Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,215,138 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA — including 138,663 crashes, 56,255 fires, and 8,561 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 2,215,138 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 72,878 complaints — component: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Incident date: Dec 16, 2018
Driving interstate right lane cruise control set at 73 mph. Car in front of me proceeded to leave lane to the left in order to pass 18 wheeler in front of it. Noticed my car felt different at that time and looked at dashboard to see cruise control now set to 110 mph and speed almost 90 mph. Documented with photo. Disabled cruise with breaking. Shared this on Tucson forums Reddit and Hyundai Forums... Read more
Incident date: Nov 5, 2023
On September 23rd our vehicles cruise control stopped working. We submitted a service request to Tesla and they scheduled a service appt for October 16th. They later cancelled this appt saying that it is a known firmware issue that would be corrected in a future, undetermined, firmware update. On November 16th we took the car to a Tesla service center and they confirmed it is a firmware issue, but... Read more
Incident date: Oct 29, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while attempting to accelerate from a stop, the vehicle failed to respond as needed. The contact stated that when the accelerator pedal was depressed, the vehicle was slow to respond. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or... Read more
Incident date: Oct 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that a "shift to park turn the vehicle off" message was displayed while the vehicle was in the park position. While driving at unknown speeds, the vehicle stalled. The steering wheel was tight. After slowing down, the driver depressed the start/stop button, and the vehicle shut off and restarted. The vehicle was randomly shut down. After... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Jul 18, 2023
While driving, most of the dash errors lights lit up- alerting me that the Eyesight Warning, RAB ( Reverse Auto Braking) and other safety functions were disabled. The Check Engine light was on and a flashing S next to it. Cold Engine light was illuminated as well. Dealer diagnosed with a faulty Thermal Control Valve, which somehow disabled all safety features. This is a common failure of Subarus... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
The car is difficult to accelerate and makes a loud hum over 50. It wont shift into reverse. It is confirmed that it is a transmission issue and the whole thing has to be replaced. I found on a mechanic's site that there is an open recall S34 however my VIN is not included despite the fact that my car has the same issue as the recall. The clutch diaphragm spring fails, the driver may not be able t... Read more
Incident date: Nov 16, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Infiniti JX35. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, the vehicle failed to accelerate as needed. The ABS system was activated. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH the vehicle independently accelerated to 60 MPH. The vehicle was jerking while the accelerator pedal was depressed to the floorboard. The contact was able to pull over. The contact called the local dealer b... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2017) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 16, 2023
Incident date: Nov 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated that while depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to immediately respond before abruptly accelerating forward. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure and unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired... Read more
Incident date: Sep 25, 2023
I was already situated in the left turn lane on a two way city street, slowing down, and about to come to a full stop before making a U turn when I felt a surge in power before the car picked up, accelerated uncontrollably, and launched forward. In front of the turn is a raised cemented median strip divider where the car hit and went on top of it. Instinctively, I just held on to the steering whee... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
The stabilizer/traction control keeps going off and it will stay off.i can turn,hit a bump or start it up and the traction control/stabilizer system is off.i almost had a accident on the freeway in the rain because it turned off out of nowhere and I almost lost control
HYUNDAI
SANTA CRUZ
(2023) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 15, 2023
Incident date: Nov 8, 2023
When driving sometimes, the ABS light is illuminated along with the traction control and Stabilitrak lights. The DIC says Service Traction Control and Stabilitrak. This issue needs to be fixed immediately as this is a safety issue.
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS
(2018) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 15, 2023
Incident date: Mar 29, 2023
Please see uploaded document for full description.
Incident date: Sep 6, 2023
The vehicle was driving on cruise control at 55 mph approaching an intersection with a stop sign. Attempted to brake to cancel the cruise control, but vehicle sped and continued gathering speed so that the driver lost any control over the speed. Frantic application of the brake did not have any effect on the speed. The vehicle shot across a south bound highway, collided with traffic signs in the... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Nov 15, 2023
There is an issue with the instrument gauge cluster upon ignition start-up. The digital gauge cluster screen suddenly turns off and restarts after a full minute of turning on the car's ignition. After an automatic software restart of the gauge cluster and driving on the highway through Northbound Mopac Loop 1 in Austin, the cluster shows a frozen black background with the blue normal drive mode. T... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2010 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, and then stopped at a traffic light, the vehicle independently accelerated. The contact stated that the failure had occurred several times and she was able to avoid having an accident. The contact stated that the power steering also became inoperable, and the steering column seized. The vehicle was not d... Read more
Incident date: Mar 6, 2023
Brakes are not stopping in time they are continuously scrubbing I have changed brakes and rotors and they are continuously scrubbing and not allowing me to stop in time nearly almost ran off the road I have got my brakes inspected but mechanic say there was nothing wrong the place I took it to but there is something wrong with the brakes. There is a electrical problem when it rains things stopped ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 14, 2023
Anti-Lock Braking system and Electronic Braking system, service system warning come on and off randomly all the time. Seems to happen when bumpy roads are encountered.
Incident date: Nov 14, 2023
There are significant idle issues (rpm’s shoot up & drop down irregularly while in park) and the car shut off while in park following irregular rpm movement, but was not exhibiting this behavior while previously parked elsewhere. I sent it in to be checked but nothing could be reproduced. A few weeks later the car began doing what felt like engine braking (in a manual vehicle) while I was lettin... Read more
Incident date: Nov 13, 2023
As I accelerated the car, the car suddenly slowed down. As I accelerated it would barely move no matter how hard I pushed the accelerator. The was a major safety risk because cars were behind me and if I was on a highway, someone could easily slam into my back. The vehicle was inspected by a mechanic. There was no warning on the dash.
Incident date: Nov 14, 2023
Part# 68295368AC ABS control module failed about 3 months ago. Took to dealership to repair and they said no eta on when part will arrive and that there is a national shortage on the part and 100's of these are waiting to come in for repairs. Contact Dodge/Ram and basically told the same thing. Was told to just be careful and when part is available (no estimated ETA), they would let me know. T... Read more
Incident date: Mar 14, 2023
During normal operation the ABS, Traction control and electronic braking system warning lights came on. Now when i am driving the Service electronic braking system lights will come on and off intermittently. Some times if i hit a bump it will come on briefly. My cruise control does not work and from what I've read my 4 wheel drive may not work. I live in the snow belt and use this truck as primary... Read more
Incident date: Nov 11, 2022
The speedometer does not report the correct speed the truck is going It is off and the faster you go the more it is off. The dealership service manager tried to get it fixed twice and Ford engineering said that’s normal.
Incident date: Oct 6, 2023
failed torque converter/software results in car surging during moderate acceleration. This is unsafe when vehicle will not accelerate properly under load. The problem was repaired by the dealer who indicated this issue to be a widespread problem with this car. There were no warning messages.
Incident date: Aug 16, 2023
ABS and Electric Brake System warning lights are on and off intermittently. These symptoms have been reported by many other owners due to defected part installation from the manufactor based on my internet research.
Incident date: Nov 14, 2023
Transmission failed on the freeway December 2021. I was suddenly unable to speed up or accelerate my car. Placed me, my passengers and other people on the freeway at serious risk. Many cars braked suddenly behind me and swerved out the way to prevent a car accident. Dealer at the service center denied a problem and was inspected by them. No warming lamps or messages.
Incident date: Nov 13, 2019
The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 25 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed and extended to the floor while depressed. Additionally, the engine started to rev before the vehicle momentarily experienced unintended acceleration. The contact stated that the failure occurred for approximately 25 seconds before the brake pedal and engine operated n... Read more
MERCURY
MOUNTAINEER
(2000) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 13, 2023
Incident date: Nov 11, 2023
While normal driving of my 2018 Ram 2500, I began to get random audible warnings, service anti-lock brake and service traction control system dash lights. The lights would flicker on and off and warning chime would 'bing" numerous times. This caused the cruise control to shut off while doing 65mph. Some drives I would get nothing, others would be a solid 5 minutes of flashing and chiming. Scan too... Read more
Incident date: Nov 10, 2023
The clutch/flywheel/ and or other components of the drive train/engine/transmission connection are faulty and are known to fail for the 2007-2009 Shelby Ford Mustang GT 500 as documented in the numerous Ford Technical Service Bullitens (TSB). This vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Late this summer (2023), I was driving this vehicle with my kids in the car and attempting to merge ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
My ABS light and Vehicle Stability Assist/Traction Control light came on. I now do not have the ability to use my cruise control. I believe the vehicle is unsafe.
Incident date: Oct 1, 2023
While driving on the highway on an extended trip my cruise control dropped its speed from 71 to 65 without warning. On one occasion it happened while I was in the passing lane with a lot of traffic behind me. It created a very dangerous situation before I could get into the right lane. Another incident was when again I was driving along, no one in front of me, beside me or behind me and the speed ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 28, 2023
dashboard had check engine light on. transaxle indicator light turned on when i was driving about 65 mph on the freeway and slowed down and wouldn’t accelerate. The large commercial truck behind me was unable to stop on time that it almost hit us behind. There was a construction on my right lane and cars on my left lane. it took me some seconds to reach the end of construction site in my rig... Read more
Incident date: Nov 9, 2023
Driving 80 miles an hour several hours from home on a major interstate and my car shut off. Pulled over on side of interstate and check engine light came on and car won’t accelerate and is making a knocking noise
Incident date: Nov 10, 2023
Anti-lock brake / traction control lights come with audible chime. Message reads service anti-lock brakes and service electronic brakes. Problem is intermittent with light coming on for a duration then going out and clearing message center. At times, the warning lights turn on and off rapidly giving multiple audible tones. Activation of light causes deactivation of cruise control. At highway sp... Read more
Incident date: Nov 11, 2023
1. My car will randomly not accelerate when the gas is being pressed. This has almost got me killed when making a left hand turn on more than 1 occasion now. The car also struggles with random shifting and power issues while going up steep hills at high speeds. 2. The front passenger side door and the rear drivers side passenger door just randomly stopped working with a week of each other. The... Read more
Incident date: Nov 3, 2023
The car shifts super hard into second gear. The inside smells like the car is over heating,driving down the interstate the car losses power,you can push your foot to the floor and nothing,the car will not excelerate at all.It's extremely dangerous. You have to pull over turn the car off and then on again to get it to go. This happens about every 20 minutes or so,the heat only works in the driver ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 10, 2023
ABS module and Hydraulic Control Unit have both failed multiple times. Known issue to RAM with no recall issued. Advised not to drive the truck until the parts are available as the brakes may completely fail unexpectedly, leading to loss of stopping ability/accident.
Incident date: Nov 11, 2023
I bought Tesla and tesla insurance which monitors driving of driver to provide safety score to driver. The safety score enables monthly premiums of tesla insurance. My complaint is related to safety score which provides financial incentives to drivers to not apply break. As part of safety score provided to drivers in tesla app(screen shot attached), one of the factors used is hard breaking to pen... Read more
Incident date: Nov 2, 2020
Today is Saturday, November 11, 2023. While driving my check, engine light came on, and I was given a message on the dash that engine power was reduced. I was only able to drive the car 30 to 45 miles an hour to get home. I have not taken the car to the mechanic yet, but will do so when they open on Monday. I was in a heavily congested area with many cars passing me at great speeds. I connec... Read more
Incident date: Oct 5, 2023
This vehicle has less than 24k miles, and just surpassed the warranty period and suddenly with no explanation, it won't start due to a faulty start switch in the brake pedal which must be depressed to start the vehicle or shift into drive. 90% of the time the vehicle will not start. Only after spending 10-20 fidgeting with the break pedal while simultaneously pushing the start button and moving th... Read more
Incident date: Nov 8, 2023
We (my wife and I) were driving our vehicle Sunday November 5th 2023 in the morning and experienced a serious issue. While on the highway, the car was stuck with the gas petal in the down position (we did not realize this until after we were able to successfully power down the car) and continued to accelerate in an uncontrolled manner. We were fortunate that our breaks were able to stop the car, a... Read more
Incident date: Nov 10, 2023
When a large object like 18wheeler is in right lane and you are in left lane the car thinks it is in your way and the vehicle brakes hard. Very dangerous. Has happened numerous times.
Incident date: Nov 10, 2023
While using the radar cruise control, the vehicle will aggressively apply braking pressure, without warning and risk losing control of the vehicle. The risk of being rear ended is frightening at highway speeds. This usually happens through turns, and the Mazda mistakes vehicles in opposite lanes as being in the same lane. This has occurred multiple times with different people.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2018
The entire over steering wheel display/cockpit stopped functioning. No ability to view charge level, speed, and other related details normally shown in this display was available. The things I tried to repair were: parking the car, locking the door to simulate a full stop/start cycle, disconnecting everything from the vehicle ports, Etc. eventually after leaving the car for an extended period this... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2023
While using cruise control on a recent road trip, the car braked suddenly for no apparent reason. This happened 7 times over a time frame of 11 days of driving. Each time it occured while traveling on a freeway (2 lanes each direction), large median, very light to no traffic, during the day, the car slammed on the brakes, without warning while traveling the speed limit (up to 75 mph). The first... Read more
Incident date: May 15, 2023
Vehicle in Adaptive cruise will unintentionally accelerate when a motorcycle is lane splitting to the right of the vehicle, causing the vehicle to accelerate towards a slowing or stopped vehicle. This puts me and other motorists at risk of a crash.
Incident date: Nov 10, 2023
My 2019 Honda Pilot is repeatedly having problems, when the vehicle is started and running, first thing in the morning. There is hard jerking when the vehicle is shifting on low speed (ex: from first to second to third gear). This happens repeatedly in the morning start, then doesn't occur again on that day. It reoccurs again, the next day. Have taken the vehicle to the Dealer Service, they notice... Read more
Incident date: Sep 29, 2023
When driving on a highway with cruise control on. If you are in an outside lane and the is a tractor-trailer in the inside lane maybe 100-200 feet ahead of you. If the highway veers to the left even though the truck remains in the inside lane the system seems to think the truck is right in front of the car. Cruise shuts down and it starts to brake. I have almost gotten hit by cars behind me twice.... Read more
JEEP
WRANGLER 4XE
(2024) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 10, 2023
Incident date: Nov 9, 2023
On a hybrid mode, drive gear at less than 10mph to park the vehicle. No engine warning lights, and no unusual signs. The car suddenly accelerated as I hit the brakes. At the time of the acceleration, the gasoline engine immediately came on and vehicle only came to stop as I stomped on the brakes for the second time, causing property damage.
Crash
Incident date: Nov 2, 2023
When operating the radar cruise control, if a large truck (semi, box truck) is next to you when going around a curve, the vehicle is seeing that truck in your lane and applies the brakes very suddenly. This is an issue, because if someone is following behind you, it is almost as if you are brake checking them. Clearly that is not safe at highway speeds. This has happened to me several times since ... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2022) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 10, 2023
Incident date: Nov 9, 2023
Using the adaptive cruise control in I-64, the car will dangerously slow down/brake in the turns. If someone was following m, this slow down would have been unexpected, and could have rear ended us or lost control trying to avoid us. Unexpected slowdowns are dangerous. Not sure if this happens at lower speeds on side triads since I don’t use the cruise control on those roads.