Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,245,377 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA, including 140,173 crashes, 56,794 fires, and 8,580 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 2,245,377 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 49,170 complaints - component: SUSPENSION
Incident date: Sep 28, 2023
The steering wheel shakes violently at speeds of 50-55 mph. The vehicle drives without any issues then without any warning or warning lights the vehicle starts shaking to the point you lose steering control and must immediately slow down until the shaking stops. This vehicle is available for inspection if needed. The safety of myself as well as others is due to the loss of steering at higher s... Read more
Incident date: Sep 2, 2023
Immediately after purchasing the vehicle, I got error codes thrown to service the suspension while driving to my house, specifically at 15-20mph over traffic calming bumps. This fault cleared immediately the first few times. On July 25 I submitted a service request as my family headed out on a two week, 900 mile trip. The service suspension fault had returned and disabled my ability to change mo... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Oct 18, 2023
the vehicle has been inspected by an independent engineer from Bosch, supplied by FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles), it indicates that an expert assessment has been conducted. In this case, the following answers can be provided based on that information: 1. Components or systems that failed or malfunctioned: - Half shaft axle front left - Wheel assembly - Brake rotor disc - Suspension ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Aug 28, 2023
When I drive my vehicle it is difficult to apply the brakes on it and I feel like if I press too hard (which might be necessary if I need to suddenly stop) that the brakes might break or fail somehow. I have also noticed that underneath my truck, the frame is rotting out in certain areas and the leafs (steel long plates near the rear of the vehicle) is bending out of shape. There is a clanking noi... Read more
FORD
ESCAPE HYBRID
(2021) - SUSPENSION
Oct 17, 2023
Incident date: Oct 15, 2023
Passenger rear trailing arm broke off from body mount. Vehicle is still available for inspection. Coming to a stop sign and car came to an abrupt stop. Something had stopped the car before I even got to the stop sign. Coming down to the stop sign car began to lost steering and swayed back and forth. Car is in very good condition has 138,100 miles on it. But now it can,t be driven cant be fixe... Read more
Incident date: Oct 5, 2023
Sub frame rotting out, lower control arms. Know issue with A/C leaking onto frame cause extreme rust. This can/will cause loss of control when driving. Purchased used and was not made aware of the issue and unknown history.
Incident date: Oct 2, 2023
The vehicle had a repair made by dealership. The repair started to malfunction as it would lock the vehicles driving mechanism making the vehicle non opporstional while driving. Issue was reported to the same dealer and explained. The dealer stated that I would receive a call to schedule a mechanical appointment to investigate however the time spent waiting for further instructions from dealer. Da... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Oct 14, 2023
I purchased my 2018 Kia Optima directly from the dealership, brand new. I've had the vehicle since then and have followed all of the warranty guidelines and only went to them for oil changes & other maintenance issues. Since February 2023 I've noticed where i've been having oil loss, but no sign of an oil leak. When I first noticed this, I would take a turn and my oil light would come on. I'd chec... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE 4XE
(2022) - SUSPENSION
Oct 16, 2023
Incident date: Jun 21, 2023
My Honda Element unibody has rusted out resulting in the real axle trailing arm separating from the vehicle. This happened while my daughter was driving - luckily she was not injured. This is a known issue at Honda. Honda Elements years 2003-2011 have already been recalled for a repair or reimbursement in Canada (see recall # 2021024) and all Honda CR-Vs in the United States model years 2007-20... Read more
Incident date: Oct 11, 2023
2021 Jeep Gladiator High Altitude with 29000 miles and in stock configuration. Experienced the "Death Wobble" after hitting slight depression in roadway at 65mph. Jeep front end would not stop vibrating until at complete Stop. This appears to be a design flaw. Reporting the occurance to the dealer for resolution.
Incident date: Oct 16, 2023
My truck has developed what is colloquially called a death wobble. The truck shakes wildly and aggressively when hitting a bump. It happens most frequently when crossing the transition from roadway to bridge. But it can occure from a bump in the roadway. When it occurs I have no control. I have paid to replace the steering damper That did not alleviate the problem. My truck is a 2016 Ford F... Read more
Incident date: Sep 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2007 Mitsubishi Outlander. The contact stated that while making a left turn at 10 MPH, the steering wheel jerked violently. The vehicle was stopped, and the contact became aware that the tire turned inward. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the front sub frame, drive axle, lower control arm, ball joint, and tie rods needed to be replaced. The vehicle ... Read more
HONDA
ACCORD HYBRID
(2024) - SUSPENSION
Oct 16, 2023
Incident date: Oct 16, 2023
As I was backing up out of a parking spot, I was turning the wheel when I heard a pop and a ugly grinding noise coming from my front driver side wheel well. Initially, I thought I ran over something, but did not observe and debris under the vehicle. I proceeded to slowly pull forward and continued to hear grinding, but not as bad. When I turned, the grinding continued. I got out again to observe t... Read more
Incident date: Oct 12, 2023
The floor board is missing underneath the driver's side. I can see what looks like gears. Not quite sure. Difficulty with braking. Hard to stop. I hear flapping noises coming from rear of vehicle when driving. Not quite if it's the suspension
Incident date: Jul 28, 2023
I was exiting off interstate when my truck suddenly and violently started shaking out of control. I thought i had a blowout at first but after i slowed down i recain control over truck and it smooth back out. This has happen a few times in the past but not as extreme as this time. I ould have lost control and wrecked if i hadn't have been already exiting off interstated. This happen on 10_14_23
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2017) - SUSPENSION
Oct 14, 2023
Incident date: Sep 6, 2023
Reporting a loss of motive power and loss of transmission torque to the rear wheels from my Explorer that had been remedied with the PCM software update. Experience a surge forward nearly striking another vehicle. Contacted my Ford Dealer who advised that I must wait for a letter and instructions from thereafter. I have several trips planned with family and feel this is unfair ( prolonged fix an... Read more
Incident date: Oct 11, 2023
Driving at normal speeds and conditions my rear drivers control arm snapped off and wheel almost fell off , if driving at higher speed could have been deadly
Incident date: Oct 13, 2023
My alternator keep draining my new batteries from to much electrical pull and turns off all my digital dash and says my brake system is in failure and there is something wrong with the suspension in the front end even though I have had it fixed and the same problem has returned . I had my battery explode. The transmission jerks whenever it shifts and the transmission fluid is full and I maintain i... Read more
Incident date: Oct 4, 2023
To whom this may concern, My name is [XXX] . I purchased my 2014 Subaru on December 13th, 2013. My car has 57,000 miles on it. It has loss of acceleration when entering a freeway. I push on the gas pedal harder and harder to try to get my car to obtain 60 mph. The car does not respond until minutes go by. The CVT transmission was replaced in June 2022. The car has not performed any better after... Read more
Incident date: Oct 7, 2023
Service shifter light Service shifter light came on and gear shift lights are all red; Reverse, Park, Neutral, Drive. Then a warning message flashed to service the air bag system and the 4wd needs servicing. This has happened three times. The first time it happened was at a stoplight. The second time it happened I could not leave a parking lot. The third time it happened I barley got it toy destin... Read more
Incident date: Aug 11, 2023
When parked letting the car warm up constant shaking kinda a rough ideal at times. From park to reverse it shifts hard the to drive its ok I guess then on the go it's like driving a boat on land loud knocking sounds seems like the tires are flat or about to explode off the car really nerve-wracking
HYUNDAI
TUCSON PLUG-IN HYBRID
(2023) - SUSPENSION
Oct 13, 2023
Incident date: Oct 13, 2023
I was driving about 57 mph headed NW on I270 in the north Denver metro area. I went over a bridge abutment and the vehicle started shaking violently in the front end. I let off the gas but the extreme vibration/shaking continued until I slowed down to around 20 mph. I thought I had lost something in the front end. Then it happened again when I was driving between I70 and US 50 in western Colorado... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2015) - SUSPENSION
Oct 13, 2023
Incident date: Oct 12, 2023
Hello. My name is [XXX] and I have a potentially serious issue with my car and Lincoln refuses to look into it. The short story : When you press the brakes moderately or harder (as if stopping for a yellow light) it sounds like you’ve run over a brick or hit a BIG pothole. It has been in 6 times and to 3 dealerships and they all say it is normal for Aviators and Explorers. I have owned an auto ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 29, 2023
Lower control arm is rusting away.
Incident date: Sep 13, 2023
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated that the subframe of the vehicle was significantly corroded. The contact stated that the passenger's side of the vehicle was warped, which made the vehicle unsafe to drive. An unknown dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufac... Read more
TOYOTA
COROLLA CROSS
(2023) - SUSPENSION
Oct 13, 2023
Incident date: Oct 13, 2023
Frame & suspension problem. Left front wheel attaches to frame was rusted and the wheel tilted in so it was not drivable. Fortunately, I was not driving at highway speed. Otherwise, I easily could have lost control of my truck. Navarre Ford Body Shop, St. Louis, Michigan looked at the damage & shipped it to Grand Rapids Michigan, ProAm Collision & Mechanical for repairs to frame & suspension.... Read more
HYUNDAI
TUCSON HYBRID
(2023) - SUSPENSION
Oct 12, 2023
Incident date: Oct 11, 2023
Left rear shock absorber reservoir broke and fell from the vehicle. It appears the weldment is defective. Had this happened while traveling at highspeed the reservoir tank could have caused serious damage, injury or death. The uploaded picture shows the left shock above with the missing reservoir tank. The right shock has the mfg information.
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2019) - SUSPENSION
Oct 12, 2023
Incident date: Dec 30, 2020
There was a recall on the airbag on my vehicle a while back. I took my car to the dealer to have it serviced. They fixed it supposedly but periodically when I start the the car the airbag light would take a while to go out, like a delay. Reported to dealer now airbag light is on continuously and dealer says it's no longer under warranty or recall. Now I have a problem with the Stabilitrak syste... Read more
Incident date: Jul 16, 2019
The contact owns a 2023 Forest River XLR Toy Hauler RV. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH and hauling the RV he heard an abnormal exploding sound and realized that the passenger side rear tire on the RV blew out. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had weighed the RV and it was approximately 1,400 lbs. The contact pulled over to change the tire on t... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
JETTA SPORTWAGEN
(2012) - SUSPENSION
Oct 12, 2023
Incident date: Oct 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2007 Honda Element. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 MPH, the rear end of the vehicle became unstable and the rear driver's side wheel failed rendering the vehicle undrivable. The vehicle was towed to a friend's home and later examined by a local mechanic who diagnosed that the rear driver's side suspension swing arm had fractured due to severe rusting and ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle drove onto a bridge and suddenly began to wobble and vibrate. After reducing speed the driver was able the regain control of the vehicle. The failure continued to occur anytime the vehicle drove over a bump in the road while traveling at highway speeds. The vehicle was taken to the local ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 10, 2023
Once you get to 70mph it starts shaking like if a the wheels will fall off.
HYUNDAI
TUCSON HYBRID
(2024) - SUSPENSION
Oct 11, 2023
Incident date: Oct 3, 2023
I started to get engine knocking noises about 6 months after the purchase of the used car. This knocking noise began to increase in frequency as I pressed my foot on the accelerator and the car would not accelerate when I pressed my foot on the gas pedal. Then the car would shut down in the middle of traffic. After waiting about 30 -45 mins, I would try to start the car again and would start a... Read more
Incident date: Oct 11, 2023
The hole underneath frame is rusted into and there is a bunch of wielding done to it and it's very unsafe to drive and the car lot guy keeps saying he wants it back on the road
Incident date: Jul 26, 2023
Sept 9th, 2023 while driving on the interstate the vehicle lost all propulsion power, red lights shown in "gear, P N D" indicator area. I was in left lane and had to get to the side of the road, 4 lanes over, where putting the car in park and back in drive allowed for it to move forward again. I proceeded to a charging station to inspect the car and during this I hear a thump in the trunk area whe... Read more
Incident date: Oct 11, 2023
The contact owns a 2003 Honda Element. The contact stated that upon inspecting the vehicle, the independent mechanic informed him that the trailing arm mount was corroded, and that the subframe needed to be replaced. The mechanic advised the contact that the vehicle was unsafe to drive. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the f... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2019) - SUSPENSION
Oct 11, 2023
Incident date: Oct 11, 2023
The contact owns a 2011 Cadillac SRX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V473000 (Suspension), and the vehicle was taken in for repair. The contact stated that upon leaving the dealer and driving at an undisclosed speed, an unknown malfunction indicator light was illuminated and a "Service Rear Axle" message was displayed. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an i... Read more
Incident date: Oct 10, 2023
Upon arriving home last night with our 3 kids, my wife reported a loud clunking noise coming from the right front wheel area, and said the car felt unstable. After investigation I realized the bolts on the lower control arm have backed almost completely out. I’m very thankful they made it home safe. Any further driving could have been catastrophic.
Incident date: Oct 9, 2023
Engine motor mount sheared, allowing motor to interact with and bounce directly on the frame, and stressing the other connections and components. Dealer indicated this is a very common problem for this car model and is likely a design issue, and even had another example of a sheared mount on display in order to show others with the same issue.
VOLKSWAGEN
ID.4
(2021) - SUSPENSION
Oct 10, 2023
Incident date: Oct 9, 2023
While driving down highway at 65 mph the front end and steering wheel began shaking violently after driving over a bump. This happened multiple times and every time is initiated by a road bump. Unable to properly steer Jeep when this happens. Only way to stop vibrations/wobble is to reduce speed to almost a complete stop. As there were vehicles around me, this put me in a precarious position as I ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2002 Toyota Tundra. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle began to vibrate, prompting the contact to maintain low speeds. After a visual inspection, the contact observed that the front passenger wheels had a negative toe. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that the lower ball joint had sepa... Read more
Incident date: Sep 9, 2023
Death wobble. Already had the right front side fixed for this issue several years ago. It’s now occurring on the left front side. Had it happen 6 different time in one 6 hour trip. Happens pretty much anytime at hwy speeds now. Especially at bridge transitions.
Incident date: Sep 29, 2023
The "death wobble" occurred as my wife and I were driving on I-70 at approximately 75 MPH. We were maybe 100 miles west of Salina and fortunately there were not any vehicles around us, but we were forced to immediately pull over to the emergency lane. We just hit a bump and all of a sudden, this violent shaking started to occur. This incident happened around 10:00 am on September 30, 2023.
Incident date: Oct 6, 2023
While driving down Highway at 70MPH hit bridge connector gap while in Slight Left turn and front end on my 2021 Jeep Wrangler Sport started to Shimmy wildly. Was controllable and as I slowed below 55 and it stopped. Happened several times during 70 mile trip and each time I was able to slow the vehicle and recover. Researched complaint on Internet and saw similar complaints of death wobble with... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
PASSAT
(2021) - SUSPENSION
Oct 9, 2023
Incident date: Jul 1, 2023
The frame is rusted almost in half a mechanic said it's not safe to drive it will kill someone. The car lot that is selling me the car said he can fix it but it's being held together by welds and c foam. He wants me to still pay for it. I've complained about not being able to drive over 45 without swaying badly and they keep doing stuff to it saying it's fixed and it's not. It's to dangerous to dr... Read more
Incident date: Sep 5, 2023
Hello, A few weeks ago while I was heading down highway 49 in Tuolumne County, the spindle that holds the front wheel on my truck broke, sending my front left wheel down the opposite direction and my truck crashing down into the asphalt to a sudden stop. Thankfully I was able to maintain control enough of the truck to keep it from running off the road and flipping over. So many things made this a... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Oct 2, 2023
Frame rust on my 2010 Silverado 1500 LT. Rear cross member is rusting through, rear shock Mounts are rusting off.
Incident date: Oct 9, 2023
My gf went for a basic oil change and the automotive person was shocked to find the rear right cross bar to be suffering from incredible corrosion. He said at this point it is unsafe to drive. We looked into recalls for this make and model and there is one for the front cross bar due to insufficient or improper application of a corrosion spray on the frame. How can they say the front needs to be r... Read more
Incident date: Oct 6, 2023
Vehicle evidenced Death Wobble on October 5,2023. No reoccurrence since. No warning from vehicle before this happened. Vehicle received regular insoections by Ford Dealerships at oil changes. Discussed with Lithia Ford , Casper Wyoming-and vehicle to be inspected on October 12, 2023.and hopefully repaired. Vehicle has 100000 miles on it with extended warranty. No injuries or death
Incident date: Sep 23, 2023
Trailer was defective right out of factory. Missing welds, weak welds, terrible welds, non penetrating welds, welds too hot and blew through steel, gaps welded together with 1/4” square rod to fill gap, poor electrical routing with missing insulation, brace welded crooked. This all led to axles no longer running true and trailer then tracked crooked. Pictures not yet taken of warrenty work but t... Read more