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: Nov 7, 2024
I left my office at about [XXX] on [XXX] Thursday for home, traffic was moderate, approaching the long weekend. I reached home at 5:29 pm, opened the garage and started parking the vehicle inside the car. All of a sudden, the car just took off and randomly accelerated and the next thing I found was that the vehicle landed and stopped right inside the house on the small island by the garage entranc... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Nov 3, 2024
Lost acceleration, check engine light and warning light came on ‘Service Electronic Throttle Control’ Diagnostic code P0336 Crankshaft Position Sensor A Circuit Truck has issues starting, once running, it idles rough and is in limp mode Appears to correspond with Safety Recall W68 / NHTSA 20V-475
MERCURY
GRAND MARQUIS
(2005) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 8, 2024
Incident date: Nov 5, 2024
On [XXX] I was driving this recently purchased Grand marquis . On [XXX] here in San Antonio around ten at night I hit the brakes and something under the hood compartment blew up and it cocked the car . I was trapped inside and when I finally was able to get my seatbelt released I had to break the window with my head . The previous week I reached out to ford and they told me they would address the ... Read more
Fire
1 injured
Incident date: Mar 15, 2021
While driving on the freeway at 70 MPH with 39 miles of range left, the vehicle abruptly slowed down to 20 MPH...cars behind us almost hit us due to the car slowing down despite me accelerating. We pulled to the right shoulder, rest the car and then was only able to go up to 20MPH...range still said 39 miles. Shortly after the car stopped, there was a warning displayed, and the car turned off and ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 2, 2024
the car lost power in the middle of the freeway -and decelerated; in a highway with speed limit of 65mph while driving in I-680, all of a sudden the car slowed down from 65mph all the way to less than 20mph - displaying "power reduced - 0% battery" ; even it was recently fully charged - I was able to drive the car - back at 20mph speed - went straight to the Nissan dealer/service - where I left ... Read more
CHEVROLET
TRAILBLAZER
(2022) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 7, 2024
Incident date: Oct 28, 2024
I purchased my car 10/12/24. On 11/2/24, one of the first times I had used cruise control, I was traveling between 40-45mph in a residential area and turned on my cruise control. The car immediately set the CC speed to exactly 110 mph and would not respond to the down arrow to adjust speed down. I paused CC and resumed and the setting remained at 110mph. I am not sure what caused the setting to fi... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2024
HCU/ABS modules have failed for the second time in 50K miles. While using Cruise Control at highways speed (70mph) in heavy traffic the warning lines and chime came on. At the same instance the truck started slowing down dramatically. Almost causing us to get rear ended. It was like slamming on the brakes, but without brake lights to warn cars behind me. I finally figured out it caused the Crui... Read more
Incident date: Oct 24, 2024
I was driving the truck and the dashboard said fuel filter at 0 % entering low power mode. The truck did not accelerate at all and stopped running within 5 minutes . The repair cost almost 9000.00 for a 100.00 fuel filter.
Incident date: Nov 7, 2024
No warning light on dash. Issues engaging in gears. Avoided a few accidents by throwing on hazards when car wouldn't accelerate on road. When turning into oncoming traffic it wouldn't engage in gear but thankfully they braked to avoid hitting me. After that I would only drive in the neighborhood to take kids to school. When reading Ford knows this issue but still put this 10 speed transmission in ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 7, 2024
I had previously activated ACC to use on the highway with the speed set at 65mph. After getting off and driving into a parking lot I accidentally bumped the resume toggle on the steering wheel and the car started to accelerate requiring me to intervene. Luckily there were no vehicles or pedestrians in front of me at the time so I was able to regain control. The owners manual has this information. ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 16, 2024
During the daytime, you cannot see any of the graphics on the steering wheel switches. How am I supposed to know what button does what? How am I supposed to control the cruise control settings if I am pushing the wrong buttons. At night they are illuminated so I can see them better, but during the day the graphics are basically invisible. I'm thinking this is only an issue on the Calligraphy N... Read more
Incident date: Sep 6, 2024
Generally when driving a a slow speed and truing a corner the vehicle will suddenly speed up to about 15 miles per hour. Over the last 2.5 hears this has happened about 30 times. On at lease three (3) occasions a passenger has been with me and can confirm this has happened. Each time it has happened my hands have been on the steering wheel and I have not touched any of the controls. This happe... Read more
Incident date: Oct 14, 2024
Master cylinder or some part near brake pedal inside the cab is leaking oil or a oil like substance on to floor mats and floor.
Incident date: Nov 3, 2024
My 2018 Ram 3500 DRW truck for no reason started throwing dash warning lights intermittently after 60,000 miles. The warning lights activated on the dash were for ABS and Traction Control, with an annoying ding when they appeared. The center dash light stated "Service Antilock Braking System. Additionally, when this occurred the cruise control did not work. The warning lights were intermittent... Read more
Incident date: Nov 6, 2024
Abs/hcu on the braking system has failed twice in the 3 years I've owned this truck.
Incident date: Oct 27, 2024
On October 27, coming back from a family trip at 10 PM at night on a major highway, the suburban all of a sudden quit. Traveling at 70 miles per hour, all of a sudden, when pressing the gas pedal, the car would not accelerate and the RPM gauge was erratically moving. The car started to slow down till it eventually just quit and it would not go anymore. We were stranded in the middle of the highway... Read more
Incident date: Sep 28, 2018
Bought 2013 suburban brand new and in 2018, on a trip to the mountains for fall break, the car quit with no warning signs, in the middle of the night. The car would not accelerate when gas pedal was pressed and RPM gauge needle “fluctuated erratically” until car came to a complete stop in the middle of the highway! It was a scary and dangerous situation because it was late at night and we were... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2024
Was driving on highway about 70 mph and check engine light, red lightning bolt symbol, and traction control lights all came on wasn't able to accelerate and vehicle wouldn't go above 30 mph. It's been in and out of dealerships since May and is still not fixed with no explanation why it's doing it . I have 1000 miles until my warranty is up . Could anyone take a look at this !
Incident date: Nov 5, 2024
I’ve had intermittent issues where the one pedal driving feature would disable itself. Last night I narrowly avoided a T-bone collision as the OPD deactivated and as I approached a junction it took me a second to realize the car was not stopping and it was only by sheer luck that the other vehicle stopped abruptly so we didn’t collide.
Incident date: Nov 5, 2024
This particular vehicle exhibits a very strong, almost dash rattling judder when moving from the 1st to 2nd gearing ratio. This is especially dangerous in traffic and intersections where the vehicle is known to be in 1st or 2nd gear ratio, as Nissan likes to ratio out their CVT in software through the TCM to produce what feels like shifting from gear-to-gear as in a normal automatic transaxle. Wha... Read more
Incident date: Feb 5, 2024
The abs module has gave me issues and now has gone completely out causing no brakes and while it was having intermittent issues causes no cruise control and causes transmission issues which is another thing the transmission has went out again after this is the 3rd time replacing at around 10k everytime
Incident date: Oct 22, 2024
Electronic Throttle Actuator, Gas Pedal Assembly Failed. As i accelerated the gas pedal failed in the position against the firewall and could not be pulled up. The vehicle increased speed on its own and brakes did not work. The spedd continued to increase. I had the vehicle towed to Cardinal Honda 860-449-0411 in Groton Connecticut. Polise were on sight on the highway after i pulled over in Ne... Read more
Incident date: Nov 4, 2024
I am experiencing 2 issues with the vehicle. 1. I am not sure exactly which component is affected, but on several occasions I have had the car essentially stop responding WHILE I"M DRIVING. While driving on the highway, the car somehow loses response, I don't know any other way to describe it. It's almost like the car switches to Neutral, but the gear indicator still says it's in Drive. Pressing t... Read more
Incident date: Nov 4, 2024
The handle bar riser failed and snaped causing a loose handle bar which can cause serious injury. My bike is kept indoors, never left alone and never dropped. It is available for inspection. I almost took it to work and found the issue when inspecting before riding. This has put my life at risk and can easily cause me to run over or collide with other people/ objects. Problem cannot be reproduce... Read more
Incident date: Nov 4, 2024
Engine stalling Oil pan leaks Caused the engine to shut down when slowing down or sitting in traffic on highway. No warning lights prior to incidents Only right after
Incident date: Oct 28, 2024
The warning lights for my ABS and traction control come on and off while driving normal driving conditions. Every time they flash it also has an audible ding that is very distracting. If I am using the cruise control when this happens the cruise control will turn off. The ABS system does not work when the lights come on. I am afraid I will be unable to stop. I took it to a local dealer and th... Read more
Incident date: Oct 7, 2024
The accident happened when I was using the "BRAKE HOLD SYSTEM". It is designed to use when the needs to stop briefly. When the Brake Hold button is touched while the driver's foot is on the brake pedal, the driver do not need to step on the brake even though the shift lever is in D. After I finished paying for a car wash, I touched the Brake Hold button. Then the vehicle suddenly accelerated forwa... Read more
Crash
Fire
2 injured
Incident date: Dec 2, 2023
Service Electronic Braking Service and Service ABS/TRACTION CONTROL. This is intermittent. When it happens Cruise control, 4 wheel drive and abs doesn't work. Happens when I'm towing my camper or not. Trailer brakes won't work when this happens. Hundreds, maybe thousands of complaints about this on Ram forums. This problem occurs no matter what the speed is. It even happens while sitting still.
Incident date: Sep 21, 2022
ABS light would come on when driving periodically on and off. for a few months it felt like brakes were locking up, Steering was very difficult and hard like the steering wheel was locked making it difficult to turn the steering wheel. dashboard components would periodically turn off and restart. when driving it would make a grinding noiselike the brakes were locked, this would occur with the abs... Read more
Incident date: Jul 25, 2022
in 2022 the abs and traction control lights began to come on together, leading to loss of ABS and traction control in addition to not being able to use the cruise control. Vehicle was taken to the dealer to be serviced and they stated they would replace the HCU but would not replace the ABS module as they would only address one thing at a time. The problem continues to persist with the constant a... Read more
GMC
SIERRA 3500
(2023) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 4, 2024
Incident date: Nov 2, 2024
Bought this car on Monday by Wednesday the check engine light went on and had gone off the following day. The next week Friday the check engine light went on and the acceleration was not changing out of gear. Staying at one speed on the highway. Finally got the car in and the car has transmission problems. The car is brand new!!
Incident date: Nov 4, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 Lincoln Aviator. The contact stated that while her husband parked during a car wash, the contact who was seated in the front passenger seat exited the vehicle when it unintendedly accelerated and crashed into a pole. The contact confirmed that the vehicle was still in the park position when it suddenly lunched forward crashing into the pole a second time. In addition, the c... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Nov 4, 2024
I was in the drive thru at a restaurant and had my foot on the brake. After a couple of minutes of sitting with my foot on the brake, I gently pressed the accelerator to slowly move forward. All of a sudden the car sped up on its own like I had floored it. The speed of acceleration threw my head back and the car whipped around the front of the building as that's where I was steering. I braked and ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 2, 2024
Issue a recall here! Many others are reporting this identical issue and a class action suit has been filed! ABS sensor light and chime comes on at random times. My truck just reached 100,000 miles. I've performed no troubleshooting but it is extremely intermittent, either the Service the Automatic or Service the Electronic Braking System(s). Usually, a bump in the road makes it come and another tu... Read more
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2023) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 3, 2024
Incident date: Jun 1, 2024
Due to the limit on text characters I have attached the 17-page document explaining the safety issues.
TOYOTA
COROLLA CROSS
(2023) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 3, 2024
Incident date: Nov 3, 2024
Stellantis/Ram for over 10 months now have claim that the ABS Module is under engineering review to me. The ABS Module controls the brake anti skid, sway control, cruise control and other systems. Since 3/2024 I've tried to replace this module but it's not in stock because of not being produced. It's a manufactured control item only. I was informed by Gator Dodge this has been a problem for almo... Read more
Incident date: Oct 12, 2024
We purchased our '24 Santa Fe hybrid on 9/18/24 new with no problems. On 10/8/24, about three weeks later, I was stopped at a stoplight after exiting the freeway. When the light turned green, I accelerated and felt a clunk, then the car would not accelerate past about 30 mph. Several warning lights came up on the dash. I could hear the engine revving, but it felt like it wouldn't go into the next ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2024
Cruising at 75 and speed dropped to 55. There are at least 3 FSD/beta features in the driver set cruise control, did Tesla get approval to add those features to the cruise control?
Incident date: Oct 18, 2024
Driving on the highway for an hour the speed control kept switching from the speed limit to 20 mph and rapidly decelerating my vehicle. I would reset the speed then everything would repeat, it started 2 weeks ago with one instance. It happened 8ish times between Idaho falls Idaho and Pocatello Idaho
Incident date: Aug 20, 2024
Cruising at 75 the speed suddenly drops to 55, the worst I had was changed from 75 to 40. This is Dangerous and needs to be changed. It drops speeds every day and before I can correct it the car usually drops a minimum of 5mph. If allowed I will start to report this every day until it is corrected as it is a huge safety issue for other drivers and potentially a deadly crash or road rage incident.
Incident date: Oct 26, 2024
My transmission is sleepin and it only goes to second gear for like 20 min then it won’t move at all
Incident date: Nov 1, 2024
Driving on the highway and suddenly lost total power. RPMs dropped to zero, speedometer dropped to zero. Truck attempted to downshift immediately and caused the truck to jerk aggressively. All dashboard readings disappeared, mileage, etc. Wrench displayed on screen and airbag sensor lit up. Sudden downshifting of the vehicle and jerking could have caused a wreck or loss of control of the vehicle. ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 27, 2024
ESC fault codes came on. Brake light switch intermittently not activating causing vehicle to set ESC fault.
FORD
EXPEDITION
(2019) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 1, 2024
Incident date: Jan 15, 2022
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that occasionally while her husband drives at various speeds, the vehicle would fail to accelerate as intended when depressing the accelerator pedal. In addition, the contact stated the rear truck door had fallen on her husband's head a few times in the past and would only open halfway. Minor injuries were sustained but medical attention ... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Oct 12, 2024
While driving the service ABS System/ Traction control dash warning message appears on the screen & chimes at the same time. The cruise control then shuts off. At first it was intermittent then it was almost all the time. With winter coming soon the ABS/Traction control will be much needed. After going online, it seems like this is a common problem with 2017-2018 Rams. After going to a Ram dealer... Read more
NISSAN
PATHFINDER
(2013) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nov 1, 2024
Incident date: Oct 15, 2024
Hello, I have an issue with the ABS Braking system on my 2018 RAM 3500 with only 50K miles on it. The lights are constantly coming on and off telling me that my ABS system needs servicing. this has been going on for two weeks. I was able to troubleshoot the problem and it says that my ABS pump and Module needs replacing. I was going to replace myself and when I ordered the parts from MOPAR they to... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2024
When accelerating, like taking off from a red light or through a turn, my car begins to shake like it’s unable to change gears correctly, and sometimes leads to the car stalling in the middle of the street and intersection putting my in danger of being hit from other drivers. It’s also happened that when I press the gas after being stopped at a light, my car RPM goes up but I don’t move and ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ram 1500. The contact stated the gear shift/rotary dial had seized in place. The vehicle failed to shift into park, and the key failed to release from the ignition switch. While driving, the vehicle jumped from park to reverse and then drive. The drive, reverse, park, and neutral warning lights were illuminated. While at a stop, the vehicle locked. While depressing the acce... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2020
Bought an electric truck in May of 2023 that is frequently malfunctioning while on the road. Turn signals and hazard lights becoming unusable. Gauges w/ speed are turning off and on while driving. All safety features become disabled. Video of multiple occurrences are available and have been submitted to ford. Would someone please help me and atleast reach out to see the videos of what this truck i... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2017) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Oct 31, 2024
Incident date: Oct 31, 2024
It accelerated unexpectedly with no input while decelerating in one pedal drive mode. Cruise control was not in use at all during the drive.