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.

2,245,377 Total Complaints

140,173 Reported Crashes

56,794 Reported Fires

8,580 Reported 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

How to Read NHTSA Consumer Complaints › How NHTSA Investigations Work › Used Car: 7 Recall Checks to Run First › The Takata Airbag Recall: Full Story › OBD-II Codes Explained › All Articles ›

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Showing 49,687 complaints - component: STRUCTURE:BODY

Incident date: May 1, 2025

Subject: Safety Complaint – Power Sliding Door Failure Injuring Child (2026 Kia Carnival) I am submitting a safety complaint regarding a 2026 Kia Carnival. During normal use, the vehicle’s automatic power sliding door closed while my [XXX] child was partially outside the vehicle near the door track area. The door continued to close and did not stop or reverse when it encountered my child, re... Read more

1 injured

Incident date: May 31, 2026

Hood release cable either lost tension, broke, or came loose from the clamp in the junction box and cannot open the hood. I was stopped on the side of the road, unable to open the hood. I and my family were put in excessive danger on the side of the road as I could not correct the issue without waiting for a tow truck because I could not open the hood. Dealer, as well as multiple shops in my... Read more

Incident date: Jun 11, 2026

I've been told that my car is unsafe to drive and unable to pass inspection because the rear subframe is corroded at the suspension mounting points which might cause the rear suspension to fail.

Incident date: May 29, 2026

The Molded-In-Color (MIC) hard top shows signs of delamination and cracking on the exterior skin of the roof panel. Models from the same production year were called under NHTSA Recall No.: 26V299. My vehicle was not included on this recall. I have attempted to have Ford inspect the issue and have refused since it is out of warranty. I am concerned that the delaminating sections will detach while... Read more

Incident date: Jun 7, 2026

The plastic upper rail glass guide frame on the rear sliding window assembly of my 2023 GMC Sierra developed structural micro-cracks during normal vehicle operation. This manufacturing defect is a known issue tracked internally by the manufacturer under Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) #18-NA-383.This structural failure allows severe water intrusion into the passenger cabin. The leaking water runs... Read more

Incident date: Apr 15, 2026

While driving, the hood of my vehicle flew up and broke my windshield and caused damage to body by the hood hinge on both sides. There were no warning lamps or signals that warned me that the hood was loose. I had limited visual to pull over and close the hood. Fortunately I was going slow and there were not other vehicles that were impacted. Because the hood is opened inside with the double pull ... Read more

Incident date: May 29, 2026

The front camera behind the rear view mirror comes up with code and the cruise control will not work and the lane departure system and the forward Collision system and adaptive cruise control. The front camera issue can only be repaired by replacing the camera between 800 and 1500 cost to purchase the camera plus a 5 to $700 Adas aiming at the dealership and I don't feel that that's correct being ... Read more

Incident date: Jun 10, 2026

****Please force Merces to recall all VIN's!******* NHTSA ID Number: 23V854000 1) Front glass roof panel came off while driving the car on the freeway. I didn't see or hear anything. When I got out of the car, I saw the entire piece has come off. This has caused my sunroof to malfunction, and it won't close now. I garage my car and barely drive it. I bought it used in Dec. 2021. There was about 4... Read more

Incident date: Jun 10, 2026

My vehicle previously received Safety Recall 20V-437 related to the sliding door handle cable assembly. After the recall repair was completed, the driver's side power sliding door has again begun exhibiting abnormal behavior. The driver's side sliding door does not consistently open fully and has failed to close properly on more than 20 occasions. The problem is reproducible and has become increa... Read more

Incident date: Apr 4, 2026

I was driving on the freeway at a high rate of speed (65-70mph) and a piece of my roof rack broke off my car and flew off into the road. This could have hit a car behind us or harmed a person inside the car. Nothing hit my car to cause it to come off. I showed it to the dealer and they claimed that pieces of cars don't just fall off for no reason. They said they would file a claim for it to be cov... Read more

Incident date: Jun 10, 2026

When exiting the driver seat of the vehicle my left arm gets caught in the hinge of the back door. This has happen before. This time my arm was bruised bad and shoulder painfully wrenched. The pain was so bad I thought my arm was broken.

1 injured

Incident date: Mar 1, 2026

On XXX, driving at a relatively low rate of speed coming off the on-ramp from [XXX] onto [XXX], the hood of our Thrifty rental vehicle, a 2024 Ford Bronco, suddenly and without warning, flew up and completely obstructed the windshield. As we had just entered the highway we were quite fortunate to have been in the right hand lane and able to safely pull into the breakdown lane. And even more fortun... Read more

Incident date: Jun 8, 2026

Several of automatic sensors were not working (tire pressure) and the horn. The dealer stated I had road damage and wires were torn loose. I'm a 76 year old woman and I do not take this car off road or have any recollection of such an incident. I maintain the underside of the vehicle is improperly protected. They charged me $2300 to fix it.

Incident date: Feb 19, 2026

Vehicle demonstrates body panel corrosion, manufacturer refuses to correct issue

Incident date: Apr 4, 2025

On XXX I was driving my 2021 Ford Escape for 10 minutes before I stopped at Sheetz gas station on [XXX]. I ran into the building to withdraw cash from the ATM leaving my fiance and dog in the car while it sat idle. Upon exiting the building about 30 seconds to a minute later, I witnessed smoke coming up from the hood of my car. My fiance and Dog quickly evacuated the car as we saw flames emerging... Read more

Fire

Incident date: Jun 9, 2026

The paint on the rear trunk area has failed and it is chipping off in large amounts. The missing paint exposes the area to corrosion and reduces structural integrity of the components. American Honda was informed about the paint defect and the car was inspected by Hendrick Honda on 5/27/26 as requested by American Honda.

Incident date: Jan 20, 2002

I am filing a safety complaint regarding my new Honda CR-V which is 6 months old. Water seeped into my parked and closed vehicle, and after that I experienced multiple hazard warning lights on the dashboard while driving on XX, which caused panic and concern for safety. The next day, the vehicle became unresponsive and the battery went dead. This was alarming because the warning lights appeared du... Read more

Incident date: Jun 10, 2026

I was driving down the highway and the top grill trim 84957848 part number, flew off. Hit my windshield. Could’ve caused the small car behind me to blow a tire or damaged their vehicle.

Incident date: Jun 9, 2026

The rear passenger side sail applique flew off the truck while I was driving on the freeway.

Incident date: Jan 11, 2026

Attempted to make an appointment on XXX with [XXX], 2121 W Bell Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85023 phone 602-375-7400 to have the two open safety recalls completed( 26V101 & 24v031). Could not make a service appointment because the service writer said that parts were not available and had no idea of when they would be available to fix the safety recalls. Service writer indicated they COULD NOT notify me whe... Read more

Incident date: May 26, 2026

BMW SIB 51 33 16 (NHTSA ID 10200233) Manufacturer defect resulting in water slowly backing up into trunk and other parts of car until it completely fills side panels, floor of car, ect. There is no indication this is occurring. There is no warning given by BMW dealer or manufacturer that this may become a problem resulting in costly repairs but more importantly health issues. Stagnant water not ... Read more

Incident date: Jun 9, 2026

UNKNOWN - however there were NO warning lights or any other indication of malfunction or to service the truck. I took the truck to an independent service center & they did a full inspection & I did receive an estimate for repairs.

Incident date: Jun 9, 2026

The seal on my 2020 Volvo XC60 moonroof allowed water to leak under the floorboards. My car is only 6 years old. We had a lot of rain over a short period and I noticed the sound of water sloshing around under the floor. Nothing was wet inside the car. My Check Engine light came on as well. I took it to the Volvo service dept. They are now saying wires are corroded and that it will cost me over $11... Read more

Incident date: Jun 4, 2026

Recalls I have not done myself and have had the vehicle since March 2020

Incident date: May 22, 2026

Date of Incident: XXX Location: [XXX] Vehicle Speed: 0 Description: The right front and right rear doors on my 2017 Lincoln Continental (VIN: [XXX]) became completely inoperable from the outside — the exact same safety defect addressed under recall 19S03. The recall repair was previously performed by an authorized Ford/Lincoln dealer, however that repair has since failed, leaving me with the ... Read more

Incident date: May 26, 2026

Recall on rear view cams and front dashboard connectivity is a continuous issue with the car and the dealership visits did not resolve the problem and recalls are still pending for want of spares and non availability of techs or some reasons by the dealer

Incident date: Feb 18, 2025

The trunk will not close using any of the buttons. This is an on going issue on so many newer highlanders.

Incident date: Jan 1, 2026

Sunroof won't fully close which becomes a big issue when driving or parking the vehicle in the rain. Kia dealership diagnosed that the full sunroof assembly needs to be replaced at a total expense of $6,441.56 since the vehicle is out of the 5-year warranty period. No warning messages were displayed on the vehicle prior to this issue.

Incident date: Oct 1, 2025

Sunroof spontaneously exploded with no sign of impact

Incident date: Jun 3, 2026

The panoramic sunroof shattered while the car was parked and there were no occupants. Lexus USA refuses to acknowledge this defect and the dealership insists there was an impact that caused this damage. There was no impact. I have asked the dealer for a written report of their determination of the point of impact and to return all broken glass to me. I do not know yet if they will comply with ... Read more

Incident date: Apr 6, 2026

MDX back sunroof drains cracked causing the car to flood. The water came into the back hatch and also damaged the amp to the speaker system. All of the Carpet had to be pulled out of the car. This car is only four years old. Luckily, I caught it because my whole back hatch was full of water, but this could’ve caused mold and serious health problems. I have found 100’s of reviews on many diffe... Read more

Incident date: Jun 5, 2026

Power tailgate won't stay open. It is a known issue (Honda service bulletin 22-018) and has tried to close while people are underneath - including my small children. I have knocked my head into it numerous times since the issue started. It almost always slowly closes, and sometimes it beeps a few times then closes automatically and if I'm under it I have to forcefully hold it open. A small child ... Read more

Incident date: Jun 8, 2026

top grill deflector flew off at highway speeds creating a safety hazard for me and others in the highway. 2022 GMC Sierra with the same part and grill was previously recalled for this identical issue. 2022-2026 models have the same problem and should be included in the recall. Please see Safety Recall N242490120

Incident date: Nov 1, 2025

As I was traveling on the highway, the sunglasses holder opened and my sunglasses fell out and impaired my vision. FORTUNATELY, I was able to maintain control of the vehicle and the glasses did not fall to the floor and interfere with the gas or brake pedal operation. The sunglass holder latch does not operate properly and does not latch or stay closed. Called Toyota and was informed there were no... Read more

Incident date: Mar 18, 2026

During the collision, the vehicle experienced a catastrophic component failure, specifically involving break intervention by ESP and the electronic stability control working correctly with the wheel speeds and impact of the top of the cab.

Crash 1 injured 2 deaths

Incident date: Jan 10, 2025

The silver roof rack cover on both sides of vehicle completely came off of vehicle while driving. The clips broke off just like the problems listed in another recall for the same year Explorer. There is a recall for all models of the same year and make, however the Limited is excluded from the recall. If someone was behind me it could've resulted in a crash. This recall for this part needs to be f... Read more

Incident date: May 27, 2026

The back glass has started leaking. Chevrolet had this problem in the 2019-2020 models but apparently they didn’t correct the issue.

Incident date: Jun 1, 2026

While driving, our moonroof spontaneously shattered. Is that

Incident date: Jun 5, 2026

After putting washer fluid in, my son closed the hood. The hood did not latch. He tried again but it still didn’t latch. He lifted the hood to find the hood striker had come off the hood. There was nothing to hold the hood closed. I’ve included photos of the striker welds. There is no rust or tearing of the welds. It just separated. It was a bad weld.

Incident date: May 11, 2026

This recall has been unresolved for approximately two years. Recently, while traveling at highway speeds, the A-pillar trim detached from my vehicle and flew off, striking a vehicle behind me. Fortunately, no accident occurred, but the situation was extremely dangerous and could have resulted in serious injuries or property damage. This is precisely the type of incident the recall was intended to ... Read more

Incident date: Jun 5, 2026

On XXX, while at a residential complex in [XXX], I got into my 2025 Porsche Cayenne and gently closed the door. Upon closing the door, the rear window spontaneously shattered completely. The conditions at the time were as follows: • Outdoor temperature: approximately 85°F — well within normal operating range • No prior chips, cracks, or visible damage to the glass before the incident • N... Read more

Incident date: Jun 1, 2026

The contact owns a 2024 Honda CR-V Hybrid. The contact stated that the trunk was not designed with a safety barrier at the entry, causing a propane tank to roll out of the vehicle upon opening the trunk. The propane tank hit the ground, bounced and hit the contact's chin. The contact sustained temporary pain. The dealer was notified of the issue and informed the contact that it was a factory desig... Read more

1 injured

Incident date: Jun 5, 2026

I am submitting a safety complaint regarding the panoramic sunroof assembly on my 2021 Hyundai Palisade. The vehicle was purchased as a Hyundai Certified Pre-Owned vehicle in September 2023 with approximately 27,000 miles. The panoramic sunroof had only been opened approximately two or three times since purchase when the failure occurred. During normal operation, the sunroof wind deflector/visor... Read more

Incident date: Jun 5, 2026

Fuel tank shield have rusted and deteriorated to the extent that the fuel tank is no longer protected.

Incident date: Jan 18, 2026

After a day of heavy rain, the vehicle stalled at a stop light and would not restart. The steering wheel and transmission locked, preventing the vehicle from being placed in neutral, creating a safety hazard as the vehicle was immobile in traffic. No warning lamps appeared prior to the failure. The vehicle required a tow. The dealer confirmed water had intruded through the passenger side cowl/fir... Read more

Incident date: Jun 1, 2026

The control arm detached from the front subframe due to massive rust on a car that was well cared for and only 10 years old. This happened as we were driving: the front passenger-side wheel became loose and began flopping back and forth, forcing me to immediately pull over into a gas station. I do not want to imagine what would have happened if this had detached on the highway instead of on a town... Read more

Incident date: Jun 3, 2026

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the passenger's side exterior A-Pillar Applique Trim detached. The contact stated that the exterior A-Pillar Applique Trim was flapping and hitting the ground. The dealer was made aware of the failure. The contact was informed that the parts were unavailable. The contact was advised to remove the detac... Read more

Incident date: Jun 4, 2026

On the evening of June 3, 2026, while driving on the I-575 Express Lanes in Cobb County, Georgia, the vehicle’s autopilot/driver assistance system malfunctioned and steered the vehicle into the express lane boom barrier. The boom bar struck the windshield, causing catastrophic windshield failure with glass imploding into the cabin. Glass shards covered the driver’s seat, floor, and dashboard. ... Read more

Crash 1 injured

Incident date: May 15, 2026

The rear right side exterior panel is showing a warping condition that is present without any evidence of impact, damage, misuse or outside/inside influence. The defect adversely effects the body panel by distorting the side body panel noticeably. Given the age of this vehicle and absence of any external damage this should be covered under the manufacturer's warranty as it is a manufacturer issue.

Incident date: Apr 23, 2026

My 2015 C300 W205 failed at its state inspection today due to a rusted through rear subframe. I understand that the W204 warranty on this was extended to 20 years/unlimited miles but the W205 was not. I have contacted Mercedes customer care for a potential goodwill repair since this seems to be a known issue with class actions pending. This should not be failing and it’s unclear why Mercedes di... Read more

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Vehicle Safety

Consumer Safety

Infrastructure

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Consumer Safety Complaints

What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?

How to interpret what you read

If you've experienced a defect

Read more from our blog