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: Nov 21, 2022
Death wobble. Excessive wobbling while traveling on the highway. Usually occurs after traveling over variations in the roadway surface. Happened one before when vehicle had approximately 30,000 miles. Dealer replaced the stabilizer. Started again at approximately 60,000 miles. Wobble can get so bad i feel like i’m going to get thrown out of the vehicle.
Incident date: Dec 2, 2022
What component or system failed or malfunctioned: Steering Dampner failed causing other issued in steering and front-end suspension failures. You can inspect anytime you want. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Repetitive failure on these components put me and family at risk and other drivers to the loss of control Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a deale... Read more
Incident date: Nov 12, 2022
The vehicle began making a crunching/grinding sound, and lost some traction/control. It then only would go very slowly even though I was pressing the accelerator, and then the RPM meter was revving up and down even after I took my foot completely off the pedal. After turning it off on the side of the road for about 15 minutes, we were able to drive it home with no further issues. The following wee... Read more
Incident date: Nov 25, 2022
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota 4Runner. The contact stated that upon taking the vehicle for the State Inspection, he was informed that the vehicle could not be inspected due to severe subframe corrosion. The contact stated that her son, an independent mechanic, later determined that the entire subframe and suspension of the vehicle were severely corroded. The contact stated that the vehicle was un... Read more
Incident date: Dec 2, 2022
On 12/2/2022 at ~9:30 AM I was westbound on Interstate 40 in SW AZ. Traffic was average, road was clean and dry. My right front tire clipped a small pothole. The front end of the truck began to shake then became a violent, out of control thrashing. I grabbed the oscillating steering wheel with both hands to avoid changing lanes and hitting other vehicles. I tapped the brakes to shut down the cruis... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2022
The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-250. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle started shaking uncontrollably, without any warning. The contact was able to stop on the side of the roadway. The checked for a possible tire blowout however, there was no blowout. The vehicle then started operating as designed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
S550
(2007) - SUSPENSION
Dec 2, 2022
Incident date: Dec 2, 2019
The contact owns a 2007 Mercedes-Benz S550. The contact stated that while driving 30-40 MPH, the vehicle started to decelerate independently. The contact also stated that he smelled an abnormal gasoline odor inside the vehicle. The contact veered to the side of the roadway. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to restart. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after 10 minutes. Addition... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2022
When driving it feels like I'm slowing down when I'm not. The lights inside, the headlights, & on dashboard flicker & sometimes go out while driving. My seatbelts on the driver, back seat behind driver not working. The driver seat does not adjust so I can position myself correctly. The truck rocks side to side while driving as if it will tip over on its side if I drive over 30. I just recently acq... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2012) - SUSPENSION
Dec 1, 2022
Incident date: Oct 28, 2022
Rear Sub Frame Assembly failure. It is available for inspection upon request. Vehicle rear end begins to wobble at speeds above 40 mph. The issue causes steering to become more complicated and the vehicle veers sharply while braking. This issue makes all C Class vehicles with this Sub Frame Assembly extremely unsafe, especially at highway speeds. Vehicle has been inspected by the authorized Merce... Read more
Incident date: Oct 7, 2022
Experienced what is called "jeep death wobble" at high speeds on the highway. Lost control of steering and vehicle felt like it was coming apart. Would happen anytime I reached 60 mph and hit a bump on the road. Extremely dangerous and frightening. Jeep attempted to fix the problem with steering dampers, but now feels completely unstable when I drive. Also have an open safety recall which they ca... Read more
Incident date: Sep 12, 2022
On 9/12/22, my son purchased a 2009 Nissan Maxima from Street Cars. My son was told that the car did not pass the state inspection, but all items on the list were taken care of. The salesman noted the Air Intake Tube would be ordered for the car and installed once received. My son paid $5299 in cash. My son wanted to pay with a cashier's check, but the salesperson requested cash. On the way home... Read more
Incident date: Nov 23, 2022
Two issues: 1. We have needed to repeatedly replace brake booster. 2. Passenger side rear spring has broken and dealer is indicating the driver side should also be replaced.
MERCEDES-BENZ
E350
(2014) - SUSPENSION
Nov 30, 2022
Incident date: Nov 29, 2022
Brake line to rear completely rusted through. Lost brake control while driving. Upon further inspection, the entire rear subframe has significant rust damage that warrants replacement.
Incident date: Oct 28, 2022
I was driving at approximatelly 60mmph when the left front end starte shaking and vibrating so bad I could not keep it on the road. Luckly it was a two lane road with an emergency lane. when I came to a stop the vibration and shakinf stopped. I took it to the ford dealership. They told me I needed frontsuspension tie rods, ball joint assy shock absorbers drag links . Plus $1,156 dollars labo... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2022
While driving on the freeway at approximately 60 mph the left front wheel hit a small pothole. The truck immediately begin shaking violently. The extreme shaking involved the entire front end of the truck and the steering wheel. The shaking lasted for approximately 30 seconds and stopped once the speed was reduced to about 40 mph. No warning lights or warning indicators came on before, during... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2022
The contact owns a 2001 Ford Windstar. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH and crossing railroad tracks that were flush with the road surface, the contact heard the passenger’s side rear tire making a loud screeching noise. The contact could hear rubbing or friction and then noticed that smoke was coming from the rear of the vehicle. The contact stated there was no warning ligh... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2022
Air suspension fails repeatedly in cold weather. Vehicle has been repaired twice under manufacturer warranty and extended warranty. I am concerned that if this fails while the vehicle in motion an accident may result. There are many documented cases of this issue and, as I read online, a pending class action lawsuit in Canada as a result.
Incident date: Aug 29, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ram 1500. The contact stated while making a right turn, the contact felt as if the vehicle was going to flip over. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but no failure was found. On another occasion, while driving 20 MPH and going over a speed bump, the contact heard an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who stated that t... Read more
Incident date: Apr 14, 2022
The frame Infront where the motor and steering attach rotted completely threw, separated at the weld. It is a safety hazard where steering is affected. The dash lights for the traction, abs, and even the cruise control are on and those items are no longer functional. This car was purchased in 2017, Holiday automotive in Fondulac, Wi with this condition apparent. The mechanic who changed my oil re... Read more
Incident date: Aug 10, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 GMC Terrain. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH, the contact heard a sound coming from the rear of the vehicle and had the shocks replaced. While the vehicle was getting a routine oil change, the mechanic noticed that the vehicle was rusted, causing the rear suspension trailing arms to detach from the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacte... Read more
Incident date: Nov 29, 2022
This Jeep is unsafe. The jeep has a problem when you are driving 70 miles per hour on the highway. If you go over a bridge with road bumps or hit a pothole, the Jeep goes into an uncontrollable wobble. I have to slow down to about 40 miles per hour to get the Jeep to stabilize. Suddenly needing to slow down because the jeep feels like it will shake itself apart is incredibly dangerous. ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 6, 2022
My car is a 2006 Toyota 4Runner. This past summer I had a tire leaking and took it to the garage for repair. The mechanic stated that the frame is rusting out in the front right, tire rod area, and saw a pinhole. Last week I took the vehicle to get a transmission oil change. That mechanic saw that there's more rust that is spreading throughout the entire frame, worse than the area found from jus... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2021
As I was driving down the interstate at about 75 mph I encountered a worn out area in the road that I could not avoid due to traffic. The truck immediately began shaking violently and I was horrified. I thought I had perhaps had a tire blowout, and immediately pulled onto the shoulder to inspect. Realizing my tires looked OK, I got my wits about me and began driving again. To my surprise, the ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 16, 2022
The contact owns a 2022 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle started to wobble. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure could not be duplicated. The contact stated that the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where all four tires were replaced; however, the failure recurred. The... Read more
Incident date: Nov 29, 2022
Our 2015 Hyundai Sonata has made a clunking sound when accelerating or slowing down. We took our car to Brandon Hyundai and explained the problem. They had our car for 1 day and said a motor mount and a transmission mount were faulty. They said they did the repairs and that it was covered by warranty. Within a few days the car was making the same sound and we returned it to Hyundai. The next ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 25, 2022
While driving at freeway speeds, hitting a pothole or other bump, vehicle wobbles uncontrollably in the front end. Vehicle must reduce speed quickly to stop the wobble. I have taken this vehicle into Ford Service twice. The first time they said they fixed the problem by replacing the strut and steering damper. Problem occurred less frequently but continues to occur. I took it in a second time... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
My Telluride mileage just passed 30K. The rear suspension seems like no shock-absorbing capability since the car is so bumpy. The front suspension looks fine though. I went to a service center, but they told me they couldn't find any symptoms. I was shocked when I heard about that because I could see an apparent difference even with pushing it with my hand! Strangely, there's no squicking noise. A... Read more
JAYCO FIFTH WHEEL
NORTH POINT
(2022) - SUSPENSION
Nov 28, 2022
Incident date: Oct 17, 2022
The contact owns a 2022 Jayco Northpoint RV. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the RV was pulling to the left. No warning light was illuminated. The RV was taken to the dealer, and it was confirmed that the axles were misplaced and needed to be replaced. The RV was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was awaiting a response. The fai... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2022
The front end of my Ford F350 can cause a forceful wobble when going over small bumps. The last time this occurred was on 11/26/22 while driving on the highway at 65 mph and I drove over one of the seams in the pavement. The front end began to wobble so forcefully, I had to slow down to around 30 mph, putting me and anyone behind me at risk of a rear end collision. I haul a travel trailer and i... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2022
In the past 7 days driving at highway speeds of 70 mph+ and driving on rough patches or hitting bumps we lost control of the steering on 3 different occasions without warning. The 2019 F250 truck started shaking violently and I almost loss total control of the vehicle. I had to slow the vehicle down and immediately turn on the emergency flashers to warn other vehicles behind us that we were having... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2013) - SUSPENSION
Nov 28, 2022
Incident date: Nov 28, 2022
My car had new brakes installed in the last few months. All of a sudden the car "fishtailed" when applying the brakes. I brought it into my mechanic, Johns Mercedes of Wakefield, Massachusetts, for some routine service and he noticed once he put the car up on the rack that the subframe is completely rotted out due to rust. The brakes were fine. He strongly recommended not driving the car until... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
Hearing a knocking noise when driving at slow speed over a bumpy road. Having it checked soon but read several complaints on this same issue. Owners have repaired vehicle but still have same issues. Is there going to be a recall soon?
Incident date: Nov 28, 2022
I have experienced an extremely violent vibration/wobbling of the vehicle at freeway speeds on several occasions. During these times, it is very difficult to control breaking, steering the vehicle, making it nearly impossible. I felt very unsafe not only for myself, but also other vehicles around me as I was driving a heavy-duty vehicle on the freeway at a high speed with essentially no control. A... Read more
Incident date: Nov 28, 2022
On Monday, 28 November 2022 I was driving on I-40 in downtown Knoxville, TN. After hitting a bump in the rode the steering wheel began to shake violently and the front-end shake and wobble. I was traveling approximately 65 mph. When I slowed down to 35 mph it stopped. This occurred on a busy interstate at approximately 0900 hrs. I was lucky to be in the outside lane. There were no warning lights b... Read more
Incident date: Nov 25, 2022
I have a terrible wobble. At 36,000 miles I had this “fixed” under warranty. I now have 54,000 miles and it is terrible and getting dangerous. I know this is an ongoing issue with f250’s and terribly frustrating to have it “fixed”, but not really.
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2011) - SUSPENSION
Nov 27, 2022
Incident date: Nov 18, 2022
The subframe and the brake lines are very faulty in this car when it comes to its design. The subframe and brake lines rust easily and are cheaply made for this car. My car break down while driving making it hard to have pressure on the brakes. My incident was around the school area. There were no accidents or collisions Involved. It could happen to adults and children. The dealer never conf... Read more
Incident date: Nov 22, 2022
Violently shaking can not control truck, I’ve looked this up and it is known as the death wobble. It looks like they have recalled /027 but not 2016 models what can be done about this. It has happened about 6 times in 3 days
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
THE REAR SHOCK MOUNT RUSTS OUT NOT LONG AFTER MANUFACTURE AND WE THE CONSUMER ARE LEFT WITH THE PILE OF POOP. FORD IS HIGHLY AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM, AND AS I TRANSPORT MY CHILDREN DAILY I WONDER IF THIS WILL BE THE DAY WE DIE. UPON THE SHOCK MOUNT RUSTING OUT, HOPE YOURE RELIGIOUS AND GOD IS YOUR CO PILOT BECAUSE AS THAT POINT THE SPRING IS WHAT YOU'RE LEFT WITH! ITS SO HORSE [XXX] FORD LEAVES THI... Read more
Incident date: Nov 25, 2022
Went in for warranty repair for a recall of the lug nuts and wheel stud to find the dealership claimed they did the recall but committed fraud and actually didn’t. Went to pick up vehicle and go directly to Discount Tire for a tire rotation to find the lug nut and wheel stud completely broken off and the wheel not attached to the truck at all. “Only one pothole away” from coming off I was t... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
While accelerating at a certain speed and letting go of the pedal the vehicle stalls causing a loud cluck sound depending of the speed of the acceleration. I am not sure if this issue will cause the vehicle to break down or cause other problems in the near future. In the beginning of November 2022, the drivers side has been making clunking noises when ever I reverse and while slowly taking from. I... Read more
Incident date: Nov 14, 2022
This is the best explanation I can give you. "The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is looking into complaints about the dreaded “death wobble” in the steering system that some drivers have reported. In short, the steering wheel begins to shake quite badly after hitting a bump at higher speeds. The shaking goes away once the Jeep slows down, but it can be a rather frighte... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2022
car is not recalled yet the same model year is recalled from 2007, this problem effects my car as well as cars made earlier in the year. The suspension is unstable and joints are worn in many places ball joints and other steering effecting joints. The car makes sudden side movements like the wheel is about to fall off or the tire fell off the time but the tires are properly inflated. Repair est... Read more
FORD
FUSION HYBRID
(2015) - SUSPENSION
Nov 26, 2022
Incident date: Nov 6, 2022
While driving on a level flat road at approximately 25 MPH, the front right lower A frame assembly snapped and caused the front suspension to drop and the resulting drop caused the front tire to be ripped from its rim. As a result, I briefly lost control and crashed into a parked vehicle. Had this occurred at a higher speed the result would have been disastrous! The lower A-Frame is a thick cast a... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Nov 25, 2022
On 10/19/22, driving on an interstate at approximately 70mph. Hit normal bump in the road. Vehicle began shaking so violently that one hand thrown free from steering wheel. I grabbed steering wheel with two hands and a very tight grip to control the vehicle, immediately steered onto shoulder and braked. Extremely violent shaking did not stop until vehicle slowed to approximately 20 mph. I immed... Read more
Incident date: Nov 24, 2022
The contact owns a 2019 Ford F-250. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 MPH on the freeway, the vehicle suddenly experienced the “death wobble" after driving over a change in the pavement of the roadway. During the failure, the vehicle began to violently shake and vibrate until the speed was reduced. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The vehicle was not repaired... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2013) - SUSPENSION
Nov 25, 2022
Incident date: Nov 25, 2022
I sensed the rear wheels going into a skid as I braked at low speed. I noticed it first on downhills as I drove on a mountain road which was curvy. It seemed that the car was going to go into a skid. No warning lights came on. I checked the tires were all at the same accurate level which did not change the occurrence. It happened again on flat terrain coming to a quick stop. Like one tire was... Read more
Incident date: Nov 25, 2022
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Tundra. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was pulling to the right. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who performed a wheel alignment, but the failure persisted. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,000.
Incident date: Nov 18, 2022
The cars rear toe link broke while driving. It cause the vehicle to go out of control and wreck I to the guard rail. Another motorist hit the car as it was wrecking. The local Ford dealership confirmed that the rear toe link failed and replaced them with redesigned ones that are safer. I had to pay for this repair, the tow charges and my insurance is fixing the other car that hit me.
Crash
Incident date: Nov 25, 2022
At highway speeds, when hitting a bump, the front end vibrates and becomes a unstable. The corrective action is slowing down and the speed limit, in traffic, until the vibration disappears. There's a known factory fix for this issue. The vehicle had the a new or replacement part installed during the summer. The issue appeared resolved until today (2022-11-25) when it occurred twice.
Incident date: Nov 25, 2022
1) Frequent spontaneous windshield cracks. 2) violent, out of control steering wheel vibrations at highway speeds nearly causing severe collisions. Reoccurring incidents. I’m ready to file a lawsuit.
Crash
1 injured