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: Nov 5, 2023
The driver door makes a popping noise when opening and closing. Door now has problems closing and sometimes will not shut properly. Also, the window is not going up and down as fast as it should. Both problems happened around the same time and are believed to be related.
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
Panoramic sunroof exploded. This happened on a country highway with no other cars or debris around.
HYUNDAI
SONATA HYBRID
(2017) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Nov 4, 2023
Incident date: Oct 30, 2023
Passenger Side windshield molding Trim flew off on the highway speed.
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
Paint on my Platinum White Pearl 2019 Honda Accord 2.0T Touring has started peeling in the rain channel on the roof.
Incident date: Nov 4, 2023
Inspection of the underbody revealed complete rusting away of the frame mount point for the passenger side lower control arm. The mounting has not failed yet, but the metal surrounding the bolt point is no longer providing any structure. I would not ordinarily have thought inform the NHTSA of this failure, but Internet searching has turned up many other owners of Elements experiencing this same ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 2, 2023
Driver door suddenly opened while driving.
Incident date: Nov 3, 2023
Welds that secure the door check arm to the driver side door failed. This makes the door very difficult to both open and close, potentially creating a safety issue. This is a known issue affecting these vehicles, and a recall should be issued to correct the problem.
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 2500
(2024) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Nov 3, 2023
Incident date: Jun 8, 2023
This vehicle was sold to me with severe frame damage, which was not reported on the carfax, and was not reported at the dealership. If you turn the steering wheel to the right, you will hear a scraping noise under the right front tire, as the suspension is off because of the frame damage caused from an accident with the previous owner. I returned the car for a refund, however the car is being sold... Read more
Incident date: Oct 21, 2023
The subframe has rusted/fallen off. This is incredibly risky as the car cannot be driven safely and it happened without warning. My mechanic said it is not due to any driving incidents but through rust occurring on Mercedes' subframes, which are flimsy. It has been inspected professionally by a mechanic. There are NO warning lamps. This could kill someone on the highway as while braking the car ve... Read more
3 injured
Incident date: Oct 24, 2023
Trunk Trunk lid Trunk latch Rear bumper cover Rear bumper brackets Both rear head lights Both rear head light Rear trunk lid cover Rear trunk trunk support Are broken, my safety was put at risk because I was hit in the back of my car at a stoplight. The vehicle has not been inspected by the police but it is currently at the mechanic.
Crash
Incident date: Oct 31, 2023
My 2016 Optima has the Pearl White paint. In April 2018 I noticed that it started peeling on the hood. The dealership told me that since I was past the 36k mile warranty (I was at 39k miles then) that I would have to cover the cost out of pocket. It's sad that the vehicle was not even 2 years old and that the paint was coming off and the dealership basically told me "oh well". I am now scared to h... Read more
Incident date: Nov 3, 2022
Evidence of corrosion on the rear trailing arms as described in the recent salt belt recall of 07-11 Honda CRV’s. Petition to expand the monitoring and repair scope of this recall to include the Appalachian regions of North Carolina and Tennessee as the use of road salt is also prevalent in these areas.
Incident date: Nov 3, 2023
Frame of the vehicle is showing rust corrosion. The frame are the same as the tacomas that were released the same year. The tacomas were granted frame replacement by Toyota but 4Runners weren’t. Noticed a lot of other 4th generation 4Runners are having the same issues.
Incident date: Oct 15, 2022
I have 4 recall notices on this vehicle, my trunk latch stopped working 3 days ago, after a trip to the grocery store. now the trunk will not close had to strap it down with bungee cords to the under carriage . The 2 Kia Dealers in my area of Riverside County California have said to me they’re not touching recall work, there’s that excuse, I’ve requested 4 appointments online with both deale... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2021
Water leaks inside from the sunroof and out of corner of sun visor
Incident date: Aug 13, 2023
While driving our Lexus on 8/13/2023 on the interstate under normal driving conditions ALL of our warning lights came on one after another. We also lost air conditioning and power brakes it seemed. We immediately exited and pulled over. Opened the hood and the engine caught fire and fully engulfed the engine compartment. From the time of the first warning light to the vehicle being engulfed wa... Read more
Fire
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2023) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Nov 2, 2023
Incident date: Oct 6, 2023
My hood is subtly bouncing at speeds over 55mph. I see that many Pilots, Ridgelines, etc. had recalls about the hood latch. I searched to see if my car was on the recall list for that after experiencing the hood bouncing, but it was not; however, it is concerning. I have not had my truck inspected yet, as I just bought it. There are no lights, messages etc. Should I be concerned or take it in?
Incident date: Nov 2, 2023
The drivers door started making a popping noise when opened and then the welds on the door broke. Drivers side window would not go down.
Incident date: Aug 4, 2023
This truck was sprayed for frame rust at Kern Toyota Winchester, Va 10/07/2010 a problem Toyota was very aware of and tried to put a band-aid on a known issue that would rust out and not pass inspection or worse yet cause a terrible accident or cause harm to driver/passengers or other drivers. We have had another vehicle in the family by Toyota that they replaced the entire frame and now they sta... Read more
FORD
ESCAPE PHEV
(2022) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Nov 2, 2023
Incident date: Nov 2, 2023
My daughter and I were driving home from my brother's house, when we stopped by McDonald's to grab food, we noticed our car smoking really bad. I had her pull away from the drive-thru and into the empty parking lot. We got out just seconds before the car burst into flames from underneath the hood of the car.
Fire
Incident date: Jul 29, 2023
Weld on driver side front door for door limiting rod has broke. Door is difficult to close. Started with grinding sound inside door with popping friction prior to weld completely failing.
Incident date: Oct 26, 2023
When a person leans on the door and at least 200lbs of pressure is applied to the driver's door, in drive, the door will open and all the locks in the car will release.
Incident date: Nov 2, 2023
Optical Windshield Distortion The distortion is noticeable on the drivers and passenger sides of the windshield where it meets the vertical frames of the body. They are approximately 2-3 inches wide running the full vertical length. The distortion is clearly visible in full light, affecting peripheral vision of approaching vehicle movement or other passing external sources of glare day and night. ... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
E300
(2017) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Nov 2, 2023
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
Electrical connector and wiring harness melted due to close proximity to the right rear exhaust pipe. Experiencing intermittent parking brake fault messages that results in a check engine light, when climbing a grade longer then 1 mile long. Suspect extra heat produced from engine load had damaged some of the internal wires of the connector. This first occurred with 2000 miles on the odometer, 2... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
Driver side door hinge/weld breaks. The metal pops, makes a loud sound, door then has to be forced shut. Due to this the window and lock does not work. Driver side door broke first and now the passenger side door has done the same exact thing.
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
Front panel of the panoramic sunroof spontaneously shattered with no visible causes, warnings, etc. Safety risks included potential glass being introduced to the cab of the vehicle had the headliner panel been open for natural lighting. Other risks include damaged headliner and electrical components depending on where the glass traveled. Dealership claims this is not an ongoing issue though multip... Read more
Incident date: Oct 21, 2023
Windshield provided cracks super easily
Incident date: Jan 20, 2020
Drivers door has broken spot welds. Loud snaps when door is opened or closed. Power window won't go down all the way. From what I'm reading the door could just open up as you are driving down the road. Door checker bar needs to be replaced. Part #lj6z7823552 b.
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
bus body floor rails are too weak, and crack in normal operation. in a Collison they will fail catastrophically. I have multiple examples of this in my fleet.
MERCEDES-BENZ
GLC 300
(2020) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Oct 31, 2023
Incident date: Oct 31, 2023
While 360 miles away from home, the drivers side door made a popping noise, the window and controls in the door would not work, the window cracked and the door would not work properly. The window would not operate and remained halfway down cracked and broken, the rearview mirrors would not operate. I went to a dealership and was told that this was a recurring problem with this particular vehicle ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 30, 2023
Hood vibrates, and on sunlight or cloudy days the light flickers in your vision. This is a safety concern that Toyota says is a normal characteristic of the vehicle. NOT.
Incident date: Jul 5, 2023
The rear glass spontaneous exploded. The vehicle was parked in my driveway. It
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS
(2018) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Oct 31, 2023
Incident date: Oct 29, 2023
It is two problem with Lexus Rz. First the Glass Roof is not UV protected and My husband and I are getting burn on our head and my phones over heat because of the strong sun beating on us. Second is the Electric range supposed to be 220 mile range and in reality I am getting 150-160 range. we are misrepresented by Lexus. On Oct.13 Lexus inspected the car and Please see the attached file. The guy ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2023
This issue affects the driver's door (left-front). The weld spots for the door dampening device within the frame of the door have failed. Prior to this failure the door would make three loud popping noises with each full opening and full closing of the door. This continued until all three weld points on this dampening devise have completely failed. Now the door is very difficult to open/close.
VOLKSWAGEN
GOLF SPORTWAGEN
(2018) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Oct 30, 2023
Incident date: Aug 23, 2023
Ive been trying to get my local Ford dealer to fix this saftey recall but have just been ignored. First time i called my local dealer (Boggus Ford) in harlingen, TX, they just changed there name to Sames Harlingen Ford. They made a mobile appointment for me in April 21st at 9am, no one showed up i didn't even get a call. I called them to see why no one showed up. They told me my appointment was at... Read more
Incident date: Oct 30, 2023
The panoramic sunroof exploded on our Acura RDX model 2021. Me, my wife and our 3 month old son were returning from dinner, we took the ramp and about to merge on a highway then we heard a loud and sudden explosive noise which scared all of us. Thank God we had the sunroof blind partially closed over the real infant seat, so the glass shatters left some minor cuts on my left forearm and back (glas... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Oct 20, 2023
I took my car to the mechanic for a “once over” before driving from New Jersey to North Carolina. This car has only 41,000 original miles on it as we bought it new in 2005. Upon inspection, the mechanic came back with certain repairs that are needed due to age; but he was extremely concerned about a severe safety issue that the subframe had rotted out and needed to be replaced. This is a know... Read more
Incident date: Jul 31, 2023
Drivers door has a problem and closes on the driver it won’t stay open. The strap that holds the door open is broken due to a manufacturing defect. Window will not open due to things out of alignment inside the door.
FOREST RIVER
WILDWOOD
(2022) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Oct 30, 2023
Incident date: Jul 28, 2023
*The large coroplast panels that line the underbelly detach and fall off while driving. These panels are very large (about 4 x 6). * These panels came off while we were towing it on the interstate and mountainous roads. They could potentially cause an accident. * The camper is set to be inspected Nov. 16th to assess why they are falling off and to order replacement panels (They are necessary to... Read more
FOREST RIVER
WILDWOOD
(2022) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Oct 30, 2023
Incident date: Jul 28, 2023
I PURCHASED MY 2019 IN 2023. LEASE RETURN. I HAVE OPENED THE SUNROOF MAY 5 TIMES SINCE PURCHASING. THE SUNROOF NO LONGER OPENS DUE TO A DEFECTIVE RAIL SYSTEM. THIS SYSTEM IS NOT READILY ACCESSIBLE AND HAS TO BE FIXED BY REMOVING THE THE CEILING INSIDE. THE PARTS AND LABOR CHARGE HAS BEEN QUOTED AT $3400. I HAVE TAKEN MY CAR TO 2 DEALERSHIP AND CALLED A 3RD TO GET AN PHONE ESTIMATE. EACH SERVICE AD... Read more
Incident date: Oct 27, 2023
Spot welds on front passenger door has come undone. The driver door was repaired for the same problem at 32,000 miles. Car is now 61,000
Incident date: Oct 28, 2023
THE HEADLIGHTS ON THIS VEHICLE IS EXTREMELY DIM. I have changed the bulbs and you can not see out of this vehicle at night. I have checked to see if there is a recall or something. A lot of people have issue with this year make and model of this vehicle. The other problem I am having is the paint peeling with the Snow white color of my vehicle. Large spots of paint is coming off and missing. thi... Read more
LAND ROVER
RANGE ROVER
(2015) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Oct 30, 2023
Incident date: Oct 30, 2023
Drivers side door has become unwelded. Started as a popping sound and now the door is getting harder to close, the window does not roll down.
Incident date: Oct 30, 2023
Passenger side door open on it on while vehicle is on and driven. With faulty door control modules.
Incident date: Oct 1, 2022
The front hood flipped open while driving at about 40 miles an hour without any warning, totally obstructing the vision of the driver who happen to be my wife, causing her to pull over suddenly fortunately no one was hurt during the accident. The front hood, however, has been creased and damaged. This could have caused a very serious accident had she been driving at high speed on the highway. The ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 28, 2023
I noticed a couple of months ago that the rubber gasket that lines my windshield on both sides has started to crack. Within the last month pieces of it started to fly off while driving, even at standard speeds of 45mph. I started looking for replacement parts and cost for having this repaired but could not afford the dealership cost. Last week while driving on a busy highway at 72mph my passenger... Read more
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2021) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Oct 29, 2023
Incident date: Oct 29, 2023
I WAS SITTING AT A RED LIGHT MY 3 YEAR OLD SON AND THE BACK GLASS JUST SHATTERED FOR NO APPARENT REASON! THE POLICE CAME AND SAID IT WAS A MANUCATURER'S DEFECT!