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: Jul 31, 2021
The paint (white pearl) is bubbling and peeling. I currently have several rust spots that appeared where the paint peeled. I have researched this issue online and found that it is a common occurrence with this particular paint color on Kia cars for this time frame. Also, the Kia dealership that I have been to is aware that this is a problem as well. I recently had the unfortunate experience of ... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2019) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Aug 30, 2022
Incident date: Aug 15, 2022
The front panel of the panoramic sunroof exploded into small pieces for no apparent reason. I was driving under 35 mph, on a 2 lane road, in clear, warm weather. I heard a "pop", then glass sliding over the roof of the car. In the rear view mirror, I then saw glass falling past the back window. When I stopped to investigate, I found that glass had also fallen down onto the fabric shade, which was... Read more
Incident date: Aug 30, 2022
1. Frame was replaced under recall due to excessive corrosion, and now it's corroding again and should be replaced. also the trailer hitch is excessively corroded and was not replaced during the recall. I pull trailers all the time with this truck and don't want there to be failure with the hitch due to excessive corrosion. 2. The body paint and clear coat on this vehicle is weak and needs constan... Read more
Incident date: Aug 26, 2022
The sunroof of my 2014 BMW 328i sedan exploded while driving on a highway at 75mph. The explosion sounded like a gunshot or a truck tire exploding. Thankfully I kept control of the car and the pull shield was closed preventing a majority of the glass from raining down on me and my passenger. We did pull over to the side of the highway were a witness described the glass as exploding up and slidin... Read more
Incident date: Aug 23, 2022
The hood on the vehicle has decay/bubbling. It is most prevalent along the front edge of the hood. I am not sure if this affects the structural integrity, safety worthiness, or latching aspects of the hood. If so, this is a major concern for all owners of this vehicle. I was made aware by another owner of same make and model that this is common occurrence.
MERCEDES-BENZ
GLE450
(2016) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Aug 30, 2022
Incident date: Aug 27, 2022
My 2016 Mercedes GLE 450 AMG was running perfectly but stalled while I was making a left turn onto a major roadway and I was inches from a catastrophic accident. My car was towed to Mercedes Benz dealership and the technician informed me that the trunk seal was not sealing properly causing water to get in through the trunk and shorted out a fuel pump module. My trunk was not wet and only indicatio... Read more
LAND ROVER
DISCOVERY SPORT
(2016) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Aug 29, 2022
Incident date: Aug 29, 2022
The left roof rail detached while driving just missing a car behind me
Incident date: Aug 27, 2022
We purchased our 2008 Toyota Tacoma pick up about 2012 from Stephen's Toyota in Bristol,Connecticut. Recently it went in for an oil change and emissions testing, our mechanic and the owner of the garage told us to get in touch with Toyota right away, the frame on your truck should be covered under the recall, the truck is in perfect condition inside and out and no ruse other than the frame fallin... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2020
The clear paint is peeling off. My paint began peeling in a tiny spot, it looked like a tiny chip of paint the size of a piece of rice but rapidly began peeling all over.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
The dashboard is melting more and more everyday. Its becoming sticky and very reflective. Sometimes whenever I am driving in the morning the sun will reflect off and blind me making it very hard to safely operate my vehicle.
MERCEDES-BENZ
AMG EQS
(2022) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Aug 29, 2022
Incident date: May 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2022 Mercedes-Bens AMG EQS. The contact stated that due to the vehicle's design, the backseats are suitable to transport occupants of a certain height. The contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH, he hit a bump on the road which caused his nephew to hit his head on the vehicle's ceiling while seated in the backseat. His nephew suffered an injury to his head which resulted in... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Aug 1, 2022
Drivers side power sliding door does not close. Grinds and beeps and door shows open on display. When you disengage the power feature the door does NOT open manually.
Incident date: Aug 2, 2022
The contact owns a 2020 Mirage Mirage trailer. The contact stated that the weight capacity on the VIN sticker did not match the weight capacity listed on the trailer coupler. The contact stated that the weight capacity listed on the VIN sticker was 9,523 kg (21,000 lbs.) but the coupler on the trailer had the weight listed at 14,000 lbs. The contact stated that the discrepancy could potentially le... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2019
2015 Kia Sorento Pearl White There is delamination and numerous areas that the paint is peeling, and have continued to get steadily get worse. Areas so far affected: Hood, Side Mirrors, Door Posts and fenders. There are are other owners that have reported similar issues. My vehicle is a available for inspection.
Incident date: Aug 29, 2022
Sunroof shattered while driving today, I read that many Nissan Muranos have had the same problems. The sunroof looks like it shattered from the inside out.
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2012) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Aug 28, 2022
Incident date: Jul 20, 2022
Took my car in for inspection at the Mercedes dealership. They advised the rear subframe was rotted or rusted. This occurred from the inside. The vehicle is garage kept. They advised Mercedes has no re-call on the issue in the United States. They are covering the issue outside the US. This is a major safety issue.
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2013) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Aug 28, 2022
Incident date: Aug 25, 2022
Frame rusted and broke in 2 places!!!!!! 54,000 miles. No accident!!!!
Incident date: Aug 1, 2020
Paint chipping of pearl white paint. Paint is bubbling, confirming that she isn’t just getting hit with foreign objects. Metal underneath is beginning to turn a rust color.
Incident date: Aug 19, 2022
I have a 2017 Hyundai Sonata white paint began peeling off. even washing the car or driving at high speed resulted in peeling. paint began peeling off of the roof, hood and trunk of the car and sides as well.
Incident date: Aug 28, 2022
The truck frame is rusting and making the vehicle unsafe prematurely. My vehicle only has 78 thousand miles and likely needs the frame replaced like many other toyota vehicle because of the lack of corrosion protection.
Incident date: Jul 15, 2022
I have a 2016 Honda Pilot, color, Pearl White. The paint started to peel appointmently one month ago. The area is on the roof in front of sunroof behind the front windshield. There is a recall on the same color, make, year and model. Peeling in the same area. I was told by Honda of America that it was only for Honda that were painted at a certain factory that are covered by the recall. I did have... Read more
Incident date: Jun 20, 2022
This complaint is in regards to the 2003 Acura model TL, which is made by Honda and seems to have a notorious car frame rust/rot problem due to designing the AC compressor drain line to dump water directly onto the cars front subframe/engine cradle causing it/them to be compromised to a serious extent that could lead to major injury and or death if not spotted and dealt with. All complaints clearl... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2021
The pearl white paint paint on the vehicle is pealing on the hood, roof and doors. It started last July and there is new places popping up all the time
Incident date: Jul 24, 2021
Purchased used 2006 Toyota Tundra in May 2021. Upon bringing vehicle to Toyota dealer for inspection mechanic informed me that the frame had rust perforations and was unsafe to drive. The condition was not fixed due to exorbitant cost and I was not able to pass inspection.
Incident date: Aug 26, 2022
2015 Kia Sorento with Snow White Paint has large areas of paint rapidly pealing off. In various spots the paint is pealing off in large chunks and has had no prior damage to the area. After going to multiple body shops I was informed that this is a common problem with this color and model year of this car. It is due to a defect in the painting process.
VOLKSWAGEN
TIGUAN
(2020) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Aug 26, 2022
Incident date: Aug 1, 2020
The contact owns a 2020 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that on three separate occasions, the upper overhead console had detached from the headliner. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer on all three occasions and had the part replaced under warranty. Recently, the contact stated that the failure returned where the console was hanging from the headliner three wires. The contact st... Read more
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2022) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Aug 26, 2022
Incident date: Jul 26, 2022
The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, there was a whistling sound coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that suddenly the bumper detached from the passenger’s side of the vehicle. The contact stated that the front valance panel attached to the bumper and attached to the fender had detached from the vehicle. The contact stated that... Read more
Incident date: Aug 16, 2022
While the vehicle was parked in my garage, after I removed a car seat from the rear driver side passenger seat, the door would not lock and stay closed. Because of this the vehicle would stay on and continue to give me a drivers side rear passenger door open alert. When I attempted to drive the vehicle, it would constantly give me a warning that the door was open and a distractive noise alert wo... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2021
The White paint is chipping on the hood and roof of the car.
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2013) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Aug 26, 2022
Incident date: Aug 26, 2022
Driving my 300 down the highway at around 70MPH and after lightly pressing the break, the car surved into right and left lane. I could have gotten into an accident, but luckily no other car was on the road. Taking my car to the mechanic it was discovered that My 2013 C300 has a rotted subframe, this was not caused by any damage but due to the part not being protected from rust. Rust caused the su... Read more
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2017) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Aug 26, 2022
Incident date: Aug 24, 2022
The passenger sliding door open and closes with no warning, hatch opens and closes with no warning, dogs were closed in and died due to this malfunction because they thought we were going somewhere. Horn goes off and on for no reason, ac in rear does comes on and off. Drivers side sliding door does not operate at this point. Now transmission is malfunction.
Incident date: Aug 24, 2022
Driver side door latch failed. Unable to close door. Happened exactly a year ago to the passenger door (repair invoice attached).
Incident date: Jul 26, 2022
Purchased new Toyota Tundra in 2004. Performed rust recall at dealer on 07/22/15. October 2016, brakes failed. Brake line completely rusted. July 26, 2021, Toyota Tundra rejected at state inspection for badly rusted frame. Inspectors were unable to get wheel off to inspect brakes because of rust damage. Took to Toyota dealer on March 9, 2022. They performed airbag recall. Unable to do front suspe... Read more
Incident date: Aug 23, 2022
Power lift rear hatch shocks. It's no longer available for inspection because I had the parts replaced on Aug. 24, 2022. Date of first incident UNKNOWN. Before the pandemic began, the rear hatch became inconsistent on opening and closing. When I took it to the dealership, they would reset it. I also took it on 2 occasions to another dealership with the same results. In a day or in a few days, it w... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2010) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Aug 25, 2022
Incident date: Aug 25, 2022
Rear subframe completely rusted through resulting in multiple attached systems to break off. When applying the brakes the rear end of the vehicle swings and can force the car into random directions. Upon any basic research this issue can be seen in similar Mercedes models across the globe consistently. If the issue was not diagnosed sooner the likelihood of a fatal crash would have been extremely ... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2010) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Aug 24, 2022
Incident date: Aug 10, 2022
I need to have my rear brake lines replaced they are blown out but they need to remove the subframe in order to complete the job. They discovered that the subframe is completely rotted and has a hole in it and they believe if they remove it the subframe will break and need to be replaced. They indicated this was a big safety issue and is a known issue on the Mercedes. I was lucky I did not kill ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 24, 2022
We have a 2014 Kia Sorento SLX Pearl white and the paint first started coming off in the front on the hood and bumper cover which we had repaired for a ridiculous amount of money. The body shop said it would be cheaper to just order a new bumper cover and paint it instead of stripping away all the paint on the old one and then painting due to the amount of labor hours required to do so. I have th... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2022
While driving on the freeway, the right front exterior pillar trim came off and flew back toward traffic behind me. That exterior trim was between the door frame and the windshield. Luckily it did not strike any other vehicle. It could have easily struck another vehicle and caused an accident and/or injury. Prior to the detachment, the trim in question did not appear to be lose or coming off. ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2022
Paint chipping off of vehicle around rear windshield.
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2017) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Aug 24, 2022
Incident date: Apr 2, 2022
The driver side sliding door of the van is stuck in a locked position. It cannot be unlocked manually or remotely. There is no way for a passenger to open that door in event of emergency.
Incident date: Jul 26, 2022
When exiting the vehicle the door ripped a gash in my right leg in the calf area. There was a recall, they supposedly fixed it. It happened again after the repair was made. It doesn't look to me the repair was made. It was repaired by Doug's Hyundai on 04/07/2022. I have contacted HyundaiUSA and have a case opened but all I am getting is the runaround. Case 20085813, contact is Haley 833.462... Read more
1 injured
VOLKSWAGEN
TIGUAN
(2020) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Aug 24, 2022
Incident date: Aug 23, 2022
The car was parked outside during the summer. Opened the car door and noticed the entire overhead console above the driver had detached, and was broken, hanging head high by the wire connections. The plastic is broken around the screws that usually hold it into place, so it cannot be reattached without getting a replacement part installed. Driving is dangerous when this occurs as the entire consol... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
E300
(2017) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Aug 24, 2022
Incident date: Aug 22, 2022
The sunroof is leaking when it rains on the front upper left side by the driver. My safety is act risk because of the water coming in the car distracting me from driving and not sure if the water is damaging the electrical system in my car.
Incident date: Aug 20, 2022
Car was parked in fairly level spot with engine off, gear selector in park position, , key fob not near vehicle. Approx 30 minutes later, I returned to find vehicle approx 30 feet behind parking spot, having apparently drifted into another car in parking lot. No idea how car moved. I believe some electronic release of parking selector allowed car to roll.
Crash
Incident date: Jul 20, 2022
While driving at 70 mph the rear panel of the panoramic sunroof in my 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe exploded. We were not near other traffic or other sources of debris that could have impacted the glass. There was a very loud 'boom' sound, like a gunshot, and then the crackling sound of broken glass. Thankfully the sunshade was drawn and glass shards did not fall into the passenger compartment. Within a... Read more
Incident date: Aug 22, 2022
On 8-22-2022 upon arriving at the work site my Australian Shepherd jumped from the cab of the truck catching her left front leg in the hole in the running board resulting in a severe compound fracture resulting in surgery.
1 injured
Incident date: Aug 23, 2022
Passenger outside door handle fell off a couple years ago. Today the internal mechanism for the driver's side door broke so door will not open from the inside.
Incident date: Aug 21, 2022
It started with the back seat interior locks sticking. It has now turned into the back seat interior handle broken off. The other side is barely hanging on. My children are the usual passengers in the back seat and they are unable to open the doors to get out of the car.
Incident date: Aug 3, 2020
Paint delaminating and chipping, started on the front driver and passenger pillar. Also spots on the front hood near the bumper.