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: Jun 29, 2023
First of all i drive a 2016 Ford Fusion. Two years ago as i was leaving work my back driver's side door swung open and i thought i forgot to shut it. As i went to attempt to shut it it wouldnt close. My boyfriend had to meet me at work and tie it closed with rope that he had. I contacted Ford and they said they would fix it and charged me almost $500. Now just last week as i get into my passenger ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 28, 2023
My 2008 Honda RIdgeline has a frame rusted to the point where it has been deemed unsafe to drive by my local Honda dealership and Honda USA. My 2008 Honda Ridgeline is PA titled and was involved in recall 22V-430 (NHTSA recall number) / 22-021 (Honda recall number). I took my truck into Wright Honda (Uniontown, PA) on June 2nd, 2023 for the 2006-2014 Ridgeline Rear Frame Repair Safety Recall. Th... Read more
Incident date: Jun 14, 2023
A flexible sealant is utilized to fill seams in the roof channel prior to primer, paint, and clear coat applications. Defects in the sealant protrude from the flat surface creating a weak a point in the painted surface. Cracks form around the defect and allows water intrusion below the sealant in direct contact with bare metal. Rust accumulates below the defect and begins protruding from the surf... Read more
Incident date: Jun 2, 2023
Windshield allows wind noise to come through. components loose scare it might fly off
Incident date: Oct 21, 2022
I drove my 2015 Lincoln MKZ in to my driveway which is not steep grade and the front bumper hit the drive way and ripped the bumper. This car has very low front end. I called Lincoln up and complained about this low bumper problem. Lincoln customer service just blew me off. They acted like I was first person ever to complain. When I told them that You Tube Video has this problem listed they i... Read more
NISSAN
PATHFINDER
(2023) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jun 28, 2023
Incident date: Jun 28, 2023
THE MANUFACTURER WELDS ON THE DOOR CHECK ARM FAILED. THIS PREVENTED THE DRIVER SIDE DOOR FROM CLOSING. INSPECTED BY DEALERSHIP AND THEY ACKNOWLEDGED THAT FORD WAS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. THEY HAVE HAD MANY SIMILAR FAILURES ON BOTH THE ESCAPE AND EDGE VEHICLES. FORD HAS SAID THEY WILL NOT MAKE "OUT OF WARRANTY" REPAIRS. THE REPAIRS ARE AT OWNERS OWN EXPENSE AND FORD WILL NOT ISSUE A RECALL FOR W... Read more
Incident date: Dec 22, 2022
The check arm door makes a strong creaking/cracking sound as the door is opened and closed. This is believed to be due to cracked spot welds in the check arm assembly. It creates an inability to roll down the window all day and I fear further damage if this is unable to be fixed through a recall.
CAN-AM
SPYDER F3-S
(2015) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jun 28, 2023
Incident date: Jun 28, 2023
Right passenger door came open while driving and without warning. The door will not latch to secure the door to the car frame in a closed or secure manner. The door has to be secured with a strap until it can repaired appropriately.
Incident date: Jun 28, 2023
Was told that the sub frame is bad. After looking into it, it seems to be a known issue with the jeep compass.
Incident date: Mar 28, 2023
I have two Jeep Grand Cherokees ([XXX] and [XXX]) with the leather wrapped dash. Like many others, the leather is peeling up and wrinkling, raising into the field of view of the windshield and I’m also concerned with how this might affect air bag deployment on the passenger side of the vehicle. I know of at least 15 others online experiencing this issue and they get the same run around from Jeep... Read more
Incident date: Jun 26, 2023
Door latch suddenly stopped working, making it impossible to open the door from either inside or outside the vehicle. Had this occurred in an emergency situation passengers could have been trapped inside. Hyundai is aware of this defect and has issued a Technical Service Bulletin and purportedly extended the warranty but there is a shortage of parts to make repairs and so they cannot effectively ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 27, 2023
My control arm ripped completely off my fram on the passenger side due to excessive rust putting me and my family and any one else on the road at risk of something catastrophic.
Incident date: Jun 13, 2023
Torn bracket holding very rear door in place
Incident date: Jul 19, 2022
Issues: Sunroof leaks heavily: during the rain and in car washes, into the backseat, which is ruined now from the constant leaking this past winter 2022-23 *Sunroof replaced 3/2023 Continues to leak heavily Weather Strips: Doors lacking weather strips, or the weather strips are so loose and loosely connected, it serves very little purpose, i.e., the seal attaches loosely to widely spread inte... Read more
SUBARU
XV CROSSTREK
(2013) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jun 27, 2023
Incident date: Mar 29, 2023
The "basement" storage compartment doors keep popping open. The RV has sic such compartments. I Drove from Maryland (the state of my residence) to Forest City to Iowa to address one of the doors (Propane compartment). The manufacturer fixed that issue free of charge. A few days later (today) while driving, the door to the compartment behind the Propane one popped open. By the time I realized ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 6, 2023
My vehicle has a sticky door panel issue that is easily damaged/defected when in contact. Due to the material chosen by the manufacturer, the door panels are easily defected in scratches, sun damage, flaking, etc.. I been in contact with other 2007 Lexus IS 250 owners that have the same complain on their vehicle. I called the dealership and they also confirmed the issue, but they were unable to as... Read more
Incident date: May 27, 2023
Sudden spontaneous moonroof explosion. Traveling at approximately 60mph I experienced a spontaneous explosion of the moonroof while it was closed and the headliner was closed. Glass flew into following traffic. There was no oncoming traffic and we were not following anyone. Sky’s were clear and the road was dry and paved. This was a loud and distracting event and if the headliner cover wasn’t ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 23, 2023
Recently I had an accident while I was driving my car (Tesla model S) with my wife and daughter in the car. The reason for accident was the front hood popped up in the middle of the county highway due to the secondary latch malfunction leaving us completely blinded as the hood fully blocked our vision. Luckily we were not met with a collision and had no bodily injuries, but the hood of the car go... Read more
Incident date: Jun 23, 2023
I have a white 2013 Kia Optima the paint is chipping, coming off in chunks. After it falls off seeing the panel below is smooth and does not appear to have been roughed up prior to painting to allow the paint to properly adhere. I know of thousands of other Kia owners to have paint issues exactly like this.
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2011) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jun 26, 2023
Incident date: Jun 18, 2023
Prior to the failure of the rear drive axles there were 2 instances of the 4WD lamps coming on. Reset the lever and light went out.Another instance had the ABS light come on.After several miles the light went off. The next morning while driving to the independent repair shop the car completely stopped on a Blvd in the middle of traffic.Luckily I was not rear ended by another vehicle.The car needed... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2023
While driving down GA 140 near Waleska, GA, I hit a bump in the highway and the hood popped open. It stopped at first catch and I was able to stop before hood came all the way up. Was able to open hood completely and relatch successfully. No further incident's but it was very stressful to get the vehicle stopped and correct the problem before the hood opened beyond the first latch and would have c... Read more
HYUNDAI
SANTA FE XL
(2019) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jun 26, 2023
Incident date: Jun 13, 2023
The inside paneling on the driver side rear door is detaching from the frame and catching on the rubber seal. It is causing the door to be inoperable and unable to open from the inside causing a safety concern in the event of an immediate need to evacuate.
Incident date: Jun 25, 2023
This is a white Lexus, and the paint on the roof has a manufacture defect. It is chipping and peeling.
Incident date: Mar 15, 2023
8am, Stopped at intersection. Light traffic. Green light, increased speed to 15 mph, turning left and sunroof explodes. Luckily inside shade cover was closed so no glass was able to come down.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
In August 2022 I noticed that the door to our Airstream trailer was somewhat loose on its hinges and sagged slightly when opened. Inspection revealed that the hinges were not tight against the door frame. The door has two hinges that appear to be machined aluminum. Each hinge is attached to the exterior of the door frame with two bolts. The hinge attachments to the door itself appear to be sec... Read more
Incident date: Jun 7, 2023
Recently we had he brakes replaced and new tires put on to prepare for a trip out to Minnesota in a couple of weeks. My son felt like the car wasn’t driving correctly and took it to the shop and upon being put on the lift the service department called and said the rear subframe rusted out and was broken and the gas tank was scratched do to the subframe rubbing against it. When he called Mercede... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2018
My issue is with the liftgate on all Acura models including my own RDX. I was sitting on the edge of the van with the liftgate fully opened taking off my spikes after golfing. I inadvertantly triggered the fob in my pocket when i leaned forward causing the liftgate to close. At first i did not realize it was closing on me ,but jumped up and it caught me on my upper back. I avoided serious injury.... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2022
Front end collision with car making an illegal left in front of our Subaru. Our car hood, bumper, head lights, grill and parts of the engine were smashed, with liquid draining out of the engine. My husband (wearing a seatbelt) hit his knee and shoulder on impact. Airbags failed - Not a single airbag deployed. A police officer helped him move car parts out of the street. Safety was at risk because ... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Mar 14, 2023
The frame of this vehicle has deteriorated to the point of becoming a safety hazard. The frame has rusted through over 50% of the thickness (internally) and has broken through to the outside in several areas around where the suspension and transmission attach. I recognize that this is an older vehicle, but it has larger percentage of rust than other vehicles I have owned and I do not believe it ... Read more
HARLEY-DAVIDSON
FLHR103
(2013) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jun 23, 2023
Incident date: Jun 5, 2023
On or around 7/02/2022, while on a trip out to the black hills, during a stop I noticed a crack had formed in the side wall of the Keystone coach. After some investigation, this appears to be a known issues with Keystone fifth wheels as indicated by the Keystone KSB -180328 Sidewall Crack Repair instructions. Over the past year, I have had varying responses from Camping World, my extended Warran... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
TIGUAN
(2022) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jun 23, 2023
Incident date: Jul 14, 2022
Purchase 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander fall of 2021. Took first trip of over 200 miles on Highway. Noticed that speeds of 60 MPH or over, the hood vibrates(badly). Took to local dealership was told Mitsubishi aware of issue, and in the works to correct, and most likely recall to replace hoods. Just took in this week June 2023 to local dealership. Asked again about Hood issue. This time was told Mitsub... Read more
Incident date: May 23, 2023
Failure to provide campaign service Took car in for rust corrosion campaign and inspection on may 18th. I was told there was corrosion and they would send info to Hyundai for approval. Car was not inspected, and was denied loaner vehicle after being told on phone one would be provided. Forcing me to drive an uninspected corroded vehicle for well over a month. Multiple calls to the dealer have ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 13, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-350. The contact stated that there was an extreme amount of rust on the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the hood and the front end were replaced, but the failure persisted. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 42,000.
Incident date: Jun 23, 2023
Vehicle was damaged by a school bus hitting the rear passenger corner. It damaged the rear tail light, brake light, turn signal and backup warning sensors. Parts to repair the vehicle are not available for the past 4 months. I called multiple times and the dealer cannot provide a date when the parts will be available. The total cost of repairs is $3200.00. To avoid paying rental car fees that th... Read more
Incident date: Jul 14, 2022
Our Kia Sedona had the cooling fan harness negative Cable melt and caused making our engine overheat. When we took our vehicle to get serviced they told us that the cooling fan harness melted and then it's a common problem with kias. They fixed the pigtail cooling fan harness but are cooling fan does not turn on anymore and they said that it is now an electrical issue and this was from a Kia deale... Read more
Incident date: May 4, 2023
This vehicle is equipped with remote tail gate release which can be activated without the knowledge of the driver allowing items to fall from vehicle and promote a dangerous outcome. An example is this morning the tailgate released after I stopped at a gas station and I had a piece of equipment fall from the vehicle. Thankfully no other vehicle was struck but this does pose a safety risk
Incident date: Jun 19, 2023
opened driver side door making a popping noise coming from stop arm. found that spot welds broken off and stop arm will not allow me to open door not allowing me access to get into driver side door. found ssm 50150 on the internet. this is a safety issue and needs to be a recall.
Incident date: Jun 15, 2022
All four doors retain water from an issue with wax/debris/substance that blocks the door drain holes and restricts water from draining properly. There is a TSB on this but it is not a recall level. I am told that standing water in a vehicle is not an issue, however I fail to understand how standing water would not rot away the doors as well as breed mold/bacteria. When calling the national hotli... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
GLK350
(2014) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jun 22, 2023
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
Door locks they lock and unlock by themselves and make a noise when locking. Also paint on car doors and back hood paling off car you see medal.
Incident date: Jun 21, 2023
My lift gate would open by itself when I put the car in park. It would also open overnight while parked in the garage. When I discovered it open, the battery had ran down. Opening while in park happened about 6 times.
Incident date: May 6, 2022
The tailgate unlocks on its own and becomes unlatched on its own. It is unpredictable but has happened at least once when coming to a stop (still in gear) and once when sitting with the engine off, after having come to a stop. My dogs ride in the back so they could fall out of the vehicle if it occurred while driving; in addition, cargo in the back of the van could fall onto the road if the tail... Read more
Incident date: Jun 22, 2023
Purchased new, dealer twice during warranty kept vehicle for 6 weeks to do recall notice repairs. Now this 2010 has 42,000 miles and the steering is going bad. SB10056459-3388 describes the exact problem. During these two periods that recall repairs were done that should have addressed the problem even though the problem had not surfaced yet. This was a wear condition i was never informed of. It i... Read more
Incident date: Jun 16, 2023
Rear Control Arm Broke off of the rusted Rear Sub Frame assembly which was confirmed and inspected by my mechanic.
TRIUMPH
BONNEVILLE BOBBER
(2018) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jun 22, 2023
Incident date: Jun 22, 2023
The Suspension Subframe Crossmember (Front) Part Number: 544B2-EG300 Supersession(s): 544B2EG300 Fits Infiniti G35’s (2007-2009) Have issues where it starts to rust on all areas of it . This includes the joints of the cross member and support areas. The rusting that occurs definitely impacts the structural integrity of the part and it can very well be a safety issue and a fatality waiting to ... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 2023
my car paint is chipping in multiple places around my car. This could lead to rusting witch, can ultimately lead the body of the car to be easily damaged. it will cause a weakened body structure which can lead to so many damages in the future. I am mediately contacted Kia corporate as soon as the problem got worse, they refuse to pay for my whole car to be repainted. I have a pearl white Kia car, ... Read more
FOREST RIVER
FLAGSTAFF
(2020) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jun 21, 2023
Incident date: Jun 16, 2023
back ride side door will not latch and stay closed,if aperson was in back seat with door that won't latch that person is in a dangerious position.backing out of drive way door opened and wouldnot latch shut.
VOLKSWAGEN
TIGUAN
(2022) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jun 21, 2023
Incident date: Jun 21, 2023
The car is subject to a safety recall. I have contacted 2 Honda dealers to inspect this car. They will not schedule an inspection because the parts to repair it are on back order. The national Honda rep has told me not to drive the car and that the dealers should give me a loaner since the car will either need to be repaired or totally scrapped. The dealers will not even look at the car until ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 5, 2023
Driving on the freeway driver cutt me off I had to apply the brakes fast car brakes did not stop the car smooth the brakes grabbed and locked up causing the car to skid off the road did not respond when applied during an emergency to avoid collision. Excessive brake dust and do not stop car.efficiently.
Incident date: Apr 21, 2023
On two separate occasions I have had the door on the RV melt and crack from the door resting against the heat vent placed behind the door. The latch is NOT PRACTICAL OR SUFFICIENT. Many people go in and out and the door gets open and closed a lot. There’s no real visible warning except hot written on the vent in the same color. We are educated people who are aware of what the plug is for. I... Read more
Incident date: Sep 8, 2022
Engine light has been on for almost a year with NO prior failure or issues after car hit a dangerous pot hole in the road which caused coil packs and spark plug replacements. After the repair, the engine light stayed on for almost a year and the car has been taken to multiple shops and a Hyundai dealer & diagnosed by Hyundai same answer of "maybe" leak and gas cap being loose. gas cap has been tig... Read more
1 injured