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: Feb 9, 2026
I was driving on a busy highway at a high but legal speed. For a few seconds the vehicle appeared to reset. I lost control and the screen went blank. It was a miracle I did not hit another vehicle. I contacted the dealer and they stated unless it was happening frequently - there is nothing they could do. I spent hours on the phone with the dealer attempting to schedule an appointment, they st... Read more
Incident date: Feb 3, 2026
hello my name is [XXX] and I bought this 2014 Ford focus from a private dealer without being told what was wrong with the car for 4100 dollars and since I have had it it's been giving me problems it has a salvaged title.also it sounds like the inside of the hood is gurgling water ,sometimes it won't go in to reverse,it has a hard start the tcm module needs to be replaced and I guess it has someth... Read more
Incident date: May 21, 2026
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Engine is malfunctioning, increase in oil consumption, MPG dropping, a ticking/knocking noise coming from the engine, and erratic engine behavior with random surges while driving to 6000+ RPM. Brought it into Kia 2x now for same issue and first time said nothing was wrong and second time I am now goi... Read more
Incident date: Mar 17, 2026
The contact owns a Chevrolet Camaro. The contact stated that while parking the vehicle on the side of a residential road, she attempted to place the shift knob from Drive into Park. At that moment, the vehicle suddenly jolted and accelerated forward independently. The vehicle proceeded through a red light at approximately 20 MPH. The contact attempted to maneuver the vehicle to avoid colliding wi... Read more
Crash
1 injured
MERCEDES-BENZ
C 300
(2026) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
May 22, 2026
Incident date: Feb 20, 2026
When driving 75mph in order to change my favorite radio station, I must go to the center tablet, scroll until I find the station desired and then must tap it in the center or it does not change. On my 2025 MB C model you could change the channels on the steering column. I asked MB to research this issue and I was told a third party wrote the 2026 software and did not include this option! Is it no... Read more
Incident date: Apr 12, 2026
***SAFETY/DANGER*** On April 12th at around 5:30 p.m. my family of five, to include three minor children were returning home from visiting family which live about an hour and a half away and as we're traveling on the freeway at highway speeds, in traffic, our new Tahoe unexpectedly and without warning went into reduced power mode and cut speed down to approximately 35 MPH in active traffic, which... Read more
HYUNDAI
SANTA FE SPORT
(2017) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
May 22, 2026
Incident date: Apr 30, 2026
NO power till car warms up for 5 minutes. It will be jerky on highway. The gas mileage is going down drastically, I was doing 32 miles to gallon and now it's 22mpg. All this is after the recall we just had performed. I have no power trying to avoid accidents, taking off from stopping. Car smells weird now.
Incident date: May 22, 2026
Contacted ford about recalls 26S28 and 19V075 and they report that my vehicle is out of the warranty period for repair. They were advised that this is under a NHTSA recall and still refuse to honor the NHTSA safety recall stating that it is outside the window for replacement. Again advised them that this is a NHTSA recall and they still refuse to honor it. My vehicle is inoperable due to this.
Incident date: Apr 7, 2026
The ABS Module in my truck went out also causing no speedometer readings. The dealership at Dodge confirmed it needs to be replaced as well as a failing fuel pump. They have had my truck since April 7th 2026. Today as of writing is May 22nd. They keep moving my estimated date for part arrival constantly. Two months and I am still out of my vehicle. Being handicapped and my wheelchair lift is atta... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2026
Vehicle was driving at 50-55 MPH on [XXX] . The vehicle immediately gave multiple warning systems such as "Dream Drive Unavailable" "Regenerative Braking unavailable, use brake pedal" "Hold unavailable" "Dynamic handling unavailable" "Car will Power off in 5 minutes" and the car started applying the breaks and went into a "turtle" mode. It went from 50 miles per hour down to 35 miles per hour in ... Read more
Incident date: May 20, 2026
During operation of my 2015 Ford Edge Titanium, the vehicle experienced intermittent loss of acceleration and multiple electronic warning messages. While driving, pressing the accelerator pedal would sometimes result in little or no vehicle acceleration. The RPMs fluctuated abnormally and the vehicle appeared to enter a reduced-power condition. Warning messages included “Hill Start Assist Unavai... Read more
Incident date: May 21, 2026
I pulled my Tesla Model S in a parking lot, and as I turned the car into a parking spot, the car suddenly accelerated, jumped the curb next to the parking lot and hit a tree. The car speed when I pulled into the parking lot and then into a parking spot was very low. so I was very surprised and startled to see the car suddenly on its own accelerating and jumping the curb.
Crash
Incident date: May 12, 2026
The contact owns a 2025 . The contact was in a parking lot of a shopping center, put the car in gear and the steering wheel became inoperable , vehicle would not stop while depressing the brakes. Four additional vehicles were damaged from the impact with one vehicle deemed a total loss. The right front end was impacted including the hood and the right wheel. No additional property damage. Th... Read more
Crash
Incident date: May 13, 2026
The vehicle just shut down as I exited. The power and gas pressure decreased. Pulled over to see if my hybrid battery was defective or drained. It wasn’t. A notification popped up and said “Hybrid Control System or Low Voltage DC/DC Converter, Contact dealer for service. Finally got it towed to Kia of Valencia the next day and they said it was “Hydraulic Clutch Actuator” and they want cha... Read more
Incident date: Apr 27, 2026
Adaptive cruise control not working....,Intermitently shutting off. This is coinciding with numerous engine, oil and gas warning lights going off in the Audi MMI system. Lead tech at Audi dealership in Norwell MA is telling me that this is a well known issue with the 2025 Audi Q5 needing a software update that will not be available until sometime in the 3rd quarter
Incident date: Apr 23, 2026
I was driving on the highway at 70 mph approximately with my young daughter in the backseat. All of a sudden, the front display on my Hyundai Ioniq 9 went completely black and said "no signal." I lost all dashboard information about my speed, gas gauge, horsepower etc. The only thing I could do was see how fast I was going because I was on google maps and my audiovisual screen in the center was s... Read more
Incident date: May 20, 2026
Driving down a two lane road without any cruise control on the truck suddenly speeds up to almost 90mph with out pressing on throttle had hold brake down engine rpms were in the red shut truck off for it to finally go back to normal
VOLKSWAGEN
ID.4
(2021) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
May 20, 2026
Incident date: Jul 21, 2025
While reversing out of a parking space, my 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 automatically braked and stopped abruptly. Immediately afterward, the vehicle accelerated forward unexpectedly. I pressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle did not respond and crashed into a retaining wall. A forensic analysis of the vehicle’s event data showed the accelerator was at 100% and the vehicle was traveling approximately 2... Read more
Crash
2 injured
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS
(2026) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
May 20, 2026
Incident date: May 13, 2026
Had new vehicle for 1 week and it broke down in a parking lot and would not start on 5/10/26. It was towed and dealership, found it to be a faulty feel injector system that was replaced. Picked it up from the dealership on 5/13/26 and I lost the ability to accelerate while on the interstate. It was towed back to the dealership who had to reach out to V. W headquarters to determine the problem. It ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 19, 2026
My 2021 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk is currently immobile due to an active safety recall involving vehicle movement/park functionality concerns, and loss of power. Prior to the recall being issued, one certified Jeep dealership inspected the vehicle regarding the concern - with no resolution. Since the recall has now been formally issued, I have attempted to contact both that dealership and the cert... Read more
Incident date: May 20, 2026
Driving down a highway at 70 mph and a notification popped up saying to pull over and turn off the vehicle because the engine would shut down soon. I lost the ability to accelerate and impeded traffic. Had to pull over on the side of the road with minimal shoulder. This has happened dozens of times; all at high rates of speed and often in heavy traffic.
Incident date: May 18, 2026
While driving home during rush hour traffic on the highway with my children in the vehicle, without warning it stopped accelerating when I passed the gas pedal and started slowing down. When I let go of the gas pedal it would speed back up. I couldn't safely merge over to the right with heavy traffic and ended up on the left shoulder. I turned the vehicle off and tried to restart it, it strugg... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2026
ABS lights and warnings on dash No trailer control No speedometer due to abs controller
Incident date: May 11, 2026
Bought a used 2019 Ford Edge, and transmission had issues within 2weeks of minimal operation!! Transmission slippage, does not go into gear or has a long pause going into gear (even right from park). VERY HARD shifts in lower gears upon upshift AND downshift. Also, gets worse the longer you drive it. It jerks, bucks, lurches, snaps your neck forward or backward, or does not go at all!! After this ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 28, 2026
On April 28 at 9:35AM I was exiting the parking lot in my 2025 Toyota Camry and I experienced a sudden and unintended surge of acceleration. My foot was not on the accelerator. I was coasting with foot off accelerator to exit parking lot at a speed of under 8mph when the car suddenly jerked forward and surged to 30mph. The car came to a sudden stop in the middle of the road after running stop sig... Read more
Incident date: May 16, 2026
On Saturday 16th Oct 2026 around 10 AM EST, while driving down the ramp from Parking Floor 2 to Parking Floor 1 in the JFK Terminal 4 Short Term Parking garage (John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York), the Tesla vehicle suddenly accelerated forward very fast on its own without any input on the accelerator pedal. Either I was not pressing the gas pedal at the time, or I was slowing pressin... Read more
Crash
3 injured
Incident date: May 4, 2026
After the installation of the Service Campaign 9C2 engine update, the car now seems to surge or rev up briefly at lower speeds like it can't find the right gear or is trying to briefly accelerate. It doesn't seem to be as noticeable at highway speeds, but in residential or low speeds, it's very noticeable and a little unsettling as the car feels like it wants to briefly lunge forward. No lights ... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ID.4
(2023) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
May 19, 2026
Incident date: Mar 19, 2026
Gps module is non functioning after software update 3.8.11 Gps module consistently shows wrong location and speed in addition to constantly pinging the driver visually and audibly which distracts the driver and covers the main display with a message that it is unavailable. It also affects the semi autonomous driving function, making it randomly brake and behave erratically because it doesng kno... Read more
Incident date: May 18, 2026
My 2022 Pacifica Hybrid has experienced a total loss of motor propulsion THREE times in the last 8 days at highway (or near-highway) speeds. The car issued a warning to "Stop Safely Vehicle will Shut Off Soon" and had a turtle light appear along with a check engine light and I experienced no power going to the wheels on the highway. This included TWO incidents after a recall repair that was comp... Read more
Incident date: Apr 21, 2026
My wife was parking our F150 in a parking lot with landscaped dividers I was a passenger. The vehicle was in one foot driving mode. As she approached the curb going 1 to 3 mph, she moved her foot from the accelerator to the brake. As soon as she left the accelerator the vehicle rocketed off. She put her foot down on the brake, but the power of the vehicle was so great and so fast the vehicle went ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: May 17, 2026
OUTPUT SPEED SENSOR on 2016 INFINITI Q50t - Took vehicle in for oil and filter change 2 days ago. I drove the car about 40 miles, without incident. Went back to same place for state inspection yesterday. I drove about 2 miles from the inspection place and park in shopping lot. Went in business to shop for about 30 minutes. Returned to vehicle and drove about 100 yards through the parking lot. The ... Read more
LAND ROVER
RANGE ROVER SPORT
(2017) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
May 18, 2026
Incident date: Jan 20, 2026
I am filing a safety complaint regarding a defective diesel emissions system and persistent warning condition in my 2017 Land Rover Range Rover Sport Diesel vehicle that presents a serious safety hazard to myself and others. The vehicle was purchased from Ewing Buick GMC in Plano, Texas, [XXX] and was advertised as being in good condition and ready for sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle ap... Read more
Incident date: May 13, 2026
On Wednesday May 13th the car started acting a little jerky whence putting car in reverse like normal. There was a thunk sound. But it still shifted. We then drove the car about 10 miles. Then later in the day attempted to drive home. It’s was over-roving while driving. Acting erratic. We pulled into a tire place to see if something was stuck underneath. The check engine light was on ... Read more
Incident date: May 15, 2026
1) within three months of vehicle purchase (and in perpetuity to-date ever since), the infotainment system intermittently causes static/crackling when connected to CarPlay. 2) within six months of initial purchase (and in perpetuity to-date ever since), also between each subsequent biannual oil change, electronic system would randomly notify that there was a malfunction with rear collision sensors... Read more
Incident date: May 17, 2026
I was driving down the interstate when all of a sudden, I hear a bang, and my power went crazy, couldn't push the gas at all, my car was suddenly shut off. We coasted to the side of the interstate and got out to see a pile of oil underneath my car. Called a tow truck to help us and he found a massive hole in the engine block / oil pan - catastrophic engine failure. I have 117k miles on my car BUT ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 25, 2026
Well there a problem when you have no speed all of a sudden. And there a problem with some electrical and fuel can someone help me with what's going on if there a recall or not? I believe there something wrong like a recall and I have to deal with it. So what can I do in regards of getting this matter taking control. Please and Thank You , [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INF... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
TIGUAN
(2025) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
May 18, 2026
Incident date: May 17, 2026
The problem occurred immediately after picking my car up from a valet on 5/17/2026 around 9:00pm. The valet had pulled my car up to the front of the Seattle Park ‘N Fly Valet by Sea-Tac airport. I pulled out onto International Blvd, and within a few seconds, the accelerator pedal became completely unresponsive. I was able to coast the car into the Denny’s parking lot just north of the valet lo... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2026
While maneuvering my Kia EV6 into my garage, the vehicle accelerated unexpectedly and struck the garage wall. I believe the acceleration may have been unintentional or due to a malfunction. I request review of any vehicle event data
Crash
Incident date: Oct 1, 2024
24V-896 Recall open since November 2024. No known resolution. How is this considered a reasonable amount of time? The truck chimes the entire time I drive it and it is a safety issue because it spins tires and has no abs or traction control.
Incident date: May 16, 2026
World car Nissan states the issues with the vehicle are not recall related. They blame the defects on a faulty oil temp sensor and engine mount. When the incident occurred signaling for us to take it into the shop, the vehicle slowed down very suddenly and the engine force was limited by the system. Even waiting for the car to cool down, it did not start and work properly. Even a day after the in... Read more
Incident date: May 15, 2026
While cruising on a 2-lane road or a freeway, the vehicle will cross over the adjacent line, either left or right. This generally happens between 50 to 75 mph. The event happens either when cruise control is on or off. Wind is not necessarily the problem. The solution requires one to take the necessary immediate steering correction. At times, the departure from the lanes may repeat. This ma... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2022
The first problem with my car was the tire pressure monitor. The location of each tire was wrong on the informant section. Soon after purchasing the car when ever I would park the car would not shut off and the DIC would display Shift to park message. Around 6 months after the purchase the brake pedal was getting harder the press down on and within a week from that while driving home from work the... Read more
Incident date: May 13, 2026
They were speeding with their phone in a phone stand watching a show while on the freeway
Incident date: Jan 1, 2022
There is still no remedy to this recall and my truck is affected - I have been driving with NO ABS AND NO TRACTION CONTROL for almost 4 YEARS. This has also deactivated my cruise control. This is unacceptable and compromises me and my families safety. This is not a question of if it is going to happen, but when. My vehicle isn't under the category of "may be susceptible to failure" it has failed a... Read more
Incident date: May 13, 2026
All lights came on the dashboard including the check engine light and I could not accelerate. I had to pull over and turn car off and on to get it to accelerate. It poses a very serious threat as you can not accelerate at all and can be rearended. Kia has fixed the throttle twice and have told me 2 other times they can not replicate the issue. It clears out by the time I am able to bring it to the... Read more
Incident date: Oct 9, 2024
infotainment center and modules related to the front-facing display have malfunctions 5x since 9/2024 and have been in the shop 5 times for the same issue, 4 downloads and updates, 3 recalls, and 2 battery and a front-facing module replacement in the last 15 months of issue stsrting
Incident date: May 15, 2026
Accelerating to merge onto the highway the accelerator pedal got stuck under the all weather mat (provided and installed by the manufacturer). When I took my foot off the pedal the vehicle continued to accelerate. I had to break against the force of the motor trying to accelerate until I was going slow enough for the car to allow me to put it into park.
Incident date: Jun 10, 2024
There has been an open recall on my vehicle for over 2 YEARS ! even the recall states "...may cause a vehicle crash without prior warning." This has negatively affected and is a safety issue which involves: 1) Electronic Stability Control - turns off and on - doesn't work 2) Cruise control - cannot use, turns off on on on it's own 3) Steering - affects the steering wheel when turning the wheel, ... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2026) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
May 15, 2026
Incident date: Mar 1, 2026
With speeds in excess of 70 MPH, the car have a violent shake. The shake gets worse as you approach 80 MPH. This is in both the 2025 and 2026 Ford Expedition models. This put drivers at risk, as they must keep control of the car at all times on the highway if they are in excess of 70 MPH. The car has already been inspected by Ford and they did a road balance test and replaced one tire. The car sti... Read more
Incident date: May 11, 2026
To whom this may concern, I was using my cruise control on my way to work. I usually set it to 80 because police are okay with that speed on I-75. I braked before my automatic brakes hit after I got cut off. I pressed resume in the cruise control and it accelerated pretty quick. I’ve experienced that quite a bit, but there’s been a few times that the car exceeded the set cruising speed while ... Read more