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 3, 2026
I was already parked in a spot in a public parking lot. I tapped the accelerator pedal to move the car a few inches. The vehicle responded by violently accelerating, hitting a vehicle directly in front of me in another parking space. I applied my brake but the car would not stop. The force of the acceleration pushed the car out of the it's spot and it hit a curb and tree appox 30 ft away. In d... Read more
Crash
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS
(2019) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jul 6, 2026
Incident date: Jul 3, 2026
The contact owns a 2025 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving into a parking space and applying the brake pedal, the vehicle suddenly experienced unintended acceleration, surged forward and drove over a parking bump before crashing into the hedges and a lamp post. No injuries were reported. A police report was filed at the scene. The vehicle was later towed to the local collision... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jun 18, 2026
Vehicle is unsafe to drive due to the loss of ABS and traction control. The constant dinging of the warning is very distracting. Stellantis, Ram Trucks, and local dealers do not seem to care that this has been an ongoing issue for over a year and still do not have any parts for the recall.
Incident date: Jul 2, 2026
The date was XXX there was a recall on the transmission for my 2014 Chevrolet Spark I took my car to Ben Mynatt [XXX]. They check my car and told me that my car transmission was effected and that they put an order for a new transmission. They called me the next day to bring the car in which I did, they gave me a loaner. On XXX they called me and told me my car was ready and that I can come and p... Read more
Incident date: Jun 18, 2026
Driving on highway at 80 MPH and accelerator stopped working and car turned off. We had to coast off toll rd and hope for the best. No warning and happened with our whole family in the car. I had a recall notice from manufacturer but last time I tried contacting manufacturer/dealer they said no resolution was available to repair recall yet and that I couldn’t drop off my vehicle.
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS
(2024) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jul 5, 2026
Incident date: Jul 1, 2026
It's been about one month since engine light has lit up on the dashboard and stays on now. The first incident occurred about a week ago, as I was driving, I was slowing down to go into a roundabout, the vehicle begin to jerk and pull back, a red triangle exclamation mark light started going off warning me to safely park my vehicle as it had overheated. I assumed it was low on coolant so I topped ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 4, 2026
Since purchasing my 2019 Subaru Crosstrek brand new in 2019, the vehicle has suffered from a chronic and dangerous lack of acceleration. It consistently fails to gain speed as expected. This issue becomes life-threatening when attempting to merge onto highways. The vehicle is incapable of accelerating quickly enough to match the speed of oncoming traffic. This severe hesitation and lack of powe... Read more
Incident date: Jul 5, 2026
While driving car will not let me accelerate and it hesitates while driving kind of a jerking if trying to accelerate. The AC blows hot air the check engine light is on I only had the car for two months purchased from dealership
Incident date: Jul 4, 2026
I was driving down the freeway driving at the speed of traffic. My vehicle started beeping aggressively, a red indicator started flashing over the frunk area of the vehicle representation in the dash and my vehicle entered red turtle mode. This red turtle mode severely reduced the vehicle's speed and ability to maneuver on the freeway. I was almost struck by numerous vehicles while attempting to g... Read more
Incident date: Jul 4, 2026
I live in [XXX]. On the way to [XXX], out of no where the car stopped accelerating. Was in eco mode at the time and dropped completely while trying to accelerate in the middle of the road. Pulled over completely turned off the car checked the engine nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Ran the diagnostics from the car and didn’t show any errors. Turned off again for a bit and turn on and everythi... Read more
Incident date: Jan 25, 2026
On XXX at approximately 1002am, [XXX] was on the exit ramp from [XXX] northbound to [XXX]. At the end of the ramp, she stopped and tried to make a left turn onto [XXX] northbound. The vehicle was still in Electric mode (plenty of battery life remaining). The Jeep crawled through the intersection, with the accelerator all the way to the floor. [XXX] feared that she would be struck by oncoming t... Read more
Incident date: Jul 4, 2026
On XXX at approximately 1000am, [XXX] was driving the Jeep on [XXX] at a speed of 72mph. The vehicle was in E-Save mode and had 16 miles of battery life remaining. [XXX] switched over to Electric mode and slowly began to lose speed. She put the accelerator all the way to the floor, but the gas motor did not activate. The Jeep dropped slowly down to 62mph where it leveled off. Shortly thereaft... Read more
Incident date: Jun 26, 2026
Whenever in park or reverse the vehicle suddenly power cycles. The vehicle also power cycles when steering and locks the wheel. This can be fatal if it happens on the public road in the middle of traffic.
Incident date: Jul 1, 2026
When going around a curve the steering wheel is sticking on the right. I have to tighten my grip on the wheel and manually straighten the wheel. This happened to me several times today on my 50 min trip. This was very frightening to me making me scared the wheel would stick and I have no control of the car while driving. I purchased this car on sat June 27. It just started today July 3. I am plann... Read more
Incident date: Dec 19, 2025
The vehicle’s BlueCruise/adaptive cruise system has repeatedly slowed unexpectedly while traveling on interstate highways. In some instances, the vehicle slowed to approximately 40 mph in a 70 mph zone without an apparent traffic reason. The system also slows excessively in curves. These events create a rear-end collision risk and require immediate driver intervention. The concern has occurred m... Read more
Incident date: Jul 3, 2026
The transmission malfunctioned on the Interstate. The car started jumping and then would slow way down to about 33 MPH with the RPM's super high and then kick back in and speed up super fast and I would have to brake constantly. I almost hit the car in front of me at one point. A different point in the same trip the car behind me had to slam on it's brakes to stop from hitting me when the car l... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS
(2024) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jul 3, 2026
Incident date: Jul 3, 2026
When driving the vehicle under normal load and conditions, after coming to a complete stop- then trying to accelerate to take a turn or move forward- the vehicle begins to proceed then suddenly stops moving or accelerating. Twice now I have almost been T Boned. Once when leaving my neighborhood and trying to proceed onto the main 45mph country road, most recently tried to turn left from a turning ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 6, 2025
Sudden self-acceleration by new RAV4 hybrid with less than 1000 miles on it. I made a hard left at low speed onto an uphill residential street. Saw a car backing down the street 1/2 block ahead so I took my foot off accelerator to slow down. Instead, car self-accelerated while my foot was not pressing any pedal, and shot uphill and over a speed bump, throwing the car off course toward parked cars.... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2025
Most of the dash lights are on scan code U1412. Says traction control not working, ABS not working, speedometer not working, and airbags not working. The Power Control Module (PCM) needs replaced. A known issue with the Jeep Wrangler JKs. No one stocks the parts and used ones are way over priced. How can Jeep not have to replace it or at least stock a replacement part that has the issues resolved?
Incident date: Jul 1, 2026
On XXX my 2000 Ford Expedition caught on fire at around 2am. It had not been driven or turned on since XXX, and was sitting parked that whole time. It was parked in the parking lot of my apartment building, right outside of my unit. I was woken up by a loud pop which I believe was the tire exploding, and the flames were tall enough to see outside my second story bedroom window. My entire apartmen... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Jun 30, 2026
Car has been having problems immediately with the turbocharger which then seemed fine once taken in. Only to turn around and have the transmission go out. Once again, it was taken in and was reported that there is no transmission dipstick. It is going into limp mode due to slippage detected from the B clutch pack. There is a low chance that flushing out the fluid could buy the transmission some mo... Read more
Incident date: Jul 2, 2026
My vehicle experienced the exact component failure described in NHTSA Recall 24V-896 (FCA Campaign C4B), but my VIN is currently excluded due to the manufacturing date window." My truck's build date was 01/17. The following warning lights appeared (ABS, Traction Control/ESC) and I lost auxiliary cruise control. An independent shop diagnosed the failed Hydraulic Control Unit (HCU) / ABS pump motor ... Read more
Incident date: May 19, 2026
Unexpected acceleration
Crash
Incident date: Jul 2, 2026
The vehicle intermittently fails to accelerate normally from a stop, especially in hot weather and when the A/C is running. When pressing the accelerator, the vehicle can hesitate for an extended period before moving. In a recent incident recorded on video (reference attachment), I pressed the accelerator and the vehicle failed to respond normally for more than 10 seconds, requiring me to pull ove... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2014) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jul 2, 2026
Incident date: Jul 2, 2026
Almost crashed a few times because of the automatic breaking.
Incident date: Jun 5, 2026
using adaptive cruise control if a car comes in front of you from the side street etc the car can go from 55 to 30 in seconds and if someone is following too close or not paying attention that car can hit you in the rear . on curvy roads a car coming the other way will almost stop the car quickly annoying the driver behind you
Incident date: Apr 15, 2026
Whining sound can be heard while accelerating the vehicle. Maintenance crew is reporting an issue with transmission. UA80F 8 speed transmission on V6 engine in Toyota Highlander has this failure noise. Given that the transmission can fail anytime. It is dangerous to operate the vehicle. No action is taken from Toyota yet.
Incident date: Jul 1, 2026
My vehicle completely lost power and stalled on the freeway, requiring a tow. A Toyota dealership has diagnosed it with a total internal failure of the UA80 transmission and quoted me $9,000. This vehicle has been properly maintained, including a documented transmission fluid service at a Toyota facility in March of this year. A modern powertrain should not suffer a life-threatening failure at 130... Read more
Incident date: Jun 30, 2026
Honda Accord 9th Gen ABS/VSA Issues - DTC Code 81-20 /32-11. TPMS/ABS/VSA/Brake/Power Steering lights are on. Dealer claim is an ABS module issue and need replacement.
LINCOLN
MKZ HYBRID
(2015) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jul 1, 2026
Incident date: Oct 6, 2025
was waiting for the traffic light to turn green. Vehicle in drive with foot on brake. the traffic light turned green, I took my foot off the brakes and pushed on the accelerator. Nothin happened. I saw another vehicle approaching at a high rate of speed behind me so I continued to mash on the accelerator. right before being hit by the car behind me my vehicle lurched forward a few feet then stoppe... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2025
The Speed Sign Recognition feature misread a "CC" cross road sign as being a 60mph speed limit sign and caused the Predictive Speed Assist feature to change the speed control set pont from 25mph to 60mph while in town and in a school speed zone. The abrupt change in speed control setting caused the vehicle to aggressively accelerate without warning and without driver input. The issue has been rep... Read more
LAND ROVER
RANGE ROVER SPORT
(2017) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jul 1, 2026
Incident date: Jul 1, 2025
My Son just bought the car from a private party. On our way home the engine light and a lightning bolt icon illuminated on the dash, followed by the vehicle going into limp mode. We had the vehicle scanned for codes and it came back with P0336 (crankshaft position sensor performance). After much investigation online, we found out that this is a known issue with the crankshaft position sensor and, ... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ID.4
(2023) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jul 1, 2026
Incident date: Jan 1, 2026
While driving at 40-45mph, the vehicle abruptly slowed to 15-20 mph, with no warning whatsoever. I narrowly avoided being rear ended by a box truck by moving into the turning lane. Had I been on the highway, this would have led to a catastrophic accident. I am concerned for the safety of my family, myself, and other drivers. Please reinstate/ extend the statute of limitations, or make exception fo... Read more
Incident date: Jun 13, 2026
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Jun 15, 2026
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Apr 11, 2025
Tesla Full Self-Driving (Supervised) repeatedly ignored the “Avoid Toll Roads” navigation setting and attempted last-second lane changes into Express Toll Lanes at freeway speeds. This has occurred approximately 10 times. I was repeatedly forced to take over steering immediately to avoid entering the toll lane, creating a serious safety risk due to sudden maneuvers in heavy traffic. On several... Read more
Incident date: May 8, 2026
On a recent road trip I experience loss of acceleration twice. I was at a stop sign making a left hand turn. I step on the accelerator it start forward but then stop suddenly leaving me in the 1st lane of on coming traffic. I smashed on the accelerator several time before the vehicle finally responded. I took the vehicle to the dealer on 6/30 told the dealer what had happen along with my google fi... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2019
I have keep regular maintenance up on my car. Recently all of the lights began flashing on the dashboard. I had oil changed, reset the battery, and all ignition coils. The lights came back on within a week. The car stalled while driving it and had to pull over inside of the highway, turn it off, wait a few minutes before turning it back on.
Incident date: Jun 26, 2026
The vehicle suffered an incident of Sudden Unintended Acceleration while slowly turning right, into a level parking space. Drivers foot was on the brake, but the car suddenly accelerated and surged forward. The car did not stop, even with strong brake pressure, until it hit the curb and almost hit a pedestrian. We called SOS to have Volvo pick up car to be towed to the dealership. I consider thi... Read more
FORD
MAVERICK HYBRID
(2025) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 30, 2026
Incident date: Jun 14, 2026
The driver's odometer and vehicle status screen intermittently blacks out, whereby not showing the speed of the vehicle and any driver warnings. It appears that this may a design issue associated to thermal events (i.e., perhaps the screen is overheating when the outdoor temperature rises to 33 C or more). I have taken my vehicle to the BMW dealership in Chandler, Arizona, so they believed repro... Read more
NISSAN
ROGUE SPORT
(2020) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 30, 2026
Incident date: Jun 30, 2026
On June 30, 2026, at approximately 8:45 AM, I was driving my 2025 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid on the freeway with cruise control set at 74 mph. While driving, the vehicle displayed a message that cruise control had been disabled. As the vehicle began slowing down, I pressed the accelerator pedal, but the gas pedal did not respond. I had to carefully move over to the right as the vehicle continued slow... Read more
Incident date: Jun 18, 2026
The contact owns a 2017 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated while seated inside the vehicle with his wife, the gear shifter was shifted into drive; however, while depressing the brake pedal the vehicle accelerated independently. The check engine warning light was illuminated. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed; however, the diagnostic result was unknown. The ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 27, 2026
On 6/11/26, around 2:10 pm, when i was slowly pulling over to park on a road side, the car suddenly rushed forward unexpectedly. It was so powerful, at the time I could only hear the panic reactions from the two passengers and sense the imminent collision with the parked bmw in the front of several car length away. Right before the collision i steered the wheel to the right to avoid the bmw and m... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2026
Purchased used car in July 2024 and was able to drive it maybe 2 months and the transmission would not shift and would come to a complete stop. Not a safe feeling driving in 3 lanes of traffic on a busy highway at rush hour. Transmission light on and took to mechanic and was told this make and model is notorious for transmission failure and it needs replacing. The odometer is 86316 and car has bee... Read more
Incident date: Jun 27, 2026
The 3.5L V6 engine in this vehicle suffered a sudden, catastrophic internal mechanical failure due to premature connecting rod bearing wear. The engine stalling occurred abruptly while actively driving, which created an immediate safety risk as the vehicle lost propulsion, power steering assistance, and power braking assistance. This forced a dangerous emergency maneuver to navigate through moving... Read more
KIA
SORENTO PHEV
(2025) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 29, 2026
Incident date: Nov 21, 2024
My wife had a collission on June 25th at 2 30PM CST while she was parking her vehicle in her office parking spot. The car suddenty sped and hit a tree. We suspect it be a misfire in Tesla.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jun 23, 2026
While driving at highway speeds on the freeway in my 2021 Cadillac CT4-V, the vehicle experienced a sudden, catastrophic loss of propulsion. Without warning, the transmission dropped out of gear as if it were in neutral. I completely lost the ability to accelerate, creating an immediate, life-threatening hazard as I was left stranded and blocking high-speed freeway traffic. Only after the mechanic... Read more
JEEP
WAGONEER S
(2025) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 29, 2026
Incident date: Jun 8, 2026
On 6-22-26 at approximately 1035 am, I was traveling southbound on Rte 140 in Taunton. I was in the left lane, traveling at a speed of approximately 55 mph. The Jeep was in Electric Mode. I attempted to accelerate so that I could get around a tanker truck. I pressed down on the accelerator, but my speed only went up to 56 mph before slowly starting to come down. I pressed harder on the accele... Read more
JEEP
WAGONEER S
(2025) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 29, 2026
Incident date: Jun 8, 2026
On [XXX] at approximately [XXX] pm I was at the intersection of [XXX] and [XXX]. When the light turned green I attempted to make a left turn. The Jeep was in E-Save mode, but the gas engine was not on at the time. I stepped on the accelerator, but the vehicle moved very slowly through the turn, no matter how hard I pressed down on the accelerator (electric motor engaged at this time). I feared... Read more
Incident date: Jun 29, 2026
I have a 2019 Honda Accord Sport 1.5. I was driving on the freeway last week and my car did not allow me to accelerate anymore. Car went to an unsafe highway speed and it was hard to get to a shoulder where can safely stop. I felt my safety was compromised by this issue. All the warnings appeared on my dash and all the lights went on. No warnings prior to this problem. I am needing a new head gask... Read more