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.

2,245,377 Total Complaints

140,173 Reported Crashes

56,794 Reported Fires

8,580 Reported 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

How to Read NHTSA Consumer Complaints › How NHTSA Investigations Work › Used Car: 7 Recall Checks to Run First › The Takata Airbag Recall: Full Story › OBD-II Codes Explained › All Articles ›

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Showing 117,775 complaints - component: UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Incident date: Aug 13, 2026

I went to open my sunroof and I see a piece sticking up. My sunroof then wouldnt close. I get home and find out its the wind deflector. I tried to close the sunroof and now my sunroof if stuck open. One of the tracks is now misaligned and I can't close my sunroof.

Incident date: Aug 13, 2026

I was driving down the road when the warning lights suddenly came on, and the vehicle would not allow me to accelerate. As a result, my vehicle slowed unexpectedly, and another vehicle nearly struck me from behind.

Incident date: Aug 22, 2026

5 times since July 2026 the vehicle 2025 Honda Odyssey fills with the smell of gas. The smell fills the entire garage. After the 4th incident, it was brought to the dealership on 8/18/2026, however they were unable to reproduce the issue smell. They stated the EVAP system was function and at the time there were no obvious leaks. Despite it being a known issue, there are no recall or repairs per th... Read more

Incident date: Aug 19, 2026

Two low-speed sudden unintended acceleration events while parking a 2021 Acura RDX. Incident 1 (July 2026): While parking at low speed, the car unexpectedly surged forward. Flew up the curb and hit a restaurant window, causing massive undercarriage damage. Active braking did not help and seemed to make acceleration worse. It only stopped when it wanted to. Incident 2 (August 2026): Two weeks aft... Read more

Crash

Incident date: Jun 8, 2026

On June 8, 2026, I parked my 2023 BMW XM on my residential driveway, exited the vehicle, and walked toward my residence. My Ring security camera captured the incident. The video shows: I exited the BMW and walked approximately 12 seconds to my front door. I entered my residence. Approximately three seconds later—roughly 15 seconds after I exited—the BMW began rolling. The headlights illuminate... Read more

Incident date: Jul 23, 2026

The sun roof suddenly shattered while driving at a high rate of speed on the freeway. A large chunk of glass broke upward and sprayed cars behind me. Shards of glass fell into the passenger area. The was a large bank and whoosh of air startling the driver.

Incident date: Aug 22, 2026

Sunglasses fell out of holder now it will not stay closed.

Incident date: Aug 21, 2026

Incident date: May 7, 2025

My wife was driving and a small rock passed through the front grill puncturing the radiator and causing her check engine light to come on. Within 5 minutes the coolant leaked out and the car was undrivable. We took it to Bredemann Toyota in Park Ridge who replaced it.

Incident date: Jul 7, 2026

The A/C evaporator coil failed on my 2020 BMX X5 S40i prior to 27,564 miles. It was taken into the local dealer for evaluation at a cost of $811.33 and UV dye was added with refrigerant, which escaped over a 2 week period. The final diagnosis after a further two weeks and at a cost of $301.38, later confirmed that the evaporator coil needed to be replaced. The BMW Dealer quoted $6,686.35 for the r... Read more

Incident date: Jul 30, 2026

The car is not sensing that it is in park when it is. When I place it in park and turn the car off it dings and says shift into park however it already is in park. Therefore the car will not turn off. I had to jiggle the shift or turn the car on, reverse then go forward then park to get it to register. This has taken up to 10 minutes and it’s getting worse. This is a known issue that is referenc... Read more

Incident date: Aug 15, 2026

While operating the vehicle at a low speed, it has on multiple occasions decelerated, stopped, and displayed the message "Shift to P, then desired gear." This issue has been observed on both the highway during rush hour and on local streets. No diagnostic trouble codes are present when the system is scanned.

Incident date: Aug 22, 2026

I have tried to get Stevenson Lexus in Lakewood Colorado to replace the head rests , they have not ever had the parts to complete the recall. I have been waiting for over a year. I called Lexus headquarters in Texas and was told that there is a remedy but Stevenson Lexus has never offered that to me.

Incident date: Jul 17, 2026

2024 Hyundai Tucson SEL Convenience Hybrid Recall:Hyundai Campaign 290/NHSTA 23V-187 (subsequent Tucson tow harness fire recalls) My vehicle was brought into an authorized Hyundai dealership to address the safety hazard associated with the accessory tow hitch wiring harness recall. The dealership resolved the immediate fire hazard by completely disconnecting and removing the functional trailer wi... Read more

Incident date: Aug 17, 2026

Because I am not an expert, I cannot say with certainty what exact vehicle components contributed to this incident. On August 17, 2026, at approximately 12:40 PM, I was slowly driving my 2022 Toyota Highlander XLE in a parking garage where I park my car every week. I saw a parking space, so I slowed down and began pressing the break as I went into the parking space. All of a sudden, the engine r... Read more

Crash 1 injured

Incident date: Aug 17, 2026

Crash 1 injured

Incident date: Aug 21, 2026

High risk for future accident and also happens to passenger very blinding bright light straight into eyes

Incident date: May 7, 2026

A rock went through the grill and pierced the AC condenser. The result left us with no AC. Toyota of Grand Rapids charged us $2300 to replace it. The holes in the grill are massive. Toyota of Grand Rapids has a video on file documenting the issue.

Incident date: Aug 22, 2026

I am reporting a serious safety concern involving my Honda Prologue and believe the repeated failures may indicate an unresolved defect involving the vehicle’s electronic, braking, ABS, propulsion, transmission/shift, or vehicle-control systems. On [XXX], the vehicle first displayed an error/warning. I contacted the Honda dealership in Vancouver, Washington, and was instructed to bring it in for... Read more

Incident date: Aug 12, 2026

The DAW system goes off numerous times during any trip. Many times within 10 minutes of stating out. the constant annoying warning telling me to take a break when I just did puts me on edge. It went off about 30-40 times during a recent 2 day trip. At some point you just swear at the thing and want to rip the dam camera off the steering wheel. This is not the kind of attitude you want while drivi... Read more

Incident date: Jul 15, 2026

Road debris from normal driving on paved roads (perhaps related to a trip from Flagstaff to Phoenix on [XXX] in April 2026- in Phoenix the AC took a very long time to cool down the car), road debris punctured the ac condenser. The AC stopped working entirely in July of 2026, so it was taken to Findlay Toyota Flagstaff for review. They noted all refrigerant had leaked from the system, and that ro... Read more

Incident date: Aug 20, 2026

On Thursday, August 20th at approxmately 5:30PM my 2026 Mercedes Benz suffered a catastrophic transfer case failure and driveshhaft failure at highways speeds, causing a complete loss of propulsion. Putting me in immediate danger of on coming traffic. After the got to the shoulder I waited about 3 plus hours in pouring rain waiting for Mercedes Benz roadside assistance. The safety of this vehicle... Read more

Incident date: Aug 17, 2026

My system information warning signal and chime indicates that an unbuckled passenger is present in my front passenger seat when nobody is there. Additionally, buckling the seat belt does not turn off the signal and chime. The sporadic signal and chime can continue for a very long time before eventually stopping. However, after another 30 seconds or so, it can start again. This cycle can continue f... Read more

Incident date: Jul 7, 2026

Transmission will not shift into high gears throws engine code

Incident date: Aug 21, 2026

The internal GPS compass is faulty, causing turn-by-turn instructions to be confusing, constantly changing, and suggesting illegal turns. These problems are constant, which makes driving dangerous unless GPS is not used. Evidence: [XXX] [XXX] Toyota acknowledges the problem, but will not fix it. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Incident date: Aug 21, 2026

Coughlin Ford of Heath ohio committed recall fraud on my vehicle by falsifying federal safety recall 24S02. Their invoice claims the repair was Completed,' but my original panels are still loose and dangerously reliant on my own tape to stay attached to the vehicle. How can a safety recall be completed if the original hazardous parts were never replaced?

Incident date: Aug 18, 2026

It’s now in the shop being torn down for further inspection but it looks to be a cracked cylinder head leak .

Incident date: Aug 21, 2026

As I’m driving my car will shift in neutral which I know this isn’t normal on highway, bridges even low grounds. Don’t see a recall on my car, but after researching I seen In September 2019 tlx was having some of the same problems different year. And this situation happen 3x so far til I afraid to drive it. Just driving smoothly then goes into different gear which can put me, my kids and any... Read more

Incident date: Aug 22, 2026

The vehicle’s keyless access/security and body control system malfunctioned. An authorized Acura dealer previously diagnosed water intrusion from blocked panoramic sunroof drains, including water reaching the Body Control Module (BCM) Multiplex Control Unit. The dealer reported that this was causing false security alarm activation and battery drainage and recommended BCM replacement. The vehicle... Read more

Incident date: Aug 21, 2026

Component Affected: Visibility: Interior Trim / Entertainment Center Bezel Glare Description of Safety Hazard:The interior styling of the 2025 Chevrolet Silverado RST contains a design flaw involving the polished chrome trim strip located directly below the main central entertainment center/infotainment screen. Because of the angle of this specific trim piece relative to the driver's seating pos... Read more

Incident date: Aug 20, 2026

My 2014 Ford F-150 was previously included in Ford Safety Recall 24S37 regarding unintended transmission downshifts caused by an intermittent Output Shaft Speed (OSS) sensor issue. The vehicle was inspected by a Ford mobile technician on January 20, 2026. No qualifying codes were found at that time, and the recall was closed under my VIN. The recall involved the risk of an unintended downshift int... Read more

Incident date: Aug 20, 2026

Desconocido

Incident date: Aug 18, 2026

The ulpostery covering the sunroof fails to retract all the way causing a sag in the fabric blocking the view from the rearview mirror. Dealership states not covered under warranty

Incident date: Aug 14, 2026

While waiting at a stop light, the engine turned off and the vehicle forced itself into park. Taking my foot off the brake, had no effect. I was not able to put the vehicle back into drive. I had to shut off the engine and restart it in order to drive again. Of note, the AC and carplay were running at the time of the engine failure. No warning lights appeared. Cars behind me were honking at me. I... Read more

Incident date: Jul 10, 2024

Multipurpose camera failed. Now I have no cruise control, auto high beam, lane keeping assist, collision mitigation, road departure mitigation.

Incident date: Jun 20, 2023

In 2023, my vehicle experienced a transmission/CVT-related failure that resulted in a loss of propulsion. The vehicle became unable to continue driving and was stopped in Chino Hills, California. A neighbor called the police, and officers responded to the scene, although no police report was filed. The vehicle was subsequently towed to an authorized Nissan dealership, where the transmission/transa... Read more

Incident date: Jun 22, 2026

Strong smell of gas coming from around the car and near rear end of car. Usually after a drive. The smell does not happen after every drive. I brought up the smell to my husband a number of times within the year…and finally took to JD Auto in Arizona in June but the gas smell could not be replicated and no source or defect could be visually seen. No recall for this has been reported by Lexus. d... Read more

Incident date: Nov 21, 2025

While driving my 2025 Honda Civic Touring, the electric steering system suddenly malfunctioned without warning. While entering/navigating a roundabout, the wheels forcibly straightened out on their own, overriding steering input and causing the vehicle to crash directly into the roundabout curb/barrier. Prior to this sudden steering lockout/binding event, there were no known performance or handlin... Read more

Crash

Incident date: Aug 1, 2023

Engine burning oil Failed oil consumption test done by dealership - had to get engine replaced Still noticing stuttering and fluctuating power at times. Failure of Snow White Pearl paint delamination issue causing the top-coat to lift off of underlying primer. Rust has started in some of the spots

Incident date: Jun 1, 2026

I am experiencing an issue with the power liftgate struts on my 2020 Hyundai Palisade SEL that appears to be a common problem among other Palisade owners. The liftgate support struts are beginning to fail, causing the liftgate to no longer stay fully open. When the liftgate is opened, it slowly falls back down instead of remaining securely in the fully open position. The struts appear to have los... Read more

Incident date: Aug 20, 2026

While driving at a speed of around 40 mph on a paved city street in Bozeman, MT, I heard and felt a Super loud clunk in my Chevy engine transmission or drive train.. I immediately stopped to see if something ran into the vehicle. No apparent visual damage of any kind. It felt and sounded like like something jammed within the transmission or drive train. The truck has less than 12k miles and has be... Read more

Incident date: Aug 18, 2026

The vehicle stalled and shut off while in traffic. It has happened previously and dealership says it is an issue with the charcoal canister with an unknown way to fix it.

Incident date: Aug 20, 2026

This has happened on numerous of occasions. All the lights appear on the dash as I'm driving. I've noticed they only appear when I'm driving on rough roads or just sitting in the car while it's running. The next day or so, the lights are off. This should be a recall. So many people are having the same issue.

Incident date: Aug 21, 2026

While driving our 2025 Honda Odyssey, my wife came to a complete stop at a red traffic light. The vehicle’s Auto Idle Stop feature was enabled, as it is by default each time the vehicle is started. When the light turned green and she attempted to accelerate, the vehicle would not move. The engine appeared to be running/revving when she pressed the accelerator, but the vehicle remained stationar... Read more

Incident date: Jan 1, 2024

I purchased this 2018 Ford Explorer from Speedway Motors in Murfreesboro, TN back in July 2026. Within a month I notice that the windshield was whistling. I took it back and they told me that it was a recall on the "A pillar exterior trim." I contacted the Murfreesboro Ford dealership and was told that the Ford dealership in Franklin had done a recall "check" in 2024 and it "passed" the recall. Th... Read more

Incident date: Aug 20, 2026

While driving, the main dashboard instrument cluster gauge screen completely blacks out without warning, followed immediately by the center infotainment screen going completely dark. This total loss of the dashboard screen leaves me with absolutely no way to see my current vehicle speed, odometer, critical safety warning lights, or fuel level while traveling at highway speeds, creating an immediat... Read more

Incident date: Aug 21, 2026

Horn stopped working unexpectedly. Took it to my mechanic who pulled the horn for replacement. The one in the truck had literally melted, luckily not causing a fire.

Incident date: Jul 26, 2026

I am filing this complaint regarding a serious paint defect on my Kia in which the exterior paint is peeling off in large sheets. I purchased the vehicle used from Dean McCurry Kia, and the dealership was aware of the paint issue before selling the vehicle to me but failed to properly repair or disclose the condition before the sale. The paint has continued to deteriorate and is now peeling extens... Read more

Incident date: Jan 20, 2026

Rear backup camera is defective and not working. Initially it would work intermittently and but now for the last few months it does not work at all. I went to dealership and contacted Lincoln directly and they refused to repair the defective rear camera. Despite there being an open recall for the exact same problem for model years 2015 and up.

Incident date: Aug 20, 2026

On [XXX], after arriving at our campground in Tok, Alaska, the main entry-door latch/handle on our 2023 Fleetwood Bounder motorhome failed completely. I parked the motorhome in front of the campground office. When I attempted to open the main entry door by lifting the door handle, the handle broke off and came completely into my hand. The door would no longer open. There were four people inside ... Read more

1 injured

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Consumer Safety Complaints

What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?

How to interpret what you read

If you've experienced a defect

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