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
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2017) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Dec 12, 2022
Incident date: Dec 5, 2022
My car recently started making a grinding noise that got bad really fast. I had it towed to the dealership to get a diagnostic test done. I was told that it was my transfer case that was making the noise. Now this caught me by surprise because I had no warning lamps on my dashboard or no messages alerting me of any problems that would point to it needing servicing done it just happened out the blu... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2022
To whom it may concern: I am sending this email as an owner of a 2019 Kia Sorento for just 15 months, yet I am already experiencing significant mechanical issues. 3 weeks ago my car stopped accelerating while driving across a bridge, began shaking a making a weird noise once idle, and as expected my engine light came on. After calling endless Kia dealers I was able to get it towed 2 weeks later to... Read more
Incident date: Sep 30, 2020
Intermittent failure of the electronic braking system. Audible Warning tone and indication "Service Electronic Braking System" followed by "Service antilock braking system" experienced intermittently. The multiple warnings automatically disabled the antilock brakes, stability control, and cruise control as well as producing annoying audible tone. This failure originally began occurring in Augus... Read more
Incident date: Dec 6, 2022
Vehicle proceeded from a stop at intersection when it unexpectedly decelerated and holding the brakes down seem to do nothing, tried turning corner at next stop sign to maybe slow it down and hit utility pole and parked car in driveway. A resident that was outside on porch by stop sign said they heard it just loud exceleration. This was a short street block in a residential area. No warnings, v... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Nov 25, 2022
I was driving a longer distance from Las Vegas Nevada to California Victor Ville and was coming down in speed and vehicle claimed a sudden stop in power and turned off. After a min of attempting to pull into a close parking lot the Jeep 4xe alarms were going on and off uncontrollably with zero power or capability to shutting off. After a few times of attempting to turn the jeep on and off and no s... Read more
CHRYSLER
PACIFICA PLUG-IN HYBRID
(2019) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Dec 9, 2022
Incident date: Dec 5, 2022
On Dec 5th, as I was driving downhill on Hwy 54 in Peachtree City, GA, the van jerked, made a beeping noise, and the dash lit up. The van had completely shut off. It said "service charging system" and "shift to park". I was able to get the van off the roadway and into a parking lot by coasting. Despite turning it off, it kept turning back on with the ac on full blast. It finally stopped turning ba... Read more
Incident date: Dec 2, 2022
The vehicle is shutting off while in transit. All warning lights come on and the parking break engages. Dealership says no error codes recorded and can’t recreate. Issue captured on video.
MERCEDES-BENZ
GLA 250
(2016) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Dec 9, 2022
Incident date: Dec 8, 2022
Dec 2- filled car with gas, check engine light illuminated and then three more errors displayed on the dash. See list below. Errors displayed on dash… 1-INOPERATIVE -- SEE OPERATOR’S MANUAL (Shows ABS and skid icons) 2-COLLISION PREVENTION ASSIST PLUS INOPERATIVE 3-ABS CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE – SEE OWNER’S MANUAL 4-CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON Later that same day, Dec 2, we started the car ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 13, 2022
In two, separate, instances the vehicle exhibited sudden acceleration with the brake pedal depressed. The first instance was, as the 2020 Honda Pilot was pulling into a driveway and was approximately 10 feet behind another vehicle parked in the driveway. With the brake pedal being depressed, as one does when parking, the 2020 Honda Pilot suddenly accelerated and struck the rear of the other vehicl... Read more
Crash
TOYOTA
PRIUS PRIME
(2020) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Dec 9, 2022
Incident date: Dec 5, 2022
The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Prius Prime. The contact stated that while driving slowly into a parking space the vehicle suddenly experience unintended acceleration and accelerated forward before crashing into a building. During the crash, the front end of the vehicle was severely damaged but the air bags did not deploy. No injuries were reported. The vehicle was towed from the scene. No police r... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Nov 23, 2022
ABS, Traction control and Brake lights came on. Veh has 45000 miles on it. Was advised the ABS module is bad. Part is no where to be found, and no dealer can order it. Basically the vehicle braking system is questionable on the road without ABS or traction.
Incident date: Dec 8, 2022
I’ve only had the car since Aug. Im the second owner, it drove just fine. Then I got an oil change. Then the car began to rev down hill and struggled to make it uphill. Then my exhaust became excessively loud. Then the wheel became loose ,and started pulling ALOT. I was on my way to get an alignment this morning and the whole front end began to buckle not even a minute down the road. I tmade it ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 8, 2022
1) Engine failure - Several times our 2016 Touring has stalled at a stoplight. It takes time to start back up. I have to turn on hazard light, and it is getting worse every occurrence. This has happened since I bought new, and when it happens, all of the lights come up on the dash. There is a investigation in the state of California, but nothing in Ohio yet. 2) I just had to replace my drive shaf... Read more
Incident date: Dec 7, 2022
Please recall electrical system, started out the doors not locking and trunk wont open then inside lights would not come on. I put my steering wheel down lower and when I did the car would not start. The inside lights come on when the car wont start then when I move steering wheel back up the lights go back off and the car will start again. The all wheel drive lock button will not work and the all... Read more
Incident date: Aug 12, 2022
The vehicle drops to low gear without warning (check engine light comes on). Causing speed to drop to less than 20Mph max.
Incident date: Dec 7, 2022
Car was stopped at a stop sign. When it was clear I attempted to proceed and turn left. The car began to roll then wouldn't accelerate causing me to block both lanes with oncoming vehicles. The rpms revved and the car wouldn’t move. Finally, the car started to go forward and without me pressing the gas it accelerated. I reported the situation to the Nissan Dealer and the Nissan Consumer repair.... Read more
Incident date: Dec 2, 2022
The car is set at a speed for cruise control. For no reason it loses power, after a while it returns speed as set. At the beginning the doors weren’t working for locking and unlocking by the handle. Seems okay now but I made a video showing the rear camera staying on while driving. Also included, two pictures of maintenance reports with different results.
Incident date: Apr 28, 2021
My car was recalled for problems with fuel system or something of that nature, I took it to get repaired not once but about 3 times and problem is still ongoing. When I press the gas, the car shoots all the way to the 3rd gear and gets stuck at about 27 miles which is very dangerous, especially when I’m on the freeway. It will also cut off in the middle of the road making me have to put my car i... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2019
1. Cruise Control 2. Unknown 3. No 4. No 5. No I first reported this to the dealership shortly after I purchased the vehicle. While driving with the cruise control on the rpms begin to jump to 5000 all on it's own but the car isn't speeding up when it happens. I know it's wearing the engine down every time it happens. It happens when I'm driving on flat freeways as well as when driving down hills... Read more
Incident date: Nov 11, 2022
While driving on the highway traveling about 70 mph in the middle lane the car went into a "limp mode" and the vehicle started decreasing speed and I was not able to accelerate using gas pedal. I was able to move over to the slow lane to exit. At traffic light, I had to shut car off and restart. I brought to the car back to the dealership Bourne Auto Sales in Easton MA where I purchased the veh... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2022
2013 Ford F150 in the past week has experienced sudden downshift with speedometer dropping to 0 with electronics failing in the vehicle while being operated. I started to research and there was not an official recall but instead treated as a Customer satisfaction program 19N01. I have never received any emails thru the ford app, although my email is registered, never had this brought to my attenti... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2022
while attempting to come to a complete stop, depressing the brakes, the vehicle continued to accelerate even though the brake was depressed to the floor. At no time was the driver's foot on the accelerator. This is one of 2 incidents with the vehicle.
Incident date: Dec 7, 2022
Vehicle idles low when driving and RPMs rev at stops, then almost stalling. When applying the break the vehicle lunges forward. When accelerating vehicle doesn’t want to move. Near misses when making left turns and in heavy traffic. Repeating and ongoing issue. Steering wheel goes limp and fails to respond.
Incident date: Nov 18, 2022
Dash is cracked scared that sharp objects may fly into my family face if air bags are deployed the truck lost all power and left me and my daughter stranded right in the middle of traffic about got hit thank God we didn't GM needs to take care of these matters and take it seriously people could be seriously hurt or killed And if I hit a bump my cruise control will shut off automatically as if i pu... Read more
Incident date: Nov 23, 2022
When making a turn and accelerating the gas the vehicle pops. This vehicle is a 1 time owner has 36,385 miles and is the rear differential and electric clutch assembly on rear differential is out. This vehicle should not have something this major occurring with the low mileage. So far no recalls. However I have seen multiple complaints within google search. This is a safety issue as it feels as th... Read more
Incident date: May 11, 2022
Hi I bought this Dodge Journey on May 24 2021 since the First day I bought it the car started giving me problems the dealer wouldn't take the car back and in stuck with it the engine from the car is Giving me problems it won't accelerate is very scary I'm very concerned because I got kids and also the car started smoking .
CHRYSLER
PACIFICA PLUG-IN HYBRID
(2020) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Dec 6, 2022
Incident date: Dec 3, 2022
I was driving the car around 70 mph on a highway with charged batteries and a 3/4 full tank of gas when the engine shut off a red dot appeared under the check engine light and a message appeared saying charging system fault, shift to park. Before this the van had been in the shop multiple times for a periodic check engine light that have a "cam shaft position sensor fault"message but the dealershi... Read more
HONDA
ACCORD HYBRID
(2021) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Dec 6, 2022
Incident date: Aug 30, 2022
I saw the investigation of hat the NTSB is opening into problems with the CRV and a handful of other vehicles. I think you should add the Honda accord hybrid (touring) to this investigation. I was driving on a road with speed limit of 55 mph. In full evening traffic. My check engine light flashed on, and I immediately called the dealership to set an appointment. Within one minute of that light co... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ID.4
(2023) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Dec 5, 2022
Incident date: Dec 3, 2022
While I was pulling into a parking space in a parking garage, the car suddenly accelerated to a high rate of speed and crashed into the wall of the parking garage. The front and side air bags deployed. The crash caused significant front end damage to the car. The passenger (my husband) was not hurt but I have bruises on my head, nose, chest, and abdomen from the steering wheel and seat belt. I... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Oct 11, 2022
The brakes failed while traveling 72 miles per hour on cruise control, and controlled distance. I was traveling behind a semi truck in the third lane from the right on Interstate 5 near Stockton, calif. coming upon the truck the Tundra started to accelerate, I hit the brakes numerous times yet tundra continued to accelerate, so i hit cancel on speed control, thru into park, and navigated three lan... Read more
CHRYSLER
PACIFICA PLUG-IN HYBRID
(2020) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Dec 5, 2022
Incident date: Dec 4, 2022
Driving on the road and vehicle lost all propulsion. Warning comes up on the dash saying Service Charging System and Shift to P. At that point, one has to coast to a stop on the side of the road. Vehicle would not restart. After waiting and completely shutting down the vehicle, it did restart. This is the second time this has happened over the past two months. The dealer updated software as a... Read more
Incident date: Dec 2, 2022
I will be driving and suddenly the car stops. The parking break comes on and the car won't start. Takes awhile to get it restarted. It seems dangerous and as I've googled seems like a problem all across the board not just me.
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2010) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Dec 4, 2022
Incident date: Dec 4, 2022
I got a code p2138 Throttle/Pedal Position Sensor/Switch. Upon doing my own research on this code I found out it is a manufacture defect. And they are aware this is caused because the manufacturer did not seal the antenna correctly so water gets in and damages wires and sensors
Incident date: Dec 2, 2022
While Driving in normal Driving conditions, The Auto at 30 mph will Rev the RPMS up to as much as 5000 rpm before the Transmission will catch and accelerate loosing the ability to accelerate on demand when needed such as merging on to a Highway of speeds of 55 mph or higher. This behavior happens almost every single time acceleration is demanded and is not due to a lack of ATF fluid in the transmi... Read more
Incident date: Nov 27, 2022
When using Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Traffic Sigh Assist (TSA) engaged (the default) on an interstate or other high speed road - for example the current highway speed limit is 65 and the ACC maximum speed is also set at 65 MPH, the TSA (wrongly) detects a much lower speed limit, say 25 MPH, the system flashes a warning AND AUTOMATICALLY APPLIES THE BRAKES without allowing the driver to re... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2022
While driving on highway using cruise control, the vehicle (without the driver's assistance) applied brakes to quickly slow the rate of speed. This occurred three times in the span of ten minutes. The weather was sunny and no other vehicles or objects were in the vicinity of my vehicle. After the third occurrence, I stopped using cruise control for the remainder of the trip.
TOYOTA
REDUNDANT SIENNA
(2021) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Dec 3, 2022
Incident date: Dec 3, 2022
The vehicle gets a jolt of power or speed while braking slowly or coming to a stop. This could result into an accident. This was addressed to multiple Toyota dealers and the problem was unidentified or undetectable to the technician multiple times. The problem is reported by several Sienna forum users but it is not being fixed by Toyota dealers.
Incident date: Dec 3, 2022
I have a used 2019 Niro PHEV. I started getting a loud jerk when starting from a full stop. At first it started happened in EV mode only but I've had it happen in Hybrid mode a couple of times ( not sure if the engine is actually working or just on for Heating). The sound and jerk can best be described as what happens when you drive a stick shift and you pull the clutch too quickly in first gear w... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2022
My check engine light came on and I had reduced power and could not speed up. I have seen other with same problem 2017 chevy Malibu. This needs investigated big time before someone gets hurt. Should be a recall on this.
Incident date: Nov 19, 2022
On a 900 mile drive, in one day, the “speed cruise control” would abruptly brake, as if it were seeing someone in front of us. It did this at a minimum 5 times. Never was there a car closer than 1/4 of a mile in front of us. Once it went from 78mph to 38mph in about 3 seconds, when there was a car about 3 car lengths behind us. On the return 900 mile drive it continued, at a lesser rate. I h... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2022
When driving it feels like I'm slowing down when I'm not. The lights inside, the headlights, & on dashboard flicker & sometimes go out while driving. My seatbelts on the driver, back seat behind driver not working. The driver seat does not adjust so I can position myself correctly. The truck rocks side to side while driving as if it will tip over on its side if I drive over 30. I just recently acq... Read more
Incident date: Nov 18, 2022
THERE HAS BEEN A ISSUE WITH THE TRANSMISSION FOR 5 YEARS AT LEAST AND AS OF 2 WEEKS AGO, THE TRANSMISSION COMPLETELY WENT OUT.
HONDA
CR-V HYBRID
(2021) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Dec 1, 2022
Incident date: Nov 21, 2022
2021 Honda CRV Hybrid. 11/9/22: When accelerating to merge onto a highway, moving at approximately 50 mph, the vehicle rapidly decelerated as driver tried to accelerate (went into limp mode), the check engine light came on and the engine made a continuous clattering sound. The vehicle would not go above 15 mph in 55-60 mph traffic. Driver put flashers on and drove 1/2 a mile to the first exit, l... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2022) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Dec 1, 2022
Incident date: Nov 30, 2022
General: While driving this rental vehicle over the span of three days, I noticed and confirmed over a dozen times that the vehicle's speed control would dramatically increase with NO driver input or actions. Specific: The vehicle's cruise control would be on and active, set at various speeds; 55, 60, 65, 70, 75 (long, straight road with varying speed limits). In different circumstances (sometim... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2022
I was on the entrance ramp for the freeway and the gas pedal disengaged. I could not accelerate and my car slowed down. A message on the display said to service electronic throttle. This has happened to me twice. My car is barely six months old. I was going 40 mph at the time. Today, I was getting into my car after picking up lunch and as I sat down, the alarm went off for close to 4 minutes. I u... Read more
Incident date: Nov 18, 2022
During cruise control on straight highways with no other cars nearby, the car would brake for no reason. Very scary.
Incident date: Nov 28, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 MPH and approaching a stop light, the vehicle accelerated without warning. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified about the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.
Incident date: Nov 23, 2022
I have done lots of research and have noticed that there is a lot of issues that the F-Pace has been experiencing with the turbocharger. At some point Jaguar needs to take responsibility and call for a recall. Its a shame that a vehicle that represents prestige has been found to not be a reliable vehicle and to top it all off the parts are over priced. $2500 cost is a lot of money to spend for a v... Read more
Incident date: Feb 2, 2022
Everytime i put m y car in reverese, back up, stop, and then put my car in Drive mode, the car will just stall out, The whole car turns off, Occasionaly, the car will not even shift and will be stuck in Reverse. When that happens, i am unable to turn the car and obisouly i am not able to restart the car. I then have to initatite the emergency brake, then wait sometimes up to an hour. Then try to s... Read more
Incident date: Nov 28, 2022
Electrical transmission problem. Car stopped working in the middle of street almost got in accident. Won’t accelerate over 20 miles. Problem turning on after turns off automatically. Seen so many people with this problem. This car needs to be investigated is not safe.