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: Jan 12, 2023
Passenger doors do not physically open when unlocked from outside and inside. Known stretched cable problems, with hundreds of complaints when doing a Google search. Elderly parents cannot yank hard enough to get them open by brute force. God forbid if there was an accident, you would not be able to open to door from inside to get out and others from outside would not be able to open either to ass... Read more
Incident date: Jun 7, 2023
The Honda 2023 CRV Hybrid Sport experiences significant hood flexing / movement at high speeds, giving the indicator that the hood may suddenly open while driving (should the latch break). This happens ALWAYS at speeds of 60mph+ or during high wind circumstances and the movement gets far worse the higher in speed or the higher the wind conditions. The hood is confirmed closed each time before it... Read more
Incident date: May 23, 2023
Toyota has a campaign to address white paint flaking/chipping on numerous vehicles, with the exception of Tacomas. My truck is a 2019 with 34k miles and the paint is chipping and flaking off. This is a known problem with this paint, so I am not sure why they don't address it with Tacomas. I would like Toyota to take care of this for me. It is not fair for me to pay out of pocket to address a defec... Read more
Incident date: Jun 2, 2023
Rust around wheel wells and rear liftgate along bottom edge.
MERCEDES-BENZ
GLE350
(2016) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jun 7, 2023
Incident date: Apr 3, 2023
A panel under the moon roof that is used to deflect water in case water leaks through the moon roof suddenly fell down on the back seat of the car while we were driving with the moon roof open. Upon inspection we discovered that this panel is glued to some foam pads and apparently the adhesive had lost it's grip. We were able to put the panel back in place. But the next time we opened the moon ro... Read more
Incident date: Jun 7, 2023
My car has started leaking water onto the driver's side floorboard. I thought it might be from the sunroof and cleaned out the channels on both sides of the car. There was a recall years ago about a harness causing a problem with leaking water and possibly causing electrical problems. I took the car in for the repair. They told me that they fixed the problem. My car has started leaking again as... Read more
Incident date: Jun 7, 2023
We were driving on the freeway and out of nowhere, the trim next to the windshield completely flew off on the passenger side of the car and then the driver side trim broke in half.
Incident date: Jun 7, 2023
I special ordered a 2017 Ford Escape.The paint on both side windshield pillars is peeling and blistering. I took it to the Ford Dealership and was basically told that Ford would not repair it. There are many with the same problem. My concern is that due to the fact that raw metal is visible it will eventually rust and weaken the windshield, possibly causing it to break or even fly off. Please help... Read more
Incident date: May 3, 2023
Paint bubbling on hood near grill
Incident date: Jun 7, 2023
Rear passenger door would not open after door is locked from inside the vehicle or outside the vehicle. Was stuck in the vehicle. Had to crawl out via other side door. Due to my size this would be a great hazard in an emergency exit situation. Have not take it to the dealer police or insurance but internet search leads to a faulty actuator. No warnings.
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2021) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jun 6, 2023
Incident date: Jun 5, 2023
My Viper is displaying the symptoms of your recall 15V-178 (see below) unsafe door release. I called Dodge and they said my vehicle was serviced for this recall in Sept 2015, but cannot produce receipt for the work. The same door lock problems as 15V-178 are now showing up on both of my doors. I would like to know if I have any recourse here? https://chrysler.oemdtc.com/246/safety-recall-r14-nht... Read more
Incident date: Jun 4, 2023
The fuel door cover flew off the 2021 Nissan Rogue while traveling the speed limit on I-71S between Columbus, OH and Cincinnati, OH. Prior to leaving my residence I verified that all doors and covers were secure. 3 hours into my drive on I-71 every safety warning lit up and sounded on the car, the cruise control disengaged, and in my mirrors I watched the fuel door cover skin land on the pavement ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2022
May 17,2023 6:30a.m. I drove to work, parked for 9hrs & at 4pm when I went to leave my sunroof was shattered.. there are no trees or anything that is over my car.. it looked as though someone had gotten inside my car & punched the sunroof as the glass was slightly pushed outwards.. my car was locked & no signs of entry... upon my arrival to Hudson Nissan I was informed by a Nissan Service Writer ... Read more
Incident date: May 12, 2017
The windshield trim piece on the passenger side flew off while driving and could have hit another vehicle /property or a person causing damage or injury. Online research indicates there is a known issue with these parts. However, I was unable to locate a recall.
Incident date: Jul 10, 2020
The power retractable running boards do not always deploy. This has caused me to almost fall to the ground a few times. I have taken it to the dealer at least 5 times and each time they say nothings wrong or they can't find anything even when it happens to them. This form will not let me fill in miles. Right now there are 32k on my vehicle. This happens when I am parked.
Incident date: Jun 6, 2023
The right side passenger door opens when driving. The door will not stay latched even when locked. I close the door, pull on it to ensure it is latched, but when I start driving, the door slides open. This is my family vehicle used to transport our children, and is a very dangerous situation.
Incident date: May 28, 2023
PAINT PEELING AROUND REAR WINDOW AND EDGE OF DRIVER FRONT FENDER
Incident date: Jun 6, 2023
The car was repaired at a Hyundai dealership less than a month prior to the incident. I was driving down a road with no one around besides me and my passenger when all of a sudden Orange sparks start flying out the sides of the car, I slow down and pull over as fast as I could, then I noticed fire on the passenger side and hurried us out the car. It proceeded to burn away until the firefighters ca... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Jun 5, 2023
I was driving down a road on the way to take my son to his swim team training. I got about f 5 min away from our home and I felt a large clunk, almost as if I ran something over that was large. I had difficulty steering my vehicle, had a loud weird noise coming from the vehicle, and pulled over. I inspected the vehicle outside, I hit nothing. wheels looked fine. I popped open the hood and sta... Read more
Incident date: May 6, 2023
The driver-side rear sliding door is not closed securely and it reopened while closing without any other button access and obstacles on the door. But seems like it was fixed with an ECU software update. I have a problem with that and it was fixed with a repair visit last week. That means it was a known issue, but I must pay the repair cost. I have a short video clip to show the problem and my deal... Read more
Incident date: Oct 29, 2021
Leaking from moon roof with water filling spare tire compartment & filling passenger foot space.
Incident date: Jun 4, 2023
March 30, 2022 I was driving on a highway with no other vehicles nearby and I heard a sudden loud pop. At first I thought is was a tire but no pressure changes on the screen. Few minutes later I heard a plinking noise and realized it was above my head and my sunroof had shattered. Luckily my visor was pulled across so I didn't have glass raining on my head while driving. Brought it into my dealer... Read more
Incident date: Oct 17, 2022
On my 2013 Chevy Silverado with only 70000 miles I noticed a clunk noise when driving. After bringing it to the dealer I was told the frame was rusted beyond repair. It is not safe to drive at this point. The frame was treated with a wax coating by GM that basically covered the rust for years. It was only till now the wax coating is flaking off exposing holes in the frame. The rear shock mount is ... Read more
Incident date: May 19, 2023
The engine cradle as well as the engine mounts along with the subframe have deteriorated uncommonly fast resulting in the vehicle involuntarily swerving into other lanes of traffic
Incident date: Sep 30, 2019
Drivers side sliding door will not open. I am an automotive technician and i aware of the previous investigation into this issue that resulted in extended coverage on previous model 2015-2017 year Grand caravans and Town and countrys, but mnow im here with a 2018 Grand caravan, same defect,same part, not covered.This is a common safety issue and this specail coverage needs to be extended to cover... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
Rear window cracked for unknown reason, searched only and serveral trucks has same known issue
Incident date: Feb 7, 2023
2018 Nissan Rogue SUV: Hood suddenly flew open while driving about 30-35 mph. I was able to safely pull over; although hood and fenders were damaged, I could close the hood and subsequently brought it to a Nissan dealer. A tech at the dealership identified the problem as a "frozen" (open) hood latch. I am awaiting an insurance adjuster to inspect the car. There were no warnings or any sympto... Read more
Incident date: May 31, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that there was an abnormal rattling sound coming from the passenger’s side dashboard. Over time, the sound spread to the middle and driver’s side of the dashboard. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the weather stripping on the dashboard had started to detach from the panel, and that the cowl panel nee... Read more
Incident date: Nov 20, 2021
Rear Passenger Door Latch Failed. We were forced to use a ratchet strap to return home safely due to door swinging open on turns. The safety recall for this was created in 2015 but as of June 2023 there is still not a solution from Ford. They also will not reimburse any repair done after 2017. This is unacceptable.
Incident date: May 31, 2023
The car is totalled. My car tripped 9+ malfunction warnings, after starting and driving. These included rear brake lights, directionals, start/stop system, and more. It appears that the sunroof leaks, and the roof drains were clogged (even though they were specifically checked and cleaned by the dealer 2 months earlier). This led to water accumulating in the areas under the back seat (a prior reca... Read more
Incident date: May 26, 2023
While driving down a city street, heard a very loud crack/bang, and lost control of the vehicle. Fortunately I was going slow, 20-30mph and was able to safely stop. Upon exiting the vehicle, the rear driver side wheel was hanging at a weird angle. Looking under the car, the entire trailing arm and wheel assembly has broken off of the frame. If I was going faster, or had been on the highway, this w... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2015) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jun 1, 2023
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
While driving around 45 mph I was startled by something black flapping against the passenger side of the windshield. I thought I must have hit a large bird and it was caught somehow. I immediately pulled off the road to see what happened. I found a large strip of rubber sealer had come loose from around my windshield and was causing the flapping, also the windshield trim was gone. I drove back the... Read more
Incident date: May 15, 2023
The sliding doors do not work properly when the windows are down. When the windows are up and you open the door you hear a clicking noise locking the door in place. If the windows are down when opening the doors they do not “click” and the door can slide closed. This is a bigger issue when parked on a hill or slight decline as the door can slam shut on small kids. If the windows are down w... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2018) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jun 1, 2023
Incident date: May 23, 2023
The paint under the rear hatch at the top where the roof meets the rear is gone and rust is already coming thru. I have reached out to Honda Corporation of America as well as Hendrick Honda in Concord, NC where I purchased the vehicle, however both have refused to help me. I leased the vehicle new and purchased it last April as a certified pre owned. It has a 5 year rust warranty as well as 1 year... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2023
The rear subframe has corroded through, causing the entire weight of the rear body to be improperly distributed. Per the Jeep service tech, this could cause a wheel to collapse. The vehicle is available for inspection at time of writing this. Jeep has inspected the vehicle and quoted for repair at $4,439.16. The only reason we were even made aware was because the vehicle had a flat tire and the ... Read more
Incident date: May 24, 2023
Vehicle is 12 years old with 105,000 miles and frame has multiple cracks/ holes. I was told by the dealer that the truck is basically junk.
Incident date: Feb 3, 2021
Frame of truck is completely rusted out, truck has only 88,000 miles. The body of the truck is in perfect condition with no rust but the frame is shot! This will be over 4,500 dollars to repair, this seems to be a common issue in the Chevy and GMC trucks. I did see on a web site GM had issues on application of a wax sealer on the frames that was thought to be discoverd in 2020. I contacted Chevy a... Read more
Incident date: Feb 6, 2023
We were traveling on I90 west of Sioux Falls, SD. 06-01-2023. There is a 14 mile stretch that is under construction and the traffic is head to head in that stretch. We met a semi that created a gust of wind that blew the front window trim off the passenger side of the vehicle. I do not know where the trim went once it exited the vehicle. It was in an area where construction workers were worki... Read more
Incident date: May 23, 2023
Both rear doors do not open from the outside and only the passenger rear door will open from the inside, leaving the driver side rear, not accessible from the inside or the outside. The middle row of seats do not adjust backwards or forwards. The controls on the steering wheel do not work at all.
Incident date: May 27, 2023
Broken weld points inside the front driver-side door. There was no accident or impact to the door. The door was used properly and never overextended or caught by the wind to my knowledge. I am the primary driver. My spouse occasionally drives the car and he doesn’t recall any such incidents either. I opened it to get in one day and started hearing a popping sound. Immediately after the popping s... Read more
Incident date: May 29, 2023
The contact owned a 2015 Fiat 500C being towed by a 2005 Ford E-450. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 MPH, the Fiat detached from the Ford at the tow bar without warning. No other vehicles were struck due to the failure. There were no injuries were reported. There was no police report filed. The 2015 Fiat 500C was removed from the tow bar and the vehicle was towed to an indep... Read more
Incident date: May 28, 2023
Front Driver side door, door check is broken. Issue identified by dealership after taking it for evaluation. Per dealer, entire door needs to be replaced.
HONDA
CLARITY ELECTRIC
(2018) — STRUCTURE:BODY
May 31, 2023
Incident date: May 26, 2023
*The roof molding that runs along the top flat part of the roof from front to back, one on both sides right & left of the car. It is in place to connect and/or cover where the roof & body/ sides come together & were welded. *The safety issue is that it falls off while the car is moving. Mine flew off on a major highway, while driving, which creates a risk to others on the road driving behind the ... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
GLS 450
(2020) — STRUCTURE:BODY
May 31, 2023
Incident date: Mar 17, 2023
Hood flutters badly when passing oncoming traffic. Specifically trucks. Sometimes it blows up about an inch or more and I fear it will come loose and open eventually.
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2020) — STRUCTURE:BODY
May 30, 2023
Incident date: May 27, 2023
Electrical acutated tailgate will not come down. The truck came with a soft bed cover that locks. If my child was to hide in the bed somehow it would pose an immediate risk to life and health as the tailgate will not come down and does not have any type of manual override. The interior controls do not work to lower the tailgate, the key fob controls do not work to lower the tailgate.
Incident date: Feb 28, 2023
While driving on a highway my sunroof randomly shattered. There were barely any cars around me. Nothing his my sunroof it just shattered randomly.
Incident date: Apr 6, 2023
I was driving on the road and I heard something like an explosion, I turned the emergency lights on and stopped to find out what had happened. I saw the sunroof completely broken, fortunately I didn’t get hurt but I got so scared and I don’t know if I will feel comfortable driving my car again.
Incident date: Apr 26, 2023
There is a problem with the way dodge/ram is doing recalls on the tailgate latches. They are only testing them out three times to see if they fail to attach. We have damage to the tailgate from a faulty latch and they said the latch passed the inspection and there is nothing wrong with it. Damage did occur while we was going down the road and the tailgate fell open but the striker is "fine" someth... Read more
Incident date: May 3, 2023
While driving with the top up or down on the highway the doors will intermittently unlock and the security light come on because the door is ajar. This has been going on since I purchacesed the car 2 yrs ago. Now 5/29/23 while driving on the highway the drivers door opened while driving 70 miles an hour. This is a daily occurrence and it happens multiple times daily. This is a dangerous and scary ... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
EQS 450
(2022) — STRUCTURE:BODY
May 30, 2023
Incident date: May 25, 2023
On February 10, 2023 I purchased a 2022 Nissan Maxima with a little over 19,000 miles on it. Which has a warranty for up to 104,000 miles. Currently at a little over 25,000 miles. Maybe a week later I noticed a noise coming from the rear, so I informed the Finance Manager, Paul. He then goes on to tell me that he's going to schedule a service appointment. The day I went to Barnes Crossing of Stark... Read more