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.

2,215,138 Total Complaints

138,663 Reported Crashes

56,255 Reported Fires

8,561 Reported 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

How to Read NHTSA Consumer Complaints › How NHTSA Investigations Work › Used Car: 7 Recall Checks to Run First › The Takata Airbag Recall: Full Story › OBD-II Codes Explained › All Articles ›

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Showing 72,878 complaints — component: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

Incident date: Aug 28, 2023

The vehicle keeps stating the brake mitigation, acc, and other various Honda sensor features need to be repaired and to contact a dealer. The vehicle de-accelerates on its home and doesn’t allow any of the Honda sense features to work. All the components of the dash are triggered at once. Most of the time the vehicle drives fine without the use of the Honda sense features. I have brought this to... Read more

Incident date: Aug 27, 2023

While driving on the highway at 70 mph, cruise control engaged, there was a sudden loss of drive power. I could not accelerate, or return to the cruising speed. The speed just dramatically fell. The only remedy was to pull over to the side of the road, turn off the car, and start it again. This VIN was not included in the initial similar recall earlier this year.

Incident date: Jul 15, 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Journey. The contact stated while driving 75 MPH, the adaptive cruise control (ACC) mode failed to disengage as intended and several unknown warning lights were illuminated. Additionally, the windshield wipers engaged unintendedly and remained engaged after the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was pushed to the side of the road. The contact's husband disconnecte... Read more

Incident date: Jun 29, 2023

I purchased the new 2023 TAOS Volkswagen. I am experiencing sudden burst of acceleration when I’m gently accelerating. I have had several near misses of having an accident. I have read several other reports of the same problem on online forums. What is Volkswagen going to do about this? I just paid $35,000 for this new car and I’m afraid I’m gonna have an accident the way it suddenly acceler... Read more

Incident date: Jul 16, 2023

malfunction cause unanticipated acceleration in sport driving mode.

Incident date: Mar 13, 2023

My truck does this during, gears shifts 3-4- them 3,4,t complete gri g like people noise somewhere around 15 mph - 20 mph. Happens 80% of the time when I'm slowing down coming around a curve on a slight inclin, 5gear sounds like it's grinding in then it dowm shifts to 4th and slows down very fast..then downs hard shift with clunk upto 5th when speeding up after that slight turn . Seem to get wor... Read more

Incident date: Aug 23, 2023

I was pulling into a parking space at my work parking lot, where I have been parking my car for the past 2.5 years. I was slowly parking the CRV, my foot was not applying any pressure on the gas, I was slowly easing into the parking space and as I was putting my foot on the brake to stop, it was very hard as if it was locked and the car kept going. I couldn't stop the SUV and it jumped the curb/... Read more

Crash

Incident date: Jul 10, 2023

This vehicle had a complete engine failure. Since it is a hybrid, when the engine shut down, the vehicle lost all power. The driver had no control over steering or brakes. The vehicle crashed through three trees and into a house. Hyundai Motors of America and NHTSA are aware of the issues with this vehicle's engine, however, this engine was already replaced. The problem was that the "limp mode" di... Read more

Crash 2 injured

Incident date: Jul 7, 2023

The vehicle throws a forward collision warning and then suddenly brakes to slow down while driving with no road hazard in front. This occurs about once every 10 days. This is a safety hazard because the forward collision warning has to be turned off every time the car is turned on. It will not stay off. During sudden braking, an accident may occur behind the vehicle. We have left the car at the ... Read more

Incident date: Aug 25, 2023

Cruise control disengages randomly. Gear indicator goes from 6th gear to 1st gear or displays -. This typically happens on interstate at 55-75mph and causes sudden engine braking with rapid deceleration. This creates a risk of getting rear ended at high rates of speed. This had been a common problem reported on forums for this model of motorcycle.

Incident date: Aug 24, 2023

Sudden acceleration when entering an open parking space, causing the car to hit two vehicles and causing extensive damage to my and the other vehicles. Safety of others would have been at risk as the accelerations was unintended and unexpected and if people were present they would have been in danger. The vehicle is currently at dealership for examination of unintended acceleration and accident.... Read more

Crash

Incident date: Aug 25, 2023

I write to report the issues which are a safety hazard to me & whom ever operates it or I transport in it, Which creates a higher concern for my & their safety . I purchased a 2023 Nissan Pathfinder SL on July 6, 2023 an eight seater model 4WD with 8 miles on the speedometer manufactured by Nissan as per label on door April 2023.The problem I have experienced recently after a month & two weeks no... Read more

Incident date: Aug 6, 2020

UNKNOWN the cars transmission after running for a bit feels like it slips out and will not lock in and shift, leading to higher rpm I run at 2500 to go 45 miles per hour, I also only get 4.3 miles per gallon it says on the dash.

Incident date: Jul 28, 2023

Once the cruise control is set, it consistently drops below the set speed and surges back up or over the set speed. Set on 62, it drops to 59 or 60, then surges back up to 62 or 63. This happens on perfectly flat roads with no traffic in front or beside the car. The dealership tried to tell me that the camera for the adaptive cruise might be seeing things in its peripheral vision area, but there i... Read more

Incident date: Jan 21, 2023

I was driving down the highway on cruise control going 67 on a 65. The car started revving up and then proceeded to go faster. I turned off the cruise control but its continued to speed up. I stomped on the brake 4 or 5 times with no effect. I rammed into the back of a bus at 110 mph.

Crash 1 injured

Incident date: Aug 25, 2023

I was on a road trip in South Dakota through I-90 and the vehicle stopped in middle of the road caused by phantom braking while running by its autopilot (7 times total). In multiple instances, there were vehicles not far behind. This is really scary as in any moment we could have been in a fatal accident on the 80mph road. Tesla needs to fix this ASAP. Not acceptable at all from a vehicle that cos... Read more

Incident date: Aug 20, 2023

Vehicle loses power, my vehicle stop on the highway going 55 miles per hour, I came very close to being rear ended. My vehicle consumes excessive fuel, the vehicle quicks back upon acceleration. This causes a great concern as I used my vehicle for work. I attempted to have the dealer resolve this and I was told that there was nothing they could do. However, this faulty performance might cause a tr... Read more

Incident date: Aug 18, 2023

I believe my PCM went bad.

Incident date: Nov 15, 2022

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while their wife was pulling into a parking space, uphill, when the vehicle suddenly accelerated. The vehicle jumped the curb and crashed into a sign. The vehicle continued accelerating approximately a car length of distance causing it to jump another curb onto grass and eventually come to a stop. The air bags did not deploy. The vehi... Read more

Crash

Incident date: Aug 25, 2023

The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that upon depression of the accelerator pedal, the accelerator pedal became stuck, causing the vehicle to unintendedly accelerate. There was no warning light illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle stalled while driving at various speeds. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and the vehicle operated as intended. ... Read more

Incident date: Aug 24, 2023

The ABS module failed on my truck and was replaced using an OEM part. The newly installed module worked for a few months, but failed. Upon failure the speed control failed, the ABS light came on and the truck was stuck in the middle of the street where I tried to restart the vehicle. The truck wouldn't shift into drive or neutral to be moved. The truck was unable to be moved and it took multip... Read more

Incident date: Jul 5, 2023

At speeds over 60 MPH, the BMW K1600 B motorcycle is unstable and wobbles. The instability at speeds over 60 MPH are unsafe, and I, nor my wife, will ever ride it again as it feels like the motorcycle is going to lose control and fall over at high speeds causing injury or death to us or others. BMW Motorcycles of Cleveland inspected it, rode it and verbally stated that they agree it has stabilit... Read more

Incident date: May 24, 2023

Vehicle braked without warning with cruise control engaged. Luckily there were no other vehicles near us when this phantom braking occurred.

Incident date: Jun 2, 2023

On three separate occasions, I was driving on the highway and lost power to accelerate causing a safety issue as I was on a fast-moving highway and had to find an exit or pull over. The three times were September 22, 2022, March 23, 2023 and July 23, 2023. The first time I had it towed to Hennessy Honda in Woodstock, GA. They were unable to determine anything was wrong. The second time, I pull... Read more

Incident date: Aug 16, 2023

I am not a mechanic but when I drive my vehicle, I feel like it doesn't have enough amps to move it along like it's missing something. I have pressed on the accelerator and heard a "winding noise" like the little engine that could but wants to. This is a horrible car!!! I have only had this vehicle for a month and it's a nightmare to drive. It sometimes does not accelerate, and the take-off is unb... Read more

Incident date: Aug 23, 2023

While driving at a slow rate of speed, the engine turned off, the emergency brake engaged itself automatically, and the truck came to a sudden stop--very unexpectedly. There was a message that came on the screen telling me to put the truck in park to turn the vehicle on.

Incident date: Mar 11, 2023

The contact owns a 2020 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while attempting to park the vehicle, the vehicle independently accelerated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. There was no cause for the failure found. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The ... Read more

Incident date: Aug 17, 2023

Concern: The "Autopilot" system in my 2023 Tesla Model Y AWD LR has shown diminished performance, particularly in adaptive cruise control, compared to the 2018 Model 3 RWD Long Range. Account: I aim to notify NHTSA about a concerning "Autopilot" behavior in my 2023 Model Y AWD LR. I am comparing this to the performance of my previous 2018 Model 3 RWD Long Range, driven under similar conditions. ... Read more

Incident date: Nov 1, 2022

On 8/20/23 heading south on I-294 in Chicago : in center lane with cruise control on and no cars close in front of me when the car suddenly started a hard braking without warning. No orange warning to brake came on but engine warning light of left of dashboard was on. Immediately turned off cruise control. Car would not accelerate and came to a stop on the highway. Tried to start without success,... Read more

Incident date: Aug 18, 2023

This happened twice before I took the car back to the dealer for service. Both times I was driving the vehicle and it suddenly stops accelerating. The car suddenly comes to a stop. I continued pressing the accelerator and the car continued to quickly slow down to a stop. Both times I was in traffic and could have been rear ended or certainly could have caused an accident. The car is currently... Read more

Incident date: Aug 24, 2023

Lexus issued a Warranty Enhancement Program sometime in 2022. It stated that if the check engine light would illuminate due to moisture and cold in the air injection pumps and air switching valves. The warranty would be good until 10 years from first use which is 10/23 for this vehicle. I was not experiencing the problem at the time I received the notice so I files it. A few months later I started... Read more

Incident date: Jun 2, 2023

The TCM failed in rush hour traffic! In Minneapolis Minnesota, the stability control light came on, traction control light came on, no throttle, no power. We backed up traffic, got push to the side of the road, towed to the service shop, and was told the Transmission control module (TCM) failed. Then told they are on national backorder from GM. The truck has been down for 3 months with no answe... Read more

Incident date: Jun 20, 2023

We were about an hour away from home (in the mountains) and our Jeep had been running fine. We had stopped for a while and when we got back to our Jeep and started it, just about every warning light on the dash board came on and wouldn’t go off (the brake light, check engine, airbag, ABS, etc.) The middle of the dash was also flashing different messages…”service park assist and service pow... Read more

Incident date: Jul 19, 2023

I was driving my husband's 2016 E350 at 45 mph when the car accelerated. I attempted to control the speed by braking but the brake did not respond well. The steering wheel was also loose. The car sped up and turned left to the opposite side of the road, crossed the two lanes and hit the fence followed by a tree. The car was totaled, and the tree broke down at its branches. I survived the crush wit... Read more

Crash 1 injured

Incident date: Jul 28, 2023

The power steering with no warning, just quits, working, get warning signs that the ABS is not working, included with the traction control.

Incident date: Aug 20, 2023

I got off work and was heading home one of the streets i Devon is uphill. As I’m driving up the hill the car just started rolling backwards. I hit the breaks and turned car off and back on and even thought it was I. Drive it would only go backwards. No matter what I did it was jerking and acting like it didn’t have power even though the rpm’s was up. I mechanic came to check on me and durin... Read more

Incident date: Feb 1, 2017

The contact’s daughter owns a 2015 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while the vehicle was idling, the vehicle hesitated. The contact stated that his daughter had to depress the accelerator pedal to rev the engine. The contact then stated that on a separate occasion while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated and stalled. Additionally, the contact stated that on another se... Read more

Incident date: Aug 16, 2023

While driving with the adaptive cruise control engaged, the car has suddenly braked (hard) when the associate optical system encountered a shadow or some anomaly on the road ahead. This "phantom braking" has occurred numerous times on our vehicle, and speaking with our son who also has a Tesla Model Y, he has experienced the same behavior. To date, I have not contacted Tesla, due to the intermit... Read more

Incident date: Aug 20, 2023

While driving on the parkway several times for traveling to work, my car would suddenly and violently shudder and drop speed much lower than the posted speed limit. My RPMs would race from 1.5 to 5 but no increase in speed when the accelerator was pushed. I had to put my emergency 4 way lights on and drive in the far right lane. Nissan dealership kept saying the vehicle was working fine when I c... Read more

Incident date: Aug 6, 2023

I was driving along and without warning the speedometer became erratic and then went to zero. As I was moving on a main road (limited access) I could not safely stop right away. Several other items on the instrument panel began to operate erratically. (These other items would not be considered safety items) Before reaching an exit or other safe place the speedometer began to operate again. I got... Read more

Incident date: Aug 4, 2023

On numerous occasions, when traveling at speeds 50mph and over, the vehicle failed to further accelerate when the gas pedal was engaged. This caused the rpm's to rev up to 7 and the vehicle to slow down. Our safety was at risk because the vehicle was unresponsive to acceleration for at least 20-30 seconds making it impossible to avoid or get away from something dangerous. On one occasion, the vehi... Read more

Incident date: Aug 22, 2023

While using cruise control on a highway traveling between 65 and 75 MPH the brakes slammed on when there was absolutely no traffic in front of or beside us, no overhead obstructions, no upcoming corners, nothing at all but straight road ahead. If anyone had been behind us we could easily have been rear-ended. The car had only 1500 miles on it the first time it happened. There were 4 such events... Read more

Incident date: Nov 23, 2022

The contact owns a 2020 Kia Telluride. The contact stated while her grand-daughter was driving with adaptive cruise control (ACC) mode set at 40 MPH, the vehicle accelerated unintendedly and the steering wheel seized, causing the contact to lose control of the vehicle. The vehicle crashed into a road sign. The air bags did not deploy. The contact stated that the diver was able to veer to the side ... Read more

Crash 1 injured

Incident date: Aug 1, 2023

When pulling off or slowing down, there's hesitation, jerking, and kicking or slamming going in or out of gear. Was passing a vehicle one day and it started going, then lost acceleration. I put it to the floor, still no acceleration. My Abs/Traction light came on, the rear end started like bouncing, or something with traction. As I pulled over, the abs/traction light went off. A few times we compl... Read more

Incident date: Jun 30, 2023

Vehicle would not shift out of first gear. Turned off vehicle and turned back on, still would not shift out of first gear. Our safety was at risk because we could not drive the minimum speed limit. We have not been able to get into a mechanic yet, we pulled it over at a shop nearby and they are booked out so we are waiting inspection and without our vehicle, but wanted to report the issue as we... Read more

Incident date: Aug 22, 2023

While driving at highway speeds (70 mph+/-), my diesel powered vehicle 'derated' (I believe that is the term) for no apparent reason. An engine light came on related to a DEF system malfunction. I can provide the code later. My vehicle instantly went from 70 mph to 15 mph on a crowded interstate, on an inside lane. With some difficulty I managed to make across three lanes to the shoulder and turne... Read more

Incident date: Oct 14, 2022

Car randomly goes into engine reduced power mode and won't go over 50mph. Power steering either won't turn the wheels and will start working again without warning while driving and jerks wheel to the right. Service stabilitrac warning would come on intermittently and disable traction control. Service stabilitrac warning is on now everytime I crank the vehicle and traction control is never working.... Read more

Incident date: Aug 15, 2023

I was exiting the highway onto a Blvd and I slowed down. The car all of a sudden accelerated by itself, went over the exit curb and hit the central median of the blvd. Fortunately, no vehicles on the blvd wer crossing when this happened. I was fortunately not physically hurt in the incident but it could have been afr worse if I had a vehicle in my front or on the lvd when the incident happened.

Crash

Incident date: Aug 21, 2023

My 2017 Ram 2500 Cummins pick-up truck started displaying symptoms of a bad HCU module several months ago, "Service Electronic Braking System" warning message, ABS dash light indicating loss of ABS, and Traction Control Light indicating loss of traction control, as well as kicking the vehicle out of Cruise Control when this set of condition lights are, albeit intermittently illuminated. There are ... Read more

Incident date: Aug 1, 2023

My ABS and Traction control lights activated visually and with audible alarms. I brought it to the dealer. It only has 23,000 miles on it with a manufacturer extended warranty. The dealer told me that the ABS pump motor control as well as the HCU has failed and need to be replaced. They also told me that the parts are not going to be available until the EARLIEST February of 2024. The vehicle ... Read more

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Consumer Safety Complaints

What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?

How to interpret what you read

If you've experienced a defect

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