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 15, 2022
FOR THE LAST 10000 MILES OF THE TOTAL 53K ON THE TRUCK, THE ABS AND ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL LIGHTS TURN ON INTERMITTENTLY AND THE WARNING CHIME SOUNDS. THIS SOMETIMES CONTINUES FOR 1 MILE, SOMETIMES FOR 20 MILES. SOMETIMES IT WILL NOT HAPPEN FOR 50 MILES. IT APPEARS TO HAPPEN MOSTLY ON ROUGH HIGHWAYS OR CITY ROADS. HAPPENS AT 3 MPH AND AT 75 MPH. WITH ABS AND ESC DISCONNECTED IT IS EXTREMELY ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 13, 2023
The contact owns a 2023 Kia Telluride. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle hesitated while responding. The dealer and the manufacturer were not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 500.
Incident date: Aug 8, 2022
For the past couple of years my 2008 Nissan Armada has been giving me issues with the gas gauge not reading accurately, it has progressed over time. It started out happening around a quarter of a tank with anywhere from 25 to 60 miles to empty according to the reading on the screen display. There has been no warning of running out of gas, it just happens while driving, the vehicle starts to shut... Read more
Incident date: Sep 24, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Malibu. The vehicle was previously serviced under NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V252000 (Electrical System, Exterior Lighting, Vehicle Speed Control, Electronic Stability Control). The contact stated that on various occasions while driving at various speeds, the traction control and power steering disengaged independently as the "Reduced Engine Power" warning message w... Read more
Incident date: Jan 10, 2023
During normal operation vehicle suddenly engages braking system l. This has nearly caused 2 accidents. Tesla insists there is no fault with the car.
Incident date: Oct 21, 2022
At about 75,000 miles, the BRAKE, ABS and Traction Control lights on my dash came on intermittently. Shortly thereafter, they said on indefinitely. I have had diagnostics run and the shop confirmed that the Hydraulic Control Unit (HCU) and/or ABS Control Module has failed. I was told by the Dodge dealership that this is a known issue with Ram trucks of this generation and they have replaced co... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2022
Hello, me again! So I downloaded the newest software update and in less than 24 hours and less than 1 hour of using 'Full Self Driving' and 'Auto Pilot' before the car tried to kill me and other people as usual. Same road I've been reporting for months 429 Eastbound and Westbound (Sanford FL) the car will confuse 429 with SR46 (1,000ft north) and when it gets to any of the overpasses with round-a-... Read more
Incident date: Sep 11, 2020
In 2014, I ordered this Model S P85D, received it on 12/20/2014, I also purchased a 4-year extended service plan. Starting from March 2017, it started to encounter random yet serious problems. The car would randomly produce critical errors, displaying several types of error messages, while losing most of its driving power; the driver would have to perform emergency pullovers onto the road shou... Read more
Incident date: Mar 20, 2023
Illuminated wrench light followed by malfunctioning speedometer, cruise control, & turn signal cancellation. Delayed and no gear shifting including an unexpected transmission downshift to 1st gear occurring at 40 mph: rear wheels locked up, engine revved to redline, had to put hazard flashers on and shut engine down in heavy moving traffic. Finally Check Engine/Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL); ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 20, 2023
Tesla model y 2023 phantom braked on the intestate. The emergency braking system and adaptive cruise are not correct. I almost got hit because my tesla auto pilot braked on the interstate for no reason.
KIA
SORENTO HYBRID
(2023) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Mar 20, 2023
Incident date: Jan 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2021 GMC Yukon. The contact stated while stopped at a traffic signal, the engine started revving without the accelerator pedal being depressed. The contact stated that the vehicle occasionally independently accelerated. The contact state that the failure also occurred while the vehicle was in park(P). The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had not taken... Read more
Incident date: Feb 13, 2023
When stopped at a light the engine suddenly accelerated forcing a hard braking action to prevent an accident. after 2-3 seconds it went to idle still in gear. This has happened 3 times the third time 2 witnesses said that it was not caused by braking with their foot on the accelerator. In reviewing the three episodes I noted that the air-conditioned switch was engaged all three times when this u... Read more
Incident date: Dec 6, 2020
This car does not have an accurate speedometer. The analog dial only marks the MPH number every 20 miles (eg numbers shown for 20 / 40 / 60. But not for 10 / 30 / 50). So impossible to easily or safely see the speed you are going. There is no digital speedometer showing the MPH number.
Incident date: Mar 18, 2023
I leased my 2023 Hyundai Tucson from your Authorized Dealership South Shore Hyundai in NY March 18,2003. I received the vehicle with 34 miles on the digital Odometer at approximately 1750 eastern standard time. At approximately 2030 eastern standard time with the vehicle at 62 mile on the digital Odometer. I was Driving with my family, which is made up of my wife, daughter 22yrs old and son 14 yea... Read more
Incident date: Mar 17, 2023
1) Brake Anti-Lock Control Unit (Three times. (9/17/19 (5000 miles), 11/12/21 (21,527 Miles), 3/20/23, 33,000 miles). 2) Traction Control fails, Anti-Lock Brake System fails, and Speed control if engaged kicks off! All which could lead to ineffective braking, loss of control and inadvertent speed control disengagement. 3) Yes. Cameron JCDR dealership, Cameron, Texas, Mac Haik JC... Read more
Incident date: Mar 17, 2023
F150 will not shift out of gears. Example, stays in 1st gear, regardless of speed. Ford dealer said it was a "Molded Leadframe" transmission problem at first, then decided to "reprogram" the computer to eliminate the shifting problem. Problem returned a few weeks later. Now shifts immediately into 7th gear (instead of 1st) and stays in that gear only. Ford dealer is not able to acquire the "molded... Read more
Incident date: Mar 13, 2023
I was driving on the highway ~57mph and the dash flashed warnings "Service Charging Station", and then I lost control of the accelerator pedal. It seems like the engine stalled, and I could no longer use the gas pedal. I coasted off the highway, then restarted the engine by turning it off/on. Once it was back on, I continued to drive, and I experienced the same exact thing. This is the 3rd time I'... Read more
Incident date: Mar 13, 2023
I went to Autoworx on February 9, 2023 to purchase a 2009 Nissan Altima. The vehicle was very nice, looked good, no warning lights or anything. Drove great for about a week or 2. Then the car started breaking without me pressing the breaks. So I returned the car to Autoworx to have them check it out. The mechanic was assuring that the problem had been taking care of. After making another large pay... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
JETTA
(2019) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Mar 19, 2023
Incident date: Mar 1, 2023
While driving, the following warning will appear “Starter system faulty! Service vehicle.” The instrument panel will then shut down entirely, and brake lights, headlights, and blinkers will not work. This can happen anywhere—on the highway traveling at 70 mph at night, for example. When the vehicle is pulled over and turned off, it will restart as normal—but while driving it might shut d... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2016) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Mar 19, 2023
Incident date: Mar 18, 2023
ON MARCH 18, 2023 WE WERE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY 80 FROM Winnemucca NV TO FERNLEY NV. At 3pm and about 3:10pm the car suddenly decelerated from ~82mph to ~50mph. The road ahead was clear of obsticles. Luckly there were no cars following close behind us, if there had been the unnecessary and unexpected deceleration could have been dangerous.
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2016) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Mar 19, 2023
Incident date: Jul 7, 2022
This car is unsafe. 70K+ purchase price with the inability to use basic cruise control, must-less the 10K FSD purchase that is USELESS. The phantom braking is constant while trying to use the basic cruise control, auto-pilot/FSD. Driving this car makes me a nervous wreck and I am beginning to HATE it and regret my purchase. I am seriously concerned for the safety of myself and other Tesla owne... Read more
Incident date: Jan 30, 2020
The accelerator pedal snapped off without any warning while driving on the interstate attempting to pass a vehicle. As I pressed the accelerator pedal, all resistance in the pedal disappeared and vehicles regenerative braking immediately engaged despite my efforts to maintain a safe speed on the interstate. Due to the regenerative braking and the lack of an accelerator pedal, I quickly found mys... Read more
ALFA ROMEO
GIULIA
(2018) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Mar 19, 2023
Incident date: Jan 25, 2023
Car speed up on it on, and would not stop ,tried to push brake pad car still didn't stop car cash into another car air bag catch on fire shot some kind of metal piece in my leg and put a hole in my leg and metal pieces hit my face and burn it had to go to hospital with injuries due to this
Crash
Fire
1 injured
Incident date: Mar 18, 2021
When driving the car will just shut itself down. We took the car to a Ford dealership in Sterling Colorado in October of 2021 and was told that there was a recall on the electronic control module, transmission control module and that due to Covid it would take up to 8 months for the part to come in. When we contacted the dealership at the end of the 8 month wait they stated that they couldn’t re... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ID.4
(2021) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Mar 18, 2023
Incident date: Mar 3, 2023
My vehicle was in Travel Assist mode (i.e. Adaptive Cruise Control) traveling at around 65 MPH. A vehicle has cut into my lane and I felt that the car wouldn't slow quick enough to avoid a collision. I have applied breaks effectively taking the vehicle into my control and taking the vehicle off Travel Assist mode. When driver takes over by applying the breaks in this scenario, irrespective of how ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 18, 2023
When driving the new 2023 vehicle with 956 miles we got a lane keep malfunction dialogue box pop up on digital instrument cluster. At the same time the power steering ceased to work or the lane keep fought to keep it centered even when trying to make maneuvers to stay in lane of traffic, navigate turns or avoid other vehicle. It endangered the lives of my wife, 3 young daughters and lives of other... Read more
HYUNDAI
SANTA FE SPORT
(2018) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Mar 18, 2023
Incident date: Mar 3, 2023
Within the last few weeks my 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport SUV has been experiencing few noticeable issues. 1st my vehicle doesn’t want to start when I turn the key, I have to open the door close it then try again and it will turn over to start. 2nd recently driving on the highway my vehicle slowed all the way down and started jerking like it wanted to cut off. I would push my accelerator down as ... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2015) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Mar 18, 2023
Incident date: Mar 4, 2023
Car put on brakes unexpectedly during use of adaptive cruise control (autopilot). This phantom braking happens often at highway speed. Bug reports have been sent from vehicle to Tesla
Incident date: Jan 10, 2023
Speed sensor Is faulty on infiniti q50...had it replaced 9/28/22 for 3700.00 now on 3/03/23 I was told I need to replace the transmission for 7300.00 I research speed sensor it seem 2014 to 2015 infiniti q50 are having issues with speed sensor. I have read multiple complaints about this issue. It should be a recall on the speed sensor. Infiniti/Nissan know it I will never purchase a another Inf... Read more
Incident date: Mar 17, 2023
All lights on dash light up while driving or in park, no power steering, all displays flickering, can not move vehicle. While in park, can not engage shifter, if I turn off vehicle while it’s on the “fritz”, vehicle might not start for some time (15-40 minutes), this has been on going since 11/22, three visits to dealership, two at an independent shop. Dealership claimed the couldn’t repli... Read more
Incident date: Mar 7, 2023
The contact owned a 2014 BMW X3. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 35 MPH, she lost control of the steering wheel, the vehicle suddenly jerked to the left, and she crashed into a cement light pole. The Chassis Stabilization warning light was illuminated intermittently. The driver's side air bag had deployed. The contact stated that she hit her head on the steering wheel but ha... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Feb 26, 2023
Doing speed limit of 70 lost power for no reason had 3 mo left 500 minutes from home on vacation towed home thank God was able to get off the free way .Tried getting Kia to fix said since it was 3 .3 engine not 4 cylinder the couldn't fix it.same problem metal in oil and on dip stick see now 2017 3.3 same problem someone going to get hurt or worse now I need a lawyer.left no car and disabled
Incident date: Jan 6, 2023
I was going to work on 12/15/2022. There was a stop sign and I needed to take a right turn in order to join the freeway-10 east highway to head on to work. it was about 6: 40 am approximate time. There were too many cars ahead of me at the stop sign. My brakes failed to hold on while I waited for my turn. There were at least 3-4 cars ahead of me. Therefore I did not want to hurt anyone or any oth... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jun 21, 2021
Was driving vehicle on a rock road, when rounding a slight curve in the road, the antilock brake system light and the traction control lights both illuminated at the same time. The rear end of the truck began to slide due to having light pressure on the brakes and I was pulling my fifth wheel camper. Fortunately there were no injuries or damage to the truck or the camper. I washed off the mud when... Read more
Incident date: Nov 19, 2022
The problem is with the whole DEF System in the truck. for the last 6 months I can't go a week or less without getting some kind of code. Every time it effects the electronic throttle control and the truck goes into limp mode, I can be going 70 mph and it drops down to 30-40 mph no matter where I am at. I have almost been rear ended several times. I fix that code and a week later another code pops... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2021) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Mar 17, 2023
Incident date: Mar 17, 2023
Abs braking system has been flashing and traction control light flashing. My left front wheel started grinding and smoking out of the blue when driving today. No problems with brakes before that. Cruise control doesn’t work. And four wheel drive service light is flashing again!! The four wheel drive sensor was replaced once already a couple years ago.
Incident date: Mar 1, 2023
The car now has come to an emergency stop twice on two separate occasion's here in Columbia and in Atlanta while I am attempting to cross an intersection or leaving a median lane. The cars safety features stop working at random times and throw several warning signs. Car has lost power while attempting to drive forward and rolls back with an initiates rear view camera. I have taken my vehicle to th... Read more
Incident date: Aug 18, 2022
The contact owns a 2012 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500. The contact stated that on various occasions after coming to a stop at a traffic signal, the vehicle was stalling and shaking while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that the engine revved loudly before accelerating. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer on various occasions; however, the ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 17, 2023
The airbag light is on, indicating that the airbox is not operating and will not go off in case of an accident. All steering wheel controls also don't work so it's impossible to adjust settings using the steering wheel or to enter cruise control at all. Previous years of this same vehicle had clock spring recalls and this appears to be the same problem so I wonder if the other recalls should be ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 16, 2023
I have dash lights going on and off for the ABS and traction control. This is very intermitted. On two occasions I have experienced times where I had to slam on the brakes to avoid an accident. Both times the ABS failed to work causing me to come to near collision with another vehicle. One of the times this caused me to go off into a ditch. This was with slick roads and snow covered in areas. Have... Read more
Incident date: Feb 18, 2023
There's a recall on the display monitor the screen will go black sometimes come back on sometimes never come back on there was a update to fix the issue if the update doesn't work they will have to change the display module or computer that controls it when I brought it to the dealer they want to charge me to replace the display or computer , I called the manufacturer and they refused to fix the r... Read more
Incident date: Feb 28, 2023
2018 Ram 2500 6.7L Cummins. While driving, at any speed, “Service ABS” and/or “Service Electronic Braking System” flashes rapidly and intermittently on gauge cluster display. During this, the “Traction Control Fail” icon displays. Additionally, the cruise control will automatically disengage (creating a safety issue through increased risk of being rear ended while at highway speeds) an... Read more
Incident date: Mar 12, 2023
2022 RAM 3500 6.7L H/O AISIN transmission failed going down the road. Very bad
Incident date: Jan 2, 2023
The vehicle is very delayed shifting and will slow down without pushing the breaks
Incident date: Mar 11, 2023
Hello dear….I suffer from a problem when I’m driving my truck and it’s as follows: when the gear is on D and my truck stopped ,and I stomp the gas pedal with a little force my truck keep going I can’t stopped for 40 seconds after which return to the normal driving state,this situation happened to me 5 times,I don’t know if the speed control cable can interfere with the speed control serv... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Mar 8, 2023
On 3/8/23 I was attempting to turn around on a residential street. I put my car in reverse and started turning steering wheel to the right when suddenly there was a loud pop and my steering wheel tighted up and I could barely turn it. IThen when I put in drive it stated rattling everywhere. I almost hit another car trying to turn in a drive cause couldn't turn. With in an hour the check engine pow... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Mar 1, 2023
Service Anti-lock brake and Service electronic braking errors come up on screen at random, sometimes the lights will stay one and cruise control is disabled. While braking they seem to shudder. Not safe for a Heavy duty truck that is able to tow 15k lbs.
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
For the past several months my car will simply stop accelerating while I am driving down the road. I can put my foot on the gas, and it will not accelerate. The RPM's and speed go down and I must pull over to the side of the road quickly and turn the engine off, wait 5 minutes or so and try again. Sometimes I must wait longer before it will go back in gear and accelerate. It has been very unsafe w... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2023
AFTER POGRAM THE COMPUTER MY TCM STAR FAILED..MI TRASMICION GEAR SHIFT STOCK SO DANGER SITUATION
FORD
BRONCO SPORT
(2021) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Mar 15, 2023
Incident date: Nov 18, 2022
Sometimes upon depressing the accelerator the engine does not respond. The car does not move in a traffic situation. Putting the car in park, shutting it down and restarting makes it go away for a while. Getting on and off the highway is especially dangerous. This has happened intermittently for the past 1-1/2 years. The dealer says that they cannot reproduce the problem. So, they cannot repair it... Read more