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 73,546 complaints - component: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

Incident date: Nov 3, 2025

The ABS warning light,electronic stability/traction control warning light, and red Brake warning light are illuminated simultaneously on the instrument cluster. The combination of these warning lights concerns me because it appears to indicate a failure or malfunction involving the ABS/brake-control system. I am concerned that ABS, electronic stability control, and traction control functions may ... Read more

Incident date: Sep 10, 2026

Ford recall 10s13 there are pviins to the recall for fractured axle and ford ha repeatedly blocked my repair and transport. The amendment explicitly stated that emergency tow is covered in cases where the axle o already fractured at no burden to the customer . My axle is fractured and the special circumstances do apply. For has me stick in the vehicle because they're refusing to tow,so I'm blocked... Read more

Incident date: Sep 5, 2026

**NHTSA SAFETY DEFECT COMPLAINT** **Vehicle:** 2022 Harley\-Davidson Street Glide CVO **VIN:** [XXX] **Odometer at beginning of trip:** 9,768 miles **Current odometer:** 9,914 miles **Miles traveled during trip:** Approximately 146 miles I am reporting a potentially serious safety defect involving the throttle/grip control system on my 2022 Harley\-Davidson Street Glide CVO\. During a recent tr... Read more

Incident date: Sep 1, 2026

Purchased above listed vehicle new in September of 2023. Immediately noticed a 'coolant' smell in cab. brought vehicle in for coolant smell issue on 12/06/23, 01/10/24, 01/16/24 and 01/23/24. We were told that there was no issue until finally on 01/23/24 we were told the radiator needed to be replaced at OUR expense. September of 25 we received a letter from GMC advising the "engine coolant cont... Read more

Incident date: Sep 1, 2026

On September 1, 2026, my 2022 Toyota Tundra experienced a serious loss of accelerator response while I was leaving a gas station and entering traffic. I pressed the accelerator, but the truck provided effectively no acceleration, leaving me partially in the roadway. An approaching vehicle had to swerve into the opposing traffic lane to avoid a collision. I had experienced a similar low-speed loss ... Read more

Incident date: Mar 22, 2026

xDrive all-wheel-drive has made the car slow down unexpectedly and produce a shudder, especially in slow corners and under gentle acceleration. The vehicle has also rapidly accelerated upon entering or exiting a freeway on ramp.

Incident date: Sep 9, 2026

2017 Mercedes-Benz GLE350, VIN [XXX]. While driving, the vehicle intermittently displays multiple warning lights/messages and the power-steering assistance intermittently becomes heavy/stiff. The warnings rapidly appear and disappear and the problem can occur repeatedly while the vehicle is being driven. Pressing/tapping around the front passenger-side floor/kick-panel area can sometimes cause the... Read more

Incident date: Sep 9, 2026

Factory installed all weather floor mats fit inappropriately, accelerator gets stuck under the rubber portion of the mat causing in appropriate acceleration.

Incident date: Sep 7, 2026

My truck all of sudden put up the ABS light, traction control light, emergency brake light and loss of cruise control. Had it test at an O'reilly and has a C-2200-49 ABS module failure internal module failure.

Incident date: Aug 18, 2026

Vehicle was brought to an authorized dealership for service, and while there Campaign 9C2 (ECU Software Update for Theta II Emissions Improvement) was performed. Immediately following this software update, the vehicle developed drivability degradation, specifically engine stutter/hesitation and rough transmission shifting during cold starts. When attempting to accelerate in the first few minutes o... Read more

Incident date: Sep 3, 2026

The contact owns a 2025 Volkswagen ID. Buzz. The contact stated that while driving and stopping at a stoplight for approximately 20 seconds, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated and crashed into a 2022 Jeep Wrangler. The vehicle crashed into the other vehicle approximately three times, causing the other vehicle to crash into another vehicle. The brake pedal was depressed but failed to respond as i... Read more

Crash

Incident date: Aug 24, 2026

I think it is a transmission type of failure. I'm not sure of the exact mechanical specifics. While putting the vehicle in reverse, driving and or accelerating it feels like the transmission is locking up and then releasing, and then locking up again. It felt very dangerous for that to happen while driving down the road. I took the vehicle to a local mechanic that was near by for assistance and... Read more

Incident date: Aug 13, 2026

August 13, 2026- Driver was traveling on Route 30 West approaching the Reeceville Exit. Driver attempted to pass a tractor trailer. As car accelerated to pass tractor trail, engine light flashed and car lost the ability to accelerate. As driver lost ability to power the car, he allowed truck to pass him and then coasted into right lane and eventually off to the side of the highway. Car had a half... Read more

Incident date: Jun 15, 2026

The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Cruze. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds and raising the foot off the accelerator pedal, the vehicle decelerated drastically. Additionally, the vehicle occasionally hesitated while accelerating and failed to immediately accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. Occasionally, the vehicle lurched forward suddenly. The cause of the fail... Read more

Incident date: Aug 1, 2026

The IP Cluster that shows details on the speed the vehicle is traveling at, gas left, mileage left etc. were left inaccessible when the Instrument Panel cluster on the BMW X7 blanked out. Big Safety concern when the vehicle is unable to display travelling speed mid-drive

Incident date: Jul 2, 2026

FORD CORPORATE CASE NUMBER: CXH-09262770. My 2015 Ford F-150 has experienced sudden, dangerous transmission downshifts at highway speeds that nearly caused a fatal collision. I complied with Ford's mandatory Recall 26S28 software flash, but the dangerous hardware symptoms remain active. The vehicle is currently grounded and unsafe to drive at the dealership lot, but Ford Corporate is denying the p... Read more

Incident date: Sep 6, 2026

While driving my 2021 Jeep Wrangler on the highway, the vehicle displayed a warning indicating a malfunction with the Electronic Throttle Control system. Immediately following the warning, the vehicle experienced a significant loss of acceleration and would not respond normally to accelerator pedal input. The vehicle subsequently began accelerating/surging without my commanding the acceleration.... Read more

Incident date: May 20, 2022

Vehicle lost total control on the freeway I lost control crashed off the freeway into a ditch no airbags deployed the whole frame was total loss the entire atlas lost control No airbags as I went into a ditch hit a freeway sign and I’m still suffering nerve damage and chronic back pain

Crash 1 injured

Incident date: Aug 25, 2026

Almost got hit my car stopped propulsion. Audio won't work, head unit broken after 65 days at Chapman dealership in Henderson, Nevada zip 89052

Incident date: Aug 25, 2026

Almost got hit my car stopped propulsion. Audio won't work, head unit broken after 65 days at Chapman dealership in Henderson, Nevada zip 89052

Incident date: Aug 28, 2026

The motor experiences a malfunction, which the passengers feel as a slight ‘bump’ in the engine. The dash flashes Service Electronic Stability Control and the engine experiences a loss in power followed by a gain in power, experienced as slight lurching. The dash ESC icon lights up yellow simultaneously as the ESC button on the center dash instrument cluster. The vehicle continuously lurches a... Read more

Incident date: Sep 5, 2026

Vehicle in the middle of turning in to a hazardous highway lost power and then began to drive sluggish at 20 miles per hour skipping. It acted like the fuel injectors were not allowing it to get fuel. After having some one check it is exactly what was wrong.. It he vehicle had not caught up I would be dead as an oncoming vehicle did not realize the care was not moving.

Incident date: Jul 30, 2026

I bought my car while living in Florida from a lady that didn't drive it for a while and after I bought it I drove it i drove to Washington two and a half times. before this though it had an airbag safety issue where the airbags didn't deploy and also my gas gauge does not work correctly as well as the suspension, which the coils are not up to codes and regulation also my odometer does not work we... Read more

Crash

Incident date: May 31, 2022

P2101 Reduced Engine Power Idle instabilitystruggling to idle correctly, hunting/surging slightly, and possibly going into reduced-power protection mode. While driving engine reducing power, struggles then surges forward. Ive taken it to GMC however the techs say they have to experience the situation themselves and are unable to diagnose

Incident date: Sep 6, 2026

My vehicle keeps throwing a code “check hybrid system” and slowing me down to 30mph, it will not accelerate. This is extremely dangerous. I can restart the car and it’s fine but this is a major safety issue considering it keeps happening

Incident date: Jul 20, 2026

While my wife was driving, the high-voltage battery failed and the car went into reduced power/limp mode. Tesla later determined that coolant had gotten into the high-voltage battery and caused it to fail. My main concern is that we had no warning that there was a coolant leak or that coolant was getting into the battery. There was no low-coolant warning or anything telling my wife that there was ... Read more

Incident date: Jun 26, 2026

Like many others, at 55k miles, our oil separator malfunctioned causing our oil pan to crack and dump every drop of oil. We had to replace the oil pan and fortunately our mechanic friend figured out it was the new pcv valve malfunction causing too much pressure in the engine. My wife was luckily pulling onto our property when the car essentially shut itself off. When searching for the valve I ne... Read more

Incident date: Sep 5, 2026

On [XXX], at approximately 15,200 miles, my 2025 Cadillac Escalade V developed multiple warnings while I was driving at highway speed. These included reduced acceleration, speed limited to 62 mph, service power steering, service traction control, rear axle system off, and unavailable forward-collision and adaptive-cruise functions. At one point, the speedometer displayed 0 mph while I was still tr... Read more

Incident date: Dec 31, 1969

I have the active recall associated with the vehicle listed. It’s been nearly 2 years with the active abs service light, traction control light, and inoperative cruise control due to those lights. Stelantis is not very helpful. Will not fixit yet. But says I can pay myself and some or all may be reimbursed. There is no reason it should take this long. Endangering lives potentially. I sent tr... Read more

Incident date: Sep 4, 2026

While maneuvering in a parking garage and switching between reverse and forward, the engine suddenly and unprompted revved excessively, sounding as though the accelerator pedal was floored. The vehicle forcefully lunged forward against braking pressure into a cement wall, causing front-end damage to the vehicle. Cruise control was completely disabled and no check engine light or warning indicators... Read more

Crash

Incident date: Sep 4, 2026

This report is an addendum to report 11762283 that was made yesterday. The vehicle allows driving with the rear liftgate ajar, however under some circumstances it engages the EPB when the vehicle comes to a stop while the gear state is still Drive. The gear state of the car remains in Drive when the EPB engages. This presents the driver with the choice, in the middle of the road and possibly in t... Read more

Incident date: Jul 5, 2025

I just started having this issue 3 days ago. When I put the car in reverse it does not directly go into drive. I have to go back to park to get the car back in drive. I put a brand new transmission in this car in 2024 and since I can only drive 45 miles per hour. When the drive or reverse does not light up in green, the camera in the back does not operate or show up at all.

Incident date: Aug 12, 2026

Car acclerated and steering pulled right, which pulled me off the road doing damage to steering gear and linkage, wheels, front suspension, exhaust system and slight body damage. Could be defect in car causing safety issue. With dealer, GM is involved but have been unable to determine why it happened. Insurance involved to cover damage. no warning lamps or failures appeared.

Crash

Incident date: Sep 5, 2026

My chat constantly phantom brakes. This is a constant issue, I ve had the car since it was new and almost everytime im in adaptive cruise control it randomly brakes. Today with nothing in front of my on 3 separate occasions it applies the brakes and forces me to accelerate to maintain speed.

Incident date: Sep 4, 2026

After coming to a stop at a stop sign, and while the gear state was in Drive, the vehicle auto-applied the electronic parking brake because the tailgate was ajar. Gear state remained in Drive. Upon accelerator input, the parking brake did not release, and the vehicle delivered propulsion torque overcoming the parking brake. As a result, the vehicle accelerated and drove several blocks with the rea... Read more

Incident date: Sep 4, 2026

I started driving at 8am in warm weather and drove 5 minutes or so when I entered the highway and when I started acceleration it stopped increasing beyond 40 miles and the speed started reducing while engine light came on and started flashing, I slowly exited the highway right away, entered a parking lot and shut the car off. I restarted after a few minutes and started driving again and it drove ... Read more

Incident date: Aug 4, 2026

If my car has been sitting for a while, especially in the heat, and occasionally at random times, when you get in the car and press the gas, the car will not move. This happened twice where I was almost put in a very bad accident. There is a very hard intersection near my son’s school. I have to take a left hand turn- and you have to be quick because there is no light. I turned left and my car w... Read more

Incident date: Jun 14, 2026

XXX, [XXX] East Bound ~ 9:30 PM, , pulling a tandem-axle boat and trailer ~ 6000# GVW , the truck slowed suddenly, in traffic ~ 62 MPH. I contacted CJDR dealers in [XXX], and [XXX], and both stated there was no recall, warranty, or goodwill repair, available for my truck. [XXX] told me the same, when I called. I took the truck to an independent diesel shop, in [XXX] to just go ahead and have a CPS... Read more

Incident date: Sep 2, 2026

System operates normally on initial speed setting, when the brake pedal is applied which cancels the cruise control (which is normal) problem arises when resetting the cruise control, by pressing the + R in order to re-set the cruise control, nothing happens, so I have to press the button again to re-engage the system. The problem is intermittent but it always seems to happen when there is a car b... Read more

Incident date: Jul 1, 2026

My 2019-2021 Ford Edge, equipped with the 8F35 8-speed automatic transmission, is experiencing severe transmission shuddering, harsh shifting, and jerking symptoms consistent with premature torque converter and internal mechanical failure. I had to pay $800 out-of-pocket for dealership diagnostics and a transmission fluid flush to address these severe driveability issues. Despite the flush, the... Read more

Incident date: Jul 4, 2026

First Incident – XXX Weekend ([XXX]) Accelerating at an on-ramp to a major highway (I-37S) in [XXX], vehicle suddenly lost power. Speed dropped from 60 mph to 45 mph, then 28 mph, in a 65 mph zone during rush hour traffic. No apparent cause: had ¾ tank of fuel, a clean maintenance history, and no prior issues. Managed to reach the shoulder and, after several minutes, able to exit the highway. V... Read more

Incident date: Sep 1, 2025

1. 50% of my braking results in grinding stop where it jumps and doesn’t stop all the way at first, this is even driving at slow speeds of 25 mph. 2. When my truck was set on cruise control approx 70mph and all of a sudden started decelerating on its own and nothing I did made it accelerate. I had to coast/slow brake to pull over, cut the car off and then restart it to begin driving again.

Incident date: Aug 30, 2026

Driving home near my apartment, I had to join a busy highway from a full stop. I found a small gap and tried to accelerate to quickly merge into traffic, when my car made a high pitched alert noise and noticably did not accelerate beyond about 25 miles per hour on a 45-50mph highway with heavy traffic. I turned on my hazards and still ended up with a line up of cars honking behind me. Flooring the... Read more

Incident date: Sep 26, 2025

EPC light kicks on which is puts your car in limp mode, which is caused by a cylinder head issue. The EPC limits your car acceleration and speed ability, this is extremely dangerous especially on the highway. It’s been a year & Volkswagen is refusing to take responsibility and offer a recall when it’s an ongoing issue with 2021-2022 Volkswagen Tiguans. The cylinder heads have been on back orde... Read more

Incident date: Sep 3, 2026

When my car starts up, engine rpm is around 1500 or above 1000. If I would switch to reverse, the car sudden jerks back stronger and quicker than I expected even though my foot isn’t on the accelerator pedal and have pressed the brake lightly.

Incident date: Sep 1, 2026

The multipurpose windshield camera module in my 2019 Honda Odyssey experiences an internal electronic/power failure (Diagnostic Trouble Code U3000-49) while driving. This failure triggers a cascade of warning lights across the dashboard, instantly and without warning disabling the entire Honda Sensing driver-assist suite—including Collision Mitigation Braking (CMBS), Lane Keeping Assist (LKAS... Read more

Incident date: Aug 16, 2026

My Nissan Leaf entered turtle mode on the freeways 8 times over the course of about a week and a half. This causes the car to slow itself down, and severely limit acceleration. The first time was on August 16th, 2026. This is incredibly dangerous, especially on the interstate. No one expects a car to be going 35mph on I-10, or any highway, therefore, this could have easily caused a severe rear end... Read more

Incident date: Sep 3, 2026

The contact owns a 2025 BMW IX. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle independently accelerated without the accelerator pedal being depressed. The contact depressed the brake pedal to avoid a crash and the vehicle eventually returned to normal operation. The failure had occurred on several occasions. A dealer was contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 16... Read more

Incident date: Aug 27, 2026

After approximately 30 to 40 minutes of driving, my 2024 Volkswagen Jetta intermittently fails to move after coming to a complete stop. When I press the accelerator, the engine RPMs rise, but the vehicle does not move. The vehicle is in its normal driving mode when this occurs. This has happened while I was attempting to accelerate into moving traffic, leaving my vehicle stopped in the path of ap... Read more

Incident date: Jun 25, 2026

The car suddenly started shaking and making a weird noise and it turns out the transmission went out. I know I’m not the only one with this issue.

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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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