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 18, 2024
The power tailgate would open, then after opening, the tailgate may slowly sag down. Then it automatically closes within seconds. When going down to close, it beeps loudly.
Incident date: Jul 15, 2024
Cars frame is rotting out to the point it is not safe to drive. I was told being in a collision could cause catastrophic failure and the car is just turning 20 years old with 125,000 miles. Can’t get my money back and the car is otherwise is excellent condition.
Incident date: Jun 20, 2024
The trim surrounding my two front wheels, as well as part of the trim on my rear passenger-side tire, popped completely off of the vehicle while driving through a typical rain storm in Central Florida. That is a total of three pieces ejected during the normal course of driving. Part of the trim on the driver's side was protruding, but seems to have snapped back into place. There wasn't a lot of wi... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
The car doors on my Hyundai Elantra often have jammed frequently jammed the front door was repaired when A few weeks later the back driver side door also jammed and could not be opened from the outside Unless you pushed in and pulled out. Then it finally jammed altogether and would not open . If there were an incident and someone needed to get into the car to get my child out they would be unable... Read more
Incident date: Jul 5, 2024
the frame of the car is rusted . in places almost all the way through the frame. this was confirmed by chevy dealer. this car has always kept in a garage. I kept the car clean going through a car was with under wash.
Incident date: Sep 27, 2023
Poor steel to aluminum welding. Fiberglass sides are cracking due to welds cracking per service advisers at RV dealerships. Jayco is aware and telling RV owners the repair is on the owners. The sides could separate and come off during transport and possibly cause damages or accidents of other vehicles. Jayco has changed engineering and procedures because of this safety issue and refuse to make cor... Read more
Incident date: Jul 3, 2020
Infotainment center glicthing while driving, Restarting as if the car was just started. Attempted to resolve with KIA after ongoing issues but they do not feel that this is a safety concern or feel it needs to be investigated appropriately. This occurs when driving typically on the highway because most of my travel is highway. When this occurs it is a distraction for the driver. It interferes w... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2024
While parked in a parking lot I attempted to lower the volume of the radio and the buttons were not responding. Attemped to turn off infotainment center and it would not respond. A call came in and my phone was connected and car would not allow me to answer call. Attempted to disconnect phone from car and it would not work. Attempted to resolve with KIA after ongoing issues but they do not feel ... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
JETTA
(2009) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jul 16, 2024
Incident date: Jun 4, 2024
about an hour after earlier incident below we went to the beach. After unloading beach items and children I realized that the elctrical components of the vehicle were still running. The vechicle was off. Key was out of the ignition. All doors were open. AC/Infotainment Center/Lights would not turn off. I was concerned about what to do. I felt it was unsafe it leave it running. Called the dealershi... Read more
Incident date: Jul 8, 2020
Multiple infotainment center errors while driving from Wisconsin to Michigan. Freezing and then restarting as if the car was just started. Occasionally freezing on the safety acknowledgement screen. Attempted to resolve with KIA after ongoing issues but they do not feel that this is a safety concern or feel it needs to be investigated appropriately. This occurs when driving typically on the hig... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2024
Infotainment center glicthing while driving Attempted to resolve with KIA after ongoing issues but they do not feel that this is a safety concern or feel it needs to be investigated appropriately. This occurs when driving typically on the highway because most of my travel is highway. When this occurs it is a distraction for the driver. It interferes with the ability to use hands free/calls/gps. ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 16, 2024
Infotainment center continues to have issues/restarting as if the car was just started. Attempted to resolve with KIA after ongoing issues but they do not feel that this is a safety concern or feel it needs to be investigated appropriately. This occurs when driving typically on the highway because most of my travel is highway. When this occurs it is a distraction for the driver. It interferes w... Read more
Incident date: Jul 16, 2024
Infotainment center glitching while driving, Restarting as if the car was just started. Dealership, Taylor Kia Toldeo refused to address because it was not occuring the moment it was brought into the dealership. Attempted to resolve with KIA after ongoing issues but they do not feel that this is a safety concern or feel it needs to be investigated appropriately. recording of this available. T... Read more
Incident date: Jun 26, 2024
Infotainment center glitching. Recent water issue. Mold smell after water issue. Carpet was not appropriately addressed by dealership for A/C drain "design flaw". I have a child with asthma and disabled vetran father and spend hours commuting daily. Mold and water are a health concern. Attempted to resolve with KIA after ongoing issues but they do not feel that this is a safety concern or feel i... Read more
Incident date: Jul 5, 2024
infotainment center issues after recent a/c drain hose issue and water pouring out of dash compartment due to design flaw. Concerned about water contributing to electrical issues. Dealership will not assess because electrical issue not happening constantly Attempted to resolve with KIA after ongoing issues but they do not feel that this is a safety concern or feel it needs to be investigated appro... Read more
Incident date: Oct 28, 2020
all electrical screens went black while driving including those on the instrument cluster Attempted to resolve with KIA after ongoing issues but they do not feel that this is a safety concern or feel it needs to be investigated appropriately. The ongoing infotainment screen failure occurs when driving typically on the highway because most of my travel is highway. When this occurs it is a distra... Read more
Incident date: Nov 16, 2020
Infotainment center glitching while driving, Restarting as if the car was just started. Recent water issue behind dash due to "design flaw" of A/C drain. Ongoing mold/musty smell. Attempted to resolve with KIA after ongoing issues but they do not feel that this is a safety concern or feel it needs to be investigated appropriately. This occurs when driving typically on the highway because most... Read more
Incident date: Jul 7, 2024
I first noticed an issue about a year ago when an electrical blaring noise was coming from my speakers followed by popping and crackling noises. I have taken my car into the dealership several times without resolution. Since then, I have noticed excessive humidity in the vehicle and recently found the trunk was flooded. I took the vehicle in to the dealership again, and they say the interior fabri... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2022) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jul 16, 2024
Incident date: Jun 8, 2024
Driver side bumper does not sit flush with driver side fender. It popped out between top edge of bumper and fender... Many compliments on social media..... Hyundai needs to fix these cars. The bumper retention
Incident date: Jul 16, 2024
The rear door latch does not latch and keep the door closed. There are other recalls for this issue on 2013 Ford Escapes but according to my specific VIN there is no recall. Those other recalls are NHTSA Campaign ID 20V331000 and 16V643000.
Incident date: Jul 16, 2024
The car was in Hyundai dealership for 35 days to have a recalls fixed - still showing as no remedy for ABS systems and they said they fixed it ? they had me pick up the car? And but the recall still shows no remedy ? I’m not sure it’s fixed ? and 2 weeks later the transmission goes out while I’m driving again and lose control over the vehicle and stuck on side of road had And Hyundai dea... Read more
Incident date: Jun 4, 2024
My Tesla (dark gray) was t-boned by a 2015 Hyundai (white) while it was passing the intersection on green light. The Hyundai hit my car when it tried to turn right on red light. My car was running at around 25 mph at that moment. About one second before the accident, my car's front collision warning went off, but everything was too late; the Hyundai's left front bumper hit my car. The crash did no... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Mar 1, 2024
The driver's side back door will not open from the inside or outside. There was no warning or damage down to cause this, just one day it would not open. From research on the internet this is a common problem with a 2016 Tucson and is due from the lock actuator and is not being recalled. This is a huge safety risk if someone needed to exit the backseat quickly.
Incident date: Jun 18, 2024
This is the second time this year one of the doors refused to open. In May the front passenger door would only open if outside handle was jiggled a few times. Two weeks ago rear door behind driver refuses to open at all - from inside or out! I have small children and this is a safety issue!! I’m terrified either the kids or I will become trapped in an emergency or other unsafe situation. In a... Read more
Incident date: Jun 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Edge. The contact stated that there was water leaking into the vehicle on the front passenger’s side of the vehicle, drenching the floorboard and causing a mildew odor inside the cabin of the vehicle. The vehicle had not been taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The manuf... Read more
HONDA
CR-V HYBRID
(2020) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jul 15, 2024
Incident date: Jun 21, 2024
Similar to recall 22V-273 for older Tiffin Allegro Bays and Open Roads, our 2024 Allegro Bay slide room comes out 6-8" on it's own and has now started coming out while driving. Part supplier Lippert confirms it and says parts are being manufactured to address the problem. This has been an issue since purchase and the dealer, Tiffin and Lippert are all aware. There is no warning that the slide i... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2024
My sunroof glass exploded and manufacturer refuses to warranty
Incident date: Jul 12, 2024
Tesla met with an head on collision with another Toyota. Tesla’s airbags didn’t deploy and i had my 6 year old in car as well. The other car which was 2007 toyota, its airbag still worked.
Crash
Incident date: Jul 14, 2024
I purchased a used white 2020 Telluride EX with 47,000 miles in November of 2023. I noticed 4 or 5 what looked like chips in the paint on the body along the top of the windshield. They have slowly gotten larger, one becoming about the size of a half dollar coin. There is no safety risk. I haven't made an appointment yet but will be in the next week since I now have 57,000 miles and the warrant... Read more
Incident date: Jun 8, 2023
While driving to our vacation destination, we head a very loud pop from the roof area. We found a place to pull over and realized that there was a huge hole in our sunroof glass. Nothing hit the car while driving, it just spontaneously exploded upward and shattered the area around it. There was broken glass all over the sunroof area. Nothing had come into contact with it. It just exploded upward a... Read more
Incident date: Jul 11, 2024
Engine front hood pops up into the safety latch position while driving down the road at highway speed and in cold weather or in a strong headwind.
Incident date: Jul 13, 2024
Happen Feb.28/2024.windsheild part flew off my suv/hitting side my suv panel on door also loose. Could have hit another car. HWY 321 South 2 lane Hwy. Have called 3 times. Have been to dealership 3 times. C Ford. Keep telling me they have not received parts to fix. 5 mons. Still driving / With exposed around windsheild/ door panel doing same.
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2012) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jul 12, 2024
Incident date: Jul 1, 2024
The Driver Door Trim with Keyless entry pad is loose and may fall off causing damage to other vehicles while driving and will damage the electric keyless entry system.
Incident date: May 1, 2021
The paint is peeling off. It started as a bubble and then popped. There is no rust to indicate this being from wear and tear. The back and two spots on the hood are affected by this issue.
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2014) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jul 12, 2024
Incident date: Jun 25, 2024
Since the day of delivery, the 2018 Dodge Challenger I purchased from Carvana has been non-operational due to a dead battery and significant engine problems. Despite multiple attempts to start the vehicle, it required towing to the dealer for repairs. Additionally, the car was delivered with illegally dark tint on all windows, including the front windshield, which is not compliant with California ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 30, 2024
The passenger sliding door on the driver's side is stuck in the lock position and cannot unlock the door. Other doors need to be utilized to exit the vehicle and this poses a safety concern. I read many forums where this seems to be an issue with Dodge Caravans and should be a recall as it is known to be faulty. Contacted dealership and they want to charge over $600 to fix but this should be c... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2024
There are 3 major issues/concerns with this vehicle. 1. Sunroof/Roof - This rooftop does not seal completely. Initially this roof would rattle and you could hear squeaks and movement. Then the sunroof would only open on a half and then soon not at all. Because of this, the top is never fully sealed leaving water to leak inside in different areas potentially causing more issues to the electrical ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 30, 2024
The flap that protects the charging port would not open. I could not charge the car for 2 days. My husband was able to open it but now it won't close. The first time this happened was Nov 2023. Dealership told me it was the cold weather. But now it's July albeit very hot temperatures and this is happening again. Since bringing it to the dealership in Nov 2023 to fix this, the charging flap open... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
Paint has peeled off and continues to peel off from many places on the vehicle. One large spot is on top where no debris from the road hits. Since this has started it has only gotten worse. I believe the entire car will be paint free if this situation is not rectified. Currently there are five different locations where the paint has peeled off. Color of my vehicle is Snow White Pearl.
Incident date: Nov 30, 2023
My passenger was unable to open the door, from the inside, using the door handle normally used to exit the automobile. Additionally, I was unable to open the door from the outside using the exterior handle. I had to fully lock, and then unlock, the car to get the handle system to allow exit. This has happened on 4 occasions. I am unable to reach anyone at Fisker to put in a service request by ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 24, 2024
In April 2024, I was driving down a side street at about 30 mph. Suddenly there was a slam against the side of the car. I pulled over a block later and found that the passenger side mirror housing had gone into the "closed/locked" position, evidently at speed, dislodging the side mirror. The mirror had then slammed into the car door frame, denting it, and cracking the mirror, causing some of it to... Read more
JEEP
WRANGLER 4XE
(2024) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jul 10, 2024
Incident date: Nov 13, 2023
I was towing my 5th wheel RV when I noticed doors I locked were swinging open. I noticed the rear toy hauler door first. The plastic screen door cover was missing and was unable to be found. A few miles later I noticed the front underbelly storage area on the passenger side was swinging open. Some power tools fell out and were unable to be found. A few hundred miles later the propane door unlatche... Read more
TOYOTA
SIENNA HYBRID
(2023) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jul 10, 2024
Incident date: Jul 10, 2024
Issue is with Ford 10R80 transmission. While at freeway speeds ( 60/65 MPH) transmission is engaged in 8th/9th gear and you command vehicle to downshift to a passing gear (3rd for example) with a 3/4 throttle input - the gear indicator light shows 1st gear ( which is not possible going 60MPH ), but the vehicle falls into a false neutral basically loosing all power. The RPMs will rev all the way ... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2020) — STRUCTURE:BODY
Jul 10, 2024
Incident date: May 30, 2024
The rear bumper on these suvs have no impact strip any impact even under 1 mph will damage the car significantly and a person could suffer whiplash.
Incident date: Jul 9, 2024
Frame failure causing significant issues across entire RV. I first started noticing issues around July of 2022
Incident date: Jul 7, 2024
About an hour after getting a car wash I noticed that the infotainment center was having issues. It would restart as if the car was just turned on and freeze. It also went black then back to the start with KIA logo. Attemped to resolve with KIA but they do not feel that this is a safety concern or feel it needs to be investigated appropriately. This occurs when driving typically on the highway... Read more
Incident date: Feb 4, 2020
Infotainment center failure/glitching. It would restart as if the car was just turned on and freeze. It also went black then back to the start with KIA logo. Attemped to resolve with KIA but they do not feel that this is a safety concern or feel it needs to be investigated appropriately. This occurs when driving typically on the highway because most of my travel is highway. When this occurs i... Read more
Incident date: Mar 30, 2020
infotainment center glitching. restart as if the car was just turned on and freeze. It also went black then back to the start with KIA logo. I was driving on roads in the country that I was not familiar with, I did record this to the best of our ability with the assitance of my child. Attemped to resolve with KIA but they do not feel that this is a safety concern or feel it needs to be investiga... Read more
Incident date: May 8, 2020
infotainment center glitching and restarting while driving at random times. would restart to kia logo and then freeze on the saftey message. this interferes with navigation and is a distraction while driving. Attemped to resolve with KIA but they do not feel that this is a safety concern or feel it needs to be investigated appropriately. This occurs when driving typically on the highway becaus... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2020
infotainment center glitching Attemped to resolve with KIA but they do not feel that this is a safety concern or feel it needs to be investigated appropriately. This occurs when driving typically on the highway because most of my travel is highway. When this occurs it is a distraction for the driver. It interferes with the ability to use hands free/calls/gps. There is no warning before failu... Read more