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: Jun 14, 2026
Component/Issue Description: Following a recent over-the-air (OTA) software update to the vehicle's Full Self-Driving system, a dangerous user interface defect was introduced. Immediately upon an FSD disengagement—the critical transition window where the operator must resume manual driving control—the center touchscreen populates a mandatory, invasive feedback popup menu. This menu causes a se... Read more
Incident date: Feb 16, 2026
On May 26, 2026 I was driving our new Mercedes 2026 GLE350 to [XXX]. The car had 737 miles on it, when it died in traffic on [XXX]. The car was purchased new on April 11, 2026 from the Mercedes dealer in Monterey, CA. When the car died in traffic, an emergency message appeared on the screen "Automatic brake assist not working, Stop the car immediately, Do Not Drive". I was barely able to cross two... Read more
Incident date: Feb 21, 2026
Dear Sir or Madam. My name is [XXX], [XXX], [XXX] living in [XXX]. I bought my 2008 Lexus RX400h car, used, in 2014 at a non-Lexus dealership in the [XXX] where I used to live. My Lexus VIN is: [XXX]. I've been satisfied with the car..until today. The car had been running smoothly forever, and this morning while I was driving I came to a stop (red light) and the car suddenly shut down completely... Read more
CHEVROLET
TRAILBLAZER
(2022) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 13, 2026
Incident date: Jun 13, 2026
On 3 occasions over my 18-month ownership of this certified pre-owned Hyundai 2022 Tucson, the vehicle surged suddenly forward WITH BRAKE APPLIED at creeping (parking) speeds of 3-4 mph. No warning lamps were observed. On the most recent (3rd) occasion, a crash over a sidewalk and into a storefront caused $10,000 damage. No pedestrians were harmed, no airbags deployed and neither passenger was har... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jun 12, 2026
Prior to paying cash for this vehicle, I had the dealership connect it to an obd-11 scanner to ensure that there weren't any codes. (I wasn't aware at the time that if the codes were cleared prior to the test drive and before the vehicle was drove a certain amount of miles nothing would show up ) The truck seemed to be in ok condition. Before even making it 10 miles off the lot to my home the sale... Read more
Incident date: Jun 2, 2026
My 2022 Hyundai Tucson Experience, a sudden transmission failure at approximately 92,520 miles. The vehicle develop shifting issues and abnormal noises before losing propulsión. While driving. Hyundai diagnosed and internal Transmission failure and approved transmission replacement. I’m concerned about the sudden loss of proportion and the safety risk this creates. Hyundai proposed repair is to... Read more
Incident date: Jun 9, 2026
The Tesla Autosteer (equivalent of adaptive cruise control) failed to brake on seeing the car ahead braking. In the 5 seconds before impact, the car ahead had started braking. The autosteer did not brake for the first 3 seconds and then It asked me to take over 2 seconds before collision. It did not apply automatic emergency braking causing me to rear end the car ahead of me on the freeway at arou... Read more
Crash
4 injured
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS CROSS SPORT
(2025) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 12, 2026
Incident date: Jun 9, 2026
The cruise control was set at 75 mph and we were driving down the interstate when the engine suddenly lost power and shut off. This happened with no warning and no warning lights activated. Several days later, we were driving down the interstate with the cruise control set at 72 when the engine again lost power and shut off. We were able to get the car to move again both times by shutting off ... Read more
HONDA
CLARITY PLUG-IN HYBRID
(2018) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 12, 2026
Incident date: Apr 9, 2026
The vehicle severely shudders, jerks, and hesitates from a stop and while making a turn, during both acceleration and deceleration, making it entirely unsafe to drive. The vehicle has been completely un-driveable for the past 6 days. The check engine light illuminated, and on 4/9/26, the dealer documented a failed transmission judder test and kept the car, issuing a loaner. A temporary software pa... Read more
Incident date: Oct 27, 2025
The vehicle has experienced approximately ten+ incidents while driving at freeway speeds on dry roads where the traction-control indicator illuminated and the vehicle unexpectedly lost power. During these events, the vehicle would not accelerate normally despite accelerator input, and vehicle speed decreased significantly. The incidents occurred under normal driving conditions and were not associ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 11, 2026
I am reporting a fuel pump module failure that has caused several drivability and safety concerns with my vehicle. Prior to the failure, the vehicle experienced intermittent difficulty starting, extended cranking before the engine would start, and occasional hesitation during acceleration. At times, the engine would lose power unexpectedly while driving, causing reduced performance and creating a... Read more
Incident date: Apr 30, 2026
Check engine light comes on and an alert says "acceleration reduced" dealer says the coolant control valve is bad but the engine never overheats but the fans are running max speed 100% of the time.
Incident date: Jun 11, 2026
The contact owns a 2025 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while his wife was pulling into a parking space, the brake pedal was depressed but the vehicle unintendedly accelerated and crashed into the condo building. The contact confirmed that the brakes were applied during the failure, but the vehicle failed to stop as intended. The safety features failed to engage, and the seat belt detached. A ... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jun 11, 2026
The truck has sporadically gone into “limp” mode for 6+ years. In the last 4 weeks it has happened a total of 6 times while driving. On Tuesday 6/9/2026 it happened while leaving a driveway. I was able to disconnect the battery and let the throttle body reset. I reconnected the battery, it started and drove without problems. I connected a loaded horse trailer, drove approximately 12 miles and ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 9, 2026
I am the owner of a 2018 Ram 3500 subject to Recall C4B (NHTSA Recall No. 24V-896) involving the Brake Hydraulic Control Unit (HCU). The recall was announced on November 27, 2024. As of June 2026, NHTSA’s website still states that the recall is incomplete and that a remedy is not yet available for my vehicle. The defect causes active symptoms during operation. The vehicle continuously chimes w... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2025
The forward-facing camera and Autopilot computer system on my 2021 Tesla Model 3 has failed. The dashboard first showed intermittent warnings that "Automatic Emergency Braking is currently unavailable" and "Adaptive headlight features are unavailable." Over several weeks the problem worsened from intermittent to constant, and the vehicle progressively lost its forward road visualization and all ac... Read more
Incident date: Jun 11, 2026
Car acceleration literally jumping from 30-50mph this is all something that can be felt happening car accelerating when braking is occurring so when slowing the car down it does a speed up then it will begin slowing down then we have the car not wanting to accelerate at all almost like it is stuttering to go this occurs when I get to a red light and it goes green and I press that gas I acts as if ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2026
Unsure of the part or system that failed, however the auxiliary battery and power distribution system part was replaced previously and did not correct the problem. My safety was at risk when the speed and steering were affected. An independent service center worked on it and reproduced it. The car electronic system went through every warning light system while driving. "Stop/start not ready", "en... Read more
Incident date: Jun 11, 2026
My 2014 Ford F-150 is exhibiting symptoms consistent with the Ford transmission molded lead frame safety recall 24S37. While driving approximately 55 mph late at night on a five-lane roadway, the vehicle suddenly and violently jerked, downshifted and came to a complete stop becoming stalled out as I was approaching a major traffic intersection. The truck was disabled in traffic and would not resta... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2026
The ABS control module and Hydraulic Control module are faulty and available for inspection. My safety is at risk because the vehicle will go into a skid upon hard braking (ABS not fuctioning), the vehicle will spin tires upon acceleration (traction control inoperative). The above listed components have been determined faulty by both the dealership and an independent service center. The component ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 11, 2026
I was going down the bridge on settlers landing road the yellow school bus was in the right turning lane with right turning signal on .as I approached the light in the middle straight lane to keep toward the landing (hotel) on settlers landing Hampton va the bus some what merged back towards the middle lane and that when the bus crashed into the car it went under the bus it’s totaled the winds... Read more
Crash
5 injured
Incident date: May 10, 2026
We lease a 2026 Palisade with only 4k miles. Several weeks ago I was going through a toll plaza, car would not accelerate after slowing down, as if it was in neutral. All of a sudden it kicked into gear and car lunged forward. 10 min later at a traffic light car failed to accelerate after a complete stop. Press the accelerator sluggish response, then kicked back into gear. Very Scary. I pulled ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 8, 2026
The contact leased a 2025 RAM 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed to park the vehicle inside the residence's garage, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated, crashed through the rear wall of the garage, and into a snowbank, where the vehicle came to a stop. No warning light was illuminated. The garage rear wall and lawn care equipment were damaged. No injury was susta... Read more
Crash
Incident date: May 11, 2026
On 05/30/2026 approximately 12:15. My Jeep radio screen prompted "service needed, no phone connected" and a few other words I did not have an opportunity to memorize. The check engine light came on and he oil light appeared. This all happened within a minute. It was very quick and scared both of us. As my mother was driving, she smelled heat, then the radio quit working, the air conditioning shut... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2019) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 11, 2026
Incident date: May 27, 2026
After getting gas and attempting to turn around in the parking lot the vehicle on its own accord while my foot was holding the brake attempted to speed up like cruise control was taking over on its on
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2023) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 11, 2026
Incident date: May 11, 2026
There has been an extreme loss of power after the 68c recall making it very unsafe when trying to accelerate. Eventually the car just died and was towed to the dealer.
Incident date: Jun 10, 2026
Engine shuts off without warning while driving. First reported to the dealer on XXX (approximately 12,000 miles) and has continued for 2.5+ years despite repeated repair attempts. Shutoffs typically occur at low speed while decelerating, such as turning into neighborhoods or approaching stops, but have also occurred while coasting at 33 mph on a busy road with cruise control active (August 8, 2025... Read more
Incident date: Jun 22, 2025
Highway Incident: While traveling at highway speeds, a sudden evasive braking maneuver caused the truck to drop power. Upon attempting to re-accelerate, the throttle pedal went to the floor with zero response, and the vehicle continued to decelerate on an active highway. Multiple trailing vehicles had to make emergency maneuvers to swerve around the decelerating truck to avoid a high-speed, rear-e... Read more
Incident date: Jun 28, 2023
2022 Kia Sorento failed to increase speed when accelerator was depressed , engine RPMs increased, but no subsequent speed increase. The Amber ISG light was flashing, with no other warning lights. The car was driven to a safe pull out, placed in park, turned off and restarted, no flashing light. The car accelerated satisfactorily afterwards. This has happened several times in the last two years. Bo... Read more
Incident date: Jun 10, 2026
This is my daughters vehicle. She was driving home from work with my [XXX] and [XXX] grandchildren in the car. The car suddenly wouldn't drive at a safe speed and was chugging along. She almost got into an accident because she couldn't go faster than about 12 mph. She as finally able to pull over in a safe location and called AAA. My son in law met her and picked her and the children up. The vehic... Read more
Incident date: May 28, 2026
While driving on a California freeway at highway speed, the vehicle unexpectedly decelerated and the seatbelts tightened as though a collision avoidance or emergency safety system had activated. There was no apparent vehicle, obstacle, or roadway hazard present that would explain the event. The incident occurred while family members, including a child passenger, were in the vehicle. The unexpecte... Read more
Incident date: Jun 7, 2026
The contact owns a 2023 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated that while depressing the brake pedal and shifting into park(P), the vehicle accelerated independently. The contact stated that the vehicle came to a complete stop upon engaging the parking brake and the CVT Service Soon warning light illuminated. The vehicle failed to shift into park, and the "Unable to shift into park; engage the emergenc... Read more
Crash
Incident date: May 26, 2026
Multiple times we have received Powertrain Failure warnings. These warnings typically happen when driving in cruise control but also happens in normal driving. The car has trouble shifting gears, gets stuck in gears, and has trouble downshifting. This creates unsafe and unstable driving especially at high speeds. Repeated visits to the dealer have yielded no results and the dealer has not mentio... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2022) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 10, 2026
Incident date: Jun 5, 2026
Not due to recalls. My entire car was malfunctioning over the backup camera. Every system was being displayed on my dashboard as all lights were on. Turning signals and four ways would not work, my steering became tight and hard to turn.
Incident date: Jun 9, 2026
I was driving my Tesla in self drive mode, and ibecause it started raining. I reduce the speed to standard. I had a notification on the screen, an alert in red. That the tesla reached the maximum speed in that mode “standard”. I was surprised and decided ti canceled the FSD feature and took control of the vehicle. Then when I was driving in the expressway very close to my exit on the right lan... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jun 1, 2026
I am submitting this complaint to request an investigation into a serious safety defect involving my Tesla vehicle. On multiple occasions, the vehicle has experienced a significant and unexpected loss of acceleration when I attempted to enter or cross intersections. Despite pressing the accelerator, the vehicle failed to respond as expected, leaving me unable to accelerate normally while entering ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 5, 2026
This vehicle was purchased from toothman and sowers Ford in west Virginia as certified pre owned. It has never run correctly. The transmission has a cdf drum failure which causes it to lurch forward randomly with several near miss accidents. It is completely unsafe to drive. It hangs up on gears and accelerates on its own with no press of the accelerator. Ford says it's $10000 to fix it but ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 2, 2026
REDUCED ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON TICKING NOISE STOPPED 2 TIMES ON THE HIGHWAY REPAIR LOT RAN A DIAGNOSTIC UNABLE TO FIND THE ISSUE CAR IS NOT WORKING FOUND MANY CODES STILLUNABLE TO FIX THE ISSUE
Incident date: May 14, 2026
Four times in the last month or so, the accelerator pedal has stuck while driving. I take my foot off the gas but the engine continues racing, and the car keeps increasing in speed. The last time it happened I almost ran into the car in front of me. I slammed hard on the brakes to try and stop the momentum. I heard a loud pop and the accelerator eventually returned to normal, but it took 4 or ... Read more
Incident date: May 26, 2026
I am having a lead frame issue. At various speeds, the vehicle will just down shift, locking the tires and causing a hazard for other drivers which could be a very dangerous situation. I was impacted from the rear due to this occurrence. It causes extreme jerkiness when doing this which is also injurious to my back and neck and shoulders.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Sep 10, 2025
The vehicle is stalling in the acceleration process. I can feel and hear the stall by the air conditioner going out or fading out when it happens while driving. Pressing the gas and it barely moves at times. Makes a noise now while running. Unknown to whether it's electrical or engine or transmission. Pull out in the traffic accelerating but the car wasn't moving at the pace it should have. Could ... Read more
Incident date: May 13, 2026
Check Engine has been triggered by faulty TCM. Vehicle is a 2023. Dealership says they have repaired a few others.
Incident date: Jun 6, 2026
Idle stop and go system randomly auto disabled on start, unable to enable. Causes vehicle to be unable to accelerate faster than 25mph.
Incident date: Aug 15, 2024
Driving a Honda 2024 crv hybrid ,I was pulling into a front row parking spot and braking and as the car just about was going to stop it surged forward turning in the direction I had just pulled in from and accelerated instead of continuing to brake . I kept my foot on the brake hoping it was stopping , but continued to accelerate running over a sign, then a light post and then through the plate ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jun 6, 2026
Over the past 11 weeks, my 2023 Kia Sportage has experienced sudden, complete loss of acceleration on at least three separate occasions while driving at highway speeds. Each incident is accompanied by the battery gauge dropping to zero. I was forced to stop on the highway to restart my vehicle in order to drive it again. No error codes are stored because the fault clears on restart. I have taken ... Read more
Incident date: May 25, 2026
SUBJECT: Formal Safety Defect Complaint: 2016 Subaru Outback – Manufacturing Nondisclosure of Latent "Day 1" Design Flaw Causing Ignition Key Entrapment, Uncommanded Steering Column Lockout, and Severe Family Safety Risk I am writing to formally report a severe, unaddressed safety defect and a deceptive corporate practice by Subaru of America, Inc. affecting my 2016 Subaru Outback. This vehicle ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 9, 2026
Currently, there are 30,564 miles on my vehicle and I am the original owner of the vehicle since early 2021. This is a continuous intermittent problem that can occur at any time when trying to accelerate the vehicle. The vehicle could be moving down the road and you go to accelerate and the RPM's drop dramatically, giving you no power. The same thing has happened when trying to accelerate from ... Read more
Incident date: May 5, 2026
I own a 2019 Honda Odyssey equipped with Honda Sensing. The vehicle has repeatedly displayed multiple driver-assistance system failure warnings, including “Adaptive Cruise Control Problem,” “Lane Keeping Assist Problem,” “Collision Mitigation Braking System Problem,” “Road Departure Mitigation System Problem,” and “Auto High Beam Problem.” The warnings initially appeared inter... Read more
Incident date: Jun 9, 2026
What component or system failed or malfunctioned? Seatbelt sensor system and cruise control system. The seatbelt sensor prevents cruise control activation unless the belt is fastened. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? A driver who cannot wear a seatbelt for a valid medical reason (recognized by state law) is forced to drive without cruise control. Manually maintaining speed... Read more
Incident date: Jun 9, 2026
My BMW's Head-Up Display (HUD) and Speed Limit Information system displays incorrect speed limits that do not match posted roadway signs. The HUD frequently shows "LTM" or an incorrect speed such as "25 mph" instead of the actual posted speed limit. This is a serious safety concern. Drivers rely on HUD speed limit information while driving. Inaccurate readings can lead to unsafe driving decisions,... Read more