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: Jan 10, 2024
When at a stop and turning left it makes a grinding noise with hesitation in movement. The ABS and traction control light comes on. When researching this, there are millions of these cars with the same thing. I have taken to 3 mechanics and no one can fix the problem.
MITSUBISHI
OUTLANDER
(2023) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
May 21, 2024
Incident date: May 3, 2024
I bought the car new in 2015 and after about only 40,000 miles I began getting a Propulsion Reduced error and the car would have very slow acceleration. I took it to the dealer and they replaced the accelerator for $500. It drove fine for a month, but then the acceleration was reduced again. I took it back to the dealer and they were stumped. They wanted to charge me $1300 just to replace some wir... Read more
Incident date: May 21, 2024
I was driving at a high rate if speed on the interstate and the car did not even give a warning before just would not go. It was like the car was not acknowledging the gas pettle. I could have died. It is a very dangerous problem. A friend of mine died from her Honda.
Incident date: May 19, 2024
ABS warning lights lights keeps intermitting keeps going on and off. The ABS light and traction control lights flashes on and off, speed control goes off as well as a bell alarm. Had the ABS pump replaced under warranty at 22000 miles and now at 59000 mile same issues.
GRAND DESIGN
MOMENTUM
(2016) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
May 20, 2024
Incident date: Mar 1, 2021
On Friday, May 17th around 2:00pm I was driving approximately 25mph when I got an abrupt warning and the truck started to drive differently. I don’t think the vehicle was responding to the gas pedal normally. The first warning said something about selected gear engaging at lower speed. Then there was a message about the pre-collision assist not working, hill ascent not working, and something els... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
E350
(2011) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
May 20, 2024
Incident date: May 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, during sunny weather, the vehicle unintendedly braked without warning. The warning light "Brake" was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred. The contact also experienced a failure with Lane Keeping Assist and Road Departure Mitigation, where the vehicle jerked out... Read more
Incident date: May 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the vehicle started losing motive power and failed to accelerate as needed. The contact stated that after stopping the vehicle, the vehicle inadvertently shifted from first to fourth gear. There was a delay in the vehicle shifting. The power train icon was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was... Read more
Incident date: Mar 25, 2024
I was driving on [XXX] in the City of Chester, PA, at the merge with [XXX]; this is a high traffic, multi-lane, confusing merge for drivers unfamiliar with the road ( I know it well). My truck just shut down, and I had to put it in neutral to re-start it. I knew there was a problem, because it had previously shifted roughly at times. But I just had it inspected at the Garnet Ford dealership, told ... Read more
Incident date: May 13, 2024
The options above were not exact for my vehicle issue. But here is the letter i am mailing to FORD. [XXX]. [XXX], Queen Creek, AZ 85142May 20, 2024 RE: 2019 FORD EDGE VIN 2FMPK3K90K[XXX] with 60K miles in 12/2023 Ford Motor Company Customer Relationship CenterTo P.O. Box 6248 Dearborn, MI 48126 We've purchased several used Fords growing up and loved them and found them to be reliable like your... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
Transmission needs to be replaced per mechanic, costing around $3,5000-$5,000 Jerking or shuddering during the normal course of driving Hesitations while attempting to accelerate from a stopped position Engine stalls out or intermittently shutting off Rough start or hard shift and sudden acceleration Hesitations while attempting to accelerate from a stopped position
Incident date: May 20, 2024
I drove an ID-4 down south and preparing for right turn. Suddenly, the car was accelerating to a very high speed with the accelerator not being pressed (spontaneous acceleration). I tried hard to press the brake, but no effectiveness. Instead of turning a 90-degree angle to the west direction, the car only turned 45 degrees toward southwest, hitting the safety island and jump over the island, then... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Apr 26, 2024
Transmission: this is the 2nd transmission in about 22,000 miles. Car will start to stall out and then high rev the rpm’s. This has caused significant power loss suddenly in traffic. Issue has been recreated by mechanic and has been inspected thoroughly. Previously transmission was rebuilt with the torque converter being replaced. No indicator lights have come on prior or during sudden loss, on... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2023
Issue: manually setting cruise control to current speed (say 55mph) sets the cruise to 110mph . This has happened more than 10 times in 2 years of my ownership. This happens randomly and not possible to reproduced on-command. The dealers have refused to note this info and send it to Hyundai for investigation. Car accelerating to 110mph all of a sudden while you expect it to stay at your current ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2024
Intermittently my 2021 Toyota Venza will not accelerate. It feels like it loses power and will not accelerate. It started in March and has progressively gotten worse. It happens from a stop and from rolling acceleration. Toyota dealer Fred Haas Toyota said "they cannot duplicate the problem" even though I told them to go look online since this seems to be an ongoing problem. I do not feel saf... Read more
Incident date: May 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2024 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while the vehicle was at a stop light while depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle hesitated to accelerate. The failure occurred on several occasions and the vehicle was taken to the local dealer. The dealer was unable to duplicate the failure and the vehicle was not repaired. After retrieving the vehicle, the failure persisted... Read more
Incident date: May 17, 2024
I WAS DRIVING 45 MPH WHEN MY VEHICLE TOLD ME PUT MY CAR INTO PARK. I LOST CONTROL OF MY STEERING AND CONTROL OF MY ABILITY TO PUT MY CAR INTO OR OUR OF GEAR. I HAD STARTED TO SLOW DOWN DUE TO LOSS OF CONTROLS AND MY CAR HALTED TO AN ADRUPT STOP AND WOULD NOT ALLOW ME TO HAVE ANY CONTROL OF ITS FUNCTIONS. DUE TO BEING IN TRAFFIC I ATTEMPTED TO THE VEHICLE IN PARK AND IT DID NOT ALLOW, I WAITED APPR... Read more
HONDA
CR-V HYBRID
(2022) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
May 20, 2024
Incident date: May 20, 2024
on the freeway and along side another car and "emergency breaking activation" warning. Happened 2 times in a month. Car swerved but I was able to control it. I was doing about 65 mph in each case.
TOYOTA
COROLLA CROSS
(2023) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
May 19, 2024
Incident date: May 18, 2024
I ran into the existing issue described in "Part 573 Safety Recall Report" NHTSA Recall Number 22V-011, but in a state not listed under the recall (vehicle purchased used in Pennsylvania in 2017). As a result of this part failing, my brake lights remained engaged permanently, and the car's engine power would increase and decrease rapidly (presumably because it thought I kept hitting the breaks). ... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2024
Abs light comes on all the time and cruise control goes out and go 50 miles and the abs and brake service lights comes on 67 times
Incident date: May 18, 2024
Bought a 2017 audi A8l with 51700 miles, from Mike erdman Nissan in coco beach florida, it had front grill damage and when you try to use the cruise control message comes on dash ACC and brake guard disabled, i told dealership they first said theyd fix it but i had to talk to the lender first then theyd fix i talked to the lender now they are refusing to fix it, i never signed anything saying no w... Read more
Incident date: May 18, 2024
When driving the car it will stop mid drive and slow to 20MPH. The car has broken down in the middle of the road on multiple occasions. It has locked me in the car where I am unable to get out. On one occasion the battery was dead and the car had locked me out. I had to have someone unlock it. The next day the car was fine with no signs of issues. The car has been taken to multiple mechanics and ... Read more
FORD
F-150 LIGHTNING BEV
(2023) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
May 18, 2024
Incident date: May 17, 2024
As I was driving today my Santa Fe Hybrid lost all power while on the road. The hybrid battery gauge went from 3/4th full to empty in 20 second and I could not get the vehicle to move. Thankfully there was no one behind me and I could safely pull off. When I stopped and restarted the car, the system said ready to drive but the car wouldn't move
Incident date: May 15, 2024
The vehicle is a 2014 Ford Focus equipped with a PowerShift dual-clutch transmission-named DSP6. The vehicle exhibits a Faulty automatic transmission/shift malfunction and is unable to shift properly; causing intermittent engine deceleration coming to a stop; this indicates there is a shift malfunction and a faulty transmission. This problem has been confirmed by the dealer.
Incident date: May 13, 2024
The cruise control on the vehicle is dangerous. When driving through rolling hills the vehicle does not keep a consistent speed. When it loses speed it puts the vehicle in overdrive accelerates to 4500 RPM to speed the vehicle up to the cruise setting. The danger is while on back roads while cresting a hill or rounding a curve the vehicle feels totally out of control. The problem is not limited... Read more
Incident date: May 17, 2024
The 6r80 transmission lead frame cause my truck to slam into first gear when going 55 miles an hour.
Incident date: Jan 1, 2024
I was driving with cruise control enabled right around 40mph. All of the sudden, while I was moving, my speedometer dropped to 0 and all of my dashboard lights turned on. I pulled over to the side of the road and tried to put the car in park to figure out what was going on. I was not able to shift the car into park, only remain in D or shift to N. I forced the car shutoff while in D with the press... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 2024
Annunciations: Stabilitrak, Park Assist Off, Steering Assist Is Reduced Drive With Care, Forward Collision System Unavailable, Adaptive Cruise Control. Indications: Cruise Control doesn’t work, steering jerks when turning, difficult to turn into parking spaces. Research shows Technical Service Bulletin 18-na-161as a known issue with GMC products. Dealer says “You are out of warranty”. 20... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
AMG SL63
(2022) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
May 17, 2024
Incident date: May 16, 2024
Slowed down on highway as there was a backup from an exit, then accelerated again and car would not accelerate correctly. Engine light came on and then turned off as I exited off the highway. I turned the car off once safely parked. Burning smell was noted. Car would not start and was towed to auto shop where it was checked and deemed as an internal engine failure.
Incident date: May 11, 2024
The vehicle has been struggling off and on to accelerate from a stopped position or a need to suddenly increase in speed (merging onto an expressway). I have replaced several parts of the car, there are no codes available to the technicians but it is reported in several forums and a common issue. I have almost been t-boned making a left turn onto major roads where there are cars going 55-70 or abo... Read more
Incident date: May 15, 2024
Tesla removed the ability to use only cruise control, with adaptive following distance, and have forced the only option to now use full self driving instead (with a recent soft-ware update). I do NOT feel safe using full self driving (even supervised) and believe Tesla is being unsafe forcing full self driving use. We used to be able to just use cruise control-with adaptive following distance-a dr... Read more
Incident date: Apr 27, 2024
The Hyundai I just purchased was packaged with BOTH carpeted and rubber mats. Both were priced and charged separately on the Hyundai window sticker. The car cannot be bought without paying for both. It is well known that driving with rubber mats over carpet mats creates a serious safety hazard that will can lead to the mat slipping and the driver losing control over speed and braking. I contacted... Read more
Incident date: May 15, 2024
I have had numerous issues with the transmission on this truck. The truck has been to dealerships ever since I bought it for transmission issues. New issue occurred this week while going 75mph and continually as I decreased speed down to 60mph. While driving at the high rate of speed the transmission would go from gear 10 straight to 1, causing the RPMs to spike and Redline once. This occurred 5 t... Read more
Incident date: Dec 23, 2023
While accelerating onto the freeway the vehicle suddenly loses power creating a serious safety issue. A check-engine light comes on but the safefy issue is that the vehicle goes into a power loss mode ON THE FREEWAY. A truck nearly rear-ended me the first time it happened. Toyota Service was unable to duplicate and so said National Toyota advised them to release the vehicle back to me. The same i... Read more
Incident date: Oct 18, 2016
Electronic braking system, traction control system and cruise control are non-operational. This problem affects all vehicles travelling on the road with me. The problem has been confirmed and diagnosed by a dealer. Warning lights on the dashboard are constant, along with "service electronic braking system" on engine start-up. This fault started in November, 2023. The dealership is unable to procur... Read more
Incident date: May 13, 2024
I was driving very slowly in my driveway. I turned to enter my garage. As I put my foot on the break, the car accelerated crashing into my house. There was sudden unexplained and unintended acceleration on my RAV4 prime.
Crash
Incident date: Apr 9, 2024
[XXX] On [XXX] my wife and were traveling on [XXX] at interstate speeds and after traveling for about 55 minutes with no issues. The vehicle suddenly lost power and a lot of warning lights came on. We were unable to accelerate and quickly pulled to the shoulder. [XXX] is very busy and dangerous. It would not move forward while in drive and pushed on accelerator it would not accelerate. We called... Read more
Incident date: May 13, 2024
2013 Honda Accord accelerated to a very high speed when driving from the church parking lot, braking did not stop it. barely avoided hitting a car. On Sunday [XXX] at around 13:45pm, as I was leaving the church parking lot, driving at around 5 miles an hour, the car suddenly accelerated to a very high speed, I tried braking but that did not stop it. The car entered and crossed the street, barely m... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2024
I started having issues with my brakes. I had recently had the front rotors and pads replaced, but I still heard squeeking, and a little fishtailing on my back end. I figured I needed my brakes in the rear checked, so I took it to Pep Boys for a free inspection. The mechanic showed me that my rear control arm on the left was very loose, and the compartment that connected to it was severely rusted ... Read more
Incident date: May 13, 2024
Since 2020, we have noticed that the 2018 Honda Odyssey we own will not accelerate when the gas pedal is pressed. There is a noticeable delay between 1 to 3 seconds for the vehicle to accelerate. Once the vehicle accelerates, it does so at an increased rate of speed that is dangerous and scary. This has led to 100+ near miss collisions with pedestrians and other oncoming vehicles at 4-way lighted ... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: May 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2024 Nissan Frontier. The contact stated while driving 76 MPH with the Adaptive Cruise Control feature activated, the contact attempted to pass a semi-truck; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as needed. The contact stated that the vehicle fishtailed. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not diagnosed. The contact stated that the... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2023 Nissan Leaf. The contact stated that while driving at low speeds in a parking area, the vehicle suddenly accelerated on its own. As a result, the contact lost control of the vehicle and came to a complete stop after colliding with another vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard and deemed a total loss by ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
After shifting my car into reverse, I slowly started removing my foot from the brake pedal. At this time, the car started rapidly accelerating backwards so I put pressure back on the brake pedal to stop the car. When doing so, the ABS light came on my dashboard, I heard a griding sound like the car was still trying to accelerate, and there was a loud constant beep. I was able to shift the car in... Read more
Incident date: May 6, 2024
My vehicle has no driver screen. It completely went black. Cannot monitor my speed or check anything on the dash screen.
Incident date: May 13, 2024
About a week ago my brakes on my 2013 Ford Edge Limited became for hard to press. The pedal became stiff. I almost was unable to stop even though I was going extremely slow approaching an intersection that was very busy. I have looked up recalls on this issue with the same description and realize Ford had issued a recall on 2013 Ford Edges however only certain Vin numbers. However, surfing throug... Read more
Incident date: May 11, 2024
The car did not accelerate after pressing gas pedal all way down. Encountered this while idling and trying to accelerate from a steady speed as well.
Incident date: Mar 20, 2024
Unintended sudden aggressive acceleration when I made a right as I was slowly pulling into a spot in the parking lot. Breast’s did not work fast enough and car ended up going up the hill and front colliding with it.
Crash
Incident date: May 6, 2024
Unknown . Engine or fuel mishap Car caught on fire as I was driving down the hwy with my 3 kids
Fire
4 injured
MITSUBISHI
MIRAGE G4
(2024) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
May 11, 2024
Incident date: Dec 15, 2023
Car keeps stalling stops suddenly can crash or accident in freeway specially took it dealer several times cant find issue not safe to drive almost got hit in freeway when stall suddenly date when it happens almost every time i drive it or every other day have bought different oarts also n continues stalling
Incident date: May 11, 2024
After experiencing multiple brake failures and reduced power, now the cruise control is reporting incorrect values. Setting the cruise control to 42mph yields 70mph. This is dangerous and unsafe as you do not know what to expect.
Incident date: May 11, 2024
11 May 2024, I had started my truck as normal and began driving. About 2 miles from my house I lost all power to the truck. I was driving about 35 MPH when the truck threw up errors on the screen and I could no longer accelerate. It threw on the E Brake abruptly. Luckily no one was behind me as such an abrupt stop could cause a deadly accident. After I shut off the truck and waited 5 minutes a... Read more