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: Oct 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2019 Ford F-250. The contact stated that while driving over a bump in the road at highway speeds exceeding 55 MPH, the vehicle shook violently and vibrated and shook. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the steering dampener needed to be replaced; however, the part was on backorder. The m... Read more
Incident date: Oct 3, 2022
Rear lower control arm broke, causing extreme twitch and near loss of vehicle control about 1/4 mile before getting on highway. There was a loud ping in a parking garage the day before while turning, but nothing seemed to be wrong with the car at that time and I assumed there must have been a water bottle cap or something that went under the tire (can't see ground well in a tight parking garage, ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 16, 2016
I Was not notified That there was a recall for the frame rusting. My frame is rusted out and now I’m told that the recall has expired. This is unacceptable and poses a threat to the lives of Me, my family and all Toyota drivers everywhere.
Incident date: Dec 20, 2022
The vehicle developed a rattle and I took it to the dealer and was told that both rear shocks and dampers had to be replaced. When I went to pick up my vehcile, there was another vehicle that was the exact same year and model there with the same issue. My car has only 24,731 miles and was our of warranty by 1 month. This seams too coincidental form my car and another car to come in with the sam... Read more
Incident date: Dec 19, 2022
Audi Dealer inspection revealed Rear spring is broken and mounts are deteriorating. Dealer states not common and would result in accident if not repaired. Research indicates broken springs common with certain Audi vehicles (A4/S4, Q5 & Q7), especially 2018 model year. See Audi World forum website. It would appear these springs are defective and will result in accident, injury and death. Audi ref... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
E350
(2013) - SUSPENSION
Dec 19, 2022
Incident date: Dec 14, 2022
I took my vehicle to Sun Mercedes for a Pennsylvania safety inspection on 14 Dec 2022. I was approached by the service representative that my vehicle failed inspection. There is a rust hole in the left rear sub-frame. He indicated this is common to Mercedes vehicles of my type/years. The location of rust is common and appears to stat from inside the frame. I saw many similar cases in my resea... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2021
Random "phantom braking" while using autopilot or cruise control. Causes the car to slam on brakes and has lost control once almost causing me to go off the road. Also, has brake-checked many cars that follow behind me while I'm using autopilot or cruise due to the phantom braking. Also Tesla Repair center in Chicago replaced my front bumper with a discolored front bumper that had the same issue o... Read more
Incident date: Dec 16, 2022
Rear tires have alarming wear on the inside, where the inside sidewall meets the tread. This is identical to the other complaints that are logged on NHTSA about Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rear tires on Tesla Model S Plaid cars. Tires are: Michelin Pilot Sport 4S 295/30 ZR21 102Y XL BSW. Specifically, the right rear tires loses pressure and needs to be reinflated. The left rear tire, according to insp... Read more
Incident date: Jun 19, 2021
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated the while driving at various speeds an intermittent popping, clicking, and humming noise was present coming from the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was examined by the local dealer, but no failure was found. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer was not yet contacted regarding the failure. The failure mileage wa... Read more
Incident date: Oct 15, 2021
The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle was shaking. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 5,000.
MITSUBISHI
OUTLANDER
(2007) - SUSPENSION
Dec 19, 2022
Incident date: Aug 26, 2022
I have been having problems with the wheel turning towards the left. Once I went to Firestone and got tires I was told the my suspension is very loose. It is getting more hard to control the steering.
Incident date: Dec 16, 2022
My 2016 F-250 continues to experience the Ford Truck "death wobble." It sometimes happens after I have travelled on an interstate entrance and am increasing speed up to normal highway speed (or similar situation). The front end begins to terribly "shake" and I can only stop it by drastically braking to a much slower speed or even coming to a stop. Usually, there is no obvious reason for this wo... Read more
KTM
790 ADVENTURE
(2020) - SUSPENSION
Dec 19, 2022
Incident date: Nov 19, 2022
The main rear shock shaft seal has failed on two separate occasions causing shock oil to spill all over the catalytic converter posing a huge risk for fire. On both failure instances the motorcycle was being transported on a motorcycle specific hitch rack on the back of my pickup truck. The first shock seal failure occurred when I was transporting the motorcycle to my local dealer for service and ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 10, 2022
Honda body shop switched and stripped components/ parts of my vehicle when State Farm Adjustor wrote the repair assessment like it was in a high speed head on collision when it was actually a left side fender bender. That’s fraud… but nonetheless, State Farm agreed to fix the car. It’s a Honda CR/V that has had the engine replaced now but it’s having drivetrain issues. It rattles and viole... Read more
Crash
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2013) - SUSPENSION
Dec 18, 2022
Incident date: Dec 1, 2022
My truck frame has rusted completely through. I have holes in my truck frame. I also have my rear shocks have broke free from my frame. I went back to the dealer the first week i had the truck to have my bed liner installed. At this time i pointed the rust and undercoating that was falling off. The told me they would take care of the problem. I assumed they would, my mistake. I had to go back 2 o... Read more
Incident date: Dec 17, 2022
The vehicle is a 2022 Jeep wrangler with less than 6800 miles and is completely stock as delivered by the factory. On 12/17/2022 I was driving my 2022 completely stock (unmodified) Jeep Wrangler 4x4 on a paved city street at approximately 55 mph. Suddenly, without any warning whatsoever, the vehicle began violently shaking and the steering wheel was pulled out of my control. I was barely able to ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 7, 2022
In right lane of US19 south bound at about 58 mph, experienced extreme frame vibration after driving over deterioration of asphalt portion of road (which I have driven over hundreds of times with no abnormal effect). Immediately de-accelerated and pulled over into the grassy area of the shoulder of the road. Got out to inspected vehicle, especially the front end structure and wheels for any sign... Read more
Incident date: Dec 13, 2022
The tie rod broke while driving causing the truck to collapse and significant damage to the rest of the suspension. There were no warning lights on. The truck has been inspected by a dealer and insurance representative and the damage and cause has been confirmed. This incident put the driver’s and passenger’s safety, including children, and potentially lives in danger.
Incident date: Dec 16, 2022
Factory 4 corner air suspension empties and truck lowers when cold. The suspension will drop in cold temps while driving. This then cause a very hard drive that is hard to control especially in snow. Truck suspension was fixed 6 months ago to the best of the dealerships ability. The suspension has dropped 3 times this December during snow storms and almost caused me to ditch the truck and loose co... Read more
FORD
MAVERICK HYBRID
(2022) - SUSPENSION
Dec 17, 2022
Incident date: May 15, 2022
About two weeks after first buying the car I noticed that when breaking the pedal requires inconsistent extra pressure at times to stop the car. Also while breaking and coming to a slow downhill stop the front end makes an odd clunk sound while jerking to a stop. These things only happen very infrequently, so when I took it to the Hansel Ford dealership (in Santa Rosa, Ca.) they could not repeat t... Read more
FOREST RIVER
CHEROKEE
(2022) - SUSPENSION
Dec 17, 2022
Incident date: Dec 17, 2022
Broken welds on Frame, Axle supports, and body support brackets broken & weld failure
Incident date: Dec 17, 2022
Observed several instances of the OEM air suspension system becoming disabled due to cold temperatures. Vehicle would fail to adjust ride height to normal, DIC woukd display message AIR SUSPENSION NOT AVAILABLE and would ride as if vehicle has no suspension. Any attempt to adjust would display message SELECTED REIGJT HEIGHT UNAVAILABLE. On ice packed roads and bridges, the pickup would tend to wan... Read more
Incident date: Dec 8, 2022
Significant creaking/squeaking of front suspension when driven st lower speeds, turning, and going over speed bumps. There are hundreds of other drivers complaining of the same for 2016-2018 model years on the Tesla forums. I have no idea if my suspension will fail, and am waiting on an appointment with Tesla. My vehicle is available for inspection should you deem it necessary. There were no warni... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2019) - SUSPENSION
Dec 16, 2022
Incident date: Oct 21, 2022
All four struts are leaking and causing erratic handling when rough roads are encountered. FORD has known of this problem for several years and refuses to replace after their base warranty, even though I have a full coverage extended warranty. If a consumer doesn't realize they have a defective suspension it could lead to their death. FORD has a service bulletin out on this problem. - strut, ye... Read more
Incident date: Nov 21, 2022
while driving on the freeways at freeway speeds after hitting road expansion joints the trucks steering and front end will violently shake to the point of loosing control
Incident date: Nov 24, 2022
Death wobble where the Jeep shakes so violently that you can lose control. It has done this since new. I take it back to the dealer and they say Jeep is aware of the problem and they are working on a fix. Jeeps fix is a replacement steering damper. When I reported it to the dealer, I was told I had to wait until a fix was released. finally at 2125 miles they replaced the first damper. On the way... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2022
My 2022 Wrangler Hybrid only has 6500 miles on it and it had two significant/scary events. First, the motor cut out while driving on the expressway. Fortunately I was able to pull all the way over and start it up again but it was dangerous and scary. Second, and most significant, my vehicle experienced the "death wobble." When you travel over 60mph and hit a bump, the entire vehicle wobbles so ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 29, 2022
My vehicle took off and accelerated without me depressing the gas pedal and it was very scary and hard to get stopped I was doing almost 80 mph. It had a safety recall for the throttle cable for this but you show no open recalls yet Mazda does and told me if recalls we're taken care of they would show up on the car fax which they do not my vehicle is a 2002 but this doesn't mean it was ever fixed... Read more
Incident date: Dec 14, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-350. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the front-end was bouncing abnormally, causing the contact to pull over and stop the vehicle. The contact then continued driving however, the failure persisted, and contact pulled over to inspect the vehicle. The vehicle was then restarted and worked as designed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The... Read more
Incident date: Dec 11, 2022
The contact owned a 2022 Nissan Frontier. The contact stated while driving 15 mph, the traction control and the ABS warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated the rear end of the vehicle shifted independently to the left and he lost control of the vehicle causing him to crash into a tree. All four air bags deployed. The contact did not sustain any injuries nor sought medical attention. A ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Dec 10, 2022
To whom this may concern ,Y husband owns a Nissan Murano 2007 AWD. He uses this car as his daily as he has to travel for work from Shirley NY to Garden City NY 5-6 times a week . On Dec 10th as he was leaving home to go to work he got on the main road and his car lost control . Thank god there was no one around him and everyone was alert because his car almost caused a fatal accident . My father w... Read more
Incident date: Oct 3, 2022
The Jeep when driving at above 50mph will hit a bump and the front tires and steering wheel starts shaking uncontrollably. Upon research I’ve found that this is called a “death wobble” on a Jeep. It has a history on Jeeps. This happened with under 5k miles on the Jeep with no changes to the vehicle to the tires or suspension which came with it from the factory. I took it back to the dealers... Read more
Incident date: Sep 12, 2022
Truck violently shakes when vehicle traverses over pothole while traveling over 55 mph. Commonly called the “ford death wobble”. Taken to Ford dealership twice, each time told they can’t replicate the issue.
Incident date: Dec 13, 2022
Steering became difficult and unresponsive at times. Car barely has 3000 miles on it. Took to Honda dealership for inspection. They test drove car and I was told the following needed to be replaced and recommended leaving car there for repairs. Repair rack and pinion assembly, update control unit, update VSA and EPS systems, alignment. 2 weeks to get a part leaving me stuck having to pay for a ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 Mazda Mazda3. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel started to shake. The contact stated that the tire pressure warning light and check engine warning lights intermittently illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the suspension, seat connector, and an unknown software needed to be updated. The ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 10, 2022
Tesla vehicles suffer excessive “toe-in” wear on all tires. Tesla claims it is a function of the vehicle being heavy and that it is “normal” Tires have to be replaced every 12-24 months as a result of the inner portion showing cord, wire, and losing air. The tread on the rest of the tires appears to have 1/8 to 1/4 inch of usable tread however all tires have to be replace as a result of th... Read more
HYUNDAI
GENESIS COUPE
(2013) - SUSPENSION
Dec 14, 2022
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, a whining noise was heard while depressing the accelerator pedal. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was then taken to a local dealer, where it was repaired under Technical Service Bullet... Read more
Incident date: Dec 9, 2022
2018 MODEL 3 21,060 miles, No warning lights or messages, car started to make a clicking noise when turning steering wheel right and left. Drove to Tesla Service Center after hearing noise for the 1st time. At Tesla Service: Agent #1 stated that is a normal noise and no need to bring it in and or need to make appointment. Agent #2 Technician, heard noise and said that it needs to be looked at... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2012) - SUSPENSION
Dec 14, 2022
Incident date: Nov 22, 2022
I was driving our Mercedes Benz C300 and noticed the braking distance taking longer than normal. Also, the rear end responding differently than normal. We took our Mercedes C300 to Mercedes Benz Dealer to be serviced. The technician looked under the car and found the rear subframe rotted out. The service advisor informed us of this being a known defect. We have to be cautious about driving t... Read more
Incident date: Dec 8, 2022
When driving vehicle around 60 to 65 mph on interstate, when you hit a bump it will begin to shake violently and pull to one side. Took vehicle to dealership. They replaced numerous parts, but steering linkage arm, which Ford says it actual problem, is back ordered and could be a year before it is available. I was driving vehicle on the interstate after picking it up from the dealership and it ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 9, 2019
New vehicle was sold with 2 manufacturing defects: 1) Defective front left shock absorber with made steering unstable. 2) Leaking value cover gasket with created a fire risk. 3) Both defects where confirmed by a dealer. 4) Vehicle has not been inspected by manufacturer, police, insurance representative or others. 5) No warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of problem were presented prior to fi... Read more
Incident date: Dec 10, 2022
While driving with Auto Pilot engaged on the highway, traffic slowed and AP applied the brakes at a light to moderate level. I immediately heard a loud squeal come from the front passenger wheel area that stopped when braking stopped. No warning lights or messages showed but I could tell I had reduced steering response after disengaging AP. I was able to get off the highway and navigate to a nearb... Read more
TOYOTA
REDUNDANT SIENNA
(2022) - SUSPENSION
Dec 12, 2022
Incident date: Dec 7, 2022
Car only has 10K miles. It pulls to the right. We had dealer check tires multiple times, did alignment twice and yet car pulls to the right.
Incident date: Sep 13, 2022
The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Venue. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, there was a grinding noise coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but no failure was found. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed that no cause for the failure was found. The failure mileage was 16,202.
Incident date: Nov 30, 2022
At speeds above 45 miles and hour, the steering wheel begins to nibble / shake which creates an unsafe driving situation. Vehicle has had alignment performed, and new tires balanced which still has not resolved issue.
Incident date: Dec 12, 2022
TSB issue with suspension steering gear assembly needs to be removed and have spacer kit installed. Issue caused the front lower ball joint to wear more than usual and crack. Due to TSB a joint kit needs to be installed and control arms replaced.
Incident date: Dec 12, 2022
I had my 2007 Dodge Caliber rear brakes replaced today, at 83,487 miles. The service professional noted on the receipt that the “rear subframe is rotting out.” He suggested that I contact Dodge, to find out if there has been a recall regarding this issue. Please advise as to how this problem may be resolved, with no additional, out-of-pocket cost to me, the consumer. Thank you.
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2011) - SUSPENSION
Dec 12, 2022
Incident date: Apr 19, 2012
Frame started rusting almost immediately dealer did not want to address it
Incident date: Dec 4, 2022
When travelling at highway speeds if the car hits a pothole or other bump the road, the vehicle starts shaking violently. The steering wheel starts shaking, and the vehicle becomes extremely hard to control at highway speeds. I feel that is very unsafe because there is no way to get out of this shaking unless you slow down completely and pull over to the side of the road. I brought the vehicle to ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2022
Rear subframe rusted right through control rods snapped rear end of car dropped down. Upon researching they know that this is bad and unsafe even gave a 10 year extended warranty for front and rear subframe so how long will and how many complaints before this is an actual recall. I see here in your complaints that there is a large number of complaints on this issue. How are they getting away with ... Read more