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: Jun 23, 2024
I was pulling into a parking spot. When I do this, my foot is always on the break. I'm an experienced driver (30+ years) and have never had an incident when I felt the car accelerate without my initiation. When I was maybe 5-7 ft from the car in front of me, the car suddenly accelerated (like it was possessed). I immediately slammed on the break and turned the wheel. Thankfully, and amazingly, I a... Read more
Incident date: Jun 21, 2024
Budget rental out of KSGF. THIS DANGEROUS COMPACT SUV IS UNFIT FOR UNITED STATES ROADS AND INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS. IN 2 WEEKS THE CAR OVER 8x Attempted to Overpower my driver inputs nearly driving me in to semi tractor trailer rigs. Further every time that happens a loud annoying message to take a coffee break even 7 minutes into the drive since engine start up. The partial Turn Off only partly lesse... Read more
TOYOTA
COROLLA CROSS
(2022) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 22, 2024
Incident date: Jun 19, 2024
Yes, I bought a brand new 2020 Jeep Compass North Edition from a Wisconsin dealer in June 2020. I drove across country to Utah where I know reside. Had no problems on that trip. About 10 months later I started experiencing a "High temp coolant" light come on and the vehicle shuts off and locks up. Very dangerous while driving. After about 30 seconds I could restart it. It happened about 10 times.... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2022
There is NO "rubber" pedal on the gas pedal. Foot easily slips off "metal" pedal whether shoe is dry, wet, muddy snow encased, etc. Unable to maintain positive pressure on gas pedal as shoe/foot easily slips off. First vehicle I have driven with no "rubber" pad on the Gass pedal. With no "rubber" pad, may not be able to accelerate due to foot slipping OSS, may cause unnecessary REAR END COLLISIO... Read more
Incident date: Jun 22, 2024
Twice now within three months while I was backing up as I was parking the car parallel to the curb, the car suddenly accelerated at a much faster pace and projected the car backwards. Luckily no property or individuals were hurt. It would appear that the accelerator or speed control failed at the lower speeds required when backing up to parallel park. I saw no warning lights on the dash howev... Read more
Incident date: Jun 16, 2024
I was on the freeway and I needed to accelerate to get over and I pushed on the gas and the car would not accelerate at all I could not get the vehicle to speed up it was stuck at 40 I had gotten the gas pedal to the ground and no acceleration the RPM were jumping up but the miles per hour were not so I I tried to let it drop down in speed and then tried to accelerate again and at that point I cou... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2024
The first time I was stopped at an intersection. Luckily there was no one in front of me as the car, without warning, accelerated at full throttle. Although my foot was on the brake, and I was braking as hard as I could, the car continued to lunge forward. It finally stopped and I backed up to my original position in the intersection. The second time it happened I was pulling into a parking spot i... Read more
Crash
CHRYSLER
PT CRUISER
(2002) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 20, 2024
Incident date: Jun 13, 2024
Ever since Tesla rolled out an update for everyone to beta test FSD, the adaptive cruise control has been changing speeds when near interstate type exits and entrances. I've had it change from 75 down to 40 mph which is dangerous in traffic. This change in speed some times is just a drop to the next 5mph increment, such as from 73 to 70. Sometimes it is more from 73 to 65 at the same place/exit. I... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2024
On June 16, 2024, My car lost power completely, I stepped on the gas pump and nothing. First I was parked and I tried to start and it would not give me acceleration. Later on, it re started normally, later on when in the freeway, it completely lost the acceleration capability. My speed went to 7 miles per hour. It was scary as other cars were driving at an average of 60 miles per hour. My mecha... Read more
Incident date: Jun 12, 2024
I don't yet know the exact cause of the problem, but while at highway speed (approx. 72 mph), my wife pressed the gas pedal to accelerate, and it didn't work. She continued to press the pedal, and after several seconds, the vehicle did accelerate. I see this issue on severe threads and will be contacting the dealer or my mechanic as we are very concerned about this safety issue, the vehicle not ac... Read more
Incident date: Apr 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Accord. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to accelerate immediately while depressing the accelera... Read more
Incident date: Mar 29, 2024
The car has a digital speedometer that can be switched from MPH to KPH through the settings (but it takes several steps) but one day my wife was driving and the units had switched and she didn't know so was not driving at the expected speed. I know of no "shortcut" to switch it quickly. I posted the question on an "Ariya forum" and at least 6 other owners said they experienced similar.
Incident date: Jun 13, 2024
ABS and anti-slip Lights they are on
Incident date: Jun 16, 2024
Without warning, vehicle loses power and ability to accelerate is greatly reduced. The Malfunction Indicator Lamp (aka "check engine light"), the Reduced Engine Power light, and the Traction Control System/Stabilitrak light all illuminate at the same time and are not flashing. Using a diagnostic tool from a local auto parts store, code P2138 is reported as follows: Throttle/Pedal Position Sensor ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 19, 2024
Hydraulic cont module/ abs module is constantly going in and out causing the abs/traction control to be disabled and non functional cruise control. Highly unsafe when towing heavy like I do most of the time.
Incident date: May 3, 2024
My truck would shift gears and I would feel a kick. Then the speedometer would drop, and the airbag sensors would turn off. At times the dealership states it is an issue with the Transmission Lead Frame.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2024
Multiple times the acceleration has stuck and would not release when hitting the brakes. I have to stick my foot under the accelerator and lift the petal to get acceleration to stop. Without physically lifting the petal it would appear this continues indefinitely.
Incident date: Jun 18, 2024
Engine just stopped working. car stop running turned off in the middle of traffic in Dallas Tx. I took my car for an oil change the mechanic said he’s had plenty of 2015 sonata engines just give out and some catch a fire as well.It gave no warning and no smoke. This happened last week.
Incident date: Jun 17, 2024
UNKNOWN but I believe the sealed transmission is malfunctioning
Incident date: Jun 17, 2024
During a rain storm, the vehicles rear cross traffic will force the vehicle to stop when it mistakes rain for a person. We were stopped against our will for 3 minutes. Audi corporate worked with our dealership, determined it's a known issue, and determined the vehicle is safe to drive. However, a 1995 Honda Civic will allow us to reverse away from an oncoming train, but ALL the 2023 Audi Q7 potent... Read more
Incident date: Apr 25, 2024
Vehicle keeps getting ABS control valve general power fault. Code scanned is C002001. Indications in vehicle are 1. Cruise control suddenly disengages if in use. 2. Instrument warnings of "ABS Control Failure" and "Electronic Braking System Failure" continue flashing for 10 seconds or sometimes constantly. Keeps happening to me on long trips away from home. Never locally. Gives the driver no idea ... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
E350
(2012) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 18, 2024
Incident date: Apr 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2024 Hyundai Palisade. The contact stated that while his wife was pulling out of a parking lot, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle independently accelerated forward and then came to a complete stop seconds later. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 700.
Incident date: Jul 1, 2021
Tesla has combined cruise control with their Auto Pilot feature. Now there is no human override to what speed limit to use, Tesla determines the speed to used based on certain criteria. This puts the driver at risk who may want to lower or increase the speed limit based on certain conditions Tesla may not be able to detect. For me it was a 9 PM run to the store thru an area that had temporary r... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2020) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 18, 2024
Incident date: Jun 12, 2024
When braking and slowing down between 30-25 mph the transmission catches and feels like it “bucks”. Almost to a sudden stop and I’m afraid the cars behind me are going to rear end me. I took it to my local Ford dealer where they reprogrammed and reset adaptive tables, then told me to drive it like this for 500-1000 miles to see if it worked itself out! I feel this is dangerous! I have an ext... Read more
Incident date: Jun 18, 2024
When parking in a supermarket parking lot I slowly approached the space while braking. As I turned left into the space and released the brake pedal to allow the car to slowly roll into the space as I always do, the car surged as if someone floored the accelerator. I veered left to avoid a head on collision with the parked car facing me and went diagonally between the right front fender of that car... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jun 16, 2024
Abs module failure. No cruise control ,abs , trailer brakes, traction control. Parts in engineering review for over a year now. Call each month only to be told next month.
Incident date: Jun 17, 2024
I recently had my car repaired for the recall and a brake job (replacing pads and resurfacing rotors). A couple of days later, I was driving on the highway at about 60mph. Suddenly, the check engine light, parking brake light, brake light, and brake system light all went on. Additionally, the car was flashing neutral, drive, and parking gears while I was in park and driving. I started to slow down... Read more
Incident date: Apr 10, 2024
Our car has lost power to accelerate on 4 occasions on the highway. The first instance was in October of 2023, the second instance was in November of 2024 (and was brought immediately to the dealership and they said the fix wasn't available yet), the third instance was in March of 2024 and the most recent incident occurred in June of 2024. For example, the car will be moving at a speed of 60 mph ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 16, 2024
The contact owned a 2023 Volkswagen ID4. The contact stated that while parking the vehicle and attempting to remove the key from the ignition the vehicle erroneously accelerated forward driving over a curb and crashed into a traffic pole. The vehicle continued to accelerate forward into an intersection and crashed head-on into a second vehicle. During the crash, both vehicles were destroyed. The d... Read more
Crash
2 injured
VOLKSWAGEN
TAOS
(2023) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 17, 2024
Incident date: Dec 7, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Accent. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the vehicle had experienced unintended acceleration on several occasions. After parking the vehicle in the garage and switching to the park position, the vehicle had experienced unintended acceleration and crashed into the back wall of the garage. The cause of the failure was not determined. No injuries we... Read more
Crash
FORD
F-150 HYBRID
(2023) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 17, 2024
Incident date: Jun 16, 2024
Component= Traction control and cruise control. Safety risk=Driving a Ford e-450 Class C RV on interstate at 63 MPH going generally up hill with cruise control on, the "Service AdvanceTrac" warning light came on dashboard. I Immediately lost cruise control capability and steering became a little shakey. Pulled into rest area shut vehicle off. A few minutes and started again. Error went away and cr... Read more
Incident date: Apr 14, 2014
While driving on a straight stretch of highway at posted highway speeds of 75mph, no additional acceleration, torque, turning, or high rpms, my bike experienced a sudden jolt and immediate loss of propulsion. I was able to pull to the side of the highway to find my front left drive shaft had completely sheared off, the front sproket (currently under recall, which has not yet been replaced accordin... Read more
Incident date: Jun 17, 2024
The screen showing the speed and the backup can stop working at any point leading to a crash and compliance issues. It's been several months and VW still has not come up with a solution for this recall and these cars are still on the streets, hence they are a major threat to consumer safety.
Incident date: Jun 15, 2024
I was in the process of merging on the the express way when my vehicle threw a warning light, "service electronic throttle control" along with a "service engine" message and a check engine light. The vehicle went into a "limp" and had extremely poor acceleration, I was almost rear ended because the vehicle couldn't reach highways speeds fast enough. The vehicle has not yet been inspected my the ma... Read more
Incident date: Feb 13, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle would not properly accelerate. The contact stated that the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated while accelerating and occasionally surged forward while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 8, 2024
2018 Ram 2500 diesel truck, ABS braking system was intermittent and now has stopped working all together affecting the cruise control and the ability to stop without locking up the brakes all together. This has started a couple of years ago and the dealer said everyone is having the problem and parts are hard to get.
Incident date: Oct 28, 2022
Autopilot FSD 12.3.6 in Ohio is interpreting state route signs as speed limit signs. In Milford Ohio, the speed limit is 25mph. While traveling on [XXX] each state route sign had the max speed jump to 50mph. Then back to 25 at the next actual speed limit sign. An [XXX] sign was interpreted as 20mph. Errors is speed are dangerous in either the car going too fast or risking a rear end collision by i... Read more
Incident date: Apr 27, 2024
Codes c2209-49, c2200-47, u0121, u11bc, u1110, u1412. ABS, traction control, brake and CEL iluminated. No speedometer and no power steering. Codes will not clear. All wheelspeed sensors are operational per scantool in live data mode. Issue not confermed by dealer or independant as the cost is outrageous. And i cannot find a recall to repair issue. These issues i have had since March 2024. Cost for... Read more
TOYOTA
REDUNDANT SEQUOIA
(2024) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 16, 2024
Incident date: Jun 15, 2024
Vehicle loses throttle response multiple times a day while traveling on the highway or roads where slowing/stopping isn't frequent. Vehicle will be traveling 50-80mph and will not accelerate even with the pedal on the floor. Vehicle will either maintain speed or start slowing down, occasionally it will rapidly slow down. I will have to fully release the accelerator pedal and lightly slam it all th... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2024
When I use the cruise control and set it at a speed, it will maintain that set speed for a period of time and then the set speed will randomly jump up 10 to 20 miles an hour and reset the speed faster. So if I set it at 70 miles an hour. It jumps up to 80 or 85 and once even jumped up to 90 mph. The first time I told this to a Service person they told me that’s normal. The car went in and suppo... Read more
Incident date: Jun 12, 2024
When driving at highway speeds the auto has started to brake and the warning brake alert flashes on the dashboard when there are no obstructions. On some occasions the brake warning light comes on even when there are no cars or traffic in front of the auto. Recently the cruise control turned off for no apparent reason.
Incident date: Dec 20, 2022
When the car is parked under the Sun on hot days. The car will lose the power and we get message on Dashboard "Check Starter System" When this happens and car is running, it will lose power, No AC, No Lights, No Brake Lights, No Hazard Lights, Speedometer will not work but Engine is running and you can drive the car. It is extremely dangerous to drive it that way. Some folks reported that repla... Read more
Incident date: Jun 14, 2024
1. Engine runs but when I shift into reverse, drive etc. Car does not move. When I took it to be looked at, they said that my transmission doesn't have pressure. There was no indicator lights on the dash or any reason for me to think anything was wrong until I went out to drive my kids to school and it wouldn't move. Available for inspection on request.
Incident date: Aug 14, 2023
We have a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee with a 5.7L Hemi engine. Today on XXX, we were moving slowly in traffic on a street in Linden, New Jersey, and suddenly the vehicle accelerated by itself. My wife pressed on the brakes all the way to the floor but the vehicle kept jumping forward - the engine was revving and trying to move the vehicle forward while my wife was firmly pressing on the brake ped... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jun 14, 2024
My truck will downshift on its own, i.e., I’m doing 65 mph on the highway in 6th gear and it will suddenly downshift to 1st, 2nd or 3rd gear, causing my back tires to spin out, I almost lose control of the truck and I lose speed quickly when other vehicles all around me are still doing 65 mph or more. The truck has also failed to shift out of first gear at all, the speedometer needle does not m... Read more
Incident date: Apr 19, 2024
I was slowing to make a left turn and the engine began to sound like it was accelerating. A lightning bolt light, skid warning light and check engine light all came on. I needed to get it home, but the car wouldn’t go above 25mph. Googling says that it has a stuck throttle body. Have not attempted to fix yet.
Incident date: Jun 13, 2024
Shortly after purchasing the vehicle in February of this year, we started to notice that oil was burning off quickly. We took it to be looked at and was notified that there was no signs of a leak. After that incident all of the warning lights came on on the dashboard. We took it again to be seen where we were told that it was burning oil again and that the oil was low. We had the oil refilled and ... Read more
Incident date: May 27, 2024
Having acceleration problems with the Kia and catalytic converter. I had contacted the Kia dealer but can't be seen till August but I need vehicle to go to work plus have dr appointments and can't drive the car feel like it's gonna die on me how can I get this problem recall done sooner as I need my car
Incident date: Jun 14, 2024
On highway, emergency braking enacted. I pulled to side the of the road to turn engine off and restart car. When I did, I could not put the car in gear. I have had other similar incidents happen with this vehicle. After about an hour of waiting for roadside assistance and having NYS troopers come help, the car dash lit up and I was then able to put car in Drive. When I talked to dealership and sai... Read more
Incident date: Jun 7, 2024
Sudden Unintended Acceleration of the vehicle when slowing to park vehicle. This has happened on 2 occasions- both scenarios the same: slowing and turning left into a parking space, foot on the brake, almost to a complete stop and the vehicle suddenly accelerates out of control. the 1st time into a tree, the 2nd time into a parked/unoccupied vehicle. The brake was applied w/o response, the vehicle... Read more
Crash