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 3, 2023
Excessive vibration, speeds above 50mph vibrates the entire vehicle.
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2021) - SUSPENSION
Mar 12, 2023
Incident date: Mar 10, 2023
I was driving on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in the left-hand lane alongside the concrete barrier. The road curved to the right and when I tried to gently steer to the right the steering wheel got stuck and locked. I wasn’t able to steer to the right and so the car hit the barrier. The steering then unlocked. Since I was trying to originally steer to the right, the car moved to the right and hit t... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Mar 11, 2023
Car was garage kept and in mint condition, yet the rear subframe has completely rusted through and while breaking the car lurches to the right. Also the breaking performance is noticeably impaired. There was no signs of this failure as the car still looks new, only way of knowing was the near crash while driving and trying to stop.
Incident date: Mar 6, 2023
This vehicle had the driver side lower suspension connector link crack and fail at the lower ball joint at 22K miles. Now at 50K miles, the rear drivers side lower control arm has failed in the same way, In both cases, this is either due to a design defect or manufacturing defect. I have included pictures of both the front and rear links.
Incident date: Jan 20, 2023
Wire connector harness on alternator wires malfunctioned causing incorrect readings to computer, causing alternator to fail and battery replaced four times till mechanic replaced wire connector harness an wires.. control arm, and CV Axle failed
FORD
F-150 HYBRID
(2022) - SUSPENSION
Mar 11, 2023
Incident date: Jan 10, 2023
There should be a recall for front suspension on this vehicle if not the entire suspension. Mine has been garage kept since day 1, is in showroom condition, not driven in salt on roads during snow, therefore no reason for the suspension to be in this condition. In 2019 at 74,000 miles I had to have the entire front end suspension all components replaced at a cost of over $2,500 USD the suspension ... Read more
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2019) - SUSPENSION
Mar 11, 2023
Incident date: Jan 5, 2023
In Nov 2021 we had the recommended recall repairs done at a Cadillac dealership which replaced the rear toe links with a non-adjustable bar. 2 months later we installed new tires at Big O Tires but they were unable to perform a rear alignment due to the stationary toe bar. We went back to the Cadillac dealership days later but were assured the alignment was fine. Just over one year later (approx 1... Read more
Incident date: Mar 8, 2023
Went in on July 2022 to trade in my 2017 dodge was looking at the 2500 2022 was told 2 times it was a big horn. Wasn't was a tradesman. After so many times in shop I went over to sales in December to find out what to do so many safety issues. They called it a lemon and trade for exact same one make model year. Had 6 people helping us and they did it as a trade in. Lost my 30,000 trade in and made... Read more
Incident date: Sep 8, 2021
When driving on the highway any bump in the road triggers the vehicle to shake uncontrollably. (front end and steering wheel) Problem does not correct itself until I have to get into the emergency lane and fully stop. I feel this is not safe nor something normal. This happens quite often. Too often. Every time I drive. Dealership states that this may be "damper shock" not covered by warranty. Any... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ID.4
(2021) - SUSPENSION
Mar 10, 2023
Incident date: Mar 9, 2023
Steering wheel shakes horribly. I feel every bump in the streets. Sometimes it feels as if I am about to lose control of my truck due to the lack of control. I have replaced the suspension, I have replaced the lower control arm, the ball joints twice and the same thing keeps happening.
Incident date: Mar 25, 2021
The contact owns a 2011 Ram 1500. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the vehicle failed to move while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact inspected the vehicle and discovered that the rear passenger’s side wheel bearing was defective. The dealer and the manufacturer were notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VI... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2023
2019 CHEVY SILVERADO 1500 FRONT LEFT AXEL SEPERATED FROM VEHICLE ON FREEWAY CAUSING ABRUPT JERK TO LEFT CASING TRUCK TO CRASH, FRONT WHEEL ASSYEMBY SEPPERATED FROM TRUCK
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Mar 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that he had taken his vehicle to the dealer for a repair on the failure he was experiencing that was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V764000 (Suspension) however, the dealer informed him that the repair could not be performed due to the extensive corrosion underneath the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provi... Read more
Incident date: Mar 9, 2023
I have 2 recall on my 2006 jeep liberty dealer don’t want to fix please I need help.
Incident date: Mar 9, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Ford F-250. The contact stated while driving 50-65 MPH, the vehicle experienced the death wobble, almost causing the contact to lose control of the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact depressed the brake pedal and came a complete stop. The contact was able to continue driving; however, the failure reoccurred several times while driving. An unknown d... Read more
Incident date: Jan 9, 2023
March 9, 2023 at 7 AM, I was driving in Philadelphia and traffic had slowed slightly and I was going 5 MPH, coming to a stop in traffic when my car completely "froze", and all the lights on the dashboard came on and it said "auto start disabled" and my car would not move. I tried to hit "start/stop" button but nothing worked and I tried to hit my blinkers so I could warn the cars behind me, but n... Read more
Incident date: Mar 9, 2023
On7/2022 when I came out of my house in the evening my 2018 4Runner was not been running for hours But I heard my Fuel pump running with no keys in the switch Would not stop running until I turned the switch on and then turned it back off and then fuel pump stopped running I reported to my dealer but they didn’t seem interested so I am Sending this to you any thing I tell the dealer where... Read more
Incident date: Mar 8, 2023
Vehicle is known to have an issue with rusting subframe/crossmembers . Warranty on this vehicle was extended. (Service Bulletin 23-007-17, X69 Warranty Extension) However upon multiple dealer visits and requesting inspection was not notified that issue was happening. Approximately 1.5 years after warranty extension had expired noticeable issues started occurring including noises that got worse and... Read more
Incident date: Apr 15, 2022
The engine throttles while accelerating and leaks oil and a burning smell comes from under the hood. the smell passes through the air vents and fills the car. I am afraid it might catch fire under the hood. The suspension makes noise and can also feel on the steering wheel. I will appreciate the company if they take safety measures in fixing this issue.
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
Air suspension issues at 50k miles my truck rides lop sided half the time. Some days it works fine other days the driver side is sitting lower than the passenger or the backs lower than the front it’s never the same issue. Sometimes it don’t work at all. Which is crazy with only 50k miles
Incident date: Mar 6, 2023
November 18, 2022 had my car for 22 months when I took it for oil change I reported a noise when turning the steering wheel. Ford mechanics decided it the front shocks. Part # LX6Z18124EQ was ordered at that time. As of today 3/8/2023 it is still on back order. The noise is getting louder. I have been in contact with Ford which has expedited the part about 3 - 4 weeks ago. Still not at dea... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2019) - SUSPENSION
Mar 8, 2023
Incident date: Feb 23, 2023
2014 Ford F350 Super Duty Platinum 4x4 Diesel: Steering wheel started with small vibrations (90,000 miles), had Ford tell us that we needed a new track bar and bushing, so replaced it. Still having small vibrations in the 45-60 mph range. Then Ford said tie rod ends could be causing the problem did have some movement in the drag link, so replaced those, still having vibration. Had sound and clunki... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
Uncontrolled shaking of the steering system. Required me to stop on a busy interstate highway. Shaking occurred after driving over a rough patch of highway. Symptoms exactly as described online as Super Duty death wobble
Incident date: Mar 6, 2023
The Whole upper control arm came off due to the recall on the right upper suspension in the front...I reported this when it happened may 2022 and no response or help from the jaguar company by that time I could not afford to get it out of impound because I was in the parking lot of the government post office right by the Evansville police station
Incident date: Mar 7, 2023
Loud creaking sound coming from both front tire areas when driving low speeds and turning the wheel. I took the vehicle to the shop and they could not identify where the creaking noise was coming from. There’s no knocking or shaking in the steering column. It sounds like it’s the shocks/ suspension in both front tires.
Incident date: Mar 2, 2023
When driving on a highway over 50 miles and you hit uneven road surface or a bump, it shakes terribly to the point you feel you have no control. Does not show any recall but there are a lot of people with the same vehicle and same problem.
Incident date: Jul 7, 2022
In 2021, we replaced the suspension air compressor for our 2018 Tesla Model X 75D. Again, only about 8 months later in March 2022, we replaced the suspension air compressor for our Model X. And again in December 2022, we received an alert that the suspension air compressor was disabled. This alert did turn off. However, we started hearing the same noise we had heard back in early 2022. At this poi... Read more
Incident date: Mar 7, 2023
When I was driving on a plane road with no bumps my steering wheel started to shake violently making the whole car and dashboard shake. I’ve called jeep to inform them but they said it is not covered and there is no recall for my vehicle instead want to run a diagnostic and have me pay for the repairs and diagnostic even though it’s a leased vehicle.
Incident date: Mar 29, 2021
The frame has broken in several places under the trailer making it unsafe to move. An insurance adjuster has seen the damage and determined it is not an insurance claim, but a manufacturing defect. This damage occurred during normal usage and could have caused an unforeseen collision to happen while in transit, putting my family and other vehicles/people in danger. The damage was only noticed a... Read more
LAND ROVER
RANGE ROVER EVOQUE
(2015) - SUSPENSION
Mar 7, 2023
Incident date: Nov 9, 2022
All 4 struts failed at approximately 46,000 miles. It is available for inspection upon request but for safety reasons I will have it fixed as soon as possible. It had been riding rough for a while and started sending my children flying around the backseat particularly the third row and grew much louder and jostling with every bump in the road. Last oil change at 43,000 miles it was recommended ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2006 Toyota Tundra. The contact stated while driving approximately 5 MPH and making a left turn, there was an abnormal banging sound coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that the front driver’s side of the vehicle lowered unintendedly. Upon inspection, it was discovered that the front driver’s side lower ball joint had separated from the knuckle. The cause of the fail... Read more
Incident date: Feb 27, 2023
The rear subframe of my car is severely corroded. Both dampers (not sure if I have that name right, the cylinder inside the rear suspension coil) have rusted off. The rear left lateral control arm has rusted off. It is higher in mileage so it might be expected, except, other owners have reported the same problem with way less miles. Also there was a recall for the front crossmember in salt states ... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
CLA 250
(2019) - SUSPENSION
Mar 6, 2023
Incident date: Feb 20, 2023
Dear National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, I am writing to bring to your attention a serious safety issue that I experienced while driving my Tesla Model S 2015 on Freeway 680 in [insert location]. On 2/27/2023], the left rear wheel of my car suddenly dropped, causing a dangerous and potentially life-threatening situation. Fortunately, the incident occurred at night with less traffic, o... Read more
Incident date: Mar 3, 2023
While accelerating from a traffic light, loud bang from left rear corner of car. Investigation found left rear coil spring had broken at the lower bas of the spring where it contacts the lower control arm
Incident date: Mar 2, 2023
2/28/2023 was driving on freeway during a Rainey night truck suddenly spurned out of control were i could not control the wheel truck hydroplaned in to the center divider of the freeway and crashed in to the wall when the front driver side air bag never deployed but the passenger side air bag did did deployed all side passenger air bags were deployed .. but no driver side air bag deployment at all... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Mar 6, 2023
Loud, audible grinding noise when braking, usually in reverse. Sounds like metal on metal. Drove vehicle to dealer today, was told this is a common problem, Honda is aware. Awaiting recall, etc. Issue is very distracting, especially in a parking lot. Issue also occasionally happens when slowing to a stop at low speeds.
Incident date: Mar 5, 2023
The rear controls arms and cradle mount were riddled with severe fissures, causing car to sway dramatically. The level of component failure posed a severe safety risk to me. My mechanic was shocked by the amount of failure to these major rear suspension components. I have included photos and receipts for repairs.
Incident date: Feb 27, 2023
I have replaced the front suspension and the back suspension. I have replaced the driveshaft and the muffler and tail pipes. Now they say the entire undercarriage and the brake lines are all rusting out. This car is 2011 and has just 34,607 miles on it and has been keep in a garage its entire time. Now it is unsafe to drive. Drive Shaft fell off in December.2022.
Incident date: Feb 26, 2023
Death Wobble: Front suspension shakes uncontrollably after bumps at highway speed. Vibration gets worse and worse unless speed is reduced sharply.
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
I believe the tire, wheel or suspension system failed while driving on the highway, causing me to hit my head on the driver's window and lose cosciousness. I skidded into a concrete barrier on the right side of the highway and was found unconscious at the scene. The damage to the passenger side body of the vehicle is minor and does not match the catastrophic failure of the wheel, leading me to be... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Sep 14, 2022
When making a left hand turn, at any speed over 35mph, the rear of the bike wobbles, and the front tires, at least one if not both begin to automatically brake. I’ve looked into it, it appears to be related to a SAS/VSS issue with the suspension and stability having too much play. I’ve researched and found that so many people reported it to NHTSA that you have an article, 137209. They will n... Read more
Incident date: Feb 13, 2022
I am requesting that NHTSA issue a recall for the known defect and serious safety hazard for the 2007 Chrysler Pacifica. These vehicles need to be recalled effective immediately and removed from our highways. The engine cradle rot poses a a risk for accidents and the manufacturer is privy to these problems and had legal action taken against them for a similar notification of different years. The 2... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
CC
(2015) - SUSPENSION
Mar 4, 2023
Incident date: Jan 8, 2023
Beginning in January 2023 with approximately 20,000 miles our leased 2021 Jeep Wrangler began to shake uncontrollably while driving on the highway at speeds over 60 mph. The shaking was so significant that while trying to safely guide the car off the highway my husband was shaken into the guardrail causing damage to the right front bumper. We are horrified that Jeep has had this problem for so lon... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Mar 1, 2023
Samething wrong Witherspoon the direction an brake lamp light. My car can not pass smog check.
Incident date: Mar 3, 2023
The subframe assembly on my car is defective, as I learned today from my mechanic. This issue is known for my model of car and widely reported online. The mechanic says they have seen this issue before. I heard a strange noise while driving so I took the car to the shop after 60 days of enduring the sound. The shop immediately deemed the car unfit for driving and unsafe. In their words, if I had h... Read more
Incident date: Feb 16, 2022
Broken rear coil springs, piece of passenger side rear spring located in assembly, possible road and vehicle hazard. Broken spring is available for inspection. Spring has not been inspected by dealer, appointment has been scheduled. No warning messages, loud banging noise heard, internet search conducted and broken spring piece located and removed. Located VW recall #42J5, contacted VW, but they... Read more
AUDI
Q5 SPORTBACK
(2022) - SUSPENSION
Mar 3, 2023
Incident date: Feb 2, 2023
My Ford Explorer had a rear suspension toe link Recall, and in December I took my vehicle to the Ford dealership to get it fixed. At that time, they did a full vehicle inspection, fixed the part, and told me everything looked great. Shortly after the service, we had a snow storm, and my SUV would fishtail in Icy/snowy conditions. Every time it'd snow, it made me so scared to drive, because I'd ess... Read more
Crash
HARLEY-DAVIDSON
FLHTK
(2016) - SUSPENSION
Mar 3, 2023
Incident date: Feb 25, 2023
After reversing out of say the drive way or parking spot there is a thump noise after putting the car into drive and proceeding to go. I have taken it to the dealer and they state multiple people are experiencing the same thing and that they have been in contact with Mitsubishi about it and they say it is normal. I have never had this happen in any vehicle I have ever owned before and for it to be... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2023
While I was driving home, I went to make a turn and I heard a cracking noise and it felt like the steering wheel went one way and the frame was going the opposite way. I drove very slowly to a service station and when they looked at it they said they couldn't believe I drove the car without getting into an accident, they said the car was undrivable because the frame broke, They went on to say it w... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ROUTAN
(2010) - SUSPENSION
Mar 3, 2023
Incident date: Mar 3, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated the vehicle was serviced under NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V473000 (Suspension). The contact stated he noticed that tread on both rear tires were worn. The contact replaced the tires however, while having the vehicle aligned the mechanic stated that the suspension installed was prematurely wearing down the tires. The manufacturer was contacted ... Read more