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.
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
Showing 72,878 complaints — component: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Incident date: May 18, 2023
Was driving the vehicle in a local road and felt sudden drop in vehicle speed. Had to press hard the acceleration pedal to avoid any collision from behind. The vehicle could not gain enough speed in a ~45~60mile speed zone and driven ~2miles slowly to work place. The vehicle had to be towed to a local delearship as they suggested. The warning message was 'Stop vehicle and check Power supply' immed... Read more
Incident date: Jun 23, 2021
2017 RAM 2500 has known issue with Antilock Brake Unit Hydraulic Controller - This prevents brakes from operating correctly and traction control / speed control is disabled - Confirmed diagnosis with dealer - Vehicle has current Mopar Vehicle Protection (service plan) but part is unavailable to be ordered - RAM dealer stated vehicle does not pass state safety inspection. RAM Care case submitted. N... Read more
Incident date: Apr 5, 2023
Without warning the transmission failed. Along with loss of power, when the tranny failed, the ability to use the exhaust brake also fails. The ability to manually downshift fails. I was on steep winding roads in North Idaho (Elk River) when this occurred with three passengers aboard. Once I was able to stop, I was on a steep uphill grade with no forward gears or shoulder to pull over on. I had to... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2023
Recurrent phantom braking while using autopilot. Sudden deceleration that does not seem to correlate to any specific traffic or weather condition.
Incident date: Jun 21, 2023
steering & traction control issues. My ryker has issues turning right under acceleration , like merging onto highway. The bike want to traction control .?This has happened multiple times .
Incident date: Mar 27, 2023
6 months ago, the ABS brakes and stability control warning lights started to randomly light up on the dashboard. Sometimes I would not see a repeat of this for a week or more. The warning lights started to appear more frequently, and now are on all the time. When on, the cruise control does not operate. I took it to a Ram dealer near me, and the service department confirmed it is a defective ABS p... Read more
Incident date: Jun 13, 2023
The CVT Transmission has a bad shudder while driving and shifting into gears. It jerks when trying to accelerate and is extremely slow trying to accelerate the vehicle. The safety of me and other vehicles were in danger because the vehicle failed to accelerate when going up an incline or just driving down an even lane road with no inclines or hills. The vehicle has been inspected by a certified a... Read more
Incident date: Jun 16, 2023
Vehicle has continually shifted roughly, but beginning last year it stalled while coming to a stop. We replaced the battery and removed the auxillary battery that controls the automatic start/stop and had no issues for almost a year. Approximately a week ago, the vehicle began to stall again when coming to a stop, and giving a message stating to "service shifter." It has happened multiple times si... Read more
Incident date: Mar 4, 2023
Consistent and predictive Failure of Anti-lock brake control module (68143491-AA /68143491-AB) in 2018 Ram 2500/3500 Trucks. Nationwide shortage of OEM Replacement Parts leading dealers to hoard exclusively for customers for whom repairs are to be made. Extremely difficult to find a dealer willing to sell brake control module, if they have one in stock, to anyone. Instead, dealers recognize there ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 19, 2023
Car abruptly changed from mph to kmh. All safety aspects stay in mph, including speed limit and alert. So while on highway going 65mph, suddenly speed said 116kmh. But speed alerts were still saying “65”. Pro pilot on and car abruptly slowed down towards 65kmh on highway. Only way to change mph to kmh and back is to have car at complete stop, scroll to menu on steering wheel. Click it. Scr... Read more
Incident date: Jun 22, 2023
The contact owns a 2023 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated that while starting and driving the vehicle, the vehicle failed to respond while depressing the accelerator pedal. The check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the "Power Reduced", "Malfunction", and "Service Now", messages were displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where a diagnostic test was performed but t... Read more
Incident date: Mar 20, 2023
The ESC kight keeps turning on . The brake lights wont turn off, it wont let me accelerate while im driving at different speeds or it will decelerate abruptly. Yes its available for inspection. My safety and the safety of my two young children were at risk multiple times. This is my daily driver. And i was driving them to school when the car would not let me accelerate and someone almost hit me f... Read more
Incident date: Apr 20, 2023
Stalls when pressing down the acelator pedal from 0 to 30mph and takes between 2 to 7 seconds to ramp up the RPMs
Incident date: Jun 19, 2023
My 2022 Mercedes GLE 350 With distronic adaptive cruise control accelerates with the cruise control disabled. It's happened about a dozen times since I purchased the vehicle in September of 2022. All acceleration issues occurred at low speed while turning. Right after I release the brake while turning my car accelerates like the distronic cruise control is engaged eventhough I just braked and it'... Read more
FORD
BRONCO SPORT
(2021) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 22, 2023
Incident date: Apr 21, 2023
Just returned from round trip from Kansas City Mo. to Denver Colorado. Used the cruise control quite a bit on the trip. On 10-15 occasions the regenerative braking automatically came on for no reason.In one instance I was driving the 75 mph speed limit and a car was following too close when the regenerative braking activated and almost caused a crash.It seemed a lot of the times it happened on a b... Read more
Incident date: May 17, 2023
Hyundai's connected car service (bluelink) suffered an outage that resulted in driver profiles on many Hyundai vehicles being deleted/reset. No notice was provided and the profiles were not recovered. As a result, the vehicles did not funtion as expected. Driver assist settings were set to default (steering, braking, and acceleration functions included). Hyundai provided instructions on how to set... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2023) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 22, 2023
Incident date: Jun 22, 2023
On rare but recurring occasions, perhaps twice a month, powering on the adaptive cruise control results in one of two issues: 1. The ACC will engage, but set itself for 15 MPH, even if driving at highway speeds. When this occurs, the ACC either cancels itself out, or remains on until it detects a malfunction, and then cancels itself out. 2. On rare occasion, the autonomous breaking will, upon p... Read more
Incident date: Jun 20, 2023
When I am driving my car the collision brake come on and my car will reduce speed and the not accurate. The car would still be started but will not move upon me pushing the acceleration. When I start my car and I’m reversing it will not move upon me accelerating, when I put the car in drive it will jerk and take off really fast. At a red light after coming to a complete stop my car will not acce... Read more
Incident date: Jun 16, 2023
As I was driving the car today, I had a car ahead of me at a full stop, so in order to slow down the car I lifted my foot off the acceleration pedal. However, instead of slowing down it sped up. My car has regenerative breaking (and it was turn on) which usually applies break when the pressure is lifted from acceleration pedal. However in this instant my car started speeding up. I then applied pre... Read more
Incident date: Jun 12, 2023
I am finishing a drive across the country and every time I put my Tesla into cruise control or adaptive cruise control, it will eventually abruptly break for no reason, in traffic with cars. It can only be restarted by stopping the cruise control feature and turning it back on, after which it inevitably happens without any warning
Incident date: Jun 20, 2020
The car had unintended acceleration. I was driving and suddenly it sped up really fast and I needed to slam on the brakes. This was on a residential street so it was really dangerous. This happened once before, on a highway. Both times this happened, I was touching the wipers controls. I have no idea if it’s connected or coincidence.
Incident date: Apr 30, 2023
When driving on a longer trip, I have repeated sudden deceleration and sometimes harsh braking when using cruise control. This has also happened in normal daytime hours with no traffic around me on rural interstates. On my last trip, I had to keep my foot on the accelerator to keep the car at a constant speed. It is unnerving to me and very scary for passengers. It has made it impossible to use cr... Read more
TOYOTA
RAV4 HYBRID
(2020) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 21, 2023
Incident date: Apr 21, 2023
Driving the car about at 45mph then I heard a pop sound from the rear of the car. Car displayed warning "Check Electrical Vehicle System." I pull over, shut it off, then restarted it. The "check Electrical Vehicle System" light stills on then an emergency message displayed 'Stop Vehicle and Check Power Supply.' When I tried to drive to a safe place I noticed the car would not drive faster than 25m... Read more
Incident date: May 22, 2023
I was at stop position. i pressed the hold button and then took my foot off the break. when traffic started moving i pressed the hold button again with my foot still on floor the car started jumping and pressing the the two other car on my front. the two other cars got totaled.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Apr 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while parking the vehicle in a parking lot, the vehicle accelerated independently and jumped the curb and into the bushes. The contact attempted to reverse the vehicle but continued to also accelerate independently in Reverse. The contact stated the gear shift was on Neutral and continue to Rev loudly. The contact stated the vehicle stop ... Read more
Crash
VOLKSWAGEN
PASSAT
(2016) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 20, 2023
Incident date: May 20, 2020
While driving at highway speeds (50mph-80mph), on 2 lane or 4 lane highways, in the day or night, in sunny conditions and overcast sky's, while using the cruise control (auto-pilot), the car will suddenly and unexpectedly apply the brakes. It happens between 8 and 10 times on every road trip, each way. Not only is it a shock to me as there is never a visual obstacle that seems to be causing the ... Read more
Incident date: May 26, 2023
VW repaired clock spring (a recall) after airbag warning, steering wheel controls stopped working. VW returned the vehicle to me, the customer, with the clock spring supposedly repaired yet steering wheel buttons, including cruise control and others, remained broken and unusable. VW wanted several hundred dollars to fix this, despite the issue obviously being directly related to the clock spring a... Read more
Incident date: Apr 8, 2023
My trucks ABS keeps cutting off, it’s operation is intermittent. This also disables the cruise control and traction control. I have researched this on this year and it’s a problem with many of doges trucks. The dealer has no fix for this safety issue.This is an on going issue that happens every time i drive the vehicle.
Incident date: Jun 5, 2023
Lights that alert inside the vehicle at random times but more often in the last few months are: stability trek, power steering reduced and check engine. Acceleration decreased/reduced after being idle. This prompts serious danger for myself and children when there is no power being given to the car when sitting in traffic. Multiple mechanics have diagnosed the issue. Dealership gives me the run a... Read more
Incident date: Jun 5, 2023
During phone calls, the system would start making sparking noises and stall the calls. While navigation was input parts of the screen would disappear. While backing up, the rear cameras would freeze and stall. The rear camera freezing had caused us to get into an accident, and caused us to have 4 near misses. When I was trying to download the latest software release, the software download froz... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jun 9, 2023
1:Brake fail when trying to stop the car after the accident. The car is available for inspection at Arrow towing service Oklahoma City. 2: After the car accident the car keep going can't stop got Tee boned and my passenger broke his legs and ankles, elbow. 3: No, the problem has not be discussed with the dealer or manufacturer yet. 4: No one, including police, insurance have been inspect it. 5: No... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Jun 18, 2023
Waiting to turn at a busy intersection then proceeded to press the accelerator the vehicle lossed power and had shut off. I Shifted gear to park to start engine and it would not go faster than 10mph. Vehicles behind nearly wrecked into me and were honking their horns. It had died again then started back up. I was able to drive home before it died again. Vehicle towed to dealership. Was told they ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 16, 2023
While driving on the interstate my 2023 Ioniq 5 SEL RWD experienced a failure with the front radar system stating that it was blocked. In reality there was nothing physically blocking the system which was verified on multiple pullovers to check the front of the vehicle. This caused the critical forward safety functions, HDA system, lane change assist functions, regeneration system, and smart cruis... Read more
Incident date: Jun 14, 2023
Knock sensor detection system. Driving and all the sudden felt like it hard down shifted… car behind me almost hit me. Engine light started flashing so I pulled into autozone and plugged it in and got the knock sensor code. It’s had oil consumptions issues for a while. It’s so dangerous to drive with limited power and speed
Incident date: Jun 5, 2017
On June 18, 2023, my throttle unexpectedly stuck open after intentional acceleration, causing the car to continue to accelerate uncontrollably after releasing the accelerator pedal. The engine continued to increase RPMs and speed. After using all of my leg strength to apply the brakes to fight the uncontrolled acceleration, the throttle unexpectedly eased up and returned to normal. This was the... Read more
Incident date: Jun 14, 2023
Cruise control quit working when towing my trailer with tractor loaded. Service antilock brake system and service electronic brake system messages and lights on dash showed. Would occur intermittently, then became more steady. Took to dealer today, 6/19/2023, and was told no part could be ordered to fix this. Dealer advised they do not have an answer/fix. May have by August 16. Seems a long ... Read more
TOYOTA
COROLLA CROSS
(2023) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 19, 2023
Incident date: Jun 14, 2023
After using adaptive cruise control, driver pulled into a spot to pick up a pizza. Car was parked then lurched forward without pedal input, jumping over parking parking block and then crashed through front window of a store. Took out retaining wall and came to a stop at the back wall. Thankfully no one was injured. Police report was filed and manufacturer was alerted who interrogated the vehicle b... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Apr 11, 2023
Car unexpectedly brakes while using the cruise control. This can occur multiple times on a long drive without warning and for no apparent reason.
Incident date: Jun 15, 2023
The Column Shifter that is installed on all 2024 GMC Sierra 2500HDs and 3500HDs poses a potential safety risk to its passengers and other drivers on the road. When the column shifter of the vehicle is in the standard drive position the shifter covers part of the screen and the direct path to the radio volume control dial and infotainment home button. It has been found and replicated that attemptin... Read more
Incident date: Feb 27, 2023
When driving the Tesla model 3 in cruise control, It will without warning apply the brakes. I have to then accelerate and then take it out of cruise control. The issue has happened about a dozen times and only happens while in cruise control. It happened most recently today but has happened in previous days.
Incident date: Jun 11, 2023
Accelerator failed to engage on two occasions. 5/18/2023: First while driving on highway at 70MPH. Car slowed down gradually and I pulled onto shoulder. 5/19/2023: Again the next day driving 35 MPH. Pulled off road onto private driveway. On both occasions I turned car off and back on and it resumed normally. Fortunately no accident or traffic problem. I brought car to the dealer (Country Hyun... Read more
Incident date: May 19, 2023
While driving the car at aproximately 25mph, the engine and the car stopped running. All dashboard warning lamps were off prior to the engine failure The car rolled to the side of the road to get out of the way of other traffic. The service engine warning lamp was on after the engine shut off and stopped running. The car was towed to a service station, and they too could not get the car to sta... Read more
Incident date: Jun 17, 2023
I was driving my vehicle, slowing down to turn left, when my car shifted into neutral all by itself. The satellite radio went off and the collision warning appeared on the dash. This could have happened on the highway and I could be dead. I called the Markley Honda Dealership here in Fort Collins however their service department was closed for the day. I plan on calling them first thing Monday mor... Read more
Incident date: Jun 17, 2023
When driving at highway speed and using cruise control, the car periodically applies its brakes. Sometimes it will only do so for a second or two, then return to the cruise control speed; other times it will continue longer and I will have to intervene by applying pressure to the accelerator pedal. In shorter "phantom braking" episodes the speed may only be reduced by five or ten miles per hour; ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 17, 2023
While driving at 70 mph my car just shut off. The radio and lights stayed on. The oil and battery light came on before it just shut down. Steering locked up. When safely to side, and turned key off it starts right back up, but now traction system is off. Has gas and nothing is broken.
Incident date: Jun 3, 2023
Tire wobble and stutter on left hand turns. Throws VSS fault code C600c and C60063
Incident date: Jan 31, 2023
My transmission failed. There was a recall on the transmission, that I am not sure I received. Nissan Consumer Affairs opened a case but will not assist me with the cost of the transmission. I have to pay 5621.00 to have a new transmission installed. Nissan admitted had a faulty part in the 2014-2017 Rogues - the CVT. The transmission was slipping and it could have led to an accident, but did... Read more
Incident date: Jun 7, 2023
ABS light on when braking had to apply full force , truck would not stop for about 20 feet was moving slowly so no accident.
Incident date: May 19, 2023
On my 2018 RAM 3500 beginning on Memorial Day 2023, the instrument cluster began flashing with a loud door type chime. The cluster began cycling through messages including Service Electronic Braking System, ABS Failure, and illuminating alarms. Upon testing with a code reader I was presented with the following codes: C0020-01 ABS Pump Motor Control - General Electrical Failure and U0402-00 Implaus... Read more