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
VOLKSWAGEN
TAOS
(2022) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jul 5, 2023
Incident date: Apr 1, 2023
This is the second time the antilock brake control module has failed and this truck has less than 75k miles on it. The warning lights constantly come on and off and if I needed to brake I am not sure that my antilock brake system would work.
AUDI
Q5 SPORTBACK
(2023) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jul 5, 2023
Incident date: Jun 9, 2023
With the cruise control set to a speed of around 60mph and with no other vehicles around, the truck accelerates (uncommanded) to some value over 71mph. This occurs randomly but is repeatable and has only started occurring within the past week. A definite safety concern.
Incident date: Apr 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2023 Audi Q3. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5 MPH over a speed pump the driver pressed the brake pedal while approaching a stop sign when suddenly the vehicle accelerated forward at a high rate of speed and crashed into a fence and brick wall. During the crash, the driver sustained a fractured nose, head and face lacerations, neck and lumbar pains, and a ri... Read more
Crash
2 injured
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2019) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jul 5, 2023
Incident date: Jun 21, 2023
Im not sure what the malfunction. Is but I’ve been experiencing delayed acceleration. I can be at a stop light and when it turns green I hit the gas and it won’t go until about 4 seconds later. I’m afraid i will get hit in the back or hit when turning because the delay. This also happens at stop signs or when I’m simply pulling out somewhere. When I looked it up on google many Nissan altim... Read more
Incident date: Jun 25, 2023
Ebs light comes on and I lose traction control and cruise control. Happens more often when humid and/or raining . When I use brakes when warning Iight is on brakes lock up -especially in the wet
Incident date: Jan 6, 2018
The car was on enhanced auto pilot and was moving at about 50 mph, the traffic in front of me slowed down. The car failed to give an alert, it failed to slow down and stop. I applied the breaks, but by then the car crashed into the pick-up truck in front of me. The car came to a complete stop after the crash and the computer system in the car completely shut down. The car had to be towed to the g... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jul 3, 2023
The Toyota bz4x have a large crash rate, because the Car Computer System is different from the Driver mind on the Highway. Cars cannot be a Driver or Substitute on Streets for Now. Any Changes of the lines on the Highway need Signals before, If you don't, your Car bz4x can't changed your line. In the work zone, the bz4x have a large probability of crash, because of NO STRAIGHT LINE IN THE WORK ZO... Read more
Incident date: Jul 4, 2023
I entered a large, strip mall parking area and was driving at the vastly reduced speed one would use in such a situation. My intention was to park my car to enter a store in the mall. I turned a corner to park on the side of the building (parking options were limited). As I entered a parking space (moving at the speed one would drive to do so; essentially INCREDIBLY slowly; moving forward into the... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jun 29, 2023
Horn has failed twice. The first time it was taken to the dealership and “fixed” - now it has failed again. The second issue is that the car accelerates on its own, both at a high and low rate of speed. While traveling at approximately 60 mph on multiple occasions, when the engine transitions from the electric motor to the gas engine, it will suddenly rapidly accelerate without any additional ... Read more
CONTINENTAL
TKC80
(9999) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jul 4, 2023
Incident date: Sep 19, 2022
Phantom braking issue- Brakes were automatically applied while driving on open highway with no other vehicles around. Autopilot was in use, speed set to limit of 75 mph.
Incident date: Jul 3, 2023
My 2018 sonata has been stalling out while I’m driving more so when I accelerate.I have a baby that I’m scared to drive with in the car because it does it randomly. It has been happening more & more everyday. I got new parts/starter etc. No codes on dash. Have an appointment next week with Hyundai to take a look.
GOODYEAR
WRANGLER TRAILRUNNER AT
(9999) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jul 3, 2023
Incident date: Jun 5, 2023
Noticed that the cruise control would disengage randomly when activated. I checked the function of the brake lights at night and found that the brake lights would turn themselves on randomly with zero brake input, disengaging the cruise control. In this state, depressing the brake pedal more than around 30-40% would turn the brake lights off, even with the brake pedal fully pressed. Furthermore, w... Read more
Incident date: Jun 19, 2023
My car decelerates and has a problem accelerating and I received a Shift to Park error on my instrument panel which would not allow my car to cut off leading to a drained battery and rolling. When I looked up Shift to Park I found that there has been a recall on Chevy Malibus 2016-2019, but the dealership says there’s no recall on my car.
MERCEDES-BENZ
SPRINTER 4500
(2019) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jul 3, 2023
Incident date: Jun 27, 2023
The contact owned a 2015 Chrysler 300. The contact stated that upon pulling out of the driveway and driving downhill, the engine shut off inadvertently, and the vehicle accelerated unintendedly. The brake pedal was depressed but failed to respond, causing the vehicle to crash into a tree. There was no warning light illuminated. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact sustained a bump and soren... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jun 12, 2023
Cruse control will sometimes disengage and display these error messages: "Active Distance Assist Inoperative" "Active Brake Assist Functions Limited See Operator's Manual" Cruse control kicks out and the power cuts off abruptly. After some variable time the cruise control function will work again. This is an intermittent problem that occurs without warning. When cruise control set to 65-70 m... Read more
Incident date: Jun 22, 2023
Tesla's Autopilot feature regularly experiences "phantom braking". A typical scenario is while traveling on an interstate highway in Idaho, Oregon or Washington state at the speed limit (70 to 80 MPH), the car will suddenly and violently decelerate. The severity can vary between annoying to so extreme that the passenger is thrown forward hard enough to engage the retention mechanism in the seat ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2023
There is a current recall on Chevy impalas with the trans mod control system but my vin number is not apart of the recall but my car is doing everything that recalls states. The recall number is 14V614000. The recall date 10-01-2014. My vehicle is 2014 and I have only had it for 2 years.
Incident date: Jun 28, 2023
My Expedition has adaptive cruise control. I was driving on the interstate at around 65 mph with the adaptive cruise set. I was raining, so I set it to max range. It worked fine for the first few minutes of rain. As cars started to slow down, mine sped up and put me in an extremis situation where I had to forcibly apply the brakes. It was following the car in front of mine fine at around 55 mph, b... Read more
Incident date: Jul 2, 2023
While driving highway speeds in autopilot (cruise control) I experience sudden heavy breading for no reason. No cars around on a flat road. Once while in front of another car which scared me enough not to use it anymore.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
On MANY multiple occasions the vehicle has undergone a transmission/clutch failure. The worst of which was when passing a vehicle on a busy section of interstate and the car effectively put itself in neutral, unable to accelerate, at which point the vehicle behind us had to swerve to not collide with us or cause an accident. After the third time bringing it back to the dealership for repairs, I ... Read more
LAMBORGHINI
URUS
(2022) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jul 1, 2023
Incident date: Apr 18, 2023
During our road trip today on the HWY cruise control was engaged. without warning several times the car decelerated from 75 (speed of traffic) to 50 which could have caused an accident had other cars been following closer. We can no longer trust the cruise control mode as this is a serious safety concern.
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 2500
(2003) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jul 1, 2023
Incident date: Jun 15, 2023
Had cruise control on and “phantom braking” occurred about 10 times on a 22hr trip from California to Oklahoma. Very scary. Car went from 80 to about 40mph in seconds. How is this even possible for Tesla to have these vehicles on the road? I’ve only had the car for 2 weeks.
Incident date: Jun 19, 2023
Full Self Driving suddenly speeds up while waiting at red lights
Crash
Incident date: Jun 5, 2023
2019 Subaru Forester Premier. 6/29/23 All ok while driving for 3 hours on highways. Never had any issues before. I stopped car to take a break, when I restarted the car. All the warning lights lit ou and eye-site was off and could not be turned on. Check engine light on along with many others. Had 30 minutes more to go, stopped a few more times to check on the engine compartment - all ok. Brought... Read more
Incident date: Jun 5, 2023
I just bought my vehicle and I looked it’s been driving funny I took it to the shop they said I need my ptu fixed when I looked it up there is a recall but I don’t understand why my car not involved in the recall when it’s majority jeeps problem right now
Incident date: Jun 29, 2023
My vehicle has intermittent ABS/Traction Control/Service Anti-Lock Brake warnings. Upon trip to the dealership they notified me that I had codes for active wheel speed sensor and a stored Anti-lock Brake Module fault. Upon repair of the Wheel Speed Sensor, I had a reoccurring fault of the same and all ABS/Traction Control/ Service Anti-Lock Brake warnings and the same wheel speed sensor fault. The... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2023
There is a delayed acceleration issues on my brand new car, which have become progressively worse and worse. You press on the gas pedal and it stutters to the point of stalling out. I took it into the dealership to have it evaluated and they told me this is a computer software update that they have no control over. I contacted VW corporate and they told me there is no problem and the customer serv... Read more
Incident date: Apr 5, 2023
On 3 occasions in the past month I have been driving down the road and, without any action from me, cruise control has turned itself on, with a speed set above the speed limit. I noticed it because the car accelerated to reach the target speed (which was an unsafe speed). I immediately braked and turned off the cruise control. The first two times it happened, I was pretty sure I had not acciden... Read more
Incident date: Jan 11, 2023
On June 17 I was driving on the highway in Tupelo,MS with my sister and three children. I was going about 80 mph when the entire engine shut down spontaneously. The dash lights said plug into a power outlet. I was driving in hybrid mode with a half tank of gas. I briefly lost control of the car because it was such a powerful jolt when it shut down. I was able to pull over to shoulder of the highwa... Read more
Incident date: Oct 13, 2022
I have never been in an accident in my entire life, never got pulled over by a cop, and have only ever driven one car prior to the vw. I always have my car in “B” mode. During the crash on 4/02 I was going about 40 to 35 mph coming off the highway tried to slow down more to 25 to go on the roundabout but it wouldn’t, I had the brake collision assistance on, but unfortunately it did not assis... Read more
Crash
1 injured
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2020) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 29, 2023
Incident date: Sep 15, 2022
PHANTOM BRAKING issue at highway speeds with autopilot engaged. The car will harshly start braking suddenly on highway to a near complete stop.
Incident date: Jun 29, 2023
I was driving on CT Route 2 using super cruise. We came upon a construction zone and the bar on the steering wheel changed from green to red. The car came to a complete stop in the middle of the highway and didn't respond to the accelerator pedal. This is a frightening situation on a super highway. I tried pressing the buttons that turn on and off the cruise control, super cruise, etc. with no ef... Read more
Incident date: May 8, 2023
While driving at highway speeds with the cruise control engaged we have experienced several ghost braking events. Fortunately no other cars have been behind us.
Incident date: Jun 21, 2023
Starting 6 months ago air bag light is on constantly. Horn stopped working, speed control doesn't work. The whole steering wheel and buttons with horn doesn't work.
Incident date: Jun 28, 2023
The transmission locked up while driving such that we came to a stop in traffic with our newborn and toddler in the back seat and were required to call 9-1-1 because the vehicle was stuck in a gear and would not move while we were in the middle of a road in traffic. The problem has been confirmed by a dealer that the transmission blew due to metal getting into the transmission from failure of tran... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2022
The contact owned a 2020 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while pulling into the driveway and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle failed to respond, accelerated unintendedly, broke through the garage door, and crashed into the vehicle parked inside the garage. The other vehicle moved away and damaged the garage. There was no warning light illuminated. The air bags did not deploy. The contact... Read more
Crash
2 injured
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2023) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 29, 2023
Incident date: Jun 27, 2023
Intermittent braking while in cruise control for no reason. Nothing in the way, no cars around. Reduces speeds from 10 t0 50 miles per hour. At time it reduces speeds almost to a dead stop. If another car was behind us, could cause a serious crash. Happens at random times.
Incident date: Jun 29, 2023
I was driving from indio,ca to Orinda,ca on interstate 10-210-5 north and the vehicle had at least 6 phantom braking events when the car was in cruise control and one event the auto pilot was on. There was clearly nothing front of me. This is so dangerous and there will be a bad accident if it isn’t fixed. Please have Tesla fix this.
Incident date: Jun 27, 2023
ABS light comes on as well as loss of traction control and hill assist. Steering is more difficult, and the speed ohmmeter will not work. This is the second time this has happen. First time mechanic replaced bad speed sensor on drivers' side front wheel and everything went back to normal it only had around 6K miles on it. Now it has around 7.5K on it and it has happen again. Have not taken it in f... Read more
LAND ROVER
RANGE ROVER
(2017) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jun 29, 2023
Incident date: Feb 16, 2023
I was on the freeway going about 75mph when all of a sudden it lost acceleration I couldn't get it to go more to 35 or 40 mph in and gear. Pulled to the side and let it sit for like 15 mins and it started up normal drove fine for a little bit. Then I went the back way home and didn't go over 50mph and it was fine got home and parked. Next morning went to leave and like 5 miles down the road only d... Read more
Incident date: May 17, 2023
2012 Tundra faced a lot of problems like air injection pump failures, sticking of secondary air pumps, knock, along with other issues like speed control, engine cooling, and throttle failure. At present, it has been slapped with 136 complaints, 4 recalls, and 1 investigation as recorded on NHTSA site.Sep 2, 2022
Incident date: Jun 22, 2023
I'm getting wheel sensor errors and the vehicle goes into limp mode and disables the cruise control, even after replacing the sensors. Very frustrated with this dangerous situation!
Incident date: Apr 17, 2023
A few months ago, car started alarming randomly. Upon entering vehicle all lights on dashboard were going on and off, screen was going through each system followed by "problem" and repeated clicking heard in steering column and captured on video for 1 minute. This continued for several days but car drove okay. Alarming bouts came and went for a few days. I researched and found that it was probabl... Read more
Incident date: Jun 27, 2023
I was sitting at the bank drive through about to leave when out of nowhere I got a warning sign on my dashboard that said service stabilitrak my engine light starts flashing and my stabilizer light came on. My suv acted like it lost power and I had problems getting it to go it was like my gas petal was stuck for a second. When the car shifted it self it started jerking.
Incident date: Jun 27, 2023
Vehicle started not going into gear then all a sudden takes off unexpectedly super fast. It almost caused me hitting a person walking.
Incident date: Jun 27, 2023
on July 19,2022, when I was driving on driveway, at less than 5 miles, I tried to stop to drop my wife and applied brake. Instead of brake, due to computer mal function, it accelerated & hit the garage door, broke the garage door, door fell on the car parked in the garage, damaged that car,and tesla automatically reversed. while reversing brake wasn't working too so I tried to put in drive & brake... Read more
Crash
Fire
Incident date: Jan 29, 2023
When driving my 2016 Ford Fusion, the Transmission Not In Park light comes on without any other warnings. This is unsafe because it stops accelerating. Most times I'm on the freeway. This is a safety issue that has been happening for about 2 years now. The dealerships tell me that they can't fix it because the safety issue does not occur when they have the vehicle and cant read any codes. One F... Read more
Incident date: Jun 14, 2023
I just had the software update for this recall and it did not fix the problem.
Incident date: Jun 20, 2023
The vehicle shudders and the transmission shifts up and down and has a high squeal when driving. The transmission does this cold and at operating temperature.
Incident date: Jun 20, 2023
The RPMs in my Jeep Patriot will randomly drop to zero and the car does not accelerate when you press the gas pedal. After a period of time the RPMs will jump back up and the car will start working properly again. The car never turns off and the engine is fully running. No warning lights or codes are activated when this happens. This has happened to me in the middle of traffic as well as on the op... Read more