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: Apr 26, 2022
The vehicle is drifting left as if out of alignment or in need of a tire/wheel rotation. I was told both rear tow links were damaged and as a result, so we’re both rear shocks. This car gets stored for the winters and has not been used hard.
Incident date: May 14, 2022
The rear K frame member is rotted out causing the wheels to tilt in and seems like it’s ready to come off. I was told it was because there’s two holes in the front of the member causing water to get in and sit inside and rust out the frame.
Incident date: Feb 1, 2022
I just bought my car less than three years ago, recently I started noticing a creaking squeaking sound and my mechanic could not figure out what it was, I did research and found other people had problems as well with 2014-2019 Toyota Corolla control arms and the bushings. Mine is a 2018 that should not be making a sound this new. With that information, my mechanic has confirmed this. It makes a sq... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 2022
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Windstar. The contact stated while his wife was exiting the vehicle, she noticed that the rear driver’s side wheel was leaning in towards the frame of the vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic and was informed that the axle needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 19, 2021
I experienced the death wobble in a 2014 F250 while driving 60-65 mph on highway through Memphis. Wobble initiated by hitting a pot hole.
Incident date: Apr 18, 2022
3 times in the past year my 2015 F-350 truck started to wobble and shake increasingly after a slight bump at approximately 55 MPH. Once it started, it continued to increase instability and control of the vehicle. I immediately slowed and pulled over carefully to a stop and got out to examine the vehicle. There wasn’t anything I could find externally that I hit that would cause the vehicle to r... Read more
Incident date: May 12, 2010
The contact owns a 2005 Ford F-350. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 MPH, the vehicle started to shimmy. The contact stated that at the time of failure the steering wheel was very difficult to turn. The contact stated that after slowing down the vehicle operated normally. The contact stated that the brake warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact sta... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
E350
(2013) - SUSPENSION
May 12, 2022
Incident date: May 12, 2022
Brought car in for routine PA inspection and was told the rear subframe is beginning corrode and will eventually need to be replaced soon as it will not pass inspection. This is a known Mercedes Benz issue and yet there has no recall to date. Could potentially lead to a fatal car accident as the corrosion is not obvious.
Incident date: Feb 15, 2022
Driving on freeway at 65 mph I hit a small bump on the overpass and my truck steering wheel started to shake uncontrollably. The wheels were as if they had not been balanced and I had very little control of my truck. I felt that I didn't have any control of my vehicle and I could hardly hang onto the steering wheel. I was able to merge off to the side and once I got to a lower speed of 25 the truc... Read more
Incident date: Apr 19, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that the rear axle, suspension, park assist, and stability tract control warning indictor lights were illuminated. The contact stated that while driving, the vehicle fishtailed. The contact called the local dealer. A multi-point inspection was provided by the dealer, who informed contact that the power steering and transmission lines were l... Read more
Incident date: May 11, 2022
While traveling at 55mph I hit a bump which caused the front of the vehicle to shake very violently. Rapid speed increase made it worse. It was only resolved when I braked hard slowing to 30mph. Thank goodness there was no traffic behind me as this would have resulted in my being rear ended by another vehicle.
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2011) - SUSPENSION
May 11, 2022
Incident date: May 10, 2022
I have a 2011 C300 Sport that I purchased end of the lease (3yr.). The car was never driven in the winter for 4 seasons and most recently just the last 3 winters. Complete frame rot on the rear driver's side. Rot was noticed by my mechanic at the last oil change. He said he is replacing three rear frames for customers as soon as he can get parts. Parts are limited and only in Germany. I want ... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 2022
Experience death wobble on front suspension 5 times yesterday on Highway 30 in Nebraska. Violent shaking and had to pull to side of road to stop the vibration. Slowing down on the highway at speeds of 60 mph placed risk of accident based on vehicles behind me on the highway. No warnings, generate every time after hitting a bump in the road surface.
Incident date: May 10, 2022
I have read about the Ford F-250/F-350 Death wobble. It happened to me yesterday, 5/10/22, twice. I hit a bump at 55-60 mph and the front end started shaking like it was going to come out from underneath the truck. I had to stop on a 2 lane road with no shoulder to get it under control.
Incident date: Jan 5, 2022
Steering gets very stiff and sometimes locks up when turning left or right in a curve at highway speeds. Had dealer check it and they said they replaced steering motor. Did not correct problem. Made an appointment to check again but was told I would incur charges. I have had it to several mechanic shops and we cannot find anything loose or failing. In a parked position it locks up completely until... Read more
Incident date: Apr 27, 2022
The air suspension system has failed completely. Without warning the driverside suspension deflated at 65mph. This causes the steering to pull to the left very quickly and could easily cause loss of control of the truck. The problem occurred with out warning. The dealers response is to not drive the truck and wait 3 weeks for a diagnostic test and then a month or longer to get parts.
Incident date: May 6, 2022
Rusted/Rotted rear k frame. Vehicles rear end is collapsing. Wheels are coming off.
Incident date: May 9, 2022
The front subframe / crossmember has prematurely corroded at suspension mounting points. The control arm mount has rusted completely through resulting in the bottom half of the control arm mount becoming unstable and the control arm is at risk of full detachment.
Incident date: May 9, 2022
Front left forelink broke No prior accidents. No large pot holes
AMERICAN HAULER
CARGO TRAILERS
(2020) - SUSPENSION
May 9, 2022
Incident date: May 8, 2022
Manufacturing weld issue on underside of trailer. Suspension has broken away from frame due to issue. Trailer is unsafe for road conditions. Issue was found during regular inspection and if not found would have caused a catastrophic accident. American Hauler has been notified.
MERCEDES-BENZ
C250
(2012) - SUSPENSION
May 9, 2022
Incident date: May 2, 2022
Major rust in the welded joints of the Steel subframe. Long crack development along the seams, could have led to catastrophic lost of control of vehicle if the breaks were not found. This is an apparent flaw with the C-Class Mercedes Benz and quite surprising to the Service Reps at my dealership that this has not been a recall issue, as they’ve replaced many. The repair is quite costly, over $5,... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the front end of the vehicle and the steering wheel would violently shake and vibrate while depressing the brake pedal. The contact indicated that the check engine warning light was illuminated when the failure occurred. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the passenger’s side an... Read more
Incident date: Apr 20, 2022
Experienced the "Death Shaking" 7 times while on our way to Talladega while towing a 6 ton camper. It would shake violently until I brought the rig to a stop. We were able to nurse it to Tony Serra Ford in Sylacauga AL., where they replaced the steering linkage damper. This is a serious issue because of the potential for control loss.
Incident date: Feb 28, 2020
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the rear end of the vehicle would make an abnormal, roaring sound as well as vibrate without warning. The contact also stated that the vehicle would violently jerk upon depression of the brake pedal or the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that she had taken the vehicle to the dealer several times f... Read more
Incident date: May 5, 2022
Extreme shake and vibration and looses all control on vehicle at speeds 40 mph or higher once a bump or uneven roadway. Very unsafe and huge risk to driver and other drivers. Ford knows of this issue as there have been many reports in past including class action lawsuit. 2019 Ford F250 16k miles
Incident date: Feb 9, 2022
My 2005 Kia Sportage dropped on the rear drivers side. The rear drivers side rear constant velocity axle fell out when the rear sub-frame separated from the suspension and split apart. This caused the tire and wheel to angle to 45 degrees out from bottom to top. The rust and corrosion caused a complete failure of the sub-frame's ability to hold the rear wheels on. This was at low speed. This is a ... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2022
Steering wheel or suspension.. I had truck aligned plus 4 new tires and still I can’t drive it straight. The back tires are trying to come around and it pushes me sideways toward on coming traffic so I can’t drive at all. Please help. It sounds like a current recall but my vin isn’t included. He very dangerous to drive it at all
Incident date: Apr 30, 2022
Front subframe corrosion, cross member is rusted through at the weld line for the front sub frame. Discovered during annual safety inspection
Incident date: May 3, 2022
Rear end started a sudden howell and shaking and grinding and the Abs and traction control light came on and brakes and suspension did not want to function properly while driving in traffic as quick as I could I pulled over and it looked like one tire was sticking out of the axel way far So I just pulled over and called for my AAA to to and got towed home thats it
Incident date: May 7, 2022
As we were driving on the highway, the “death wobble” as it’s been coined happened to us. We were going 70 mph on the highway and hit a bump and then the whole front end of the truck was shaking violently. Fortunately my husband is aware of this and knows of this happening to other vehicles that he slowed down immediately to prevent anything else from happening. Not only did the intense s... Read more
Incident date: May 7, 2022
That the intersection of 1010 and Rhodes Road 6204 Ten-Ten Rd, Apex, NC 27539.. I have been driving it and steady crossing my fingers hoping to God my tires don’t fly off and hurt somebody or kill somebody or me… I just can’t do it anymore, I have got to get the thing in the shop it’s got the death wobble and is just starting to scare me.. I love my truck I was trying to give them the be... Read more
Incident date: May 5, 2022
I can’t steer the vehicle even after new tires,alignment , lots of play in steering wheel and it goes where it wants. I can not drive it anywhere
Incident date: Jan 24, 2022
There wasn't an accident, I have a 2017 hyundai genesis 3.8. I'm wondering why nothing is being done about these cars from hyundai that have these suspension problems that is not our fault. Now I have to fix the problem and it came from the factory this way.
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2009) - SUSPENSION
May 6, 2022
Incident date: Apr 6, 2022
The contact's son owns a 2009 Mercedes-Benz C300. The contact stated upon taking the vehicle to the dealer for servicing, he was informed that the subframe was severely rusted. The contact stated that his son then informed him that while he was driving approximately 50 MPH and depressing the brake pedal to come to a complete stop, the vehicle started wobbling significantly. The dealer replaced the... Read more
Incident date: Apr 26, 2022
I noticed a vibration and it felt like the vehicle was shaking at times. This problem increased at higher speeds. I took it to a dealer for inspection and found out the control arms, tie rods, and ball joints were in critical condition and needed to be replaced. This vehicle has less than 50,000 miles on it.
FORD
F-150 HYBRID
(2021) - SUSPENSION
May 6, 2022
Incident date: Apr 25, 2022
Very loud grinding sound coming from the rear axle/ wheel hub area. Then a clunking as if something was loose or rattling around inside the rear hub. Turns out the axle bolt has sheared off.
Incident date: Feb 10, 2020
Vehicle shakes and vibrates when first turned on, and driving. Has alot of vibration.
Incident date: Feb 1, 2021
At highway speeds, if you hit a bump in the road, the front end shakes violently and will not stop until you slow way down or pull off the road. I have called and scheduled an inspection with the dealer and when I described the problem they said "oh, you have the death wobble" I purchased the vehicle in Dec 2020 and first noticed this issue the following month or so....with seemingly increasing... Read more
Incident date: Mar 25, 2022
My truck shakes violently at 40-45 mph. It has difficult to diagnose the exact component to replace. I took the truck to a independent repair service and they told me it was the death wobble. They did drive the vehicle and confirmed the shaking. It will cause me to pay over 1000.00 dollars to fix. Not to mention the tires that have been ruined because of it. No police or anyone else has inspeced i... Read more
Incident date: Mar 19, 2022
The air suspension dust covers on the rear air springs were originally installed from the factory using substandard plastic zip ties that are known to slip off. This is a known design flaw and is even documented by Volvo via technical journal and reported to the NHTSA as follows. NHTSA ID Number: 10158664 Manufacturer Communication Number: TJ30517.6.0-2019 All vehicles with this design flaw are ... Read more
Incident date: May 4, 2022
The undercarriage of my truck is so rusted, that parts are starting to fail. I can not install new tires on the truck at this point until $3000 of rust-damaged parts are replaced and possible frame replaced. I was told that the damage is so extensive, the costs outweigh the repairs, and that in the near future the truck will not be driveable.
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2020) - SUSPENSION
May 4, 2022
Incident date: Apr 25, 2022
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the front-end of the vehicle suddenly collapsed. The contact veered to the side of the road and noticed that the rear driver's side tire had deflated. Upon towing the vehicle, the contact noticed that the driver's side control arm was fractured. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed o... Read more
Incident date: May 3, 2022
The Famous Ford Death Wobble....comes and goes mainly when running speed limit on hwy and come to a bridge or hump in road...feels like your going to loose control...sometimes its so bad have to pull over..It puts myself and employees at risk plus could easily put others in danger.... Have contact ford dealer....first time took in they said tech couldnt get it to do it have another appointment bec... Read more
Incident date: Apr 28, 2022
There is an abnormally loud squeaking noise when driving, turning, and going over any surface at all speeds. The noise sounds like metal is being stretched and is about to break. After carefully listening to the vehicle, it is found that the noise is coming from the control arms. Although unbearable, the problem has not put my passengers and me in danger. The issue has been reproduced and confirme... Read more
Incident date: Apr 25, 2022
On several occasions while driving at highway speeds (60 and above) the vehicle begins to violently shake after crossing over uneven pavement such as expansion joints or rough spots, ( Death Wabble) The only way to stop the shaking is to slow down to about 20 mph. Doing this in the middle of freeway traffic is extremely dangerous and quite alarming. After the first couple of times the dealer re... Read more
Incident date: Apr 27, 2022
Steering wheel vibrations after 65 MPH is reach, more noticeable when vehicle has reached the speed and cruising. Had tires rebalanced and rotated and issue still persists. The vibration feels like when a wheel lock is loose or missing.
Incident date: Nov 4, 2014
The contact owns a 2015 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60-65 MPH, the vehicle swayed. The battery and navigation system became inoperable. The TPMS warning indicator light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed the battery and the toe link needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. Th... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2022
Tesla Model X has a camber issue that is a design flaw base on its weight and torque, The camber on Model X is fixed and non adjustable. Its setting cause most of the Model x to wear excessively on the inner wall of the tires. Consumer can not visually see the wear section unless the tires are dismounted. This hidden flaw may cause drive to have a blown tire if not check regularly, it also cause... Read more
Incident date: Sep 24, 2021
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V537000 (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 20, 2022
On March 20, we were driving 2007 Honda CRV in the city of Worcester, MA at ~20mph when we heard a large "Clunk" followed by a dragging noise and immediate skidding of the vehicle. We were not able to get the vehicle to the side of the road. When it was safe to get out, we noticed the rear wheel was broken and parallel to the ground. The police came and had the car towed to East Side Auto Center... Read more