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
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2023) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Apr 24, 2026
Incident date: Mar 11, 2026
The complaint was filed on behalf of the contact's employer. The contact drives a 2023 Toyota Sienna Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at 5 MPH, the vehicle independently accelerated. The contact stated that the acceleration occurred while the contact was making a right turn. The contact stated that the vehicle shifted from hybrid to high speed within a second. The brake pedal was depr... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Apr 24, 2026
My 2025 Ford Ranger Lariat FX4 has experienced sudden and complete loss of accelerator pedal response while driving at low speed on at least 4 to 6 separate occasions. The engine continues to run normally, but pressing the accelerator produces no power and no vehicle response. The condition has consistently occurred while pulling into my subdivision, which has an inclined entrance. The truck also ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 24, 2026
I am writing to report a critical safety failure regarding my vehicle’s display systems. While driving, the left side of the infotainment system (the digital instrument cluster) went completely dark. I lost all visibility of my speedometer, odometer, and critical vehicle warnings. I immediately pulled over and attempted to power-cycle the vehicle, but the display remained unresponsive. Shortly a... Read more
Incident date: Apr 3, 2026
Okay, I can press the gas and try to go one speed.And my car will go either way, too slow for that gear or way too fast.For that gear , I have almost been several wrecks , because it's either going too slow , went when i'm supposed to be going to certain speed or it's going to fast one supposed to be going to certain speed
Incident date: Apr 20, 2026
The vehicle has 57000 miles and i am reporting a commonly known issue with the transmission. Despite multiple service appointments with Ford explaining the issue, I was informed there was nothing wrong. Now, 10 months post extended warranty, Ford is telling me it needs a full transmission replacement. Thoroughout, the vehicle shifted eradically up and down, including on the interstate, quickly dro... Read more
AM GENERAL
MV-1
(2016) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Apr 23, 2026
Incident date: Apr 23, 2026
For approximately 3 years, this vehicle has experienced repeated unintended transmission downshifts at freeway speeds without warning or driver input. The vehicle can suddenly and violently downshift at highway speed, creating a serious risk of loss of control, skidding, rear impact, or crash. This defect appears substantially similar to Ford recall 26S28 / NHTSA campaign 26V237, which covers cer... Read more
Incident date: Apr 23, 2026
The contact owns a 2023 Kia Niro. The contact stated that while driving at 25 MPH, the vehicle independently accelerated. The contact constantly depressed the brake pedal to stop the vehicle. The contact was able to coast the vehicle to the residence while depressing the brake pedal to prevent the unintended acceleration. Neither a dealer nor an independent mechanic was contacted. The vehicle was... Read more
Incident date: Apr 23, 2026
8/2025 Car stalled on freeway. Went to dealer. They said nothing wrong. Then on a trip north, car stalled again on freeway. Went to the nearest dealer. They too said nothing wrong. This time same thing. There is a recall for the exact symptoms of the exact car yet they say the repair was done. Why does my vin not qualify for the exact symptoms that generated a recall? This was super dangerous at f... Read more
Incident date: Apr 17, 2026
On April 17 2026 while driving my 2022 Acura MDX at very low speed in a parking lot, the vehicle suddenly accelerated forward without warning and surged into bushes before I could stop it. I did not mistake the gas for the brake pedal. This felt like a sudden unintended acceleration event. I was preparing to park in a stall and the vehicle lunged forward unexpectedly. I applied the brake, but t... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Apr 19, 2026
I was mailed a letter about a recall for engine bearings. When i called the dealership, they told me they did not have the parts and that Nissan would reach out. Then i received another letter so i called back and scheduled an appt. Before the appointment, the car started exhibiting stalling behavior which included causing me hit a pot hole. Then critical engine warning lights came on, so Nissan t... Read more
Incident date: Apr 22, 2026
The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while the vehicle was stopped at a residential gate, the vehicle unexpectedly accelerated. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a private residence. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.
Incident date: Apr 22, 2026
While taking off in my 2020 Toyota C-HR on the highway, the CVT transmission suddenly failed, resulting in an immediate and significant loss of propulsion power. The vehicle did not fully shut off but lost the ability to maintain normal highway speed, requiring me to rapidly reduce speed and carefully maneuver the vehicle to safety in active traffic conditions. This created a serious safety risk ... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Apr 6, 2026
Turbocharger is defective. Reduced engine power. Engine Power reduced shows up on my dashboard. I bought the car brand new at Lindsey Buick in Ohio. This car is too young for this problem. Lindsey Buick and GM need to stand up to accountability and transparency when it comes to delivering top quality products. My vehicle almost caused a horrific accident by not accelerating fast enough. I a... Read more
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2017) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Apr 22, 2026
Incident date: Apr 22, 2026
Sudden and severe downshifts occurred at roadway and highway speeds resulting in sudden speed decrease. Also revving and loss of power occurred. Problem codes P0706 & P0707 were logged which point directly to the Transmission Range Sensor (TRS), which is integrated into the molded lead frame. This sudden and uncontrolled loss of speed caused significant danger to vehicles, ocupants, and other vehi... Read more
Incident date: Apr 13, 2026
I was driving 70-75 mph on interstate XXX going south from [XXX] to [XXX] after picking up my friends. I had e-save mode on to save the battery for later and out of nowhere the car lost all power and would not accelerate. Some writing flashed across the screen telling me to pull over in the emergency lane and stop and then restart the Jeep in hybrid mode. I had to throw on my hazards and pray... Read more
Incident date: Dec 23, 2025
Occasionally, the car's RPMs fluctuate wildly, and the engine stalls; the surges in RPM lead to sudden, abrupt acceleration, which poses a safety risk to me and my family. The dealership has been unable to resolve the problem.
Incident date: Apr 14, 2026
I purchased this car new on December 31, 2024. I have owned it for less than 16 months, and in that time, we have had an issue occur at least 5 times where we get an alert on the screen that says, "Stop Safely Vehicle Will Shut Off Soon". Less than 20 seconds later, the car completely dies. On each of the 5 instances, we were lucky to be going relatively slow and were in a safe place with a shou... Read more
Incident date: Apr 22, 2026
I own a Hyundai Elantra with approximately 103,000 miles. The vehicle has developed an intermittent issue where the engine will suddenly stall while driving. This most often occurs when I am decelerating and turning, such as when entering or navigating roundabouts. At the time of the stall, multiple warning indicators appear simultaneously, including the check engine light, battery warning light,... Read more
Incident date: Dec 31, 1969
Turn Signals stop working Cruise Control stopped working Vehicle Control Stopped working All Buttons on Steering column stopped working Windshield Wiper controls stopped working 4WD Controls stopped working Radio Controls stopped working Lawsuits have been filed and won by people against Ford yet No Recall has been opened !
Incident date: Apr 16, 2026
I am writing to open a formal complaint regarding a serious transmission defect in my 2019 Honda Odyssey (VIN: [XXX] ). My vehicle is currently exhibiting symptoms that directly match the 'Transmission Programming Defect' documented in ongoing litigation, specifically symptoms: while accelerating produce rough and delayed shifting; sudden jerking, sudden, harsh accelerations and decelerations; an... Read more
Incident date: Mar 10, 2026
While traveling at normal highway speeds (55 MPH), the vehicle's battery capacity rapidly dropped from 80-90% down to 10% in less than 30 seconds, resulting in activation of the vehicle's "turtle mode" and power throttling, which made it impossible to maintain posted highway speed of 55 MPH. A warning appeared on the dashboard, which stated, "Warning Power Reduced". The vehicle traveled at approxi... Read more
Incident date: Apr 14, 2026
The vehicle exhibits dangerous electronic malfunctions. A licensed technician (MV-113255) has confirmed a sporadic unintended acceleration defect where the cruise control 'decrease' button causes the vehicle to increase speed. Additionally, the vehicle repeatedly enters 'Limp Mode' in active traffic, causing a violent jerk and a total loss of acceleration while displaying a 'Smart City Brake Suppo... Read more
Incident date: Apr 8, 2026
Truck downshifted to first gear from about 35 mph with no warning, and would not shift back, until it was shut off. I was in middle of road. No warning lights came on prior to this happening. The dealer confirmed a recall for this problem but my truck is a 2013 and recall currently is for 2014 forward. I never received a recall notice on my truck and the estimate to have it fixed is about $1700... Read more
Incident date: Apr 18, 2026
I was on the Highway and had the vehicle on cruise control, the super cruise was not available the entire trip. Suddenly a warning came on saying that supper cruise was not available please take the wheel, the truck started slowing down drastically while I’m doing 70mph which is the speed limit. I put my foot on the brake to disengage the cruise control but that did not work. I had to push the c... Read more
Incident date: Apr 21, 2026
My wife was driving down the highway and out of no where there was a loud taping sound, the vehicle started running real bad (skipping), the vehicle lost power and she lost control of the steering. As a result, she ran off the road into a ditch. this is a known concern with the 6.2 liter engines and all signs are pointing to lifter failure. She could have ben seriously injured and GM is responsibl... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Feb 7, 2026
The vehicle reads the speed limit signs improperly and the adaptive cruise control will speed up the vehicle to the improper speed limit. For instance it is 45 mph on SR 70 in TN and the vehicle will read the speed limit as 70 mph and take off up to 70 mph on it's own. Very dangerous. Took it to 2 dealers and they are unable to fix the problem.
Incident date: Apr 18, 2026
approaching a round about at a slow rate of speed, prior to entering I noticed there was time to safely enter the round about ahead of a car also entering the roundabout from another direction. I pushed the accelerator pedal to about 30% at the time I choose to enter the traffic circle and attempted to enter. The truck did nothing in response except keep rolling forward due to the momentum I alrea... Read more
Incident date: Mar 5, 2026
While driving the vehicle, the vehicle suddenly shutoff and powered on again. After do some diagnostics we determined is was the ECU/ECM. The ECM has corrosion on the top which caused salty water to eat through the lid. Doing some research this vehicle make and model has recall but doesn’t show up under my vin. I’ve contacted the manufacturer which was willing to help but the dealership seems ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 2, 2026
Car would jerk and transmission was failing
MERCEDES-BENZ
GLC 300 4MATIC
(2023) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Apr 20, 2026
Incident date: Mar 31, 2026
The issue is regarding the “Traffic Sign Assist” (Owner’s Manual page 221) feature of the Adaptive Cruise Control System. Vehicle will be made available if requested. The function of the "Traffic Sign Assist" is to monitor roadside "Speed Limit" signs and the cruise control will increase or decrease speed to stay within the permissible legal speed limit. The system worked except occasion... Read more
Incident date: Apr 18, 2026
Sudden Unintended Acceleration – 2024 Kia Sportage – Safety Hazard. Incident Date: April 18, 2026. Location: Parking lot. While pulling into a parking space at low speed, I brought the vehicle to a complete stop with my foot on the brake. Immediately after stopping, the vehicle suddenly and forcefully accelerated forward on its own without my foot on the accelerator. I was actively pressing... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Apr 18, 2026
Very commonly when the truck is “cold” after sitting overnight, the truck fails to accelerate from a stop while pushing the accelerator pedal down gradually (such as when leaving a stop sign at an intersection. This lack of acceleration makes me feel a loss of control as I cannot get the truck to accelerate. For example, driving out of my neighborhood into oncoming road traffic I feel as if th... Read more
Incident date: Apr 9, 2026
bought that as used at low milage with good service history indicated with pcm twice made me believe to trust as reliability and regular check ups. carfax is not really honest, as well as I learned that powertrain itself has nothing to mechanism but actually programing meaning actual PCM itself has troubleshoots and not at its stability. It caused no speed on dash board sometimes even though got s... Read more
Incident date: Apr 20, 2026
The contact owns a 2026 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while attempting to park the vehicle in a parking space with her foot on the brake pedal, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated over the curb and crashed into the brick wall of a convenience store. The contact stated that the failure occurred without warning. The air bags did not deploy upon impact. The brick wall of the store was damaged ... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Feb 1, 2022
I own a 2010 Honda Accord. While driving at various speeds, the vehicle jerks, and fails to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal on the hwy. The check engine warning light VSA is on. In 2022, I had Honda replace the engine, However, just after the warrenty expired, I started to experince the same issues. The vehicle has been sitting since 2023, and so I have it in the shop... Read more
Incident date: Apr 16, 2026
Vehicle at dealership a third time for same issue relating to U1412 code associated with ABS system. First time it was towed on 1/19/2026 and second time I took it to the dealership before it required towing on 3/26/2026. This time the truck required towing again after not being able to go into gear or being able to turn it off. Multiple warning lights on the dash. Still waiting for diagnosis but ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 26, 2026
Second incident relating to U1412 code where ABS related warning lights coming on. On 1/19/26 it had the same issue but was towed due to undriveable and would turn off. This time I drove straight to Dodge dealership where they got the codes, unlike last time due to batteries dead. Ram performed two flash updates and felt issue was fixed. Car is currently at dealership for third incident of same na... Read more
Incident date: Jan 19, 2026
This is related to the 2025/2026 Ram 3500 U1412 code relating to anti lock brake system. On this date I got an ABS warning light and check engine light. The vehicle would not turn off, was not sure if it was in gear or not, and multiple other lights came on the dash. Vehicle towed to dealership. They said they could not reproduce the error and that all the codes disappeared due to the batteries dy... Read more
Incident date: Apr 19, 2026
While operating the vehicle with the cruise control enabled and engaged, the vehicle resets the “set” speed 5 to 15 MPH higher than initially set with no driver input or adjustment and begins accelerating. My spouse related this has happened several times to her at various speed settings. Today, I was on the highway with it set at 60 MPH, the vehicle began accelerating and I noticed the set sp... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2025
The car acceleration issues, taking a long time to go from 0-50 with the tachometer going up to 5 to do so. My MPG has gone from 33 to 28 mpg. There are times when I press on the gas but my car doesn’t move. It also makes loud “rumbling” or “whining” sounds at times.
Incident date: May 12, 2025
while driving at highway speeds the transmission has shited gears causing the truck to hesitate, and stuble hunting for gears. This truck has the same 6r80 transmission that is being recalled in 2015-2017 modles. Please have this modle year include.
POLESTAR
POLESTAR 2
(2022) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Apr 19, 2026
Incident date: Apr 16, 2026
I took car to dealer to get latest software update version 4.2.13 since my car hasnt been received updates OTA. After the update, the cars accelerating from a stand still had a lag of almost 1 to 2 seconds which is dangerous. I went online to find out several polestar 2 owners complaining about the same issue. My car has the performance upgrade which has a 0-60 time in 4 seconds. Now after thi... Read more
Incident date: Apr 19, 2026
I was pulling into a parking spot and my vehicle suddenly lurch forward, and I had to slam on the brakes quickly, scraping the front of the curb. I checked there was no warning lights. I checked the floor mat, and this was not impeding the accelerator pedal I am certainly I did not accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the brake.
Incident date: Aug 15, 2025
I own a 2019 Ram ProMaster. The vehicle previously received the manufacturer recall repair for the transmission park issue (software update). After the recall repair, the vehicle experienced a safety issue where it would roll freely while in “Park,” as if it were in neutral, even though the dashboard indicated “P.” This created a rollaway risk. This happened August 2025 intermittently. M... Read more
Incident date: Apr 18, 2026
This is not a failed component, the issue is a design interaction issue. This truck when it gets stuck as it unfortunately very easily does even on wet grass goes into a traction control mode where the throttle is VERY damped but the issue is not only is the opening very dampened the closing is also VERY damped. This is made significantly worse by the fact that traction control cannot actually ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 16, 2026
The vehicle exhibits unintended acceleration behavior when the brake pedal is applied. Instead of slowing down, the engine revs and the vehicle does not decelerate as expected. On March 16, 2026, while merging onto a highway and applying the brakes, the engine suddenly revved to approximately 3,500 RPMs while the vehicle failed to slow down. There have been previous issues with the vehicle not sl... Read more
Incident date: Mar 25, 2026
My car started getting hot, began to overheat. I was on my way home on freeway. Second lane from slow lane. My car began to loose power, I could no longer excelerate. There was a big rig coming up behind me he was not slowing down as he got closer began honking I was trying to flag him that I could not move, as I was trying it started to go like 5 miles per hour where i began slowly to get over, ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 17, 2026
While driving on a two-lane highway at approximately 80–85 mph and attempting to pass another vehicle, the engine suddenly shut off without warning. The vehicle lost all propulsion, and steering assist was significantly reduced, creating a dangerous situation and nearly resulting in a head-on collision with oncoming traffic. Warning lights including check engine and low power steering illuminat... Read more
Incident date: Apr 23, 2025
Adaptive cruise control fails nearly every time the car is driven more than 40 minutes with ACC activated. Failure indicated by warning lights and statement on DIC. DIC instructs operator to clean the front "H" emblem on grille, however, the emblem is always completely clean. The failure has been reported 4+ times to the dealership. Dealership reports the failure is a known problem and there i... Read more
Incident date: Apr 9, 2026
My 2020 Audi SQ5 (3.0L turbo V6, EA839 engine) experienced premature water pump failure at 64,361 miles. Coolant leaked into the vacuum system, damaging the vacuum unit and related components. Failed parts are available for inspection. Safety Risk: Loss of coolant circulation causes rapid overheating and risk of sudden engine failure at highway speeds, creating a collision hazard. Coolant intrusio... Read more