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 27, 2024
Front passenger door handle is stuck closed, should be fixed under recall(NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V466 Subject: Safety Recall Campaign TSB55062401 – Outer Door Handles (2023 and 2024 Model Years Fisker Ocean)), but have recieved no correspondence or reply from anyone about it. Passenger door has to be manually opened from inside vehicle since outer handle is not functional. Also, after softw... Read more
Incident date: Feb 12, 2025
My concern relates to the recall campaign for 24V623000 reduction in regenerative braking. The slow roll out of this campaign caused this unrepaired recall to result in a crash of the vehicle resulting in a complete loss. While driving on a highway in subzero temperatures, the driver let off the accelerator to slow the vehicle around a corner. At this point the vehicle lost the expected braking... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jan 1, 2025
Had to pay out of pocket for recalls of software to fix braking and water pump. Car was bricked with OTA update from manufacturer.
Incident date: Feb 12, 2025
The power tail gate stopped working on 1/28/2025. After diagnosis the power tail gate and it's controls on passenger side rear control panel it is observed that there is water on the controls module. Part 74970-THR-A12Control Module for tailgate has been taken out and found that the water coming though it's sockets. The $200 new control module will temporarily fix the issue but the defective re... Read more
Incident date: Jan 12, 2025
Since my purchase of the vehicle Dec 2023, the tailgate opens on its own. Usually follows hitting a bump such as the rain gutter entering a store parking area. I have also had it occur while driving down the road. Have been told multiple times by my service personnel they have had same complaints from other Sierra 1500 but have no fix for the problem. They have offered to deactivate the electroni... Read more
Incident date: Feb 8, 2025
A tractor trailer hit my vehicle from behind/driver side rear in snowy road conditions and then jackknifed causing my vehicle to spin out of control across the interstate. My 2 children were in the backseat, my [XXX] son driver side rear & [XXX] daughter passenger rear. My husband was in front passenger seat. No air bags deployed, the vehicle was a total loss, we almost got killed. The impact wa... Read more
Crash
3 injured
MERCEDES-BENZ
EQB 300 4MATIC
(2023) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Feb 11, 2025
Incident date: Nov 15, 2024
Trunk pops open on its own
Incident date: Jan 30, 2025
Identical paint peeling of the roof as Service Bulletin 21-087 from Honda. I also have peeling with both front fenders.
Incident date: Jan 3, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-550. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the contact stated that the frame was cracked between the bed and the cab. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was confirmed that the vehicle was previously repaired under a related unknown recall and declined to perform the recall repair on a second occasion. The d... Read more
HYUNDAI
SANTA FE SPORT
(2018) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Feb 11, 2025
Incident date: Nov 11, 2024
Currently my passenger door and my rear driver side door do not open from the outside. I already had to have my driver side door handle replaced for the same issue, now three out of four of my handles have failed. If an accident were to occur no one would be able to access the passenger or the rear driver passenger from the outside because the doors do not open. Since I can not open the door from... Read more
Incident date: Jan 16, 2025
Have had the rear door locks stop working during the cold, it would not allow the doors to shut and stay shut. I did have children in car seats in the truck at the time. After trying to get the locks to work for about 10 minutes they stared working again. Also have an oil leak that was discovered while having an oil change. I became aware of Technical Service Bulletin: 23/2083, NHTSA ID Number: 1... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2024
I've had to replace the 12v battery in my ID.4 due to battery failure twice since I've owned it, and according to the service department at VW, the battery was replaced on delivery too. So that's a total of three batteries since it came off the production line. I'm also having issues with my doors handles not working properly and haven't been able to have the open recall performed on my vehicle ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 11, 2025
At two different times and locations, the side piece on the front windshield have become disconnected and flown off while traveling down the highway. The recall has been in effect for over a year and still no dealerships around me have the parts to fix the recall.
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2024) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Feb 11, 2025
Incident date: Nov 12, 2024
Rear Subframe is rusted through. My mechanic just pointed this out today, during regular maintenance, and provided photographs.
Incident date: Feb 10, 2025
My Kia Sorento has the pearl white paint that began peeling 4 years ago. That is a known issue for Kia vehicles made between 2013 and 2019. [XXX] . While this is not necessarily a safety issue, it is common problem that Kia knows about. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2017) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Feb 10, 2025
Incident date: Feb 8, 2025
Sunroof exploded on the highway with no one in-front of me to kick up any rocks or debris.
Incident date: Feb 10, 2025
Center High Mounted Stop Lamp, (CHMSL), lense breaks/detaches repeatedly.
Incident date: Feb 10, 2025
A-pillar trim pieces falling off. Recall 24V031. Have been calling weekly since Dec 2024. Local Ford Dealer continues to insist parts are not available.
Incident date: Feb 6, 2025
Toyota placed a tinted coating over its chrome on the platinum trim. The coating is pealing off. My vehicle is garaged and has 6,200 gentle miles on it. The coating appears to be bubbling, so there is an issue with it. When at the dealership getting the warranty claim addressed, I saw their own 'parts truck' of same year and trim as mine also was pealing and I pointed it out to them. Doing f... Read more
Incident date: Dec 12, 2024
the car gets wet in the floor area after it rains. took to dealer and said it was p/S issue. the car is 5 years old, yet now there is mold on the floor carpet due to the water damage.
Incident date: Feb 10, 2025
We started noticing issues on our RV and reported it to Grand Design. Those issues included bolts holding front philon breaking and loosening, wallpaper at base near floor shifting, excessive new noises on slide movement, lippert legs stopping due to being off balance on level ground, stress cracks in front cap, sawdust in pantry cabinet, loose lag bolts upon further inspection and dresser panel ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 11, 2024
Bent/broken frame. We are stranded in Northern CA. The unit is available for inspection. This RV is not safe to be on the road. The insurance company told is that it is non-drivable. See our story below: We have a 3 year old Keystone Alpine 5th Wheel. The frame is bent and cross members are broken. We do not know how it happened. There has been no accident, collision, we didn't run over anythin... Read more
Incident date: Jan 7, 2025
We took the vehicle in for inspection and it failed due to the exhaust leaks, and more importantly the frame rusting out. We never received the recall notice for this issue. We have owned this vehicle for many years, so there is no reason we would not have been notified for the recall of the frame. The vehicle was just serviced last year and we spent a great deal of money to keep it running pro... Read more
FORD
BRONCO SPORT
(2021) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Feb 8, 2025
Incident date: Feb 3, 2025
Upper passanger trim piece fell off while driving on street, could have hurt another motorist. When new piece was fixed by Tesla service center, I advised them to replace drivers side just in case and they stated they will not be able to until it falls off. This trim comes in two pieces, one is bolted to the truck and the other is glued onto the bolted piece, the glued piece peeled off. Here i... Read more
HYUNDAI
ELANTRA HYBRID
(2022) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Feb 8, 2025
Incident date: Dec 31, 2024
Nissan has replaced the door actuators on the front left, front right, back left, and back right multiple times, but the issues persist. The malfunctioning door locks pose a serious safety risk, particularly for children who may open the doors while the vehicle is in motion. Additionally, there is the risk of doors failing to secure properly, leaving the vehicle vulnerable to vandalism or theft. T... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
ML350
(2006) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Feb 7, 2025
Incident date: Jul 4, 2024
Sunroof leaks into the car in rear shorting out subwoofer and components apparently the drain tubes are not secure and separate many complaints on this issue should be a recall no warnings just tons of moisture
Incident date: Feb 7, 2025
Extensive frame rust to the point of structural failure. Cannot support weight or force.
HYUNDAI
SANTA FE SPORT
(2017) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Feb 7, 2025
Incident date: Feb 7, 2025
The car was placed in park, and somehow it rolled backwards into a gas station post causing serious damage. The very badly designed 9 speed transmission is designed to shift into park when the door is opened this is a safety feature that failed! My child could have been in there! It could have rolled back into the file pump! DANGEROUS! I have heard of others complaining this happened to them too. ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2025
The front end of this vehicle rides too low and tends to scrape the pavement on inclines, usually steep driveways or entrances/exits. If the scrape is severe it can cause one to stop possible in the lane of traffic with possible exposure to oncoming traffic. In addition, it breaks the thin plastic bumper and may negatively impact other safety features.
Incident date: Jan 4, 2025
After a trip we noticed that when we had the rv connected to the truck, the front closet would not close. There was also cracking on the nose cover of the rv. We (my wife and I) had a problem with the cargo doors and entry doors coming open on other trips and lost stuff on the highway so we talked to the rv dealer to get a frame inspection. what was found was that the frame was broke in a few plac... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2024
Window trim flew off on expressway. This is a known issue with Kia.
Incident date: Feb 3, 2025
Rust only on brackets that hold the arm on the rear sway arm stabilizer
Incident date: Feb 6, 2025
Excessive front nose cap/upper deck movement during travel (bouncing), suspect welds holding the riser wall and upper deck may be broken. Bottom flange of I-beam buckled over two foot span. Both diver and passenger side walls have pulled away from structural support. Floor dropped on both sides (bowing). Living room floor has slope to the back left since I purchased it new. Kingpin or pin box ... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2019) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Feb 5, 2025
Incident date: Feb 5, 2025
Frame Failure. 1/24 purchased new, on first trip(~1200mi) door side front cap vertical 1/2” gap between exterior wall and front cap, saw dust and movement at bedroom storage, bathroom door was catching due to movement, dealer repaired 3/21/24-5/17/24. 2nd trip(~2800mi) front cap shows separation, saw dust, filon warping, dealer reports 1/2” movement of pin box, dropped at dealer 11/25/24 as o... Read more
Incident date: Dec 20, 2024
In reference to Toyota Motor North America - Customer Support Program ZKG. My Toyota vehicle has experienced paint peeling on the exterior metal body panels. I have applied to receive coverage from Toyota for the paint peeling as part of the ZKG Program. Toyota has denied my request for coverage and did not provide me with notice of the ZKG Program. The paint color of my vehicle is the original fa... Read more
Incident date: Sep 12, 2022
My driver side door electronics are all messed up. The electric door handle does not work from the outside. While driving however I can hear the door latch clicking like it is trying to open. I have told VW about this problem several times, but they won’t fix it.
HYUNDAI
ELANTRA HYBRID
(2022) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Feb 5, 2025
Incident date: Feb 5, 2025
Since I have bought my car, I’ve had continuous problems. The car has stalled multiple times the most recent time that it stalled. It was in the middle of the highway leaving me in a very unsafe situation and after that happened, I took it to the dealer ship and only then were they able to identify that there was a problem with the starter, even though the previous two times that I took the car ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 5, 2025
Leakage through the top driver's side pinch weld near the rear of the vehicle has allowed water to infiltrate the power tailgate control module and render it sporadically operable. This has affected the vehicle main computer, causing unreliable operation of powered vehicle exit doors.
Incident date: Jan 27, 2025
The contact owns a 2024 Chevrolet Low Cab Forward 4500. The contact stated while the driver was driving approximately 60-65 MPH, the driver heard an abnormally loud sound coming from the mid-section of the vehicle. The driver pulled over to the side of the road and inspected the vehicle. The driver noticed that the bracket holding sliding ramp had detached and was resting on the driveshaft. The dr... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS
(2021) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Feb 5, 2025
Incident date: Feb 5, 2025
Tailgate opening without interference from driver
Incident date: Nov 14, 2024
2013 Silverado has sustained extensive corrosion damage to frame making vehicle unusable. Obviously, extremely widespread problem that GM has acknowledged was caused by improperly treated frames in a technical service bulletin but no recall has been forced upon them like was done to Toyota years ago for the exact same malfeasance. The truck was always cared for. Severe safety hazard being cause... Read more
Incident date: Apr 13, 2024
Dear Sir, I am submitting this formal complaint regarding severe misconduct, fraud, and reckless endangerment committed by Hyundai Escondido, Hyundai Motor America, and Ally Financial in connection with the sale and financing of a dangerously defective 2021 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Touring AWD (VIN: [XXX] ). 1. Background of the Case On [XXX] I purchased the above-referenced vehicle from Hyundai E... Read more
Incident date: May 21, 2024
I reported my 2020 Ford Escape last year. It went into the shop for inspection at Cook ford in Texas City after the ford recall for the doors. I also had reported it here. Kyle at Cook ford did a thorough inspection but advised me that their dealership did not have a paint and body shop and referred me to other dealerships with the ability to fix my car. After going to two dealerships, I ended u... Read more
Incident date: Jan 29, 2025
Rear fenders are rusted such that wiring harness falls off from underside if fenders and rubs on tires. Middle of frame rusted through on right and left side and dealer's floor lift went about half-way through both sides when the technician. tried to raise truck to check wiring under truck. The lift only crunched about halfway through near the middle of the frame. That was the point when the tech... Read more
Incident date: Feb 4, 2025
vista roof has spontaneously cracked in 2 different areas. i did have my insurance company look at it. they did cover it sorta. but it has cracked again.
FORD
MUSTANG MACH E
(2023) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Feb 4, 2025
Incident date: Feb 4, 2025
Due to a leak on the back sliding window water entered the vehicle and caused the “RFO” box to break. Dealership told me that is the box that connects the fob keyes to the truck causing the truck to not recognize any keys.
Incident date: Feb 4, 2022
Vehicle has paint that is delaminating in numerous places. It starts as a raised area then the paint just flakes off leaving bare metal exposed. My vehicle value has gone down and the cost to repaint is over $4000 because the damage is not isolated to one area, but is scattered across all sections of the car body. The paint color code is SWP, Snow White Pearl. We have been to the Kia dealersh... Read more
Incident date: Sep 2, 2024
I was backing out of my driveway and a whoosh of water came pouring into my trunk from my roof of my car. When I took it to the Ford dealership they took the headliner down and found that the drains for my sunroof were clogged and caused the leak. They found that the headliner had mold growing on it. This is currently not a recall issue yet but I believe it should be or should be considered a defa... Read more
Incident date: Feb 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2006 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated that the vehicle failed the State Inspection because there was a hole approximately 3 inches wide on the driver's side of the vehicle near the catalytic converter. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who confirmed that the hole was caused by extensive rust and needed to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made a... Read more