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: May 1, 2025
The steering wheel keeps locking up while driving fast/slow or turning. Everything shuts off, then back on and all codes flash. My car literally locks up, it’s really unsafe when I can’t control the vehicle. Almost hit another car, due to steering wheel locking up. Only thing I was told at the Chevy dealer house was there were no recalls. So they wouldn’t look unless they got to charge m... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 3500
(2024) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 15, 2025
Incident date: Sep 10, 2025
The contact owns a 2017 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that after driving onto the driveway and pressing the brake pedal to park, the vehicle suddenly experienced unintended acceleration, drove forward, and crashed into the garage door. The contact shifted to the reverse position and the vehicle drove in reverse but would not stop while pressing the brake pedal. Eventually, the contact was abl... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Sep 1, 2025
Hello, I own a 2015 Lexus NX200T. On 9/13/2025 I was pulling into a spot to park, going slow at maybe 4-5 mph, my vehicle suddenly violently accelerates on its own. I had to slam multiple times on the brakes to avoid killing two pedestrians right in front of my vehicle. I was in seconds of killing them and pinning them between the vehicle that was in front of me. I did everything in my power to ke... Read more
Incident date: May 3, 2025
The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Venza Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving into a parking space, the vehicle suddenly experienced unintended acceleration and crashed into the rear of another parked vehicle. No injuries were reported, and no police report was filed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. A manufacturer's investigator... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Sep 5, 2025
Vibrating issue and missing fire originating from engine. Intake camshaft broken and left cylinder head is damaged and needs replacement. This should not be happening to this car. Cannot drive a faster rate either. There should be a claim out for all these issues.
Incident date: Sep 12, 2025
The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V332000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL). The contact stated that when the vehicle came to a stop, the vehicle jerked abnormally. Additionally, while driving forward, the vehicle jerked abnormally. The contact stated that an unknown message was displayed on the instrument panel. The... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2025
Got onto the interstate and suddenly my car stopped but didn’t kill. My traction control light said off and then it said reduced engine power and my fuel went down to E. I couldn’t go but my car was still running. I killed it then waited a minute and started it again and it started moving slowly. Then it said service stabliltrak and traction system but since the light have went off. Around the... Read more
Incident date: Sep 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid. The contact stated that while parking in her residence parking lot, the brake pedal was depressed but failed to function as intended. An abnormal rev sound could be heard coming from the engine when the vehicle accelerated independently. The vehicle jumped the parking block and ran over the sidewalk, skidded the road, and crashed into a tree, where it cam... Read more
Crash
1 injured
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2022) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 15, 2025
Incident date: Sep 1, 2025
-The steering wheel and brake locked up and became unusable while driving at approximately 75mph. Cruise control was enabled for a few miles (maybe 2) and disabled after. Around 5 minutes after disabling, the car began to surge between acceleration and deceleration drastically on its own. All of the dashboard lights that come on when the key is initially inserted came on at once while engine was o... Read more
Incident date: Sep 12, 2025
The drive power on my 2025 Mazda CX-90 was SEVERELY reduced last week while making a left turn in front of oncoming traffic. No warning light nor sound from my car appeared at the time of this incident. The vehicle was purchased 5 months ago and there have been other occasions where the power was reduced while turning. This incident, however, was the most dangerous. The turn was made at a traf... Read more
Incident date: Sep 13, 2025
Purchased certified vehicle from Wray Ford on 2/23/24. Car was previously leased by FMCC and still listed as a Ford Fleet Vehicle in Michigan as of 9/12/25. VIN confirms it falls under Ford safety recall 24S79, which was never performed. Vehicle experienced unintended acceleration and non-responsive braking, behaving autonomously. FordPass Connect, FMCC, and Wray Ford all confirmed it was unsafe t... Read more
Crash
MERCEDES-BENZ
GLK350
(2011) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 14, 2025
Incident date: Sep 11, 2025
During a stop the car dives to the right. After removing the right rear tire the subframe is rusted and components are no longer connected to the sub frame
Incident date: Sep 4, 2025
The anti lock brakes warning light is illuminated and dealership has no repair parts to fix the defect resulting in an unsafe condition. this also results in an inability to operate the cruise control function of the automobile . The condition has existed for over one year with no ability to obtain the needed repair parts to remedy the situation. obviously Stellantis has no interest in resolving ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 13, 2025
[XXX] [XXX] September 14, 2025 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590 Subject: Formal Complaint – Safety Defect in 2022 Volkswagen ID.4 (Power Steering and Brake Failure) Dear Sir or Madam, I am submitting this formal complaint regarding a serious safety defect in my 2022 Volkswagen ID.4, which re... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Sep 1, 2025
Transmission noise Acceleration issues
Incident date: Aug 28, 2025
Number of days your vehicle is down: indefinitely as of now there is no fix according to the dealership parts are at least 10 weeks out with them not knowing how to do the install once parts arrive Number of Repair Attempts: there is no fix as of now but the vehicle has broken down 4 times parts for the transmission are on back order (at least ten weeks) and they do not know how to install the p... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2022) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 13, 2025
Incident date: May 12, 2025
The transmission stalls to get up and go after it has been driven for a short while causing it to slow down traffic and causing a slight risk trying to pull over to the side to allow drivers behind pass by. Once the driver stops at more than 5 stops is when the vehicle begins to hesitate to work properly.
Incident date: Sep 13, 2025
My Jeep Grand Cherokee 2022 4xe lost power while I was going 65 miles per hour on the freeway. I had great difficulty getting to the side of the freeway nearly being struck by other drivers. I had no power steering and no way to put my hazard lights on when the car lost power. The jeep is still not drivable at this time and is at the dealership.
Incident date: Sep 3, 2025
While driving on a major highway, my car went into limp mode topping out at 60 mph then decreasing before going back to 60. My check engine light was also blinking, not solid.
Incident date: Aug 1, 2025
I taken my vehicle to the dealership three times in less than one year, and my recall have not been fixed. An unexpected loss of propulsion can cause a vehicle crash without prior warning is what the recall is saying. this vehicle is not safe to drive, yet the dealership won't provide me another vehicle, nor buying it back. The recall number is 73C. My hybrid electrical system light comes on and m... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
E300
(2017) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 13, 2025
Incident date: Sep 4, 2025
On [XXX], I went out to start my 2023 Hyundai Santa Cruz (SC) to leave work to go home. It was difficult to start, however, it started. As I entered [XXX] , i was nearly rear ended by another car, because my SC lost all acceleration. I turned on my hazards for SAFETY and then began to try to accelerate again and was only able to get up to 45 MPH and then was turning 4,000 RPM. I limped my SC h... Read more
Incident date: Sep 10, 2025
Constant fail of O2 sensor and ABS causing check engine and ABS lights to come on. After diagnosis, did research and it is a common problem on Ford Explorers
Incident date: Sep 2, 2025
i was driving my car and at a stop sign i started accelerating when the light turned green - i must have been going 45 mPH after the light and all of a sudden my car went into hyper acceleration speeding up to 80 mph, i was pumping my brakes and the car was still raging to accelerate. I almost ran into a semi truck in front of me becuase i could not stop my car from accelerating, my foot was on t... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Apr 1, 2025
THIS IS THE SECOND SUCH EXPERIENCE WITH THIS CAR! On Friday, September 12, 2025 at 3:32 p.m., I was driving slowly in a parking lot preparing to park. As I started to turn the car into the parking space, my car surged forward without my pressing on the gas pedal. I pressed on the brake, and the car came to a stop.
THOR MOTOR COACH
FOUR WINDS
(2018) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 12, 2025
Incident date: Jun 1, 2025
My wife was parking our vehicle near the front of our home, simply rolling forward toward the car in front of her to complete parking on the left side of the street when the vehicle unexpectedly accelerated on its own. The vehicle turned hard to the right, struck the bumper of the parked car she was pulling up behind, continued right across the traffic lane where it hit two parked cars on the othe... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Mar 12, 2025
Advanced Driver Assistance System not listed: "Forward Attention Warning" I recently purchased the 2025 Hyundai Tucson PHEV Limited and on a road trip the next few days later I tried to activate the cruise control when all of a sudden a few seconds later it gave a warning and shut off. I tried again and it did the same thing. I had to pull over, check the setup menu and even though this is a pr... Read more
Incident date: Sep 12, 2023
3 DAYS AFTER PURCHASING MY USED VEHICLE THE "SERVICE TRANSMISSION" LIGHT TURNED ON FOR A FEW SECONDS. A FEW WEEKS LATER I NOTICED THAT THERE WAS A DELAY IN GEARS SHIFTING LIKE HARSH SHIFTING. I TOOK IT TO A JEEP DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID THEY COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH IT BECAUSE WHEN HOOKED UP TO THE COMPUTER IT WAS NOT THROWING A CODE. THE ISSUE CONTINUES WHERE THERES A DELAY IN SHIFTING, ... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ATLAS
(2018) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 12, 2025
Incident date: Sep 12, 2025
I have a 2008 Chrysler Sebring Sedan. The radiator is leaking fluid that splashes all over the wires causing a burning smell. I later found out that this is caused by an electrical issue with the sensors. Similarly my tire pressure sensors are fried. These issues have eroded wires causing my A/C and Cruise Control systems to malfunction. My power windows have issues sometimes I can't get them to r... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2023) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 12, 2025
Incident date: Jul 10, 2025
73C / NHTSA 25V576 Recall regarding loss of propulsion/vehicles stopping and / or decelerating.
Incident date: Aug 10, 2025
Recall 24V-896, cannot be repaired, no repair timeline in site, vehicle is coding and dealership has confirmed code. Driving cruise will turn off and braking system becomes difficult and unstable. Warning systems come one. Dealership attempted to repair but manufacture advised they were not allowed to do so because it would not be permanent. Dealership has advised to park unit and contact Chrysler... Read more
Incident date: Sep 11, 2025
Vehicle is being remotely hacked and placed into regen Parts have been swapped and truck has been tampered with and continues to be tampered with
Incident date: Aug 23, 2025
On September 7, 2025 at ~7:53 PM, my 2025 Tesla Model 3 operating with Full Self-Driving (FSD) engaged performed an aggressive, uncommanded turn while under computer control. The maneuver occurred so abruptly that I could not safely override steering before impact, and a crash resulted. The Tesla app Trip View for Trip 3 (7:34–7:53 PM) shows “Vehicle on FSD” for 18 min 54 sec and records an ... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Apr 10, 2025
Received vehicle at roughly 181,000 miles. Operated fine for about 5,000 miles and then began to show problems. In most cases when pressing down hard on the accelerator pedal, transmission drops into a lower gear and revs up to 5k rpm, cancelling cruise control, and staying there until accelerator is relieved. This makes accelerating more difficult since too much pressure on the accelerator pedal ... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2019) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 10, 2025
Incident date: Aug 25, 2025
Reduced engine power message pops up while driving Check engine light stays on Codes that came up for Cadillac converter And transmission failure
Incident date: Sep 10, 2025
I leased a 2016 hyundai tucson from Metcalf Auto Plaza [XXX]. Every week since then i have had to return the car for repairs. It got to a point where Neil suggested he can trade it for another but each and every vehicle i test drove to replace my car was NOT ready to be on the road but according to them every car had just got out the shop. Instead of trying to have issues resolved the mechan... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Mustang. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and occupied or while driving, the vehicle accelerated independently. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was towed to the residence and then was towed the following day to a dealer to be diagnosed; however, the contact was unaware of the diagnostic result. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was ... Read more
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2018) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 10, 2025
Incident date: Sep 9, 2025
Truck was intermittently losing power steering and shutting off/reseting itself. Was a loss of electrical and was throwing Stabilitrak Service warning. Would not stay on due to truck resetting itself but loss of power happened typically when I was in parking lot or driveway. Could have easily been on the highway which could have been deadly. Dealership found that the battery cables and module ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 28, 2024
1) Electronic emergency brake goes on repeatedly when attempting to put vehicle in gear. 2) Speed control has coasted to a very low speed while on the highway several times, on its own with no vehicles in front of me. 3) Numerous other “glitchy” electrical issues exist. Dealer says they are collaborating with engineers in Germany. There is currently no fix. It is as if the vehicle is... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Aug 1, 2022
3 Years of a recall with no remedy by the manufacturer. Repeated inquiries with the same answer. Electronic Stability Control, Cruise Control, and Keyless Entry all disabled. Check Engine Light on continuously. Brake lights stay on for extended periods of time.
Incident date: Sep 9, 2025
Upon commuting to work, the car failed to accelerate causing the car to almost suddenly stop while driving; at the same time of the failure warning lights and beeping occurred. No warnings prior to failure. By God’s grace, I was not yet on the expressway and avoided what would have been a horrible accident jeopardizing not only my life but the lives of anyone that would have been behind me. T... Read more
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE L
(2022) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sep 9, 2025
Incident date: Sep 8, 2025
My 2007 Crown Victoria has had a worsening unintended acceleration issue over the past year. When hitting hard bumps the car will suddenly begin revving my itself (normal RPM is 600 idling in drive and 800 idling in neutral) when this issue occurs it will sit around 1k rpm in drive (pushing against the brakes so I must hold them down very hard) and will shoot up to 2k rpm in neutral. when the issu... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Sep 3, 2025
I was turning into a parking space on the street. I let my foot off the gas in order to brake.... as I did so the car LURCHED forward on its own about 2-3 feet running into the curb and damaging the wheel, the rim and the tire. I stomped on the brake, turned off the car, and restarted the car in order to finish parking (get out of traffic) and assess the damage. Thankfully nobody was hurt, althoug... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jan 1, 2024
erratic shifting and eratic slipping gears , first happened while on highway and then it wouldnt go in any gear besides reverse and would say transmission overheat wait 5 min . caused another veihcal behind me to slam on there brakes and they ended up getting rear ended from the car behind them ..... all becouse of my cars tcm or transmission issues>!!!! also not too mention ` random unusual noise... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Sep 5, 2025
This car has been having issues with the facial recognition. It consistently cannot see my face when I am looking forward, and always manages to give me an alert when looking in my mirrors or doing a lane change. I am concerned that due to the a out of highway driving I do, that the car will Stop on the Interstate, causing a major accident
Incident date: Sep 4, 2025
When driving, the collision sign randomly comes on. It causes the the vehicle to rev and there's a lag in picking up speed. There are times when the vehicle is "stuck" while waiting on a left turn and it screeches and jolts when I press on the gas to move forward before it actually moves.
Incident date: Jul 1, 2025
The dash on my sportage will go black while driving, and then the system reboots showing "system check" the cruise control also goes out when this happens. This happens about once a month. Dealer has checked it more than 3 times and has found no issues except the first time I brought it in.
Incident date: Apr 9, 2025
Was driving with the kids in the car, all of our safety was put at risk when the warning lamp came on and then the gear shift system malfunctioned. It said service hybrid system then went away. This is the third time this has happened. I had to pull over and got honked at by cars that had to stop to avoid hitting us. The problem has been confirmed by today's announcement over the impending recall ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2024
Service Antilock Brake System. Service Shifter. Service 4WD. Loss communication with MPH. ABS light. Traction Control. Power Steering Failing. BRAKE. Doors Lock/Unlock. Vehicle shut down while I was driving and locked me out completely. Replaced Part No. 68321746AA-001 Vehicle was taken to four auto shops. None were able to diagnosed the issue. Mopar shop wanted to charge over $1,600 to replac... Read more
Incident date: Sep 8, 2025
I am experiencing ABS issues on my truck. After visiting a local auto parts store to get an OBD scan, the code says it’s a bad ABS module. I called the dealership to share this information and they confirmed the code from the auto parts store is a bad ABS module. They said “oh no, you got that code huh? You’re not the only one.” The reason for my visit was because three lights were illumin... Read more
Incident date: Jul 26, 2025
The vehicle experienced serious drive control failures on three separate dates: September 21, 2024; October 2, 2024; and July 26, 2025. On each occasion, acceleration was either severely delayed or completely unresponsive, and the vehicle rolled backward when attempting to move forward on an incline. The following warnings appeared on the dashboard: “Stability Control Disabled,” ESC (Electron... Read more