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 5, 2023
The frame has rusted completely through on both driver and passenger sides. The integrity of the frame is severely compromised and may collapse at anytime. This type of failure could be absolutely catastrophic to everyone who may be involved. It has not been confirmed by a dealer, nor has it been inspected by any others yet. It but was inspected by a ASE-certified mechanic and confirmed. I am a di... Read more
Incident date: Jun 14, 2023
After 6 months and 12000 miles of ownership I’m starting to notice dents forming along the Left side and right side of the roof rail from the front to the back of the vehicle. This issue verified be a dealership as a manufacturing issue. I was quoted a price for repairs which would be added to my car fax. There might be an issue with frame or metal used for this vehicle
Incident date: Jun 14, 2023
The contact's company owns a 2019 Ford F-550. The contact stated while the vehicle was stationary, an employee noticed that the cab and chassis was in a V-shape. The contact stated that a mechanic arrived at the location; upon inspection, the mechanic stated that the frame rail was fractured. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact spoke to the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. Th... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2023
The contact's company owns a 2019 Ford F-550. The contact stated that the vehicle was inspected by a mechanic, and the contact was informed that the frame rail was fractured. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
Incident date: Mar 1, 2023
Brought truck in for a NYS inspection and it failed due to rust and cracked frame. While it was still on the lift the frame collapsed and the back end fell off the lift. Luckily nobody was under it. This seems to be a common issue on many of the Chevy forums. Something needs to be done before failures like this happen on the roads.
Incident date: Jun 9, 2023
It rained pretty heavy last night, and driving to work this morning, the interior lamp lights started turning on by themselves. After a few more minutes of driving, water was pouring out of the roof where the lights are. The water dripped straight down onto all of the electrical parts, USB ports and buttons for auto/on off, park assist, etc. There is an obvious leak coming from the sunroof, and a ... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
TAOS
(2022) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jun 14, 2023
Incident date: Jun 14, 2023
Paint is chipping off around rear passenger door On my White 2017 Tacoma, and Toyota wont do anything about it. Paid for paint protection coating for no reason i guess. I am not the only owner going through this there are petitions and forums all over internet too. Toyota should have to fix this problem. We noticed it about 6 months ago and it is steadily getting worse, I am afraid to wash it fe... Read more
Incident date: Jan 7, 2022
This 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid, and all first and second generation (2001-2012) Escape models, were designed and built with a significant, known defect in the mating area and materials used for the rear floor pan, rear sub-assembly/rails, and rear inner fender liners/upper shock absorber mounts, all made of pressed steel. The design of the components renders them subject to trapping road debris/salt... Read more
Incident date: Jun 13, 2023
Water leak at sun roof caused by rubber seal failure in sun roof frame due to faulty material and or installation. Water damage to side air bag so tat it does not deploy properly & is a safety hazard. Mold carpet which is a health hazard & impedes drivers ability to drive.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
I am the original owner of my car since the end of 2007. For some strange reason, my car just suddenly started to show large signs of rust on the roof. This is apparently a very common issue with the similar timeframe of model years. This is a manufacturing defect from the beginning as Toyota did not properly paint the car properly.
Incident date: Jun 11, 2023
Every time it rains, the inside of my vehicle floods through the ceiling and floors. This is a manufacture defect that is outside of my control. This is a safety issue because it causes mold and mildew in the vehicle which is a hazard to inhale. I'm also concerned that the possibility exist for an electrical hazard.
Incident date: Feb 5, 2021
Paint is flaking at the upper doors
Incident date: May 15, 2023
Hood released and blew open while doing 50 mph. After checking oil level, I closed and verified hood was latched, which it was. Driving about 2miles down road, hood blew up causing instant panic and stopping. After pulling over, I found that the hood would no longer latch. I had to use a hammer to bend the latch forward enough to have it latch again.
Incident date: May 26, 2023
Rear door is stuck and does NOT open, nor will the emergency release in the door, when activated, allow it to open. Poses a significant danger to anyone in the backseat, or if trying to get a child out from the backseat, say in the event of an accident on the opposite side. This must be addressed via a recall asap, or there will be serious consequences eventually.
Incident date: May 1, 2023
About a year ago, the driver's side door stopped opening. Since the vehicle was out of warrantee, I had it repaired but do not have the invoice any longer. I didn't expect it to happen to another door. A couple of months ago, the rear passenger door stopped opening. I have had it fixed. There was no warning, the doors just stopped opening, trapping whoever was inside at the time. Of course another... Read more
Incident date: May 22, 2023
I was driving my nissan altima when the recall hood latch let my hood open.Yes my car is available for inspection. I was driving on public road when the hood open with out any warning. It stop me from see the road and cars in front of me. Yes they replaced the recalled hood latch again. They did not fix the damages that happened to my car but give me the run a round. Now my windshield is broke, bo... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2023
My Wife, child, and I, were driving down the interstate and the exterior driver side panel by the windshield flew just flew off. When we stopped at a gas station it looked like serious deterioration to the seal and clips that held it together was present. The clips were all broken. On this same trip, we began to hear what sounded like bees buzzing in the dash. We stopped again to worry that someth... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2014) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jun 13, 2023
Incident date: May 14, 2023
Subframe front and rear are completely rusted out and unsafe to drive
Incident date: Jun 13, 2023
My center doors on my mini van are inoperable. About 3 months ago, I tried to open the door to get my grandchild out of her carseat, and the door wouldn't open by the outside handle or the button on the control above. My dash would light up staying door must be unlocked to open...I pressed to unlock..and nothing happened. I had to enter through the drivers side to get her out. Today i went to ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 22, 2021
Sunroof exploded while driving within 24 hours of buying a new vehicle. Nothing fell on the car. We were driving in the highway and we heard an explosion, when we got out of the car to look, we saw that the sunroof exploded. I did not even know that was a thing prior to that, when I started searching after that and talking to my colleagues, seems like it was more common than I expected and is not ... Read more
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2019) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jun 13, 2023
Incident date: Jun 6, 2023
In 2022 I was in an accident on the highway; a dear hit my car while I was traveling at 70 MPH. My airbags did not deploy and I ended up hitting my head on the driver side window really hard and it gave me a concussion and I injured one of the disks in my back. I almost got hit by semi trucks traveling behind me as well. Again, my airbags didn’t deploy after this and I’ve seen many recalls on ... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jun 11, 2023
Rear bumper assembly separated and blew off into traffic while driving the legal speed limit (85MPH) on Texas Interstate highway. Road conditions were dry and windy. The vehicle had had no known or observable damage prior to this incident and had been maintained and inspected annually by Tesla.
Incident date: Jun 7, 2023
Spot welds failed on left front door at door check arm mount. This allowed damage to the door and window mechanism and also prevented the door from closing. See SSM 50150.
AUDI
A6 ALLROAD
(2020) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jun 12, 2023
Incident date: Jun 11, 2023
Driving on a road trip, 2.5 hours in. All doors were locked. Drove over a road change from tunnel to bridge, small bump, and dashboard started beeping and flashing that a door opened. Driver side back door (where my child was sitting) opened, air was rushing in. We had to brake ( on a highway bridge to pull over) and unlock door to get it to close again. The door popped open while still l... Read more
Incident date: May 5, 2023
The paint is peeling off from the vehicle, exposing the body to rust and reduce the vehicle lifetime and durability significantly. When I contacted Honda about the issue, they told me it is a Paint defect from the manufacturing plant. They asked me to get a quote from the dealer to fix the issue, after getting the quote they denied the request saying it is outside the warranty period even when the... Read more
Incident date: Jun 12, 2023
There is paint peeling off the back on my van. I have seen this issue on other Honda Odyssey’s (same year) driving on the road.
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS CROSS SPORT
(2021) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jun 12, 2023
Incident date: Jun 12, 2023
At 38,000 miles I got into my car and it started making a popping noise on my drivers side door when opening it and closing it. After further inspection, I cannot put my window down and I am met with resistance whenever trying to open or close it. This poses safety concerns in the event of a car crash. Apparently this is not a recall item at this time and I am awaiting my dealership to even see if... Read more
Incident date: Jun 8, 2023
pearl white paint chipping away. also both power mirrors went out. one replaced with after market and other one available for inspection
Incident date: Jun 10, 2023
I took My 2012 GMC Sierra with 112,410 miles in for annual safety inspection and was told that my frame has a hole in it and is cracked, hence un-inspectable in the state of Vermont. I then took it to a welding shop to get an estimate on repair and the tech told me he sees this all the time on this era GM/Chevy trucks. This is clearly a widespread incident and GM should be held accountable like To... Read more
Incident date: Jun 12, 2018
Rear window separating from convertiable. Local Chevy dealer has inspected the car. Safety issue for others as it can come off while driving. GM recalled 2017 & 2018 for faulty glue adhering GM headquarters has been contacted
MERCEDES-BENZ
SPRINTER 2500
(2014) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jun 11, 2023
Incident date: Jul 19, 2022
When in the service garage for a noise, our independent service mechanic confirmed that the body of the Pilot has rusted from the frame.
Incident date: Jun 7, 2023
I was driving down the highway with my mom, no cracks in any of my windows before any of this by the way. And my sunroof exploded. Huge huge explosion sound. I thought something fell but there was nothing above us.
Incident date: Jun 7, 2023
The twin panel sunroof has water leaks threw the factory installed rivets on the rail causing electrical shortages and which can lead to a fire hazard water and electrical do not mix ford needs to redesign these sunroof rails to prevent water from seeping threw the cracks of the factory installed rivets
Incident date: Jun 7, 2023
The interior driver door handle failed during normal use. The cable attachment eyelet broke off, preventing the interior door handle from opening the door. This is a safety issue because it prevents occupants from exiting the vehicle quickly during an emergency situation. When this failure occurs, occupants must roll down the window and operate the exterior door handle, or crawl to another seat an... Read more
Incident date: Jun 6, 2023
The BMW 650i Gran Coupe experienced a trunk release failure on 6/4/2023. The emergency release handle is in the very rear of the trunk. The only release levers to fold the seats down are also in the very rear of the trunk. The only way to access the trunk is thru a small opening behind the armrest. With a loaded trunk there is no reasonable way to open the trunk once the electronic release syste... Read more
CASTLE ROCK
CASTLE ROCK ST
(9999) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jun 10, 2023
Incident date: Jun 4, 2023
Severe frame rust, body rust
VOLKSWAGEN
ID.4
(2021) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jun 10, 2023
Incident date: May 25, 2023
On 5/10/2023 I got into the vehicle, started, put it in Drive, and noticed the FRONT PASSENGER DOOR was showing ajar in the instrument cluster. I grabbed the door and confirmed it had become unlatched and had to close it again. On 5/16/2023 I again was in the vehicle, in drive, but not moving when the FRONT PASSENGER DOOR opened on its own with no occupant. I reached over and closed the door, bu... Read more
Incident date: May 24, 2023
My 2019 Ram truck has less than 41,900 miles on it.I drove it Thursday morning, but then was stranded.The vehicle wouldn’t unlock, lock, or start. Upon entering using the manual key, the vehicle wouldn’t recognize my key fob. My second key fob would not work either. I called a locksmith to see if he could reset the computer, but he couldn’t. So I called a tow truck. After giving them $100, ... Read more
Incident date: May 21, 2021
Significant amount of rust and rot on multiple structural points of the truck’s frame. This deterioration has advanced much quicker than anticipated, compromising the structural integrity and safety of the vehicle. The rust and rot have affected crucial components of the frame, including crossmembers and suspension mounting points. I have entered my vin # multiple times in the past years to the ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 28, 2022
On december 28th , 2022, i was giving a ride to a collegue of mine. She opened the door and got in . I proceeded to get the car out of park and suddenly the car accelerated and i could not get the car under control. I turned the car so it would not hit the structure in front of me. I turned but still could not control the car and the only way was to put the car in to park . It jumped the curb and ... Read more
Crash
CHEVROLET
TRAILBLAZER
(2021) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jun 9, 2023
Incident date: Jun 6, 2023
My front trunk has been opening without any warning. It happened to open while i was driving (luckily not on a freeway) on 6/1/2023 around 415p. It did not open fully but my instrument panel warning light came on to warn me of this issue. I then pulled into a parking lot and closed the front trunk without any further issues that evening. I did not depress any buttons on my key fob and I was no... Read more
Incident date: Jun 9, 2023
Injury caused when power tailgate failed to slowly lower upon release. Upon release, the tailgate fell open instead of slowly opening as normal (it is a power tailgate). The force of the falling tailgate twisted my wrist and the tailgate hit my arm as I was unprepared for the tailgate to fail and quickly fall. The tailgate operated normally immediately after this incident.
1 injured
Incident date: Oct 3, 2022
I was involved in a traffic accident on May 29 2023. I was hit on the passenger side sustaining $18,000 in damages. My side air bag never went off.
Crash
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2017) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jun 8, 2023
Incident date: Apr 8, 2023
Tailgate latch failed causing tailgate to fall while driving. Tailgate fell onto trailer causing over $2500 in damages. Vehicle has less than 7k miles.
Incident date: Jun 7, 2023
I have contacted several Honda dealers in the last month re recall # 23V-228. All have indicated that they do not have the parts available (support brace) to complete this recall, that the parts are on "back order" from Honda, and that they have no ETA on when they may be able to complete the recall. Please consider this a formal complaint against American Honda Motor Company for failing to comp... Read more
Incident date: May 20, 2023
Similar to https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10170403-9999.pdf NUMBER: 23-036-19 GROUP: 23 - Body DATE: December 18, 2019 SUBJECT: Leather Instrument Panel (IP) Cover Delaminating - X81 Warranty Extension This issue still exists in newer years. Including my 2016 Jeep Overland High Altitude. Recall should be extended to include 2016 model years. There are plenty of similar complaints on... Read more
Incident date: Feb 4, 2022
The drivers side trim piece that runs vertically on the edge of the windshield and holds the rubber gasket in place came loose at the top and allowed the rubber gasket to flap around and hit the window, trim, and windshield. I was on the highway for a relatively short distance so it didn't come off completely. If it had flown off the car it could have caused an accident or hit someone else's veh... Read more
Incident date: Jun 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Mercedes-Benz E350. The contact stated while driving approximately 10 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to respond, and the vehicle veered into another lane. Additionally, while her son was driving at high speeds, he detected a shimmy in the front end. While approaching a stop, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle was slow to res... Read more
Incident date: Jun 8, 2022
Door handle that allows for opening the door from the outside fails to present. Motor just turns and turns, and it is impossible to open the door from the outside. This is the SECOND time for this defect on this vehicle - in 2021 the driver-side door failed in the same manner. This is the passenger side door that has failed now. Tesla said in 2021 that this was a known defect with a cheap gear t... Read more