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: Dec 10, 2022
When braking, the accelerator had somehow stuck and moved me ahead instead of stopping and caused an accident; running into concrete posts in the parking lot, which by USAA standards, totaled my car; Actually it didn't, but because they didn't want to repair it the settlement totaled it, causing me lots of issues in finding transportation. This was not the first time. It has happened three tim... Read more
Crash
MERCEDES-BENZ
SPRINTER 2500
(2018) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jan 24, 2023
Incident date: Jan 24, 2023
it grovernor at 7o mph which you can not pass. you can not go up some hills at the speed limit it will not idle it turn off all the time, to keep the van idling you have to put it in drive and put on the e brake and hope it does not move the back doors are always lock and when you unlock the back doors, the van turn off , in the cold months your passengers freeze. This may not sound like must... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
GOLF
(2016) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jan 24, 2023
Incident date: Dec 7, 2022
First, the airbag warning light came on, then followed by the horn not working and cruise control was lost. I also suspecting the power steering is also gone. This is related to the clock spring failure from my research online. This should have been recall because this is a safety hazard.
Incident date: Jan 24, 2023
Car would not accelerate over 35 mph and started knocking had to pull over to let other vehicles pass. Turned around went back home a 1/2 mile checked alternator current, added 1/2 quart of oil. Started engine knocking continued oil was low again after running engine a few minutes. No smoking from exhaust, no oil in radiator, no dripping or leaking oil.
Incident date: Jan 22, 2023
The adaptive cruise control does not engage in a timely fashion when activated. The speed reduces 8-12 mph before it kicks in. Speed always decreases 5 to. 21 mph on every hill. This inconsistency causes traffic to bunch around me. The dealership says nothing can be done to fix the problem. This problem is so frustrating and dangerous that I no longer use the feature.
Incident date: Apr 12, 2022
While driving at low speeds (approx 5-10 mph) the brake pedal became stiff and very difficult to stop. This issue happened with no prior warning or indication of the issue. As a result of this issue severe damage to personal property housing and vehicles was nearly missed. Upon research this has been a common issue for GM vehicles specifically trucks and SUVs.
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
When returning from the holidays during the last week of December I was using the Tesla AutoPilot for it's cruise control on the open highway. I experienced the "Phantom Braking" twice during the three and a half hour trip. I reached out to Tesla but only received a canned response explaining how AutoPilot is engaged and disengaged.
Incident date: Jan 23, 2023
After stopping at red light, Vehicle could not go more than 10mph. Stop the vehicle, turn off and restarted, now Vehicle could not go further or reverse. Luckly, at the intersection, i did not get into accident. My Altima is at 65000 miles. Nissan Altima CVT had an issue and need to recall for this fix. I saw Nissan did recall up to 2016 Altima, some reason, they did not include 2017 Altima. Plea... Read more
Incident date: Jan 17, 2023
Front Camera Fault & Pre-Collision Assist Not Available Error messages since August 2022 around the time after a recall for windshield reglue.
Incident date: Dec 27, 2022
When I drove over 50mph and hit any bump the front of the truck shakes wildly. Online says DEATH WOBBLE. This has been going on for 4 months. When taking my children to school 20+ miles away on the highway this has happened several times to and from school on the same day. Other vehicles move out of my line to avoid me while I slow the truck to under 45 mph. They are scared and nervous about get... Read more
Incident date: Apr 5, 2018
We were driving on a three lane on the expressway with the autopilot engaged. all of the sudden and without any warning the car engage on the breaks. We didnt have any cars in front or side we did have a car behind us. This was an extreamly scare situation as it took us by surprised. This happened two times while engages on autopilot. We didnt use anymore after. I searched the web and there are th... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
After driving roughly two hours on highway in stop and go rush hour traffic, our 2008 Nissan Rogue lost its ability to accelerate and the RPM would go only slightly above 2000. There were no dashboard warning lights. We pulled over at a rest stop and turned off the engine for ten minutes but the problem persisted. We had to get off the freeway and take back roads out of concern for our safety. We ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 23, 2023
My NIU NQI GTS Pro has the same problem that the NIU EVOs were recalled for. One or both batteries will suddenly turn off causing a drop in speed. I am confident this is a firmware problem. This is a major safety concern. I believe the GTS Pros need to also be included under the recall. I have filed a lawsuit against the dealership I bought it from and NIU seeking a full refund and return. https:/... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2012) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jan 22, 2023
Incident date: Jan 21, 2023
The transmission seem to not want to switch gears. It lost power in the middle of the road. Haven't seen a dealer.havent been inspected. A large wrench appeared and started becoming erratic. Put my scan tool on it and retrieved code P0720
Incident date: Jan 20, 2023
I was driving on a large, multi-lane, divided freeway (5 south Interstate just before Anaheim, CA in Orange County, California) and using adaptive cruise control (not autopilot) to maintain my speed in the mid 70s MPH. It was around 9pm PT and there was very light traffic. The next car in front of me was at least 100 feet ahead of me and there weren't any cars on the left or right of me. All of a ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 21, 2023
Vehicle has acceleration issues. Started June 2022 and has continued frequently since. Will randomly stop accelerating then if I try to let off the gas pedal and apply again it shudders so hard it shakes the car. After trying 3-4 times it will accelerate again. The RPM will shoot down to 1 and straight back up to 1.5-2. Maintenance shop has been unable to figure out what’s wrong but it seems ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 21, 2023
I was cruising on the highway normal speed them out of nowhere, my engine lost power and then a hill decent fault warning popped up. I pulled over then when I came to a complete stop my truck was shaking like if it had a misfire. So then I turned it off then back on. It turned back on on the first try but it struggled. When it turned on everything went away like nothing happen. Warning lights and ... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
EQS 450
(2022) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jan 21, 2023
Incident date: Jan 20, 2023
I experienced a sudden unintended acceleration incident. I pulled into my driveway and stopped the vehicle with my foot firmly on the brake since my driveway is sloped. I pushed the garage door opener remote when suddenly the vehicle accelerated and shot forward hitting the garage door. There was no brake action and all backup systems failed. There was no Automatic Emergency Braking or Forward Col... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jan 21, 2023
Car loses speed from 60mph to 15mph while driving. Engine Reduce Power light comes on after the fact. This is very dangerous when driving on a busy highway/interstate.
Incident date: Jan 21, 2023
Transmission jumped out of gear while on major higway. Vehicle is at the dealership. Three times the vehicle jumped out of gear while driving on a major highway, had to make my way to the shoulder of the road without causing an accident. Dealership has had the vehicle since Dec 12, 2022 No warning lights or messages. Issue accured between Nov 1, 2022 to Dec 12, 2022
Incident date: Aug 1, 2022
On 4 separate occasions, the first on December 22, 2022, my Accord began losing power and acceleration while driving on the highway. The engine light began flashing but never came on steadily, and no message displayed. On a couple of occasions it was raining a bit, and at other times the weather was dry. Each time, I pulled the car over to the side of the road; before turning off the engine, I not... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2023
I was driving back home and was travelling at around 30miles/hr on a street. All of a sudden my car dashboard started flashing and all the indicators in the dashboard started to flash.. The vehicle started to accelerate and brake at the same time... The engine made a strange weird sound. I had to put the emergency parking lights and pull over slowly. Luckily I was closer to home, so drove back ho... Read more
Incident date: Jan 2, 2023
When I try to accelerate it won’t go sometimes! It hesitates until it just blasts off. Emissions System Problem
MERCURY
GRAND MARQUIS
(2003) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jan 20, 2023
Incident date: Jan 14, 2023
I started Mercury with foot on break like normal. Shifted into reverse. Car accelerated backwards at full speed. Brakes did not stop car. Attempted to shift into neutral but went into drive instead. Car accelerated forward at full speed with my foot still on break. Car hit metal post and tree knocking them down and dragging the tree 50 to 60 feet before stopping with my foot still on the break. Ca... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jan 16, 2023
The air bag light is on. None of the functions/buttons on the right side of my steering wheel are working. It has not been inspected by anyone.
Incident date: Jan 11, 2023
When entering the vehicle, the touchscreen does not turn on. The vehicle can be operated but without the touchscreen on, the speedometer is not available. I believe this to be a safety issue.
MERCEDES-BENZ
E350
(2014) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jan 19, 2023
Incident date: Jan 5, 2023
Accelator keeps getting stuck at traffic lights and while driving
LAND ROVER
DEFENDER
(2022) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jan 19, 2023
Incident date: Dec 29, 2022
Phantom breaking occurs predictably in the same spots along the NJ Garden State Parkway. Most certainly I have noticed it and can easily replicate it around the Toms River exit 80 in both south and north bound lanes. The vehicle will break suddenly and abruptly when enhanced autopilot or self-driving is engaged. It will come to a complete stop if allowed even when there is absolutely no other vehi... Read more
Incident date: Jan 19, 2023
While driving on a straight highway, no wind, no weather, 65 mph, both hands on wheel, the van started revving and lost power. I pulled over with engine still running. There were no codes or warning light. I tried to drive again. It continued to rev and not get up to speed. I pulled over again and shut it down. I waited a few minutes and then started it. When pulling back on freeway it ran ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 18, 2023
As I am driving down the pickup loses power/ has no power. Was driving down the interstate and trying to make it up the Harbor bridge I could only go 40. Then try to pass a semi that (BAD DRIVER) was dangerously close, I could not even pass him. Not to mention people were angry at me and getting defensive. There were no warning lights, I took it in immediately. It has been inspected by my secondar... Read more
FORD
MAVERICK HYBRID
(2022) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jan 18, 2023
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
Anytime while driving the truck waring lights on the dashboard will come on intermittently. The ABS and traction control light will come on, and on the display screen two different messages will appear along with alarm sound constantly dinging. One message says (Service Electronic Braking System) the other says (Service Antilock Brake System). If driving with the cruise control on when those light... Read more
Incident date: Jan 18, 2022
I had engaged Tesla’s “Full Self Driving” feature in a 25 MPH zone. As the speed limit changed to 35 MPH the vehicle correctly adjusted to 35 MPH. However, right after that I entered a school zone marked by a flashing yellow light. I used the brakes to slow down to 18 MPH, which disengaged the “Full Self Driving” feature because the vehicle did not adjust on its own. Once I was at 18 MPH... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2023 Kia Sportage. The contact stated after his wife stopped at a traffic light, the vehicle accelerated independently and caused to crash the vehicle ahead of them. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The air bags did not deploy. The contact stated no one was injured nor sought medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not drivable. The cont... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Dec 9, 2022
After the coil pack recall was done, our car began shuddering, hesitating and stalling. Went to the dealership 4-5 times. ECM and Prindle valve were replaced but still doing it. then engine exploded going up a hill, stranding us for 2.5 hours on the freeway. Engine replaced under warranty (which expired while in shop for two months). No warranty on new motor. Same issues still going on and s... Read more
Incident date: Jan 16, 2023
I was travelling down the highway at near 60 mph and without warning the truck shuttered and shifted to first gear. This nearly started and chain reaction crash with myself and 3 other vehicles as I was nearly rear ended, I also could've easily lost control. Had I been towing my travel trailer at the time this would have caused a major accident without question. 2 codes were thrown at this time P0... Read more
Incident date: Dec 20, 2022
1. ABS pump failure, stable tract for steering. Available for inspection if requested. When this warning light comes on cruise control will not function. 2. If ABS failure cannot slow down in a timely manner danger to occupants. 3. Yes 4. Unknown 5. Yes, warning lamps appeared at 15,000 miles. Would like to see this be a recall because numerous other owners have this same issue.
Incident date: Jan 17, 2023
Vehicle will not go in reverse and will not accelerate
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2014) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jan 18, 2023
Incident date: Jan 10, 2022
Sudden Acceleration (SUA--3 times same day); almost went through storefront, almost hit by truck @ stop sign, almost hit fence in parking lot twice, had difficulty in highway traffic jam. Vehicle currently at dealership. Car and brakes became uncontrollable at slow attempt to park and in traffic jam; had to turn off ignition. Dealer and independent service shop have not been able to recreate con... Read more
Incident date: Jan 18, 2023
I have a 2018 Ram 2500 Diesel and throughout the past 24 months I have been receiving intermittent ABS and Traction Control lights while driving. Recently (3 days ago), the lights have come back, are staying on, and the screen displayed the words "Perform Service". I attached my diagnostic tool and the Code captured is: C0020 Status: MIL/Confirmed - ABS Pump Motor Control - General Electric Fai... Read more
Incident date: Jan 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Dodge Journey. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle hesitated upon the depression of the accelerator pedal. The vehicle entered LIMP Mode with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact initially took the vehicle to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle with a shift solenoid defect related to the engine control module (ECM). The cont... Read more
Incident date: Jan 12, 2012
12/02/2022 while parking the vehicle in a parking spot in a parking garage, vehicle suddenly lurched forward causing the vehicle to hit the parking garage cement wall. This caused him to hit his head very hard on the steering wheel. The air bag deployed after he hit his head. The Air Bag did not protect him. He did not hit the accelerator pedal, and the vehicle accelerated by itself, which cause... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Dec 27, 2022
The car's cruise control's rocker switch got stuck causing the vehicle's speed to increase continually. The rocker switch allows driver to increase or decrease speed when the cruise control is activated. The rocker switch permits speed increase in increments of 1 mph or 5 mph. If pressed up until a resistance point, the speed increases by 1 mph; if pressed beyond the resistance point, it increases... Read more
Incident date: Jul 10, 2019
On Oct 29, 2012, BMW recalled its 7-Series luxury cars due to reports of transmission control problems. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported in the NHTSA campaign #12V502000 (power train and electric system) has caused at least 14 crashes and possibly 5 injuries, and in the NHTSA campaign #13V564000 (air bags). The recall involved 45,500 cars with model years from 2005 to ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 17, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model X. The contact stated that after his wife had entered the parked vehicle and the driver's door was still open, the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration, causing the vehicle to drive over a curb, into a ravine, and then crash into a tree. No warning lights were illuminated. A police report was not filed due to the contact's wife not sustaining injuries. Th... Read more
Crash
MERCEDES-BENZ
E350
(2014) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jan 17, 2023
Incident date: Jan 12, 2023
More often than not I’m finding I have to add oil to the car. It gives no warning the oil is low, no light, no smoke. The car starts to run a little hard so we check the oil. Each time we check the oil is low and needs more. We have gotten oil changes on the recommended schedule. Yet the problem still persists. Also I notice at times when pushing the gas to accelerate it almost seems hard to d... Read more
Incident date: Oct 10, 2022
On Nov 9 2022 the owner was pulling into a parking space at a mall and the Subaru Crosstrek 2018 suddenly accelerated and slammed into the wall of a store. The airbags did not go off. The driver was going at a slow speed and putting on the brake. The driver and occupant suffered some impact from the seat belts but no other injuries. If pedestrians had been on the sidewalk in front of the parking... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jan 17, 2023
While driving on highway 59 my vehicle began to jerk. I tried to accelerate and the vehicle would ramp but not move fast. My check engine light came on as well as the error code “transmission malfunction you continue to drive until engine is off.” After getting out of Houston, Texas rush hour traffic, I had my vehicle towed to a mechanic. The mechanic ran several tests and checked the engine. ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2022
I was driving, luckily at a slow speed when my trucks transmission without warning down shifted into first gear.
Incident date: Jan 15, 2023
Multiple occurrences have happened where I am driving the car on the freeway when the SERVICE CHARGING SYSTEM code comes on and the vehicle stalls. I am unable to accelerate and have to pull off onto the shoulder. This is very dangerous as the vehicles on the freeway are going at high speeds. This failure could easily cause an accident or worse. The car then flashes SHIFT TO P TO START and the che... Read more