3, 2023
Driver side door malfunctioning. Popping when opening and closing
MERCEDES-BENZ
S55
(2002) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Dec 1, 2023
Incident date: Nov 30, 2023
Paint delamination happening to my Kia Sorento, paint is peeling exposing primer
Incident date: Feb 13, 2023
Frame under truck bed totally rusted, cracked and broken in numerous locations. Gas Tank is hanging by a rusty thread! This problem should have been a recall. My $20k truck is now worth scrap value!!
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2010) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Dec 1, 2023
Incident date: Nov 28, 2023
Water intrusion in the A pillars on both driver and passenger side during a rain storm. Toyota confirmed the water intrusion and stated that the gaskets and clips for the roof rack had failed, allowing water to get into the vehicle interior. I had owned the vehicle for approximately 6 months, and I'm not sure when these clips/gaskets failed. If this failure occured earlier, but there wasn't enough... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
I’m not a car expert. However, this suv has been rusting for some time in (1) one spot. Why? Because there seems to be a manufacture defect in or on the door body structure. I am concerned that the rust my be effecting my safety when driving and May fall off eventually. Causing injury. I can not get an explanation from FORD as the why this is happening! Other than it must be a manufacturer is... Read more
Incident date: Oct 5, 2020
The sunroof exploded all of the sudden. I was driving on the I-675 highway toward Wright-Patt Air Force Base and the sunroof exploded, barely maintained vehicle control. The shattered glass hit my head and my child legs. Some glass sand enter my eye. I manage to pulled over and check my car interior for any strange/outside object but there was no external object, nothing. Called the police, they a... Read more
Incident date: Nov 28, 2023
While towing on I-75 at 65 MPH, the driver's side front storage doors came open. These doors had been shut, locked, and checked before departing. They were secured again and remained closed at a lower speed. Examination revealed two design flaws. First, they are side-opening overlapping doors. With an overlapping (rearward) door facing forward, this allows the slipstream to enter the gap putt... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2022
The door hinge on the driver's side failed. The 3 weld joints broke off. At times the door will not shut and latch properly, and the driver's window cannot be lowered. The dealer I took the vehicle to informed me that this is a recurring problem with the 2020 Ford Escape. They have had many people with the same problem. Ford refuses to acknowledge that there is a problem.
Incident date: Jul 1, 2021
Drivers door Check Arm has broken from door because of faulty spot welds from factory. You no longer have control of door when opening and door can swing open to full opening and out of control. This problem was confirmed by Fred Beans Ford in Boyertown PA. Apparently according to dealership this is an ongoing issue and Ford Refuses to recall or fix if out of warranty. I was quoted $2800 for the r... Read more
Incident date: Nov 23, 2023
Sticky steering when travelling above 25mph--both driving straight and in a turn. Must over-correct to compensate for sticky electronic steering. Trunk/hatch leaks water
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2020) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Nov 30, 2023
Incident date: Nov 15, 2023
There is a recall on certain years of Nissan Altimas for a hood latch problem. My 2018 Nissan Sentra has the same hood latch problem that the 2018 Altima, i.e., when the hood is opened the primary hood latch does not reset, so when the hood is closed only the secondary latch is engaged and the hood remains slightly open. I have to use a screwdriver to reset the primary latch before I can fully clo... Read more
Incident date: Oct 4, 2023
3 door welds (cracked) on drivers door. making popping noise when opening door. i have confirmed with auto body shop and car dealership, where car was purchased. 2020 ford escape, passed warranty . concerned that door may not close, or open. have heard the popping noise for months, just thought is was dirt in the hinges, but had it checked out at the auto body shop. body shop estimate... Read more
Incident date: Oct 26, 2023
February 2023 I was driving on interstate approximately 75 mph. This was not a particularly windy day. The passenger side windshield trim molding ripped off the vehicle. This is a piece approximately 2.5 feet long. Just a few weeks later the same thing happened on the driver side molding while driving on a state highway approximately 60 mph. After the first incident I have noticed multiple oth... Read more
Incident date: Oct 11, 2023
Noticed a random crack appear on passenger front fender near head lamp. This appeared overnight while car was parked inside garage. Don’t know if the crack will grow and if so, how fast it will grow causing safety hazard with a potentially serious fender damage while driving on the highway. Aware of technical bulletin for this problem LTB00738NAS4 Land Rover said I have to pay for new bumper ref... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2021
Frame is severely rusting, especially on the driver’s side. Vehicle has only approximately 75,000 miles and has been well maintained. Purchased new by my Father and when he died, it was passed on to me. I feel it may becoming unsafe to drive.
Incident date: Nov 30, 2023
wHEN IT RAIN, WATER IS GETTING INTO MY CAR FROM SOMEWHERE. IT HAS KNOCKED OUT MY DASHBOARD AND MY RADIO NO LONGER WORKS.THE WATER GETS IN TO THE FRONT PART OF THE CAR AND END UP IN MY FRONT MIDDLE CONSOLE. NO BODY CAN TELL WHERE THE LEAK IS COMING FROM NOR EXPLAIN HOW IT GET IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CUP HOLDER AND FLOODING MY FLOOR AND SEAT. NOTHING IS SHOWING ON MY DASHBOARD OR THE MILES DISPLAYED. ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2023
Investigation: PE 23-013
Incident date: Nov 29, 2023
Sometime the rear soft closed door ajar with child safety locks engaged while in motion. Child safety locks used because have small children in the back seats. The children safety are at risk when the door ajar while turning. Had to pull over to re-closed the door because the door ajar warning light and sound is on. The dealership had inspect the issue and said there is a service bulletin on the l... Read more
TOYOTA
RAV4 PRIME
(2021) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Nov 30, 2023
Incident date: Nov 30, 2023
Upon entering my parked vehicle today 11/30/23, I got in and closed the driver side door of my 2023 Honda Hrv. Immediately I heard a crash and looked behind me to see that my rear windshield had shattered and the middle part was caved in with glad all in the trunk. I got out, inspected the area and there was nothing to indicate why the windshield spontaneously combusted like this. I took it to th... Read more
Incident date: Nov 17, 2023
The driver door hinge broke at the 3 weld spots and now the door sometimes closes and other times hard to close. It has also popped open while driving.
Incident date: Nov 27, 2023
The brakes completely failed on the vehicle. When inspected the main brake line was found damaged due to the frame of the car being totally corroded and shifting of the mechanical structure. If I were not quick in getting the emergency brake applied, we would have had an uncontrolled crash in traffic and could have potentially been killed. There were no warnings or lights that came on in the ve... Read more
HYUNDAI
SANTA FE SPORT
(2017) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Nov 29, 2023
Incident date: Nov 20, 2023
The front door hinge spot weld and rivets have broekn loose. I called Stivers Ford in Montgomery Alabama and the Service Representative told me that my Escape was out of warranty and it was my problem to repair. I do not think this is fair as this is a structural problem in the door.
Incident date: Nov 21, 2023
See attached document for complaint
Incident date: Nov 22, 2023
While driving my car I noticed a sloshing noise like water, I thought it was a bottle of wiper fluid until I opened and closed my passenger rear door. The door was full of water, I looked it up online and found tips to loosen a plug on the bottom of the door to let the water drain out. I did this and it was pouring out of the door. I called for service, took the vehicle in, asked about damage t... Read more
Incident date: Nov 29, 2023
Roof molding front end cap loses causing to fly off while driving Hood is loose and lifting while driving
Incident date: Sep 1, 2023
I was Driving my 2023 QX60 today down a 55 mile road. No one was in front of me and two cars were very far behind me. I was not by an overpass or a golf course and it was a clear sunny day today. I heard loud pop and then the tinkling of glass going down the backside of my car. I opened the sunroof to see what had happened and immediately closed it as the glass started falling into the car from ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 23, 2023
Vehicle was part of a recall for a hydraulic slide issue where the slide that would move out of the RV body during driving 3 to 6 inches. New cylinders fixed the issue for about 10 months. Slide is moving out again during driving which could cause an accident. All owners who had the recall performed have had the new part fail within 6-12 months creating a new safety hazard which could cause death... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
Once the temperature drops below freezing, the door latches will quit working. If I open the door then it will not latch when I try to close the door. This has happened every winter since i have owned the truck. I have taken it into the dealer multiple times for this issue. I believe they even replaced the door latches on one of the occasions but now that it is winter again this year they are ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 28, 2023
Without warning, the rear, driver side door was unable to be opened from the inside or outside. Several months later in October 2023, the same issue has happened with the rear passenger side door. This a a safety issue because passengers will become trapped inside the vehicle since the doors are unable to be opened from the inside or outside! A Technical Service Bulletin has now been issued, how... Read more