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: Mar 27, 2024
I was driving on a divided secondary road and my truck when into reduced power mode, displaying " Powertrain malfunction/Reduced power, engine service soon, and precollision assistance not available". This ended up slowing me rapidly from 55 down to under 30 +/- MPH. When it was necessary to stop at a light and I took my foot off the accelerator, the truck did not immediately slow but actually sur... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2024
Loss control while going down the highway, as the traction control is not working, I loss control when the road had a slight hill and curve. It has been a little under a year since my ABS module/control as gone bad. This causes the loss of traction control, ABS braking and other issues. This is a safety concern as the traction control is needed and brakes lock up without the ABS. This is a well... Read more
Incident date: Mar 29, 2024
I have noticed for a while now. When the light turns green or I'm at a stop and I have enough time to take off the car does not move when I apply the gas. It stalls and that scares me. I have noticed my cruise control shut off the other day when driving on the freeway. And I could not turn it back on. Now when I try to apply the parking bake when I'm parked the parking brake does not turn on no... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C280
(2007) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Mar 29, 2024
Incident date: Mar 16, 2024
4 wd service light comes on randomly, started the middle of February. It took a couple of weeks to get an appointment with the dealership. Twice in the past 2 weeks the car has slowed down, lost power in traffic to where I had to pull over and let the car go at a low speed until it would go at normal speed again. There is an active recall for the part needing to be replaced with the same year mode... Read more
JEEP
WRANGLER 4XE
(2024) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Mar 29, 2024
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2023 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving with the cruise control set to 45 MPH, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated to 65 MPH. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer and was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was unknown.
Incident date: Feb 22, 2024
truck speedometer goes to 0. Slows down abruptly. Rpm goes way up. Was going from 45 to less than 10mph in a matter of seconds. Feels like the transmission automatically downshifts to a lower gear. Very dangerous. Seems to be quite a few of these incidents on you tube. Truck only has 11600 miles on it.
Incident date: Mar 26, 2024
The gauge cluster freezes from time to time. And it is scary while driving.
Incident date: Mar 22, 2024
Starting at about 28,000 miles the ABS & Traction Control lights would come on, Disabling the Anti-lock braking system. During slick road conditions the truck would often skid when braking, especially when towing. The anti-lock brakes didn't work. This also triggered the check Engine light, Disabling the Cruise Control. All of this would occur randomly and often with no pattern. Prior to reaching ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 12, 2024
This has happened 3 times and I’ve only owned the car since Sept 2023, the first time was Feb 4 2024, then Feb 28th and March 11, 2024, when I am trying to accelerate I push on the gas and the rpm’s will go higher but the car doesn’t gain any speed.so when trying to pass a vehicle I can’t because it will do this and it’s dangerous, I do have a video of this
Incident date: Mar 27, 2024
When taking off initially with the truck sometimes within the first 30 seconds of moving there is two yellow lights that come on the dash, while the center text window displays service brake system. The stored MIL code is C0020-01. Also when going over bumps in the road the message will also return. Sometimes it stays on, and I do not have the ability to use cruise control. One time I was driving ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 13, 2024
My Fisker Ocean One has experienced multiple ADAS issues including lane departure not working, emergency braking failing regularly producing multiple warning lights, regenerative braking shutting off causing the vehicle to speed up or roll away. I have dozens of photos of the errors and videos. I will provide the link to the photo folder. The technician was finally able to update all of the vehic... Read more
Incident date: Jan 13, 2024
I had taken delivery of the truck 4 days earlier and had driven about 250 miles. There had been no warnings or incidents other than an issue with charging at my home. The Charger would fail 20 seconds after each charging attempt at home, but not at a Super Charging Station. On [XXX] a series of alerts went off regarding steering. First the onboard computer notified me that the "Rear axle steering ... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2023) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Mar 27, 2024
Incident date: Jan 9, 2024
The car began to jerk when driven. One day, it stopped working; the engine was still running but it wouldn't shift gears. The transmission was repaired, and several parts were replaced. However, the car still jerks when reaching 50 miles per hour, the horn doesn't sound, not even the alarm, and it makes a loud noise when making a tight turn.
Incident date: Jun 2, 2023
Anytime the vehicle goes over a bump the vehicle lunges forward even if the operator is pressing the brakes. Collison warning does not work properly and lane departure warning is spotty. Interior lights randomly come on and off without any operator control. Fisker has not done anything since November 5, 2023 when I took delivery of the car.
Incident date: Mar 8, 2024
I want to report what I think is a very dangerous issue with my Tesla Model Y. We have experienced numerous times that the car brakes without warning. I have talked to Tesla about this "phantom braking", and they say it is "normal". The Traffic-Aware Cruise Control cannot be disabled to create a normal manual cruise control. I gave them a hypothetical situation where this could be life-threat... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2023
WHAT HAPPENS IS MY CAR SHUT DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC AFTER ME GETTING GAS SOMETIMES AND ENGINE LIGHT APPEAR. WHEN SHUTTING DOWN A QUICK FLASH OF BATTERY LIGHT SHOWS UP, NOW ENGINE LIGHT IS ON LONGER AND THE CAR POWER JUST SHUT EVERYTHING DOWN AS IF THE BATTERY IS DEAD NOTHING WORK BUT WITH A JUMP I WAS ABLE TO MOVE CAR AND WHEN I CUT IT OFF IT SHUT DOWN AGAIN THIS BEEN GOIN ON FOR ABOUT 1 MON... Read more
Incident date: Dec 15, 2023
I was driving approx. 60 entering on ramp of freeway when car suddenly loses power to accelerator not entire car, i almost was hit by other drivers i couldnt accelerate or anything. I panicked then started pumping accelerator then it finally catches and sped up. I immediately got off freeway. Then next day CEL, Check VSC light and skid light all came on. This car is very dangerous. WHATCAN I DO??... Read more
Incident date: Feb 28, 2024
I am writing to report a concerning issue with my Acura RDX 2017, which I believe poses a significant safety risk and requires immediate attention from your organization. The problem I encountered while driving jeopardizes the safety of both myself and others on the road. About five days ago, while driving at approximately 20 mph, my vehicle began emitting loud, thunderous sounds, accompanied by ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 24, 2024
Initial report on March 7, 2022 (approx. 94K miles), second report on Dec. 12, 2023 (approx. 111,700 miles). Third report March 27, 2024: Recent event occurred on March 23, 2024 (approx. 112K miles) when my vehicle suddenly stopped moving while driving 55mph on a freeway with child passenger in the vehicle, putting both of us at risk for collision. Vehicle did not have any warning lights turn on p... Read more
Incident date: Feb 21, 2024
When pulling out of my driveway onto street, I lost acceleration. My vehicle would not go oer 35 mph and the RPMs were revving up too 5000 without speed moving. I tried changing the drive mode to fix it, that did not help. I pulled over,s topped the car and restarted and all seemed normal. This has happened 2 other times since I bought the car. The other 2 times was while i was on the interstate t... Read more
GOODYEAR
ASSURANCE MAXLIFE
(9999) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Mar 27, 2024
Incident date: Mar 26, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that when the cruise control was engaged, the vehicle accelerated to 100 MPH. The vehicle skipped gear while accelerating from a stop. The vehicle stalled and restarted. The brake pedal independently depressed without driver input. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was determined that... Read more
Incident date: Mar 25, 2024
Well the last few days in colorado its been cold and every morning when i get in my truck the guage cluster does not come on. I have a few flashing lights but nothing else works. I am not sure what all is effected by this problem. After about 10 min. everything goes back to working as it should. but then the next day it happens agian. I have done some research and this is a problem that ford has ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 26, 2024
Multiple times my vehicle has flashed "BRAKE" when there was no object in front of me. At times there were shadows from trees that I thought may have prompted the warning. But in the past 6 weeks during interstate driving and adaptive cruise control engaged, the vehicle brakes for no reason. This can happen several times in just a short distance, or sometimes I can drive 25 miles and it doesn't h... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2015) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Mar 26, 2024
Incident date: Feb 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Camry. The contact stated while at a complete stop and depressing the brake pedal, the engine revved to 3500-4000 RPM. The contact stated that he depressed the brake pedal harder to prevent the vehicle from moving, and the RPMs decreased. The contact stated that the failure recurred several times. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the d... Read more
Incident date: Feb 20, 2024
With this vehicle when driving on highway or interstate once you go past about 40 miles the transmission begins to overheat and when it reaches a temperature of approximately 245° it will kick down into limp mode causing the vehicle to suddenly slow down in front of other traffic. You have to get over to the side of the road and let the transmission cool down before you can continue at a safe pac... Read more
Incident date: Mar 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2014 Dodge Journey. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, an abnormal clunking and knocking sound was heard. The traction control, ABS, and AWD warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to accelerate as needed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who replaced the brakes and sensors. The vehicle was taken to anoth... Read more
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2021) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Mar 26, 2024
Incident date: Jan 26, 2024
This car only has 2500 miles on it. When it was just driven a few weeks in January, 2024, the car would start jerking while driving down the highway going a consistent 55-60 miles per hour. We took it back to the dealer in St. Louis and they told us they were unable to duplicate. We drove it a few more weeks and in February the jerking was more pronounced and more often so we took it back. Aga... Read more
Incident date: Apr 5, 2022
Almost got killed!!! This car is dangerous!!! I feel lucky I can still write to you. Hyundai 2019 Tucson (TL) 2.0L has been plagued by a recall and related known defects that create dangerous and life-threatening situations on the highways 3 times in 10 months for us!!! Vehicle year, make & model: Hyundai 2019 Tucson (TL) 2.0L car Approximate mileage: Current ~37,000 How many repairs visits to... Read more
Incident date: Mar 25, 2024
On [XXX] while traveling at highway speed my Chevrolet volt abruptly lost propulsion and an alert was displayed to pull over and turn car off. I was on [XXX] in California a 4 lane highway forced to cross 3 lanes of traffic at an exceptionally slow speed in heavy traffic. It is a miracle a crash did not occur. Fortunately other drivers were aware and able to stop or quickly change lanes. AAA to... Read more
Incident date: Oct 25, 2023
The dash screen where you can see speed fails. Towing required. Fixes itself hours later. Happen repeatedly. Dealer says no error codes, as if it never happened!
Incident date: Feb 25, 2024
While driving on highway, dashboard lights for brakes, check engine, and TPMS all came on. Unable to accelerate vehicle and pulled over to side of highway. Shut off the vehicle then started it again. Light for brake system stayed on, other lights were off. Was able to reach destination. Upon return, no lights came on and vehicle was able to be driven home.
Incident date: Mar 20, 2024
SEE UPLOADED FILE SENT TO MERCEDES-BENZ. INCLUDES DESCRIPTION OF INCIDENT
Incident date: Mar 25, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated while at a stop sign, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle did not move forward. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal several times before the vehicle responded. The contact was notified of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The dealer was contacted, and the contact was informed that the pa... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Mercedes-Benz GLE350. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle failed to accelerate as needed. The console had overheated. The engine and oil warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed that cylinder numbers 1, 2, and 3 was misfiring. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2023
After driving about 500 ft, check engine light appeared, propulsion stopped immediately and I was only able to pull off road with momentum. Fortunately, I was at a driveway. Otherwise, I would have been required to park in the road (due to steep shoulders) on a two lane road. If I had been followed closely by a heavy vehicle, it probably would have rear-ended me since the propulsion quit so abr... Read more
HAUL-ABOUT
HAUL-ABOUT
(2023) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Mar 25, 2024
Incident date: Aug 15, 2023
While driving through heavy rain on the interstate Friday night the CEL came on and the vehicle immediately lost power and went I to a limo mode causing my car to rapidly lose speed while on the interstate. Restarting the vehicle did nothing. I called the closest Hyundai dealer and they said " oh yeah the N models do that a lot in the rain or through carwashes, it triggers false knock sensor codes... Read more
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2019) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Mar 24, 2024
Incident date: Apr 13, 2022
Vehicle suddenly stopped accelerating while l was driving at 70 mph on a freeway and would not accelerate beyond 35 mph. Multiple warnings started flashing on dashboard - Powertrain malfunction / Reduced Power, Service engine soon, Pre-collision assist not available. I stopped on the shoulder, switched off engine, waited for 5 minutes and restarted engine then all warnings were gone and l was ab... Read more
Incident date: Mar 24, 2024
The Grumman LLV was hit by the driver of the Chevy Malibu. The Grumman LLV had seatbelt issues with impact. The LLV was forced over on two wheels with left side impact from the driver of Chevy Malibu. [XXX] was the driver of the USPS Grumman LLV at the time of accident sustaining neck injuries requiring medical attention. Multiple medical procedures paid out of pocket followed to include surg... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Mar 22, 2024
The instrument panel in front of the driver is black. I’m unable to see the speed limit, warnings, safety or collision warnings, etc. The vehicle is not making any noise or beeping to allude to the fact that there might be an issue but the Kia app is stating that there is an issue. I have used the vehicle yesterday 3/23/24 with no issues and when I went to drive this morning (3/24/24) it’s not... Read more
Incident date: Sep 9, 2023
This car does not have Full Self Driving, and I do not use Auto Steer. I experience multiple phantom braking events every time I use the "Traffic Aware Cruise Control." Sometimes I can see that the cruise control set speed has been reduced from the speed I set, and I have to cancel and reset it to resume the original speed. Sometimes the cruise control set speed is unchanged, and pushing the accel... Read more
Incident date: Mar 5, 2024
Engine light comes on and car starts jerking or when I start the car it does it and jerks and drives 5 mph. Cruise control jerks when using it and the sensors go off for no reason.
Incident date: Feb 26, 2024
There is some sort of electrical issue. Things keep going in and out: internal lights, cruise control, turn signals in front and back go out 6-9 times a year, ABS light stays on even after it was serviced, the radio goes in and out. I lose power while driving snd allow the car to sit for a day or two and it cuts back on like nothing ever happened.
Incident date: Mar 23, 2024
Vehicle lost all power while driving on the freeway. Had to pull over, find a safe place to park and while doing that, the engine sounded like a diesel engine.
Incident date: Mar 18, 2024
The vehicle looses power occasionally. When the accelerator is pressed it can take a second or 2 to start moving again. It happens when turning, changing lanes or going straight. I could be pulling into traffic and it will stop moving, even if the gas pedal is pressed down all the way. It will happen in every drive mode and when the traction control is off. The only time it hasn't happened yet is ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 23, 2024
It is the fuel pump recall I am in need of replacement. I have went to Honda and tried to have them look at it and they gave me a complete run around. My car begins to jerk and when I go to speed up the car doesn’t like to go. Honda said it wasn’t the fuel pump but I have had it looked else where and it is the pump. I drive everyday with my kids in the car. I feel like this is causing me anxie... Read more
CHRYSLER
TOWN AND COUNTRY
(2015) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Mar 23, 2024
Incident date: Mar 21, 2024
Accelerator pedal was delayed coming back up when pressed. It is available for inspection. Because of this happening while I was parking the car, it collided with a tree about 20 feet in front of it. I’ve also noticed the car will sometimes accelerate on its own at speeds below 20 mph. I am taking the vehicle to a body shop on Monday to get fixed and be inspected.
Crash
Incident date: Feb 6, 2024
Currently own a 2017 Honda Accord Sport just over 100k miles, regularly maintained and serviced. All of a sudden my vehicle takes longer to start and the most shocking issue is that I was driving to work as normal and when I went to accelerate onto the interstate my vehicle suddenly started jerking and it seemed as though my vehicle was not getting fuel even though I was pressing the accelerator. ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2023
I have a Hyundai Tuscon 2019, which was pre-certified by Hyundai. This particular car was part of a lawsuit because of a knock sensor issue. The lawsuit information is here: [XXX] The knock sensor failing is not really what causes the safety issue. The engine symptoms when the sensor fails is the issue. The engine goes into "safety mode" which limits the car to a significant slower speed. The pr... Read more
Incident date: Mar 13, 2024
Upon exiting highway and getting on access road, vehicle malfunctioned and indicated to slow down and shift transmission into neutral. I lost speed and was given little if any power to accelerate. I arrived at a red light where I shifted into neutral and then park. I shifted back to drive where I was able to get very little acceleration. I turned right, put on my hazards, and looked to park as qu... Read more