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: Nov 9, 2022
I bought my 2015 Chevy Malibu in 2016 at 36k miles. No wrecks, 1 owner before myself. No warning lights on when driving from the lot and the car was just what I wanted… tho always a little doubtful because it was pre owned 1) there was always this random, unusual, indescribable smell from the vents where I couldn’t breathe but no one else could smell or experience it. I just kept getting sick... Read more
Incident date: Nov 12, 2022
I had my Kia in the shop for 2 months from August 22, 2022 until about the middle of October because it went into limp mode and they were waiting on Kia consumer to ok a new engine because the dealership heard a knock. I was originally told my Kia had a lifetime warranty on the motor but when it went into limp mode with 156.044 miles on it they then said 150,000 mile warranty so I had to pay out o... Read more
Incident date: Nov 12, 2022
While traveling on the interstate at 75+ mph, which the cruise control engaged, the vehicle emergency braked 2 times during on one trip. The first felt like a fluke, speed was reduced by 10ish miles per hour. The second time was terrifying. I was traveling approximately 77 mph on the interstate and out of no where my vehicle slowed down significantly. I was too scared of getting hit from behind to... Read more
Incident date: Oct 10, 2022
01 Apr 22, vehicle was received from Penske Ford after coolant leak to include scheduled maintenance such as engine oil and filter change, engine air filter, transfer case fluid change, drive belt, front differential fluid change and lastly the transmission fluid and filter change. Mileage in was at 156877 and mileage out from the services was 156879. Approximately 6,000 miles added from the milea... Read more
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2015) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 11, 2022
Incident date: Nov 8, 2022
While driving the van, the van started making a whining noise. Then it would hesitated to shift gears. Upon accelerating in traffic, the engine would rev up, then the transmission would grab gear sharply. At every stop light the van does not shift forward. It sits there and the engine revs up, but does not shift gears. The van has to be turned off then restarted in order to drive out of first ge... Read more
Incident date: Sep 30, 2022
The vehicle begins to shake violently after hitting a sudden bump in the road causing the vehicle to become uncontrollable. This happens at speeds in excess of 40mph. We asked both the dealer and jeep to look at the issue and they said it was not covered by the warranty and there were no warning light indicators.
Incident date: Nov 9, 2022
First on off glitching when ever accessory mode is used WHILE IN MOTION, FIRST BRAKELIGHT HAD WARNING THEN WARNING ABOUT TRAILER STABILITY ASSIST. WHEN I WENT IN REVERSE, THE WHOLE DASHBOARD INCLUDING THE NAVIGATION SCREEN WENT BLACK AND THE CAR FELT LIKE THE ENGINE STOPPED. THIS HAPPENED A FEW TIMES. I DON'T THINK THE ENGINE ACTUALLY STOPPED THOUGH BECAUSE I DID NOT HAVE TO RESTART THE CAR. THE B... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Jun 12, 2021
My car has severe phantom breaking due to adaptive cruise control. When I use my Tesla's cruise control on the freeway, on a complete flat straight away that has no vehicle in front of me, no sign/bridge in front of me, and no items/object in front of me, my vehicle while randomly/violently slam on the break violently hurling me and all passengers in my vehicle forward. This is even more dangerou... Read more
Incident date: Nov 7, 2022
Apparent software issue with Adaptive Cruise Control causing unexpected hard braking at highway speeds. Random hard braking occurs on open road when road is clear, flat, and no other vehicles nearby. Narrowly avoided being 'rear-ended' during several occurrences by car behind. I drove the car this week on a two day road trip from Palm Springs to Santa Fe and this issue must have occurred 18-20 ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 16, 2021
My car lost acceleration on nj Garden state highway driving 65 miles. Luckily I was driving in the right lane as this happened. I quickly flashed my hazards as soon as I noticed, to alert drivers behind me. My car slowly moved onto the side of the highway. My breaks would not fully stop the car. It finally stopped on its own luckily. I stayed on the side of the road for about a few good long mins ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2021
vehicle keeps staling on road while operating, AND has THE BRAKES SYTEM failure. No brakes, brake booster had failed and also has recall part for brake booster.. the safety of my entire family was put at risk, I almost crashed into traffic. vehicle was taken to local dealership, was told FUEL PUMP relay has recall. no parts available, ONE YEAR LATER, STILL WAITING AND STILL NO PARTS AVAILABLE. VE... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
TAOS
(2022) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 10, 2022
Incident date: Nov 7, 2022
While attempting to accelerate from a stop, my Taos began to shake, the check engine light began flashing, and the car felt as if it were going to stall. I pulled over, turned the car off, turned it back on, and the car was drivable. This occurred around 5,000 miles. The dealer confirmed multiple misfires and a high pressure oil leak. The parts were replaced. My taos has a terrible lag when a... Read more
FORD
MUSTANG MACH E
(2021) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 10, 2022
Incident date: Oct 16, 2022
* On October 16th, 2022, at about 7:00 pm, I was driving my 2021 Ford Mach-E GT when we began to change lanes (we were in the left lane heading East) as the vehicle in front of us slowed down to make a left-hand turn. There was a car behind us and two vehicles in the right lane (two-lane road in each direction) that were a few car lengths behind us as we began to change into that lane. When I turn... Read more
Incident date: Jun 22, 2022
Power steering and digital speedometer cut out without notice. Seems to be an electrical issue as it will throw a handful of lights at once and sometimes read "no bus". Has happened numerous times. Dealership replaced the aux battery. Did not resolve. Private dealerships are afraid to even touch it. Dealership I purchased it from "can't look at it until March" (5 months from now). There are report... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2000) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 9, 2022
Incident date: Nov 8, 2022
My husband just had a wreck last night. His gas pedals got stuck causing him to lose control of the truck and the truck to spend around in the middle of the street. It hit another car and a telephone pole before jumping the curb and landing in a field. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY ON ANY PARTS OF THE TRUCK THAT WAS IMPACTED BY THE WRECK. Both sides of the truck are completely smashed in and both wi... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Nov 2, 2022
On Wednesday, November 2, 2022, at about 4:00 pm I proceeded to parallel park my vehicle and as I put my foot on the gas pedal the car took off uncontrollably at a very high speed, I tried to control the car but before I could stop it, I crashed and hit a tree. My vehicle was severely damaged. The vehicle was taken to the Dealer for inspection, and I was told there was nothing wrong. I know wha... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Sep 20, 2022
I'm getting warning lights on the dash that indicated that ABS, traction control, cruise control and collision mitigation are inoperable. The dealership service dept. had the vehicle for over 2 weeks trying to diagnose the problem in conjunction with Ford engineers. they finally determined the the issue was a bad ABS module. They then informed me that the needed parts were not available and it mi... Read more
Incident date: Nov 6, 2022
Car was at freeway speed (~70mph) and on cruise control, and out of nowhere the brakes were applied by themselves very abruptly. I was almost rear ended on the freeway as a result.
CHRYSLER
PACIFICA PLUG-IN HYBRID
(2020) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 8, 2022
Incident date: Nov 7, 2022
All of a sudden while driving 40 miles per hour, “service charging system” warning showed up on dash, asked to put car in park and unable to accelerate. Car stopped working in the middle of a busy road, unable to be restarted for 10 min.
Incident date: Nov 7, 2022
•available for inspection. Unknown exact system failure •issue regularly occurs •dealership service. Transmission had to be replaced at around 10k miles and covered by warranty. •no lights indicating any problems. Forward collision alert activated. Vehicle has a lag between the time pressure is applied to the gas pedal and it causes a delay in acceleration resulting in the vehicle sort... Read more
Incident date: Nov 6, 2022
I have a 2007 GMC yukon denali xl that have the stabilitrac, check suspension, traction control lights and messages come on the car looses power and being in traffic I was almost t-boned this is a problem that has cost me alot of time and money please help please it is going to cause a wreck this is not a Isolated incident a recall needs to happen
Incident date: Jul 23, 2022
The failed component is a small wheel speed sensor on the rear axle. The sensor is designed in a way where it inserts into the axle and sits close enough to the gears that it can be hit by the gears during bumps/potholes/etc. The issue puts myself and others at risk as when the sensor malfunctions or breaks, it disables multiple safety features of the truck including: Antilock brakes, traction co... Read more
Incident date: Sep 5, 2022
Alert was coming randomly while driving the car about several safety systems being disabled automatically without any audible notifications. Alert clears up after the car is locked for several minutes. Below is the alert message.. Automatic emergency braking disabled Automatic Vehicle Hold disabled Traction control disabled Stability control disabled Cruise control disabled This makes the car su... Read more
Incident date: Nov 7, 2022
Driving along the interstate approximately 70 mph, the vehicle jerked with knock sound then lost acceleration speed. At the same time, the check engine light started blinking. I pulled over to the side of the interstate put the car in park. I put it back in drive and slowly attempted to accelerate again. I was able to make it home because I was only about a mile and a half away, but I the accelera... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Sonic. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would not properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact indicated that the RPMs increased but the vehicle would not accelerate as needed. Additionally, while operating the vehicle, the cruise control would erroneously activate. The cause of the failure was not yet... Read more
Incident date: Nov 8, 2022
When using cruise control, the car will suddenly brake for no reason.
Incident date: Nov 6, 2022
While traveling down the interstate doing the normal speed limit, I was forced to pull over to the emergency lane so cars can pass me. My car lost power to the engine without notice. No check system engine lights were not activated during this time. Car and Trucks were having to swerve over in other lanes to keep from rear ending me and causing a major wreck. This happen several weeks ago again wi... Read more
Incident date: Nov 4, 2022
Regardless of which cruise control function you are operating in the system will suddenly brake for no reason, sometimes slowing down by only a few miles an hour and sometimes by as much as 30 or 40 miles per hour. This can potentially lead to a rear end accident. System has far fewer failures at night than during the day and far fewer if there is traffic in front of the car than if there is an op... Read more
Incident date: Oct 10, 2022
Purchased this vehicle 12/2021 it hesitated on pick up but drove good after that nice look but the headlights are bad at night. First month I had a bad scare as when attempting to stop the brakes gave out, I had to pump multiple times to get the car to stop, this happened again about 1 month ago. On 10/10/22 while attempting to park in my driveway which is on a hill the car did not want to acceler... Read more
Incident date: Oct 24, 2022
We first noticed the vehicle's lack of power and sudden increase when driving at a stop light/sign. We checked and REPLACED spark plugs, cables, coils, and a new battery. We became highly concerned when the vehicle would accelerate while driving and the RPMs would toggle between 500-1500 RPMS without pressing the gas. We immediately took it to an authorized mechanic, who found excessive noise from... Read more
Incident date: Nov 7, 2022
The car starts alarming out of nowhere while driving at 70 mph on the interstate and the Hybrid System Warning - Safely Stop and Do Not Drive along with the wrench, battery light and engine light all appearing on the dashboard to pull over and do not drive when this occurred I lost total control of the vehicle. The brake peddle goes all the way to the floor enabling me to stop and I lost the abi... Read more
Incident date: Mar 22, 2017
The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to a dealer to be repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V252000 (Electrical System, Exterior Lighting, Vehicle Speed Control, Electronic Stability Control). The contact stated that after the repair, the failure persisted. The contact took the vehicle back to the dealer where the starter and PCV hose were repl... Read more
Incident date: Oct 22, 2022
While driving at highway speed, Service Traction Control/Stabilitrak warning comes on. Vehicle slows and if driver attempts to accelerate (using accelerator pedal), it causes severe lurching of vehicle. This makes the vehicle basically undrivable while in the middle of traffic. You must use emergency measures to pull over (potentially across multiple lanes) off the road and while trying to do t... Read more
Incident date: Nov 5, 2022
I was merging onto a highway at high speeds when the car stuttered. The check engine light began to flash and I lost acceleration. I could push the gas pedal to the floor and the car would not accelerate at all. The car lost it's speed and I could not go anymore than 30mph, and it would not go higher than 2rpms. It put me and my baby (who was in the backseat) in danger as we were going fast on a h... Read more
Incident date: Sep 2, 2022
On Aug. 24, 2022 I was out shopping at a few different places. My car at this point had never given me any issues, still practically brand new with barely a little over 10000 miles on it. I got in it and started it up. I go to put it into gear and it would not go. I tried again and again then noticed a check engine light on. I turned it off then started vehicle again. I tried putting in reverse, i... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
GOLF
(2022) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 6, 2022
Incident date: Nov 6, 2022
Manual shifter knob has popped off while driving a number of times with virtually no effort (I'm not a hard shifter at all) and primarily when at speed and other dangerous times. Seems to be a poorly crafted plastic clip that is being reported by numerous manual transmission owners.
VOLKSWAGEN
PASSAT
(2013) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 6, 2022
Incident date: Mar 22, 2022
* Driver air bag, horn, all controls in steering wheel. * Not having a horn or working air bag * Yes, defective clock switch has been confirmed-this was a recall, was replaced and failed again * No- dealer/recall repair center only * No, air bag light came on and that was it. At that moment nothing worked This occurred in March 2022. I was told it would take 1-2 months to get the part. The part i... Read more
Incident date: Nov 4, 2022
Powertrain malfunction. Decreased power sent to powertrain. No turbocharge activation. Minimal acceleration, got up to only 45 on highway. Check engine light on, followed by Turbocharge wastegate malfunction. 6500 miles, 4 months old. 2.7L engine. Daily driver awaiting dealer service appointment. Not drivable.
Incident date: Nov 2, 2022
While I was doing parallel parking, the car on its own went into involuntary, sudden, uncontrolled acceleration & hit a tree & bushes resulting into considerable body damage. Then I called Subaru national customer relations representative & I was told to go to the local Subaru dealer where I had purchased the car about four and a half years ago. The mechanic there told me that he had never heard... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Nov 4, 2022
When pulling out onto Highway vehicle did not accelerate as it should and lost power when accelerating. Did get up to Highway miles. Lights on dash said electronic throttle control. Thought maybe the computer needed reset so removed battery cables and still nothing.
Incident date: Sep 1, 2022
The car requires swiping the touchscreen to place it in drive or reverse. The touchscreen does not always register the intended change of direction, leading to unexpected, unsafe motion of the car. The area of the touchscreen that one must swipe is also often occluded by the steering yoke. This has happened multiple times, where the lack of strong enough feedback (or a mechanism that allows for l... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2022
Is intelligent speed assist implemented backward in the new Ram Promaster 3500? I attached a screenshot of the owners manual page describing how it should be working. I have experience several instances of the van automatically slamming on the brakes when traveling down the highway when the van recognizes a 25 mph speed limit sign for an off ramp. I have not been the only one. There are other p... Read more
Incident date: Nov 4, 2022
I was almost to work on the highway and my car dashboard said Engine Power is Reduced. It quickly started powering down from 74 directly to 50 then 40, then 35 and finally to 26 before I could safely pull off to the side of the road. This issue is getting worse it takes at least 10 minutes of waiting and turning my car off and on before it is back to normal. Others have said that they have gone ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2019 Ram 3500. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power and failed to accelerate. The fuel mileage had decreased. The fuel warning light was flashing on and off. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V880000 (Fuel System, Diesel).... Read more
Incident date: Nov 4, 2022
La falla de mi carro es la transmisión se quebró por dentro cuando iba en marcha pero pude llegar a un tienda de Chevrolet
Incident date: Oct 25, 2022
Instrument panel cluster failure. Panel goes black while driving and lose power. Vehicle won’t start or shut off. My vehicle was getting serviced at the dealership and they couldn’t start the vehicle. I was told the instrument panel cluster was the problem. I contacted Toyota Customer Service, and was told they were aware of the issue. They had issued an extended warranty and sent out a lett... Read more
Incident date: May 13, 2021
First off before I got the car it had gone through a tune up. About a couple months after I got the car little things started to happen it would rock back and forth while idling I thought it was kind of an indicator that it needed oil but the percentage was still at a decent range and telling me it didn't need oil plus I hadent driven it 3000-5000 miles. Then engine light came on had it inspected ... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Nov 2, 2022
I still have more to add to my other complaint. The fire started with alternator apparently there were crossed wires took alternator back to Orielys where I got it warrented out fixed the expanded wiring and replaced a hose and other things damaged by the little fire. Then after that things kept getting worse. Then it was spark plugs that were rusted that I replaced eventually I complained back to... Read more
Incident date: Oct 24, 2022
The contact owns a 2022 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at a low speed pulling into a parking spot, the vehicle accelerated over two concrete stopping blocks and crashed into a parked unoccupied 2015 Toyota vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. A police report was filed. There were no reported injuries, air bag deployment, or fire. The contact ca... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
I went to the shop, and they said that my transmission was slipping, & that I didn’t have a third gear. Also they stated that it was a recall. There are leaks