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: Jan 1, 2019
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was shuddering while accelerating. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who informed her that the vehicle was working as designed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who was unable to repli... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 3500
(2014) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 3, 2022
Incident date: Aug 31, 2022
Transmission control module failed. Reduced power to vehicle to first gear. Blinkers, speedometer door locks, and other Safety and driving devices did not work. Check engine turned on. Device is held at some gmc dealerships nationally however they will not sell the part to have the truck repaired.
Incident date: Apr 17, 2021
At random times the car will get the check engine light (Code P2138 when scanned) & show a message on the dash saying “engine power reduced”. This happened to me twice while driving on the highway & 4 other times while driving on city streets. When this happens , I have to pull over to the side of the rode as fast as I can to avoid getting hit by other vehicles since the car looses power. The ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 3, 2022
Just purchased this Jeep August 31, 2022. This is the 2nd time that while driving the vehicle suddenly shows very high RPM and will barely move. Could the previous repair to the engine recall have failed? I have an appointment to take the vehicle for service again. The first time the dealership said they did updates to fix the problem.
Incident date: Jun 17, 2022
Vehicle is failing to shift correctly causing low acceleration and road safety issues. Cruise control and manual shift paddles not working, multiple warning lights on.
Incident date: Oct 29, 2022
Daughter was driving. Came to a stop sign, proceeded through after stopping and the the car's accelerator wouldn't work and the car stalled in the middle of the intersection. She had to turn if off and it started back up after a few "weird" sounds. Took it to a shop we trust, they checked it quickly and couldn't find a reason. Checked the battery:fine. Checked the oil: was low, told to return... Read more
Incident date: Oct 22, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving 10 MPH, the speedometer failed to properly show the speed after exceeding 10 MPH. The contact stated that the transmission failed to shift properly. Additionally, the vehicle was slow to accelerate. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed the molded lead fram... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
E320
(2004) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 2, 2022
Incident date: Oct 27, 2022
October 26, 2022 my 2004 Mercedes model E320 W211 VIN # [XXX] dash pop out warning " Brake Wearing visit workshop" October 27, 2022 I had the brake pads and wear sensors both replaced and test drive verified car running normal for 30 minutes then dash pop out RED warning "Brake malfunction stop vehicle" plus transmission shifter stick to parking port can not be shift to other position, so can not... Read more
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2013) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 2, 2022
Incident date: Oct 8, 2022
Superior Protection Plan Information for 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan Service Echelon Automotive [XXX] Wed, Nov 2, 2022 at 8:34 AM To: [XXX] Cc: [XXX],[XXX] [XXX], Here are some photos of the rear driver side brake system where it is locking up on you. I want to express my disappointment in whoever sold you this vehicle and not only sold it to you in this condition but if I heard you correctly, they s... Read more
Incident date: Oct 21, 2022
While driving my car normally 9 dashboard lights came on suddenly including the check engine, ABS, brakes while at the same time the dials on the dashboard including the rpms, speedometer, oil temperature and more all stopped working. This happened suddenly while the car was in drive and also caused issues with the transmission as the car stopped shifting gears properly and was driving very rough... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
Hello everyone. I NEED HELP i have a 2021 hyundai elantra and i have had the same issue for over 10k+ miles and 6 months. My traction control light, (no matter what speed or acceleration/deceleration.) will flicker on and off, make a horrible noise almost as if the ABS is applying but no ABS light comes on, and the pedals will go stiff and the whole car jerks. My 2021 elantra has had a new tr... Read more
Incident date: Oct 31, 2022
I was leaving a drive-through. Crossing traffic when my 2022 Tuscan N-Line just stopped accelerating the engine started to shake and SUV became unresponsive. As I was crossing traffic. I was almost hit. Moved the SUV to the middle of the street. Turned the SUV off. Restarted it. The SUV had no power and the check engine light came on. The engine started shaking violently. A bad burning smell ( lik... Read more
Incident date: Oct 12, 2022
Water has collect in race strip light, since then I’ve been experiencing electrical problems with the car.
Incident date: Oct 28, 2022
Traveling on a clear, dry highway on a sunny morning and once again the next day we experienced phantom braking. This occurred three times in two days. In all cases we were traveling at 75mph and were using the adaptive cruise control. In all cases there were reflections in the road from the heat mirage or from something far down the road. The car acted as if it saw something in the road and brake... Read more
Incident date: Oct 27, 2022
Lead frame in transmission, causing downshifts in my truck and cruise control and speedometer shut off.I noticed theres a recall for issue but only on some. I'll be driving and all of a sudden wrench pops up and downshifts and dash components quit working and only runs in certain gears.also had to put 2 timing chains in,both at 50000 miles, 3 vacuum pumps for the brake system which both of these w... Read more
Incident date: Oct 31, 2022
I have experienced either failure to gain speed or sudden acceleration burst when I accelerate step by step from around 30 to 40 miles/hr or 40 to 50 miles/hr.
Incident date: Oct 30, 2022
I was driving to Harrisburg, PA on the highway traveling at around 68 mph and my car dashboard said Engine Power is Reduced speed Reduced to 45 mph and it instantly slowed to that speed. Then it counted down very quickly to 35 and then 25 before I could find a safe place to pull off to the side of the road. I turned off my car, waited for a bit and then turned it back on, it still said Engine Po... Read more
Incident date: Oct 30, 2022
I was driving back home from Harrisburg, PA on the highway traveling at around 72 mph and my car dashboard said Engine Power is Reduced speed Reduced to 45 mph and it instantly slowed to that speed. It took quite a while to find a place to pull of to the side of the road because of the area I was in. It was quite frightening because everyone else is going the actual speed limit of 70 mph or over... Read more
Incident date: Oct 30, 2022
I was on the highway traveling at around 68 mph and my car dashboard said Engine Power is Reduced speed Reduced to 45 mph and it instantly slowed to that speed. Fortunately I was able to pull of to the side of the road quickly and I turned off my car, waited for a bit and then turned it back on, it still said Engine Power is Reduced, so I turned it back off and waited again. This was at night, in... Read more
Incident date: Sep 30, 2022
I was getting on the I15 freeway. After I entered, I set the cruise control and it immediately began to accelerate the vehicle to maximum speed. I was unable to turn it off and had to repeatedly push the brakes to keep the speed below 70 + mph. Smoke from the brakes began to fill the passenger compartment. I got off the freeway and when I slowed to about 20 mph, I heard a clunk under the dash... Read more
Incident date: Oct 31, 2022
The speed control system was working recently then stopped for no reason. It does NOT register info on the dashboard or engage. Completely out. Due to the recalls for so many others, this needs to be added to your list.
FREIGHTLINER
SPRINTER 3500
(2012) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Oct 30, 2022
Incident date: Oct 21, 2022
ABS SPEED SENSOR, TRACTION REAR SPEED SENSOR FAULT CODE C0037 AND C003A. SPEED REDUCES TO 20MPH HIGH ENGINE RPM REV OVER 3000 RPM
MERCEDES-BENZ
GLE 350
(2020) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Oct 30, 2022
Incident date: Oct 29, 2022
I was turning on to a busy street and the throttle became unresponsive. I verified the car was in drive. There was no engine noise when pressing the accelerator pedal. I stopped the car and shifted to park and then back to drive and the car responded normally.
Incident date: Oct 10, 2022
I purchased this vehicle less than 30 days. It had 29,257 miles. From day one, the vehicle came with no heating. When you push for heat, the cold AC blows. The part is in national back order. Secondly, when driving car at 20- 45 miles there is vibration, like a window is down when on a highway, but I'm driving in my neighborhood with all windows up. The vibration is unbearable. Thirdly and most im... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
SPRINTER 2500
(2020) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Oct 30, 2022
Incident date: Jun 20, 2021
The cruise control system and related systems (distance control and automatic braking) repeatedly malfunction. Specifically the systems go off and on without warning. For example, when driving at highway speed the systems will suddenly shut off causing the vehicle to slow down (presumably without brake lights to alert the driver behind). Also presumably the automatic braking ceases to work when... Read more
Incident date: Oct 30, 2022
Phantom braking occurs in the Tesla Model Y when the vehicle’s TACC system is engaged. This is not auto drive, this is the systems Traffic Aware Cruise Control. Unexpected Braking occurs decreasing “cruise speed” approximately 8-11 miles per hour in a matter of seconds. On a trip from the Dallas TX area to the Colorado Springs area, this unexpected phantom braking occurred approximately 3 do... Read more
Incident date: Oct 21, 2022
I WAS DRIVING MY CAR ON THE FREEWAY APPROXIMATELY GOING 55MPH, THEN I WANTED TO BREAK SLIGHTLY, BUT I WAS UNABLE TOO, BECAUSE MY CAR KEPT ACCELERATING. IT DIDNT WANT TO STOP. LUCKILY THERE WASNT CARS NEXT ME. I MANAGED TO PULL MY EMERGENCY BREAK UP AND SLAM ON MY BREAKS AGAIN. CAR GOT TOWED TO DEALERSHIP THEY SAID THEY COULDNT FIND AN ISSUE. THIS HAPPENED 10/21/22. AND IT HAPPENED TO ME AGAIN 10... Read more
Incident date: Oct 29, 2022
As I was driving I was addressed with a speed reduction warning and it followed with a very abrupt problem with speed as it was reduced drastically and almost getting rear-ended in the process I was able to pull over but very unsafely and without warning
Incident date: Sep 2, 2022
At night the wipers run when cruise control is engaged even though the windshield is clean and there is no precipitation. This situation also occurs when Autopilot is engaged. I've complained to Tesla's service center about this issue. I have text documentation to attach as evidence. A web search indicates there are many Tesla owners complaining about these issues for years. I've owned the car for... Read more
Incident date: Oct 27, 2022
While leaving the bank parking lot my 2015 Rav 4 started to accelerate while my foot was on the brakes. I barely missed hitting an incoming car. This was not first time something like this happened. There were other incidents prior to this but I dismissed them as maybe me hitting the wrong pedal.
Incident date: Jan 1, 2022
The cruise control doesn’t work at all, then I’ve only had the car for always two years and the power steering is giving me issues. Also when I roll the window up or dwn the lights will flicker
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
While driving at speeds around or above 20 mph when turning left the ABS or braking system begins activating causing a very serious hazard. This does not happen at any speeds when turning right. This has been reported by numerous Ryker owners. I have brought it into the shop and they are not able to locate or resolve the issue. This is an extremely dangerous situation as the biker will lose contr... Read more
Incident date: Oct 23, 2022
My dad was driving my car when the car dashboard said Engine Power is Reduced Speed reduced to 25 mph. He pulled off to the side of the road and turned off my car. He waited for about 2 minutes and turned it back on, but it still said Engine Power is Reduced. He turned it back off and waited for 5 minutes and turned it back on and it was ok again.
Incident date: Oct 26, 2022
I was on my way to work and my car dashboard said Engine Power is Reduced. I was in road construction and only going about 5 mph. I turned off my car and waited for about a minute as I just happened to be stopped waiting for the sign to turn for me to go and turned it back on, but it still said Engine Power is Reduced. I turned it back off and waited for another few seconds and turned it back on... Read more
Incident date: Oct 28, 2022
The drive shaft light is on and clicking, car is extremely hard to turn in any direction or drive.
Incident date: Mar 23, 2022
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? A defect in the cam shaft solenoids causes a notice that "Engine Power is Reduced." At that point, the engine begins to struggle to accelerate from a stop, and from increasing speed while on the highway. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? The unpredictability of the defect and ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 17, 2022
On 08/17/2022, we had to have the car towed to the dealer for a very concerning issue. My son was driving down a major highway (middle lane) and as he attempted to accelerate, the car was not responding. It was like the car went into neutral and the rpms went up, but there was absolutely no acceleration. It was scary as he had traffic all around him and needed to get over to the breakdown lane. ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 17, 2022
My car is brand new. When in Autopilot mode (not full FSD), the vehicle does u expected braking apparently randomly. There are no road obstructions or potential road obstructions visible at all to me as driver. Yet, the vehicle will brake suddenly. It does this so frequently that I no longer use Autopilot unless I know the road has no other vehicle driving behind me and is very clear ahead of ... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
E350
(2016) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Oct 27, 2022
Incident date: Oct 27, 2022
I was driving on North Shepherd Drive in Houston, TX, at a speed of approximately 35 MPH. While I was lightly braking to slow down for an upcoming intersection where I wished to turn, the car flashed 2 error lights--Frontal Collision Avoidance System Inoperable, and Traction Control System Inoperable. At that moment, the car began to accelerate out of my control. It began to accelerate at a pac... Read more
Incident date: Oct 26, 2022
I drove from Flagstaff, AZ to Las Vegas, NV on 10/26/2022. I attempted to put my car in AutoPilot (adaptive cruise control) around a dozen times during this 260 mile trip. Every 10-25 miles the car would brake extremely hard forcing the passengers to lunge forward as if the brakes were being slammed. In every case, the car was in the same lane (no lane changes) with nothing but open road ahead. In... Read more
Incident date: Oct 26, 2022
Multiple times traveling on Interstate 70 at 75 mph the car would brake itself without warning while the “Autopilot” (driver assist) was engaged. This probably happened 4 times over the course of 1 hour. I recalibrated the cameras after the 3rd event, but it did not help. This was very dangerous and unsettling. I verified no-one was close behind when engaging the autopilot in case the syst... Read more
Incident date: Oct 27, 2022
06 Ford Escape , 4 cylinder, front wheel drive. The gas pedal sticks and won’t accelerate when the vehicle is colder. Today I was on the road in traffic and went to hit the gas and gain some speed as I was still under the speed limit after slowing down behind a car that was turning and the pedal was stuck, couldn’t go! People driving behind and at me and I’m just stuck! It took a good 15-2... Read more
Incident date: Jul 3, 2022
Approx july 2022 My sonata began to malfunction, first the steering wheel buttons stopped working intermittently off and on unable to turn on and set cruise control, unable to use hands free phone options as well as unable to navigate cluster features, as the time goes on the problem gets worse and eventually do not function ever. I replaced the steering wheel buttons which fixed the issue tempora... Read more
Incident date: Sep 28, 2020
While accelerating approximate @ 30 mph, vehicle speed increased without assistance nearly plummeting into a body of water at a curve... exit 77 on I-95S MD. The car could not handled the curve at that rate of speed. Town Car had to be thrown into neutral and hard press brake pedal in order to stop. Safety issue could have been major accident or my death. I do not desire to reproduce a dangerous... Read more
Incident date: Oct 26, 2022
The contact owns a 1995 Dodge Ram 2500. The contact became aware that the VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 01V037000 (Vehicle Speed Control) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted and informed the contact that parts to perform the recall repair had been discontinued. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonabl... Read more
Incident date: Sep 26, 2022
Intermittently, my 2022 Honda Odyssey with less than 16,000 miles will “stall” after the idle stop/start system is enacted. The first time it happened, I was waiting to turn left out of a parking lot onto a busy road. The idle stop kicked in, and when I went to go, my car lurched about 5 feet and the engine cut out completely requiring me to turn off the car with the push button start, restart... Read more
Incident date: Oct 15, 2022
Upon the vehicle resting at a stop, for longer than 30 seconds, the vehicle will no longer accelerate. “SAFE” warning is shown by the instrument cluster. Had to turn power off to vehicle and back on for vehicle to accelerate. This has happened twice almost resulting in being rear ended and being stuck in traffic.
Incident date: Oct 26, 2022
When Driving car if you began to go down hill the car will race motor and run away by its self It is very dangerous in curvy and hilly areas. This cay be caused on a daily bases
MERCEDES-BENZ
SPRINTER 2500
(2021) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Oct 26, 2022
Incident date: Oct 23, 2022
When driving in a low-density area, on roads with little to no traffic, the vehicle assumes that the radar has failed if it does not see a vehicle in front of it for a long enough time. Since this is a larger van, I tend to drive 65mph on higher speed roads such as an interstate. Many cars understandably pass me as the speed limit is usually much higher. Even though they pass me the van does not r... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2019) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Oct 25, 2022
Incident date: Oct 21, 2022
Pressed the brake and service ESC/ service Brake Assist/ Check Engine/ ABS/ lights came on. Speed was restricted to 43 mph, speed was restricted to 62 mph. Cruise control was disabled. Brake Pad monitoring system read incorrectly. Took it to dealership for further inspection.