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: Jun 7, 2024
I noticed some alignment issues becoming progressively worse with my car. Suddenly in a parking garage my front right tire over rotated and became stuck in the wheel well. I was able to free the wheel and the car said "alighnment issues but car is safe to drive." I drove home with my sister and her baby on the highway. Then I got off the highway and the car did the same thing becoming stuck in t... Read more
Incident date: Sep 11, 2024
Before a recent trip, I noticed that one of the wheels on my trailer had cracked. I checked the other wheels, and they appeared fine, so I replaced the damaged one at my local Les Schwab. After a four-hour drive, I discovered that three more wheels had cracked. I contacted Les Schwab, and they came out to replace all the wheels and tires. While at camp, I inspected further and found that two of t... Read more
Incident date: Oct 11, 2024
On October 9, I brought my 2019 Audi Q7 with approximately 79k miles to my dealership service department for an oil change and an inspection sticker. While in for the service, the dealership performed a multi-point inspection. During the inspection, the service technician found that both rear coils were broken off of the base. The technician recommended that these be replaced immediately and ne... Read more
Incident date: Jan 25, 2024
Both the right and left suspension knuckles were cracked. This represented a potentially very dangerous situation if either knuckle had broken at high speed.
Incident date: Oct 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Flex. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was fishtailing, causing the contact to lose control of the rear end of the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure was causing the tires and brakes to wear out prematurely, and had caused the tires to cave in. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The m... Read more
Incident date: Sep 22, 2024
The contact owns a 2007 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated while driving 15 MPH, the driver's side front control arm fractured. Additionally, the contact noticed that the undercarriage was rusted. The contact was able to pull into a parking spot. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who informed the contact that the arm to the steering wheel was rusted and had cracked. The contact ca... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 2500
(2019) - SUSPENSION
Oct 10, 2024
Incident date: Sep 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for routine maintenance. While the vehicle was on the lift, the contact became aware that the driver's side lower control arm was cracked. Additionally, both sides were heavily rusted. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or... Read more
Incident date: Oct 9, 2024
The rear shock absorbers failed at approximately 33,000 miles. The issue presented with a rattle in the rear end of the car. A certified mechanic diagnosed the issue as the rear shock absorbers were leaking potentially due to improper sealing of the shock absorbers. The certified mechanic presented a document related to a Recall Campaign that is directly correlated to the rear shock absorber iss... Read more
Incident date: Oct 9, 2024
Jeep Death Wobble. While driving at 65 mph on the freeway, I drove over a small bump in the road. My vehicle started to shake uncontrollably. The shaking would not stop until I slowed down to under 30 MPH. This is very unsafe to do while driving on a busy CA freeway. The first time this shaking happened my vehicle had about 26,000 miles. Within the next 1000 miles of driving, the wobble has ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
My Cadillac converter is going bad. I only had my truck for 3yrs now. Also the steering and suspension diag/power steering system flush. Can I get a feed back to what shall I do or what can be done. Feel free and contact me at [XXX] mobile number. Email [XXX] Thank you [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Incident date: Jan 2, 2023
Both rear shocks disassembled. The external reservoir to the factory 2021 Badlands bilstein shocks fell off at or around 36,000 miles. I did not hit a particular pothole, drive off road, it’s used for town/highway driving only, yet both external reservoir cylinders fell off at some point. These are solid cylinders that could cause damage to other vehicles. Now, my vehicle has an unsafe suspensio... Read more
Incident date: Oct 9, 2024
To whom it may concern, I am writing this as a complaint on the rear toe link separation recall that was performed on our 2012 Cadillac SRX. We installed new tires on our SRX in August 2022 (Michelin Defender 235/55 R20) with a mileage of 108,452 just due to this being our sons car and wanted him to be safe on the road. In December of 2022 we had the recall performed at Lakeside Chevrolet i... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2023
I’ve been having repeated issue with a death wobble I’ve replaced my draglink and tie rod end and it hasn’t helped in the slightest
Incident date: Oct 6, 2020
We have experienced the well-reported Death Wobble multiple times - beginning approx in 2020 - going approx 55 mph on a one-lane highway and hit a slight bump in the road. Could not control the vehicle, the steering wheel started shaking violently as we headed for a concrete bridge. Had to stop the vehicle completely. Then we experienced the same Incident on different roads. We had the vehicl... Read more
Incident date: Oct 7, 2024
Stalls stops, with Engine power reduced, stabilitrak off. After turning or braking. Engine light with down arrow. Accident probability. DANGEROUS ESPECIALLY IF ON HIGHWAY OR COUNTRY RD!
Incident date: Oct 8, 2024
rccd email. nhsta david chin on 04 envoy vin and smog cali fraud.. ended case sold vehicle to pick a part. did not sur dealer. purchased 1 month later Carmax Ontario california 2019 subaru outback. nhsta states moonroof and pedestrian braking for ev and hybrid u5 engine. this outback has no moonroof nor is it an ev or hybrid. owned by enterprise rent a car and subaru santa monica prior as grey in ... Read more
Crash
HYUNDAI
SANTA FE HYBRID
(2023) - SUSPENSION
Oct 8, 2024
Incident date: Aug 28, 2024
On [XXX], I started driving to work when I heard an click from my front wheel. The car was driving without any problem. After a while when making a U-turn, the car front wheel got completely locked with a "grinding sound" and I lost control of the car. Fortunately, it was at low speed and I just stopped driving, If it was at high speed, it could've been a horrible situation. I had to park my car, ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 8, 2024
Beginning September 30th I experienced the Death Wobble while driving on the highway. It cause violent shaking of my vehicle. It stopped when i slowed to about 50 MPH, each subsequent day after that it would start shaking when i reached a speed of over 60 MPH. It is currently with the dealer to be repaired. Issues include: steering shock has air, also there is an updated longer shoulder bolt that ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2024
Control arm snapped on the highway. Caused me to swerve into another lane. After researching this is a known issue with this make and model. Nissan had an extended warranty for the issue that ran out last year. Nissan claims its not a safety issue yet my mechanic confirmed it is extremely dangerous and I almost caused an accident.
Incident date: Sep 15, 2024
I was called told suspension issue unrelated to accident. Sounds like a recall from the same year and same model. Could it be under this recall? Suspension: Front Recall date 2023-03-30 Recall no. 23V235000 Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Model 3 vehicles. The front suspension lateral link fasteners may loosen, allowing the lateral link to separate from the sub-frame. Recal... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2024
My 2019 Ram 1500 is experiencing the exact same issues listed in recall 75B but my VIN number is not part of the recall. The symptoms that it is having are the exact ones listed in your recall from 9/11/24 concerning the ABS and stability control issues. It is very disheartening that there wasn’t a better investigation done on this issue either on your end or on Ram’s end. I’m sure there are... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
GTI
(2019) - SUSPENSION
Oct 8, 2024
Incident date: Sep 17, 2024
I have been showing an error "Active Curve System Malfunction" intermittently since I bought this vehicle from Mercedes dealership, and I've started seeing oil leak from reservoir. I've seen this is a recall from 2013 to 2017 model, but I'm unable to see this as a recall on 2019 model.
Incident date: Oct 8, 2024
Two weeks ago, I returned back from work and later on in the evening was driving to go to grocery store when the car seemed to get pulled to one side and started shaking when driving around 40MPH. Not knowing what was going on, I turned back and slowly drove it back home. Next morning, I thought may be there is low tire pressure ( even though it was in range), I slowly drove to get air filled. Aft... Read more
Incident date: Jan 8, 2020
The contact owns a 2009 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving at undisclosed speeds, there was an abnormal clanking sound coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle was driving rough. The contact stated that the ABS, brake, check engine, and TPMS warning lights were illuminated. The contact called the local dealer and was informed that there were no recalls for the fail... Read more
Incident date: Jul 7, 2024
Since I've owned the vehicle it has made loud squeaking, scraping, popping, and clicking noises in the suspension and steering. When I first turn the vehicle on and use the brakes they are very loud as if they are worn. I've had the brakes checked and the dealer said the brakes are fine. When I turn the steering wheel it makes a loud crunching rubbing noise that I can feel in the floor board. My v... Read more
Incident date: Oct 7, 2024
Driving down the road all of a sudden, truck veers to the left. I regained control and pulled over. Found left front wheel leaning in. Upon inspection, found that spindle was broken where the ball joint meets the spindle. The metal develops a crack then separates without notice. Autoshop stated that this is Very common and has been recalled in other countries such as Canada and the UK for these ve... Read more
LAND ROVER
RANGE ROVER
(2016) - SUSPENSION
Oct 7, 2024
Incident date: Oct 6, 2024
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal scraping sound from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. Upon inspection, the contact discovered that a bolt was hanging off the front passenger’s side of the suspension. Upon further inspection, the contact discovered that two additional bolts on the bracket were also... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2023
For the safety of others I would like to report a potential issue with 2023 Grand Design Momentum 5th wheel trailer where the wheel will separate from the axle. This happened recently on September 15th @ 1:30pm while heading west bound on 1-80 just east of Sidney, NE. We heard a clunk, thinking it was a blowout I checked the rear view mirror only see the tire (drivers side rear) rolling away from ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 24, 2024
The RV has significant frame failure that Grand Design (the manufacturer) is ignoring. I noticed my floors warping and a cabinet crack. There was also some cracking of the fiberglass. I asked the dealership to check it out. The found that the frame is warped, multiple lagbolts are missing and several welds have popped. The RV is unsafe and not road worthy. Grand Design is aware of this issue a... Read more
Incident date: Oct 7, 2024
Air suspension repair on the compressor, issue impacting the stability while towing
Incident date: Sep 30, 2024
Strange clicking noise during low speed steering left or right and moving steering wheel while parked. Honda dealer states they are unable to replicate issue. Issue is very unusual for a new vehicle. Multiple people have same issues on forums and Facebook groups. This is a potential safety issue if there is a faulty electrical steering gear box or suspension component. Honda needs to take responsi... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2024
I'm not sure what to call most of this but my truck has been vibrating when getting up to about 50 mph. When putting in gear it shows you put it in the gear wanted put doesn't register sometimes and perks you and clicks. The entire front end grinds,pops and clicks when turning forward or backwards. When doing the steering wheel will get stuck and want turn for a split second in turn causing steeri... Read more
Incident date: Oct 2, 2024
The steering knuckles on our 2016 Land Rover Range Rover cracked at the upper ball joint. This issue has been discovered in Canada as well as the UK. Land Rover has recalled vehicles in both Canada and the UK, but not the USA market. The recall in the UK is recall number R/2022/341 (7303). Land Rover wants over $3,000 just for the parts. I spent a lot of money and my time replacing these so my fam... Read more
Incident date: Oct 4, 2024
Luz de faros delanteros poca vicibilidad
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS
(2024) - SUSPENSION
Oct 5, 2024
Incident date: Oct 4, 2024
I just purchased a 2011 Mercedes C300. I was told that for the past 2-3 years the vehicle would constantly bald out the rear 2 tires and would need replaced every 3 months. As I was driving the vehicle I noticed that the rear tires would make weird noises as if it was hutting something. Upon further investigation the rear sub frame is rotted, which based on research appears to be a very common pro... Read more
Incident date: Sep 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-250. The contact stated that while the vehicle was at the independent mechanic for routine maintenance, the mechanic informed the contact that a small amount of fluid had leaked from the front differential. Additionally, the contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal metallic and whining sound coming from the front driver's side of the vehi... Read more
Incident date: Sep 19, 2024
The contact's father owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while her father was driving at an undisclosed speed, the suspension of the vehicle collapsed, and the vehicle came to an abrupt stop. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who determined that the front passenger's side axle had fractured and had bent the front passenger's side wheel. The independent mechanic advise... Read more
Incident date: Oct 3, 2024
BOUGHT CAR NEW. HAD BOTH REAR SHOCKS REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY AT 18478 MILES BECAUSE OF LEAKING. NEED TO REPLACE BOTH REAR SHOCKS AGAIN AT 50250 MILES BECAUSE OF LEAKING. Three sets of shocks in 50,000 miles of normal driving is not normal,
Incident date: Jul 6, 2024
My car has manufacturer defect / crack on steering knuckle. There has been recall in UK and Canada. Why not in states? Driving with crack / defect in steering knuckle is extremely dangerous. It has been proven that this has caused by over tightening the nut bolt. There are so many land rovers have this reported issues. Here is link: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF I... Read more
Incident date: Aug 9, 2024
The contact owned a 2000 Audi TT. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 01V325000 (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 contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a loud squeaking sound coming from the rear ... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
GLA 250
(2020) - SUSPENSION
Oct 4, 2024
Incident date: Mar 1, 2024
The right rear coil spring broke causing the vehicle to sag approx three inches. I drove the vehicle to my local mechanic and he replaced both coil springs on the rear axle.
Incident date: Sep 16, 2024
Front struts faulty. Drivers side blew and all the fluid leaked out and the passenger side was leaking. Unknown safety issue but the vehicle only has 42,000 miles and has never been off road. Still has original tires, shouldn’t struts last longer than tires? The problem was confirmed by my local Ford dealer. I paid $1467.72 to have them replaced which is ridiculous for a vehicle with such low mi... Read more
Incident date: Oct 3, 2024
We just purchased this vehicle from Winegardner GMC in Prince Frederick, MD. On [XXX} on our drive home from the dealership, we kept hearing a terrible screeching/ clucking noise coming from the rear when we were braking or applying any pressure to the brake pedal. We instantly contacted the dealership and they had us bring the vehicle back the next morning for them to look at and to make the repa... Read more
Incident date: Oct 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2004 Holiday Rambler Neptune built on a Roadmaster chassis. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the RV was swaying in the lane and the steering wheel shifted position and was horizontal. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stopped the RV and observed that the rear bumper was almost touching the road surface and the rear passenger ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2006 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact heard a loud bang and scraping sound coming from the vehicle. The ABS and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the control arm and suspension had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was no... Read more
Incident date: Sep 21, 2024
Car was making clunking sound, so made an appointment with service center. Before appointment, clunking sound stopped. Around the same time the clunking stopped we found a bolt in the driveway. Took into service and was told a bolt was missing from the lower lateral link which sounds quite concerning. I'm told by others had both bolts fallen out the wheel would have tipped inward or outward an... Read more
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2021) - SUSPENSION
Oct 3, 2024
Incident date: Jan 3, 2024
Incident Description: On 10/2/2024, I discovered a critical failure in the rear suspension of my 2018 Chevrolet Traverse. The rear left control arm had completely rusted through and detached from the vehicle frame. This occurred unexpectedly while my family was backing the vehicle into the driveway from my garage. Had this failure happened while driving, it could have resulted in a catastrophic lo... Read more
Incident date: Sep 20, 2024
All at once I have an ABS , Brake, Traction Control on instrument panel illuminated.Service Trailer Brake diagnostic message. Will not set cruise. 06/03/24. Am not driving for fear of failure and presently cannot afford diagnostic repairs. Just turned 100,000 miles and is not used for daily uses. Cannot believe a failure of this magnitude happened with very low mileage
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2018) - SUSPENSION
Oct 3, 2024
Incident date: Oct 3, 2024
when i drive the vehicle, i goes into this shaky mode where i have to completely stop the car and restart it. this happens if i hit any kind of bump. I brake every bump that i see hoping it will stop but today is got so bad i could not move. Also the braking for driving down a curvy mountain. I almost got in multiple accidents this week
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2014) - SUSPENSION
Oct 1, 2024
Incident date: Oct 1, 2024
While driving, I started to hear a creaking sound while backing up and turning the wheel left. The sound became worse over the course of a few weeks. The steering also felt a little loose. I reached out to the manufacturer for a service appointment, and could only be scheduled about a month out. After a few weeks, while trying to parallel park, the car felt like a tire was stuck, or had a flat. ... Read more