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: Aug 20, 2024
While driving in the left lane on a three lane highway (about 70mph) the car's automatic braking system engaged. The car would not accelerate creating a very dangerous situation on a congested highway at night. Luckily, we are able to navigate to a brake down lane without a collision. The check engine light, Eyesight light and RAB light turned on. The car would not function normally and was towed... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2016
The contact owns a 2015 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while making a right turn into a parking space, the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration and lunged forward. The contact stated that the failure had occurred on several occasions. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 70,000.
Incident date: Jan 15, 2018
I own a 2023 Fisker Ocean One. Regenerative brake and normal brake usually lose control when the vehicle driving through a bumpy surface. The vehicle loses the ability to slow down and brake seems to be released. This is an obvious manufacturer defect and increase the risk of accident when the vehicle is failed to stop when it needed to be. I urge to speed up the recall process to have this defect... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2024
I was driving my car through the mountains on a very hot day. The speed limits are 65-70mph. After driving for a couple of hours, a warning light/message appeared: Hybrid system overheated Reduced output power The car began to have trouble maintaining speed. At one point I had to pull over and wait a while because the car became unresponsive to the accelerator. After waiting a bit, I was able ... Read more
Incident date: May 24, 2024
The issue started happening [XXX]. I was driving home and the car went into limp mode. Several errors came on the heads up display and on the dashboard. At first I could not go faster than 31mph, then it dropped down to 17mph, then to 7mph by the time I got home. 1.When accelerating from a stop light, car goes into limp mode and won’t accelerate almost stalling in the road. You must pull over, ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2024
When driving on hills or moving from a stop to get into traffic the vehicle will go from 4th gear to 1st and won’t accelerate. After this happens I’m alerted with “Powertrain system fault”. This causes a safety issue for me and others because on hills it won’t accelerate and it rolls backwards. From a stop trying to get into traffic it won’t move and becomes a collision waiting to hap... Read more
Incident date: Aug 20, 2024
When pressing the gas pedal, my Equinox does not accelerate and move forward. It takes approximately 2-3 seconds for the vehicle to react to the pressing of the pedal and that reaction is slow despite applying full pedal movement. This happens intermittently and appears to be most notable during extreme high temperatures. It also has been noticed while trying to accelerate to pass in addition to t... Read more
Incident date: Aug 5, 2024
This failure narrowly resulted in a serious accident when my vehicle applied the brakes without warning and dropped the speed to below 40 mph on the Highway! I was extremely fortunate not to have been closely followed by a large semi at the time. I researched on my own and found this was a known defect: Ford Recall reference #22S02 (21C24) March 2022. includes vehicles built in Hemosillo plant fr... Read more
Incident date: Aug 21, 2024
I was in a minor accident involving a small animal on [XXX] and there was not much damage done to it. After it got repaired a few months later the steering wheel started locking up on me so I had it towed down to Bob Johnson Ford in Pulaski NY. They couldn't diagnose the issue and said I was safe to drive it home. On the way home the steering wheel locked up while exiting the highway and caused me... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Aug 19, 2024
While driving th vehicle the component that ruptured was the vehicles vacuum brake booster pump which connected directly to the engine. The ruptured caused shards of metal to be launched into the engine resulting in no brake power and needs an engine swap. There was a recall on this model vehicle for the Pedal sensor malfunction that results in the cars engine going into a reduced power mode abrup... Read more
DODGE
SPRINTER 2500
(2008) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Aug 21, 2024
Incident date: Aug 20, 2024
Engine stall. The first time it happened I was going about 35 mph down the street and the car quit accelerating. Engine still running all the lights on did not notice any warning lights. Coasted into a parking lot. Turned off car and restarted and drove 1/2 block home. Read online to start car in auxiliary mode three or five times. Did that and did not have a problem. About 3 or so weeks later, it... Read more
Incident date: Aug 8, 2024
2021 Ford Ranger - 10R80 Transmission Failure while driving. Hard shifting, lurching, slipping gears then abrupt failure. It is available. Currently at Diehl Ford in New Brighton, Pennsylvania. - It went from being 90% drivable to coming to complete stop with no transmission engagement at all. Break down occured while climbing a grade and the complete stop happened over a blind crest with guard ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer to be diagnosed; however, the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was taken to another local dealer, Honda of Escondido (1700 Aut... Read more
Incident date: Oct 30, 2023
ABS light will come on, speedometer will stop working, Gear shift will lock up and not move. Jeep will stop moving while on highway at random times without any warning. Steering will lock up on turns not allowing the vehicle to turn.
Incident date: Aug 20, 2024
A diagnostic code has been displayed for the Anti-Lock Brake System - C0020-01 —> ABS Pump Motor Control - General Electrical Failure. Going over a bump in the road will cause the ABS system to deactivate the cruise control. The diagnostic code can be cleared and the cruise control will resume. Reading on RAM / Cummins online sites, many say that either the HCU and / or ABS Module needed to be r... Read more
Incident date: May 15, 2024
I own a new Fisker Ocean One (electric SUV) and have been notified that there is a safety recall due to a water pump problem that can result in the vehicle suddenly entering limp mode (20 mph) unexpectedly. I'd like the problem fixed ASAP, but do not know how to get the service done. Fisker Inc. is going out of business, and although they sent me a notification about the safety recall, they prov... Read more
Incident date: Aug 10, 2024
See attached document for complaint.
Incident date: Aug 20, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 Nissan Versa. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle seemed sluggish, and the vehicle failed to accelerate above 30 MPH. The contact stated that several times, the vehicle was driven to the shoulder and the vehicle w... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2024
WHILE USING CRUISE CONTROL ON FREEWAY AT APPROX 70 MPH WHEN HEADED UP HILL AND THE VEHICLE REACHES APPROX. 2500-3k TACH, THE CRUISE WILL DISENGAGE AND SPEED WILL DROP IMMEDIATELY WITH NO WARNING. DEALER SAYS MANUAL STATES ONE MAY HAVE TO USE THROTTLE TO MAINTAIN SPEED BUT DOES NOT MENTION CRUISE DROPPING OFF. THIS IS AN EXTREME SAFETY RISK WHEN A VEHICLE IS BEHIND YOU ACCELERATING ON THE SAME INCL... Read more
Incident date: Aug 20, 2024
I recently took my car in for a recall for the trunk wiring harness and have never had any major issues since I purchased it in 2018. Since replacing the recalled harness, I’m starting to receive several alerts from my driver assistance system (emergency brakes, camera failure). I called a service tech who mentioned there’s either a failed camera or a failed wiring harness. Looking online, I w... Read more
Incident date: Aug 7, 2024
The contact's niece owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made an abnormal sound and accelerated slowly with the accelerator pedal being depressed. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that there was coolant intrusion into the engine, and the engine needed to be ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 20, 2024
Driving a Lexus UX300h 2025. Making a right turn from an alley onto a driveway of a house in low speed. Then the car was malfunctioning and suddenly unintended accelerated, and the front end on the driver side hit the brick structure of garage. The car is equipped with Lexus Safety System + 3.0 with Pre-Collision System (PCS). However, the system did not give any warnings to the driver of an ... Read more
Crash
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2021) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Aug 20, 2024
Incident date: Aug 20, 2024
Abs module failure. Traction control failure Stability control failure. Module replaced by dealer once under warranty and failed a little over a year later. Dealer would not replace defective unit stating it was out of warranty.
Incident date: Aug 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving at approximately 15 MPH, the vehicle independently accelerated with the RPM elevated beyond 5,000 RPM. The contact had taken his foot of the accelerator pedal; however, the unintended acceleration persisted, and the vehicle reached 40 MPH without the accelerator pedal being depressed. The contact stated no warning light was illu... Read more
Incident date: Oct 23, 2023
We bought this truck from a dealer in March of 2023. We were never informed by the dealer that the truck had this issue. ABS light and traction control lights come on & stay on for periods of time. Sometimes lights come on & off repeatedly while driving along with chime on & off. When lights come on, there is no cruise control available to use. I took it to the dealer we purchased from over a year... Read more
Incident date: Aug 6, 2024
Transmission whirring, vehicle is skipping while driving, gear/rpm not downshifting after acceleration
JEEP
GRAND CHEROKEE
(2014) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Aug 19, 2024
Incident date: Feb 13, 2024
Many engine related problems. Have proof of related problems and/also I have prof of me repairing the vehicle my self in present day
Incident date: May 12, 2024
The Honda of Downtown Chicago dealership has informed us that there is a fuel injector problem with this vehicle. On 8/11/24 it caused the vehicle to cycle through a series of errors before it stopped accelerating on the highway with our young son inside, and eventually stopped moving altogether after we were able to get off on an exit. When the car failed, we were given a final Power System warni... Read more
MERCURY
GRAND MARQUIS
(2009) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Aug 19, 2024
Incident date: Jul 19, 2024
My abs system is not working the ETC is not working was told this is because of the abs pump and abs computer. Most safety components related to brakes not working. There are over a thousand complaints to Chrysler about these trucks and still no recall. Please help.
CHEVROLET
SILVERADO 1500
(2021) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Aug 19, 2024
Incident date: Aug 16, 2024
Fuel regulator- high/low pressure failed. Yes the vehicle is available for inspection (currently at Rotolo Chevrolet). My safety and others were compromised because was on freeway approximately 75 mph and my power and speed was unexpectedly reduced. Almost caused pile up, I had to take evasive measures to guide truck to slow lane, and off the road. Yes, the problem has been confirmed [XXX] by cer... Read more
Incident date: Aug 19, 2024
I have been driving many times with cruise control on. With cruise control on and I hit a bump or pot hole in the road, the cruise control stops and the car immediately slows down. This happened many times as we drove [XXX] in Nevada and crossed cattle guards, and it has also happened while driving on two lane roads and I hit a pot hole or change in pavement levels. When the cruise control come... Read more
Incident date: Dec 18, 2019
The contact owns a 2001 Ford F-150. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked and turned off, there was smoke coming from the vehicle. The contact stated the engine compartment had caught on fire. The fire was extinguished by the Fire Department. A fire report was filed, and a fire report number was provided; however, the cause for the failure was not yet determined. A police report was not ... Read more
Fire
Incident date: May 8, 2024
The car lost ALL POWER and the ability to accelerate for more than 10 seconds. Luckily cars coming form across moved to the side to not hit me. I was stuck in the middle of the intersection. I attempted to shift manually in a panic and the car slammed really hard in likely 1st gear, red-lineed for several seconds then inched forward enough to pull to the side. I was able to proceed forward stuck i... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2020
There's two screens in the car. One displays speed and other functional items. The other one is the infotainment screen. In random occasions, BOTH screens go black for over a minute, meaning that the system reboots but it takes over a minute to start again, leaving the driver without any critical information while driving (speed, turn signals, warnings, etc).
Incident date: Nov 23, 2023
Intermittently the car will not accelerate when needed. It becomes excrutiatingly and terrifyingly slow. This is life-threating when coming into highway speed traffic from an exit ramp. On the highway, I've had cars slam on brakes behind me as I tried to accelerate from traffic lights. I saw no warning lamps.
Incident date: Aug 4, 2024
See attached document for complaint
Incident date: Aug 17, 2024
I on a trip [XXX] round trip is about 332 miles. I had approximately 42 miles to go and the truck speed was reduced and it started to jerk. This is the second trip over two hundred miles and the same thing happened. have extended warranty insurance but I can’t get any one to accept it here in Cleveland, Mississippi. I really think this truck is a lemon. I purchased it last year in November and i... Read more
Incident date: Aug 12, 2024
My 2022 Tesla model 3 has a major issue that should be widely addressed and because the computer screen has completely turned off although there was never any damage done to the vehicle. The cost to fix this issue is $3,052.30. I went on a three day vacation and came back to the screen not turning on but the vehicle can still drive, the major issue is that the screen controls all major functions o... Read more
Incident date: Aug 28, 2023
Vehicle was purchased new on [XXX]. 360 surround cameras and Connect box malfunctioned and vehicle was brought in for service on July 10, 2024. I was told by the service advisor that the camera was a poor connection and simply plugged back in but they were unable to reproduce the UConnect issue and that it was currently working. On [XXX] I started the vehicle in my driveway and it immediately ente... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
GLS 450
(2022) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Aug 17, 2024
Incident date: Mar 6, 2024
Instrument cluster is freezing. No listed speed or any vehicle driving information while the vehicle is moving.
Incident date: Jul 30, 2024
I was in an accident and the automatic braking sensor did not kick in even though there was a vehicle directly in front of me. As a result, my collision warning never sounded and the active braking feature of my vehicle never engaged.
Crash
Incident date: Aug 3, 2024
While I was driving on I-90, I lost control of the acceleration of my vehicle. The vehicle was towed and has been diagnosed with a failed transmission! The car would not accelerate or it would accelerate in bursts or rapidly slow down. I was able to pull over and the car failed to move at all after. My safety and others was put at risk as I lost the ability to control the speed of the vehicle on a... Read more
Incident date: Aug 2, 2024
The "Service Electronic Braking System" warning comes on and off intermittently with an annoying "DING" while driving. It never stays on and always just comes on, DING, and goes away but repeatedly. It will eventually go away after driving a bit but then comes back unexpectedly. This also disables the Cruise Control. There are tons of complaints throughout the RAM forums and I see a lot of com... Read more
Incident date: Aug 5, 2024
While parking, the accelerator pedal increased in speed without being pressed and the car had a sudden unexpected acceleration and crashed into a column in a parking lot.
Crash
Incident date: Jul 26, 2024
I have a 2016 Kia soul. Second owner. 144,000+ miles. For nearly a year my car has been consuming oil at an alarming rate. But I have no oil leaks anywhere. My dealership did an oil consumption test about 5-6 months ago and within 1000 miles, I was already below the half way line on my dipstick but the dealership told me I was still in range and sent me on my way. Fast forward a few months and I... Read more
Incident date: Aug 16, 2023
ABS/HCU defect. Vehicle does not stop properly without ABS and parts arnt available. Warning chime will not clear and unsafe to drive.
Incident date: Aug 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle failed to immediately accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure to determine the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance wa... Read more
Incident date: Aug 7, 2024
The contact owns a 2010 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while his brother was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration. During the failure, the braking system malfunctioned, causing the brake pedal to extend to the floorboard and the vehicle failed to stop immediately. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to determine the cause of the ... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
ID.4
(2022) — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Aug 16, 2024
Incident date: Dec 16, 2022
The ABS system failure and traction control lights came on and have been coming on intermittently. This failure has caused the vehicle not to retain cruise control and brake and stability control being reduced or potentially off could result in an accident. Upon research, this is a very common and costly issue not covered by warranty work, this seems to be something Ram should fix as it is a saf... Read more
Incident date: Aug 15, 2024
Driving north on [XXX] just north of Red ond Oregon on a 2 lane section at sunrise with traffic aware cruise control set the Tesla braked aggressively when a semi approached in the oncoming lane. Neither vehicle crossed the center line but the crash alarm blared and the car braked almost causing a rear ending accident. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C... Read more