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: Nov 10, 2023
While driving on freeway with Adaptive cruise control set, vehicle automatically brakes when passing large vehicles, like semi trucks. ACC set at 75, I'm in left lane to pass truck going around curve and brakes come on and slow vehicle down to 60. I am clearly in the left lane to pass and truck in right lane. My safety and those behind are at a HUGE risk. This will cause an accident if not addre... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2019
When Accelerating from a stop, or increasing speed from a turn, the car sputters, power fluctuates, and sometimes it vibrates and feels like I am driving over a grid. The car sometimes feels like it's going to stall. I have owned this car for 10 years and this problem has been ongoing. It has been happening alot more recently. I have not been in an accident but I feel very unsafe when this happens... Read more
Incident date: Nov 9, 2023
Steering wheel went unsteady. All warning lights went off. Speedometer failed. Unable to shut off the engine and unable to detect key while having the key in place. My safety and others are at risk each time this happens due to not been able to have control of the vehicle speed while having unsteady steering wheel and not knowing of the possibility of breaks failing while trying to drive to a sa... Read more
Incident date: Nov 9, 2023
vehicle auto stopped in the middle of the parkway
Crash
LAND ROVER
RANGE ROVER VELAR
(2018) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 9, 2023
Incident date: Nov 5, 2023
The car accelerates itself randomly. It’s happened with a lot of Genesis’s of this generation. Almost crashed due to it. Very unsafe. Gave the vehicle to a friend and the problem reoccurred and he captured a video that I have
Incident date: Nov 8, 2023
My 2016 Chevy Malibu that does not have many miles on it is shifting into, Reduced Engine Power Mode. When this comes on I cannot accelerate up to speeds and can only go about 25 MPH. It is dangerous that my car can go from highway speeds to this slow. I have had 0 issues before this started happening and other Malibus have been recalled for this same issue.
Incident date: Oct 9, 2023
Car shut down while driving due to the electrical system malfunction; had to get the car towed; ended up being a known issue by Audi with no recall related to the alternator; replaced with new alternator
Incident date: Sep 15, 2023
Poor throttle respond when doing lane change, really really poor throttle respond, especially when doing lane change the throttle supper slow respond can causing a rear end from the safe on incoming lane changed distance to unsafe distance after the lane changed, this seriously can causing the crash by the rear end from the vehicle on the back. It also happened when merge into freeway when throttl... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while his wife was parking the vehicle, the brake pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to stop as needed. The contact stated that the vehicle collided with a wall and was stopped by a curb. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was diagnosed by the manufacturer and the contact was informed that the accelerator had been depress... Read more
FORD
MUSTANG MACH E
(2021) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 9, 2023
Incident date: Nov 8, 2023
Car will, without warning brake aggressively while in cruise control, without pressure applied to brake. No other factors on road, except cars behind. This occurs frequently when car is driven in autopilot. Car will, without warning accelerate to a high speed without pressure applied to the accelerator. This acceleration is stopped with pressure being immediately applied to brake.
Incident date: May 9, 2023
There is a software problem which was introduced in a previous OTA which causes drive modes to change. These drive modes are Whisper, Engage, and Unbridle. Each has their own acceleration/throttle response characteristics, as well as steering and suspension feel. You also have the ability to enable one-pedal drive in the drive mode menu. The software bug will randomly throw an error on the main s... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
JETTA
(2019) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 9, 2023
Incident date: Nov 11, 2022
I do not know what caused this to happen. There were no warning lights or messages. Prior to this incident the transmission would rev/speed up on its own for a few seconds (I don't know if this is relevant). Salesperson told me about this and said it was nothing to worry about. The vehicle is equipped with a sensor that brakes if you come to close to an object. This sensor has definitely wor... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Nov 8, 2023
I read this news today and something very similar has happened to me on autopilot. https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/tesla-crash-santa-clara-18365723.php The car suddenly speeds swerves to the right. Since I was alert I was able to pull it out of autopilot and assume control.
MERCEDES-BENZ
C 300
(2022) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 9, 2023
Incident date: Sep 14, 2023
The vehicle regularly, and at random times, will drop out of the chosen drive setting and go to the default "Engage" mid-level setting. This changes the driving dynamics, such as pedal pressure required to move the car, and the sensitivity of the steering. If the driver was in "Unbridle", for example, the car will immediately lose speed and steering sensitivity, while if the driver was in "Whisper... Read more
Incident date: Nov 7, 2023
When trying to accelerate at a light turning left while on coming traffic is coming tries to accelerate and car didn’t want to move. Took foot off the gas and didn’t again. The car finally moved if not there is a potential accident. Also went up a street on hill. Turned right and stop sign right away. Pressed gas to accelerate on my turn at the four stop and couldn’t go. Released the gas p... Read more
Incident date: Nov 5, 2023
My wife was involved in an accident with her Audi Q4 E-Tron on Monday, August 7, 2023 at approximately noon. She was driving into Boulder to pick up our granddaughter from an art camp in Table Mesa. On her way to Boulder, she noticed that the lane departure warning indicator light was not working which was odd because she had been using that since she purchased the car. She was also in Drive B (re... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Nov 8, 2023
Random phantom breaking when using cruise control at high speeds. Goes from 70-40 mph and always worried someone is going to rear end me when my car automatically rapidly slows down for no reason. Huge hazard and risk!
Incident date: Aug 8, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked. The contact stated that upon shifting to drive (D) and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle lurched, accelerated unintendedly, and crashed into the base of a lamp pole; however, the engine continued to rev loudly. The air bags did not deploy. The contact depressed the brake pedal and while attempting to r... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Sep 23, 2023
ABS Control Module causing ABS light to come on, consistent audio warning, and disengages Cruise Control function. Currently being diagnosed by Dodge dealer the ABS Module and Hydraulic Control Units failing internally. Initially it was very seldom, and now is constant.
Incident date: Jul 12, 2023
I was at a stoplight at a busy intersection (car previously running well) & when I went to accelerate as the light turned green, my car leaped/jerked forward & would only accelerate to 5-8 mph. All of the warning lights on the dash lit up at the same time. I SLOWLY got out of the traffic & onto the side of the road. I turned the car off & back on. All the warning lights were still on. The car... Read more
Incident date: Nov 3, 2023
Emergency brake assist, distance sensing and adaptive cruise control randomly and intermittently deactivate while driving. In a recent 8-hour highway trip this deactivation occurred 7 times, sometimes correcting itself with no driver intervention, and other times remaining disabled for hours and hundreds of driving miles. Durning motor off and restarting occasionally reset the issue, but many tim... Read more
Incident date: Nov 7, 2023
For over a year, when ever I press on the gas to accelarate the car stalls and this is very dangerous as it could cause an accident. It is not related to being low on gas as it happens even the the tank if full. The most recent issue happened yesterday. I was on a stop sign, and when I pressed the gas to go, the car moved forward a bit and then it stalled, leaving me on the middle of the intersect... Read more
Incident date: Nov 7, 2023
ON OCTOBER 15 2023 AT AROUND 5.30 PM ME AND MY WIFE ARE COMING BACK FROM MY DAUGHTER"S HOUSE IN BASKING RIDGE NJ ,TO MY HOUSE IN WARREN NJ WHICH IS ONLY about 7 MILES. ITS LOCAL AREA WITH SPEED LIMIT AROUND 35 MILES/HR Z0NE .I WAS DRIVING ON MOUNT AIRY ROAD , SAW A RED LIGHT AT A DISTANCE, AND ALSO SAW A COUPLE OF CARS STOPPED AT LIGHT, AND SLOWLY APPLIED BRAKES TO STOP THE VEHICLE. TO MY SUR... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Oct 23, 2023
UNKNOWN ON several occasions the vehicle would just shut off. Another occasion while getting on the freeway I pressed the accelerator pedal and the car pumped the brakes,there was no one in front of me or on side of me upon entering the freeway. Another incident I was in the fast lane on the freeway and the vehicle just shut off Thank goodness the fast lane had a place where I could pull over a... Read more
Incident date: Nov 7, 2023
Service ABS light comes off and on sporadically. This is a known problem through out the country and needs to be addressed by a recall.
Incident date: Nov 6, 2023
I was driving I pressed the cruise control to set it but the vehicle kept accelerating and as I was pressing on the brake it wouldn’t disengage it kept accelerating I kept pressing the brake frantically and THANK GOD it disengaged.. I never touched the cruise control again
Incident date: Oct 1, 2022
When driving my new Hyundai ionic 5, the dashboard display is set up such that when I am in my preferred seating position, and my hands at 10 and 2 on the steering wheel, I cannot see the spedometer reading. I basically don't know how fast I'm going and less I change my hand position or move my head. This requires a fair more amount of time for me to take my attention off the road. This is not a... Read more
Incident date: Feb 11, 2023
While in cruise control, car will randomly suddenly brake without warning or visible obstacle. This has been an ongoing problem ever since buying the vehicle in 2021. Very dangerous as it has happened on the highway. Is startling and causes seat belt locking. I have reported the issue to Tesla and it's apparently a "limitation of software". We usually do not use cruise control in the Tesla because... Read more
Incident date: Nov 6, 2023
Too long for this space, I have attached a PDF with all the information Also attached "work order" picture of vehicle being towed, then pictures of the alerts these were from Sunday but were the same from Saturday through Monday. PLEASE LOOK INTO THIS AS I BELIEVE IT IS A SERIOUS ISSUE THAT A BRAND NEW CAR HAS 2 ENGINE FAILURES IN THE MIDDLE OF HIGHWAYS! I AM HIGHLY CONCERNED IT MAY BE ANOTHER... Read more
Incident date: Nov 2, 2023
My 2018 Toyota Prius Supreme was parked too far away from the curb in front of a house where we were invited, in a residential area in Naperville IL. I entered the car to park it properly. I had my foot on the brakes and pressed the starting button for the engine to turn on. I then put the car on reverse and suddently the car accelerated uncontollably. Went on the grass, hit the neighbor's ma... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Nov 6, 2023
I was driving November 6, 2023 at about 10:30 in the morning at approximately 25 to 30 mph on a neighborhood road when my car accelerated on me without me applying extra pressure. I was caught off guard and thought it must’ve been an anomaly. We have owned the car since August. But then on my way home, about 1 o’clock, I was again on the neighborhood street doing 25 to 30 mph and the car obvio... Read more
Incident date: Oct 23, 2023
The tcm in my 5 cobalt is not working properly I've tested and replaced everything els and had the tcm reprogrammed still getting problems aiming back to the tcm it wasn't looked at by a business
Incident date: Nov 2, 2023
The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Tundra. The contact stated that when the accelerator pedal was depressed, the vehicle failed to respond. After the accelerator pedal was depressed to the floorboard, the vehicle responded. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who test drove the vehicle but was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not diagnos... Read more
Incident date: Oct 5, 2023
I was driving on the freeway at approximately 67 MPH using the advanced cruise control. There was no car immediately in front of me or directly beside me. All of a sudden, the car decelerated quickly, as if it slammed on the brakes. I was able to react quickly and override the deceleration, but had there been a car directly behind me, I very likely would have been rear-ended. It all happened s... Read more
Incident date: Nov 4, 2023
driving from Albuquerque NM to Farmington NM, in approximately 1 1/2 hours of driving on hwy 550, 4 lane divided highway, encountered no less than 12 hard shadow breaking events. in all instances there were no vehicles, animals or debris in front of the vehicle. It was a cloudless day, starting around 9am, clear no fog, temperature in the 40's. high risk of being hit if a car was following close... Read more
Incident date: Nov 5, 2023
Experience judder and stall of vehicle while driving, pulling off and coming from a complete stop. Vehicle will lose power while driving which is unsafe when getting on the freeway or driving in high traffic areas. Vehicle has been taken to the Nissan twice and to other repair shops for related concern and all have stated that the trans needs replacing. There were no lights or warnings before prob... Read more
Incident date: Sep 9, 2023
When travelling with adaptive speed control enabled the car will suddenly and violently decelerate 30 to 50 MPH below the set speed. This happens frequently and does not appear to correlate with anything specific. Sometimes it happens when passing a large white truck. Sometimes there is no other traffic anywhere near me. At the very least I would like Tesla to give me the option of disabling the "... Read more
MITSUBISHI
OUTLANDER SPORT
(2018) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 5, 2023
Incident date: Nov 4, 2023
I have had my car in the service center 5 times for the same reason they tell me it is fixed but the problem keeps happening. I have tried to be cooperative . the car has been in the shop on and off since the 18 of July at one point they had it almost a month. This last time they gave it back to me said it was fixed. This is why i'm writing to you I had the car a week and I was driving on interst... Read more
KIA
SORENTO HYBRID
(2023) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 4, 2023
Incident date: Sep 20, 2023
Code P0101 came on, service Bulletin from NHTSA.gov was done. Car came back worst. Engine stalled in the middle of the street. It wouldn’t turn on, we had to push it to get it out of the street. Car will accelerate on its own when turn on. Sometimes car will accelerate when put on Reverse on its own….. RPMs will be at 7 and 8 when going 45MPH. I notice this has been an issue for Nissan Sentras... Read more
FORD
MUSTANG MACH E
(2021) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 4, 2023
Incident date: Nov 4, 2023
As I was driving in March 2023 every light on the dashboard came on in the car. The car started shaking, the engine was very loud, the car speed slowed down than stopped, as I pressed the gas the car would not accelerate. After the car was parked overnight it started than I drove it to a Dodge dealership for repair, after being at the dealership for 7 days nothing was found by the technician to be... Read more
Incident date: Oct 23, 2023
ABS light and traction control light comes on all the time and when lights comes on curse control stop working, by lights coming on all the times don't feel safe to drive truck.
Incident date: Aug 17, 2023
Problem #1- I had to replace the ABS module and HCU on this truck at about 10k miles. (this was completed under warranty). Then at 50k miles truck was diagnosed with the same problem. I had to pay out of pocket for this repair. I ordered these parts from the dealer in November 2021, and they did not get me in until August 19, 2023. I had to pay ($1152.33). This is very dangerous when it has this e... Read more
Incident date: Oct 19, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while pulling into a bumpy parking space, the vehicle shuddered violently, unintendedly accelerated, and crashed into a stone wall. As a result, the hood of the vehicle was bent and the bumpers were damaged. The air bags did not deploy. The contact did not sustain any injuries. The contact was able to drive to an unknown dealer, where the ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Sep 25, 2023
High Voltage battery failed twice. At highway speeds and during failure vehicle resorts to turtle mode.
Incident date: Nov 2, 2023
The incident happened on 11/2/2023 at 8:40 AM ET. I was at the speed of about 25-30 miles/hour to drop my daughter at preschool. Suddenly, I received an alert on my dashboard saying "Brake System Problem". When I applied brakes, the vehicle wouldn't stop. I pressed brake pedal very hard and kept it that way for a while. The vehicle gradually came to a stop but it took long for a vehicle to come to... Read more
Incident date: Oct 17, 2023
I've had the car since December 2019. The car will "phantom brake" when the autopilot adaptive cruise control is on. This happens intermittently, ~1 time per month on my normal commute. I will be going along, cruise set to 75 and out of nowhere it'll slam on the brakes and lose 10 MPH in a second before I can take over. This occurs with absolutely no traffic or reason, it'll be an empty highway an... Read more
Incident date: Nov 2, 2023
Approximately mid May 2023, 5:15 PM +/_, while stopped at a red light while leaving the work parking structure, the engine revved up and wanted to move forward. Forcing the driver to apply heavy pressure on the brakes to avoid being forced into the intersection. An opening presented itself, the brakes were released and the car entered the intersection. Once moving forward the "unintended accelerat... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
I have less than 60k miles on this truck, and the hydraulic brake module and pump has gone out. Truck has been parked for about 2 years now due to this issue, bc of unreliable brakes. Parts are unavailable .
Incident date: Nov 2, 2023
My car lost power & completely shut down at 70 mph on the highway. My dash lights went place & I had no control of vehicle other than to go straight & come to a rolling stop. It has shut off repeatedly while driving
Incident date: Oct 16, 2023
Runaway acceleration. Three times now in the last two weeks the RPMs went to maximum redline without my foot on the accelerator pedal. Fortunately all occurred when I was at very slow speed and either in a driveway or a parking lot. Each time I immediately put the transmission to neutral and shut off the engine. For the first occurrence, Restarting the engine all went back to normal. But for ... Read more