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: Sep 1, 2022
I was driving home from work and was changing lanes when all of the sudden the swerving road,two cars crashing, and check engine light came on. I couldn't accelerate and car lost power. I was in the lane next to the fast lane and cars started honking. I was able to pull over eventually. I waited 10 minutes and started the car and the same thing happened but this time I was stuck in between the HO... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
Tesla Y Unintended Acceleration! Driving my Tesla I got a phone call that did not show up on screen then 1-3 seconds later my car took control of itself and rapidly accelerated. I had NO control with no steering or brakes. Powerless inside an accelerating vehicle! The car then crashed up on the median through a private community light post and into a tree. The car did not stop until the battery wa... Read more
Crash
1 injured
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2020) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Feb 1, 2023
Incident date: Jan 16, 2023
Driving on Interstate 295 (it is unclear what the official direction North, south, west). You are going south toward Philadelphia. Some signs say north but in reality it is only for a mile or two then the road bends due south. Every time I travel on this road and just before the Scuddersfall bridge, the car brakes to 30 MPH and it does it again on the other side of the bridge (the same directi... Read more
Incident date: Jan 19, 2023
The Transmission Control Module (TCM) has gone out on my car, causing it to shift to 2nd gear while doing 75mph with cars around me, and would no longer shift out of 2nd gear, or into reverse. It was an extremely dangerous situation that made me come very close to wrecking into a car, as well as the many cars behind me that had to emergency brake due to my rapid deceleration, especially without an... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
My vehicle drives about 30 miles before an alert will appear saying to service transmission. Along with the check engine light coming on. Vehicle will not accelerate and on hills will begin to roll backwards. When this happens the vehicle must be parked for at least 15 minutes and then on startup all codes will reset and return back to its normal operating. Took to dealership several times with e... Read more
Incident date: Nov 28, 2022
I was driving on the George Bush Turnpike on with cruise control set at 80mph. There were few cars on the road an no cars in front of mine. All of a sudden the car went from 80 down to 60 mph and I had to recover manually by pressing the acceleration pedal. The only interesting point is that there were 2 cars accelerating at a higher speed in the next two right lanes that were passing me and di... Read more
Incident date: Sep 14, 2022
ABS system failed at 6000 miles. Dealership replaced the brake system I was told. AT 37000 miles just out of the basic warranty it has failed again. Dealership can not do the repairs due to the fact there is not enough replacement parts because of all the trucks are failing in this matter. ABS/TRACTION control failure. I have been waiting four months and told maybe March now. Dealership has been i... Read more
Incident date: Jul 2, 2022
While my wife was coming to a stop in a parking space, the car suddenly accelerated and jumped over the curb into a pedestrian walkway. The car could not be stopped with the brake and continued moving over the walkway. Afraid that the car would hit a pedestrian or crash into cars on the busy street ahead, she was ready to stop the car by crashing it into a concrete column. Fortunately, she remove... Read more
Incident date: Jan 31, 2023
Daughter was driving her car on interstate, doing 75, in the middle of traffic when the car would jerk and then loose power. The gas petal stopped working and the check engine light would come on. She had to make her way over to the shoulder, without causing an accident. Once car gets shut off and you wait a few minutes, you can start it and drive it home. This has happened about 4 times now. We a... Read more
Incident date: Jan 29, 2023
When driving at speeds above 45mph the truck loses acceleration out of no where. It will make grinding/shifting/stuck noises and rapidly going to unsafe speeds. I have been in HIGH traffic EVERY time this has occurred to me. This situation has put myself and my family in harms way too many times. I assume from my research this is a transmission/powertrain issue. This truck is a 2021,I am the firs... Read more
Incident date: Jan 17, 2023
Using Autopilot on an empty highway at appx 65mph, the auto pilot system began to brake aggressively without any obstacles in front of me. As it approached 40 or 30 mph, I pressed on the brake to cancel the autopilot before I was hit from behind. Scary.
Incident date: Jan 31, 2023
I am part of a large number of individuals ~200+ documented experiencing scraping noises in our 7 speed manual transmissions. Most of us can't get service done due to part supply issues and labor shortages. The bigger concern is FORD is replacing same parts that are being damaged which doesn't address the root cause of the issue and its not solving problem because it comes back shortly after servi... Read more
Incident date: Jan 30, 2023
On January 26th, 2023 at 9:57am the vehicle was unable to shift into reverse, drive, or neutral. The vehicle's system sent automatic messages indicating to have the transmission control system checked. We had the vehicle towed to a Hyundai dealer to be serviced. The dealership advised they performed a software update and that nothing else needed to be done. Then on January 30th, 2023 at 7:44pm the... Read more
Incident date: Jan 31, 2023
I leased this SUV 12/22/2023,upon driving it on 12/26 as i exited a major highway,leaving highway amd entering exit ramp the SUV lost brake funcrion as well as transmission function,absolute total loss of both brake and transmission systems,miraculously I was able to coast to safty with assistance from another motorist holding the car from rolling furthermore,needless to say this was a harrowing a... Read more
Incident date: Jan 29, 2023
Transmission has malfunctioned, will not properly shift into higher gears, when stopped is not able to be put into park. Issue started with not warnings, was driving perfectly fine before. Cruise control has failed, parking brake has malfunctioned, and power steering has malfunctioned.
Incident date: Jan 31, 2019
ABS and stability control fails and warning lights activate intermittently 11/11/22 (47,290 miles) The cruise control disengaged without notice when the faulty modules light up. Under a heavy load this caused severe speed reduction and momentary loss of vehicle control Reported to dealer.(Rothrock motor sales) It is a know issue with thousands of suspect ram 2500's Parts are not available ... Read more
CHRYSLER
TOWN AND COUNTRY
(2014) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jan 30, 2023
Incident date: Jan 25, 2023
At 36,100 miles I started getting ABS light warning flashing intermittently on my dash. I took it to a mechanic who told me it needed a ABS module and/or a controller device replacement but these parts have been on back order for the last four months (says RAM). It looks as if many, many people are having this same problem with this vehicle. This problem resigns the vehicle as inoperable since ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 16, 2022
I was driving on the 394 in Minneapolis and my car had a massive loss of power, dropping my speed from 65 to 35 in seconds, as if i was braking (which I wasn't). The engine light began flashing and I was unable to accelerate beyond the speed it had reduced me to. I was able to limp off the freeway and into a parking lot where it kind of fixed itself after 10 minutes. I took it to a local dealershi... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
Component Failure: Airbag Light is On, No steering wheel electronic controls work including cruise control. Safety: I'm uncertain if the Airbag will deploy in the event of a crash. Dealer Confirmed: Dealer states the Steering Wheel Clock Spring requires replacement, but that it is not a part of the VW recall issued August 2015. Inspected: Hiley VW Dealership inspected the vehicle Warning L... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
TOUAREG
(2017) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jan 30, 2023
Incident date: Jan 24, 2023
We were driving our brand new Tesla Y long range (we picked it up by the end of November 2022, and it was less then 150 miles) on 01/22, there were 3 adults and 2 kids in the car, and the car lost power in the middle of freeway. We had to slide the car to the shoulder and call Tesla service. When we saw the warning message on the screen, we were NOT given any respond time, the car lost power imme... Read more
Incident date: Jan 29, 2023
I was driving my 2021 Subaru Crosstrek slowly in a parking lot when it unexpectedly accelerated on its own without me pressing the gas pedal. I believe the Crosstrek was now going 40mph. I tried to shut off the engine and brake at the same time but neither one had any effect. I thought maybe I had two options. Either hit another vehicle or pedestrian or turn my car into the curb. I decided to tur... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jul 1, 2022
When pulling into a parking spot and with my foot on the break, the car suddenly accelerated. The car did not react to my breaking. The car kept moving forward over a sidewalk, over the curb on the street, into the back end of a pickup parked on the road I was facing, and started heading across the street toward another parked truck. Luckily there was no one on the sidewalk, no one was hurt. Thi... Read more
Crash
VOLKSWAGEN
GOLF ALLTRACK
(2017) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jan 29, 2023
Incident date: Jan 29, 2023
This is the second time since November 2022 that our clock spring has failed. While it's broken the driver has no airbag, horn, or usability of controls on steering wheel. This is a huge saftey concern especially driving in winter conditions.
Incident date: Jan 31, 2021
all vehicle warning lights came on specifically the check engine light for an emissions system problem. At the time the car had around 100,000 miles so it was suspected that the issue had to be with the battery, o2 sensors, or spark plug and ignition coil, so those parts were replaced. The vehicle still shows all the warning lights and reads codes for misfires in the first and second cylinder. If ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 16, 2022
While exiting a hospital parking deck, after driving for approximately 15 to 20 seconds, the car began to accelerate to an uncontrollable rate of speed on its own. The Tesla crashed into a parked car which was then pushed into two other parked cars. The Tesla and at least the first car hit are totaled. There was no sign of the emergency braking system engaging. Injuries from the airbag deploying... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Jan 28, 2023
Vehicle is showing transmission issues that match recall issued for same vehicle and model, problems accelerating and misfiring which appears to be dangerous too drive.
Incident date: Jan 28, 2023
I'm having acceleration issues and the roms are going too high before shifting. And the steering column starts shaking on the highway after o get going fast like 45 or so. There's one light on and it's my low tire pressure light, but the tires aren't really low. And the issue has been occuring on and off periodically since after I had my brake job in November. It might be an issue with the brake j... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
Car shakes and shutters and is very reluctant to accelerate at low speeds, even with gas pedal pressed down. Then acceleration kicks in and it wants to bolt off.
Incident date: Jan 10, 2023
I own the 2020 Expedition. I pressed down on the gas pedal to accelerate into traffic. While the truck should have down shifted and accelerated, instead the powertrain completely disengaged; a total loss of power. The RPM jumped way up to redline, I took my foot of the gas pedal and as the RPM came back down, the transmission slammed back into engagement. At this point, I was finally able to acce... Read more
Incident date: Jan 27, 2023
To be brief, I had a nissan sentra 2019 leased car from 10/19 to present. About 1 year during its lease (3 year), I noticed that the instrument clock freezes and the other clock on the radio panel/screen does not. I have contacted NIssan company and the dealership that I leased the auto from. NO help at all. I have 6 different videos of this situation on my cell phone. The main reason I am co... Read more
Incident date: Jan 23, 2023
I pulled into my driveway, came to a stop and planned to back up a short distance to be nearer the front walkway. Before I could shift into reverse the car started to accelerate forward. I slammed my foot onto the brakes which had no effect on the acceleration. The car stopped when the lower bumper hit and ran up onto a large boulder on the edge of the driveway. The car was partially wedged on the... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jan 27, 2023
the car was unresponsiveness when pushing the gas pedal, delay when accelerating, shaking, and the gears do not seem to change. this causes problems when trying to merge into traffic, make turns and anytime when acceleration is needed. We took it to the dealership said we needed a Dual Clutch kit however the vin does not have a recall therefore want to charge $2264.00. to fix the problem. it is o... Read more
Incident date: Jan 26, 2023
As we drive this vehicle at a slower speed, it seems to almost cut off and then it will jerk (a very hard jerk) back into motion. We have had it serviced, both batteries replaced, and a diagnostic done on it and it continues to act up. It makes us afraid to drive it. Do you have any suggestions on how to move forward? Thank you - [XXX]- [XXX]Industries- [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO T... Read more
Incident date: Jan 25, 2023
I was the first car stopped at a red light of an intersection coming off the freeway, in far right lane. When the light turned green, as I released my foot off the brake and not even stepping on the gas the RPM surged with full force accelerating without my foot on the gas. I stepped on the brake but it would not engage - it locked. The steering wheel locked and only had minimal movement, as much ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 8, 2019
Took truck to Mac Haik here in Houston to perform the recall.The jam nut on drag link was welded,which was not a fix.Went back after being told truck can't be aligned with the drag link being welded.Was told I'd have to pay out of pocket for the weld to be cut,which sense have led to other issues with the front suspension. Attached is docs concerning this matter .....I been having a open claim wit... Read more
Incident date: Jan 27, 2023
I own a Kia Soul. The catylitic converters went out. The car won't accelerate and the car got extremely hot. When I looked up Kia Soul recalls it showed that there was a recall on the converters also that some Kia Souls had gotten hot an caught on fire. I called Parkway Family Kia. They told me that it wasn't an active recall and that they couldn't do anything. I then called Demontrond Kia a... Read more
Incident date: Apr 10, 2022
seat belt not pulling out e40d trans starts out going in 3ed gear
Incident date: Jan 26, 2023
Several times when I ja e pushed the gas to try and hurry to go the van will stall and won't go almost cause me to get in an accident each time. The last time(1/16) I actually had passengers in my van and it scared the crap out of them and me. It seems like when I punch the gas pedal it isn't getting the gas to go right away. I had it checked out at a Honda dealership but they said the van didn't ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 23, 2023
I was going ~60-65MPH on the Ronald Reagan freeway east bound on a rainy day at ~ 3:40pm on 27th December 2022. I was going on the second from left lane between the Rinaldi and Porter Ranch exits. Unbeknownst to me this part of the freeway is notorious for flooding in the left lanes. I applied the brakes gently to slow down my car. Suddenly, I felt I lost steering, the car skidded the steering whe... Read more
Crash
MERCEDES-BENZ
E300
(2017) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jan 26, 2023
Incident date: Jan 22, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the vehicle lunged forward while being started. Additionally, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train). The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mil... Read more
Incident date: Jan 18, 2023
I was driving on the highway using advanced highway assist and the car became completely unresponsive. I was traveling 75mph on a major highway with a semi behind me and one to my right in the slow lane. The car stopped accelerating and I was unable to resume driving. I was forced to coast to a stop on the side of the highway. I had my daughter with me and were I not able to safely maneuver be... Read more
Incident date: Oct 20, 2021
My dash will randomly start flashing the messages "service electronic braking system" and "service antilock brake system". Sometimes this happens as soon as I start the vehicle, other times it happens while driving down the road. Sometimes it seems as if a bump in the road will trigger the messages, others are random. When the messages are there, the traction control feature does not work. I do no... Read more
Incident date: Jan 22, 2023
Transmission slipping
Incident date: Jan 4, 2023
While turning at low speeds (pulling into a parking spot) and the cruise control is turned on the "set cruise" button is elevated and can be accidentally hit. If the speed of the vehicle is under 20mph it will automatically set the cruise speed to 20mph causing the vehicle to accelerate. This elevated "set cruise" button actives the regular cruise and not the adaptive cruise. This has happened t... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
This car very bad no body can't buy
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2014) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jan 25, 2023
Incident date: Jan 2, 2023
Beginning at almost exactly 28000 miles, this truck intermittently shows a warning for a fault with the “electronic braking system” and the “antilock braking system” where there are multiple warning lights and tones, and the ABS, traction control and cruise control becomes inoperative. This has increased in frequency and occurs in any conditions at random intervals. Recently it has come on... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2022
I am writing to request Autofair Ford of Haverhill immediately repurchase the 2014 Ford Fiesta Titanium I purchased from them in 2019. I am requesting to be refunded the full purchase price plus all additional costs for registration, warranties and expenses associated with the 2014 Ford Fiesta Titanium that was sold to me. This vehicle, has since August 2022, been at Jannell Ford in Hanover Massa... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2022
Initially experienced a strange minor revving of RPMs up and down when I had sustained pressure on the gas pedal at highway speeds. The gas pedal slowly became less responsive and, after a short time, I lost all ability to accelerate the vehicle and needed to pull over on the shoulder of the highway. The sudden loss of acceleration was a clear threat to safety. Luckily, I had the car positioned in... Read more
Incident date: Oct 23, 2022
Acceleration and shifting at low speeds (below 25mph) is unpredictable. The car will hesitate and then lurch forward in an unpredictable way when reversing up a slope and when starting from a stop, particularly on a hill. The unpredictable nature of the issue, and the tendency of the vehicle to lag and then surge creates a significant safety concern. We took the car to the VW dealer we purchase... Read more