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: Mar 28, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that while the vehicle was at the dealer for tire replacement, the dealer determined that the rear toe link needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then taken to Ron Currier's Hilltop Chevrolet (385 NH-108, Somersworth, NH 03878) where it was also determined that the rear toe link needed to be replaced. The dealer replaced the rear toe ... Read more
Incident date: May 11, 2022
Two days into driving my brand-new Jeep I experienced the death wobble and lost control of my steering wheel on the freeway. I took it to the dealer they replaced the damper. But it happened again where I didn't have control but it didn't shake I just had to get off the freeway once I it stopped hydroplaning without it raining. The steering wheel is not straight and on different types of roads... Read more
Incident date: Mar 14, 2023
Daughter was driving at roughly 20 miles an hour when right front suspension collapsed causing her to lose control and striking a parked vehicle. Lower part of strut that connects to drive shaft was sheared in half causing complete loss of steering. The tire was pushed back against the the fender well which in my estimation caused tire to blow. Parts are available for inspection. A tire blow out a... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Mar 11, 2023
The left rear toe arm bracket became detached from the rear subframe. This caused the vehicle to drive erratically. There is minimal to no rust on the vehicle. The failure happened without warning after hitting a small pothole.
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
After hitting a bump in the road, my 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit began to violently wobble while being flat towed behind my motor home on I-475. Vehicles in close proximity of the Jeep I was towing were at risk as there was a possibility that the vehicle could have broken loose or flipped endangering others. It appears that this defect is already known to the manufacturer of the Jeep and oth... Read more
Incident date: Mar 4, 2023
Driver Front Lower Ball joint failed. Recalled ball joints were replaced in 2006. Spoke to Chrysler in 2020 about both lower ball joint boots being deteriorating and ball joints worn and rusty due to failure of recall work but refused to redo recall due to age of vehicle. Vehicle has less than 100k miles. Ball joint failed when turning from stop sign. Loud pop was heard and grinding from drive... Read more
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2017) - SUSPENSION
Mar 27, 2023
Incident date: Mar 26, 2023
The toe links on my vehicle are bad and needs to be replaced. They broke as I was driving. Almost caused me to lose control and almost wreck. Thankfully there were no other cars around. I see this is a recall for GMC’s but for some reason not my vin number. Not understanding why if I have the same problem on vehicles that were recalled.
Incident date: Mar 29, 2022
1. The central control display of the vehicle is often black and the map cannot be viewed while driving, which will cause tension and panic and make driving unsafe; 2. The lane centering of the vehicle often does not work, it cannot work normally, and it directly deviates to other lanes; 3. The automatic closing function of the car door does not have the function of preventing pinching. Several of... Read more
3 injured
FORD
BRONCO SPORT
(2021) - SUSPENSION
Mar 27, 2023
Incident date: Mar 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2004 Mercedes Benz CL600. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, a warning message stating that the ABS system needed to be serviced was displayed. The contact noticed that the front end of the vehicle had dropped. The vehicle was taken to an unknown location, where it was diagnosed that the front passenger shock sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired... Read more
Incident date: Mar 25, 2023
We were traveling with our Rockwood Mini Lite and stopped at a traffic light. Someone from another vehicle ran over and told us there appeared to be an issue with one of our tires on the trailer and it looked dangerous. When we stopped to look, the passenger side tire on the front axle was bent in toward the center of the trailer. It is now at a repair shop and they have reported that the axle ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 22, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Flex. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle would fishtail while making turns or switching lanes. The contact stated that the rear of the vehicle was wobbly. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the tie rods were malfunctioning and needed to be replaced. The independent mechanic informed the con... Read more
Incident date: Mar 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-53. The contact received recall notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V731000 (Suspension), however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not exp... Read more
Incident date: Dec 17, 2022
Twice while driving between 65-70 mph when hitting a bump or groove the front end began shaking violently and I had to pull over to make it stop. Luckily I was in an outside lane and did not hit another car. This sounds like the "death wobble" problem that many others have reported. I have contacted the dealer and am waiting to get a call back. This was terrifying and I don't feel safe driving my ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 22, 2022
When vehicle exceeds over 50 Mph, care and steering wheel shakes uncontrollably
Incident date: Jan 25, 2023
Car slow down and stop and cannot start in traffic….
Incident date: Mar 4, 2023
Rear Left Upper Shock Absorber Mount Splintered into three and sheared off. This problem is happening to other late model F-150 owners https://www.f150forum.com/f118/broken-shock-frame-mount-496255/ Someone just posted that the left rear upper shock mount sheared off on his 2022 F-150 FX4 I have no left rear shock and I took it to the Ford dealer and they didn't even attempt to warranty repair th... Read more
ALFA ROMEO
GIULIA
(2017) - SUSPENSION
Mar 26, 2023
Incident date: Mar 25, 2023
The left rear weld of the subframe on my 2012 C300 4matic has rotted through and appears to be a manufacture's part defect. I found out about this issue from a brake inspection and told it is a safety concern, which Mercedes Benzes is aware of but has no recalls for the defect.
Incident date: Mar 7, 2022
I'm Experiencing with what several mechanics call a "Death Wobble". That is to say when I'm driving the vehicle and I hit a pothole or bump in the road Fifty five miles an hour or faster, the steering wheel and suspension shakes violently and and I have lost some control momentarily. I need to know whether or not there's been a recall for the 2019 Ford F250 crew cab lariat. My concern is the steer... Read more
FORD
BRONCO SPORT
(2021) - SUSPENSION
Mar 26, 2023
Incident date: Mar 25, 2023
I live in Roy city utah and i drive a santa fe 2001 and my trailing arm in the rear driver side snaped while i was going 45 mph. when i took it in to a shop to have it looked at they said that my trailing arm had snaped do to the rust corrision under the car. I know that there are recalls on the santa fe for the rear suspention trailing arms but only if you live in a salt belt state and utah is n... Read more
Incident date: Mar 13, 2023
The right rear lower control arm broke away from where the bushing is. It was the innermost bushing towards the center of the vehicle. It appears the metal is rather thin and rusted away. While driving, loss of control happened. With a bit of occasional snow on the road it was really bad as the car went from tar to a later of snow. The tire sat a bit sideways
Incident date: Mar 24, 2023
The wheel studs broke going down the Interstate causing the wheels to come off into oncoming traffic. This caused damage to the wheel studs, lug nuts, brake calipers,brakes, rotors, rims and tires.
Crash
Incident date: Oct 13, 2022
Car stalled at stop sign after filling up on gas. Completely shut off. Would not start back up for 30 seconds. No check engine lights on. It has done this multiple times and I have taken it to the shop but they can’t find a problem. I know there was a recall on the 2.0 but this is a 1.0
Incident date: Feb 27, 2023
Traveling on the highway when I would hit rough road or potholes the front end would shake violently enough to scare me, like the front end was loose. I did not lose control, but it was at the point where I thought I could. I have never felt anything like it. After doing some research and finding many others with the same issue enough that the common name for it was the Ford "Death Wobble"! My Pic... Read more
Incident date: Jan 4, 2023
While driving the car randomly starts to violently shake (also known as death wobbles ). Steering is effected until car is almost brought to a complete stop. The car is very hard to keep on the road and is extremely dangerous. There was a recall and issued which I brought it into the dealership for but it has been 3 months and they still do not have the parts to fix it.
Incident date: Mar 12, 2021
On 3/15/2023 while in traffic (0730) the traction light began to fash & the vehicle began to fishtail. Fortunately I was Abe to exit the expressway without an additional incident. Had the vehicle towed to Fred Martin Nissan in Akron, OH this is the dealer that has maintained my vehicle since 2010 & the only service department that has repaired my vehicle. I was advised the rear subframe was broken... Read more
Incident date: Mar 23, 2023
While driving at highway speeds we hit a bump in the road and the vehicle started to vibrate excessively in the front end of the vehicle. After slowing to 40 mph the vibration stopped. We weee able to speed up again to highway speeds but hit another bump 10 miles down the road and experienced another vibration/shimmy. This was not the first time.
Incident date: Mar 10, 2023
My Tesla Model X has 55,000 miles on it. My entire suspension has failed and was replaced. The control arms for the front left and right side have failed as well. My car has been in the shop multiple times in the last 6-8 months. Fortunately I have an extended warranty on the vehicle. But still have to pay a $200 deductible. These parts are being replaced several times.
Incident date: Feb 24, 2023
Rear leaf spring mounts and frame rusting through causing a safety hazard. Chevrolet doesn't offer a repair part nor does the aftermarket. The internet is ripe with other owners experiencing this or similar issues. The consumer stated there is frame corrosion specifically rear frame shackle mounts and lateral supports. The contact believes that the failure comes from the frame being made with ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2023
Went for an inspection and entire frame is completely rotting out. Could have ben killed. Truck only has 65,000 miles on it because it was previously owned by my 80 year old grandfather. Toyota should have to fix everyone of these issues not just a certain time frame.
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2017) - SUSPENSION
Mar 24, 2023
Incident date: Mar 6, 2023
On 8/14/2021 I entered NHTSA complaint number 11429117. This was in regard to a fractured front coil spring in my 2011 Hyundai Elantra. Although there was a current recall (number 15V629000) on this issue, I was advised that my VIN did not qualify. Apparently the reasoning was that my car was built in a different location in Alabama. I contested this with appropriate documention that clearly showe... Read more
Incident date: Mar 23, 2023
Rear suspension rusted and broke during operation; control arm, tie rod and/or wheel bearings rusted and broke during operation causing vehicle to lose control
Incident date: Mar 24, 2023
At highway speeds when driving over surface imperfections, the jeep randomly and suddenly starts to wobble uncontrollably, with a significant wobble in the steering wheel. This wobbling goes away when the vehicle slows down, but pops up again in a random manner when driving over any surface imperfection / bump / road seam at highway speeds
Incident date: Jan 13, 2021
I am unable to take this matter to the dealer, as they have shut down thier business.
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
Experienced the Ford Death Wobble approximately July 1, 2022. After going over a small pothole at 65 mph, vehicle experienced severe wobble and pulled from far right lane to shoulder and veered toward cement wall at 65mph! Braking caused increase in wobble. Was finally able to slow vehicle to exit highway. No prior issues with wobble nor any warning. Shaking and nearly crying, I slowly drove to Bi... Read more
Incident date: Mar 3, 2023
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Tacoma. The contact had taken the vehicle to Kolosso Toyota (3000 W Wisconsin Ave, Appleton, WI 54914) to have his exhaust replaced. While there, he was informed that the entire sub frame was corroded with several cracks and holes had formed around both front leaf springs. The mechanic informed him that the vehicle was unsafe to drive due to the failure. Prior to the... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2023
I read the recall on vehicles of my type and it sounds like the issues I have been experiencing. I’m thinking the car was recalled and repaired ineffectively before I got it. The brake fluid is leaking with no obvious fix, I’ve taken it to a few mechanics to check.
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE 4XE
(2023) - SUSPENSION
Mar 23, 2023
Incident date: Mar 23, 2023
I repaired my front strut and in less than a year it is now “internally bent” is what the dealership told me. I now have 4 balled tires and 2 rear toe in tires and done 3 alignments in 1 year and I was told it’s my fault.
Incident date: Dec 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-59. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V731000 (Suspension); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. There was no further information provided. The manufacturer was made aware of t... Read more
Incident date: Feb 2, 2022
Faulty sway bar link(s), front of vehicle
Incident date: Mar 19, 2023
When traveling on the highway at about 60-65 mph and hit a bump. The front end started to shake violently. I believe this is know as the F250 death wobble. I was able to slow down and it stopped, but almost went into the Jersey barrier. I went to the Ford dealer I bought the truck from and they have ordered parts to fix this issue. (Hopefully). The mileage on the Truck is 20,500. This occ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 15, 2023
The contact owns a owns 2003 Jeep Liberty. The contact stated while driving at approximately 40 MPH there was an abnormal noise like squeaking or chirping coming from both front wheel wells. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the front lower ball joints needed to be replaced. T... Read more
THOR MOTOR COACH
PALAZZO
(2022) - SUSPENSION
Mar 22, 2023
Incident date: Feb 23, 2023
While driving on the interstate, I passed over an expansion gap doing about 65 mph. As soon as I my left tire hit the expansion gap, the front of the vehicle started shaking uncontrollably to the point that I had to quickly decelerate from the middle lane and get to the shoulder to avoid an accident. At this time, I am awaiting being able to get into a service center to inspect, however there... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2019) - SUSPENSION
Mar 22, 2023
Incident date: Mar 1, 2023
Steering became very difficult, car would not track straight and turning was delayed. The dealer said teeth in the steering box had broken off. Also had a broken suspension strut - front right.
Incident date: Nov 24, 2022
Car wouldn't pass inspection because of a rotted subframe. I had to pay $3k to have it replaced.
Incident date: Mar 21, 2023
My vehicle has been making very odd noises, the steering wheel keeps looking off center and the car is kicking/fishtailing at times without warning. Our mechanic has looked at the car SEVERAL times and finally discovered that the sub frame is completely rusted out and broken. We were told not to drive the vehicle anymore as it is extremely dangerous. After researching about this issue, we found... Read more
Incident date: Mar 21, 2023
Yesterday (3/20/23), as I was driving on the interstate at about 70 miles per hour, I hit a bump in the road and that caused the truck to go into severe shaking which I later learned has been termed as the "death wobble". I had to pull over to the emergency lane and stop the vehicle in order to get the vehicle under control. Luckily, there were not many vehicles on the road at the time so moving... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS
(2021) - SUSPENSION
Mar 21, 2023
Incident date: Mar 20, 2023
Driving over 60 mph if I hit I bump the vehicle starts to violently shake. I then have to slow down for it to stop
Incident date: Mar 7, 2023
This problem pertains to a Holiday House Travel Trailer, model 18RB. The frame is not per Holiday House published specifications. The aluminum that was used for the frame is smaller and thinner than what HH specified. The frame is starting to sag which is the same problem reported by other owners prior to total frame failure. Since the frame has not failed yet and no crash occurred, I can't answer... Read more
Incident date: Oct 20, 2022
The Jeep 2021 Wrangler developed the "Death Wobble". When we hit a pot hole, the extent of the shaking almost caused us to loose control of the vehicle. We have contacted Jeep about it, but they do not believe it is a problem despite a Class Action Lawsuit for 2018-2020 Wranglers that use the same body and suspension parts as the 2021.
Incident date: Jun 15, 2022
My 2014 F250 is also experiencing a death wobble like many other ford f250 customers already reported. The steering and front wheels shakes abruptly when driving on uneven roads on highways unexpectedly. This happens between 60 to 75 miles on highways, and I need to reduce the speed drastically to regain the control of the vehicle. This sudden speed reduction can cause back-end collisions and ford... Read more