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
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2009) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Oct 5, 2022
Incident date: Sep 26, 2022
For the past few years I keep getting code P2138. I have spent several thousand dollars trying to get my truck fixed. I have replaced the accelerator pedal at least 3 times. Replaced the throttle body. Did a complete rewire. Replaced the ECM and still the dealership can’t figure it out. Every time I leave I’m hopeful the problem is resolved but then a month or two later I will be driving and t... Read more
Incident date: Oct 4, 2022
For a while now I have noticed that intermittently when barely stepping on the accelerator pedal, the car will accelerate but continue to speed up even with my foot off of the accelerator. I have to step on the break extremely hard to come to a stop, and car will still be doing around 40mph when at a complete stop or light. The check engine light has been on, and I have taken it to a mechanic tw... Read more
Incident date: Oct 3, 2022
Dash digital display screen completely black and not working. The truck was driving fine the day we noticed the screen being black but could not determine speed or anything else. Now the truck will not start.
HYUNDAI
SANTA FE HYBRID
(2021) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Oct 4, 2022
Incident date: Sep 27, 2022
While driving on the highway, when I pushed on gas pedal the car would not accelerate, I was uncertain if I was losing power of the vehicle, luckily it maintained the current speed and did not decelerate,but I was unsure at the moment if I was losing complete power, because it wasn't responding, it felt like the car was going to stall similar to when you run out of fuel. This occured for around 20... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2022
On 10/1/2022 in Berwick, PA while pulling into the Dollar Tree parking lot, smoke appeared in the passenger cabin and the vehicle accelerated on it's own. The brakes were applied and the vehicle continue to accelerate. The vehicle went down through a yard, across a road through another parking lot and crashed into a high curb before stalling out. The airbags deployed. My mother was transporte... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Aug 25, 2022
Lost control of my car when I looked down to pick up a piece of ice in my console. In the crash the steering wheel air bag did not deploy, and my accelerator stuck. I had my seat belt on but the force of the impact in the ditch was so hard and my air bag did not deploy that my back was fractured in the accident!!
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Sep 25, 2022
Pushed accelerator to floor. When I took my foot off the accelerator car continued to accelerate at full throttle for about 15 -20 seconds. Uncontrolled acceleration stopped when I pumped the accelerator. Chevrolet dealer found no fault codes due to a problem with the fly by wire. It appears that when the accelerator was pushed all the way down it somehow got caught and held in the full throttle p... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2020
When driving the car at low speeds, or right after having been stopped for a few moments. Upon, acceleration, the car will sometimes go into a limp mode. On the DIC, will be displayed a warning about how the car will have the speed reduced after 175 miles and to check the emissions system. The speed has already been reduced at that point. Also displayed maybe a warning about how the power has ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 3, 2022
Service Electronic Braking System and Service ABS system lights are flashing intermittently and the ABS and traction control lights are on. Dealer has indicated the hydraulic control unit is bad and needs replaced but they no longer manufacture that part and there are no aftermarket offerings so vehicle cannot be repaired until parts are located. In the meantime these vehicles affected have no ant... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2022
While driving a freeway speed (80 MPH) my vehicle suddenly down shifted without cause. The vehicle had shifted from 6th gear down to 3rd gear while driving at 80 MPH nearly causing an accident. This similar random downshifting occurred several more times before I was able to take my vehicle to my local Ford dealership. The Ford technician diagnosed the issue from the computer logs as a code P07... Read more
Incident date: Sep 30, 2022
When the pedal is pressed, there is a delay in acceleration. This has happened several times over the past couple of months. It seems to happen mostly when trying to make a left-hand turn, typically at low speeds or from a stop. I will have time to make a safe left turn, but the unexpected delay in acceleration has created dangerous situations and has almost caused accidents. I'm not sure what's c... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2020) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Oct 3, 2022
Incident date: Sep 19, 2022
Purchased the truck through CARMAX and two weeks later received the “Service Brake Assist” and “Brake System Failure” message on the Console. This has happened twice in in one month.
Incident date: Oct 2, 2022
This vehicle has a dangerous flaw while downshifting and holding in the clutch lever. The engine will stall ! It is dangerous because I am relying on the engine braking to help slow down the motorcycle in a turn. Because the engine stalls the speed of the motorcycle increases. It is a worldwide problem BUT I do not see a recall listed in the NHTSA's website. Please have this matter resolved b... Read more
Incident date: Sep 28, 2022
Upon exiting my local car wash, I drove my car around to the area used for vacuuming. I pulled into the parking space and when I applied the brake pedal to stop, the car suddenly accelerated and crashed into the wall of the building. I have the Car Wash Security Camera footage of this incident. It shows my brake light is ON at the car's point of acceleration and my brake light is ON at point of... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Oct 3, 2022
The accelerator pedal position sensor failed causing reduced engine power mode. This happened on the highway with the speed limit of 55 which reduced my speed to 20 mph while around other vehicles. This put the safety of myself and my two children at risk because cars behind me didn’t expect a sudden change of speed along with myself. Having no warning is insanely scary. This problem is apparent... Read more
Incident date: Jun 16, 2021
This issue was repaired by the dealer one year ago and it has happened again, they tried to charge me by pretending they didnt know about the previous repair. the internet is full with the exact same complaint and how is this not a recall to hold them accountable?? the service electronic brake system and ABS lights come on and off each time making annoying noises. when the lights are on th... Read more
Incident date: Aug 16, 2022
While I am driving my car will beep and say malfunctioning and drop the please power as I push on the peddle, and it's hard for me to gain more speed as the speed limit increases. If I am to slow down or stop at a red light then start to go again my car takes a few minutes to get to the speed limit it's like the car has bo power going it is. Today I pulled into fhe road after leaving a store and w... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS CROSS SPORT
(2020) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Oct 3, 2022
Incident date: Sep 1, 2021
Adaptive cruise control (acc) will not work if you remote started the vehicle. To get it normally work, you have to fully switch off the car and then push start it. Had the vehicle checked by vw dealer and they found no problem, but the car won't engage cruise after remote start. After months of this; the remote start will not work. Carnet told me to wait on an update to be released soon.....it... Read more
Incident date: Jul 7, 2022
As my vehicle was in drive and I was actively driving, an error displayed on the dash stating to "stop safely immediately." The vehicle would neither accelerate nor decelerate and would not generate any RPMs. The check engine light came on, went off hours lately and the vehicle appeared to perform normally thereafter. Nonetheless I had the vehicle towed to the dealership and was told they were una... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2014) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Oct 2, 2022
Incident date: Oct 1, 2022
Car is not reporting accurate speed, 20mph or more on display and shifting my be affected
Incident date: Oct 1, 2022
Adaptive cruise control has failed many times. Recently had adaptive cruise control set at 75 mph on interstate. With no warning, the car instantly slowed to 55 mph. If a car would have been behind me I would have been rear-ended. Or worse, if someone behind me thought I was intentionally braking hard or "squating" they could become angry and instigate a road rage incident. The car provided z... Read more
Incident date: Sep 30, 2022
While driving at any speed the vehicle will start jerking and RPM's will rev way up and heat Guage will fluctuate like the car is going to over heat but immediately drops back down to normal, when I let off the gas the vehicle starts to slow down very quickly like if I was pushing the break pedal.
Incident date: Sep 28, 2022
The vehicle intermittently brakes for no reason with the cruise control enabled. This is going to cause an accident.
Incident date: Sep 29, 2022
I was traveling approximately 70 mph in passing lane when I engaged (standard) autopilot, as I approached to pass a vehicle with another vehicle following me in the same lane as I was traveling. My vehicle (phantom) braked hard to which the wheels began to squeal slightly and the vehicle behind me had to brake hard to avoid hitting my vehicle. I almost immediately applied pressure to the accelerat... Read more
Incident date: Sep 26, 2022
Problem started 1 month ago. As I approached the round about I am at very slow speed,and for no action on my part, my MDX accelerates! Fortunately it has only happened as my vehicle is coasting or I am applying the break slowly. This is happening more and more. It has over 20K miles on it.
Incident date: Sep 30, 2022
While driving highway speeds with the cruise control on, car suddenly brakes. No vehicle or obstacle was in front of us. This happened approximately 6 times in 200 miles. 5 of the 6 times happened on the interstate in a rural area.
Incident date: Sep 17, 2022
Highly repeatable issue: driving on left lane of a highway going at high speed (60) with adaptive cruise control enabled (but *not* full self drive mode). Put on turn signal to merge into right lane. There was a car in the right lane directly next to me but I had not initiated the merge, was merely signaling my intent to merge. My car SLAMMED on the breaks (very dangerous as I was almost rear ende... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2022
OIL SHOT OUT THE CAR WHILE DRIVING AT HIGH SPEED ON THE FREEWAY, CAUSING ALL THE OIL TO SHOOT OUT, AND THE ENTIRE FUNCTION OF THE CAR TO STOP WORKING. THE ENGINE ESSENTIALLY DIED, CAUSING THE BRAKE, THE GAS, AND STEERING TO LOCK AND NOT WORK.CAR WENT FROM 65 MILES A HR TO 5 MILESW, VERY SCARY Summary ON Certain Passenger Vehicles, Prolonged High Under-Hood Temperatures MAY Cause THE Power Steering... Read more
Incident date: Sep 18, 2022
Secondary air injection pump has high rate of failure, recalls in older models. Has caused truck to go into limp mode. Could cause serious accident/fatality if vehicle suddenly goes into limp mode on highway. This has happened on multiple occasions in forums I’ve read. Known problem by Toyota that isn’t being addressed.
Incident date: Aug 17, 2022
The car makes a knocking noise from the engine and in order to drive, you have to hold in the traction control button. I was told that the connecting rod broke and has to be repaired & I believe that should be a recall with the engine.
HONDA
CR-V HYBRID
(2022) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 28, 2022
Incident date: Sep 16, 2022
When traveling with the cruise control engaged, the vehicle will suddenly begin braking with no vehicles or objects in front of the vehicle. It’s occurred multiple occasions and some episodes are a quick braking where it then suddenly accelerates back up to the set speed, and during other episodes I quickly hit the accelerator as I wasn’t sure if it was going to recover itself and I did not w... Read more
Incident date: Sep 27, 2022
While stopped at a red light, I stepped on brake and without warning, the car accelerated uncontrollably, at a high speed. It crashed into a parked vehicle and was a total loss. i had my 17 mos. old granddaughter in a rear facing carseat, in the rear passenger side. Luckily, the Upa Baby carseat protected her and she was not hurt, nor was anyone else. Airbags did not deploy. Now i have to get a n... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Aug 8, 2022
Yes, both the safety of myself as well as others is at risk. The engine shuts off while driving, which is extremely dangerous in many scenarios: on a highway - the risk of rear-ending at high speed, hazardous when passing another car on a two-way street, inability to leave the intersection safely etc. During regular operation, the vehicle loses power and enters "idle mode"; the car shakes a bit ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 8, 2022
FEB (sensors) display on our Infiniti QX 60 dashboard - this occurred within several months when we received the car. The car was inspected by their Infiniti Repair dealer and was told the problem was solved. It was not and the same issue appeared after several miles of driving. Reported to Consumer Affairs at Infiniti and was informed its an Infiniti Dealer issue. Further electronic defects o... Read more
Incident date: Sep 28, 2022
I have taking my car to Chevy 8/2021 twice and now 9/28/22 for what I believe to be throttle body control and accelerator pedal issue. The engine reduce light and check engine lite continues to come on causing my car to lose speed while driving. Chevy keeps telling me its a oil pressure issue now their saying it may be a oil gasket. At this point I feel like there is a lot of complaints of the sam... Read more
Incident date: Jun 30, 2022
It is called a "Smart Cruise" and it does not hold the speed. When driving on the interstate and the speed does not hold that would cause a risk of collision by other vehicles that are driving the appropriate speed. I took the car to my Hyundai dealer and a tech drove it. He said he got the same result of not holding the speed it was set at. I was told this is a problem with the Smart Cruise and t... Read more
Incident date: Sep 24, 1970
On 3 different occasions the acceleration got stuck and increased speed. I pressed the brake over and over and the Jeep would NOT reduce speed or slow down for what ranged between 30 - 45 seconds. Had there been a vehicle directly in front of me I would have slammed into the vehicle. If I had been trying to stop at an intersection I would not have been able to stop. I had my child in the car ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 5, 2022
Engine takes a long time to start up, about 10-15 seconds of pushing the start button starts engine which is probably not good for the car. Also, the car jolts/ wants to stop while driving. Has been an ongoing issue since the week of 9/5/22. Loss of motor power issue sounds like what is going on with my 2018 Hyundai Sonata vehicle.
Incident date: Feb 18, 2021
If vehicle is in drive with engine running on a hill and rolls back a significant distance while in gear engine may shut off leading to a loss in power steering and brake control once booster looses reserve. also delays ability to move vehicle increasing risk for accident that could be avoided. am able to duplicate concern reliably.
Incident date: Sep 27, 2022
At approximately 1130am, pulling into parking space in a parking lot at very low speed, 50% of vehicle was in the parking space, when suddenly the car accelerated forward. This resulted in my vehicle jumping over a safety curb and crashing into a building resulting in damage to my vehicle.
Crash
Incident date: Sep 27, 2022
My cruise control just stopped working all of a sudden. It was working this morning but I got in the vehicle to go to work and it just wasn't working anymore.
Incident date: Aug 30, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while pulling into a parking space, the vehicle accelerated at high speeds without any warning, causing the vehicle to run through a construction site and collide with a building. The air bags were deployed, and the passenger in the vehicle was injured and sought medical attention. The contact was unsure if a police report was filed. The ve... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Sep 12, 2022
My cars intake runner control valve needs to be replaced when I am driving my car will beep and say malfunctioning on the dash the power to my car lessons I can push the pedal of my car to the floor and only be going 30 to 40 miles an hour, I tried getting the part from a couple garage is it is on back order a long list of people are waiting for this part Nissan said they don't know when I will be... Read more
Incident date: Aug 13, 2021
The dashboard for the vehicle loses all power and does not regain power/connectivity. I've had this problem "fixed" 5 times by the Chevy dealership and the issues continues. They've replaced the entire dash, checked electrical components, changed out the electrical bank, and the issues continues. Driving down the road at 65 mph to have your dash go out is not only terrifying but extremely dangerou... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2021
ABS Hydraulic Control Unit and Electronic Control Unit Failure. ABS MIL and Traction MIL began turning ON and OFF intermittently during daily driving, sometimes turning ON and OFF over 50 times during a 20-mile drive. Lights up the dash and sounds a beep to inform the driver, while displaying a message on the dashboard screen. Again, this occurs every time the alarm activates. No dealership was ab... Read more
Incident date: Sep 15, 2022
I was running 65mph and my truck down shifted from 6th to 3rd. I called my dealer and they said they never heard of this problem so I called two more and can’t get any answers. Glad no one was behind me.
Incident date: Sep 23, 2022
The engine valve stem failed prematurely due to poor quality manufacturing. Due to this low quality product it has created low compression in the engine. This has triggered multiple codes such as misfire, ETC, and has affected the acceleration of the vehicle as well as performance and at times from even starting. My family's safety has been put at risk due to stalling of the vehicle in traffic.Thi... Read more
Incident date: Jan 5, 2022
Every neutral safety switch made for this vehicle is faulty be driving down the road it'll switch from drive to neutral or any other gear I've had it go into reverse while going 50 mph down the road I've replaced this part five times still have same problem part works for about a month then goes out. Other times transmission won't even go into drive have to screw with shifter to get it to go into ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 24, 2022
Suddenly lost acceleration and engine stopped - without any dashboard signal of low gas or engine issue. Car was able to start after couple of minutes. At the time of losing acceleration and stopping gas indicator was showing two bars - and car was not running with low fuel indicator. My whole family was in the car and stopping in the middle lane of a busy national highway of 65 miles speed limi... Read more
Incident date: Jun 13, 2022
Was driving around 30 MPH. Audi Q7started showing malfunctions on the dashboard, stabilization control malfunction, transmission malfunction, startup system malfunction, backup system malfunction, drivers assist malfunction, tire pressure malfunction, drive system malfunction. The vehicle started to brake on it own, fishtailed and then started to accelerate on its own
Crash