Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,215,138 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA — including 138,663 crashes, 56,255 fires, and 8,561 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 2,215,138 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 72,878 complaints — component: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Incident date: Jun 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while driving from a stop sign and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle hesitated to respond as intended. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle was jerking for several minutes. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer but was not diagnosed sinc... Read more
Incident date: Jun 12, 2024
WE WERE TRYING TO PARK THE CAR IN OUR GARAGE WHEN THE CAR SUDDENLY SPED UP. AND HIT OUR THE FENCE . i RELEASED THE PEDAL BUT IT KEPT DRIVING UNTIL I HIT THE BRAKE. AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY. THE CAR?S FRONT WAS SMASHED. OUR FENCE IS ALSO BADLY DAMAGED. I HAVE ASKED TESLA TO INVESTIGATE IF IT WAS BECAUSE OF THE AUTOPILOT TAKING OVER BUT HAVE NOT RECEIVED A RESPONSE FROM THEM YET AFTER MORE THAN A WEEK... Read more
Crash
Incident date: May 28, 2024
Seems like, This is common problems for all the Toyota Venza Car. After stopping at redlight, If we push the accelerator, It doesn't have a pickup speed as mentioned 7.1 sec from 0-60 miles. If, car is take on the 45/55 mile from the local road, it may hit by back side of the car. This is really concerning. Working with the dealer to solve the issue.
Incident date: Jan 17, 2024
Purchased vehicle new. ABS and TC lights presented on dash intermittent. Cruise control inoperative when lights on. Had issue under warranty and had components replaced to resolve issue and now happening again. Afraid to have family in vehicle with inoperative safety systems.
Incident date: Jun 9, 2024
The transmission seems to be confused on which gear to select and hesitates to get the truck moving. It's happened to me at an intersection a few times and my car will inch forward but lags to accelerate, and vehicles behind me have been close to rear ending me. This is very reproducible in the mornings, it's very apparent or when the truck has been sitting off for a long period of time. After dri... Read more
Incident date: Jun 11, 2024
Lag in acceleration. Press the accelerator and vehicle takes a few seconds to respond. Trying to right turn on intersection and due to acceleration lag almost got hit by another vehicle. The accelerator should respond immediately when pressed just like it does on all the other vehicles I have driven. This has happened on multiple occasions with this vehicle.
Incident date: Jun 11, 2024
Went to drive home from work one night, car had been normal until this event. Car suddenly began to state that it was overheating and throttled my speed down to 20 MPH. I was in the middle of traffic going 40-50 at this time. Turns out there is a VSB regarding a coolant leak that can occur and break. Nothing about how you are suddenly governed to 20 MPH
Incident date: Sep 6, 2023
Torque converter and transmission failure. Torque converter cannot maintain speed on vehicle, lurches and jerks around 30mph, and tries to launch vehicle while stopped with brake fully depressed.
Incident date: Jun 11, 2024
Failure of all steering wheel controls. with random cruise control suddenly activating ...transmission gear control self activation (will drop into lower gear causing driver to fly forward and vehicle behind to take evasive action). radio changes channels by itself. i found info that lead me to believe it was a clock spring issue. was taken to dealer. they diagnosed it as a steering wheel harne... Read more
Incident date: Jun 4, 2024
The contact owns a 2024 Chevrolet Trax. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the brakes became inoperable. The braking system failure message was displayed. The vehicle failed to exceed 42 MPH. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where the codes were cleared, and the electrical system was updated. The dealer was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed... Read more
Incident date: Jun 10, 2024
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC), SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC The light for the stability control came on and my brakes chatter feels like there's bumps on the disc .Its pulling to the right , .. Also my door locks have failed .first it started with my rear windshield wiper running with the switch off ,than my reverse lights and now the locks . The back door does not lock at all and the door locks... Read more
Incident date: Jun 20, 2019
I am very unsatisfied with the fact that I have to get my oil changed 1 every month, due to burning oil as well as hard ride. My car will not pass inspection after 2024, due to emissions, I paid $600 to get a passed sticker and Sick of dumping money into this vehicle. there have been so many recalls on this car. What is Hyundai willing to do ? I’ve purchased this vehicle in 2013 from Brad Benson... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2013) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 10, 2024
Incident date: Feb 3, 2024
Vehicle has an unintended acceleration recall and I have experienced it a few times during the past few months. almost crashed into vehicle before me after the traffic stop.
Incident date: Jun 10, 2024
I have noticed that when I am breaking, occasionally as I’m breaking there’s a sudden jolt, or lurch, forward like the car is accelerating. This is very disconcerting especially when there are other cars in front of me or people.
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2020) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 10, 2024
Incident date: May 6, 2024
The contact owned a 2015 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while depressing the accelerator pedal to drive inside the garage, the vehicle accelerated to the highest speed unintendedly. The contact depressed the brake pedal continuously, but the vehicle failed to respond. The vehicle pushed a table of home items through the rear wall of the garage, hit several gas pipes, and then landed approximately... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jun 7, 2022
The contact owns a 2023 Volkswagen ID.4. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle independently accelerated. The contact stated that the brake pedal was depressed, however, the vehicle failed to stop as intended. The contact stated that the vehicle rear-ended the contact's other parked vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle crashed into the contact's re... Read more
Crash
Incident date: May 24, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Toyota Camry. The contact stated while driving 15-20 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle hesitated to respond. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring increasingly while driving. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact rel... Read more
Incident date: Sep 19, 2023
1. Propulsion, acceleration, brakes, transmission- no longer available for inspection 2. The vehicle went completely out of control; I stood on the brakes as hard as I could but would not stop or slow the car at all. We careened down a hill and head on into a large tree 3. not reproduced or confirmed 4. Vehicle was inspected by insurance company and was declared a total loss 5. no signs of any mal... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: May 27, 2024
The vehicle accelerates on its own when I try to slow down at traffic lights and turns. Almost hitting pedestrians and cars in front of me. The lights in the back seat turn on while driving indicating to the police that I’m doing more than driving in the car The body parts so low quality the door handles are brittle and breaking. They cut my fingers and my kids fingers when we were opening and... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: May 13, 2022
Car was at about 70,000 upon purchase. Once driving it regularly, I immediately noticed a faint knocking noise upon acceleration. Also, when coasting the speed adjusted on its own intermittently, both up & down, not by much but enough that I felt it on the gas pedal. Other times it fails to accelerate when pushing on the gas pedal. I have to release the pedal & try again, sometimes more than once... Read more
Incident date: Jun 8, 2024
I was driving to work going about 40 and out of nowhere my 2016 Kia Sorento started slowing down. I could not accelerate and no warning lights came on. There was a sudden loss of power.The car slowed to a stop near a busy intersection. I was in the road and almost hit by multiple cars. I could not start it again. I noticed white smoke coming out from under the hood. There was an awful smell to it.... Read more
Incident date: Jun 7, 2024
This has occurred three separate times, but this report explains what happened during the most recent occurrence. I was driving at 40 mph. The car in front of me hit their brakes, so I lightly tapped my brakes to slow down. When I tapped the gas pedal, the car would not increase speed. The check engine light, oil light, and battery light each turned on simultaneously. The car then stalled complete... Read more
GRAND DESIGN
REFLECTION
(2022) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 8, 2024
Incident date: May 1, 2024
Phantom braking occurred when the adaptive cruise was engaged when a truck entered the road from the right side. The car abruptly slowed when the truck crossed my lane although there was no eminent danger. The car behind us nearly collided with us due to the sudden braking incident. This is the third sudden braking incident; however, the others were related to a bridge or overpass.
Incident date: Jun 7, 2024
The vehicle cut off on me while the vehicle was in drive and I was driving on the highway going 70mph. It has done this several times now. The car cuts off. The vehicle looses power.
GMC
SIERRA 3500
(2022) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 8, 2024
Incident date: Apr 15, 2024
FOURTH INCIDENT: On [XXX] 2024, at approximately [XXX], I was traveling about 40-mph and slowing for a stop light. Just before coming to a complete stop, at about 5-mph this vehicle suddenly shifted into park on its own. At the same time numerous & various warning prompts appeared on the screen and ALL the warning signs on the instrument cluster became illuminated. As with the three (3) previous ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 6, 2024
When driving, the car started to stutter when accelerating and while driving any speed below 60 mph, while trying to get the car home it would not accelerate up a hill after I stopped at a light and I was in the middle of the street stuck on a blind spot. My husband had to get out and direct the traffic before they came pst the blind spot and hit me.
Incident date: May 1, 2024
Timing Chain making noise...voltage fluctuations throughout all the car...cruise control will shut off if I got to use wipers or blinkers or even turn on the air system and lights will dim if you use power windows or have the radio up loud.
Incident date: May 23, 2024
The ABS and traction light come in 2022 F53 chassis and 2024 Thor Motor home. No cruise control and breaks seem to not function properly. Cruise control is disabled. Start and stopping the vehicle erases the light until 63mph then again comes on. Looking atvall the threads online I am surprised you have not pushed Ford for a solution. 2 times repairs but not fixed. Brand new and sat in shop sinc... Read more
Incident date: May 23, 2024
Vehicle would go into reduced speed mode and abruptly come to 17 mph on highway. I have called. Emailed. And send message on social media with zero responses. Service department has not responded in months to any service requests.
Incident date: Jun 6, 2024
While operating the motorcycle, it will randomly go into limp mode no matter what speed you’re at the motorcycle will rapidly decelerate extremely quickly and without warning. No brake light to illuminate when this happens. I have contacted INDIAN motorcycles as well as dealerships with absolutely no help whatsoever. This is extremely dangerous and can get me killed!!!!!
Incident date: May 10, 2024
My car can no longer accelerate and multiple lights came on, this all happened while i was driving and there was no warning signs that my car was about to do that it just happened out of nowhere while I was driving it.Now I can’t drive my vehicle until it is repaired but the recall parts are still not available so I don’t know what to do to fix my car.
Incident date: Jun 7, 2024
On long trips (when you need cruise control the most) the adaptive cruise control will (seemingly at random) stop working with a warning about the active distance assist and active brake assist. It has happened in all situations from heavy traffic to long distances of no other cars on the road. It stays non-functional for anywhere from a few minutes to several days. It has happened many times. ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 5, 2024
I stopped at a stop sign and the car went into N without me changing anything. The car wouldnt go back to D or P mode even when I pressed the buttons. I had to turn off the car and turn it on again to make it function properlty. This happened twice within 5 mins.
Incident date: Jun 29, 2023
Driving at 70 mph, the vehicle shifted into neutral without warning. When attempting to place the vehicle back into drive, the vehicle dashboard Siad "vehicle condition not met" . I slowed the car and pulled over. It shifted into park but now will not start and will not go into neutral for towing.
Incident date: Jun 6, 2023
Sometimes when each of us 2 are slowing to a stop while applying the brake, the Sienna will lunge forward. This unexpected event may cause a rear-end collision if too close. Also, it is enough to cause us to hit our head on the head rest. Can’t understand why this happening. We are sure we only have our foot on the brake and not the accelerator.
Incident date: Jun 6, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Ecosport. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact released the accelerator pedal and then depressed the pedal again, and the vehicle drove as intended. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however... Read more
NISSAN
PATHFINDER
(2024) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 6, 2024
Incident date: Jun 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Chevrolet Spark. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the vehicle had not been diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer wa... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2024
The vehicle, a 2021 Tesla Model 3, had an episode of sudden unintended acceleration. I was almost stationary waiting to make a left when the car accelerated by itself, left the road, crossed a grass field at high speed and crashed into bushes. The vehicle was not on auto pilot, it resulted in damage of almost $ 20.000 as estimated by insurance. The vehicle is available for inspection, it will b... Read more
Crash
Incident date: May 29, 2024
I am the primary driver of our 2022 Toyota Venza. On [XXX] I had just taken the car through the Splash automated car wash on [XXX] and I was navigating into an adjacent space for use of the vacuum cleaners. As I took my foot off the accelerator to put the vehicle into Park, it suddenly and unintentionally accelerated. It crossed the driveway entrance to the car wash, jumped a curb which was ac... Read more
Incident date: Apr 10, 2024
When I am stopped at a light or in stop and go traffic my car will not accelerate when I put my foot on the gas pedal. I can push it all the way to the floor and my car will not move. It takes about 10 seconds or so then my car will jolt quickly and finally go. I have also had issues with the RPM's shooting up while I am driving at a low rate of speed. This has happened maybe 3 times and I have... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 5500
(2023) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 6, 2024
Incident date: Sep 1, 2023
The contact's fiancée owns a 2002 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that there was smoke coming from the driver's side front end of the vehicle. The contact stated that while his fiancée was attempting to drive the vehicle the following day, the brake pedal was depressed but was firm, requiring the contact's fiancée to step on the brake pedal to drive. The brake pedal remained on the floorboa... Read more
Incident date: Jun 6, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Nissan Kicks. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated that the failure occurred after the vehicle had come to a complete stop. In addition, the contact stated that the failure occurred intermittently. The contact stated that the door locks i... Read more
MINI
COOPER COUNTRYMAN
(2013) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 6, 2024
Incident date: Mar 25, 2024
The speedometer is off between 3 and 7 MPH, depending on the speed traveling. I took it in for service, and they stated they needed to consult with corporate. They never got back to me, and after a month, I reached out again, and they sent a text message stating the below: "David this is Jacob at Daytona HD. After speaking with Harley again on your speedo concern they consider it to be within acc... Read more
NISSAN
PATHFINDER
(2014) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 6, 2024
Incident date: Jun 2, 2024
Twice after picking up the vehicle from the dealership for a recall or service I've stopped at the light near the dealer. On seeing green in accelerate and mid-way through the turn power will fail. I release the accelerator pedal once or twice and power returns.
Incident date: Jun 5, 2024
2023 Jeep Gladiator with 8000 miles shut off while driving down the highway at approximately 40 Mph. Service Electronic Throttle Control light illuminated. Coasted to a stop and put the vehicle in park. Vehicle wouldn’t restart. Vehicle is currently at the dealership awaiting service.
Incident date: Jun 2, 2024
My Tucson is applying Automatic Emergency Break without a reason. It happened to me 3 times in a week with my Tucson Hybrid 2024 NLine, it was scary and I was on freeway at 70+MPH and couldn't capture the warning as it popped out for only 3 sec. I see no cars around when this happened and when I checked few forums I see this as a common problem in Hyundai vehicles in recent times and feeling scare... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2020) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 5, 2024
Incident date: Jun 3, 2024
While driving brakes failed and codes came on saying brake system failure 43 mph, this problem apparently is a programming issue that will cost over 600 dollars because “reprogramming” isn’t covered. Brake pads were over 50% life and it is a very dangerous error.
Incident date: Mar 5, 2022
Our 2021 Ford Escape has "Intelligent" adaptive cruise control. It has the capacity to adjust our car speed based on the highway speed limit signs it encounters. It reads all speed correctly but it also reads "black and white, square, numeric, County Road signs as Speed Signs. This is dangerous as many County Road signs have numerics that drastically exceed the posted speed limit and cause the car... Read more
Incident date: Apr 15, 2024
My 2017 Nissan Sentra S has a very serious problem whenever my RPM reach 3.5 to 4.It starts jerking and I can't accelerate anymore,in one occasion after the jerking stop I couldn't drive no more than 5 miles per hour.i have checked for any visible issues but none. No warning lights come on, I carry a scanner with me OBD2 but it doesn't have any codes. I have gone online to find a solution but I'm ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 5, 2022
am writing you today in frustration with my treatment at both your dealership Hyundai Streetsboro and Hyundai of Bedford. When I first purchased my vehicle I expressed concern regarding the hesitation while accelerating and the emense amount of oil this vehicle burns. When I scheduled all my services I expressed the same concern only to be told that it's normal rate or oil consumption. I am extrem... Read more