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: Nov 27, 2023
Car experienced sudden loss of power while driving. Warning appeared 'Propulsion Power Reduced.' Was able to continue driving short distance home and parked. Attempted to recharge battery but it would not accept charge. I was able to restart car again with "Propulsion Power Reduced' and drove to dealer. Diagnosis: Body Control Module (BCM) failed. Unit was replaced. Vehicle drove normally ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ram 2500. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH with the Adaptive Cruise Control engaged, the contact depressed the accelerator pedal to overtake another vehicle; however, after overtaking the other vehicle, the vehicle continued to accelerate independently. The contact depressed the brake pedal; however, the vehicle decelerated temporarily and continued to accelerate ind... Read more
Incident date: Aug 28, 2023
Check engine light came on. Display stated that the engine will run at reduced power which meant we had to Limp home at 15 MPH which put us in a dangerous situation. I read the code and it was P2122. Throttle/Pedal Position Sensor/Switch “D” Circuit Low Input. This indicates that there is a problem with the accelerator pedal. I replaced the pedal myself at a cost of $114.00. I eventually found... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
Twice in the last 4 months, after turning into a parking place and accelerating gently to pull forward into the space, the car surged forward much more than it should have given my light acceleration. The first time this happened I slammed into a split rail fence which broke, damaging the vehicle. The fence parts went over a restraining wall and damaged a house. I was able to stop the car but it... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Oct 12, 2023
The component that failed was the long block and is currently available for inspection. The date when the issue 1st appeared was Nov 20 2023. The issue has since been isolated as a coolant leak in my cylinders and Ford is very aware of the issue and has a TSB 22-2229 discussing some of the symptoms. The coolant intrusion compromised the motors ability to react to demand for power. The vehicle shak... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2023
Car dies repeatedly while on the road driving and also while parked. Car has errors on dashboard when attempting to turn on, which I have a video of. First mechanic was able to replicate issue once and got some scan tool codes but he said after that, they all cleared out and he wasn't able to replicate. Car was given back to us, drove to store died and it wouldn't start in parking lot. Mechanic se... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2023
ABS light and traction control warning on dash. Truck has been in shop previously for the same issue. This causes my truck to lose cruise control at highway speeds and to not have traction control capabilities when driving on wet roads. I will be taking the truck back in to the shop this week as this is occurring at all times and does not stop dinging.
Incident date: Oct 18, 2023
The vehicle has twice been disabled while driving due to “lost communication with hybrid module powertrain control module.” This breakdown is a significant safety hazard as the car loses power and coasts to a stop without any warning. The second time was on a 65 mph highway. Neither time has had any warning before the malfunction lights appeared. The first time occurred on 10/7, and the vehic... Read more
Incident date: Aug 19, 2022
It is easy, when driving in automatic mode, to accidently touch one of the paddle shifters. In doing so, the automatic transmission disengages, and the transmission suddenly switches to control by the paddle shifters. If the driver is unaware of this, the vehicle can lose motive power if the gear then in effect is no longer fitting for the vehicles speed and the engine's RPM. I recently took th... Read more
Incident date: Nov 11, 2023
The Hydraulic Control Unit Chrysler part number 68143491AA failed and was replaced on my vehicle. I had the vehicle back to the dealer numerous times before they replaced this item. 14000 miles later the same problems are happening again. This causes the Anti-lock braking system and Traction control system to no longer function limiting function under wet or slippery conditions. This puts the... Read more
Incident date: Nov 18, 2023
ABS system/ Traction control system/ 4wheel drive system/ cruise control. I had the ABS system repaired/replaced once this year already and now i need it done again. ABS failure makes the 4wheel drive system fail and it's winter time and i need 4 wheel drive for safety.
Incident date: Apr 1, 2023
My gas pedal stuck flat to the floor and the plastic gas pedal broke causing me to hit a cement pillar in front of Knick trip
Crash
Incident date: Aug 29, 2023
Component/System Failed:The stability control system, and subsequently, the cruise control system of my 2019 Ram 2500 malfunctioned. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Safety Risks:The malfunction posed a significant safety risk as it occurred multiple times while driving at speeds of 50mph to 74mph. The unexpected failure of the stability control could lead to a loss of vehicl... Read more
Incident date: Dec 2, 2023
I was on the way home from work when out of no where the engine light and a indicator saying low engine oil pressure came on I totally lost power driving on a highway and the car came to a stop. Mechanic told me it was the oil belt tensioner caused the engine failure and now i have to pay 4000 dollars on top of my monthly car and insurance company for a vehicle that just quite on me.
Incident date: Apr 5, 2023
I was driving on the highway on a trip and out of no where my car shuttered and then flashed service transmission soon, I pulled over and my car would no longer drive, reverse or go into neutral. The tow company reset my battery to try to reset my car system. After that my car wouldn’t really go past 60. I followed the tow truck to the nearest town and it stalled again at the light and I could n... Read more
Incident date: Nov 9, 2023
I purchased this vehicle used, I started having transmission issues here and there and now it's more frequent. I travel from Houston tx to Katy Texas weekly and travel on I-10, the most dangerous road in Houston with my 9 year old daughter and 2 year old son. There have been several times where I was almost rear ended because the vehicle shifted gears and when I would push the accelerator the vehi... Read more
Incident date: Oct 28, 2023
I started my vehicle, as usual, and when driving at a very slow speed (neighborhood speed limits) I approached a very busy intersection and the car just stopped. Not only did it stop, it would not steer and a bunch of warning lights came on the dashboard. Tav I believe, oil, check engine light. Even with the key in the acc mode, the power steering was not functioning. Everything just stopped funct... Read more
Incident date: Nov 16, 2022
I was headed straight but stopped so that I could move into a left turn lane. As I got into the left turn lane and was straightening up behind the person in front of me at almost a dead stop the R1S lunged forward and accelerated at a high rate of speed hitting the car in front of me (speed control issue already known on the R1T). The camera footage verifies it. No warning lights went off (forward... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Nov 30, 2023
I've had multiple failures on this vehicle. First, the engine had a rod knock and Acura gave me a very hard time approving the repair and eventually replacement of the engine. Second, the ADAS system is not working and is a huge safety concern. I keep getting error messages that my road mitigation and lane keeping assist systems do not work. Third, the ABS module system cannot communicate with my ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
The Motor/engine consumes excess oil creating a burnt smell and a lot of whitesmoke coming out of the muffler. The vehicle is stalling constantly and won’t accelerate properly while driving. Creating an unsafe environment for me and those driving near me. I have repair and install new piece but non of them would fix the problem. I took it to the dealer and they didn’t find the problem. I have ... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2011) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Dec 1, 2023
Incident date: Nov 20, 2023
Sudden unintended acceleration appeared to cause the Tesla while parking the car on the street in front of home accelerate go out of control and crash into the home totaling the car and damaging the house. Two days prior the vehicle was brought into a Tesla service location where Tesla replaced the 12 volt battery that they believed was causing the car not to power on properly at that time. Afte... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Sep 15, 2023
I rented a 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee at our local airport (Monterey, California) and drove it to Los Angeles and back for a total of about 700 miles over four days. I am an experienced driver and have been working on cars all my adult life. On several occasions, I attempted to the use the cruise control function to set a fixed speed for my journey. In doing so, I would first turn cruise contro... Read more
HYUNDAI
GENESIS COUPE
(2014) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Dec 1, 2023
Incident date: Dec 1, 2023
My vehicle is equipped with EYESIGHT. I was driving to my home after work at night and suddenly the infotainment system screen went blank; including Braking Assist, Adaptive Cruise control, Lane assist, Emergency Braking etc including Navigation, also the HVAC shut off and EYESIGHT that controls these as well, shut off. It was suffocating in the car due to no A/C and thusf I tried to pull over a... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Oct 28, 2023
There was about a handful of incidents in the almost 3 years that ive had this car where i am driving and suddenly the vehicle stops accelerating . the RPM shoots up and the speed stayed at 20mph. I took it to the Nissan dealership service center for a diagnostic and was told that there are no problems with my car.
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
ABS module and HCU. Very hard to stop and kicks off cruise control all of a sudden. It was replaced 1 year ago less than 7000 miles and it went out again
Incident date: Sep 2, 2023
Although the owner's manual specifically states "When enabled, One-Pedal Driving applies in R (Reverse) and D (Drive). This feature remains enabled until manually disabled by the driver." One pedal drive does not work in reverse. Car does not creep in reverse like an ICE vehicle, but quickly lurches backward, surprising an experienced or forgetful driver and possibly endangering pedestrians walk... Read more
Incident date: Nov 11, 2023
Caliper became stuck which produced smoke coming from tire. Had the caliper replaced. Then months later my forward collision system activated because a car in front of me stopped abruptly. After the car automatically braked to slow my car down, the brake never released and became stuck and the ABS light came on. Replace the abs sensor and two days later the brake engaged on its own while doing 60 ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 20, 2023
Vehicle began to shake, buck and emit a grinding noise while traveling on highway resulting in loss of speed control and associated fear. Check engine light appeared simultaneously. No prior indication of a problem. Managed to limp to next exit via shoulder. Had car towed to dealer as warranty was still in effect. Problem was diagnosed as fuel injector failure and repaired. Learned it is a comm... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
My van has been having increasingly frequent speed control problems. When attempting to pull out from a stop, the gas pedal will become unresponsive. Then, I will press the gas pedal harder and the vehicle will burn rubber. This happens intermittently, but at least 3-4 times a week. The most dramatic example of this happened, yesterday, while I was trying to make a left turn cross two lanes of... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2023
Transmission, radio, and automatic braking system. Transmission lags when going slow. From a stop on a hill, the car did not accelerate when the gas pedal was pushed, almost causing a crash as I merged into oncoming traffic. It felt like it did not go into gear properly or was not recognizing the gears. Dealership advised it was the design of the transmission and not something they can fix. ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2023
Vehicle was using the self driving feature of the Subaru Eyesight system. With the system engaged, the vehicle is supposed to accelerate and apply brakes accordingly as to keep a distance from the vehicle in front. Today, that system failed. The vehicle, with the Eyesight system engaged, accelerated right into the vehicle in front. There was no warning. The vehicle will be go for repair on 12/5/23... Read more
Crash
TIFFIN
ALLEGRO OPEN ROAD
(2022) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 29, 2023
Incident date: Dec 10, 2021
Winter 2022 The problem occurred after icy conditions in Texas and ABS, traction control and steering system lights came on in my Gage cluster, since then i have tried many things to fix the issue went as far as replacing the knuckle full assembly with abs speed sensor. Later I search across the internet of honda owners and noticed its a common issue and a very expensive 1, my local honda quoted $... Read more
Incident date: Nov 24, 2023
Transmission,coolant infusion to engine Emissions, long block torqu converter failed even though i had multiple appointments to have this and the other recalls done they always canceled the appointments due to lack of parts or they were backed up in the service department. I had the majority of all (the works) oil changes done at the dealership unless they were weeks out, I complained of engine r... Read more
Incident date: Sep 15, 2023
The incident happened at my workplace parking garage. As I slowly turned left to park in parking spot at work, I heard the engine rev and my car unexpectedly lurched forward very quickly. I stepped hard on the brake but it did not seem effective at stopping the car. I recently replaced my brakes in late August, 2023. As far as I know, before today my car was in proper working order. My vehicle is ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Nov 13, 2023
ABS and traction control warning lights intermittently come on. Has been repaired twice by local dealership by replacing the two computer modules/pumps responsible for ABS system. Cruise control disengages when this happens. When this happens at highway speeds while pulling a heavy trailer in traffic it's a very dangerous situation and needs to be corrected by manufacturer.
Incident date: Nov 24, 2023
Had brake module replaced under warranty at the dealer and less than 10k miles later it’s doing the exact same thing again. Abs is not working, alarm constantly chiming while driving and abs and electronic brake malfunction lights coming on in the dash. Truck still has less than 48,000 miles on it cause I’m scared for my family’s safety so we just don’t drive it anymore. Is a shame we have... Read more
Incident date: Oct 25, 2023
Component or system failure or malfunction: Delayed or no gear shifting. Transmission sudden downshift at low and high speeds, and failure to shift into lower or higher gear at takeoff, and/or while in motion. Safety risk: Sudden downshift at high speed caused stability and control issue at highway speed. The problem has been reproduced by owner and discussed with dealer by phone. The v... Read more
Incident date: Oct 18, 2023
-Abnormal Reduction Gear and/or EV motor Rumble noise as identified in KIA TSB-234. The car is available for inspection. -Car not working properly/increasing the risk of stall or breakdown while driving and therefore increasing the risk of collision/accident. There is a loss of power and increased revolution noise from the reduction gear/EV motor increasing the incidence of vehicle failure dur... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
We own a 2016 Honda Fit with 52,000 miles, and the fuel gauge/speed/odometer display does not work. It completely fails in the cold. This is major safety issue since we can't read the fuel level nor see how fast or slow I'm driving. Our car is currently at the Conicelli Honda dealership. After trying to get this fix or diagnosed for years, Conicelli thinks the problem is a loose or failing solde... Read more
Incident date: Nov 6, 2023
Vehicle will repeatedly aggressively brake while using “Enhanced Autopilot”, posing a danger to any cars behind. Complaints given to Tesla have been unresolved.
Incident date: Nov 28, 2023
Car has a ticking sound, car has died on me multiple times. The vehicle has stopped moving regardless of pressing on accelerator and died leaving me stranded, feeling unsafe. I have been driving at 40 mph and then seem to lose power, making it to where can only go 10 to 20 mph or totally dying. I was also having issues with key fobs not working. Door would open, unlock and then not, car stalling. ... Read more
MITSUBISHI
OUTLANDER
(2015) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 28, 2023
Incident date: Nov 11, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Acura MDX. The contact stated that occasionally while accelerating, at a stop, or while driving, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. While driving at approximately 50 MPH, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated to 80 MPH. Additionally, while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brakes activated independently. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was ta... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2021) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 28, 2023
Incident date: Nov 23, 2023
While driving in the city limits around 35 miles an hour I had to stop abruptly to avoid a collision with a driver who didn’t stop at the intersection. I had to come to a complete stop for this driver. When I took my foot off of the brake and tried to drive on my car would not move. I had to shift gears put it in park and try again. I could hear the engine responding but the car wouldn’t mov... Read more
Incident date: Oct 24, 2023
As I was driving home at around 45 mph, I noticed a flashing light on the dashboard. The light was instructing me to switch to 'P' to start. Additionally, there was a light indicating a plug-in, and the 'D' was flashing. I wasn't sure what was happening, but I knew something was wrong. Gradually, the acceleration slowed down, and I started to feel uneasy. I quickly pulled over to the side of the r... Read more
Incident date: Oct 25, 2023
The 2024 whom are being sold at the same time as the 2023 GR Corollas have had improvements to both the front brake cooling with aluminum and have had the ducting reopened after the safety correction. To ensure the safety of the drivers and passengers, quality of the vehicle and its longevity. Recommend recalling all 2023 circuit editions to also adjust the from driver and passenger side brakes an... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS
(2023) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 27, 2023
Incident date: Oct 9, 2023
When making 90° turns such as an immediate right turn or a left turn across one lane, gas pedal becomes completly unresponsive halfway through the turn for approx 3 seconds. Occurs about 1% of the time but drastic when it occurs. Almost multiple accidents have occured with oncoming traffic almost t-boning me when making left turns or being rear ended on right turns: people don't anticipate a veh... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2022) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 27, 2023
Incident date: Jul 11, 2023
I was waiting at a red light and my truck started smoking and caught fire
Fire
Incident date: Nov 1, 2006
I purchased my Ram 3500 new, in 2018, at Nucar auto dealership in Tilton, New Hampshire. When I reached approximately 24,000 miles, my "Check ABS" and "Check Traction Control" lights activated on my dashboard and the message console. I was using cruise control at the time, which immediately deactivated. This could have caused an accident if I had been slower to react. The warning/failure was i... Read more
Incident date: Nov 27, 2023
Service abs system immediately popped up on information screen, also abs and traction control lights all at the same time. This disengages cruise control and removes digital speed reading. Almost got tailgated.
Incident date: Aug 22, 2023
So many issues with the Buick. Made of glass. First I had no coolant line and I took it to be inspected before at, Baumen Ford and they said everything was fine with it. Turns out needed new coolant line, head gasket, timing cover, and switch. 5 new tires, rebuilt transmission, epc solenoid, transmission lines, rear pivot, left front wheel barring, formed band, and many many more. Currently with e... Read more