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
FORD
MAVERICK HYBRID
(2023) - SUSPENSION
Jun 10, 2024
Incident date: Jun 9, 2024
A knocking noise is coming from the front of car. Noise correlates with car motion. Worn parts in suspension were replaced by Euro Car Doctor in Costa Mesa. One problem complies with Toyota Technical Service Bulletin. Noise continues. The electronic invoice has photos of worn parts. Euro Car Doctor documents concern. I do not trust the local Toyota dealer service department to properly inspect... Read more
Incident date: Jun 10, 2024
THE VEHICLE STOPS AT WILL WHILE DRIVING. IT HAS STOPPED SEVERAL TIMES, IMADE IT TO THE NESSAN DEALER WHERE I PURCHASED IT THEY STARTED IT BUT ONCE I GOT ON THE INTERSTATE IT STOPPED ANDI I HAD TO HAVE IT TOWED. ON THE PANEL IT SAYS 'ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL"
Incident date: Jun 6, 2024
This RV, purchased new, is uncontrollable in any cross wind. The wheelbase, suspension, and steering system do not work properly together. It takes an extreme amount of steering correction if there is any force of wind, whether from nature, small to large vehicles passing, grooves in road, pot holes, etc. For an untrained driver, this could be life threatening as maintaining the vehicle in ... Read more
CHEVROLET
TRAILBLAZER
(2022) - SUSPENSION
Jun 9, 2024
Incident date: May 5, 2024
The air suspension system on my truck failed while driving at 75 on the interstate last night, causing the truck to lean heavily to the right and disabling electronic braking. It felt like my truck was going to flip and it is nearly undriveable
Incident date: May 29, 2024
Major Frame rust issues through out,front and rear. Mechanics afraid to do wheel alignment.
Incident date: Jun 5, 2024
The rear subframe experienced excessive levels of rust which caused the rear left side to suddenly collapse. After the collapse, the car would fish tail at low speeds (i.e., less than 15 miles per hour). I am thankful that the collapse did not happen when traveling at higher speeds such as an expressway, which would have certainly caused an accident. The Mercedes Benz dealer refused to cover the ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 7, 2024
Air suspension system is having numerous fault codes and operational issues, that have been occurring since January of 2024. The dealer just clears all of the codes and says there is nothing saved in the various modules, but yet I myself have a scanned trouble code listing showing the faults. The truck sometimes will be riding on the frame because the air suspension becomes inoperatable.
Incident date: Jun 6, 2024
Hello, I have a Ram equipped with the Air Ride Suspension. It has been a long on going problem for me. It has been a safety concern as it involves with the Suspension of the vehicle and at random moments the front end of the truck will drop all the way down to the bump stops making it impossible to drive or steer. I have noticed I am not the only one and that plenty of other people have delt with ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 6, 2024
I am not sure if this involves the breaking system or the suspension system. However, my car is on 2.0 software. Whenever the break is applied on un-even pavement while pressing the break pedal, the breaking fails very briefly but enough for the car to lunge forward. This happens repeatedly. The two most scary moments both involved speed-bumpers in the road. I did not see a pedestrian enterin... Read more
Incident date: Jun 3, 2024
The right front suspension collapsed after crossing railroad tracks at less than 10 mph, causing the vehicle to collapse and deploying all four airbags causing Minor injuries . A higher rate of speed would have caused severe injuries and possible fatalities. Ford has sent field engineers to examine the vehicle and pulled data from the rcm stating starting speed of 4.4 mph and 17.7 mph at time of i... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jun 6, 2024
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Windstar. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal odor circulating inside the cabin of the vehicle. The contact stated the vehicle started losing motive power, and he was able to pull the vehicle to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed a failure with the rear axle. The vehicle was n... Read more
TOYOTA
REDUNDANT SIENNA
(2021) - SUSPENSION
Jun 6, 2024
Incident date: Jun 6, 2024
On multiple occasions now I have experienced the death wobble after hitting a bump in the road. Today the vehicle shook so violently that it crossed into the lane next to me on a curve. I do not feel safe in the vehicle now and pray that someone addresses this problem asap before an innocent person is killed. This has not been inspected by any dealerships or insurance reps. No warning lamps or oth... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2019) - SUSPENSION
Jun 5, 2024
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
Upon entering highway and reaching 75 mph, vehicle pulled hard to right.I made a correction to keep vehicle in center lane of a three lane highway. Shortly after I made the first correction, the vehicle again pulled rather aggressively to the right, I again made a correction back to maintain center of lane. After making second correction, I noticed my steering wheel very off center to maintain veh... Read more
Incident date: May 9, 2024
Frame of the vehicle is starting to rust, clear coat paint is wearing off and is starting to chip with small spots of rust on the roof and hood, lower ball joint failure due to corrosion and degraded components. Unknown why the lower ball joint failed. Vehicle is not in the rust belt but definitely experiences corrosion and suspension issues.
Incident date: Apr 1, 2024
I have had multiple issues with my car for the past month. First, my rear right wheel has been making a fan-like sound when going above 35mph and it gets louder until 70mph. It is most likely the wheel bearings going out but, I only have around 50,000 miles on the car. This seems to be a common issue with Foresters. Secondly, my rear Harman Kardon speakers have stopped working. This also appears t... Read more
Incident date: Jun 5, 2024
Had my 3rd service done on my 2022 Honda CR-V EX-L 5/24/21 and for the third time the rear end was out of alignment. When I researched the issue online I found that this was an issue with this body style CR-V and a TSB was issued for this due to the excessive tire wear that is happening due to this alignment issue. My tires had been making a whomping sound since after my second service at 15000 mi... Read more
Incident date: Nov 5, 2023
Strut mounts are very rusty, the Chrysler recommended repair could not be done, due to extensive rust around the strut tower. This is confirmed by many other owners of this year and generation of vehicle. The vehicle is is good shape except for this and the problem was caused by a manufacturing defect which allowed rusting in the strut towers. This problem started happening approximately when it w... Read more
TOYOTA
REDUNDANT SIENNA
(2021) - SUSPENSION
Jun 5, 2024
Incident date: May 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated while driving 5-10 MPH on a flat road surface, the contact noticed an abnormal shift in the rear suspension. The contact parked the vehicle. Upon inspecting the vehicle, the contact noticed that the passenger's side rear wheel had shifted inward. The contact turned on the hazard lights and drove to the nearest dealer at slow speeds. The deal... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2018) - SUSPENSION
Jun 5, 2024
Incident date: May 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2024 Mitsubishi Outlander. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact heard an abnormal sound coming from the suspension. Additionally, the contact stated that the steering wheel was uncontrollable while driving. The contact stated that while turning the steering wheel to the right, the front wheels shifted in the opposite direction. The vehicle w... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2024
Rear control arm rusted through, ejecting the spring and collapsing the suspension.
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 2500
(2023) - SUSPENSION
Jun 5, 2024
Incident date: Jun 1, 2024
I currently own a 2004 Hyundai Sonata with a severe sub-fame deterioration, Unfortunately it does not fall under the so called salt belt states, That being said I don't know how Kansas does not fit that especially north east Kansas. Wondering if there's some way that they could reconsider on this matter and maybe get some help. I know the cars almost 20 yrs but it's in good shape with only 108000 ... Read more
HYUNDAI
TUCSON HYBRID
(2024) - SUSPENSION
Jun 5, 2024
Incident date: Jun 3, 2024
At the beginning of April, I purchased a 2003 Subaru Baja from Roseville Auto Center for $10,500 and was reassured by the salesman that it passed a safety inspection and that there were no leaks in the head gasket. I did my own inspection under the hood and underneath the vehicle. I found there to be undercoat sealant which made sense as the vehicle was from Pennsylvania. I asked about the rust co... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2024
The Right Rear Strut Assembly is faulty. Warranty work has been done to vehicle in the past for the faulty strut. Brought Vehicle back into dealership and they brush it off saying it was my tire condition causing the noise. New Tires were purchased To no avail. The exact same noise continues inside the cabin of tapping noise. Dealership was able to reproduce the noise but they were not specific as... Read more
Incident date: Jun 3, 2024
when the car is in drive it will stop like it is in park unable to drive or put in reverse. This happens at random times on the road. The car will then skip gears and go into Neutral then skip an again on its own and go into drive.
Incident date: Jun 4, 2023
Our frame is showing signs of excessive flex, when we hook up our trailer to the tow vehicle.
GRAND DESIGN
MOMENTUM
(2021) - SUSPENSION
Jun 4, 2024
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
I drove like regular the transmission was starting to delay in response but nothing to this extreme. I parked it after an evening of m working; Once parked the vehicle will shift through all gears but only Park is engaged and stays engaged even while shifting to R, N, D it only stays parked. This is a safety issue as I can not even get it in neutral to tow and get it looked at or anything. I was n... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2024
I have a 2018 GMC Sierra 1500 that I bought new in Oct of 2018 and it now has 15,756 miles on it and was still like new at the time of failure. On May 23rd I was driving the truck when the driver suspension suddenly had an structural failure (mostly the ball joint coming out of the control arm) causing the front right side of the suspension to collapse while driving. This caused the truck to go le... Read more
Crash
Incident date: May 17, 2024
Took my car for a doorknob repair and was told the whole subframe is rotted. They told me not to drive the car on the highway. The car brakes very hard to the right and always goes right while making cranking noises. Car feels very unsafe. I paid a lot of money for this and own a 2012 c300 4matic.
Incident date: May 29, 2024
component or system failed or malfunctioned unavailable for inspection upon he safety of others put at risk Had the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer representatives or others warning lamps messages other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when didnt first appear What compone... Read more
Incident date: May 15, 2024
When operating the vehicle about ~50mph, and if you drive over a pothole, or bump in the road, the frontend of the vehicle wobble/vibrate uncontrollably. The only solution (I have found) is to lower the speed (which is obviously a problem on the freeway). I purchased the vehicle new from the dealer, have not made any modifications, and they (the dealer) is telling me the tires are the source of th... Read more
Incident date: Apr 4, 2024
The upper control arm on the driver's side of my Tesla Model 3 has started making a loud squeaking noise. After researching, I discovered that many owners have experienced this issue. Tesla Service Centers acknowledge it as a known defect but refuse to issue a recall, only addressing it upon customer request. Since my vehicle is out of warranty, they have quoted me over $500 for the repair. This ... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2022) - SUSPENSION
Jun 3, 2024
Incident date: May 31, 2024
I purchased my vehicle 2 months ago and no problems were reported to me. After a few weeks my driver side air bags on my suspension do not inflate. Motor is making sounds and inflating passenger side, but not driver side. Parked truck with the following warning lights on dash (service air suspension & immediate air suspension service/repair required) began contacting dealers with no response back.... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2011) - SUSPENSION
Jun 3, 2024
Incident date: Mar 9, 2022
The contact owns a 2007 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while the vehicle was at an independent mechanic for routine maintenance, the contact was notified of NHTSA Campaign Number: 11V464000 (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 m... Read more
Incident date: May 31, 2024
Three times now our 2020 Honda Odyssey's entire instrument and infotainment system has gone out - both screens at the same time just don't turn on. Which means we have no MPH gauge or back up camera. It is extremely unsafe to drive without a speedometer and we paid extra to get a van with a backup camera and now we don't even have that. We've taken it to Honda and are getting charged to replace th... Read more
Incident date: Jun 3, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Cadillac SRX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V473000 (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 experie... Read more
Incident date: May 4, 2024
The contact owns a 2015 Ford F-250. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered and hydroplaned. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not under ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 3, 2024
Every right hand turn, I hear a light metallic ‘tap’ on the rear, inside fender well…. I’ve been told by an independent auto mechanic, that it’s the ‘rear coil springs’ that are making the noise. There is No Recall for this issue or Rear Struts. I was told by a Subaru Service Manager….. No recall for either.. Has your Organization heard anything, on the contrary? Thank you… (*Ju... Read more
Incident date: Jan 12, 2024
The contact owned a 2017 Land Rover Ranger Rover. The contact stated that while driving at 45 MPH, she heard an abnormal clicking sound emanating from underneath the vehicle, after which the vehicle buckled to the right. As a result, the contact briefly lost control of the vehicle and was only able to come to a complete stop after colliding with the curb. After a visual inspection of the vehicle, ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jan 10, 2024
Ever since it was purchased new in 2021, the RV leans excessively to the passenger side even when it is unloaded and not moving. The dealer stated this is normal due to the weight distribution of the interior components. I recently noticed there are signs of the passenger side inner rear tire rubbing on a piece of chassis sheet metal, where the clearance is less than 1" on the passenger side. T... Read more
Incident date: May 28, 2024
The inside shoulder of all four tires are bald and unsafe. The rest of the tire tread has ~7/32 of depth remaining. Because this suspension issue only affects the inside edge of the tire it is difficult to detect. Not all Gen 5 Honda Odysseys have this problem but I've read of others with the same problems as mine. The tires cross the threshold of 2/32" by approx. 23k miles. When the rest of ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 2, 2024
Total suspension system problem,Bad Tire Rods, Bad SwayLinks & Control Arms, Total ABS System problem, Engine mounts problem, Transmission Mount & system problem, Over Idols at 0mph, Seat Material over wear & Tear, Carpeting wear & tear, Auto Paint fade
Incident date: Jun 2, 2024
Vehicle's body movement or damping motion while traveling on highway responds awkwardly. The vehicle has a waddle or a side to side motion instead of an up/down motion while traveling over the highway at 60 mph. My initial thoughts were to replace the vehicle's (air ride) struts. I chose to have Mercedes-Benz of Tyler analyze the vehicle ride problems which at that time involved the self -leveling... Read more
Incident date: May 31, 2024
Spring coil broke off. There are multiple articles on the internet with the exact same issue, breaking at the same point looking at the images. Article 1: [XXX] Article 2: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Incident date: Jun 2, 2024
Brake Vacuum Booster: P/Q BRAKE BOOSTER. P/Q BRAKE FLUID $3271.36 Other]: P/Q ENGINE VACUUM PUMP SEAL KIT Front Suspension vibration and while vibration
Incident date: Feb 4, 2024
The first time was rattling and squeaking from front driver's side wheel. It got progressively worse so I took it in and they replaced the control arms. About 10 months later the rattling is back. This time Tesla says it's a different problem. I need to replace the lateral links, the compliance links and get a wheel alignment.
Incident date: Mar 22, 2024
The rear suspension subframe is completely corroded and causes vehicle suspension parts to break off unannounced and causes vehicle to swerve severely and most likely is going to cause and accident or death, Nissan has been informed of this issue and refuses to address a proper repair
KUMHO
CRUGEN KL33
(9999) - SUSPENSION
Jun 1, 2024
Incident date: Jan 23, 2024
Upper deck failure ( side pod door opens when in transit, front of trailer at king pin mounting flexing when in transit, king pin mounting hits truck bed rails when turning, bedroom floor buckling, bed rollers leave indentations in bedroom floor closet door not plumb and will not lock when disconnected from truck, front wall height changes when connected to truck, trim and panels coming loose in t... Read more
Incident date: May 30, 2024
Today my 2015 Ford F250 SD experienced the aptly named Ford “Death Wobble”. It occurred twice today after just having the whole front end rebuilt for the same issue just weeks ago. My truck shakes so violently I am concerned for my safety and that of my wife. To stop the shaking I have to slow to 30 mph or less, typically on the highway where all other vehicles are traveling at 65+. The truck ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 25, 2022
It has been labeled as the death wobble. When driving down the highway at 65-70 mph and I hit a bump, pothole or a washboard effect in the road with the left front wheel. The whole truck will shake violently. So much that I can barely hold on to the steering wheel. The only way to stop the shaking is to slow the truck down to 30-40 mph. In the middle of the highway. I can watch the other vehicles ... Read more