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: Jun 12, 2021
Just recently purchased an 2020 Acura MDX AWD with Tech package. Noticed that the windshields have distortions near the A pillars, which happens from both driver side and passenger side. I feel nausea when looking through the window corner as objects are curved. I did a lot of research and found this issue has been there for a while. Distortion in windshield has safety issues that should be addres... Read more
Incident date: Jun 11, 2021
The contact owns a 2006 Acura TSX. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle loss motive power and stalled without warning. The vehicle was not taken to a local dealer nor an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was relating the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 13V093000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical system). The manufactur... Read more
Incident date: Jul 11, 2020
I bought the car July of last year (2020) and noticed the car was a bit jerky when I accelerated from a complete stop. But as I started to drive the car more I noticed it was jerky shifting from 2nd to 3rd gears. Its a violent jerk. Everyone in the car whiplashes when it happens. When I go downhill and press on the brakes to slow down it gets a sudden burst of speed and doesn't slow down but goes ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2021
I was driving to the store, my car jerked really hard, then as I turned the car off bought my items from the store. Coming back my car didn’t want to start at all. All the lights on the dashboard Came on
Incident date: Apr 22, 2021
1. I suffered a seatback failure in my 2018 Acura RDX when I was rear-ended at a high speed. The car is currently with my insurance company but I'm sure it's available for inspection. 2. The seatback failure made a big enough gap between my seat and seatbelt for me to slip completely under my seatbelt. I landed on the backseat floor after I smacked my head on the side rear airbag. I have multiple ... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jun 1, 2021
Car has repeatedly stalled in oncoming traffic over the last 4 months.
Incident date: May 3, 2021
Transmission failed right as I drove off the lot. The car initially started to jerk and then was revving to 7000rpms and would not speed up past 25mph. The car also stopped moving when I put it in reverse. When I tool it back to the lot within the hour, around 3 days later they told me the transmission failed ln the car. This was a brand new car and should not have happened.
Incident date: Jun 11, 2021
I was driving in the rain, accelerated to pass a vehicle and the engine lost power. The check engine light came on and the car went into "limp" mode. The car would barely go 40 mph on a highway and the speed seemed to be continuing to decrease. Luckily I was able to pull over and shut the car off. Restarted, the problem appeared to go away. This is a very dangerous situation and I have read other ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 10, 2021
Brand new 2021 Acura RDX panoramic sunroof exploded less than 2 weeks after purchase. I was driving when all the sudden, out of nowhere, there was a loud pop/explosion sound. I immediately pulled over and inspected the but didn't find anything. Not one scratch or dent anywhere. It wasn't until I was getting back in the car, and heard the sound of glass slowly shattering, that I realized it was the... Read more
Incident date: Jun 9, 2021
My fiancé is 8 months pregnant and her sunroof literally exploded on her while she was on the freeway yesterday. She was almost in an accident and could have been killed. She has a 2020 MDX and I’m reading online that she isn’t the only person this has happened to. The dealership told her that she’s on her own and this defect isn’t covered under warranty when she called. It has not been i... Read more
Incident date: Jun 5, 2019
I have 2014 built, 2015 registered Acura rlx. Problem is when I make left turn all warning yellow lights on, like X-mas trees and shows all faults like traction control, brake, steering ...etc. Around 45 degrees angle to my right hand side on steering wheel if I control my car to go straight. (Cars tail swings to right hand side line) Max speed is around 50mph. This problem disappears after turns ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 6, 2021
Two times in three weeks with the auto idle stop active the car failed to restart on a green light. Following all the prompts in the car it takes over a minute to re start the car while blocking traffic.
Incident date: Jun 6, 2021
Two times in three weeks with the auto idle stop active the car failed to restart on a green light. Following all the prompts in the car it takes over a minute to re start the car while blocking traffic.
Incident date: Jun 8, 2021
My vehicle has only 36526 miles. The brake pedal goes down to 2 inches from the floor and is a major traffic hazzard. I have attempted numerous times unsuccessfuly to make an appointment with Elite Acura in Maple Shade, NJ No answer at Service Dept. Today, 6/8/21, I contacted Acura Customer Relation and the Rep. could not contact Elite Acura as well. She did assigned case # 12275613. This is t... Read more
Incident date: May 9, 2021
On May 9th we were driving on the freeway at around 3 pm on a sunlit clear day. It was a straight section of road. Dry pavement and traffic moving reasonably well. The car in front of us was at least 100 yards in front of us and about the same for the vehicle behind I believe. We were going around 50 mph. The car slammed on the brakes so hard the seat belt restraints engaged as we flew forward, en... Read more
Incident date: Jun 6, 2021
I was driving around 30miles/hr and the engines shut off unexpectedly. I was stuck in the middle of a highway and the engine didn’t turn back on. The dashboard showed total failure. The car was one year old with 11k miles. I just had it serviced by the dealer.
Incident date: Jun 4, 2021
While driving on interstate I-15 in Las Vegas the car suddenly without any warning stalled and engine shutoff in the middle of the interstate. No warning messsages or indicators on dashboard. There was sufficient fuel in the car. Several attempts to start were made but were unsuccessful. Mu family and I were dangerously trapped on the Interstate for 30 minutes. I could not move the vehicle to saf... Read more
Incident date: Feb 5, 2020
This is the second complaint I have filed with the NTSB. The transmission in my 2020 Acura RDX feels as if it is slipping. From a complete stop to trying to advance the call forward, the engine will act as if it cannot find first gear and then will "jump". This does not happen all the time but is frequent enough to garner my attention. This problem started immediately after I purchased the car... Read more
Incident date: May 31, 2021
I purchased the new MDX 2022 on May 27th 2021. On May 31st, while driving on the Interstate 287 at 65mph, the car suddenly stop accelerating. When I pushed the gas pedal, the engine only revved up but the car continued to slow down. I pulled the car on the shoulder lane, shut the engine off and restarted. The problem continued. The dashboard had the warning sign "Transmission System Problem. Avoid... Read more
Incident date: May 26, 2021
Car stalled while in traffic line with Auto idle engaged. Took foot off brake to move forward and car stalled. Unable to restart car after the stall. Had to be towed to Honda dealership, they assessed it was an alternator issue. Alternator replaced car starts normally. Drove car for approximately 30 min and had turned off the Auto idle feature. Car stalled again after sitting in traffic and trying... Read more
Incident date: Jan 5, 2021
The rear wheel steering system (P-AWS) causes the rear end to suddenly swing out of the traffic lane after making a turn. This has happened several times and since there is no way for the driver to control the rear wheel steering it is very difficult to avoid colliding with surrounding or oncoming traffic. I have contacted the dealer and they seem to have no idea as to what the cause could be or ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2021
On June 1, 2021 at about 9 p.m. the hood popped up, then the truck latch, the speedometer was reading a different speed than the cruise control without any interference, and the bluetooth and entertainment center were not operating correctly, yet no codes or warning lights. On resuming travel on I-80 a semi started flashing his lights and veered out of the way so I slowed, and the parking brake e... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jun 1, 2021
Three hours into a four hour road trip, we had been driving in the rain when needed to overtake a slow car in the right lane. Went to accelerate when car lost all power and a check engine light came on flash. Pulled over to the emergency lane and turned flasher on. Car had to be glided into the lane as there was little to no power when using the gas. Thankfully we had not passed the vehicle yet wh... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2021
Three hours into a four hour road trip, we had been driving in the rain when needed to overtake a slow car in the right lane. Went to accelerate when car lost all power and a check engine light came on flash. Pulled over to the emergency lane and turned flasher on. Car had to be glided into the lane as there was little to no power when using the gas. Thankfully we had not passed the vehicle yet wh... Read more
Incident date: May 31, 2021
For just shy of a year, We've been experiencing problems with our 2016 TLX misfiring and stalling. Fuel pressure has been tested and it's shown to dramatically drop while under load. It behaves like the problem identified with the recall NHTSA 19V060000 for the V6 of the same year/model. It's a very disturbing event when it happens and it prevents us from driving the car longer than 30-45 minutes ... Read more
Incident date: May 31, 2021
For just shy of a year, We've been experiencing problems with our 2016 TLX misfiring and stalling. Fuel pressure has been tested and it's shown to dramatically drop while under load. It behaves like the problem identified with the recall NHTSA 19V060000 for the V6 of the same year/model. It's a very disturbing event when it happens and it prevents us from driving the car longer than 30-45 minutes ... Read more
Incident date: May 29, 2021
My car completely lost all power and died on the freeway. All the dash board lights came on and I could break or steer and the car was stuck in Neutral.
Incident date: May 29, 2021
My car completely lost all power and died on the freeway. All the dash board lights came on and I could break or steer and the car was stuck in Neutral.
Incident date: May 29, 2021
My car completely lost all power and died on the freeway. All the dash board lights came on and I could break or steer and the car was stuck in Neutral.
Incident date: Apr 20, 2021
The transmission it’s going bad
Incident date: Apr 20, 2021
The transmission it’s going bad
Incident date: May 26, 2021
While traveling to my dealer on interstate 69 in Indiana, in the rain, I had to accelerate to avoid a conflict with a truck. When I pushed the accelerator to the floor, the Check Engine Light came on and the car went into limp mode. I had to pull to the shoulder and restart the car to continue. The dealer provided me a loaner 2021 Acura RDX, VIN #5J8TC2H5XML023677 with 740 miles on the odometer,... Read more
Incident date: May 26, 2021
While traveling to my dealer on interstate 69 in Indiana, in the rain, I had to accelerate to avoid a conflict with a truck. When I pushed the accelerator to the floor, the Check Engine Light came on and the car went into limp mode. I had to pull to the shoulder and restart the car to continue. The dealer provided me a loaner 2021 Acura RDX, VIN #5J8TC2H5XML023677 with 740 miles on the odometer,... Read more
Incident date: May 18, 2021
It won’t let me stay in the lane while I driving
Incident date: May 25, 2021
Driving 70 mph down interstate and all of the sudden the check engine light started flashing and the vehicle lost all power. Had to make an emergency move to the shoulder. The check engine light remained flashing and when car shut off and turned back on the engine light was not on and vehicle operation seemed to turn to normal. Have seen other reports of this specific model of vehicle losing power... Read more
Incident date: May 25, 2021
Driving 70 mph down interstate and all of the sudden the check engine light started flashing and the vehicle lost all power. Had to make an emergency move to the shoulder. The check engine light remained flashing and when car shut off and turned back on the engine light was not on and vehicle operation seemed to turn to normal. Have seen other reports of this specific model of vehicle losing power... Read more
Incident date: May 25, 2021
Windshield chips and cracks easily from minor road debris. My 2019 Acura RDX Advanced with approximately 22,000 miles has needed to have the windshield replaced 3 times since purchasing (fourth windshield since buying). The latest replacement lasted less than a week before cracking again. These cracks hinder the structure of the windshield, can obscure view, or refract light; limiting driver vi... Read more
Incident date: May 23, 2021
2021 RDX A-spec 7322 miles northbound Hwy 95 Nevada to Oregon, raining. Attempted to pass semi, car behind me also passing semi, sudden loss of power, almost hit from behind, risk of on-coming traffic, able to move to right behind semi. Feeble response to any attempt to accelerate, barely limping along, moved to right shoulder and then to pullout, blinking check engine light, no other warning indi... Read more
Incident date: Dec 4, 2020
My car has been automatically shutting off while driving. Bringing my car to a halt, not a full on stop but to the point my wheels lock up. Sort of like im slamming on my brake but I can't press my brake. I lose power steering, the entire car shuts off. Then I have to try and restart it, but it won't turn over. Sometimes its just for a few minutes. Other times Im stranded for hours. A few times it... Read more
Incident date: Dec 4, 2020
My car has been automatically shutting off while driving. Bringing my car to a halt, not a full on stop but to the point my wheels lock up. Sort of like im slamming on my brake but I can't press my brake. I lose power steering, the entire car shuts off. Then I have to try and restart it, but it won't turn over. Sometimes its just for a few minutes. Other times Im stranded for hours. A few times it... Read more
Incident date: Dec 12, 2018
This is the exact problem I am experiencing: https://carbuzz.com/news/some-acura-rdx-and-mdx-owners-have-a-troubling-problem https://www.carcomplaints.com/news/2020/acura-mdx-and-rdx-acceleration-problems-lawsuit.shtml https://www.wirtzlaw.com/2020/04/19/defects-in-2016-2017-2018-2019-and-2020-acura-mdx-and-rdx-cause-acceleration-problems-are-subject-to-california-lemon-laws/#:~:text=Model%20ye... Read more
Incident date: May 18, 2021
- 2020 Acura RDX Aspec - my 2nd one of this model!!!!! - Tue, 18May2021 - travelling at ~65 mph on the Houston Hardy Toll Road and lost all ability to accelerate and MIL (engine light) came on - I was able to pull over 4 lanes to the right shoulder safely - I turned the car off, waited ~30 seconds and then turned the car back on - I drove to the dealership, Gillman Acura, which is ~21.4 miles, an... Read more
Incident date: May 19, 2021
I was pulling on to interstate 5 when attempting lane change I accelerated with no success. The gas pedal was pressed harder and still no acceleration and that went on for at least 3 to 4 seconds. This happens to me every day. I have tried different brands of fuel but always premium and that has made no changes. The vehicle had a fuel system recall which made little if any improvement when it was ... Read more
Incident date: May 17, 2021
THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 ACURA RDX. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH, THE MOON ROOF SHATTERED WITHOUT IMPACT. THERE WERE NO INJURIES SUSTAINED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT YET REPAIRED. NEITHER THE DEALER NOR THE MANUFACTURER WERE INFORMED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 30,000.
Incident date: May 13, 2021
My car's engine quit as I was about to make a right turn off a 6 lane road. It would not restart. By design, the transmission immediately goes into park (electrickly). There is no way for the driver to put it into neutral so it could be pushed or serviced by a flat bed tow truck. As a result my car blocked the turn lane requiring numerous cars to go around me putting my wife and I in danger of bei... Read more
Incident date: May 8, 2021
I NOTICED WITHIN THE FIRST COUPLE OF WEEKS A DIFFERENCE IN DRIVING VEHICLE .. WHEN I FIRST PURCHASED THE VEHICLE I WAS GIVEN A NHTSA PRINTOUT FOR ANY PASSED REPORTS IF THEREBWAS ANY AND THERE WAS NOTHING DISCLOSED IN THE REPORT . AFTER EXPERIENCING ISSUES WITH THE VEHICLE . I RAN ANOTHER RECALL REPORT AND WAS ABLE TO SEE THE 38 PLUS RECALLS THAT HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED SINCE. I HAVE SCHEDULED A SERVI... Read more
Incident date: May 8, 2021
I NOTICED WITHIN THE FIRST COUPLE OF WEEKS A DIFFERENCE IN DRIVING VEHICLE .. WHEN I FIRST PURCHASED THE VEHICLE I WAS GIVEN A NHTSA PRINTOUT FOR ANY PASSED REPORTS IF THEREBWAS ANY AND THERE WAS NOTHING DISCLOSED IN THE REPORT . AFTER EXPERIENCING ISSUES WITH THE VEHICLE . I RAN ANOTHER RECALL REPORT AND WAS ABLE TO SEE THE 38 PLUS RECALLS THAT HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED SINCE. I HAVE SCHEDULED A SERVI... Read more
Incident date: May 9, 2021
. I HAVE A 2014 RLX WITH PAWS. AFTER TURNING LEFT I HAVE A PROBLEM WHERE THE REAR WHEELS TURN WHILE THE CAR WAS GOING STRAIGHT DOWN A STREET CAUSING THE REAR END TO KICK OUT, KIND OF LIKE WHAT HAPPENS TO THE REAR WHEELS WHEN DRIVING A CAR LOSING TRACTION WHILE TURNING ON A WET SURFACE.
Incident date: May 9, 2021
. I HAVE A 2014 RLX WITH PAWS. AFTER TURNING LEFT I HAVE A PROBLEM WHERE THE REAR WHEELS TURN WHILE THE CAR WAS GOING STRAIGHT DOWN A STREET CAUSING THE REAR END TO KICK OUT, KIND OF LIKE WHAT HAPPENS TO THE REAR WHEELS WHEN DRIVING A CAR LOSING TRACTION WHILE TURNING ON A WET SURFACE.