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: Jun 1, 2023
My car went into Sudden Unintended Acceleration when I shifted from neutral to drive. I was in a gas station that was perpendicular to highway traffic. When I attempted to come out of the car wash tunnel to get my car dried off, the car accelerated out of control, the gas pedal was stuck and the brakes would not engage. The car flew out of the tunnel and into traffic. The car hit a curb before ent... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Apr 2, 2023
The gas gauge will show full then without warning quickly drop to “E” and the low fuel indicator will ding and the light will come on then just as quickly as it started it will go back to full or 2/3rds the slow creep back to the full position. (The tank was not full) While driving all the electrical components start going wild, everything goes on and off quickly. The accelerator will rev(whi... Read more
Incident date: Mar 8, 2023
Driving on highway with cruise control selected to 80 mph. Left signal is applied to travel to left lane to pass a semi trailer. When the vehicle is half way into the left lane, the automatic system applies hard braking even though the semi trailer has not been detected as too close. Vehicle slowed to 74 to 75 mph before cruise control was turned off. Vehicle behavior is a total surprise to vehicl... Read more
Incident date: Aug 12, 2022
Over the last two months, I've had over 30 incidences where the car will either randomly shift extremely hard into a gear or will hesitate, stutter, lose power while accelerating. Some of the shifts have been so hard that they've thrown me forward. Some of the losses of power are extremely dangerous as I'm accelerating at highway speeds. I have a full log of at least 30 of these incidents (and det... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2023
The car is totalled. My car tripped 9+ malfunction warnings, after starting and driving. These included rear brake lights, directionals, start/stop system, and more. It appears that the sunroof leaks, and the roof drains were clogged (even though they were specifically checked and cleaned by the dealer 2 months earlier). This led to water accumulating in the areas under the back seat (a prior reca... Read more
Incident date: Apr 6, 2023
While driving at speed (75-80 mph) on Interstate 90 and 80 (different days) auto aggressively applied brakes. No other autos, trucks or obstructions were anywhere close to the car. There was no forewarning the problem was going occur. All occurred in daylight from morning until mid afternoon. I recognize this as phantom braking. Tesla refuses to look at the car because I did not have the exact ti... Read more
Incident date: Jun 2, 2023
The transmission with the Auto Start/Stop 48v system is very clunky and not smooth at low speeds. I'm unable to park in my garage or parallel park with the Auto Start/Stop feature enabled which is by default for reduced emissions. I fear hitting pedestrians/people at crosswalks, causing damage to my house inside my garage when parking, and/or other vehicles when parallel parking because the tran... Read more
Incident date: Jun 2, 2023
The contact owned a 2013 Chevrolet Camaro. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 mph and making a right turn the accelerator pedal erroneously extended down causing the contact to lose control of the vehicle and crash into a utility pole. During the crash, the contact sustained a fractured right ankle and concussion and was transported to the local hospital. A police report was ta... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
While traveling at 70 mph on the freeway my 2023 Kona with less than 2,000 miles dropped into neutral and lost speed, almost causing a crash. I’m lucky the driver behind me braked in time. The dealer has informed me that the transmission needs to be replaced.
Incident date: Apr 23, 2023
Multiple extreme braking so much where today actually hurt my neck it stopped so abruptly up a hill miscalculating that a walker was about to be hit by my car, the man was nowhere near being hit and the auto braking skid to a halt whipping my head forward and my sweatshirt choked my Adams Apple area. It was extremely abrupt, scared me, the walker and nearly caused a rear end collision with the car... Read more
1 injured
WESTERN STAR
5700
(2022) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 1, 2023
Incident date: Feb 23, 2023
We ordered a Western Star WITHOUT collision mitigation and when we got the truck it had a WABCO CMS. We have had nothing but problems of hard breaking on overpasses and bridges and false readings of cars on the other side of highway. The truck has been in FYDA Freightliner for about a month total and they "can't find anything wrong". Their suggestion was us to remove a bullguard and drive a few ... Read more
2 injured
Incident date: May 29, 2023
Ever since I got my car I’ve had black oil since the start . Second my car breaks on its own at times 3rd my car system keep breaking down as the sparks leaking in some where has this issue since bought it 2 years ago low miles
Incident date: Feb 12, 2023
When the accelerator is depressed and the vehicle is in drive, it does not accelerate. This has happened multiple times, the date provided is a representative date where others witnessed the issue and is not the first or last time it occurred.
Incident date: Jan 15, 2023
For about 8 months, our 2018 Dodge Ram 2500 has had interment ABS and HCU warning lights and the notification to "Service electronic braking system" followed by "Service antilock brake system". This may occur for a period of hours or seconds and disables our trucks ABS, traction control, cruise control and other systems. When checked, the truck has no stored fault codes. When this first occurred,... Read more
Incident date: Mar 18, 2022
2023 TESLA Y -Consumer is writing about concerns with the speed assistance, auto-pilot (quick stopping action). Consumer was unaware of the dangers and that there was no cruise or lane control. Consumer submitted service request. Consumer has listed summary of observations & incidents. Consumer listed several questions: Are all Tesla Y prone to phantom breaking? Did we get a lemon? Can we get it ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2023
There is a severe acceleration issue happening with this vehicle. When ibling for to long or stop/go traffic, the acceleration of the vehicle disappears and seems to ride with little mobility. The rpms will sky rocket, yet the car will not move fast at all. It's gotten quite scary crossing two lanes of traffic from a stoplight. There is an attached doc from the manufacturer communications section... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
The main screen blanked out completely Heads up display Cruise and adaptive and blind spot indicators all ceases to function Air conditioner has lost function twice since I got the vehicle Leak in rear pipes Rear hatch intermittently doesn’t close properly thus an alarm stays on Driver side mirror won’t fold out after retraction Rear wiper goes off for not reason Lane departure is unre... Read more
Incident date: May 29, 2023
"Phantom braking:" Vehicle has braked Multiple times on the freeway while using adaptive cruise control, when no objects were In the vehicle's path. Typically occurs when driving on curved section of freeway at speeds above 50 mph.
Incident date: May 21, 2023
On May 25, 2023 I was stopped at a red light with one car in front of me. My foot was not on brake because i use the one peddle feature. All of the sudden, my car accelerated and ran into the car in front of me. In the 2 seconds before hitting car, I saw my collision assistant light go on but there was no braking at all. I've been driving for almost 40 years and nothing like this has ever happ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jan 2, 2021
Experienced dangerous situation while using Speed Control, aka: Cruise Control, with NO vehicles ahead of mine, a totally empty road in New Mexico on I-25, the Tesla Model Y with 2,000 miles on it suddenly braked, dropping the speed over 15mph, then suddenly accelerated, I read this is a known problem and is known as Phantom Braking. It happened several times during the trip, once with a vehicle b... Read more
Incident date: Feb 15, 2023
On at least 8 occasions the car unintentionally shifted into cruise control and accelerated immediately. This usually happened while driving under 30 mph and rapidly accelerated to a much higher speed, sometimes set as high as 70 mph. On 3 occasions this happened in a parking lot and 2 occasions in a bank drive thru with a vehicle only a few feet in front of me. Immediate emergency braking was req... Read more
Incident date: May 26, 2023
-Knock Sensor Detection System - ECU Logic Improvement - I Was driving with my infant son in the backseat. I was going 70 mph when my car started rapidly losing speed. This happened again with just myself after receiving the car from mechanic. There was heavy traffic and I had to swerve to avoid being hit by an 18-wheeler. - I can see on the website where I received the car from, there is a reca... Read more
Incident date: May 31, 2023
Two issues that are concerning and I have told Tesla: 1. The car will be on cruise control and I will be relaxed and all of a sudden it will just brake for no reason. Praise God I am aware of it now and prepared so I have to compensate, but it is very dangerous and made the cruise control useless. While it was under warrantee I request it be fixed, but they said there was no way to do that. 2. T... Read more
Incident date: May 18, 2023
Service ABS system message turns on and off continuously while driving. When the warning is active ABS is disabled. Also when the warning activates it will disable cruise control suddenly. It continues to turn on and off. Dealership diagnosed it as ABS control module. They state there are no parts to replace it with at this point in time and no ETA on when a part will be manufactured. They also s... Read more
Incident date: Apr 12, 2023
On 5/30/23 while in traffic I pressed the brake to slow down and the car kept moving forward. I pressed the brake all the way down and I was still unable to stop the car from accelerating. I rear-ended the vehicle in front of me. My car is currently being inspected by a mechanic that my insurance company recommended.
Crash
Incident date: Apr 16, 2022
Driving up a hill on interstate 70MPH when an engine light with Hill Climb Assist disabled error came on. Accellerater shut down and had to coast to side of road. I shut vehicle off and started back up and was able to proceed till I got off highway and proceeded up another hill and same thing happened stalled and came to a stop. I found dozens of other F150 owners having the same problem stalling ... Read more
Incident date: May 26, 2023
When using cruise control from Las Vegas to Reno Nevada and also going back the car will brake extremely hard over 80 times one way which almost caused alone 4 major accidents with stopping abruptly for no reason causing the cars behind you to almost rear end you. This is tremendously dangerous and it s happening so often you can even use the cruise control. This does happen on other trips as well... Read more
Incident date: Mar 8, 2023
Several times, the vehicle will brake without an obstacle in the road. It is extremely scary - at one time, it forced me to react unexpectedly and almost got into an accident. This is scary.
Incident date: May 30, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Infiniti Q50. The contact stated that while driving at highway speeds, the vehicle inadvertently slowed down. The vehicle failed to accelerate. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that a valve body replacement was needed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and the contact... Read more
Incident date: Jan 31, 2023
ABS & Traction light flickers and stays on. Brakes have pulsed. This is very dangerous for my family and myself. Ram wants to charge me $$ for a manufacturing defect that they are all to aware of. This not fare.
Incident date: Apr 12, 2023
Car smoking white , and driving slow after I hit a pothole when it was raining hard.
Incident date: May 2, 2023
Approximately 5 times while using Adaptive Cruise Control my 2023 Tesla Y will abruptly brake and slow down approximately 10-15 mph even through there are not roadway dangers. It is a startling event every time.
Incident date: Apr 19, 2023
Warning light for airbag continues to stay on , and cruise control does not work at all.
Incident date: May 27, 2023
On 10/17/2021 my son was killed along with his passenger in this Tesla. The car was thought to be going over 100 miles an hour on a city road Coconut Point Road in Estero Florida. The car was thought to have hit a tree with the rear tire and was sent flying through the air and hit another tree and split in half. My son knew this road well as it was close to his home and drove it on his way home... Read more
Crash
2 deaths
HONDA
CR-V HYBRID
(2021) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
May 29, 2023
Incident date: Apr 25, 2023
First occurrence happened in October 2022 when I was on the freeway at speeds over 65mph. The vehicle suddenly lost speed, all dash lights came on, a loud helicopter like sound started and would not go more than 40mph. I was lucky enough to exit the freeway without causing a collision. Dealer could not duplicate the incident and no computer codes. Second time was almost identical to the first ... Read more
Incident date: May 9, 2023
I live in a mountain area, many steep hills. When driving down a steep windy road (speed under 30 MPH) I use the exhaust brake so I don't have to ride my brakes. However, the exhaust brake keeps going off and on. Worse yet the engine throttles up increasing speed. I have to then press my brake peddle to slow the truck down. Once I release the brake the truck repeats the same process of speeding up... Read more
Incident date: May 28, 2023
I've noticed that while driving the vehicle maintains speed/accelerate (without gas pedal pressed, and with cruise control off). I have to constantly fight the vehicle's constant acceleration with brakes. While idling, it keeps going to high RPM and then reduce and then high RPM.
Incident date: Apr 7, 2023
brake lights do not come on when the car is in regenerative braking or driving mode and the driver is touching the gas pedal. Drivers following the car are not aware the car is actually braking not coasting. This is causing a rearending hazard. Mfr needs to correct issues so brake lights come on when car is in regenerative braking mode and the car is deaccellerating regardless of gas pedal activit... Read more
Incident date: May 18, 2023
Repetitive phantom braking. Happens quite often. Three time today on the intestate. I had cruise control set at 71mph and without any vehicle or obstacles in the area the car hard breaked from 71 down to 40. I have it on video.
Incident date: May 18, 2023
HCU / ABS module issues. Truck while driving has no cruise control my lights stay illuminated all the time, truck only has 57,000 miles and already repaired all 4 abs wheel speed censors, spent countless hours visibly checking all wires and fuses make sure no defects there. This could be a very dangerous and life threatening situation and I would think it's only right for Dodge Ram to recall the ... Read more
FOREST RIVER
BLUE RIDGE
(2017) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
May 28, 2023
Incident date: May 2, 2023
During a 30 mile trip on a two lane highway I activated the cruise control. A number of times the car made significant slow downs. They seamed to be associated with oncoming trafic. I then shut off the cruise control. Later on when I could see there where no oncoming cars I again set the cruise control for 65 MPH. After only about 15 seconds the car made a rapid deceleation. The deceleration... Read more
Incident date: May 20, 2023
We have had our car for under 3 months and have had repeated episodes (easily 2 to 3 dozen) of extremely rapid braking when the car is in cruise control on the open interstate road when there are no cars ahead of us or any other obstacles that might have triggered the camera sensor. Tried turning off the forward collision avoidance option and the events still happen. Have kept the windshield over ... Read more
Incident date: May 19, 2023
On a trip from Spokane to Seattle on 5/27/2023, while traveling at 72mph on I-90, we experienced “phantom braking”. This resulted in the vehicle rapidly decelerating based on its detection of something in front of the car to avoid a collision. This occurred 3 times on the trip, and in no case was there anything for the vehicle to avoid. Weather was clear and road conditions were dry. Our bigge... Read more
LAND ROVER
LR2
(2008) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
May 28, 2023
Incident date: May 28, 2023
I have owned my new Tesla for about a month and it has had a recent software update. Today, I had the cruise control set to 75mph on the freeway and the car very suddenly reset the speed to 50 mph for no apparent reason, making the car rapidly and suddenly slow down. I figured this was just a fluke and later tried to use the cruise control again. This time the cruise control was set to 75 mph o... Read more
Incident date: Apr 11, 2023
I first started noticing this transmission acceleration problem about a year ago when my vehicle has been in stop-and-go traffic for at least 30 minutes or more, the transmission feels like it is going to stall. Pressing on the gas won’t accelerate the vehicle or it is very slow to start moving no matter how hard the gas pedal is pressed. The rpm speeds to 4-5 x1000 but the transmission gear fee... Read more
Incident date: Apr 11, 2023
When truck is in cruise control on with driver assist on, if I run off side of road and go over the ridges on the side that alert driver my ABS light comes on saying my driver assist and my cruise control can no longer be used and my ABS breaking system requires a mechanic. If I reset my system all goes back to normal till I go over rough road or ridges. I have less than 10,000 miles on truck. Fro... Read more
Incident date: May 28, 2023
At approximately 69000 miles my engine stalled as I was pulling onto a highway and would not accelerate beyond a low mph. I turned back into gas station I had left and checked the oil. It did not register any oil and had a burning smell. There were never any dash lights indicating low oil. I put almost 2 quarts in vehicle. I then proceeded to drive as it seemed okay. I have had oil changes wh... Read more
Incident date: Jul 10, 2022
On my way to work this morning 4:30 ish the same way I always take. My car decided to drive itself, every light on the middle console lit up, and the dashboard. I was going 50 when my car completely lost control while I tapped my brakes no response its locked, my steering wheel locked up, my brakes locked everything went haywire it would not let me steer or even shift to neutral all I could do was... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: May 12, 2023
repeatedly, i have had my car brake harshly when travelling anywhere from 30-55 mph while using adaptive cruise control. there is nevere anything in the road or a car anywhere nearby to warrant a dramatic braking. the decelertion is harsh and alomst caused someone behind me to hit me on 2 occasions. i have repeatedly told Tesla about this and mostly gotten a nebulous response about "hardware" or '... Read more
Incident date: May 27, 2023
My car engaged the automatic emergency braking (AEB) when the car in front of me lightly tapped on their brakes-- When the AEB engaged, my car come to a complete stop... I tried to accelerate to prevent being rear ended, but my accelerator was disabled and I had no control of my car... Nearly causing me to get rear ended and probably causing a 5+ car collision. MANY Tesla drivers have experience... Read more