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 73,546 complaints - component: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Incident date: Jul 17, 2024
One day I was on the highway driving and the front collusion safety warning appeared. I thought the warning went off because the sensor was dirty due to dead bugs. However, I pulled over and the sensor did not appear dirty. After awhile the sensor went off on its own. Then a few weeks late the front collusion safety warning appeared again while I was driving on the highway. The warning has not fix... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2023
Cruise control deactivation switch. I was getting in my truck on my way to work in the early morning. as I walked by the hood I could smell what seemed like burning wire, so I opened the hood & right as I got it all the way up flames started shooting up. I put the fire out and had to wait to call my mechanic he came and told me it was definitely the deactivation switch that had caught fire.
Fire
Incident date: Jul 10, 2024
This is a known issue with GLE 450 48v batteries over heating and causing loss of power and all function to control the vehicle. , For an unknown reason my vehicle was not part of a recent recall and probably should have been. I experienced the issue today and escaped tragedy. My battery light came on, then off, then a bright red battery light came on across the dashboard…then all of a sudden, m... Read more
JEEP
WRANGLER 4XE
(2024) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jul 19, 2024
Incident date: Jul 19, 2024
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The transmission lead frame failed. It was replaced by the mechanic. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? The transmission suddenly shifted to a lower gear and locked up the rear tires. This suddenly decreased the speed while traveling in traffic. Has the problem been reproduce... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 2500
(2019) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jul 19, 2024
Incident date: Jul 15, 2024
- Vehicle intermittently will not respond or will barely respond when accelerator is depressed from a complete stop or near (rolling) stop. I have noticed this issue mainly when A/C is on high and during hot temperatures. I reside in the Phoenix, AZ area where high temperatures have been ranging around 110-115. - This poses a safety risk when attempting to pull out onto a busy road, either turni... Read more
Incident date: Jun 21, 2024
I am getting a warning in the car that the front camera is failing. The warning includes an error that the front camera failed, and that the forward collision is unavailable. Each time this happens, this causes the cruise control, lane centering and lane departure systems to disengage, which means the vehicles hard brakes at highway speeds when this happens. It disabled forward collision detection... Read more
Incident date: Apr 2, 2024
I was on [XXX] heading towards Chicago and following the traffic. I started changing the line to pass the vehicle in front of me and suddenly my tesla completely lost control and started drifting to the sides. I released the accelerator right away but it made it even worse. It seems that acceleration continues to happen that’s what made car to drift. Eventually car slowed down and I was able to ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 18, 2024
Driving at 70 mph car lost power to wheels and coasted to stop. No response from accelerator. Battery was charged about 60%
VOLKSWAGEN
ID.4
(2022) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jul 18, 2024
Incident date: Jan 1, 2024
This TCM issue is a known issue with Ford. They issued recalls on this in 2015 and 2017 and extending the coverage in 2023. Please put this on the recall list as it has affected many people
Incident date: Jul 18, 2024
Vehicle produces code C0020-1 ABS pump motor control failure, vehicle disengaged cruise control unexpectedly causing rapid deceleration. Dealer states ongoing problem with 2018 Ram 3500 HD trucks
Incident date: Jul 16, 2024
the ignition switch fails while the car is in motion, causing shut off the engine and electrical system, this lead to almost had crash.
Incident date: Jul 18, 2024
Reoccurrences of car losing all accleration while driving on highway, creating near pile up accidents due again on 7/16. Car gets a false warning signal that the front trunk hatch is open, when it is actually not; others report false Neutral signal; The car front trunk is properly latched, and there is no actual safety concern. However, the car immediate and without warning has the driver lose ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 10, 2024
Transmission does not shift into gear when idle and pushing in the gas pedal. Truck randomly shuts off when at stop lights and have to restart it. Transmission shifts randomly into different gears at different speeds while driving. Transmission struggles to shift into gear and when it does the whole truck shakes and loud clunk noises happens. Cruise control speeds go up and down while driving and ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2024
When starting the engine and while driving at speeds of 60+MPH, Malfunction lamp, FCW, VSA, LDW, Low tire pressure (TPMS), ECON mode, and EPS warning lights come on and vehicles slows to 10 MPH. Vehicle will remain in this condition until restarted which may or may not resolve the issue. Car will drive but not at speed desired and vehicles appears/sounds as if it is trying to change gears but ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 18, 2024
On 7/4/2024 at approximately 6pm, I disconnected my 2023 VW ID4 from an electrical charging station. I moved my vehicle 2 blocks away to an apartment building parking lot, which I had parked in previously. While pulling into the parking spot, I was coming to a complete stop, perhaps going 1-2 miles per hour and as I came to a stop, the car accelerated out of nowhere and crashed into a few small ... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Jul 8, 2024
I am going down the road at 65mph and car loses all power, compression, speed... Starts shuttering, stuttering & shaking the car then it dies... It doesn't matter the conditions, whether I'm in city or on road... It does it anywhere and unexpectedly, never know when it's going to do it but it's dangerous it's not just once, it's every time I drive the car! Not just once but several times!
Incident date: Jul 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2023 Volkswagen ID.4. The contact stated while driving at 5 MPH, the service brake independently activated and steered in the opposite direction in which the vehicle was being steered. The vehicle independently accelerated and crashed into the rear of a parked vehicle. The parked vehicle was damaged to the rear of the vehicle. The contact's vehicle was damaged to the front cent... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jul 10, 2024
In June of 2023 I was driving my vehicle and suddenly the Traction Control, power steering and check engine light came on. I was able to get the vehicle safely home without the use of the power steering. Once I shut the vehicle off, it would not start again. I got the vehicle to my local dealership and they diagnosed it as one of the main wire harnesses was rubbing against a bolt near the battery,... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2020) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jul 18, 2024
Incident date: Jun 30, 2024
Car was left outside for two weeks while we were gone on a trip. When we returned and attempted to start the car numerous warning lights went off related to turn signals, tail lights, engine ignition, key recognition, etc. We were able to drive the car home but the turn signals and tail lights were malfunctioning and the engine would lose power unexpectedly. Upon researching on AudiWorld Forum... Read more
TOYOTA
GRAND HIGHLANDER
(2024) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jul 18, 2024
Incident date: Jul 17, 2024
The engine of my vehicle malfunctioned. It is available for inspection upon request, it will have to be towed. The problem put myself and others in danger as the car stopped as I was driving in the middle of a 3-lane highway in the far left lane. Others were put in danger as they had to swerve to avoid hitting me. That itself could have caused a chain collision as other vehicles in the middle lane... Read more
Incident date: Jul 13, 2024
1. Transmission issues with slippage, response. Issues where when going from reverse into drive taking 2-3 seconds to engage. Issues coming from a stop to going as well whereas there’s a hesitation with propulsion. 2. Safety has been at risk numerous times when pulling into heavily trafficked areas. Response to pedal should not have a 1-2 second hesitation, but it does and it’s sporadic. Can ... Read more
TOYOTA
GRAND HIGHLANDER
(2024) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jul 18, 2024
Incident date: Jul 13, 2024
**Vehicle:** Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid Max **Issue:** On high-temperature days, when the A/C is running at full capacity, the vehicle occasionally fails to accelerate from a stop. This issue persists even after applying the recommended ECM update. **Safety Concern:** The lack of reliable acceleration poses a significant safety risk, particularly when turning across oncoming traffic or enter... Read more
Incident date: Feb 5, 2024
2018 Kia Forte, purchased certified used June 2022, will randomly go into ECO or Sport mode on startup or while the vehicle is in motion. Vehicle is not equipped with Drive Mode control buttons, indicating that ECO/Sport modes are not supposed to be active feature. While I vaguely remember the mode change occurring during previous two years of my ownership, the first noticeable incident in 2024 w... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
My truck, like those of numerous other Ram owners, has a malfunctioning ABS Control Module. Because of this malfunction, the ABS and cruise control do not work. In turn, this places me and other owners of this vehicle in an unsafe situation in that lack of an operating ABS system is conducive to skidding and accidents. Some owners have even reported that they cannot drive their vehicles due to loc... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2015) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jul 17, 2024
Incident date: Jul 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2006 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, the steering wheel erroneously steered to the left direction on its own. The contact used force to maneuver the vehicle however the steering wheel independently veered again to the left, right, left, and then back to the right. The vehicle crashed into a curb, and violently accelerated across 2 lanes ... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jul 11, 2024
ON AND OFF SERVICE ABS AND TRACTION CONTROL INDICATORS.
Incident date: May 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that while the vehicle was stopped, the vehicle failed to accelerate while the accelerator pedal was depressed. The ABS warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed; however, the cause of the failure was not yet determined. The vehicle was taken to another local dealer, Alpine Nissan of Denve... Read more
Incident date: Jul 17, 2024
My truck start to accelerate by itself and the light indicator goes crazy from parking to gear 1 From there the truck it can be controlled
NISSAN
PATHFINDER
(2022) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jul 17, 2024
Incident date: May 1, 2024
To Whom It May Concern, This is a brand new 2024 GMC Sierra AT4 Diesel Truck with 4,000 miles. The first incident occurred when I was doing about 5 mph. The truck maintained its speed without my foot on the gas pedal and the cruise control was not on. Then when I tapped the gas pedal, everything return to normal. The second incident was about 2 weeks later in which the same thing happened. Th... Read more
Incident date: Jul 14, 2024
While driving 45-50 mph, without any warning or indication, there was a sudden loss of power and the ability to accelerate. The engine and all electric components were still working but I was not able to accelerate, only coast. There was a wrench warning light, Hill side assist error message, and airbag warning light that showed up on the dash. After pulling over safely, the car was turned off for... Read more
Incident date: Jun 20, 2024
This first appeared on or about 7/2/24. Saw dealership on 7/9/2024. First driving the cruise control failed and showed malfunction. The next morning truck started but numerous things didn’t work like Radio and rear emergency braking. Rear braking was a Malfunction. Also trip A/B were erased.on 7/9/24. Dealer found some previous codes and said might be due to storage switch issue. But the codes s... Read more
Incident date: Jul 17, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Leaf. The contact stated while driving on several occasions at various speeds with the cruise control activated, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle lunged forward. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V494000 (Vehicle Speed Control). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. Th... Read more
Incident date: Mar 29, 2024
Got a red turtle on the jeep..may cause loss of power..took it to dealership and said it was due to the recall back in 2022 and they never ran the correct update...the dealership ran the update ..this is now the 3rd recall and multiple issues I have had since buying the jeep!! Please help!!
Incident date: Jun 1, 2021
I was driving for about 10 minutes at speed 35 mph then noticed the car is in electric mode but unable to accelerate. It feels nothing happened when I depressed the gas pedal. The car came to a complete stop at traffic light but failed to accelerate when I pressed on the gas pedal. I turned off the car and started it back up and everything return to normal.
Incident date: Jul 16, 2024
My vehicle radio goes crazy, but oddly the speedometer goes away as well. I was able to get it back by turning radio off completely, but this should be a recall issue. Please help.
Incident date: Jul 16, 2024
I had had multiple incidents when the Van would get stuck in a gear or would lose the ability to accelerate. The passenger doors, specifically the right side passenger door would get suck and continuously open because it could not close. The rear view cameras would get stuck and after reverting to D it would stay on the screen for at least 5 min before switching back. The screen would also go blan... Read more
Incident date: Jul 16, 2024
I WAS ON THE CALIFORNIA FREEWAY I-60 HEADING EAST NEAR CHINO SECTION ON A STEADY 65 MPH IN THE CARPOOL LANE, ENGINE SUDDENLY LOSS POWER AND DROPPING SPEED DRAMATICALLY. I WAS IMMEDIATELY SET THE EMERGENCY FLASH LIGHT AND MOVED TO LEFT SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY (NO WAY TO MOVE TO RIGHT SIDE AS TRAFFIC ON I-60 IS HUGE). MOTORCYCLE DASH HAS WARNING OF : "FAULT IN THE ENGINE CONTROL. ONWARD JOURNEY POSSIBL... Read more
Incident date: Aug 20, 2020
In February 2024, on a day with snow on the ground no less, my husband was driving over the Verrazano Bridge from Brooklyn, NY to Staten Island, NY, when the car suddenly started shaking and the speed dropped from 50 to 20 in about 10-30seconds. The car started smoking and filling up with fuel fumes. Cars were beeping at him, almost crashing into the back of the car. He was able to make it to safe... Read more
Incident date: Jun 23, 2022
Hyundai's current handling of recall 251 is inadequate, posing significant danger to drivers and passengers. Hyundai's remedy for Recall 251 replaces ABS fuse with a lower amperage fuse. While this may prevent fires caused by brake fluid leaks, it disables the ABS, introducing severe safety hazards: •Without ABS, the risk of wheel lockup during heavy braking increases, leading to skidding and l... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Feb 2, 2024
I slowed down to turn into my daughter's driveway and park in front of their boat (maybe 5 mph if that). Suddenly, the vehicle accelerated at a high rate of speed on its own. I hit the brakes with no response. I had to veer to the left of the driveway onto the grass to avoid hitting the boat and garage. The car continued to accelerate (approximately 60-70+ mph) as I tried pumping the break pedal s... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jul 15, 2024
The contact's fiancé owns a 2012 Toyota Camry. While the contact's fiancé was driving 55 MPH with the accelerator pedal depressed, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated that the vehicle shuddered and decelerated from 55 MPH down to 20 MPH. The contact stated that the check engine and traction control warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the reside... Read more
Incident date: Jul 12, 2024
Abs system failed and had to brake hard causing the wheels to lock up and lose control of the truck ,lost speedometer, brake lights, 4x4,cc,trailer brakes
Incident date: Jul 12, 2024
When accelerating or breaking, my cars transmission would slip causing me to slow down whiled driving. Also, my check engine light has came on. It goes on and off unexpectedly. Car shutters and shakes when accelerating.
Incident date: Jul 13, 2024
The contact owned a 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that the brake pedal was depressed while in the park position gear, the engine revved and the vehicle accelerated independently forward causing the contact to hit her head on the headrest. The contact confirmed by looking down if in fact her foot was on the brake pedal and it was during the incident. As a result, the contact crashed ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: May 12, 2024
When driving home and try to make a left turn, the steering doesn't work and car suddenly speed up even though try to brake, the whole car is out of control, and the car hit my neighbor, and it's extremely dangerous! Thank god that no one is hurt. Police came and did a report but didn't say anything about Tesla. After that, I checked the alert history, nothing special, the only alert is remind me ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jul 1, 2024
The car accelerated brakes did not work or did not function. The. “Brakes “word (brown color ) flashed 2 x. I was going to work I parked on the upper level of the parking structure. AS I was doing rear parking I adjusted the car forward to align with the parking slot . As I moved the car forward it jolted and accelerated. The brakes was not working. The word “brake”. Flashed. 2 tim... Read more
Crash
1 injured
FORD
MAVERICK HYBRID
(2022) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jul 15, 2024
Incident date: Jul 15, 2024
After starting car, for first 15-20 mins, all normal. After speedometer go erratic (showing slower than actual speed - or - higher than actual speed) and soon after it just stops working. No check engine light. Dangerous to drive without knowing actual speed. Have to use mobile phone app like Waze or something which shows apx speed. Upon internet search, I found there are many Kia spectra ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2024
Vehicle is dealer to address issues about steering rack failure and control system (speedometer screen and Intelligent touch screen system) blanking. Two weeks ago I nearly crashed into a car in front of me because the car became unresponsive.
Incident date: Jun 19, 2024
1. COLLISION WARNING SENSOR ACTIVATED WHILE DRIVING IN THE #1 LANE( CLOSEST TO THE CEMENT HIGHWAY DIVIDERS) AND AGGRESIVELY BRAKED AND SLOWED WHILE DIVING AT 77 MPH. NOT SAFE!! 2. EVEN THOU I PURPOSELY TURN THE RADIO "OFF" WHEN EXITING MY CAR, UPON ENTERING MY CAR AFTER A SHORT DURATION OF TIME, THE RADIO TURNS "ON" WITHOUT ANY ASSISTANCE BY ME....VERY FRUSTRATING!! VEHICLE HAS BEEN INSPECTED BY ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 2, 2024
The dash above the steering wheel is not lighting up to show me the speed, gas, rpm. Or any other lights. My safety and others is at risk because I am not able to know my speed or any malfunctions that would other wise be displayed on the dash. This just happened and I cannot reach the dealership until tomorrow. This has not been inspected by anyone as of now. No other warning lights or symptoms p... Read more