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: Dec 17, 2025
The car after a while drives sluggish & brakes very badly even after replacing the brake pads & the roater. I have replacement everything that could affect any of these issues.
Incident date: Jan 1, 2026
While driving at highway speeds (approximately 70 MPH) with the vehicle's Assistive Driving functions engaged, the Driver Monitoring System (DMS) malfunctioned. Despite maintaining constant visual attention on the road ahead, the system issued repeated, erroneous audio warnings claiming driver inattention. I attempted to adjust my head and eye position to satisfy the sensors, but the system failed... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2026
On February 1, 2026, at approximately 9:09 AM, while driving from a stop and continuing on main roads, the vehicle accelerated to extremely high speeds and would not properly slow down. When I removed my foot from the accelerator pedal, the vehicle did not decelerate as expected. Regenerative braking was nonexistent. Normally, releasing the accelerator provides noticeable deceleration, but in this... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2026
two issues. the first involves shaking and veering which continues since the purchase and this is the fourth time i have had concerns with this. vehicle it shakes at any speed and violently if i dont let up off the gas. the second issue occured while driving on the 5 freeway with the speed control on and suddenly there was a loud boom thud sound behind the front seet like running over a tire or so... Read more
Incident date: Jan 21, 2026
CB4 Recall Some (2017-2018 MY Ram xxx) vehicles may have been built with a brake hydraulic control unit ("HCU") that is susceptible to failure or malfunction which may result in a reduction or change of Anti-Lock Brake System ("ABS")/Electronic Stability Control ("ESC") /Traction Control performance. A failing HCU will initially result in the intermittent loss of ABS/Traction control progressing ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 2, 2026
There is an electronic problem that continues to trip the warning for the Air Ride suspension system to fail leaving the vehicle stuck at its current ride height or it drops eithee the front or rear suspension to the ground while simultaneously raising the front or rear to its highest setting. It also causes the vehicle speed to drop immediately to 56 mph. Issue has been scanned by several dealers... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jan 31, 2026
On January 31, 2026, at 10:30 PM, I was driving from Fort Lauderdale to my home in Boca Raton, Florida. I was using FSD supervised mode. Close to my home, a big red image suddenly appeared, the car started accelerating fast, and I had no control over the car or its steering wheel. The car hit several electrical posts and only stopped after the airbags engaged. My wife was in the passenger seat. Th... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jan 23, 2026
My car is stalling, shaking, shuddering, not accelerating and downshifting while I am on the highway almost killing me while attempting to inch my way across the lanes to the shoulder. With NO WARNING my vehicle completely broke down with my children in the car one is Non Verbal and on the Autism Spectrum with a serious heart condition- I myself am clinically diagnosed with PTSD and the terror I h... Read more
1 injured
CADILLAC
ESCALADE ESV
(2023) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jan 31, 2026
Incident date: Jan 31, 2026
While driving my 2023 Cadillac Escalade (approx. 42,308 miles), the vehicle experienced a sudden and complete loss of power while accelerating on a busy highway. Engine power shut down without warning. I was able to pull to the shoulder, but the vehicle then became non-responsive and would not restart. The failure appears related to the electrical/charging system (12V battery, battery management s... Read more
Incident date: Dec 31, 1969
I was driving my truck today. I went to turn on cruise control and as I got to the mileage that I wanted, I hit set and then after I hit set about a half mile down the road a truck after wanted to lose power and then allowed bang from the transmission then it did it again bang I turned the cruise control off. I pulled over and I looked it up and it told me do not use the cruise control again and t... Read more
Incident date: Jan 30, 2026
Hesitation/Lag Acceleration and Stop.
Incident date: Jun 2, 2025
Dash warnings for abs / traction control flicker on and off steadily. Every time the warnings come off it kicks off cruise control. I live in often snowy conditions and I worry that steadily changing traction control systems will absolutely be dangerous. Not to mention the frustrating noises of the alerts coming on Avery few seconds. As I was told by my dealer, this recall has been out there s... Read more
Incident date: Nov 17, 2020
Since I acquired the vehicle at around 100k miles, there is a transmission shift wobble at 30mph, 40mph, 45mph, 60mph and 65mph. I drove a manual transmission for over 10yrs prior to this vehicle and when this transmission wobble happens, I just reved a bit and let the gas go so it shifts better into the next gear. I just got used to it, my worry began when the wobble would happen while on cruise... Read more
Incident date: Jan 22, 2026
I would like to formally file a safety complaint regarding my Chevrolet vehicle and to express concern over Chevrolet’s handling of a known defect. On January 22, while driving to work in cold weather conditions, my vehicle experienced a sudden and dangerous malfunction. The engine unexpectedly revved to approximately 4,500 RPM, the check engine light illuminated, and the dashboard displayed an ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 28, 2026
I am writing to formally document a life-threatening mechanical failure involving my 2022 Model X on January 30, 2026. While my wife was operating the vehicle, it suffered a simultaneous and catastrophic collapse of all primary safety systems. During operation, the vehicle experienced a total loss of steering and braking control. This was accompanied by a rapid cascade of critical system alerts o... Read more
Incident date: Jan 5, 2026
While driving my 2013 F150 Eco boost is started shifting erratically. While at 60 MPH the truck would down shift on it's own to 1st gear and my truck would skid. Luckily I did not crash but it's dangerous and it's my only transportation. I took it to Ford and they said I needed a $8K transmission replacement. I ended up taking to a transmission shop for a rebuild but shortly after if did it again... Read more
Incident date: Oct 22, 2025
Engine failure while on highway traffic in construction zone caused engine shut off, losing power steering and odd braking. I was driving on a split 4 lane highway (2 lanes each direction), with a large ditch median between the directional lanes. My direction had construction cones for several miles limiting traffic to 1 lane, still at a 65 MPH speed limit with heavy semi traffic. The right ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 28, 2026
ABS TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT HAS BEEN ON/OFF SINCE 2020. Can't drive on snow ice due to traction control abs 4-wheel drive doesn't work correct. I almost hit the divider/wall on Interstate 30 on 01/28/26 due from poor braking.
Incident date: Jan 19, 2026
The contact rented a 2025 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that the vehicle would stop and would restart independently while driving. The contact stated that while attempting to reverse, the vehicle failed to respond on several occasions while the gear shifter was in reverse(R). The contact stated that the failure occurred while there was a vehicle parked behind the vehicle or further away. Ther... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Nov 30, 2025
The contact owns a 2008 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the front driver's side seat belt had failed to unbuckle and was previously repaired. Additionally, the contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously rear-ended on several occasions, and the air bags did not deploy. The contact had sustained severe back injuries that had... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jan 29, 2026
Vehicle was in electric mode and failed to accelerate under electric power. First time was traveling around 45 mph and went to accelerate to 60mph at speed limit change. Battery was around 95% and gas pedal was gently pressed with no acceleration. Once floored and ICE started acceleration continued. Second time was pulling onto the highway and accelerated up to 25mph and continued to press the ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 26, 2026
The ICCU component failed. I lost propulsion while driving and almost got rear ended. The dealership service department confirmed the ICCU issue. The dealership service department has inspected the vehicle. I had a dead 12v a month prior that I had asked the service department to look at and test the ICCU. They did not test the ICCU. The car warned me 30 seconds maybe less before i lost propul... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2018
The vehicle experiences harsh shifting, surging, and jerking forward during normal driving conditions. The behavior has occurred repeatedly over several years and has been confirmed by the dealership. Multiple repair attempts, including transmission-related work, have not resolved the issue. The vehicle has surged forward unexpectedly, creating near-miss accident situations. I no longer feel the v... Read more
Incident date: Jan 28, 2026
Driving up a slope of about 20-30 degrees gradient of a straight lane going into a private parking lot. Braked and decided to make a 3-point turn to get back out. There was no traffic in the lane. Put gear on reverse while on the slope with the vehicle pointing in the up direction of the slope. Vehicle suddenly surge backwards, accelerating. Vehicle sped down the slope and crossed a street. Could ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2025
MY CAR WAS DRIVING ALONG AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THE STEERING WHEEL GOT EXTREMLY TIGHT AND THE CAR WAS HARD TO STEER, I HAD TO PULL OVER TURN THE CAR OFF AND THE LIGHT WAS STILL ON, I WAS LIKE 2 MILES AWAY FROM MY HOUSE, TALKING TO A NEIGHBOR THAT HAS SAME CAR DIFFERENT YEAR, STATED TO CHECK RECALL HIS CALL DID THE SAMETHING YEARS AGO WHEN WE HAD A COLD (LOW TEMPERATURE) WINTER AND IT WAS REPLACED BY ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2026
While driving at highway speeds (55–73 mph), the vehicle has repeatedly and unexpectedly applied the brakes on its own and on at least one occasion experienced a loss of power. These events occurred without any vehicles, pedestrians, or obstacles present, and without any driver input. Road and weather conditions did not warrant braking. On multiple occasions, the vehicle suddenly decelerated wh... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2025
I was driving on a street 5mph and all of a sudden my car surged and led me to curb where i knocked hit a steer din and it veered onto someone’s lawn and hit a huge planter and stopped . Air bags were deployed . I had no control over the car . EDR was preformed and I’m sure it was a throttle surge issue and cause unintended acceleration . The edr shows I was going 5 miles an hour but then says... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jun 1, 2025
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Jan 24, 2026
SEE FULL COMPLAINT NOTES IN ATTACHED PDF; SUMMARY HERE (you do not provide sufficient space to provide all info you request) I own a 2019 Ram 1500 4WD Limited (not eTorque). On multiple occasions, the vehicle has unexpectedly shifted out of Drive into Neutral while driving. When this occurs, a warning chime dings and a message on display directs me to “Shift to Park”. The vehicle immediately l... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS
(2024) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jan 29, 2026
Incident date: Jan 28, 2026
While driving shifting gears on its own without my control. Slowed me down on freeway from going 50 mph to 35 mph without me slowing it down as I am driving. I was still pushing gas pedal buy while shift was in normal drive from went from 8 to a 3 without my control so I had to pull over because I could not go any faster at all and was in danger zone on freeway that had up to 70mph driving. Once I... Read more
Incident date: Dec 18, 2025
I was driving slowly into my driveway to prepare for turning into my garage. The car rapidly accelerated on it’s own causing me to crash into the garage door next to the one I intended to park in. I have video from my security system.
Crash
Incident date: Jan 24, 2026
The contact owns a 2022 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at 45 MPH, the message “Engine Power Reduced” was displayed, and the vehicle decelerated unexpectedly. The driver pulled over and was informed to turn off the vehicle and restart the vehicle with the assistance of a Police Officer. The vehicle was restarted but failed to exceed 10 MPH while driving. The vehicle was... Read more
Incident date: Jan 5, 2026
I was leaving a light and turning left onto incoming traffic Columbia and John young parkway. Vehicle turned off with no option of turning back on . I rolled onto the right curb but was sticking my vehicle out. Me and my wife and teenage son. Feared for our life due to the car not turning on and incoming traffic . This is a serious issue and hazard. The car asked me to put the car in park. After I... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2026
Once the car gets slowed down and reaches 20 mph of speed by applying the brake or not. It gives a sudden jerk, which causes immediate reduction in speed.
Incident date: Jan 26, 2026
Around curves truck will down shift too many gears. The problem was when it did it recently with the icey roads the tires locked up for a second and I got sideways. I got it straight but if a car was coming I would crashed. My speed was around 50 but I let off the gas to slow down for the curver never applied brakes yet. It does it usually when slowing down its done it since ive owned it and its... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2026
Everyday I drive the vehicle There are 2 error messages 1. Front Camera fault, service required 2. Pre-collision Assist not available I have 32 Pre-collision warning messages in the last month, one for every day I drive. I had to drive 4 hours with no cruise control causing my leg to cramp at the 2 hour mark. There needs to be a recall for this issue. Many many other owners of the Mach-e... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2023) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jan 28, 2026
Incident date: Jun 1, 2025
My 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle is subject to multiple NHTSA safety recalls involving loss of propulsion and vehicle fire risk. These defects have created ongoing safety hazards and extended loss of use. Safety Recall 73C (NHTSA 25V-576) addresses a Hybrid Control Processor software defect that may cause sudden and unexpected loss of drive power without warning, increa... Read more
Incident date: Jan 28, 2026
While driving the truck it suddenly shifts down gears, and shoots up rpms, causing the truck to slow down drastically and causing a loss of control in the truck. Potentially causing a severe accident. This issue could seriously cause harm to myself and to others especially going at highway speeds. When turned off the truck won’t start up again without clearing codes.
Incident date: Nov 3, 2025
While driving my 2025 Nissan Armada Platinum Reserve during morning rush hour traffic and moving with the speed of traffic, the accelerator (gas) pedal assembly physically broke off, causing an immediate loss of throttle control. The failure occurred in active traffic at a busy intersection located at the top of a hill, leaving the vehicle stranded partially in a turn lane and straight-through la... Read more
Incident date: Jan 28, 2026
The contact owns a 2019 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled unexpectedly. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The contact also stated that while coming to a stop and attempting to depress the brake pedal, the vehicle lost motive power but unexpectedly lunged forward. There was no warning light illu... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
TAOS
(2025) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Jan 28, 2026
Incident date: Jan 16, 2026
The speedometer on the new 2025 Volkswagen Taos undervalues the speed by 5%. For example, if the SUV speedometer says 40 mph the actual speed of the vehicle is 42 mph. This seems to be a known problem on new Taos vehicles but is not being addressed by Volkswagen. They are saying legally a 10% variance is allowed and the vehicle passes electrical tests. This problem has been reported to corporate a... Read more
Incident date: Jan 17, 2026
The contact owns a 2002 Lexus ES 300. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5 MPH in the driveway and turning into the garage, the vehicle unintentionally accelerated, hit a beam, drove through the garage wall, and into the dining area of the residence, crashed into the furniture, and stopped. The air bags did not deploy. The contact noticed sparks and smoke coming from the dashboard... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Apr 2, 2025
ABS unit failed. This renders the Traction control system, ABS braking, cruise control, and 4WD system inert. I tried to repair/replace the unit it is on indefinite backorder, and repair shops cannot get the parts to fix the actual unit. Makes vehicle dangerous to drive in all but fair conditions. No solution has been provided by RAM.
Incident date: Jan 28, 2026
1. What component or system failed or malfunctioned? System: Power Train: Automatic Transmission Specific Component: UA80 8-Speed Automatic Transmission (Internal Failure) Available for Inspection: Yes, the vehicle is currently available. 2. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? While merging onto the highway, the transmission failed to upshift, resulting in a sudden and unexpe... Read more
Incident date: Feb 28, 2024
The contact owns a 2024 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated that when attempting to accelerate from being idle, or while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would suddenly jerk, accelerate at an unexpected speed, or fail to accelerate. There was a ticking noise coming from the front end of the vehicle that could be heard when standing outside the vehicle. The Check Engine light and the explanati... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jan 27, 2026
My car randomly has a battery charging fault. An alert stating “stop safely 12V battery critical charging fault” will just pop up while driving and then put the vehicle in turtle mode. This is an intermittent fault and is likely a false indication. This could cause an accident because it causes the car to slow down. This could happen on a highway.
Incident date: Jan 22, 2026
The vehicle accelerated on its own unable to control or stop the vehicle
Crash
Incident date: Nov 1, 2025
8F35 Transmission - Shudder/Buck/Jerk While Driving Up To 35 MPH (57 Km/H [XXX] dealership tells me I need new transmission ... and that ford won't help at all online bulletin says a software update can solve this - why has the dealership not done this? no warning lights ever INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Incident date: Jan 22, 2026
System involved: The vehicle experienced a sudden electronic/network failure consistent with loss of ECU/BCM/CAN bus communication. The instrument cluster, throttle control, and HVAC system became inoperative simultaneously. • Safety risk: While driving, the vehicle abruptly lost throttle response and critical driver information with no warning, followed by an uncommanded engine shutdown after c... Read more
Incident date: Jan 26, 2026
The high coolant temperature light cut on and turned my vehicle off while driving. This problem has been reported on older model Jeep compasses. The car never turned back on and I had to get my vehicle towed home.