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: Mar 1, 2022
Unknown. Steering is rough. Sounds
Incident date: Mar 19, 2020
Loud creaking noise (and sometimes what sounds like a spring) coming from the front passenger side suspension. At first this happened when the vehicle was backing up with the steering wheel turned and locked to the left. It's now extended to while braking. I know prior models were recalled for bad lower control arm ball joints. My vehicle didn’t fall in that window, but this vehicle should be i... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2019
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-350 SD. The contact stated that while driving at speeds exceeding 60 MPH, the vehicle would suddenly experience severe front-end vibration and shaking nearly causing the driver to lose control of the steering wheel. The failure had occurred on multiple occasions after driving over a bump in the road. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who installed tors... Read more
Incident date: Feb 8, 2022
2013 JX 35, rear subframe is cracked. With this vehicle only being in service approx 9yrs, i find it hard that a frame issue is even possible. This sounds like a manufacturer defect than anything else. Inspection at my local dealer found the issue when I brought it in from oil change. 3rd party service centers have all stated that there is no way that this truck has a subframe issue
Incident date: Mar 1, 2022
Experienced so called "death wobble". Truck started shaking violently and I could not control it. If a car had been coming toward me I would have hit it head on. No warnings prior to failure.
Incident date: Aug 13, 2015
Accelerating grinding sound in back chassis. Steering is harder than usual. Im not getting the power to accelerate properly all the time. Eventually the problem with salt cause im in Indiana too much salt on roads and i dont think things are sealed completely from manufacturers.
Incident date: Feb 28, 2022
Frame is rotted out. Vehicle is well maintained and it is upsetting. After spending good money for a reputable brand, the frame did not last. It is not drivable and is unsafe to be on the road. It is not safe to travel with my family. Everyone I know that has these years wrangler TJ model has this problem. Lower and upper control arms need to be welded back because they rotted off.
Incident date: Feb 24, 2022
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-250. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle drove over a bump in the roadway and started to experience the death wobble. The contact stated that there was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to park on the side of the road, restarted the vehicle, and continued driving to his destination. The contact called the local dealer and made them a... Read more
Incident date: Feb 26, 2022
The contact owns a 2008 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the lower control arm detached. The contact became aware that there was rust on the control arm. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure however, no further assistance was provided. The approximate failure... Read more
Incident date: Mar 18, 2021
This vehicle had a wheel separation while traveling at low speed. The right rear wheel separated from the car. The cause is excessive rust to the trailing arm and specifically to the subframe to which the trailing arm is attached. The car is available for inspection. I also have photographs that show the problem. The safety issue is clear. After separation the car cannot be controlled if ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 27, 2022
On multiple occasions now I have experienced the F-250 "Death Wobble" while driving on the interstate. After hit a regular sized bump in the road the vehicle begins shaking violently, feeling as though a tire has blown. In both instances I was driving the speed limit (70 mph). The entire truck shakes violently, specifically the front end, cab, steering. Only by slowing down quickly does the shakin... Read more
Incident date: Feb 5, 2022
Vehicle started making a front end noise when turning or hitting a bump.
Incident date: Feb 25, 2022
The following is an email that I had sent to CSX Risk Management describing what happened with my vehicle on Friday, 2.25.2022. I suspect that a defective leaf spring could have contributed to my accident. This is the passenger side leaf spring. I say this because I had to replace the same leaf spring on a 2011 Nissan Xterra PRO-4X before. I now have a 2015. -- I went over the CSX Railroad Tracks... Read more
Incident date: Feb 19, 2022
I was driving on the freeway and all of the sudden the front end started shaking violently like I hit washboard ruts on a dirt road at 70 mph. I have come to know this as the death wobble. Fortunately it was not very busy at the time this happened and I was able to get to the section between the onramp and the freeway. I am glad I was not pulling my trailer, it would probably caused an accident... Read more
Incident date: Feb 25, 2022
Traveling 70 mph on highway and went over an over pass. Upon hitting the bump at the transition to the bridge the truck began shaking violently and I was forced to slow to a complete stop in order to regain control.
Incident date: Jul 17, 2020
Rear trailing arm mounts rusted out and the arms dropped out from under the car I had almost 3 thousand dollars worth of repair done to it this summer And I really don’t feel the car is safe It has 92k on it and it hasn’t been driven on the road in years since this happened I finally found someone who would even attempt to fix it Why are the cars being replaced and repaired in Canada but n... Read more
Incident date: Feb 28, 2022
While driving through a residential street at 20 mph, the rear driver side control arm of my 2013 altima broke off suddenly. I was lucky that I wasn't on a freeway when this happened. The vehicle has been towed to a nearby mechanic, and I'm waiting to hear back about the mechanic's assessment.
Incident date: Feb 27, 2022
Unknown the only thing that I can tell you for sure is that struts are bad Call was like this when I bought it
Incident date: Feb 25, 2022
I have experienced over 5 times a severe wobble/shaking of my steering wheel at speeds around 50-55 or when I hit a bump in the road. The steering wheel shakes violently. Balance and alignment are fine.
Incident date: Oct 1, 2009
Original owner, purchased new, current mileage 35,700. The rear subframes and suspension links are severely rusted and deteriorating rapidly, making this car unsafe to drive unless most (or all) the components are replaced and the metal subframes rust treated. This is a well known problem among owners and the Mazda 6 has been recalled for rusted front subframes but not for the rear. The car spent ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 25, 2022
The front end of the vehicle started shaking violently. I almost lost control of the vehicle while driving 65mph due to this. I had to slow down to 20mph on the highway to get the steering wheel and front end to stop the violent shakes. This problem is extremely dangerous and I hope it never has to be reproduced. I have an appointment with the dealer in a few days. Their suggested repair ... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2012) - SUSPENSION
Feb 26, 2022
Incident date: Jan 7, 2022
Rear subframe failure caused me to loose control of vehicle almost resulting in a serious highway accident. Rear driver side stabilizer subframe mount was completely corroded and broken away from the subframe. There is no other significant corrosion on the subframe. MB claim normal corrosion however the pictures tell a different story.
Incident date: Feb 3, 2022
Atro Remolques From Mexico dry van 53' Trailers has problems with a number of issues. manufacturer has issued specifications that are not the same as what trailer is, when delivered. Specifications indicate laminated Oak flooring. they are using Pine. Brand New Trailers flooring is cracking and breaking completely through under Forklifts when trying to load the trailer for the first time. Deale... Read more
Incident date: Feb 25, 2022
While driving on the highway out of the blue my jeep starts to shake and vibrate. It happens without warning a makes it hard to control steering.
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2013) - SUSPENSION
Feb 25, 2022
Incident date: Feb 25, 2022
Sudden steering pull when braking . Mechanic found rotten left rear suspension cross member .part number 2043500141 Mechanic reports very Common issue with this model . Mercedes Benz is aware but will not repair or supply replacement parts . Note the replacement part is not available in US currently . Stuck with unsafe auto lacking support from Mercedes Benz . Some one is going to be injured /... Read more
Incident date: Feb 7, 2022
While traveling down highway 65-70 mph. after hitting bumps in road my truck started shaking& shimmering wildly. While holding on to steering strongly, slowed down, pulled over and it finally quit. I heard of earlier Ford trucks having problems like this. They called it the Death Wobble!!! I thought problem had been solved by Ford, but this has happend two times to me recently. Have not heard of a... Read more
LAND ROVER
RANGE ROVER SPORT
(2013) - SUSPENSION
Feb 25, 2022
Incident date: Nov 1, 2021
I'm not sure how to explain but, there's so much going on with the vehicle. I purchased the vehicle as is but, was told they did an inspection and it was cleared. I was told that the brakes was brand new because, we heard squeaking. We took the vehicle for a diagnostic test because of the brakes. We got a quote for over 6114.00. What!! Brakes, suspension, hub, Wheel barren, Wheel aligment. Wh... Read more
Incident date: Feb 23, 2022
The contact owns a 1999 Spartan Chassis Mountain Master. The contact stated that while reversing to a parallel park next to a curb, he heard an abnormally loud sound coming from underneath the driver’s side seat. The contact stated that while driving the next day and attempting to make a right turn, the steering wheel was steered all the way to the right however, the vehicle failed to respond. U... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2009) - SUSPENSION
Feb 25, 2022
Incident date: Feb 21, 2022
the rear subframe @lower control arms right side rust on bracket when put break on the car go to right and make noise!!! the car just have 83.000 miles!! this have re call or not?we d'ont know untill seaching on web side findown couple owner C300 have problem said some
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2020) - SUSPENSION
Feb 24, 2022
Incident date: Feb 23, 2022
Shocks failed at under 50k miles and should not have had this issue at such a low mileage. I have a baby so driving a vehicle with shocks that have busted does not feel safe at all. Dealership has done a diagnostic and no longer under warranty, Extended warranty does not cover it as well. Stuck paying a diagnostic fee and shocks are on back order with 250 plus in line to get them.
Incident date: Feb 24, 2022
The frame on my truck is rusted into ,unsafe for road use, Toyota refuses to repair or replace the frame. It was reported in 2017 under a recall,
Incident date: Feb 5, 2022
Purchased truck new/no wrecks/no modifications from factory stock/ approx 113k miles/proper tire inflation Sat Feb 5th driving approximately 70 miles per hour in heavy traffic /good weather on interstate near Indianapolis the truck began violently shaking on the front end transferred up through steering wheel. The interstate was 3 lanes wide with heavy traffic in all lanes. Miraculously I was able... Read more
Incident date: Apr 8, 2019
Truck has experienced multiple occasions of "death wobble" since purchase. Excessive unexplained tire wear on the passenger front tire. On second tire on passenger front. Have 81k miles on truck and all other tires are wearing normal. Have had truck in alignment twice with no issues showing with alignment, wheels have been balanced. Ford service tech contacted Ford engineer and told me to increas... Read more
Incident date: Feb 11, 2022
While driving on the interstate at approximately 65 miles an hour the steering wheel began to violently shake back-and-forth and causing me to lose control of the vehicle. The first time this occurred it was relatively short-lived and lasted maybe 15 seconds as a slowed. At that time I was unsure what I had just experienced and then noted it a second time up at which I had to pull the car to this ... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2012) - SUSPENSION
Feb 24, 2022
Incident date: Feb 23, 2022
While performing service inspection, technician found REAR SUB FRAME RUSTED AND READY TO BREAK. Told they needed to show me the problem on the lift, as it was a serious SAFETY ISSUE and should be IMMEDIATELY REPLACED. Dealer and service acknowledged that this is a KNOWN and WIDESPREAD PROBLEM in C Class vehicles. Cost to replace quoted at $4200. No warning - thankfully inspection found before ... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
E550
(2010) - SUSPENSION
Feb 23, 2022
Incident date: Feb 12, 2022
Driving Home Late Going 75 mph in Michigan when hitting brakes the car became unstable felt like it wanted to spin out of control. Hitting brakes at speeds above 30mph made car want to spin out of control.. Took car to MB dealer. Told them car was unsafe to drive and almost killed self hitting brakes.They test drove car and confirmed issue. MB mechanic put car on lift found the left control arm tr... Read more
Incident date: Feb 23, 2022
On parkway 50 to 55 mph driver side ball joint broke. Truck could of flipped or hit another vehicle. Could of caused damage to my body or death. No warning of impending breakage. I do have pics of broken balljoint and it did cause damage to driverside fender. Frame is rusting. Worried about frame unsafe could brake at any time. Toyota refuses to check and replace.
Incident date: Feb 23, 2022
2012 CADILLAC SRX. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO SUSPENSION TOE LINK SAFETY RECALL. THE CONSUMER STATED THE MANUFACTURER DECLINED TO REIMBURSE THE COST OF REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THE COMPLETED REPAIR WAS NOT COVERED UNDER THE RECALL.
Incident date: Feb 22, 2022
Hi.. My Jeep has the death wobble and that my Jeep is not included in the recall due ; according to the Jeep dealership. The recall has expired for my 2009 Jeep Wrangler. My kids and grand was in the car when my Jeep after hitting a bump started shaking in the middle of the highway. Please help me. I would get it fix on my own, but I can not afford it and this should not happen when it's a known i... Read more
Incident date: Feb 18, 2022
The dash is displaying service power steering service tire monitor system service ESC and traction control. All of which have been recalled on other 2008 Chevy Malibus with different VIN numbers then mine. I feel my Malibu is unsafe and needs to be inspected and placed on the recall list as well. I am available to have the car inspected as soon as possible. The steering is popping and grinding whe... Read more
Incident date: Nov 4, 2021
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V746000 (Suspension) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who stated the recall was not shown in the system. The contact stated the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 22, 2021
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 20V675000 (Suspension) and 21V537000 (Suspension) however, the parts to do the recall repair were 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 ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 22, 2022
Truck shakes whenever I hit a small pot hole
Incident date: Oct 22, 2021
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that she had taken her vehicle to the dealer for repair on the failure she was experiencing that was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V764000 (Suspension) however, the dealer informed her that the repair could not be performed due to the extensive corrosion underneath the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provi... Read more
Incident date: Feb 19, 2022
dodge death wobble. this death wobble started prior to my 100000mile warranty expired, but by the time i drove the truck home, it was over the milage. After a lot of bs and a fee, Dodge "fixed" my problem. ( for a while) They have refused to re-repair their bad design since. .I've spent many hours and money temporarily repairing their front end design. If i hit a bump in the road while exceeding ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 20, 2022
When on the highway going over 55 MPH and hitting a bump the steering wheel and entire vehicle begins to move rapidly and violently from side to side. This causes your vehicle to feel like it's losing control. The only way to stop this from continuing is to slow the vehicle down significantly. This presents a significant danger of losing control because of the shaking or being hit from behind on t... Read more
Incident date: Feb 16, 2022
While driving straight down the freeway at about 60mph I drove across an expansion joint and the front of the vehicle began to vibrate violently. I had to slow down quickly to 40mph before it returned to a controlled vehicle. This also happened one time previously while passing over rough pavement in a construction zone at a speed closer to 45mph and it dissipated more quickly, because of lower sp... Read more
Incident date: Feb 18, 2022
The rear upper control arm or wishbone developed a crack. The spherical joint in the wishbone started to slide forward and back under braking and acceleration. In my case, it was caught quickly and before there was an accident. However, this wishbone is one leg of a tripod that attaches the wheel to the car. If the crack were to develop into a break, it could cause a catastrophic failure leading t... Read more
Incident date: Oct 6, 2021
While driving at highway speeds the steering and front end abruptly began vibrating violently.
Incident date: Feb 17, 2022
My daughter was driving my 2011 Hyundai Elantra and she got a flat tire on the drivers side front. Upon inspection, I discovered that the front strut spring had fractured and part of it went through the sidewall of the tire. Found out that there is a recall for this exact problem for certain 2011 Elantras. Called the Hyundai customer service line and was told that this particular Elantra was no... Read more