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
JEEP
GRAND WAGONEER
(2022) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Feb 25, 2023
Incident date: Dec 21, 2022
I was driving with the Autopilot on, traveling about 65 mph on the freeway when the automatic emergency braking system kicked in for no reason. There was absolutely nothing in front of the car when it aggressively braked, very suddenly. I was very lucky no one was behind me. I have not reported this directly to Tesla, no one has inspected or confirmed this event.
VOLKSWAGEN
ID.4
(2023) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Feb 25, 2023
Incident date: Dec 27, 2022
On February 24, 2023, my 2019 Hyundai Veloster Turbo (~36K miles) would not accelerate and began losing power while driving. Problem seemed to be worse while driving uphill. At one point, car would also not go into reverse. Turning car off and then on seemed to resolve the issue with reverse. Similar issue occurred in early November 2022. Local Hyundai service center performed maintenance und... Read more
Incident date: Feb 18, 2023
When we started vehicle, a wide array of systems shut down including cruise, Eye Sight, lane detection, auto high bean, adaptive light cornering - essentially anything “automated” or assisted - along with the heating. The car ran at a higher RPM at idle - 2000 vs a usual 700-800 - and rough shifted at speed. Again, as if the automatic transmission lost its sync. The water temp gauge was also o... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
Twice I was interstate speed driving and lost speed the first time I thought it was the fuel system. The car was towed to the dealership and after they " checked it out" , they told me all they found was a weak battery. The second time was a few days ago but this time, I was revving the engine as I was trying to get my car off the interstate. Thank goodness there was very little traffic. This t... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2022
I had a number of systems suddenly cut out on me. The dealership thinks it was a fuse or fuses that went bad. They affected the car's following systems: * Primary Instrument Cluster (Left side) * Forward Collision Avoidance-Assist w/Car, Pedestrian and Cyclist Detection * Advanced Collision Avoidance (Auto-breaking) * Lane Following Assist * Lane Keeping Assist * Driver Attention Warning w/ Leadi... Read more
Incident date: May 11, 2022
The cars battery and brake lights came on while driving and then after about 10 mins my gas pedal stopped working and I almost got in a really bad car accident. If i rev the car over 3000 rpms the lights go out. So while i was cruising i had to shift to natural and rev the car and shift back to drive when i needed to go faster. I brought the car to the mechanic got a new alternator and battery.... Read more
Incident date: Feb 18, 2023
My car has approximately 14,000 miles on it and was purchased brand new. It still has 1,000 miles to go before the next servicing. Saturday I when driving approximately 40 miles an hour, the engine suddenly cut off and the car stopped in the middle of the road. I was able to start the car and drive for approximately 15 minutes before it slowed to 3mph and shut off again. I called the dealershi... Read more
FORD
TRANSIT CONNECT
(2016) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Feb 24, 2023
Incident date: Jan 24, 2023
My vehicle has 45347 miles. It started throwing "Service Electronic Braking system " and "Service Antilock Brake system" messages intermittently. While driving on highway, truck would abruptly throw these messages and turn off ABS, EBS and also cruise control. It appears to be a very common safety issue with 2018 RAM 2500. I took my vehicle to the dealer but he couldn't read the codes because t... Read more
Incident date: Feb 23, 2023
My car would not accelerate when the gas pedal was pushed. It was in snow mode and we had to switch modes to make it go. My wipers also stopped working when snow and ice collected at the base. We had to remove all of the snow and ice before they would work. It was actively snowing and this was a a real safety issue.
Incident date: Sep 30, 2019
I bought this vehicle in Sept 2019 drove off the lot with it brand new and the headlights and whole dash lights went out when I hit a bump. For the next two years, the car kept having electrical problems when it rained or the vehicle was washed but the Virginia dealership could never duplicate the problem. I moved to Indiana where these problems continued. Finally, an Indianapolis dealer discov... Read more
Incident date: Feb 23, 2023
What component or system failed or malfunction and is it available for inspection upon request. The CVT failsafe high fluid temperature protection mode enacted while I was driving on the highway at speeds of 65 to 70 mph going with the flow of traffic it is not available for inspection upon request because this issue only occurs while you're driving down the highway. How was your safety or the saf... Read more
Incident date: Feb 23, 2023
My 2013 Impala Ltz Service Traction Control, Service Stabilitrack, Engine power reduced problem lights came on the dash. Almost had an accident I want to know why the 2013 model of impala has not had any recalls as the 2010 models with same issues..... My vehicle has the same major issue and need to be addressed & Recalled...... The 2013 Chevrolet impala LTZ Need to be Recalled to fix this issue f... Read more
Incident date: Nov 25, 2022
Driving on highway with cruise control activated. No traffic around. Experienced phantom braking taking me from about 80mph to 65mph before I was able to react. Had this happened in traffic there is a good chance i would have been rear ended. No notifications or emergency lights appeared on my dash.
Incident date: Dec 5, 2022
Driving on the highway, when the car lights, radio, air conditioner, steering wheel, speed all goes out. The car wouldn’t crank back up and theft system keep coming on.
Incident date: Feb 17, 2023
I am getting a P0299 code truck and according to research, this is something to do with the Turbo. It is causing my truck to lose power while driving. I have had it parked since then.
Incident date: Jan 9, 2023
We have a 2019 motorhome on a 2018 Mercedes Sprinter chassis. We are concerned about the wheel speed sensor failing. Three out of 4 sensors have already failed and been replaced on ours and Mercedes will not replace the 4th sensor until it fails. When this sensor fails it affects the ABS brakes and the braking distance is increased which can cause an accident. The cruise control is also affected a... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 1500
(2021) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Feb 23, 2023
Incident date: Feb 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2011 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while pulling into a parking space the vehicle suddenly experienced unintended acceleration and accelerated forward crashing into a parked van. During the incident, the airbags did not deploy. No injuries were reported and no police report was taken. the vehicle was later towed to a collision center and repaired. The cause of the failure... Read more
Crash
MERCEDES-BENZ
GLE 350
(2022) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Feb 23, 2023
Incident date: Nov 29, 2022
2018 Chevy Malibu over 5 times this happens since we bought it brand new it has "Reduced Engine Power" error come on and the car can't accelerate over 30 miles per hour. This is a continued problem all the time and very dangerous when we are on the tollway that has a 70-mph speed limit, and you can't get the car to go over 30 mph. This same problem happens on our 2017 Chevy Malibu that we bought b... Read more
Incident date: Feb 23, 2023
2017 Chevy Malibu over 15 times this happens since we owned buying it brand new it has "Reduced Engine Power" error come on and the car can't accelerate over 30 miles per hour. This is a continued problem all the time and very dangerous when we are on the tollway that has a 70-mph speed limit, and you can't get the car to over 30 mph. This same problem happens on our 2018 Chevy Malibu over 5 times... Read more
Incident date: Feb 22, 2023
Only 67867 miles and the transmision is not working . I only drive short distances. Allwise have a problem. Since I buy the car. I never complain because I am very busy. But. know the car stop complete
Incident date: Apr 14, 2020
This is the 5th complaint I have called into JEEP directly as well as 2 different dealerships. My car is shutting down randomly on the highway. I was notified that it was "fixed" with a software update. This is a current recall that the dealership has said was "fixed". However they refuse to call a star tech or a field tech which JEEP service said was required at this point. I have tried to have ... Read more
CHRYSLER
TOWN AND COUNTRY
(2016) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Feb 21, 2023
Incident date: Feb 17, 2023
While attempting to park the car in a parking lot, the car did not respond to the release of the accelerator or the press of the brake but just continued. Car continued to jump the curb and run into a concrete wall without slowing or stopping. No auto functions were enabled on the car. Car was attempting to park in the spot on the right side of the photo but just continued on and ran into the sto... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Feb 20, 2023
Blindspot monitoring, emissions system problem, transmission system problem all come on at the same time when vehicle is motion. Unable to manually shift if needed. A lot of vans had recall, however ours is not on the recall list, but we highly believe it should be due to safety concerns due to transmission failure.
Incident date: Jan 25, 2023
The component that needed replacement was the PTU (Power Transfer Unit). My Service 4WD drive light began going on so I brought it to my mechanic who told me there was a recall associated with this diagnostic code and to bring it to Jeep dealership. I then brought to dealership, was charged $160.00 and told that the recall was not for my particular VIN number and the cost of the repair was $3,00... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2022
After car had leaking valve cover gaskets replaced the TCS and BRAKE indicator lights illuminated. Couldn’t reset. All fuses and light bulbs were good. E-brake limit switch OK, brake pedal switch ok but had small crack so REPLACED. TCS, BRAKE light went off then returned within 3 mins now with ( ! ) indicator light illuminated. Made appt with Honda Dealer however 2 days before appt vehicle lost ... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Feb 21, 2023
Throttle accelerates on its own when cold. This especially happens when vehicle has not fully warmed up in weather below freezing. I will let off the throttle and vehicle will continue to accelerate for several seconds before seemingly getting unstuck. There is no issue with throttle cable, and throttle body has been cleaned since the onset, which changed nothing.
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2013) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Feb 21, 2023
Incident date: Feb 14, 2023
ABS / HCU System Failed. My safety was directly impacted. I was driving 70MPH on the expressway and had a SUDDEN deceleration, which nearly caused a rear-impact collision. Various warnings and lights on the dash lit up with "Service Electronic Braking System". When the ABS / HCU system has an issue, it deactivates the cruise control, ABS System, traction control, and parking detection system. ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
Auto safety systems compromised with illumination of check engine light and engine temp warning light. Subaru dealership service department determined problem with Thermo Control Valve. Engine was not overheating as the vehicle was being driven in winter time, February in Alaska. Only indication of problem was indicator lights and reduced heat from cabin heat system. Vehicle went into "limp" mode ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 13, 2023
Twice now when driving on the highway using cruise control my vehicle has unexpectedly applied the brake hard for no apparent reason. There were not vehicles ahead of me that were stopping/slowing. The warning "brake" comes across the dashboard. This potentially could cause a safety issue if someone were to rear-end me when the brakes were applied suddenly and hard. I am in the process of contact... Read more
Incident date: Feb 15, 2023
We’ve been leasing a Volkswagen EV car ID4. And after a recent software update, we got problems as in the following. Intermittently when coming to stop, The vehicle is difficult to stop and Pedal pressure seems low. When we experience concern, the accelerator does not seem to react in the same way. As a result, the car failed to stop at short of stop line. Volkswagen sent us a recall notice of... Read more
CHRYSLER
PACIFICA PLUG-IN HYBRID
(2022) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Feb 20, 2023
Incident date: Feb 17, 2023
While driving on the freeway at 60-70 mph, in 20 degree weather at night, the engine suddenly, and without warning, stopped. A dash error message showed instructions to put the car in park and push the start / run button. The van was still traveling at a high rate of speed while the message stayed up and the van had to be carefully maneuvered through traffic, across multiple lanes to the next exit... Read more
Incident date: Feb 18, 2023
While driving with cruise control enabled, the cruise control suddenly disengaged and became inoperative, and the following warning lights (icons) and warning messages displayed on dashboard: > “Check Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist System” warning message > Master warning mode light > ABS warning light > Forward collision assist warning light > Electronic stability control indicator ligh... Read more
Incident date: Jan 21, 2023
While traveling down the interstate at the posted speed limit of 70 MPH in the fast lane, I experienced the vehicle immediately hesitating without pressing the brake and a loud grinding noise in the front drivers side and caused me to put on my brakes, change lanes and drive off to the side of the road. The grinding stopped and then it happened again about 20 more miles down the road. I was able... Read more
Incident date: Feb 20, 2023
The car continuously is throwing a code P2138 and a warning comes up on dash saying reduced engine power. This happened 6 times to me yesterday wherein I was traveling on 1 lane winding roads in my neighborhood so the speed drops from wherever it is down to 10mph instantly. On 1 lane roads in the area where I reside there’s no safe place to pull over. This is extremely dangerous and a massive sa... Read more
Incident date: Feb 15, 2023
On Feb. 18, 2023 when the Tesla model 3 was being driven on I-66E in a regular lane (55mph speed limit) parallel to an I-66 express lane (posted limit of 70 mph) going in the same direction, the car display showed the higher posted speed limit of the express lane. As a result, in assisted cruise control mode, the car would speed up more than 15 mph faster than the permitted speed for the non-expr... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2018) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Feb 19, 2023
Incident date: Feb 17, 2023
In auto pilot mode , my Tesla suddenly applied emergency brake and brought my model y from 65 to 10 min in 287 Highway. Luckily they was no car or truck behind me. No car in front of me also.
Incident date: Feb 18, 2023
As the vehicle accelerates it experiences a loss of power randomly at both low speeds and high speeds (like it randomly shifted into neutral) then after letting off the accelerator the vehicles clunks into gear. I experienced this at roughly 60k miles in both 2WD and less frequently in 4WD. It’s absolutely a safety hazard while driving on the roads.
Incident date: Sep 30, 2021
my car has stalled multiple times while in use, on the highway. VERY SCARRY!
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
During rush hour traffic on Highway 101 Southbound near Redwood City, I experienced an incident while utilizing AutoPilot and AutoSteer. Despite being in stop-and-go traffic, the vehicle did not respond to the car in front which suddenly came to a complete stop. Neither the Automatic Emergency Braking system nor warning sounds, which has been known to activate erroneously, were triggered. As a res... Read more
Crash
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2018) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Feb 18, 2023
Incident date: Feb 18, 2023
All the lights in the dashboard are on always, also the check engine light as well, and we found a recall issued for these cars campaign 18-01-026, tucson vacuum pump sealant application/ cap replacement (service campaign T3C) date September 2018
Incident date: Feb 6, 2023
Is available gas pedal stuck open hitting the brake wouldn't stop it didn't stop till impact with another vehicle doing 1to5 miles an hour in parking lot haven't taken in yet can't afford it Dec 27 day of accident was first time 2nd owner talked to first owner said brake recall is the one he fixed didn't know about the gas pedal recall
Crash
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
This alert is about "phantom braking", which is well known to Tesla owners, and the subject of much online discussion among owners who seem to all experience this and are furious that it continues to exist. Here's what happens, very, very often yet: with adaptive cruise control engaged (with or without "autopilot", ie 'autosteer' also engaged), the brakes are applied suddenly without any need for... Read more
Incident date: Feb 15, 2023
Steering failed rack and pinion
Incident date: Feb 17, 2023
I was in 2 accidents with this car within a span of less than a year all with the same problem. I had not been in any accident over 40 plus years until this car. First incident was at a drive through when creeping up to the next window the car took off hyperaccelerating. I was able to avoid the truck in front of me from back ending her however scraped her tailpipe causing extensive damage to my c... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Feb 17, 2023
The truck’s push button start system was turned on to start the car, the keys were removed from inside the vehicle cabin but the truck was still able to be driven without the keys being inside. I started the truck to warm it up, then went inside my home, when I had to leave I changed my coat and forgot the truck keys in my other coat. I got in the truck and was able to drive as if I had the key... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2022
I am writing to report a serious issue that occurred while my wife and two of my children were driving my Tesla Model 3 with VIN number [XXX] on Highway 99 North on February 14, 2023, at approximately 6pm. While driving on the highway, the Model 3 suddenly shut down and died. The vehicle completely lost power and they were unable to restart it. Despite trying all the resets given by Tesla roadsi... Read more
Incident date: Feb 15, 2023
The Service ABS light come on, around 32,390 miles just out of the 3 year/36,000 mile warranty! The cruse control no longer works! The traction control light is on with the ABS light! Beeps on and off and on and on very annoying!!! Had the truck scanned by my local Mechanic. ANTILOCK BRAKES C0020-01 ABS PUMP MOTOR CONTROL-GENERAL ELECTRIC FAILURE-STORED. The truck is available upon request.
Incident date: Feb 17, 2023
Dashboard or driver screen suddenly goes black while driving (and at other times will freeze on a certain speed, despite slowing down, or breaking.) At this point, driver does not know what speed he, or she is traveling at, nor what gear. Response from Tesla is to reboot the car. However, these episodes while driving continue and are very dangerous. Tesla is pushing paying $2000 to get an infotain... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
E350
(2011) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Feb 17, 2023
Incident date: Feb 16, 2023
NOTE: 11/18/22 filed a complaint with NHTSA - they will share it with manufacturer case number(ODI) - 11494143 QUESTION: What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? ANSWER: ABS module problem Code : c0020-01 service electronic brake system Service Antilock brake system The display indicators for all of these systems come on intermittently.... Read more
Incident date: Feb 9, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving approximately 1 to 2 mph on two occasions into a parking spot, the vehicle hesitated then accelerated and crashed into a pole. There were no warning lights illuminated. There were no reported injuries, air bag deployment, or fire. A police report was filed. The vehicle was taken to a collision shop. The contact called t... Read more
Crash