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: Sep 14, 2023
2017 Honda Accord EX-L 4 Door Sedan 4 Cylinder 2.4L While driving my car I noticed shaking then my car dropped down to 10mph on the highway. when I pressed the pedal to speed up my car started jerking and did not go any faster. all the lights came on my dashboard including ABS. Me and my child safety was at risk because i was doing 10mph on a 45mph highway. we could have been hit. I took my car... Read more
LAND ROVER
DEFENDER
(2021) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 19, 2023
Incident date: Sep 18, 2023
Turbocharger leaked oil into the engine causing irreparable damage to the engine. Oil leaking cause engine failure, smoke coming out of the tailpipe, several blown gaskets and steering wheel malfunction. Cars computer system froze, enabling vehicle to move forward. Motor mounts were faulty, loose and unstable. Grinding sounds coming from wheels, vehicle alignment is unsteady. Issues with this v... Read more
Incident date: Sep 18, 2023
Speedometer stops working. My 16 year old daughter can’t tell how fast she is going when the speedometer stops working. And the screen freezes. Cruise control does not work.
Incident date: Sep 1, 2023
I was driving on I-35 from Kansas City to Des Moines on 9-11-23, and three times the car experienced phantom braking (i.e. the car suddenly braked for no apparent reason) while the adaptive cruise control was activated. During these instances the car would suddenly brake and slow down and on one occasion I had to accelerate immediately to avoid possibly being rear ended. On all occasions there ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 18, 2023
Unintended acceleration.
Incident date: Sep 8, 2023
Electric Power Steering - 10/2020 Suddenly went out while driving. No warnings beforehand. This made sharp turns extremely difficult. It says that my car is not part of the recall, but is still as dangerous as the vehicles that were part of the recall. From the research that I have done, the motor seems to be in good working order. The sensor is what seems to be the issue. Cruise Control - 08/... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
GLC 300
(2023) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 18, 2023
Incident date: Jul 9, 2023
Vehicle has intermitten reduced engine display while traveling down the high way. Causes the vehicle to downshift and significantly increase engine RPM. I’m fearing if this continues to happen it will blow up my engine. The ecu shows code p2138. After some research I’ve learned GM is aware of this fsult in their vehicles and I believe they should be the one paying for their mistake. Not me.
Incident date: Sep 14, 2023
Dangerous and terrifying vehicle malfunction. I have done extensive research on the vehicle and I am beyond upset that this has not been resolved for everyone who owns any Nissan vehicle experiencing this problem. While driving either on the highway or local streets after approximately 10-15 minutes of travel time at any speed there is a loud whining noise while accelerating and total power loss. ... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2009) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 18, 2023
Incident date: Sep 18, 2022
The contact owns a 2023 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that while driving forward into a parking space at a very slow speed and while pressing the brake pedal, the vehicle suddenly experienced unintended acceleration and drove over the stop bump and a curve before crashing into a building wall. During the crash, the contact sustained a head injury which later required medical treatment. A polic... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Sep 7, 2023
While driving on I-40 East between Raleigh, NC and Benson, NC I was trying to use the Blue Cruise self driving feature on my Mache. The system is frightening to me because it tends to default towards the marker between lanes and requires more attention than so called hands free driving is supposed to need. However, in this situation, there was a stretch of the highway where the lane markers were... Read more
Incident date: Sep 14, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Mustang Mach E. The contact stated that while driving slowly in reverse and reversing of a parking space, the vehicle suddenly experienced unintended acceleration and erroneously drove across the street before crashing into an apartment building wall. During the crash, the driver sustained a lower back injury and left arm laceration which required medical treatment. Th... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jul 23, 2023
Traveling at 70 mph on cruise control, tapped breaks to turn off, multiple warning lights flashed, vehicle lost power, and breaks with multiple messages including “Break system failure, top speed 62 mph”. I lost all breaking control on the highway and nearly crashed into other vehicles due to inability to stop. Was able to pull over, turn off vehicle, and turn back on, when the breaks were w... Read more
Incident date: Sep 16, 2023
1). 3 days after purchasing the vehicle I wasn't sure but I could tell that something was wrong so I called my husband and told him while driving the car that something was wrong and he needs to notify the dealership. 2). 5 days after purchasing the vehicle I went into a grocery store. When I came out the car was on/running, all by itself. 3). Additional problems occurring on a daily basis with th... Read more
Incident date: Sep 14, 2022
Instrument pan is completely out and ford has no fix for it.
Incident date: Sep 14, 2023
My 2013 Ford F-150 recently began experiencing transmission shifting problems. As I accelerated from a dead stop, the transmission would not shift out of first gear. The only short term remedy was to pull over to the side of the road, turn off the ignition, wait for 60 seconds and restart the engine. This worked sometimes, sometimes not. I understand there had been a 2011 thru 2013 Ford F-150 tran... Read more
Incident date: Sep 17, 2023
I was driving and car accelerated without warning. Hit partially open garage door, only stopped after hitting and damaging back wall of garage. Significant damage to car, items in the garage and garage wall. There was no warning whatsoever. As of yet the car has not been assessed as to the cause of the malfunction.
Crash
HYUNDAI
TUCSON PLUG-IN HYBRID
(2023) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 17, 2023
Incident date: Jun 26, 2023
On 09/11/2023 at approx. 6AM CST, my wife went to a nearby Walmart store for groceries. As she was parking the car in the parking space, the car started to accelerate by itself and went around the parking lot in random directions. She couldn't control the steering and brake despite the continuous tries. It was such a traumatic experience, and the car went on to hit couple of other parked cars and ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Sep 12, 2023
Great hesitation, in acceleration, clicking of gears and drive and while putting in reverse also clicking of the years when accelerating
VOLKSWAGEN
PASSAT
(2013) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 17, 2023
Incident date: Jul 12, 2022
Sometimes the cruise control works. Sometimes it doesn't work. Even after vehicle is warmed up still no resolution. Engine oil disappears without notice or warning.
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2023) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 16, 2023
Incident date: Sep 7, 2023
Car will go into reverse but won’t move. Car will not go over 2500 RPM and won’t go over 11 MPH
Incident date: Sep 16, 2023
It happened in a parking lot around 8:20 pm on 09.13.23. When I slowly moved to parking space car suddenly accelerated, jumped over raised pavement for pedestrian walking, hit parked car on the other side of walking path, continue going with uncontrollable high speed across the parking, then car slowed down and I finally parked. Woman who witnessed accident and called the police told the police of... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Sep 15, 2023
While driving on a freeway on Sep 15th 2023, wrench light showed up and immediately vehicle speed dropped from 65 to 30mph. This is second time this issue has happened and luckily my family survived accidents. First incident occured on Aug 13th 2023, after which i towed my vehicle to dealership. They repaired and said its safe to drive now. But issue is recurring. Please help me on this as I am re... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2023
Abs and traction control lights are on. Cruise control will not work when lights are on. Lights go on and off with chime very annoying. Brakes will not function properly when lights are on. Contacted dealer no eta on parts. Almost 2 years now. Contacted dealer before warranty was out. Next time I went to ask I got another service rep and he said my warranty is out. This is not good.
Incident date: Jun 6, 2023
On or about [XXX], the Transmission Control Module, FAILED, on my 2011GMC Denali 2500 6.6 diesel. It was a KNOWN faulty part .General Motors was aware of the issue years ago. This part should have been deemed a Safety Recall item. Imagine, pulling a trailer down a busy Freeway, with Semi's presence. Module goes out, truck goes idle, people hurt or worse. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREED... Read more
Incident date: Nov 4, 2022
ABS module has gone out 3 times since I bought the truck new. Without the ABS system working properly the stopping distance could be reduced. Dealer has acknowledged the problem, saying they had a bad batch of parts but that seems to be incorrect. Looks to be a bad design with the number of these problems on these year model trucks. The dealer has already replaced the part twice and it’s gone ou... Read more
Incident date: Sep 15, 2023
There have been several incidents that have to do with the electrical components site, such as the adaptive cruise control not working the lanes assist going off, stating that my hands are on the wheel. When my hands are on the wheel, there have been problems when I go to put it in drive. It'll switch back to park and throw on my parking brake. It has also the auto breaking lights have. Come on, ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 15, 2023
I bought a brand new tesla, only to find out that it was not emitting any sound slowly driving forward, but only when in reverse. I read through the cars manual and there it says the car should make a sound moving forward under 19mph, to warn pedestrians of the oncoming tesla (my car). If the car does not do that, then to immediately contact Tesla service. I did that and Actually so was there at m... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
SLK350
(2005) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 15, 2023
Incident date: Sep 15, 2023
Two days ago I was pulling into a parking spot in a shopping center. The car suddenly accelerated forward and I hit a concrete parking block. This is the third time over the past 7 months that this has occurred, where the car suddenly accelerates when in a low speed. After the first time it happened, I called the dealership to ask if any other customers had this issue, but they said no. For them t... Read more
Crash
MERCEDES-BENZ
E350
(2010) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 15, 2023
Incident date: Sep 15, 2023
The Jeep transmission wont go into gear, loses power ,wont go into reverse, speeds up on its own and doesn't go into drive or losses power
Incident date: Feb 22, 2023
first evidence of a problem had to deal with the accelerator pedal A new pedal was installed. .The engine would start but only idle, truck would not move when put into drive .It had to be towed .Then it was something about a door sensor .It was replaced .Then the brake fluid problem started. It used 2 full quarts with no drips on the floor . Now I am told that the brake booster / hydraulic system... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
TIGUAN
(2019) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 15, 2023
Incident date: Sep 13, 2023
A few months after I bought this vehicle I started getting abs and traction control lights intermittently. Fast forward a year and it has progressed. Now while I’m driving every few seconds I get and audible chime and lights on the dash. This is constant and extremely irritating and distracting. It is also unsafe. I’m constantly driving which no ABS, no traction control and no cruise control. ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 12, 2022
The ABS light came on and went off intermittently, which also disabled the cruise control when the light was on. Eventually the light stayed on. Most recently the start button quit working properly. We have had it at the dealership twice with no results. We have talked to the dealership many times and been getting the run around. The latest was today and was told the parts are back ordered until 2... Read more
Incident date: Apr 12, 2022
The differential broke. I was unable to accelerate on the road; it froze up. I had to pull over and couldn't drive it. I was just outside of the HOnda dealer when it happened. I took it to the Honda Dealer Service Center in MD and this was their diagnosis.I didn't take it anywhere else. There were no warnings except I heard rattling when I was at a lower speed the same afternoon about 3 hours earl... Read more
Incident date: Aug 30, 2023
I am getting a warning on this dash telling me that I need to "service electronic braking system". When this message comes up I lose my ABS brakes, cruise control and I get a traction control warning light. Sometimes this will stay on for weeks and then go off for a day and start all over again. When the road is wet you have to be careful with the brakes. I went to the local dealer in Bryan, ... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
GL450
(2012) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 14, 2023
Incident date: Apr 14, 2023
No accident has happened but I have had the Anti-lock brake module go bad in my truck and it has disabled cruise control, anti-lock brakes and traction control. So basically just old fashion standard braking is all that is working. Took it to the dealership and they told me the part is on hold by Ram for review by their engineers. So I called Ram directly and they said it is under review but they ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 7, 2023
Im owner of Mercury Sable 2005 only 79000 miles..The car problem speed control idle over 2200 so high when stop red light have to brake pedal to slow the vehicle down, and the vehicle failed to accelerrate..
Incident date: Nov 22, 2021
The contact owns a 2008 Saturn Aura. The contact stated that while depressing the brake pedal, the brake lights intermittently failed to illuminate. The brake lights occasionally illuminated without the brake pedal being depressed. The contact stated that the vehicle was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V252000 (Electrical System, Exterior Lighting, Vehicle Speed Control, Electrical Stability ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 13, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that the vehicle randomly accelerated. The RPM had increased to a high level. The 4WD service message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the PTU needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, there was an... Read more
Incident date: Sep 6, 2023
The entire driver instrument panel screen went blank, after going blank and coming back on a few times while driving. This is EXTREMELY dangerous. Now, the driver cannot see the speed, odo, fuel gauge, indicators or anything at all. I hope you please investigate and initiate a campaign and get this resolved from Mercedes.
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE 4XE
(2022) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 13, 2023
Incident date: Jun 22, 2023
Just out of no where the vehicle stoped and wouldn’t go into gear
CHRYSLER
TOWN AND COUNTRY
(2010) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 13, 2023
Incident date: Jun 30, 2023
The first incident I had occurred approximately three weeks ago. I began accelerating from a stop light when I felt something jerk. My car began to slow down and it would not accelerate. The car would not go over 20 mph per hour. This incident was extremely dangerous as I was on a highway that has a speed limit of 55 mph. I brought the car to the Genesis dealership. They diagnosed it as a bad fu... Read more
Incident date: Jul 4, 2023
Regrettably, the 2015 Ford Focus hatchback I purchased has been plagued by a series of critical issues. These include recurring starting problems, erratic gear behavior, such as hesitating to move in Drive and unexpectedly moving forward in Reverse, sudden and dangerous deceleration while on highways, and an incessantly illuminated tire pressure warning light. These issues have left me profoundly ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2023
ABS/traction control sensor issue. I believe it to be a faulty sensor or sensor connection issue which is causing my service brake light to chime and light up at every bump in the road. While driving even just a short distance my service brake light/alert chime goes on and off sometimes every 2-3 seconds and while driving on the freeway my cruise control disengages every time the brake warning pop... Read more
Incident date: Sep 9, 2023
I was driving at normal speed and all of a sudden the vehicle accelerated to a high speed. Took to dealer with all the other issues and they could not create the problem. They are trying to blame it on me for have two sets of mats. Also navigation unit is not the correct unit in car. When I apply the brake to stop it seems as if the frame is creaking.
Incident date: Apr 1, 2023
ABS/traction control failure. This also disabled cruise control causing rapid deceleration at set highway speed. Getting repeating chime and check ABS and traction control warning messages. ABS module and HCU were replaced under warranty at under 11,000 miles for same symptoms. Truck now has just over 45000 and read ABS codes indicate that part has failed again. Part seems to be backordered or u... Read more
MITSUBISHI
OUTLANDER SPORT
(2016) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 13, 2023
Incident date: Sep 11, 2023
I slowly pulled into a parking space at a grocery store. I took my foot off the accelerator, and the car jerked forward, traveling maybe 2-3 feet. I quickly put my foot on the brake and was able to stop the car. I took the car to the dealer, and the service consultant told me that she thought that a memo had just come in addressing the kind of incident I had. She also told me that another cust... Read more
Incident date: Sep 13, 2023
ABS and Electric Braking System - multiple failures.. 1st time system failed at around 24k miles, was reported and fixed under warranty, 2nd time same system failures at around 76k, same errors and same results.. will have to be repaired under owners costs.. Seems this is a 'known issue with a NTSB" but Ram still not owning the issue.. This part plays a huge role in the safety controls of the truc... Read more
Incident date: Sep 2, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Mercedes-Benz GLC300. The contact stated while driving out of a parking lot at 5-10 MPH and making a left turn, the windshield wipers and the rearview camera engaged independently. Additionally, the vehicle accelerated unintendedly and crashed into another vehicle that was unoccupied and parked on the left side of the road. The air bags did not deploy. The contact sustained... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Sep 4, 2023
Vehicle looses power randomly. No engine or warning lights. RPMs will rev but car will not go into gear or drive. I can shut off the vehicle for a couple hours then restart and will drive fine until randomly happens again.
Incident date: Sep 8, 2023
The speed control switch operates intermittently. Sometimes it won’t turn on. Sometimes it won’t turn off. I am afraid it may cause me to have and accident.