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
Incident date: Jan 19, 2023
The acceleration of the vehicle from a stop. Whether from a stop sign, stop light, even sometimes after slowing down after a turn. It hesitates while the gas pedal is still being applied. Causing the vehicle to slow and other vehicles are forced to brake. The engine does not rev and the tachometer does not move. There are no warnings lights or vehicle notifications. After several attempts to bring... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2022
Hello I was driving on the highway yesterday when my transmission failed. The car stopped accelerating and would not increase speed despite my foot being on the gas. I was hit several times before navigating to the median. If not for me being calm under pressure my life and the lives of other motorists were at risk. This is unacceptable.
Incident date: Apr 27, 2022
I was turning left to northbound from westbound and as I was trying to accelerate to turn, my Tesla wouldn’t go past 11 mph. I stepped on the accelerator with all my might, but it wouldn’t go past 11 mph. On my dash, the alert said: “obstruction detected- speed will be reduced.” This is very concerning because the car was slowing down and obstructing the southbound lanes. This is very dang... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
While driving at highway speed, the battery light and oil light came on and the throttle became unresponsive. The driver pulled over safely. The vehicle had to be restarted before the throttle became responsive again. The vehicle was taken to Maguire Kia Service (Ithaca, NY), where the engine was subsequently replaced.
Incident date: Mar 18, 2023
We were coming down a mountain from Flagstaff to Phoenix at night in heavy, fast traffic when my engine just died. No power, no power steering, no power assisted brakes. Total emergency. I have never been so scared in a vehicle. Nearly rear ended by semi at full speed. Had to try to find a shoulder on a mountain and pull over fast to avoid collision. Then once pulled over the Pacifica does not jus... Read more
Incident date: Nov 24, 2021
I was driving my car on the highway and entered a ramp to another highway and as I began to accelerate again it was like my engine shut down and there was no response to the gas pedal for throttle. I pulled my car over to the side, sat for a moment, and then turned the car back on. I was able to accelerate, but if I accelerate too fast the engine would shut back down. I contacted Kia and they ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 21, 2023
Hi Team, Issue 1: unexpected Acceleration: Recently I found that is there is unexpected additional acceleration when I press gas pedal initially after changing gears from P to D. I am setting up an appointment with dealer to report and investigate this issue. My Car has only around 13000 miles on it. This issue was initially observed when one morning when i headed somewhere there is unexpected ac... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ram 1500. The contact stated while approaching a traffic light and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle independently accelerated. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact continued to depress the brake pedal to the floor and turned off the vehicle and the vehicle stopped. The contact restarted the vehicle, and the engine was still revving at full... Read more
Incident date: Mar 8, 2023
While driving South on I75 near Tampa Florida using Autopilot the car suddenly decelrated to 10mph. There were no cars next to me and we were passing through a 6 lane area where the road splits. No distinguishing features, no cars on either side and we were heading slightly up hill. It seems like the cameras could only see the sky. Fortunately there was no car directly behind me. Very scary.
VOLKSWAGEN
ID.4
(2022) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Mar 24, 2023
Incident date: Jan 9, 2023
While driving at various speeds, the check engine light, service stabilitrack, and service traction control warning lights came on. Vehicle went into limp mode. Independent mechanic said ongoing issue with Chevy and carbon build up in the throttle body. It will keep happening due to flawed system. Dealer denied but keeps happening
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2015) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Mar 23, 2023
Incident date: Mar 18, 2023
I was commuting home from work when suddenly there was smoke coming from under the hood and the vehicle completely stopped working in the middle of the road. It would not accelerate and I had to get help to move it into a parking lot. I had to get it towed to my home. The car will not start. If we turn the key to try to start it, the engine starts smoking.
Incident date: Mar 20, 2023
Steering wheel buttons began no working. Lights on steering wheel flicker when steering wheel turns. Randomly alerted that "adaptive cruise control is unavailable" both when the system is in use and when It is off. Forward collision warning system active breaking not working.
VOLKSWAGEN
ID.4
(2023) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Mar 23, 2023
Incident date: Mar 14, 2023
While driving my vehicle this morning my odometer completely shut off while on the freeway and all my little lights on the dashboard went on. My turn signals, as well as my brake lights stopped working as well.
Incident date: Mar 23, 2022
Shortly after purchasing the vehicle I engaged the adaptive cruise control. It worked fine until such time as I attempted to pass a large vehicle such as a semi truck. When I would get along side of the truck the brakes violently slammed on without warning. The vehicle has been taken back to the selling dealer for repair and they were not able to fix it. (see uploaded Repair Order). I then ca... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
This is a dangerous problem and I expect Honda to have a major recall some day, unfortunately not today. Symptoms were two things, 1) ACC when on would not slow down with another car in front, it just kept accelerating into the car until I put on the brakes. Crazy dangerous. 2) The collision warning light would come on and beep loudly when there was no possibility of collision. Required replacing ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 2, 2022
2015 pathfinder will intermittently not accelerate while driving. Occurs mostly after being at a stop. Has also occurred while in motion in a 35 mph zone. The traction control light will illuminate and stay on until vehicle is shut off and restarted. This is dangerous and will eventually cause a crash.
Incident date: Jan 5, 2023
I set my cruise control at a designated speed (70mph) and the vehicle accelerated well beyond…to 83mph before I realized it was still accelerating. I had to hit the cancel Button and turn off cruise control to get it to slow down. Then I set it and it didn’t “set” and kept decelerating.
Incident date: Mar 22, 2023
Was getting on freeway and hit the gas to accelerate and get ahead of the traffic. The Challenger would not accelerate fast (has a hemi) and car almost flew into me. Started testing the vehicle and it just wouldn't accelerate fast, it was stall slowly and pickup speed over 30 seconds or so. I brought it in to one shop and they said its probably a software update and to take it to Dodge and it ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 20, 2023
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 22, 2015
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: Mar 19, 2023
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: Dec 5, 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 21, 2022
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: Mar 17, 2023
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: Sep 9, 2021
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
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2011) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Mar 21, 2023
Incident date: Mar 20, 2023
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: Oct 1, 2019
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.
Incident date: Feb 1, 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: Jul 17, 2022
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: Mar 3, 2023
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.
VOLKSWAGEN
JETTA
(2017) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Mar 20, 2023
Incident date: Mar 17, 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 19, 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: Jan 1, 2019
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: Nov 15, 2022
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 20, 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
Incident date: Mar 10, 2022
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
Incident date: Mar 19, 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.
Incident date: Feb 4, 2020
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: Mar 19, 2023
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
Incident date: Dec 20, 2022
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: Feb 1, 2023
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
Incident date: Mar 5, 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 2, 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
Incident date: Mar 12, 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
Incident date: Feb 25, 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
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 2500
(2017) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Mar 17, 2023
Incident date: Mar 17, 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
LAND ROVER
DISCOVERY SPORT
(2020) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Mar 17, 2023
Incident date: Mar 13, 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: Feb 22, 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: Dec 15, 2022
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