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: Oct 3, 2022
Multiple "phantom braking" events in which the car, on a clear day & no cars around, would suddenly slam on the brakes and try to stop. No messages were displayed on the screen. Tesla Service seems uninterested as it is a "software" issue. I tried a full reset of the car with no improvement.
Incident date: Apr 20, 2023
Problems with Nissan Murano CVT transmission - Transmission slips with loss of power/acceleration while in traffic, then jerks or lurches forward. No codes (DTC) registered for the symptoms. Dangerous for myself and other drivers as this occurs without warning. Fortunate not to end up in an accident. Nissan manuals do not recommend precautions or service for this. Now faced with all repair costs.
Incident date: Feb 3, 2023
On at least six occasions since I took possession of this Hyundai vehicle the vehicle has been automatically slowed down accompanied by a "25 mph speed limit" sensor light coming on - and most of these instances could be dangerous because they were not in low-speed zones. This has happened in low-speed zones or near those, in particular on/near a college campus that I drive through or near, but se... Read more
Incident date: Apr 12, 2023
The contact owns a 2023 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle independently decelerated with the transmission error warning light illuminated. The contact was able to push the vehicle to the side of the roadway. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but no assistance was provided. The failure milea... Read more
Incident date: Feb 14, 2023
There has not been an accident. Hopefully it won't come to that! This needs to be addressed
Incident date: May 29, 2022
I was backing up a residential driveway. My backup camera showed my wheels were in line. My steering wheel turned and my car had a sudden unintended acceleration. My car destroyed a double steel garage door. Pushed a parked vehicle forward approximately 10-12”. The vehicle crushed a riding lawn mower, pushing the mower through a sheet rock wall. If anyone had been in this area of the garage, the... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Apr 25, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated that while pulling into the parking space, the vehicle suddenly lunged forward crashing into the rear of a parked vehicle which then crashed into the rear of a second parked vehicle. The contact indicated that the vehicle lunged forward while the accelerator pedal was released in order to press the brake pedal. During the incident, no injur... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Mar 28, 2023
The ABS light is on, states it needs to be fixed, we were told by our mechanic that this is a known issue. HCU unit fail and throws service ABS light. Cruise control does not work due to this issue. This started last November and are waiting for parts for the repairs. The truck only had around 74,000 miles when this started. Our repairs are going to be over $1200 to fix. This is crazy, Ram s... Read more
FORD
BRONCO SPORT
(2022) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Apr 24, 2023
Incident date: Sep 14, 2022
My Hyundai Elantra started completely shutting off while I was driving. This happened on multiple occasions like in slow traffic and while going high speeds on the highway. This is scary and dangerous when my toddler child is in the car. I took it to 3 different mechanics and no one can find any codes or anything wrong with it---but it continues to happen and put my life and my daughters life at r... Read more
Incident date: Apr 23, 2023
Accelerates on its own from idle or low speeds. Was recalled on 2/8/2010 #2010018..and repaired on 6/21/ 2010. Approx. 2 years ago it started to "take off again". Grand Buick... Grandville MI advised there was no current recall. I'm waiting for GM to advise of a no charge to owner recall.
Incident date: Apr 24, 2023
After the recall was corrected, the engine light came on two months later. I noticed the car will not accelerate and now will not start. The engine rumbles on the occasion that it does start.
Incident date: Apr 20, 2023
Car speed control malfunctioned. There was a sudden acceleration when car was below 10 miles in the parking lot. The driver lost control on braking and car keep accelerating even no force was applied to pedal. Dribe had to steer out of parking lot and crash through a wood en fence on next door neighbor. Car still keep going thru front yard of two houses cross the street and eventually hit a con... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jan 16, 2023
My vehicle accelerated when I was at a red light. My foot was on the brake. It also accelerated when I was backing out of our driveway. This resulted in a type of “ lurching” motion. The incident at the red light happened once. The incidents while backing out happened 3 times. No warning light were displayed. The vehicle has not been inspected yet. My safety was at risk because it accelerated... Read more
Incident date: Jan 16, 2023
The vehicle experiences intermittent fault displays for "electronic brake service" and "ABS Service". This causes the vehicle to suddenly come out of cruise control and slow dramatically. This causes the vehicles ABS safety function to be inoperative reducing the overall braking capability and increasing the safe stopping distance This causes traction and stability controls to be disabled furth... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2014) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Apr 23, 2023
Incident date: Apr 20, 2023
This vehicle accelerate suddenly while it is slowing down even if I have foot on break paddle. I have complained to Toyota dealers but they said that hybrid vehicle operates like that. This is very dangerous and nobody is taking seriously. I do not believe that this works like that. I have seen so many people complain online about this problem in 2022 hybrid sienna. Please help.
Incident date: Jan 11, 2023
We have owned a 2022 Sante Fe Hybrid for less than a year. Although we haven’t had any mechanical issues until recently, I have been slightly alarmed at the number of recalls that have been fixed throughout the year. This week, our check engine light came on. We were able to drive it home and to our local dealership (Victory Hyundai in Jefferson, Ohio) for service. The problem was diagnosed... Read more
Incident date: Mar 3, 2023
We have the Ford "death wobble"—have had a few scary incidents on the freeway at speeds 50 or above.
Incident date: Apr 22, 2023
On May 20, 2022, I was attempting to back into a parking space when my car lunged forward and crashed into two parked cars. I suffered a cracked sternum. No one else was hurt but I was just a few feet from the ground-level windows of a motel. Much body damage to my car (in excess of $13,000) and the other two cars. Police report was filed. Insurance claim filed. No reproduction of problem sought f... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Apr 19, 2023
Car accelerated into a garage door unintentionally. The brakes did not work. The problem has not been reproduced. The car was taken to a honda dealer twice before the accident for the same reasons of sudden unintentional acceleration. The vehicle has been totaled and has not been inspected by anyone. There were no warning indicators that I am aware of.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Apr 1, 2023
I was driving on a dry road, going 70mph when my car began flashing the abs indicator and it began breaking and controlling my steering taking me into another lane. The car slowed my vehicle suddenly down to 60 mph and then went off like it never happened. I then had control. There was no reason for the car to do this. There was nothing in the road and luckily no one was to close to me or the... Read more
Incident date: Apr 21, 2023
I like to have metric units active in my vehicle and this Colorado enables me to switch to metric (i.e. 24h clock, temperature in Celsius, mileage in km,...) It is my understanding that, in the US, this function is allowed but the current speed must also always be displayed somewhere. This is not the case. When switching to metric ALL units everywhere switch to metric, also the current speed is ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 21, 2023
Same issue as the last time, and the time before that. Very dangerous, battery completely fails. The instrument meters are wrong and it shows that there is gas when there is really not any gas. Also more recently, we were driving on the highway in the express lane in the car just suddenly came to a stop. We could have died - luckily there was no one behind us. I managed to get the car over partial... Read more
EVENFLO
REVOLVE360
(9999) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Apr 21, 2023
Incident date: Apr 20, 2023
We were traveling on California Interstate 5 North. About 5 miles south of Junction 152 the car started malfunctioning. Suddenly there was acceleration beyond my control. I pushed the brake as hard as I could. It felt like the car was going to explode. Somehow miraculously the car landed on the shoulder of the freeway. It missed hitting any other cars or trucks. This was a rental car from Avis. I,... Read more
Incident date: Apr 18, 2023
Automatic emergency braking occurs without cause at high speeds on flat divided Hwy. Happened on multiple trips 5 or more times in a 3 hour drive on 3 different highways in NM. Tesla service has addressed the issue twice. said everything is working properly. Happens when Cruse control + auto steering are active.
Incident date: Apr 3, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Veloster. The contact stated that there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the vehicle. While driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled, and the RPMs failed to exceed 200 RPM. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The oil warning light was illuminated after the failure. The vehicle was towed to the lo... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2020
While driving down the road, my vehicle will completely shut off and shut down. Sometimes, emphasis on the sometimes, I can push my key into the ignition a bit more and it will start back up. I lose all function and control of my vehicle. My dash lights and exterior lights completely shut off. I can't steer my car and it comes to a complete stop within seconds because everything locks up. I have h... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2022
The driver owns a 2013 Hyundai Elantra with 37,657 miles. While slowly turning left into a parking space, the car had a sudden acceleration event. The Elantra sped into the parking space and ran over two concrete parking spot blocks. The Elantra glanced off a grey pickup truck and scraped by a grey SUV. The Elantra entered the empty parking space opposite the SUV and proceeded to impact the side o... Read more
Crash
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2012) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Apr 20, 2023
Incident date: Apr 16, 2023
The cruise control is activated by the slightest touch of the button. Running the heel of your hand over the button will activate it. The button acts like a screen touch rather than a button.
Incident date: Apr 14, 2023
The cruise control on this 2023 Kona has not worked since the day I purchased it. When the cruise control is engaged it will suddenly decelerate, but the cruise still appears engaged. It sometimes then suddenly reaccelerates. This causes traffic to suddenly back up behind me, and also to be in danger in front of me when it reaccelerates rapidly. I informed the dealer immediately of the issue. They... Read more
Incident date: Oct 10, 2019
While driving across the Nevada and Utah deserts, while on cruise control, traveling at 80 MPH we experienced 7 phantom braking. There were no vehicles or obstructions in sight and it was on straight stretches of road. We are no longer using cruise control due to the danger of possibly causing an accident.
Incident date: Apr 8, 2023
The V6 version is under recall. However, this vehicle should be as well. The car fails to accelerate. My car was at the Honda Dealership for over ten days. I came in because my car was unexpectedly unable to accelerate. Honda advised me there wasn't a code but I needed a new battery and other maintenance. I picked up my car, and within 1 mile, I could not accelerate when exiting and was nearly in ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 28, 2023
Vehicle stalled while driving 60mph , vehicle overheated upon restarting
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2021) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Apr 19, 2023
Incident date: Feb 13, 2023
The contact leased a 2022 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while driving at slow speeds in a parking garage, the vehicle struck the curb and independently accelerated. The contact was unable to control the vehicle. The contact attempted to shift gear, but the vehicle failed to respond. The vehicle then came to a stop, avoiding a crash. The contact restarted the vehicle and drove to his reside... Read more
Incident date: Sep 19, 2022
The Cruise Control will automatically set itself to either 20mph or 120mph when engaging it as usual. This happens with no common circumstances that I can see, but as it has happened over 10 times and I have only had the brand new car since Aug 31 2022 and the dealership does not seem concerned about it, I though I should report it to you. It HAS put both myself and others at risk, as the first ti... Read more
FORD
F-150 HYBRID
(2022) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Apr 19, 2023
Incident date: Apr 19, 2023
Pulling into a gated parking lot. Once the gate opened the car accelerated and would not brake. Crashed into three car causing damage to Lucid and their vehicles. Have sent car to the dealership but still have not heard back from them. We also have video of accident
Crash
Incident date: Apr 16, 2023
The stabitrac system malfunctioned and went into low power mode while on the highway almost in an accident because of speed loss. The button to turn it off did nothing. Still unsure what caused this to malfunction but needs to be a way to override to maintain speed without power loss
Incident date: Apr 18, 2023
On the evening of April 18, 2023, I was driving on the southbound 101 in Northern California using autopilot, and despite the surrounding area being clear of other vehicles, pedestrians or debris, without warning, the autopilot system forced the vehicle to suddenly and harshly brake. It was completely unwarranted and unexpected and really gave me and my passenger a scare, and this ain’t the firs... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE 4XE
(2022) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Apr 18, 2023
Incident date: Apr 15, 2023
Not necessarily a failure or malfunction. When making right/left turns vehicle will accelerate for apparently no reason. Each time entering a parking lot or making a standard right/left turn. Each time this has happened during this acceleration it has almost caused a vehicle crash with another car in front or in another incident almost hit pedestrian. Found that the Rocker switch for Cruise co... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
ABS and HCU are in need of replacement parts. Because no replacement parts are available, I have no choice but to drive a Truck with questionable Breaking System, putting me, my family and others at risk, since the brake system is what stops my Truck when I need it to stop or slow down. I use this to tow the family travel trailer as well. This is also very important when brakes are needed to ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 28, 2023
This make and model is having the exact same 6 speed transmission issues as earlier recalls. The final straw was when the truck failed to register the speed and slowly crept into oncoming traffic at night, while I turned left. It bucks and shifts hard at neighborhood and highway speeds. More often than not, it is a down speed shift and aggressive, whiplash buck. I lose control of the vehicle and t... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS
(2021) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Apr 18, 2023
Incident date: Mar 26, 2023
LCD panel goes blank, when i shift it, it smacks hard and does not go into gear. cuts out and speedometer fails. Have to shut off and restart
Incident date: Apr 6, 2023
Driving down the expressway, doing around 70 mph and the vehicle randomly jumps to first gear and brings the vehicle to a near halt in less than one second. It happened during rainy conditions and luckily there were no vehicles nearby or I may have struck one of them. At least once per day the vehicle does this at some capacity. No service lights or check engine lights are present.
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
every time while driving at highway speed with cruise control enabled the car will decelerate or brake hard without anything in our path of travel for as far as the eye can see. this is a safety issue as the cars behind us may not be able to react fast enough to avoid hitting as our car brakes without cause.
Incident date: Mar 30, 2023
Was traveling northbound on I5 between Lacey and Dupont, Washington. Vehicle was in cruise at 65, then it suddenly went into limp mode. I was in the furthest right lane possible on the highway, and RPMs drastically dropped to below 1,000. I was able to get the vehicle pulled over to the right shoulder safely while the vehicle dropped to approximately 10mph on the freeway. The vehicle died as soon ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 27, 2023
I was driving the vehicle normally down the highway. When I exited the highway, I came to a stop light and made a complete stop at which point the engine stalled. I restarted the vehicle, the check engine light appeared, but I couldn’t get it to register any RPMs and I was left stranded in a busy intersection until help arrived.
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
1997 Ford F150, had recall 25527072 05S28 performed in March of 2006. The switch installed as part of the recall has failed and brake fluid has leaked from the switched and the harness. It is not apparent that the switch is leaking until the harness connector is removed from the switch. The integrity of the brake system is compromised and the previous recall was for fires because of brake fluid... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
TAOS
(2022) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Apr 17, 2023
Incident date: Mar 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle accelerated independently. While attempting to park the vehicle, the vehicle accelerated over the parking block. The bumper was detached. The engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was taken to an ind... Read more
Incident date: Mar 30, 2023
Truck was repaired June 2019. They welded the jam nut which made it impossible to get an alaignment.Been having a open claim with Chrysler Jeep and Dodge going on 2 years per claim #78469040 Front Suspension Track Bar Frame Bracket ( vehicle recently started to do the death wobble again)
Incident date: Apr 16, 2023
4/16/2023 Sunday 5pm With my wife and daughter in the car, I started the vehicle in my driveway and selected Sport mode as usual. Selected reverse and backed into our turnaround then forward to the end of our driveway. Driveway is approximately 4 car lengths long with a 20 ft long apron turnaround. Almost immediately after braking at the end of the driveway while waiting for passing traffic to e... Read more