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 16,985 complaints for ACURA
Incident date: Jul 10, 2021
The car is making extreme noise from the rotors and it’s screeching. I took the car to paragon Acura multiple times and they stated it’s normal. A brake sign pops up and the car seems extremely unsafe. I have videos to to show everything
Incident date: Jul 10, 2021
The car is making extreme noise from the rotors and it’s screeching. I took the car to paragon Acura multiple times and they stated it’s normal. A brake sign pops up and the car seems extremely unsafe. I have videos to to show everything
Incident date: Jul 10, 2021
The car is making extreme noise from the rotors and it’s screeching. I took the car to paragon Acura multiple times and they stated it’s normal. A brake sign pops up and the car seems extremely unsafe. I have videos to to show everything
Incident date: Jul 11, 2021
While driving my 2011 Acura TSX wagon on 10 July 2021, the power steering failure indicator light came on while crossing a bridge and my power steering immediately failed. After the vehicle was towed home, I searched the manual and found there is no power steering reservoir to check for fluid. So I researched YouTube and found that this power steering has been a major problem with this vehicle. ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 11, 2021
Vehicle went into limp mode while I was accelerating up to speed onto a highway crossing lanes and driving uphill. All acceleration stopped, and the vehicle quickly decelerated due to being on a steep hill. It was not raining at the time. I had moved into the leftmost lane, and luckily there was a left shoulder to pull the car onto. The check engine light came on and was flashing. I turned the car... Read more
Incident date: Jul 11, 2021
Vehicle went into limp mode while I was accelerating up to speed onto a highway crossing lanes and driving uphill. All acceleration stopped, and the vehicle quickly decelerated due to being on a steep hill. It was not raining at the time. I had moved into the leftmost lane, and luckily there was a left shoulder to pull the car onto. The check engine light came on and was flashing. I turned the car... Read more
Incident date: Jul 11, 2021
Vehicle went into limp mode while I was accelerating up to speed onto a highway crossing lanes and driving uphill. All acceleration stopped, and the vehicle quickly decelerated due to being on a steep hill. It was not raining at the time. I had moved into the leftmost lane, and luckily there was a left shoulder to pull the car onto. The check engine light came on and was flashing. I turned the car... Read more
Incident date: Jul 8, 2020
I am concerned because the 2018 TLX Acura I purchased is having stalling and starting issues . When I first purchased the car and it had fewer than 17,000 miles problems appeared with the lights coming on, parking break and emission issues. It had to be repaired 3 times. The recalled Fuel system/fuel pump (recall # 19v060000) was replaced in Feb. 2020, which I hoped fixed any mysterious stalling.... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2021
I have a 2013 Acura MDX with an estimated 87k miles. Over the past 3 months, the engine will cut off while I'm driving and the steering wheel and brakes lock up. This has happened about 5 times in a three-month period. There are no warning lamps on my dashboard and no codes appeared during the diagnostic tests. My mechanic is unable to reproduce the issue. I have two young sons and am terrified of... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2021
I have a 2013 Acura MDX with an estimated 87k miles. Over the past 3 months, the engine will cut off while I'm driving and the steering wheel and brakes lock up. This has happened about 5 times in a three-month period. There are no warning lamps on my dashboard and no codes appeared during the diagnostic tests. My mechanic is unable to reproduce the issue. I have two young sons and am terrified of... Read more
Incident date: Jul 2, 2021
Driving 40 MPH in heavy rain, had to accelerate quickly while changing lanes, engine when into derate. Check engine flashing, loss of power, engaged 4 way flasher, went 25mph to interstate exit.
Incident date: Apr 26, 2021
My car has stalled over 50 times since I’ve had my vehicle less than 90 days and they can’t seem to figure out what’s going on I had the car looked at over 3 times
Incident date: Jul 6, 2021
The contact owns a 2007 Acura TSX. The contact stated that the emission warning light was illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle with a defective ECM/PCM due to salt corrosion. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V093000 (Eng... Read more
Incident date: Jul 6, 2021
The contact owns a 2007 Acura TSX. The contact stated that the emission warning light was illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle with a defective ECM/PCM due to salt corrosion. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V093000 (Eng... Read more
Incident date: Jul 6, 2021
The contact owns a 2007 Acura TSX. The contact stated that the emission warning light was illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle with a defective ECM/PCM due to salt corrosion. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V093000 (Eng... Read more
Incident date: Jul 7, 2012
It happened years ago - the passenger side dash cracked. Now there are more cracks and I am reading that this could pose a risk if the passenger side airbag deployed. I’ve always thought it was a manufacturing flaw for the dashboard to crack in the first place but never did or said anything about it before. Now I am concerned about the safety of my passengers.
Incident date: Jul 7, 2012
It happened years ago - the passenger side dash cracked. Now there are more cracks and I am reading that this could pose a risk if the passenger side airbag deployed. I’ve always thought it was a manufacturing flaw for the dashboard to crack in the first place but never did or said anything about it before. Now I am concerned about the safety of my passengers.
Incident date: Oct 17, 2020
I purchased a 2021 Acura RDX new. The car makes loud cracking/popping sounds from the panoramic sunroof when driving over uneven pavement, particularly at an angle such as, entering or leaving a driveway. This has occurred since new. It consistently makes the sounds when cold, like backing out of the driveway and over the curb first thing in the morning. It is inconsistent after first having made... Read more
Incident date: Mar 12, 2021
My engine got stalled while driving the car and I have to press on push button to restart the car. It's a safaty issue. I have seen a recall on these and verified if the repair is done and looks like it was repaired back in 2019.
Incident date: Jul 16, 2020
I BOUGHT A USED 2015 ACURA RDX AT AN ACURA DEALERSHIP JUNE 2020 WITH LESS THAN 48K MILES. I BOUGHT IT IN AS IS CONDITION. I THOUGHT SINCE IT WAS FROM A DEALERSHIP, I THOUGHT EVERYTHING THAT NEEDED REPAIR WOULD HAVE BEEN FIXED. IT WAS DURING THE DAY WHEN I BOUGHT AND DIDN'T HAVE TO DRIVE AT NIGHT SEVERAL DAYS. WHEN I DROVE IT AT NIGHT I COULD BARELY SEE THE STREET, THE PASSENGER SIDE, I THOUGH... Read more
Incident date: Jul 2, 2021
Driving on the highway ~ 70mph in a rain the vehicle had a loss of engine power and went in to limp mode. It was a harrowing experience in the bad weather with traffic and no place to safely pull to the side of the road. Vehicle would only crawl @ ~ 5mph. This is the second incidence in a year. Its a major safety issue. Acura says it cannot be fixed unless they can duplicate the problem with my v... Read more
Incident date: May 2, 2021
The contact owns a 2015 Acura TLX. The contact stated while driving 60 mph, the vehicle decelerated inadvertently. The contact pulled over to the side of the roadway and restarted the vehicle and the vehicle operated as designed. On another occasion, while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently shifted from drive to neutral. The vehicle was restarted however, the failure recurr... Read more
Incident date: May 10, 2021
The contact owns a 2006 Acura TL. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was leaking power steering fluid. The contact also stated that the air bag housing along the dashboard was cracked. The contact stated that there was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a local dealer nor an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The... Read more
Incident date: Jun 16, 2021
The contact owns a 2009 Acura MDX. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and approaching a stop sign, the accelerator pedal was depressed however, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact shifted the vehicle to neutral and back to drive and the vehicle responded slowly. The failure recurred several times. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not no... Read more
Incident date: Jun 8, 2021
Car loses power on inclines. Stepping on gas and car decreases speed.
Incident date: Jun 23, 2021
When driving the car will shift into neutral. The only way to accelerate is to manually shift the gear shift into neutral and then back to drive. This occurs frequently at stops. There was a recall for this issue in 2004. The Acura dealership in Fort Worth, Texas indicated that the recalled part was replaced, however, this issue has re-occurred or was not properly fixed in the first instance. This... Read more
Incident date: Jun 23, 2021
I was driving 70mph on I-75 south and I moved into the left lane to pass a vehicle and when pressed down on the gas my car decelerated and multiple (all) warning lights on the dashboard lit up. The car did not recover from the deceleration and caused the car behind me to slam on their brakes, I had to quickly navigate three lanes of traffic during rush hour to get off of the highway. I called Ac... Read more
Incident date: Jun 30, 2021
I was driving at 45 miles per hour and out of nowhere the car stopped accelerating and turned on all the dash lights on many warnings
Incident date: Jun 11, 2021
As of June 2021... Experiencing the same issues as everyone else. Purchased the 2014 model in 2015 and while it is paid off and out of warranty, the power all wheel steering (paws) feature malfunctions while driving at various speeds. The rear wheels would erroneously turn and caused the vehicle to suddenly jerk and fishtail. Technicians at the Mac Churchill - Fort Worth dealership always told me... Read more
Incident date: Jun 24, 2021
Automatic emergency braking would not release…this occurred in the rain…it caused the vehicle to hydroplane, spin out, and hit a barricade.
Crash
Incident date: Jun 28, 2021
Acura has an open recall that shows the symptoms or malfunctions my vehicle is having for my year, make, and model, but the vehicle I.D number doesn't show this type of recall for it. Now, these things do not add up give the malfunctions I'm experiencing. First and foremost, the car stalls, I could be on the NJ turnpike and as soon as traffic slows down car goes into neutral on its own and engine ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2021
All sound warnings are very low and impossible to hear them especially with the music on. The volume is very low and will not override the music volume. The warning volume is very low and driver can’t increase the volume. Especially the blind spot warning on the right side, if you miss it, it’s an accident sure to happen. Acura can change this with a simple software update but they keep ignor... Read more
Incident date: Jun 19, 2021
I noticed a vertical straight line/crack in the dashboard of my 2008 Acura TL located on the passenger side, which is directly in the area of the air bag system. Oddly enough it seemed to appear literally overnight. I’ve noticed the crack seems to expand when in cooler temperatures, however the crack appears to fuse back together when the temperature is warmer and/or hot outside, which is conce... Read more
Incident date: Jun 12, 2020
The dash has developed a crack on the passenger side right over the area where the front passenger side airbag is located. This could possibly create a problem in the proper deployment of that air bag. Apparently, this is a common problem with this generation (3rd- '04 to '08) Acura TL. There are many similar complaints by owners posted online going back many years now about this very problem, yet... Read more
Incident date: Jun 5, 2021
A transmission error popped up on the car and the vehicle would not accelerate past a few miles per hour. The issue is happening intermittently and the dealer and Acura service claims it’s a random issue. A sign that says brake fault keeps popping up as well and it’s really scary to drive the car. Acura service said it’s normal and working as designed and there is no fix at the moment
Incident date: Apr 10, 2021
I was on a three hour drive in the rain and around the 2.5 hour mark I attempted to overtake a vehicle by rapidly accelerating. The vehicle had a complete loss of power and the check engine light illuminated. The car would not accelerate however the engine was running. I had to get to the shoulder across multiple lanes without engine power. The vehicle would only drive at idle speed until I p... Read more
Incident date: Jul 10, 2018
The contact owns a 2016 Acura MDX. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would stall. The contact also stated that the vehicle would jerk when the accelerator pedal was depressed. The contact stated the information and engine warning lights were illuminated on the control panel. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with the transmission needing t... Read more
Incident date: Jul 10, 2018
The contact owns a 2016 Acura MDX. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would stall. The contact also stated that the vehicle would jerk when the accelerator pedal was depressed. The contact stated the information and engine warning lights were illuminated on the control panel. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with the transmission needing t... Read more
Incident date: Jun 22, 2021
While driving, the engine suddenly lost power and started blinking the engine light and went into the "limp mode" mentioned here: https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/consumer-products/auto-news/nhtsa-report-2020-acura-rdx-lost-power-while-driving/ I was forced to pull over without power and wait with the engine off until it resumed normal function. This could have caused a crash with... Read more
Incident date: Jun 22, 2021
While driving, the engine suddenly lost power and started blinking the engine light and went into the "limp mode" mentioned here: https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/consumer-products/auto-news/nhtsa-report-2020-acura-rdx-lost-power-while-driving/ I was forced to pull over without power and wait with the engine off until it resumed normal function. This could have caused a crash with... Read more
Incident date: May 22, 2021
Can lost all power while driving 2 times. Stuck in neutral, should steer, couldn’t brake, all lights on dash board came on and told me to pull over and ally emergency brake when safe. Couldn’t shift car into park. Waited 30 mins with foot ok brake and car off, turned back on and was able to shift to park and all lights were off
Incident date: Jun 22, 2021
Power steering makes an extreme screeching sound and Honda Dealership in Eau Claire, WI, says they cannot perform the recalls, and that I have to go to Acura, which is 2 hours away from me and cannot get there. I feel that Honda in eau claire should be able to do it.
Incident date: Jun 22, 2021
Brand new 2021 RDX - bought 3 days ago, only 128 miles. Driving on highway and it suddenly loses power. Was able to get to shoulder, but unable to get enough power to exit the highway to find a safer place to park. Check engine light and several transmission warnings indicating I should see dealer immediately. As vehicle came close to a stop, it shuddered and clunked so badly it seemed like I ran ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 22, 2021
Brand new 2021 RDX - bought 3 days ago, only 128 miles. Driving on highway and it suddenly loses power. Was able to get to shoulder, but unable to get enough power to exit the highway to find a safer place to park. Check engine light and several transmission warnings indicating I should see dealer immediately. As vehicle came close to a stop, it shuddered and clunked so badly it seemed like I ran ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 20, 2021
We were driving on the highway yesterday at 75 mph when suddenly our tachometer jumped a couple of times and then the car lost all power and switched into neutral. It's the same transmission problem others are reporting and dangerous.
Incident date: Jun 20, 2021
We were driving on the highway yesterday at 75 mph when suddenly our tachometer jumped a couple of times and then the car lost all power and switched into neutral. It's the same transmission problem others are reporting and dangerous.
Incident date: May 20, 2021
Went out with family recently and all of a sudden front passenger side seat belt buckle won't latch. I took it to the dealer (Pohanka Acura). They said seat belt buckle has to be replaced and it will cost approx. $1000. I called Acura and they said this is not a warranty issue. Car is only 7 years old and front passenger side is used only occasionally by an adult. I would like Acura to pay for the... Read more
Incident date: Jun 17, 2021
Transmission is going out an a lot of people say after 200,000 miles Acura TL the 2004 transmissions start to go out which mines is doing now what can I do this is a know problem with 2004-2006 Acura TL
Incident date: Jun 1, 2021
the front low beam headlights are extremely dim. Can typically only see approximately 30 feet in front while driving. Any speed in excess of 25mph is dangerous. High beams work fine. there are no fog lights on this vehicle.
Incident date: Jun 17, 2021
The reflective surface inside the headlight assemblies has delaminated. This effectively makes the headlights useless and creates a very unsafe driving condition at night. I reported the issue to Acura's national customer service number but they did nothing but record the call. This is a known issue with Acura as they have done recalls on other year and model combinations. This is clearly a very s... Read more