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
LINCOLN
CONTINENTAL
(2019) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 25, 2023
Incident date: Sep 25, 2023
My truck accelerated on its own , repeatedly, while highway driving . Had to drive with brakes on until I was able to pull over . Turned off truck , waited a few minutes , turned back on and without having my foot anywhere near the accelerator, the truck accelerated on its own , as if someone was gunning the engine - while still in park . Turned off again . NOTHING was near my accelerator to cause... Read more
Incident date: Sep 25, 2023
While driving on the highway between Nenana and Fairbanks, AK, on August 9, 2023, I attempted to pass a slow moving RV towing a trailer. While in the passing lane, I accelerated and my vehicle suddenly loss power. I was forced to swerve out of the passing lane to avoid a collision with with oncoming traffic and the vehicle being passed. After that event, the vehicle would not exceed 3000rpms or 35... Read more
Incident date: Sep 25, 2023
My vehicle has been making a very loud rattling sound upon starting. I reached out to the Ford service department about this and they said the cam phaser is failing but the customer satisfaction program has expired and they will no longer cover it. I never received a letter from Ford regarding this customer satisfaction program (I hadn't moved since buying the car, so it wasn't an address proble... Read more
Incident date: Sep 25, 2023
ABS HCU/and pump failure. Truck dies. no Brakes
Incident date: May 31, 2023
While driving at freeway speeds of 80 mph, and while passing a vehicle, Engine wants to temporarily slow (like it's dropped a cylinder or two), and the car will NOT speed up. Then engine warning light starts to blink, Emissions Problem light starts to blink, then car downshifts several gears and slows dramatically - or will rev at 4500-5000 rpm. ON THE INTERSTATE! DRAMATICALLY UNSAFE. I've rep... Read more
Incident date: Sep 24, 2023
Unknown, car will shut off while driving and turn back on while flashing service traction control. In some cases it will completely turn off and I will have to put transmission in park and re crank it in the middle of traffic. Power steering goes out while driving aswell as other issues. Locks go in and out while driving. No known cause to this as battery and alternator is good and I've replaced B... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2023
Antilock brake and traction control stop working randomly. Alarms pop up on Dash board. Seems to happen more when it is humid out. With these safety devices not working the truck is not safe to drive and since the problem is random dealer can not find the cause.
Incident date: Sep 20, 2023
When stopped at an intersection, waiting to turn left, vehicle sometimes will not accelerate when gas pedal is pushed. If I do a very light acceleration, then let go of the gas, then try to accelerate, it is as if the transmission is in 5 gear or something. After a 3-4 second lag, the vehicle will then seemingly find 1st gear, and will accelerate. As you can imagine this is extremely dangerous i... Read more
Incident date: Sep 11, 2023
Car was traveling from Atlanta and the speed odometer on the car showed it was dropping then knock noise pull over then I made to exit and check oil Guage the sensor lights never showed when I had picked up the person house I took to said it was crank sensor and started it heard knocking sound and I call NHTSA reported incident and was giving a claim number haven't heard anything since I no its r... Read more
Incident date: Sep 4, 2023
On April 18, 2023 driving thru shopping center parking lot, WITHOUT WARNING car suddenly jerked right, accelerated, while brakes, steering wheel, gears locked. Ended crashing thru the wall of a structure. Airbags did NOT deploy but seat belts tightened firmly keeping us from going thru windshield. Episode of "UNINTENDED ACCELERATION" was reported to Honda Motors whose agent, Jason, checked the car... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Sep 23, 2023
Car spontaneously stops accelerating. Sometimes a restart is needed. It jerks as you're trying to gain acceleration. Sometimes it stalls after non acceleration. Safety is compromised due to traffic behind me going speed limit or worse. First appeared 2 months ago. Mechanic could not detect anything on diagnostics. Then we took it to the Chevy dealer where purchased and after 5 days could not diagn... Read more
Incident date: Sep 23, 2023
The vacuum pump on my 2017 hyundai has a faulty cap resulting in an electrical error to the CAN system. This causes dash lights abs 4wd parking break stability control tpms sensor check engine light to eliminate and the speedometer to not work. All of the systems are not opperating due to the system not being able to communicate. It is illegal and a safety issue to not be able to use the speedomet... Read more
TOYOTA
COROLLA CROSS
(2023) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 23, 2023
Incident date: Sep 23, 2023
During normal highway driving, the vehicle abruptly went into "limp mode" with a complete loss of throttle control. The engine remained running, but I was unable to increase the speed of the vehicle. Once stopped, the vehicle showed several alerts on the dashboard: "Service Advancetrac," "Hill Assist Not Available," and "See Owners Manual." I was able to scan for fault codes and returned DTC P2112... Read more
Incident date: Mar 8, 2023
The cruise control was set at 70 MPH. The car braked itself and tried to stop itself even though I had no cars or objects in front of me. I had to apply the accelerator to get it to out of stopping itself. It happened twice in a short amount of time on that morning. The car is available for inspection. This is a safety issue as it could have caused an accident if I had someone too close behin... Read more
Incident date: Sep 22, 2023
I have a 2019 Odyssey Elite and the following lights come on: Adaptive cruise control problem (ACC); Auto high-beam problem (A); Road departure mitigation system problem; collision mitigation system problem; lane keeping assist problem (LKAS); brake system lights. My problem is intermittent. I can make it go away most of the time by pouring water over the camera or spraying it from the windshield ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 22, 2023
lOSS OF PRESSURE IN BRAKES AND FUEL FOOT PEDALS AFTER HITTING A POTHOLE. PRESSURE WAS SO LOW IN BRAKES I HAD TO PRESS BRAKE PEDAL TO FLOOR TO COME TO A JERKING STOP. IT FELT AS IF THERE WAS NO BRAKE AT ALL AS IT WAS SLOW TO BRAKE COMING TO AN ABRUPT STOP ONCE PEDAL FLOORED. I DO NOT HAVE DOCUMENTATION FROM SERVICE CENTER AS I HAVE NOT HAD IT LOOKED AT SINCE THE ISSUE HAPPENED YESTERDAY MORNING, ... Read more
MAZDA
CX-90 PLUG-IN HYBRID
(2024) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 23, 2023
Incident date: Sep 13, 2023
While driving on Sept 22 2023 I hit a pothole and immediately felt a change in the pressure in the gas pedal, upon braking I noticed a loss of pressure in the brake system. Vehicle was slow to respond to applicsation of brake pedal to where I had to move my seaty forward so that I could depress the pedal to the floor ( im 4'10" and could not apply the brake to the degree needed to stop my vehicle ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 21, 2023
ABS and HCU modules are not operating properly. Resulting in no abs and no cruise control.
Incident date: Aug 31, 2023
9/18/2023 I had an incident I thought something got behind brake pedal and kept me from pushing the brakes. When I drove it home. Going down the interstate I hit the gas get to speed limit. 3 times the vehicle kept speeding up hitting 80 and still wanting to climb.when I hit breaks hit was hard to press worse then hitting non power breaks and then I forced on the brakes and the vehicle started sha... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Aug 25, 2023
While traveling a message appear "power reduced" a noise was heard like whistle (air whooshing). The time Car was started the engine light was on. The car was serviced by GM/Chevrolet dealership service. They found water in the spare tire compartment, but didn't not agree that it was the cause of malfunction. The asked if the car had been in a flood. I did my own research and found that this wa... Read more
Incident date: Sep 20, 2023
I am receiving an alert in my truck that states, "Service Antilock Brake System." The emergency warning sound and lights on the dash/display appear constantly. This also affects the "Speed Control" as it kicks off the cruise control when the emergency warning sound and lights come on the dash. I have taken the vehicle to a RAM Dealership who diagnosed the issue, but was advised that parts are o... Read more
Incident date: Sep 15, 2023
Occasionally the cruise control when accelerating will exceed the set speed and continue to climb and I will be going 20 miles faster than the set speed and climbing. The only way to sop this is to turn cruise off, slow down and restart. My thought is it happens after I have disengaged the cruise and then when safe reengage which is done by pressing the switch straight down. In my previous vehic... Read more
Incident date: Sep 18, 2023
in July of 2022 the buttons on the steering wheel like cruise control trip/reset button as well as radio controls eventually all quit working did not become fully aware of this until I was on the interstate and was driving with the cruise control set and when I needed to turn off cruise control it wouldn't turn off by the steering wheel thankfully I know can hit the brakes and the car will s... Read more
Incident date: Sep 19, 2023
The Service Shifter light came on and keeps coming on sporadically. I was dismayed to learn that there are numerous complaints regarding the Service Shifter light on the 2017 Jeep Cherokee. Has this ever been formally addressed.
Incident date: Aug 30, 2023
My care has an acceleration issues, I had the transmission fixed twice and still does the same thing, I been having electrical issue's, my dome light comes on when I put car in reverse, my car compartment on drivers side back seat fills up with water, front seat floor gets wet underneath mat in winter, locks on doors lock and unlock at will, heating and ac unit comes on at will the car is dangerou... Read more
Incident date: Sep 20, 2023
Jittery acceleration. Intermittent accelerator hesitation from a stop. The car hesitates or bogs down which can be unpredictable when pulling into traffic. Sometimes the RPMs surge during low speed without input from the gas peddle. I have had the car serviced twice since leased in July 2023. The dealership is fast to say they are all the same. there are no warning lamps for this issue and the de... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
The ABS and traction control lights come on and off intermittently. When on the cruise control also doesn't work. No traction control or Automatic braking control. Seems to be a common problem with RAM 4x4 trucks.
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2020) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 21, 2023
Incident date: Sep 4, 2023
While driving, using cruise control set to 75mph, I braked to slow down. That worked cruise control disengaged fine. I changed to the adjacent lane that was wide open and pushed the resume button on the steering wheel. I noticed I was passing several vehicles on both sides of me. Looked at the speedometer reading = 98 mph and felt further acceleration. Put my foot on the brake to disengage cr... Read more
Incident date: Sep 20, 2023
Random and recurring Warning light error ‘Engine Malfunction Reduced Power Service Now’ corresponding with reduced acceleration while actively driving. It has been attributed to a Turbo engine malfunction
Incident date: Sep 13, 2023
My vehicle shows a wrench on the dashboard and loses power and will not accelerate. We took it to an auto parts store to have a diagnostic test performed and it shows that the OSS ( Output Shaft Speed Sensor Circuit) fault. In my 2014, this is inside the transmission. After doing research, I found this was recalled in 2009 to 2013 models. Could this be an issue in my 2014?
Incident date: Aug 10, 2023
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The Car continues to have inconsistent acceleration, hesitation, and sometimes lurches forward. On two occasions, the car felt like it was just going to turn off while driving. I was driving about 75 mph on I295 and driving about 15 mph on a residential road during the second occurrence. How was ... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2009) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 21, 2023
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Infiniti QX30. The contact stated while driving at various highway speeds, the vehicle suddenly decelerated to 30 MPH. During the failure the check engine warning light illuminated and the message "Inoperative - See Owner’s Manual" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer on several occasions and the ignition module, engine cylinders, brake wiring harness ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 21, 2023
As I drove my Tesla Model X Plaid into my driveway towards the garage to park, the vehicle suddenly accelerated itself (I have FSD but wasn’t using it at that time) and drove into the garage door as it was still opening, slamming and crushing into all the items that were on one side of the garage. When I quickly realized what was going on, I slammed the brakes and made the car stop. My daughter ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Sep 17, 2023
The failed component is the cruise control. It is available for inspection. Unknowingly, the speed increased by 10 miles an hour, without touching any buttons or controls on the steering wheel. With cruise control on, the driver might be not as engaged with the automobile, as if there was no cruise control. I will have the issue brought before my Ford dealer on Monday, September 25, 2023. There we... Read more
Incident date: Sep 17, 2023
Driving at approx 45 MPH the car suddenly lost propulsion and experienced a complete electrical failure. The power steering was lost, braking was stiff, gas pedal was unresponsive. I struggled to get the vehicle out of the lane of traffic. The police arrived and helped route traffic until the tow truck arrived. The vehicle is still covered under factory warranty and is currently at the dealer with... Read more
Incident date: Aug 28, 2023
First/only owner of a 2018 VW Passat GP r-line, scheduled maintenance intervals followed religiously and performed by VW; only filled with top tier fuel (mid/premium), no prev. indicator lights ever illuminated until ECM light (no accompanying warning lights) came on while driving at highway speed with Adaptive Cruise Control engaged. Immediate loss of power and shaking vibration upon any attempt ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at slow speeds and making a left turn, the vehicle failed to accelerate as needed. The vehicle was restarted and worked as designed. The navigation system screen had frozen. While opening the sunroof, the deflector detached. While driving, the brakes was applied without driver input. There were no warning lights illuminated. The ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 23, 2022
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving forward into a parking space the brake pedal was hard when pressed and the vehicle suddenly experienced unintended acceleration and crashed to the side of a building. After the incident, it was discovered that the front brakes had seized and the vehicle was undrivable. The contact indicated that during the crash the... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Sep 13, 2023
Car will NOT go pat 60mph and i haven’t had this car just over 6 months. And the camshaft sensors are gone out. Smoke comes out the pipe when mash on gas…. It is really a bad vehicle. And Southeast auto refuses to fix it. I really honestly think the motor is bad in it. Because I been having issues with it since I had it
Incident date: Aug 19, 2023
Excessive shaking of engine, stalled out while driving on highway, knocking in the engine.
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2012) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 20, 2023
Incident date: Dec 15, 2020
My car is having issues driving over 60miles per hr, I have to keep pressing the gas to get the car to move, the car battery is dead and won’t turn on, I got the car repaired twice and the second time I got it repaired, it just was even worse then before . The car smells like gas , the salesman only told me that I needed a value cover gasket and he had someone repair it , but when I went to auto... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
TIGUAN
(2019) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 19, 2023
Incident date: Sep 18, 2023
Electrical System is failing. Began with the Electrical sunroof will not open/OR slide all the way open, the sunroof Electrical problem has been this way since I purchased it in 04/2019. Next the touchscreen panel for the radio AM/FM, will shit off while driving down the road randomly and sporadically. CD Player quit working indefinitely, i cant even get my CD out of the CD player. Will not play ... Read more
2 injured
Incident date: Sep 16, 2023
The automatic emergency braking failed.
Crash
5 injured
Incident date: Sep 15, 2023
BREAKS STOPPED WORKING AND ALL WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON ON THE DASHBOARD. RAN OFF THE ROAD AND RAN OVER A SIGN CAUSING DAMAGE TO Rf QUARTERPANEL. THE LEALER SIAD THAT MY HABNDICAP PLACKART HAD CUT THROUGH THE WIRING IN THE REAR VIEW MIRROR, SHORTING OUT THE SYSTEM. THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL TO FIX THE PROBLEM. THE PLACKARD WAS BEIG HUNG AS INTENDED. PLACKARDAS ARE HARD PLASTIC AND COULD CUT TH... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Sep 13, 2023
This 2016 Subaru Forester PCV Valve does not regulate the combustion system properly, this allows oil to enter this chamber. It causes loss of power and acceleration when driving. Hazardous driving conditions can cause accidents. crankcase ventilation issues engine oil system issues
Incident date: Sep 19, 2023
When driving on a freeway or highway, without cruise control on, & the pavement surface changes color &/or texture (eg: going onto a bridge/overpass) the vehicle will decelerate quickly & without us pressing the brakes. All the systems were checked by Dodge Ram & were showing no errors with software etc, as we thought this was traction control not working properly due to a software problem etc.
Incident date: Sep 19, 2021
My vehicle has all symptoms of the timing chain slipping or being loose. Just as millions of others who owns a chevy equinox with a 2.4 motor. Drives like crap, stalls out unexpectedly, which is very dangerous, exhaust fumes enter cabin of vehicle, toxicity to lungs. Extreme fuel intake consumption, erotic idle issues, extreme oil consumption all these issues have progressively gotten worse. This ... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2022) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 19, 2023
Incident date: Aug 14, 2023
I was driving on a highway going 65mph when my engine suddenly, and without warning, failed. My foot was on the gas pedal when it suddenly went to the floor, but my car stopped accelerating. My check engine light began blinking as well. I was in the far left lane and, without the ability to accelerate, had to merge over through 3 lanes of highway traffic in order to safely pull my car over on the ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 19, 2023
Electronic braking system and ABS lights intermittently come on and off an throws a code c0020-01 which many dealers say should replace the HCU and ABS modules and research has shown that this if a short-term fix on a fault component. Please hold ram to task.
Incident date: Sep 16, 2023
As I am accelerating to merge onto the highway from an on-ramp, while the gas pedal is depressed, I will get a series of sensor alerts simultaneously (city brake malfunction, park assist malfunction, lane assist malfunction, etc.) and my gas pedal becomes non-functional at 60-70mph. It is terrifying especially when there is other traffic around my vehicle. This exact issue has happened 6 times w... Read more