Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,215,138 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA — including 138,663 crashes, 56,255 fires, and 8,561 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 2,215,138 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 48,554 complaints — component: SUSPENSION
Incident date: Mar 31, 2022
Already spent 2600 to fix DEATH WOBBLE. Have much more to spend. This is ridiculous. 2017-2019 were recalled. My wife had motorcycle accident and was in car when this happened and is suffering PTSD from this horrific issue. Please recall.
Incident date: Nov 14, 2021
If the vehicle encounters any roadway surface imperfections at speeds over 40mph, it results in Extreme steering oscillation, or 'wobble'. This 'wobble' renders the vehicle virtually uncontrollable. The driver cannot regain full control until the vehicle slows below 5mph. This issue places the occupants of the vehicle, along with any other vehicles close by, in extreme danger. The problem can be e... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2021
The contact's husband owns a 2018 Ford F-250. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced the death wobble. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with steering stabilizer failure. The dealer replaced the steering stabilizer; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic who replac... Read more
Incident date: Mar 29, 2022
Daughter was driving car, severe shake so she pulled over on the side of the road and called me. I got the car home and noticed the rear driver side wheel was misaligned and had a 45degree lean. I jacked the car up and noticed a rusted broken lower control arm. I began to research this part and noticed nissan had a recall for this on all 2013 model. Nissan P9324, you can see my control arm brok... Read more
Incident date: Mar 29, 2022
The jeep flipped going down an accessway and bent the entire roll bar.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Sep 21, 2021
I have owned my kia teuride for about 7 months and in those months I have had to bring the car to the dealer 3 separate times for a vibration problem. For each time car was in service for a few weeks. First was told I needed tires balanced and they balanced. 2nd time was told I needed a new driveshaft and they replaced. 3rd time wad told I needed a new awd coupler and it was replaced. I am a disab... Read more
Incident date: Mar 18, 2022
I’m driving down the road and I hit a bump, then I go to brake and veers left, I take to my mechanic he says the my subframe cracked, car is not safe to drive, he says it happens a lot
Incident date: Jan 3, 2022
When I go above 45 mph on a bumpy road, the Jeep starts wobble uncontrollably until I almost completely stop the vehicle. Replaced, all tires complete brake system. Still happening!
Incident date: Aug 10, 2021
The connection to the starter is loose, makes ticking sounds on start. Bad connection to the battery car won't start.
Incident date: Jan 22, 2020
A certified mechanic inspected my vehicle for a routine check up and noticed that part of my rear subframe was completely rusted out. He refused to install new rear tires on my vehicle due to a safety concern of the rear subframe collapsing on the mechanic. I was told not to drive the nissan murano due to the rear subframe completely detaching from the vehicle. My Murano fishtails when i go over b... Read more
Incident date: Dec 27, 2019
Front Right lower control arm w/o police right front wheel. Tpms system. This will be the second time I’ve had to replace the front lower control arm the tea PMS system does not work ABS traction control are off totally the same year of car make model everything was recalled to have this fixed but it was only with the police cars what makes you think that the ones that weren’t police cars didn... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
GOLF SPORTWAGEN
(2017) — SUSPENSION
Mar 29, 2022
Incident date: Mar 1, 2022
Rear suspension spring broke causing rear car to lean low mileage other VW‘s have been recalled for same problem
Incident date: Sep 24, 2021
The contact owns a 2010 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that both adjustable rear toe links were previously replaced with non-adjustable toe links under NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V571000 (Suspension); however, while driving at various speeds, the rear end of the vehicle felt unsteady and was vibrating. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who informed the contact that they could not align the vehic... Read more
Incident date: Aug 29, 2021
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Taurus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hit a pothole and started shaking while driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who repaired the wheel bearing; however, the failure persisted. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the rear end of the vehicle was shaking significantly, almost causing her to lo... Read more
Incident date: Mar 21, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 Jeep Patriot. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the subframe inadvertently lowered. Additionally, the contact stated that the muffler was rusted. The TPMS warning light was illuminated. The contact notified the local dealer of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and provided a discount on the co... Read more
Incident date: Mar 16, 2022
What has been name “death wobble “ that occurs in Ford F 250 trucks and other. Where the front end of vehicle and steering wheel shakes violently making vehicle almost impossible to control until you bring vehicle to a stop
Incident date: Mar 28, 2003
The contact owns a 1999 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled inadvertently. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle. The contact was able to push the vehicle to the side of the road with the assistance of Police Officers. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that fuel was leaking onto the ground and t... Read more
Incident date: Feb 11, 2022
This vehicle has only 25,000 original miles on it, and I am the original owner and bought it new. In separate incidents, several months apart, first the right-front coil spring broke, with a piece falling out and nearly puncturing the right-front tire. Several months later, the same thing happened to the left-front coil spring, with the broken piece damaging a front C-V joint boot. Both inciden... Read more
CHRYSLER
TOWN AND COUNTRY
(2015) — SUSPENSION
Mar 27, 2022
Incident date: Mar 25, 2022
After Transmission failure 6 Months ago problems with Steering Vehicle, finally System locked up and unable to make a Left Turn.
Incident date: Mar 26, 2022
Since an inspection Oct 2021 the rust/corrosive on the frame has become. Dangerously close to rotting thru the entire frame! It’s not driven in the winter months when snow or ice melt (salt) is on the roads to prevent situations like this. With only 75,000 miles always garage kept and maintained like it’s brand new this vehicle might be able to be saved for a model in a shop class to practice... Read more
Incident date: Sep 20, 2021
Rsc alarm keeps going sounding alarm and the abs alarm keeps sounding as well. Seen a ton of owners having this same error
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2013) — SUSPENSION
Mar 26, 2022
Incident date: Feb 22, 2022
While driving normal highway speed and braking suddenly the car violently pulls to left. Same occurs when driving normal city traffic . Good afternoon I am following up on a major safety issue #11453988 concerning a 2013 C300 Mercedes. I reported this a few weeks ago as this safety defect can cause personnel injury when the defective part fails . As noted earlier during normal braking the car ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 26, 2022
First tire rotation the inside of both front tires have been worn down. Got tires rotated and alignment done. Second tire rotation and new tires have the same inside wear on them.
Incident date: Mar 5, 2022
The automatic leveling jacks have lateral support bars, both front and rear. This support bar has been reported numerous times (>20) via social media as having come apart due to very poor welding; and or no weld other than minor tap welds to hold in place. This fault could lead to the motorhome shift downwards rapidly and seriously injuring or killing the occupants accessing the under coach stor... Read more
Incident date: Mar 18, 2022
Experienced the death wobble. Front tires began to oscillate violently causing loss of steering control on a highway. Went on for ~20 seconds, almost ran off the road and would have crashed. No indications prior to event, smooth highway speed driving right up to extreme violent shaking. Fighting with the wheel to steer to stay on the road was ineffective. The only thing that saved us was it sudden... Read more
Incident date: Mar 9, 2022
Driving on highway at 65 mph, hit expansion joint bump--relatively large bump--and experienced the "death wobble" of the steering wheel shaking violently and seeming loss of control (no sway or pull, but difficulty holding the steering wheel itself). Had to slow to almost 40 MPH in highway traffic to regain stability/control of vehicle. Vehicle has ~18000 miles on it at time of incident. No warn... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2020
The contact owns a 2001 Infiniti QX4. The contact stated that while driving at unknown speed, there was an abnormal noise coming from the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the rear struts and rear brackets needed to be replaced due to corrosion. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where they declined to repair the vehicle. The vehicle... Read more
Incident date: Mar 25, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V675000 (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 not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experi... Read more
FOREST RIVER
CEDAR CREEK
(2021) — SUSPENSION
Mar 25, 2022
Incident date: Jun 24, 2020
While towing our 5th wheel cross country on a trip in July 2020 our front hydraulic jack legs starting coming down several times while driving and contacted the road surface which could have possibly resulted in loss of control. Some how the hydraulic system was applying pressure by itself while towing .I first tried disconnecting electrical power to the hydraulic system and keeping the jack legs ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 8, 2022
At highway speeds my 2018 Ford F250 4WD will start shaking severely. The steering wheel shakes violently back and forth and the entire truck shakes like it's coming apart. The truck feels like it could swerve out of control at any moment. I was in great fear for my well being because I thought the truck was going to cause an accident. To get the shaking to stop I had to pull off the road and ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 20, 2022
While driving around February 20th, 2022 we started swerving uncontrollably and almost ran into the curb and flipped while going about 40 MPH. My husband put on breaks but it felt like we were sliding on ice....without any ice on the road. We almost flipped and were very shaken, and lucky. We got vehicle to Firestone and they said our left rear toe link had broke. Supposedly our vehicle year ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 25, 2022
The contact owns a 2008 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while making a left turn into a parking at an undisclosed speed, the front driver’s side tire detached from the vehicle. Upon inspection, the contact discovered that each of the lug nuts had sheared off the wheel. The wheel was underneath the vehicle. Due to the failure, the contact had the vehicle towed to his home. The contact then... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2019
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the rear end of the vehicle was making abnormal roaring sounds and the vehicle was shuddering. Additionally, the contact stated while accelerating from a complete stop, the transmission would shift hard. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact also stated that the front driver's side seat ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 24, 2022
Dear staff; I purchased my 2021 Ford F-250 new July 25th, 2021. I noticed my undercarriage was covered in great portions of rust. The front driveshaft to the outer ends and the rear housing, including the rear driveshaft u-joint has a significant amount of rust. What’s surprising is I have only 5400 miles and the truck appears to look 20 years old. I have a neighbor who is a GM of another c... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2013) — SUSPENSION
Mar 24, 2022
Incident date: Mar 11, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated on the instrument panel. Upon taking the vehicle to the dealer, they discovered corrosion underneath the rear subframe. The corrosion caused 2-inch sized holes to be formed on the passenger’s side of the rear subframe. The dealer also discovered corrosion on the wire of one of the seats ... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2012) — SUSPENSION
Mar 24, 2022
Incident date: Mar 24, 2022
From the mechanics notes: Four-wheel alignment could not be completed. Attempts to align the rear axle were unsuccessful due to flexing/movement in the rear suspension. A brief road test revealed occasional suspension “clunking” coming from the rear of the vehicle. Close examination of every suspension component mount revealed heavy cracking on the passenger side lower drag link subframe moun... Read more
Incident date: Jan 5, 2022
Rt passenger side wheel clunks when turning, loud noise when moving took to dealer they found nothing wrong. I returned to dealer again a couple weeks later to confirm my a arm needs repairs, safety issues airbag’s light remaining lit told repairs not available for year and make iwas told to deal with it by dealer even if it was a safety issue, driving car doesn’t matter what speed my back end... Read more
Incident date: Mar 22, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Flex. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH the steering wheel felt like it slipped. There were also unknown noises from the steering wheel when turned left. The brake warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and diagnosed with NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V072000 (Suspension). The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufact... Read more
Incident date: Mar 12, 2022
The entire frame is rusted. It's been welded back together on 2 different occasions. The last time it happened I was pulling out of driveway and the vehicle cannot be steered at all. I live in east TN and should not have a rusted frame. This is not an isolated problem. This is a problem with the 4runners and should be recalled. There are literally 1,000's of 4runners with Rusty frames. I don't und... Read more
Incident date: Jun 29, 2021
Major rust problems that effect the safety of driving the vehicle. Vehicle will not pass PA State Inspection. Hood latch rusted. possibility of hood opening. Rust holes in rocker panels. FRAME cross supports. No enough space to explain. Please see attached PDF.
CHEVROLET
TRAILBLAZER
(2006) — SUSPENSION
Mar 23, 2022
Incident date: Mar 17, 2022
Brakes failed for no apparent reason around 8:00 am that morning. My friend and I was driving to my home in his 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer after many stops that morning. We was on the interstate doing 65 MPH. I noticed the traffic ahead approaching and I said "cars" indicating to my friend to slow down. He said "I have no brakes!" We narrowly missed the first cars and while readjusting we came in... Read more
Crash
5 injured
Incident date: Mar 21, 2022
I pulled out of my bank's parking lot driveway making a right turn and the lower left ball joint failed and broke off causing the left front wheel assembly to collapse. The truck slid to a stop and blocked both the driveway and roadway. Police arrived shortly afterwards and made a report. Truck was not able to move on it's own and had to be towed to a repair shop. Broken ball joint inspected and... Read more
Incident date: Mar 19, 2022
Driving the truck, 2019 F350 with 9935 miles, at over 60 MPH on a highway and striking two or more small bumps, like on a bridge entry. The whole steering wheel shakes violently and I cannot hold it. The front end of the vehicle shakes as well and feels like it is coming apart. I have to slow down to 20 MPH or less to get the shaking to stop. I am an ASE mechanic and I have never seen something l... Read more
Incident date: Jan 12, 2022
Vehicle randomly throws Stabilitrak, Traction control and ABS codes. Engine derates to limp mode. Transmission goes to full line pressure shifts. A cycle of the ignition system will reset the system a majority of the time. There is no "recall" but the general consensus in the mechanical world is two things cause this issue. Throttle body is bad and/or the steering position sensor fails cau... Read more
Incident date: Mar 23, 2022
I started having noise problems with my car and also had inspection due so I brought it into a mechanic and he was horrified to see that my front cross member was so rusted that my sway bar came out and he said lucky my wheels didn’t come off and that a car accident would be horrible as it is that rusted , and he also stayed the back cross member is the same . This is a huge safety concern speci... Read more
Incident date: Mar 10, 2022
My blind spot warning light and signal doesnt work all the time. for example, if a pass a car, or a car passes me at a speed of more than 5 miles per hour, there is no notification from the blind spot warning light in the mirror, or an audalble signale either. i have taken the car to the GMC dealership 3 times and i was told that is normal, and nothing is wrong. I own other GMC models and i hav... Read more
Incident date: Feb 24, 2022
Air suspension system fails intermittently. If it fails while driving, the vehicle has virtually no suspension and is unsafe to handle. It has failed at highway speeds, and rapidly deflated. When hitting bumps or anything in the road that is normally easily traversed, the vehicle will bounce and or skid, sometimes uncontrollably. The vehicle has been at the dealer multiple times for this issu... Read more
Incident date: Jan 22, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V435000 (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 manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 18, 2022
The vehicle was repaired under recall 20V-072. This was for the rear suspension toe link. The replacement rear suspension toe link on the right side has cracked. This was discovered when the right rear wheel was removed for tire replacement. I have a photo of the failed toe link part.