Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,245,377 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA, including 140,173 crashes, 56,794 fires, and 8,580 deaths.
What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?
A consumer complaint is a free-form report filed by a vehicle owner directly to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) describing a safety concern about their vehicle. NHTSA collects these reports through its Vehicle Owner Defect Report (VOQ) system and publishes them publicly. Each complaint includes the affected component, the date and circumstances of the incident, whether the failure caused a crash or fire, and any reported injuries or deaths. The owner's full narrative description is included verbatim, NHTSA does not edit or moderate the descriptions.
The database below contains over 2,245,377 individual complaints. NHTSA's investigators monitor it for clusters of similar reports, when enough owners describe the same failure mode on the same vehicle, NHTSA may open a Preliminary Evaluation that can lead to a recall. Many of the largest recalls in U.S. history, including the Takata airbag recall and the Hyundai/Kia engine fire recalls, started as patterns visible in this complaint database years before they became formal recalls.
How to interpret what you read
A few principles for reading consumer complaints usefully:
- One complaint is anecdote; a hundred similar complaints is data. NHTSA does not investigate the truthfulness of any individual report, that's the job of the Office of Defects Investigation, which looks at the full pattern. When evaluating a vehicle, look for whether multiple owners describe the same chain of events.
- Crash, fire, injury, and death flags are owner-set. They are not verified by NHTSA. They are still useful as a filter, because owners who tick those boxes are typically reporting more serious incidents than those who don't.
- Component categories are NHTSA-assigned, not owner-assigned. NHTSA standardizes the component field so that complaints can be aggregated. The owner narrative often goes into more detail than the component category captures.
- Complaint volume scales with sales volume. A best-selling model will accumulate more raw complaints than a niche model even at the same defect rate. To compare across vehicles, look at complaints per 100,000 units sold, not raw counts.
If you've experienced a defect
File a complaint. NHTSA's investigators rely on this database to detect emerging defects, and useful complaints, specific, concrete, with dates and mileage and clear descriptions of what happened, feed directly into the agency's pattern detection. The form takes about 10 minutes and is at nhtsa.gov/recalls under "Report a Safety Problem." Your complaint becomes part of the same public record that this page is built from. Owners filing detailed VOQs are how recalls get triggered.
Read more from our blog
Showing 73,546 complaints - component: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Incident date: 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.
Incident date: Oct 23, 2022
This is my 2nd report on the same issue. There is another report from me on the first and I will be discussing this with my Hyundai dealer today. On a 250 mile road trip, on the expressway, two separate times, the car suddenly braked hard and the emergency warning flashed on the speedometer. Each time it was about 3-5 seconds. On the second incident, my passenger thinks she noticed it happenin... Read more
Incident date: Oct 24, 2022
While on cruise control at @72mph the car has been “phantom” braking. The last time there were flurries, but the first several times there was nothing impeding the car nor were any vehicles within camera range. This is a very unsettling feeling. No, no and no. There have been reports to your site with this regard. tyvm
VOLKSWAGEN
JETTA
(2009) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Oct 25, 2022
Incident date: Sep 28, 2022
I was driving my car down at residential area and it came to a complete stop on its own I could not get it to accelerate it all I had to get out of my car pop the hood disconnect the battery and then I was able to put in a drive and accelerate all the lights are flashing on the control panel I had no control over my car whatsoever I took it into Tracy Volkswagen and they said they couldn't diagnos... Read more
Incident date: Oct 6, 2020
The contact owns a 2015 Chevrolet Spark. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would intermittently hesitate upon depression of the accelerator pedal with a high-pitched, squeaking noise coming from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle had jolted forward after multiple attempts to accelerate. The contact stated that... Read more
Incident date: Oct 25, 2022
The ABS control module and the HCU has Failed twice on this truck resulting in loss of traction control, ABS and cruise control. The unit was replaced around 42,000 miles and then failed again at roughly 60,000 miles. Ram will not replace under warranty. the failure causes the abs and traction control light on the dash to come on and off constantly. it also shuts down cruise control. I believe it... Read more
Incident date: Jan 2, 2019
Speedometer stops working intermittently. This is a safety hazard as the operator cannot tell the speed that the vehicle is operating. It seems to occur randomly.
Incident date: Oct 20, 2022
The vehicle suddenly accelerates. The rpm’s shoot up real high, the Jeep accelerates and the brakes do NOT work. This has occurred while driving at 55-60 mph and twice driving in city traffic going approx. 30-35. The acceleration increases and is stuck. I press the brakes and they do not work until whatever is sticking releases.
FORD
MUSTANG MACH E
(2021) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Oct 24, 2022
Incident date: Aug 17, 2022
I keep receiving a fault for the front camera which seems to be a very common occurrence amongst Mach-e owners lately. After receiving this message, the cruise control abruptly kicks off. All functions of the cruise control do not work in this instance…adaptive, speed keeping, lane control, etc. This fault happens about once every couple of minutes while driving. When I’m using cruise control ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 21, 2022
Turn on cruise control, press +, hold until the rental car begins to accelerate, and release. Car continues to accelerate. This is not the same as my 2014 Ford Fusion Hybrid that accelerates only as long as the button is being depressed. The mileage of the rental vehicle is unknown. I DO NOT wish to receive safety recall alerts from NHTSA because the vehicle is a rental from Enterprise in Lake Pa... Read more
Incident date: Apr 15, 2022
The contact owns a 2020 Honda HR-V. The contact stated that while driving at a low speed attempting to park the vehicle at park, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated, jumped the curb and crashed into a fence. There were no warning lights illuminated. A police report was filed. The air bags did not deploy. There were no injuries sustained by the driver or the passenger. There was fire reported. The... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Oct 24, 2022
Several times, while using the cruise control, the car automatically braked at highway speed. The car is available for inspection. My safety and my wife's safety were put at risk by the car suddenly slowing down on the interstate without my control. The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or service center - I have not had the car serviced. It has not been inspected. There wer... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2018
The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated while driving at an undetermined speed, the vehicle was bouncing. The contact stated while driving, the vehicle was shifting roughly. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persiste... Read more
Incident date: Sep 15, 2022
Leaving a parking lot, the car jumped out of gear. Thought maybe I had bumped the gear selector but attempts at putting the car in gear resulted in grinding noises and the only option was to put it in PARK. Check engine light came on. Mechanic diagnosed a speed sensor. Had this happened on the freeway or while trying to pass another car on a two lane and a speed sensor disable the entire car to... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2017) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Oct 24, 2022
Incident date: Oct 20, 2022
I was driving on along WT Harris highway and I attempted a turn along JW Clay Blvd. when my I pressed the gas and my truck didn't respond. I lost acceleration and it took a dangerous amount of time for me to cross the Highway. There aren't any warning lights or a check engine light on, but my transmission has begun to slip gears. This is after I had over 2k work done at the dealership for other pr... Read more
Incident date: Apr 3, 2021
Vehicle will give you a warning to not shut off vehicle or you may not be able to put it back in drive, it automatically puts itself in park when coming to a stop at a stop light (without any door being opened). Automatically gives itself throttle when in Four Low. This vehicle has been in the shop more than I have had it since purchasing on 3/27/2021 for all of these electrical problems and w... Read more
Incident date: Oct 21, 2022
Vehicle not shifting properly..sometimes when you let off gas it will accelerate and rpms shoot up..I believe it's a transmission issue..dealership was able to confirm this happened...definitely not safe if a car is in front of you and it just decides to accelerate on its own
Incident date: Oct 18, 2022
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while pulling into a parking space very slowly, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated, and crashed into a concrete pole. The air bags had not deployed during the crash. There were no warning lights illuminated prior to the failure. The contact stated that his wife suffered a fractured sternum, and he had lower back muscle strain with ... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Oct 17, 2022
For the past 5-6 months I’m have ongoing issues with my engine and excessive oil consumption. I’ve completed the three oil consumption test per 1000 miles. On the last test(3rd check), I was told I passed and nothing further was needed. Approximately 1 month after that my engine light illuminated and my car violently shook upon acceleration and while sitting idle. Was informed it was my spark ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 13, 2022
3rd and worse instance where had loss of power. While trying to accelerate onto the highway my vehicle would not do over 30mph (highway is 60mph zone). No lights illuminated on dash that there was any issue. Impeded traffic until I could pull over. This was VERY dangerous, I was lucky to not be rearended while trying to merge on highway. Dealer has had my vehicle for a week not being able to repro... Read more
Incident date: Oct 7, 2022
While driving with cruise control set to 70-74mph, we had several incidents of phantom braking on a recent road trip. From 70mph with no obstacles, trees, structures, or other cars in sight, the car would suddenly brake itself. This happened multiple times, sometimes just a minute or so after the previous time. We were saved from being rear-ended only because the cars behind us were far enough ... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2019
Reduced engine power alert. Ongoing issue since 2019
DODGE
GRAND CARAVAN
(2017) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Oct 22, 2022
Incident date: Oct 10, 2022
The van slid backwards then accelerated at a higher speed going from a stop to slowly with a light tap on the gas pedal. The speed does not go higher than 15mph with the rmp too high when this occurs. It jerks back when trying to drive it forward. Has not left the dealership parking lot. Drove out 3mile out with this occuring. 3 attempts to fix. Still not driving well and can't leave the dealershi... Read more
Incident date: Sep 17, 2022
My 2015 Kia Soul recently went out of service. One day last month my car randomly started stalling and shaking to the point of barely being drivable. There were no signs or dashboard lights. Thursday, September 15th, 2022, I took my car to a local repair shop and they ran a diagnostic that came back as a bad Catalytic Converter on Friday, September 16th, 2022. According to the mechanic, the conve... Read more
FORD
MUSTANG MACH E
(2021) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Oct 21, 2022
Incident date: Dec 6, 2021
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E. The contact stated that while her husband was driving slowly into the garage and the vehicle suddenly experienced unintended acceleration and crashed into the home and went through to the bedroom, causing damages to the vehicle and the home. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer for an unrelated recall repair and th... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Oct 19, 2022
Car shuts down in the middle of driving and cannot idle. Had transmission 1x lat year and battery replaced 2x. Even after repairs car randomly does this. I have taken it to shops several times but no one knows what the problem is.... When it randomly chooses to do it, I cannot accelerate, and the car power will go out in the middle of driving decreasing the speed dramatically. Right after it does... Read more
Incident date: Sep 30, 2022
We took our first major road trip in our new 2022 Tesla Model S on Friday 10/14, leaving at 10:00 am for a 9 hour trip. During the trip the car experienced multiple severe incidents of the car braking hard while at highway speeds and two of the incidents almost caused an accident. The car drops 10 to 15 mph instantly for no reason. We drove the car home on Monday 10/17 without AEB, Auto Steer, F... Read more
Incident date: Aug 20, 2022
Hello -- My Jeep has had a repetitive issue with the Start/Stop system since I took ownership. In recent months, my vehicle has stalled on two separate occasions by completely shutting down at a stop light. First the "hood switch is open" alert comes up, then an emergency braking alert comes up, all while the vehicle completely shuts off as I am accelerating. This is extremely dangerous as it coul... Read more
Incident date: Oct 8, 2022
Transmission refused to down shift from 5th gear or go over 55 mph. Truck began to shutter and the powertrain wrench error code appeared on the dash. Truck also began to have a clanking sound. The truck jerked violently at 50 mph causing the safety of myself and 3 other passengers at risk. The Marshal Mize Ford dealer in Hixson, TN confirmed the transmission lead frame was faulty, just like the... Read more
HYUNDAI
SANTA CRUZ
(2022) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Oct 19, 2022
Incident date: Oct 11, 2022
WHILE DRIVING ON THE 405 FWY MY VEHICLE WOULD NOT ACCELERATE PASS 20 MILES IT WAS 11 PM SO NOT MANY CARS ON THE ROAD , I HAD TO DRIVE WITH MY HAZARD LIGHTS ON 17 MILES TO GET HOME , I AM TAKING IT TO THE DEALER TODAY. NO WARNING LIGHTS , OR MESSAGES CAME ON DURING THE WHOLE ORDEAL
Incident date: May 6, 2021
Please also reference NTB21-028, NTB21-073. The failed system appears to be the engine/transmission power control. My safety and passenger safety was at risk. A dealer did inspect in May of 2021 and was not able to duplicate and did not perform any corrective action. The problem is twofold. First the vehicle can fail to accelerate during a rolling stop (i.e. entrance into a traffic circle) and bec... Read more
Incident date: Oct 16, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Honda accord. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH and changing lines, while attempting to accelerate, the vehicle hesitated and lost motive power. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that a valve adjustment was needed. The vehicle was repaired but the fai... Read more
FORD
MUSTANG MACH E
(2021) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Oct 19, 2022
Incident date: Jun 5, 2022
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E. The contact stated that while her mom was driving, the vehicle accelerated without warning. The electrical system was inoperable. While the contact was driving at low speed in a parking lot approaching a stop sign, the vehicle accelerated. The brake pedal was applied but the vehicle continued to drive and crashed into a Toyota 4 Runner. The air bag de... Read more
Crash
1 injured