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
MERCEDES-BENZ
SPRINTER 3500
(2021) - SUSPENSION
Jul 30, 2022
Incident date: Mar 17, 2022
My vehicle is listed as one of the 2100+ sprinter vans affected by the incorrect assembly of the torsion bar(Manufacturer Recall Number 2022030013; NHTSA Recall Number 22V131). This recall was issued on March 17, 2022. It has now been over 120 days since that recall was issued and the parts are not yet available. I believe the manufacturer has exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall re... Read more
Incident date: Jul 14, 2022
I experienced the death wobble at highway speeds of 70mph 4 times in less then one week on a vacation trip. Luckily it was on straight sections of the road. It requires slamming on the breaks and slowing the speed to less the 25mph to get the vehicle back under control. Extremely dangerous and should be immediate recall! I have great dash cam footage of several of the incidents. Thanks [XXX] I... Read more
Incident date: Jul 23, 2022
The front engine sub-frame bushings separated at 63,339 miles. No warning just vibration in engine compartment. This could potentially affect handling steering. The subframe has been replaced by a Nissan dealership.
Incident date: Jul 7, 2022
DEATH WOBBLE SHAKES TREMOUNDESLY AFTER 50 MPH
Incident date: Jul 1, 2022
The 2011 Subaru Outback subframe (K-Frame) failed structurally while the vehicle was in operation. The bolted connection between the left side (driver side) control arm broke due to extensive corrosion of the K-frame allowing the bolt to pull through one side of the box-shaped frame. The vehicle exhibited a pronounced pull to the left and handled erratically. The vehicle was immediately driven... Read more
Incident date: Jun 8, 2022
The air injection pumps went out. Vehicle could not get out of limp mode, was very dangerous as I couldnt get up to speed while merging onto traffic. Had to put hazards on and drive vehicle home under 25mph. Vehicles were going around me. Vehicle is scheduled to be looked at by a dealer, but still recommend this be a safety issue!!
Incident date: Jul 5, 2022
The steering started wobbling very bad after hitting a bad section of the highway. I had to almost come to a complete stop for it to quit shaking. These occurred several more times on a 3000 mile trip. I was pulling a 40 ft 5th wheel and made it very hard to control. I have the truck at the ford dealer to check it out. There were no warnings before the first time it happened.
Incident date: Jul 4, 2022
The complete chassis frame under the vehicle, contains a lot of rust and holes due to corrosion. Some years ago, a Toyota dealership asked me to bring the vehicle in to one of their dealerships, where an undercoating was painted on the frame surface. However, the coating is worn away and the rust is visible again and this time there are even more deterioration.
Incident date: Jul 14, 2022
The previous recall on this issue is not completely resolved. The rear suspension on this model of Lexus was simply epoxied in place permanently. The recall "resolution" approved by NHTSA and implemented by Lexus does not allow for the common maintenance on the vehicle - namely, alignment. Therefore, inordinate and substantial tire wear occurs due to the inability to align the wheels. The only way... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2008 Honda Element. The contact stated that while the vehicle was in for an inspection, it was discovered that the rear suspension front bushing bracket trailing arm was rusted. The vehicle failed the inspection due to the failure. The contact was informed by the mechanic that the vehicle was unsafe to drive. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the fai... Read more
Incident date: Jul 5, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that upon walking to the rear of the vehicle, he noticed that the rear tires were significantly bald and the tread belts were exposed. The contact stated that the failure occurred after the replacement of the rear adjustable toe links with a non-adjustable toe link under NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V473000 (Suspension). The dealer was notified ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 16, 2022
When traveling at highway speed, experienced the "death wobble". The front end and steering wheel shakes violently making steering impossible. Slow down to about 40mph and it stops. This has occurred 3 times when hitting a bump. Occurred once with just the truck and twice while pulling a 5th wheel. Ford dealer replaced tie rod ends etc but still Occurred after that, now waiting on a new steering d... Read more
Incident date: Jul 28, 2022
At speeds over 60mph when driving across an uneven road surface or bump the cab of the truck begins to shake uncontrollable and will not stop until the speed is below 35. It has happened multiple times on major highways and changing lanes and reducing speed has nearly caused a traffic accident
Incident date: Jul 27, 2022
Yesterday, 7/27/2022, I had my 2007 Toyota Tacoma Access Cab at my mechanic's shop for a minor issue. While on the lift he noticed significant rust on the frame rails. He brought me over and showed me extensive areas where the metal was completely rusted through. I have never seen anything like this on even the oldest of vehicles. Subsequently I did a search online and found that this was a kn... Read more
Incident date: Sep 6, 2011
The contact owns a 2004 Subaru Impreza. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 15V323000 (Air Bags) and 11V464000 (Suspension) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The dealer informed the contact t... Read more
Incident date: May 23, 2021
Section of frame broke and fell to the pavement. Vehicle bouncing and went off road causing damage to front driver side bumper, turn signal light housing, headlight. Extensive Back frame rusting has made vehicle dangerous. Frame has many soft spots. Both back shocks rusted and broken. Replace shocks but frame will eventually brake. This is my only vehicle. So, I will continue to drive and pray tha... Read more
Incident date: Jul 23, 2022
On Saturday July 23, 2022 around 6p.m. I was driving up Midvale Ave in Philadelphia, Pa, I hit a pothole and on the passenger side the strut shatter into pieces. I drove in the next day to Pep Boys to diagnosis the problem and the should me that the steering /suspension evaluation was done. I left because that had no idea when they could get the part for the car. (see attached pictures)
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2011) - SUSPENSION
Jul 27, 2022
Incident date: Jun 21, 2022
1. Rear Subframe of the car rusted out, causing car to suddenly jerk to the right while braking. as inspected by my mechanic, the driver side part of the rear subframe is also about to fail as well 2. The sudden jerky movement can probably cause me to lose control and possibly crash into another vehicle, potential hurt myself and other cars around me 3. Yes, the problem has been reproduced an... Read more
NISSAN
PATHFINDER
(2013) - SUSPENSION
Jul 27, 2022
Incident date: Jul 26, 2022
Rear crossmember (K-frame) rusted through where dogbone links connect to rear control arms. Rest of vehicle is in excellent condition with little to no rust (surface at best), but rear cross member is completely rusted through at front right and left. This then lets the rear wheels loose toe and adjustment and causes skipping and alignment issues, potentially leading to a crash.
Incident date: Jul 26, 2022
At highway speeds (65-70 mph) if a pot hole or rough expansion joint is hit the vehicle begins to shake violently. Very difficult to control and steer. When breaking gets down to about 45 mph the violent shaking stops.
Incident date: Jul 9, 2021
Automatic Air Suspension defective. Truck back 2 wheels remains in "off road" mode while the front 2 tires remain in" plant" mode. Brought to carmax after owning for a month. they brought to dealer where is was serviced and fixed at the time. same issue is ongoing after now 2nd attempt to fix. replaced relay part and broke a week later. now having battery and alternator issues along with sus... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
GLA 250
(2019) - SUSPENSION
Jul 27, 2022
Incident date: Mar 1, 2022
I was involved in an auto accident on 3/1/22 I no longer have confidence or feel safe driving the 2019 Mercedes GLA250 after having a minor" accident and repairs totaling $15,008.53. The steering wheel locked and the left tire was knocked out of place. According to Mercedes, repairs were required to the suspension system, new struts, new knuckles, steering gear. I am terrified to continue driving... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jul 20, 2022
The contact owns a 2009 Mazda Mazda6. The contact stated that while driving the vehicle at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal squealing sound coming from the front of the vehicle while turning, also while depressing the brake pedal. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who discovered corrosion and a hole on the front passenger’s side suspension cross member. The vehicle was ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 6, 2022
You would hold the Steering Wheel tight because of front jumping and vibration of the front end.When we stop at rest areas, the car would go slow.It was was going 30 miles an hour and almost got a trailer truck. I kept pushing the gas pedal until it got up enough speed before I could get the interstate. I thought the Transmission was was bad. This happen every time we made a stop. We had struts p... Read more
CHEVROLET
TRAILBLAZER
(2007) - SUSPENSION
Jul 26, 2022
Incident date: Jul 26, 2020
The contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The contact stated that the front subframe of the vehicle was corroded with perforated rust holes. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who informed the contact that they did not provide frame repair. The vehicle was taken to several mechanics who diagnosed that the subframe needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 26, 2022
2015 CADILLAC SRX. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO REAR SUSPENSION TOE LINK SAFETY RECALL. THE CONSUMER STATED THE MANUFACTURER DESIGNED A FAULTY RECALL. THE VEHICLE REQUIRED AN ALIGNMENT, BUT DUE TO THE RECALL IT COULD NOT BE PERFORMED. THE FAILURE CAUSED ABNORMAL WEAR ON THE TIRES. THE CONSUMER REFERENCED RECALL N212340980.
Incident date: Jul 22, 2022
On 7/22/2022 I was driving on I80 in Salt Lake City, UT at approx 3:30 pm. The weather was clear the highway was dry. I was traveling at 55 MPH and hit a pothole. The truck began to wobble violently and required I come to complete stop on the shoulder before it stopped wobbling. I then progressed slowly to determine if it had rectified and proceeded to my destination. Since that time I have e... Read more
Incident date: Jun 7, 2021
The contact owns a 2015 Acura RLX. The contact stated while switching lanes to the left, the vehicle started fishtailing. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the mechanic was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The contact stated the failure recurred and the vehicle was taken to the dealer a second time. The contact was informed that the RTC actuators needed to be replaced. The ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 19, 2022
On 7/19/2022 while backing out of a parking spot with a right hand turn we heard a loud noise and the car did not seem to want to continue moving. Upon further inspection the right front tire was sitting at an extreme and unusual angle. Tipped out at the top and no longer pointing in the same direction as the other front tire. Upon recovery of the vehicle and inspection the lower control has co... Read more
Incident date: Jul 25, 2022
Death rattle in the front-end suspension!!!!!! I have spent thousands of dollars to replace original factory parts since this issue has happened in the past year once I passed 125,000 miles, even with brand new parts replaced and beefed up in shocks and springs and steering arms. I still have this happening between 50 plus mph. bumps and cracks in the road will set this off in heavy highway traf... Read more
Incident date: Jul 24, 2022
Driving down the road, hit a bump in road, and front end began to shake so hard that I lost control of the truck and ended up on side of the road. Began to try and drive the truck home (less than 5 miles away), it began to shake 2 more times. Called dealership, they stated it was a "Death Wobble"...but they don't fix them or correct the issue. I would have to pay for it myself.
Incident date: Jul 25, 2022
Engine Crossmember erosion very dangerous to drive. FCA extended warranty will NOT cover. Did not receive a letter of warning that was sent out to thousands.
Incident date: Jul 18, 2022
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while reversing there was an abnormal bumping sound coming from the front of the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle then failed to drive forward after the failure. The tow truck was called to the scene; however, while lifting the vehicle onto the tow truck it was discovered that the front passenger’s side control arm had fractur... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
SPRINTER 3500
(2021) - SUSPENSION
Jul 25, 2022
Incident date: Jul 22, 2022
The contact owns a 2021 Mercedes- Benz Sprinter 3500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V131000 (Suspension) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The con... Read more
Incident date: Jul 24, 2022
The air bag light comes on n off with a passenger in the seat and also the shifter sometimes doesn’t shift into gear I have to unplug battery for 10 minutes to reset system that comes to the electrical situation
Incident date: Jul 22, 2022
Noticed the vehicle was making creaking and grinding sounds from the rear suspension. This forcing the car to struggle to reverse. Noticed a large portion of the rear suspension/subframe was rusted and was cracking.
Incident date: May 12, 2021
I bought this 2004 Honda Pilot new in 2004 in Louisville. In 2018 I drove to Florida without incident. While here in Florida I have had a problem with oil leaking. Than the compressor for the air went out and I took it straight to the dealer here. They told me it was not worth fixing. Since then I have had 2 mechanics look underneath the car and said it was so rusted that the frame was dangerous a... Read more
Incident date: Apr 4, 2022
While starting to drive forward or backward turning, there is a shutter vibration felt slightly heard. It also has grinding shutter vibration at turn in intersection during the turn. The dealer on the 3 complaint visit replaced a front passenger CV Joint and bearing, upon picking the truck up it did it immediately again. Could not return as it was the service department closing time. There is al... Read more
Incident date: Jul 20, 2022
Suspension Component: RH Front Aft Control Link - I will provide the damaged/exploded part via FEDEX to your office. Event happened while backing out of garage, was under 5miles speed and hence nobody was injured or put at risk. Could have gone worst if this would have happened at higher speed/highway. There was no prior warning, corrosion and/or indication alerting of wear & tear on the part ... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
E350
(2014) - SUSPENSION
Jul 23, 2022
Incident date: Jul 12, 2022
Vehicle is 9 years old, with 73000 miles. Dealer Service has advised that the rear subframe and brake lines are rusting and need to be replaced as a safety issue. Cost quoted was $8800. Mercedes agreed to pick up the cost of the parts and the dealer offered to split the installation cost, bringing my total down to $3150. On-line research reveals this is a common problem across several product l... Read more
Incident date: Jul 22, 2022
Drivers side lower control arm failed at the lower ball joint mounting hole, allowing the ball joint to separate from the arm. All vehicle steering and control was lost due to the failure. This failure: 1. Has extreme danger for traffic fatalities. 2. Suggests substandard materials, design, or manufacturing. Control arm manufacturer: DLZ Sold by: partsgoing Vendor: Amazon.com
Incident date: Jul 1, 2022
Front and rear crossmembers are rusted through. Replaced front subframe for $1008.00 in 2021. Available for inspection. Could come to a complete stop if it breaks. Confirmed by independent service center. Not inspected yet. Front squeak heard 2021. Rear squeak heard 2022. This is my 2nd jeep patriot & both jeeps front & rear crossmembers are rusted through breaking apart.
Incident date: Jul 12, 2022
With no prior warnings while driving onto a main road with my wife and daughter I heard a thud in the rear of car at which time the car suddenly stopped. The driver's screen flashed "Suspension Failure". I could not drive the car to a safe location. I called local police who arrived and blocked traffic and my car was towed to nearby Tesla Service. The car has been at Tesla Service for past 11 days... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
JETTA SPORTWAGEN
(2011) - SUSPENSION
Jul 23, 2022
Incident date: Jul 23, 2022
While changing lanes we heard a twang sound and felt an impact in the floor boards. The left rear of the car was unloaded from weight shift when the noise and impact was felt. When I was able to check the car over, I found the left rear spring was broken. The vehicle only has roughly 85k miles. I have heard many other stories of this happening to others as well.
Incident date: Jul 22, 2022
3rd time in a week- Death Wobbke while driving in heavy traffic. This is not safe!! No warning light ms our sounds- just starts violently shaking while driving out of the blue. In order to make it stop- you have to immediately slow down and pull over. This is challenging in that while driving at a high speed (within speed limits) on a major Hwy, you cannot just slow down immediately or pull over ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 20, 2021
Complete frame rust-out. Suspension at rear axle disintegrated. Vehicle undriveable. My son had just taken the vehicle (moving his belongings) from Minnesota to the East Coast and back. No problems or issues. After returning, while driving the vehicle I had a hard braking event which is when I noticed something was drastically wrong. This frame failure really snuck up on us. We were lucky, no acci... Read more
Incident date: Jun 23, 2022
THE VEHICLE IS GIVING JERKS WHILE DRIVING AND CAN'T MOVE. I HAD REPORTED TO HYUANDAI,STOCKTON -THEY INSPECTED AND SAID NO ISSUES. AFTER I GOT AND TRAVLLED FOR ANOTHER 200-500 MILES, THE CAR HAVING SAME ISSUES AND STOP ON THE FREE WAY,WHEN IWAS WITH MY FAMILY AND KIDS. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO HYUANDAI STOCKON AND THEY SAID THE CYLINDERS AND POWER PLUGS WERE MISFIRMED. THYE KEP THE CAR FOR ONE WEEK AN... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2022
The rear axle repair was not completed and yet they reported that the dealer fixed it. Not true. The truck was taken in for repairs but the dealer was not able to fix it and told me that. They said I will have to get it fixed on my own. The rear axle is a known flaw and was required to repair or replace by the NHTSA. I wonder how many other trucks have also had incomplete repairs and then reported... Read more