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: Sep 1, 2022
Front Windshield trim panels gets loose from multiple places. I can hear wind noise inside the cabin clearly at speeds of 50 mph and higher. Its a known issue with 2019 BMW X5. Took it to dealer under warranty and decline to fix it.
Incident date: Dec 24, 2022
December 30, 2022 To: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) (https://www.nhtsa.gov/) From: Robert Volck 7719 Pine Street, Manassas Va. 20111 Email: [email protected] I am writing to you to report a safety issue with my 2023 NISSAN KICKS. What occurs is the driver side door will not function properly when ambient air temperature is 25 degrees or below. When this first occu... Read more
Incident date: Dec 22, 2022
The side pillars on both the driver side and front passenger side became loose. There was a definite rattle sound inside the car. Thankfully I noticed it before they flew off and hit another person/car on the highway. This could have led to multiple injuries. When I brought the car back to the dealership they mentioned that this has happened to other cars. Perhaps there needs to be a recall. ... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2011) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Dec 29, 2022
Incident date: Dec 29, 2022
I have a 2011 GMC Sierra Standard Cab pickup truck. I’m a disabled veteran and have this as my primary vehicle. The frame has a huge hole that developed and will need repair. The frame is rotted and soon will not pass inspection. The truck looks brand new but Engin compartment, frame and tow parts have rotted. I had the leaf spring separated from rotted frame on the highway. I swerved a... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Dec 28, 2022
Rear driver's side door will not close/latch. Latch can be manually moved, but does not engage when shutting door. Currently using bungee cords to keep door closed as I have children and no other vehicle. Vehicle was parked, door was opened from inside to allow passenger to exit, but when they attempted to shut the door, it would not latch closed. No prior problems with the door and no prior w... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
GLK350
(2010) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Dec 28, 2022
Incident date: Dec 22, 2022
Premature rear subframe corrosion due to design of component, vehicle is available for inspection upon request. If control arm detaches geometry of suspension will change and divert into another lane and cause a crash, the issue was confirmed by an independent service center. The vehicle is due to be inspected by the manufacturer 12-30. No warning of issue as the majority is covered by body panel.
Incident date: Dec 26, 2022
https://youtube.com/shorts/9i5_n8vrjBo?feature=share Inside door handle / lever will not open door if outside handle / lever is slightly pulled or stuck. Outside debree or Ice will prevent the opening of doors preventing escape. In case of accident or debree the door may fail to operate if the outside lever is slightly engaged. What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it availa... Read more
Incident date: Dec 28, 2022
Paint flacking off hood in large pieces
Incident date: Dec 24, 2022
The driver's side rear door locks freeze, and once the door is opened it will not stay closed/latched. I have a video of the door not latching shut, and bouncing back open when attempting to close it. This is the same issue as outlined in Customer Satisfaction Program 18N03; however, the dealer and Ford Corporate advised my VIN is not included on the recall for this issue. When the door lock is... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2015) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Dec 28, 2022
Incident date: Dec 18, 2022
Glass panoramic sun roof lifted off the vehicle at highway speed, I had to grab the front edge of roof,pull off the expressway. Tried to re seat it in the channels but could not close the roof. Drove 120 miles with roof open holding the front edge down, which continued to try to lift off the vehicle. . My vehicle is Mercedes’ 2015 c300. These vehicles have a recall for this very reason but my vi... Read more
NISSAN
PATHFINDER
(2013) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Dec 28, 2022
Incident date: Dec 14, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that the rear sub frame was completely rusted through. The vehicle was taken to a certified mechanic and the subframe was replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,850.
MERCEDES-BENZ
E350
(2010) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Dec 28, 2022
Incident date: Dec 27, 2022
During maintenance check, mechanic indicated rust on the rear subframe that can lead to failure. Failure on this car would cause a puncture of the fuel tank due to car design. Upon further research, this is a well known issue with MB and is covered as a recall in all countries other than the US. Please encourage Mercedes Benz to do the right thing and issue a recall for this defective component,... Read more
Incident date: Nov 22, 2022
When driving on the highway, paint unexpectedly peels off in large (hand size or larger) sections mainly from the roof. Although it doesn't hurt cars behind you, the shock of being hit and/or the obstruction of view for drivers behind you can lead to a pile up if the driver swerves or freaks out. (Similar risk to a sheet of paper suddenly covering the wind shield on the driver's side)
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2014) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Dec 28, 2022
Incident date: Dec 28, 2022
Damage to fuse panel and front left speaker on driver side dash. The Antenna on top of the trucks cab has a known issue to leak. And has leaked down the front left column on top of the fuse panel causing corrosion and damage to electrical components. No evaluation has been done by a certified technician for damage. But available for evaluation per request. No warning lights present.
Incident date: Dec 26, 2022
Severe chipping of the paint
CHRYSLER
PACIFICA PLUG-IN HYBRID
(2018) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Dec 27, 2022
Incident date: Jun 15, 2021
The 2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivan has electronic sliding doors. The doors do not always shut when the button is pressed or handle is pulled. Sometimes it takes 4 to 10 tries to get the sliding door to shut and latch. The Chrysler owner's forum says this problem can be fixed by having the dealer reprogram the door software to make the door close with a little more force. This problem sta... Read more
Incident date: Dec 22, 2022
My sunroof exploded and sprayed shards of glass all over the inside of of the truck and passengers.
Incident date: Dec 20, 2022
When backing out of my driveway and turning wheel to the left I get two loud popping noises from behind me. Other online reports identify this as a problem with the sunroof. I also have instances where the sunroof does not fully close unless I repush the close button. Dealer rep suggested this is most likely due to an issue with the sunroof.
Incident date: Dec 24, 2022
EXTREMELY DANGEROUS DOOR CLOSING FAILURE. Both front door lock actuators malfunction below 10 degrees Fahrenheit. Rear doors of the crew cab are unaffected. The moving parts of the mechanism are not frozen and there is no water in the system. The lock actuator will not engage the clamp/pin mechanism to hold the door closed, even though the movable parts are freely moving. this happens whenever the... Read more
Incident date: Dec 26, 2022
Driver door cannot be opened from inside with either engine ON or OFF. After I came home from work , I parked the car inside the garage and I could not get out of the car.It took me approximately 2-4 minutes.After that the car just opened. This is the second time in 4 months.
Incident date: Dec 24, 2022
The rear passenger side door did not latch. My 6 month old son could have fell out because his car seat is on that side. Luckily I noticed it when I was backing out of the driveway and not on the expressway. I pulled back into the drive way and tried to shut the door about 30 times. It would not shut. All the other doors worked fine. The only way to keep the door shut was to hold the door shut and... Read more
LAND ROVER
RANGE ROVER SPORT
(2011) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Dec 26, 2022
Incident date: Dec 23, 2022
While driving down the interstate my rear spoiler flew off the vehicle and caused the car behind me to swerve almost resulting in an accident.
Incident date: Dec 26, 2022
Ever since I have had my car there has been a wind sound like some this is dragging under my car! Been to dealership multiple times and they tell me that’s how these cars sound! Now oil is disappearing right after and oil change! They say my oil pan bolts were stripped out! Well the Hyundai dealership is the only people that have done my oil changes! Tried to charge me for that! I get an engine ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 30, 2022
On July 30, 2022 I took my car to Greenway Kia East Orlando due to two traction warning lights that were on. After weeks and months of Kia not knowing what was wrong with the car I was finally told that it was an electrical harness and that my warranty company was non responsive. I decided to call my warranty company and after back and forth they said they would not approve what Kia wanted to do b... Read more
Incident date: Dec 22, 2022
Frozen door latch,unable to close or lock,must hold door closed with one hand while steering with the other hand,extremly unsafe!!!
Incident date: Dec 1, 2022
The spot welds have broken on both front doors at the check arm attachment points in the door assembly. See 10201603NHSTA safety issue.
Incident date: Dec 24, 2022
When temperatures drop below freezing, the rear door latches will not latch closed. Our children have to hang onto the doors to keep them from swinging open on corners while they also try not to fall out of the vehicle. Dealer says this is a common problem on this model, and is known to Volvo. They’ve attempted to regrease, and advised that the technical service bulletin provided by Volvo doe... Read more
Incident date: Dec 23, 2022
The side view camera in the passenger side door mirror flew off while driving on the interstate highway going 75mph. If there was vehicle behind me it would’ve hit they’re windshield.
Incident date: Aug 30, 2022
The driver's side front frame has rotted out disconnecting the mount for the anti-roll bar. This has happened despite several reports to the dealership going back many years that the frame was rusting rapidly which, upon examination, they said that it was OK. They did apply a coating which might have delayed the process a bit but ultimately resolved nothing. For trucks that had perforated frames d... Read more
Incident date: Oct 18, 2022
On my 2010 Honda CRV, the rear frame stiffener became excessively corroded over time which resulted in frame stiffener perforation . On 10/18/22, the rear trailing arm separated from the vehicle's body while I was driving, forcing loss of control until I could bring the vehicle to a stop. I called my auto service provider to come and examine the problem which he confirmed that the rear trailing ar... Read more
FORD
MUSTANG MACH E
(2021) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Dec 23, 2022
Incident date: Dec 23, 2022
The mach e has a front trunk. I have seen several posts about the front latch failing which includes the emergency release should a child or smaller adult get stuck in the frunk. My mach e did this to me today. As a result I was also forced to drive with the frunk half open to get my car back home until I can get it serviced.
Incident date: Dec 23, 2022
After loading groceries into the rear seats, I shut the passenger door and thought it was latched. I started to drive off and the door came open. I spent 20 mins trying to get it to latch and although I could move the door latch mechanism with my fingers, the door would not latch and remain shut. I ended up tying the door shut in order to drive home 7 miles.
Incident date: Jan 1, 2016
The dash of the car is melting. It causes a reflection that is bright and impairs visibility. Mazda addressed this problem with extending the warranty. When I called the local dealerships, none of them had the dash to replace per warranty. I made several calls throughout the year and each time was told the dashboard was not available and to try again. Then COVID hit and I did not venture out. When... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2008) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Dec 22, 2022
Incident date: Dec 19, 2022
Structural frame damage found on both sides of truck while I was checking my brakes and doing a basic undercarriage inspection. Complete rebuild of frame determined by qualified frame building shop. Chunks of frame have fallen out and a lengthy crack along bottom inside rail visible.
Incident date: Dec 21, 2022
We were driving and another car told us our tailgate was down. We did not put anything into the truck before we started our drive and no buttons were pushed. The tailgate went back up without incident, however there was also no indication from inside the truck that the tailgate was down.
Incident date: Dec 22, 2022
The truck was sitting in the driveway and out of nowhere the alarm went off. Go out to inspect and the vehicle is showing that the driver and left back door are not closed. The driver side door will not latch it opened up out of nowhere and will not latch. Apparently this issue is know with Ford trucks when it gets too cold. This is a safety issue because the door will just open while driving.
Incident date: Dec 20, 2022
Tailgate sensor indicates that tailgate is open, when it is closed. This happens repeatedly, even after dealer repairs or adjustments. Bed-lighting remains on during this period.
Incident date: Dec 16, 2022
I WAS DRIVING ON I95 ON FRIDAY AND THE DRIVER LEFT SIDE WINSHIELD OUTER PILLAR OUTER TRIM MOLDING FLEW OFF IN THE WIND VERY HARD. ON SATURDAY I WAS DRIVING ON THE BELTWAY WHEN THE PASSENGER SIDE RIGHT SIDE WINDSHIELD OUTER PILLAR OUTER TRIM MOLDING FEW OFF I WAS SO SCARED BECAUSE I DONT KNOW IF HIT THE WINDSHILED OF THE CAR BEHIND ME. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS. NOW BOTH ARE GONE.
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2017) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Dec 21, 2022
Incident date: Dec 7, 2022
Passenger side sliding door will not open. It is stuck in the lock position and will not unlock even after attempting both manual and electronic unlocking. Faulty lock actuator likely cause.
Incident date: Dec 17, 2022
Driver side blows cold air: the plastic connected to the air mix motor control will damage over time and it's very expensive to replace the air box assembly. It's not safe to drive during winter.
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2019) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Dec 21, 2022
Incident date: Dec 21, 2022
Leaking rear window, rear differential replacement due to bearing failure
Incident date: Dec 10, 2022
This truck was sold with a snow plow prep pack but after installing a snow plow the frame of the truck bent due to the pressure. Ram has redesigned their frame as of this model year 2021 and it is not capable of handling a plow. I know of three trucks in my local area that this has happened to and ram wont admit the problem now these trucks are being traded. people out there will be buying trucks ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2022
First noticed condensation on the inside of the windshield and dealership alledgedly unclogged sunroof drains.Then noticed ice formed on the inside of the windshield and passenger floor-board carpet damp specifically by door jam seal. While driving water pooled and leaked through front dome light. Having water fall through the ceiling via the light while driving through an intersection presents a ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2007 Nissan Murano. The contact stated that the rear wheels were tilted inwards. The contact stated she had to add air to the passenger’s side front and driver’s side rear tires. The contact stated that the rear cross member was rusted and had a hole. While doing routine maintenance, an independent mechanic noticed the hole and the rust. The local dealer was not contacted. T... Read more
Incident date: Dec 6, 2022
The rear bathroom window, on the left side (driver’s side), separated and fell off the coach. The incident was not observed in real time but discovered after a stop at an RV park. The window fell off somewhere along a busy Interstate. This is a potential hazardous if not life threatening condition. There is a recall for these windows (NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V529000), but apparently my coach wa... Read more
NISSAN
PATHFINDER
(2014) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Dec 20, 2022
Incident date: Dec 5, 2022
On December 5, 2022, I was driving on the 134W fwy around 6:40 am. I was driving around 60 mph in the fast lane when all of a sudden my hood popped open. I was unable to see in front of my car as the hood was completely up and blocking my windshield. I slowed down and crouched down to see in the sliver of space between the windshield and the top (now located at the bottom due to it being open) o... Read more
CHEVROLET
TRAILBLAZER
(2022) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Dec 20, 2022
Incident date: Dec 10, 2022
On this vehicle the manufacturer is using plastic exhaust brackets. This bracket broke while driving on interstate. This caused the entire exhaust system to drop. When this happens the pipes underneath the car can break and cause serious damage to underside of vehicle which can then cause sparking and explosion or vehicle crash. Looking at pics below you will see the defective plastic part is... Read more
Incident date: Oct 23, 2021
The tailgate fell open when accelerating after stopping at a stoplight. It had been securely closed for 4 hours of driving without stopping with no interaction.
Incident date: Aug 1, 2022
Paint is peeling off roof and door very thin and flakes off easily
FORD
ESCAPE HYBRID
(2020) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Dec 20, 2022
Incident date: Dec 19, 2022
Driver door brake bracket spot welds failed preventing driver door from closing. Fortunately for me the event happened when I arrived home buy renders the vehicle unusable because the driver door is hanging nearly wide-open. I see via the internet thay others with this same vehicle are having the same issue and the repair requires the door to be replaced but there are no doors available. There are... Read more