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: Apr 14, 2022
The frame Infront where the motor and steering attach rotted completely threw, separated at the weld. It is a safety hazard where steering is affected. The dash lights for the traction, abs, and even the cruise control are on and those items are no longer functional. This car was purchased in 2017, Holiday automotive in Fondulac, Wi with this condition apparent. The mechanic who changed my oil re... Read more
Incident date: Nov 5, 2022
When I open the hood, the hood release mechanism sticks in the open position. Closing the hood will not engage the primary lock, only the secondary latch. I need to physically reset the primary latch with a tool (screwdriver) to properly close the hood. If not completely latched the hood could open at high speeds, blocking the view and causing an accident. This vehicle has never been damaged. I ha... Read more
Incident date: Nov 17, 2022
NHTSA ID Number: 10201603/ SSM 50150 - 2020-2021 Ford Escape My vehicle is having this EXACT issue and there are many other Ford Escape owners that are having this issue and even with the manufacturer extended warranty it is not covered. This issue has obviously been reported with the reference number above and NHTSA PDF attached. fordescape.org/threads/door-limiting-rod.116354/page-2 has so man... Read more
Incident date: Nov 28, 2022
Tailgate opens in transit and allows contents of bed to fall out of vehicle causing issues for drivers behind truck
Incident date: Nov 17, 2022
2014 KIA Sorento; at 80775 miles the passenger side pillar by the front windshield the Pearl White Paint has peeled off. There was no impact. The paint code is SWP. I see that this is a wide-seen condition of this paint color; Pearl White with the KIA vehicles. I can see other spots on the car that appear to be weak and ready to peel.
Incident date: Nov 17, 2022
2014 KIA Sorento; at 80775 miles the passenger side pillar by the front windshield the Pearl White Paint has peeled off. There was no impact. The paint code is SWP. I see that this is a wide-seen condition of this paint color; Pearl White with the KIA vehicles. I can see other spots on the car that appear to be weak and ready to peel.
Incident date: Nov 28, 2022
The Shasta Airflyte trailer is clad in aluminum metal sheathing called a skin. The metal skins on the doors are held by a rubber spline molding but no screws or fasteners. The trailer door needs a decent amount of force to open/close which creates some flex so the metal skin gets loose and had popped out over the spline in a couple places. I noticed it a couple months ago but shoved it back under ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 27, 2022
The hood of the car has large amounts of paint peeling. The paint peeling has progressively worsened. The paint on the roof of the car also has a similar problem with the paint.
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
THE REAR SHOCK MOUNT RUSTS OUT NOT LONG AFTER MANUFACTURE AND WE THE CONSUMER ARE LEFT WITH THE PILE OF POOP. FORD IS HIGHLY AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM, AND AS I TRANSPORT MY CHILDREN DAILY I WONDER IF THIS WILL BE THE DAY WE DIE. UPON THE SHOCK MOUNT RUSTING OUT, HOPE YOURE RELIGIOUS AND GOD IS YOUR CO PILOT BECAUSE AS THAT POINT THE SPRING IS WHAT YOU'RE LEFT WITH! ITS SO HORSE [XXX] FORD LEAVES THI... Read more
FORD
BRONCO SPORT
(2021) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Nov 27, 2022
Incident date: Oct 15, 2022
The doors on my vehicle are buckling. There are ripples in the sheet metal on all four doors where the metal meets the window glass. It appears to be some type of structural issue. Im worried if these doors are buckling under normal wear and tear im concerned if they are structurally sound if the vehicle were involved in a accident? Is the cause of this issue metal fatigue? I am not an engineer bu... Read more
Incident date: Nov 25, 2022
Went in for warranty repair for a recall of the lug nuts and wheel stud to find the dealership claimed they did the recall but committed fraud and actually didn’t. Went to pick up vehicle and go directly to Discount Tire for a tire rotation to find the lug nut and wheel stud completely broken off and the wheel not attached to the truck at all. “Only one pothole away” from coming off I was t... Read more
Incident date: Nov 17, 2022
Tailgate opens while driving and has occurred many times.
Incident date: Nov 23, 2022
The rear back doors will not open. The car's computer says an obstacle is detected however there is no obstacle in the way of the doors. (I have a video to prove my claim) the safety of my passengers in the rear seat are at risk as they can not exit the car through the rear door. I have had the vehicle inspected by the dealer (Tesla) however they said they can not recreate what has happened. Th... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2022
Both rear liftgate supports have developed cracks in their plastic housings. The cracks result in a loss of function for the power liftgate and a possibility of the springs inside popping out of the housing and striking the operator.
Incident date: May 22, 2021
The summer of 2021 my back windshield broke spontaneously reasons unknown. I had the window replaced shortly after, but I have noticed an odd unaligned shift in my back end lift gate/hitch. My hitch loses a tad off and there is a bigger gap difference between the driver side and the passenger side. My vehicle has not been in an incident that would cause this issue.
Incident date: May 15, 2013
My first year of buying my KIA brand new, I started having small chips in the paint. It started near the sides of window frame and hood first. I was baffled that the paint was already chipping but related it to highway driving and assumes it was rock chips. Then about the third year of owning the car, a big chunk came off the roof. One big chuck right at the front and also near the back drivers do... Read more
Incident date: Nov 25, 2022
1) Frequent spontaneous windshield cracks. 2) violent, out of control steering wheel vibrations at highway speeds nearly causing severe collisions. Reoccurring incidents. I’m ready to file a lawsuit.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Oct 24, 2022
The entire underneath of my car is rusted out. I was driving to work one day when someone pulled out in front of me and I had to hit the brakes. That resulted in the subframe and front drivers axel to break as I’m driving! The sunroof leaks when it rains and half the time the electricity doesn’t work on the sunroof button. My doors have completely stopped auto locking and my hazards will rando... Read more
Incident date: Nov 17, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated while driving at 35 MPH with his daughter sitting in the rear driver's side seat, the rear driver's side seat reclined unintendedly. The contact stated that the seat was moving back forth. The contact that he had not been able to readjust the seat though it was manual seat. The dealer and the manufacturer were notified of the failure and in... Read more
Incident date: Feb 23, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that as her husband grabbed the front passenger's side assist grab handle to adjust himself in the front passenger's side seat, the grab handle fractured and separated from the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred while her husband was grabbing the rear passenger's side grab handle to exit the vehicle. The contact stated th... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Nov 22, 2022
The left rear subframe and suspension have corroded right off the body/frame completely. The right rear side of the frame is almost completely corroded off of the body as well. These are both illegal to repair by law due to safety, being that it’s a unibody construction.
Crash
Incident date: Nov 23, 2022
Trunk opens randomly. As seen on many forums it is a common problem. Ford dealer wanted a diag fee with no promises to fix.
Incident date: Nov 5, 2022
Rear lift gate opens while driving and will not latch or stay closed. This has happened three times. The second time $10,000 in I-pads for work fell out on the road. Taken to dealership and repaired twice and now it has been sitting at dealership for 3 weeks for the third repair. The last time it happened my grandson had to sit in the cargo area to hold it down due to snow while daughter drov... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
E350
(2014) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Nov 22, 2022
Incident date: Nov 22, 2022
Our mechanic reports a dime-sized rust hole in the rear subframe.
Incident date: Nov 21, 2022
Yesterday I drove home from work and this morning when leaving I notice paint missing from my car near the passenger side of the windshield. There is no reason this should be happening. My car is kept in a garage. This is a paint defect and I would like this taken care of. I will be calling Kia in the morning and will be getting a lawyer.
Incident date: Nov 9, 2022
1. brake system 2. after vehicle slowly pull up to the curb, the vehicle suddenly accelerated, while the brake was applied, it jump the curb in a shopping center and hit the post outside of a restaurant 3. it was a brand new vehicle just got delivered one day before, ~10 miles on odometer 4. no warning of any kind prior
Crash
Incident date: Nov 21, 2022
My friend was driving my car this am and an unknown driver ran the stop sign on a side street off from Stuyvesant and hit my vehicle my friend proceeded to get out my vehicle to exchange ins with the other driver as she declined my friend tried contacting me numberous times by FaceTime and phone when I finally answered the FaceTime she snapped a picture of the back of her vehicle as she was procee... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Sep 30, 2022
Water is leaking into the trunk of our vehicle through the tail light assembly and soaking all the electrical wiring in the base of the trunk. The wheel well is becoming flooded with water. All the wiring going in and out of the trunk is soaking wet. If you Google this issue. Other Ford Fusion owners with older model vehicles and the same tail light assembly are having the exact same issue where... Read more
Incident date: Dec 6, 2021
THE MOON ROOF/SUNROOF HAS LEAKED NUMEROUS TIMES. THE DEALER HAS TRIED TO FIX IT ON THREE OCCASIONS. IT CONTINUES TO LEAK- IT LEAKS WATER INTO THE FRONT EYESIGHT CAMERAS CAUSING THEM TO NOT WORK & CUT OFF SPORADICALLY. THE WATER LEAKS INTO THE CAB CAUSING THE HEADLINER TO BE WET, THE FLOORBOARD AND THE ENTIRE CONSOLE AND CUP HOLDERS FILLS UP WITH WATER. I HAVE HAD IT AT THE DEALERSHIP ON THREE OCCA... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
TIGUAN
(2017) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Nov 21, 2022
Incident date: Nov 15, 2022
I suffered a front-end collision on 11/15/2022 in my 2017 VW Tiguan. I was going on I-66 in Virginia 40-45mph back to college at Howard University, and a car stopped suddenly after being cut off, but it was raining horribly and I was in half a foot of water, so even with braking, I hydroplaned into the vehicle in front of me, causing insubstantial damage to them but very significant damage to my v... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jan 10, 2020
The dashboard is sticky and melty. It has also cracked open continuously from left to right across the entire front face of the dashboard. It continues to widen such that I can see some of the inside of the dashboard. There was a class action settlement made for 2008-2009 Altimas and this exact problem of melty and sticky dashboard. The car is available for inspection upon request. There are thr... Read more
Incident date: Oct 14, 2021
I was shocked by electrical component on a rainy day on the driver side the electric component In the door panel were exposed to rain as all buttons to control lock and windows from driver side have sunk down a couple inches. This happened almost right away after I purchased pre-owned from Honda dealership in Corona. I took my Scion to Toyota of Ontario who said faulty electrical components had be... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Dec 1, 2020
My power sliding door pulls shut but then pops out enough to register that the door is open. Pulling on the door does not pull away from the body when it is physically pulled. The power door button on the dash and the key fob do not work for that same door. I have tried shutting off and turning on the switch with no response. I'm afraid that the door will slide open while driving.
THOR MOTOR COACH
PALAZZO
(2022) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Nov 18, 2022
Incident date: Oct 14, 2022
The Thor Palazzo has 2 braces in the front "nose" area of the coach-these braces are metal brackets that attach the front fiberglass nose to the area that contains the generator and fans for the air conditioner and other front-end components. These braces attach at both ends: the front part of the brace attaches w/ screws to a piece of wood that is then screwed into the fiberglass on the very fron... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2013) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Nov 18, 2022
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
Rear sub frame failure due to corrosion. Failed part causes vehicle to lose control when applying breaks. Further broke sub frame has high risk of fire due fuel tank breach. Vehicle was inspected by Mercedes Benz technicians several times up to the point of failure, no advanced warning. Technician stated no lights, no warning signs until total failure occurs.
Incident date: Feb 21, 2022
B pillar separated from the frame during collision causing catastrophic intrusion into the cabin upon impact leading to death of the driver. No other occupants in the vehicle. Multiple investigators noted the B pillar failure upon inspection. Independent, certified crash reconstruction expert also noticed immediately that the B pillar had failed which caused cabin intrusion to an extraordinary deg... Read more
Crash
1 injured
1 deaths
MINI
COUNTRYMAN
(2015) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Nov 17, 2022
Incident date: Nov 16, 2022
I opened door in freezing conditions and the door refused to open. Then once I got it opened it would not shut or remain latched with an pressure. Problems have been identified by rusted cables from door latch to door handle. These devices should have the ability to hold a load once it’s latched, especially in rear where children can do kid things.
Incident date: Jul 20, 2021
7 year old child sitting behind father when vehicle was hit from behind causing intrusion into the vehicle pushing the rear seat area forward; from the impact, driver's seatback yielded/failed significantly into the child's rear seating position area causing permanent catastrophic brain injuries to the child. Vehicle is currently being stored and preserved for evidence at SAFE, 6775 Hollister Ave... Read more
Crash
4 injured
Incident date: Nov 17, 2022
-The frame is rotted out - If the frame were to break, which my mechanic i saying is very possible, a massive incident could occur - It has been confirmed by an independent service center - It has not been inspected by the manufacturer but is an astonishingly common issue Toyota is very aware of that they continue to ignore. - There were not indicators notifying me of the issue. I wanted to repla... Read more
Incident date: Nov 16, 2022
Went to get an undercoat application. Tech pointed out severe rust/rot on my truck frame, located on both front wheel control arm area. Vehicle was inspected by N.E. Undercoating, Plainfield Ct. No warnings. NEVER RECEIVED A FRAME RECALL NOTICE Contacted Toyota Corporation and they said "sorry, nothing we can do"
Incident date: Nov 15, 2022
systems that failed, my defroster only blows straight up about the width of the rear view mirror. causing my windshield to fog or ice and I not be able to see. dealer will not look at it until the 14th of dec. they are unwilling to provide a safe loaner in the meantime. no warning lamps my frame undercoating is already coming off making me very concerned about rust down the road the welds on my ... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2013) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Nov 17, 2022
Incident date: Oct 30, 2022
While returning from a long trip with my entire family, I initially lost control of the vehicle on a normal curve at 70 mph speed on a highway. We managed to stop without getting in an accident. After determining that it is not because of any tire damage and not understanding the problem, we continued with the journey driving at reduced speeds. From then on, vehicle was losing control whenever I ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2022
Electrical system dies unexpectedly. Stabilitrac system alert lights up and car starts shifting like crazy. All warning lights flash and door locks and dome lights start flashing. This happens even when driving on the highway. Very dangerous and needs to be addressed immediately.
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2020) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Nov 17, 2022
Incident date: Nov 17, 2022
Today I was driving on the highway with a high wind advisory, in the morning driving with the wind was causing my hood to flex under the intake pressure. This afternoon driving against the wind on the highway the wind was strong enough to pop the hood open while the latch kept the hood secured, twice. The winds at the time were 15mph with gusts to 35mph.
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2018) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Nov 17, 2022
Incident date: Nov 2, 2022
The sliding door on the driver's side is locked closed and it cannot be unlocked or opened. The sliding door on the passenger's side can be opened and closed, but cannot be locked. As such, that door can be opened when the van is driven. The door locking failures occurred without any warning. According to the mechanic, both failures were due to worn door latches, which can be repaired/replaced for... Read more
Incident date: Nov 16, 2022
2019 LEXUS 300H. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO DEFECTIVE PASSENGER DOOR.
Incident date: Oct 28, 2022
I had the airbag repaired during the recall. However, the airbag warning light remains on. In addition, the speedometer has stopped at 299,999 although the trip meter still works. The paint is peeling and the roof is rusting which is classic for toyota.
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2017) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Nov 16, 2022
Incident date: Oct 21, 2022
Recalls fixed 11/15/2022 on my 2017 Ford Expedition. I purchased in March 2018 After picking up my Ford from WINNER Ford, Dover DE yesterday 11/15/2022 I realized my backup Camera screen is fuzzy, the stopped working before I even left the premises. In 2022 Ford recalled Expedition Backup Carmera camera with distorted screens but not for 2017. I have had 2 batteries. There has to be an electrica... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2016) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Nov 15, 2022
Incident date: Sep 1, 2022
the Burl wood trim panel on the interior doors are deteriorating , the drivers side panel is deteriorating to the point that it looks like acid is eating away at the material there is red markings showing .. i find this could be a safety hazard as it could eat away at the door itself. i have pictures of evidence. there was a recall on Mercedes E class during the same years i purchased my car, m... Read more
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2016) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Nov 15, 2022
Incident date: Nov 14, 2022
DRIVING ON HIGHWAY AND SUNROOF EXPLODED. SOUNDED LIKE A GUN SHOT.